By Dr. Roger Erdvig, WCS Headmaster

​Every now and then I like to use this space to suggest resources for Biblical worldview development, and since we’re coming up to the Christmas season, I thought now would be a great time to do so again. (Click on the images for a link to buy the book.)
 
First, a brand-new book, Believing Butterfly, by Caitlin Jane (WCS class of 2005). An accomplished musician and singer, this is Caitlin’s first picture book--a beautifully and whimsically illustrated “A, B, C” book for young children. Each page features a letter of the alphabet along with an animal and a Scripture verse that corresponds to a Biblical character quality or principle.

By WCS Headmaster Dr. Roger Erdvig

In his important new book Live Not By Lies, conservative writer Rod Dreher outlines a strategy for how Christians can flourish in a culture that has become overtly antagonistic to Biblical truth. His strategy is notable for what it doesn’t include as much as what it does.

Dreher does not urge big programs in big churches or massive campaigns to “reclaim culture.” Instead of going big, he counsels us to go small: Small groups. Spiritual friendships. Book clubs. Family resistance cells. 

Central to Dreher’s strategy is the Christian family, and he offers six specific commitments that families can make as they stand against lies.

1. Model moral courage
2. Fill your children’s imaginations with the good
3. Don’t be afraid to be weird in society’s eyes
4. Prepare to make great sacrifices for the greater good
5. Teach your children that they are part of a wider movement
6. Practice hospitality and serve others​

By WCS Headmaster Dr. Roger Erdvig

​Every so often, a book comes along that is so important, timely, and insightful that it demands a wide reading right away. Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents is just such a book.
 
We all agree that 2020 and the first weeks of 2021 have been most unsettling and disturbing. We’ve seen cultural change accelerate like an avalanche, and it is hard to make sense of what’s happening and to discern what to do.

In Live Not By Lies, author Rod Dreher provides the analysis we need to orient ourselves to our new realities, and he begins by issuing a clear warning: America has, over the last few decades, been primed for a new form of totalitarianism.

By WCS Headmaster Dr. Roger Erdvig

Parents have the hard job of deciding what kind of school is best for their children. Of the many options available, which will have a more positive impact on their child’s life long into the future?

All parents want their children to become well educated, responsible, and productive adults. Part of this vision for the future is the hope that they will have a healthy marriage and family of their own. 

So how does parents’ choice of school relate to this important goal for the future?

By WCS Headmaster Dr. Roger Erdvig

​In the 1940s, C. S. Lewis wrote his famous "Screwtape Letters" as a clever means to equip Christians to guard against the wiles of the evil one. In the spirit and style of Lewis' imagined correspondence between a senior demon (Screwtape), and his young tempter-protege (Wormwood), I wrote a new entry on how high school graduates can spot and defend against attacks from the evil one. In this "newly discovered" Screwtape Letter, I imagine how an experienced demon would advise an apprentice on how to trip up a recent Christian school graduate. 

Note: I have no intention of telling you how I came upon this secret correspondence between what seems to be a more senior demon and his junior apprentice. The text of the letter leads me to believe that the senior demon is responsible for instructing the younger on the art of temptation and how to win an individual over to the evil one. You must keep in mind that when the writer is referring to “our enemy,” he is referring to God, and when referring to “our father below,” he is talking about Satan himself.
 
My Dear Wormwood,
 
Congratulations on your assignment to your new patient. I trust you will be much more vigilant in following my directives on this one than you were with the last, who I must remind you again, escaped your grasp and is now firmly in the hands of the enemy. Frankly, I am amazed that your punishment was not more significant than it was… but that’s a subject for another day. On to the business at hand.
 
Your new patient is ideal for a young, inexperienced tempter as yourself. Actually, I can’t think of a better one on whom you can practice, and perhaps renew your standing with me. She is what the filthy two-legged animals call a “high school graduate,” and they are pathetically easy to confound and confuse. Yes, I am aware that she attended a Christian school, but that can actually play to our advantage. I have often seen where humans who attended Christian schools develop a very desirable habit, at least for our purposes: they tend to skip along blindly, relying on their parents' or their teachers’ connection to the enemy, instead of knowing him for themselves, all the while not even realizing they are living in our clutches. In this way, they practically do all of the work for us. But, don’t get too lazy. You still must exert much effort to win her over to our father’s side.