Revisiting Some Archived Articles that Have Not Been Lost, but May Have Been Forgotten and Are Worth a Fresh Read
Original Post Date: August 15, 2014
Sweet melody amidst the moving spheres
Breaks forth, a solemn and entrancing sound,
A harmony whereof the earth’s green hills
Give but the faintest echo; yet is there
A music everywhere, and concert sweet!
All birds which sing amidst the forest deep
Till the flowers listen with unfolded bells;
All winds that murmur over summer grass,
Or curl the waves upon the pebbly shore;
Chiefly all earnest human voices rais’d
In charity and for the cause of truth,
Mingle together in one sacred chord,
And float, a grateful incense, up to God.
(Parkes, Music)
Today is another rainy day Bloomington, Minnesota, but it is a special day. This is the last day of biology, the study of life. This course has been one of the most enlightening and informative courses I have completed in this program for a number of reasons, but there is one reason in particular I would like to share with you. You might already know this, but Rivendell cohorts are stuck with the same two professors through every single class. This means we have the same professor for philosophy and biology, and the professor we have in theology teaches us physics. This seemed odd to me at first. Neither of my professors specializes in any of the hard sciences. They both have masters in the fields of theology and philosophy, but not biology. How can they possibly teach a college level biology course?
As I continued to think about this seeming dilemma I realized that nearly all homeschool families face this same question: “How can I teach my students biology?” It seems too complicated and who even has time to talk about deoxyribonucleic acid or chromosomal mutations. After all, how many people will actually need biology later in life?
If you did not read the poem at the beginning of this article take a moment to read it. What if I told you that DNA, RNA, ribosomes, chromosomes, cells, and organelles, are not all of biology? What if I told you that biology is also the study of life? Take one more moment and look outside. Everything you see, from the grass to the trees to your children, is alive and a part of biology. Biology is not a segregated science; it is not governed in totality by lab experiments or data. Biology is the vitality which we experience each and every day. Biology bears practical, philosophical, and theological implications on all of us.
Taking a walk outside and talking with your family about nature is as much the science of biology as any lab experiment or dissection. Asking your children what they think of life and what it is—this is the study of life, this is biology. So do not feel overwhelmed, but be overjoyed about the fact that almighty God created life and commissioned humanity to steward it, to ask questions about it. Enjoy the life God has blessed you with—this is biology.
