Page 17 - Providence Christian College - Fall 2018

Russel Kirk meant when he said that ordered souls lead to ordered society, because without ordered souls, we have chaos.
And our founders knew and taught that this kind of freedom, this kind of virtue. This kind of code, what Alexis de Tocqueville called the habits of the heart, is best taught and learned in Christianity, in religious families and associations.
That means that we, at Providence, as one of these associations, have a unique role to play in recovering this Code, these habits of the heart. We have the secret to true freedom—it comes in Christ and the gospel of salvation. We have the secret to shaping people—through the Scriptures, the liberal arts, and community life—that helps order the souls of individuals. And by ordering the souls of individuals, we are modeling to the world what this code looks like, what true freedom and flourishing are.
Moreover, not only are we modeling it, but we are preparing you, our students, to take your ordered souls, who have internalized this Code, into our society, to replace the hollow elite who now govern us and to build strong families, healthy and vibrant organizations and businesses, create culture that trumpets truth beauty and goodness, and lead our political structures in a way that restores democracy and the habits of the heart.
But how will we do this? First by modeling it and creating a community that helps order the souls of individuals; one that teaches the Code.
But how can we do this when we ourselves are sinful individuals, so often tempted and succumbing in our own lives to the hollow culture around us and inside us? How can we do this when we ourselves are a product of the culture’s view of expressive freedom that hates codes, rules of behavior, any outside authority? And yet if we don’t find a way, I fear that our republic is doomed.
The only way we can begin this project of cultural and spiritual renewal is first by having our eyes opened, by repenting of our anti authority in our hearts and submitting to our Creator. This repentance is the first step in seeing our need for a Savior, someone who can give us a new heart. Because it’s only when
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Deeper Learning for Greater Wisdom
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