Christian World View

What is Christian Education, and why does Heritage Christian Academy seek to offer a Christian world view?

In its most basic sense, the purpose of schooling is to turn ignorant people into educated people, but Christian education adds to that purpose. It adds faith and truth, truth to which a secular school does not have access. The importance of truth is basic to all education. The essential Truth is that mankind is sinful, and God provides salvation from that sin in the person of Jesus Christ.

HCA believes that it is neither enough nor correct to simply attend school and leave issues of faith to the home and church. The error in simply expecting the church and home to supplement a secular education implies that the truth of sin and the world's need of redemption do not affect every other aspect of knowledge and learning in life. Christianity does not only touch the "spiritual life", but impacts life as a whole. One may ask how does it affect a subject such as Chemistry? A Christian world view realizes that mathematical and scientific knowledge are not cosmic coincidences that occur in a vacuum, but part of creation that demonstrates God's plan. In the act of redemption through the life and work of Jesus Christ it is all creation that He saves. Each area of knowledge is part of a greater knowledge such as is found in the liberal arts, history, philosophy, economics, literature, etc. These things are vastly and directly affected by God's truth. All deal with the human condition and cannot be properly understood if first, one does not understand the nature of sin, why mankind is in need of redemption, and how that redemption takes place.

HCA recognizes the peril of the human condition and recognizes God's work to redeem that condition in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, HCA seeks to educate Christians to further the work of the Church in proclaiming the truth of God's salvation and the redemption of all truths that apart from that work are futile.

This academy strives to teach students to develop their minds, develop their physical body and develop a sense of morality and ethics based on Biblical principles. Intrinsic to that goal is our giving accurate teaching about Christianity and the Bible as well as creating an understanding of the world Christ came to save. In our curriculum and lives we seek to demonstrate to the student body that this teaching is part of thorough scholarship and sound education.

Heritage Christian Academy is a school with traditional structure and curriculum. The academy has chosen to accomplish its mission is by giving each student broad exposure to the liberal arts. The liberal arts attempt to answer the questions, "what makes up the world around us?" and "what does it mean?". A liberal arts education looks beyond the "who, where, and what" in life to the "why and how". Our view of its purpose is well stated by the philosopher-theologian Desiderius Erasmus who said, "All studies, philosophy, rhetoric are followed for this one object, that we may know Christ and honor Him. This is the end of all learning and eloquence."