Just as we are emerging from the coronavirus pandemic and have opportunities to come together, we are being torn apart by racial strife and my heart is broken. My prayers go out to all Americans who have experienced marginalization and disenfranchisement because of the color of their skin. This should not be so. We need to move forward together and ensure all Americans, regardless of the color of their skin, are able to fully access the blessings of liberty and all their God-given rights.
Classical education, which Classical Conversations embraces, is based on the idea of finding, teaching, and recognizing truth, goodness, and beauty, which are foundational for justice and grace. A Christian education looks through the lens of these ideas knowing we live in a fallen world and that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Community is where we choose to have these conversations, lifting each other up when we fall and “iron sharpening iron” as Proverbs 27:17 tells us. Jesus came to Earth in the flesh and walked among us. In our fallen attempt to model His life, we look at how He lived and now lives and feebly attempt to follow.
As I look at the hurting world around us, I see injustice, pain in my brothers’ and sisters’ eyes, and division, even among believers. Ultimately, this is a sin problem, one that sentences us all to death, one that helped hold our Lord upon the cross, and one He defeated when He rose again from the grave that beautiful Easter morning. Christ defeated sin and death, but that doesn’t mean we no longer have to deal with them. Only with His return, which we eagerly await, will we be forever free. So, even as we await His return, we continue to cry out in anguish at the sin and pain around us.
Imago Dei: God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26). We believe that God created the Heavens and the Earth and created all men in his image. We believe that we are all descended from Adam and Eve—regardless of the color of your skin, we share the same grandmother and grandfather.
The inerrant Word of God says that the Lord flooded the whole Earth, only sparing Noah’s family, so we also share a more recent ancestor. Acts 17:26 confirms, “He made from one man every nation of mankind,” and so we know that racism is not Christian. As Christians, we reject any form of racism because we believe that we are all image bearers and loved by the God who created us. Malachi 2:10 says, “Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?”
We are committed to loving our neighbor as ourselves, loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and changing the world through a classical, Christian education that brings people together in community and enables us to do hard things together. I mourn with those who mourn—and there are a lot of people mourning now in this world. I urge you to continue to fight for families and for the world to recognize truth, goodness, and beauty as we wait upon the Lord’s return.
Peace be with you,
Robert Bortins
CEO, Classical Conversations
To view Robert’s Facebook Live address from June 1, 2020, where he addresses these topics, CLICK HERE.
