Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own world. And that means the old books.
                    C.S. Lewis

Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.
                    G. K. Chesterton

The idea behind a Great Books course begins here: if we want the best for our students, why not let them learn from the best possible teachers? We can find these teachers by seeing which ones have stood the test of time; which ones have had many generations and many civilizations point to them as a building block of their culture. The Great Books curriculum is designed around these authors. Not all are Christian (many are not), but they all have had a great influence on us and other Christian thinkers. Thus, part of the goal of these courses is to allow the student to engage with these authors directly, not hidden behind a veil of quotations and commentary from some modern textbook.

 

Great Books II is the second year of the 4 year Great Books course. The second year focuses on Roman and early Christian authors. Few eras of study are as rich as those of Rome, both with pagan authors and the fathers of the rapidly growing Christian church. When God became man, He was incarnated in a specific place, and a specific time. This year will focus on understanding the Roman and Christian authors in their own context, understanding how they connect, and help shape, our own time. These authors will also provide important context for the New Testament and the early church.