Vision, Knowledge, and Revelation

"Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law."

Proverbs 29:18

This last week, our family went to a used book sale.  This was a major event for us; the Ramsey County Libraries needed to downsize and the sale involved over 37,000 books!  We went twice as we could not fit all of our selections into the car on the first trip and we came home with over 130 new additions to our family Library.  Two of my most favorite additions are a 2006 World Book set and a set of Great Ages of Man produced by Time Life Books.  We came home with Science and History books, Biographies and Poems, Plays and Government books.  Books, books...everywhere are books!

Within the last year or so, God has been impressing on our family to make some major changes with our lifestyles.  One being to make our home educationally friendly.  This was a challenge for me since I grew up in a mindset that the home is a showcase for guests.  Children's things were shoved into the basement or attic and when guests were over, books, toys and art projects were neatly hidden so as not to upset the showcase.  All that has now changed and the central focus of our home is a learning environment for our family, cultivating creativity and a hunger to learn new things.

The central core of the education of our family is not education itself as it would lead to idolatry.  No, the central core of the Zwieg Family Education is God Almighty, Creator and King of the Universe.  With every book that is opened, every new discovery examined, every adventure taken we must measure that to the infallible Word of God.  What does He say about what we are learning? 

It is important to understand worldview.  Everyone has a worldview even if they don't think they do.  But how is the worldview measured?  We believe it is important to understand various worldviews.  For Science, the foundation of scientists rests in three places...The Big Bang, Evolution, and Creation.  Each scientist will make his assumptions and theories based on one of those ideas of the origins of man and that will dictate how he will view their findings.  The same idea is found in politics, history, and nearly every other sphere of life.  We must understand these worldviews to be able to communicate with one another effectively, yet, we must measure every theory and every finding to the Word of God which is infallible and everlasting.

As we embark on a journey with the new acquisitions to our family library, there are some key elements in how we will look at these books.

1) What is the authors worldview?

2) What is the agenda of the author?

3) How does the information in this book measure to the Word of God?

This way of measuring what we read can even turn a really horrible book into a learning experience.  We look forward to learning about Pioneers and the Old West, Thermodynamics and The Milky Way, How to Write and Direct a Play and so much more in the coming weeks! 

"The Lord thy God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good.  For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey the Voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  For this commandment that I give to you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off."

Deuteronomy 30:9-11

Some of our new acquisitions!

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