Message from the Principal

The vision of Paideia is academic work at the highest level, done coram deo, before the face of God. We love to quote Lesslie Newbigin’s phrase, “Christ is the clue to all that is.” In our developing years we are focusing on biblical studies, theology and philosophy while also developing projects in other areas. In all our work we are concerned with all of life, hence “public theology.” Our goal is to retrieve, renew and develop the rich Kuyperian tradition developed through the labors of such eminent scholar and practitioners as Herman Bavinck, Abraham Kuyper and many others.

Paideia has several distinctives:

• We see deep spirituality as indispensable to our work. When you enter Paideia House you look straight into our chapel and this is intentional. It is only as we live ever deeper into Christ that we will be formed to do his work.

• We are deeply concerned to develop intellectual community. The tasks are too great for any one individual and a delightful aspect of Paideia is the growing community, evident in our socials, seminars and emphasis on relationship. Our aim is to work with an emerging generation of leaders to help form and equip them for a lifetime of service.

• We do not for a moment see hard academic work as antithetical to the work of the church. We believe that Christian scholarship is part of the church’s mission and that, at best, the work of the institutional church and scholarship are entirely compatible. We have a vested interest in more accessible spin-offs from our academic work, as is evident in our more popular publications.

As David Beldman commented recently to me, one needs to taste the work of Paideia in order to get a real sense of what it is about. You are warmly invited to visit us at Paideia House, to sign up for our newsletter and, in whatever appropriate ways, to join us in our work.

 - Craig Bartholomew