Fill the Stage

Daniel Dignan

Fill The Stage

Helping students live well

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Confessions

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Except for the writers of the New Testament, Augustine of Hippo, Algeria (a.k.a. Saint Augustine), is the most influential church father. His theological-philosophical writings, second to the Bible, shaped Christendom and the West for centuries.

Born in Algeria in 354 AD, Augustine became a professor of rhetoric, teaching ambitious young men how to argue in the Roman law courts. He became a Manichean, and lived a carnal lifestyle, but grew intellectually dissatisfied and spiritually unfulfilled with his religion and life. Through the Christian influence of his mother Monica, and Ambrose, the influential bishop of Milan, he converted to Christianity after reading a Bible passage in a garden.

In his breathtaking spiritual autobiography Confessions, Augustine explained and confessed his early thoughts and sins, revealing the intellectual shifts and divine intervention that led to his Christian faith and conversion. He famously prayed “…you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you.”

Lastly, after the Visigoths sacked Rome, Augustine wrote The City of God, which contended for the truth, benefits, and happiness of Christian teaching and God’s coming city.

Confessions is a must read for high school students. Strong 8th-grade readers could also benefit, but recommend they focus on the first half of the book.

Life With Jesus

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Are you a Christian or curious about Christianity, but not really sure what following Jesus is about? Recommend this booklet for teens. Topics include God’s good news, church, union with Jesus, suffering, reading the Bible, prayer, money, dating and romance, and sharing the good news.

Chapters contain a life scenario, Bible passage, study questions, and a brief explanation. Suitable for new and mature Christians, and those who are curious.

Tim Chester has written many books about the Bible, including: 1 Samuel For You, 2 Samuel For You, Isaiah For You, and Enjoying God, and more.

The Briefing

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As a supplement to your student’s education, I recommend The Briefing from Dr. Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky. This is the best daily analysis of major news and events from a Christian worldview. Hundreds of thousands listen every day, including many middle and high school students.

It’s broadcast daily on podcast and video formats.

The Briefing

Example:

The Remains of the Day

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Based on a book of the same title, this movie is about a man who was dedicated to his job, but tragically ignored what was most important. The story is set in England just before World War II, and shows the consequences of feckless leadership. Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson’s acting is a tour de force. Highly recommended for 11th and 12th grade students.

Secretary Rubio’s Athens Speech

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a speech near the Acropolis of Athens about America’s ancient Greek heritage. He connected classical Greek contributions with Western realities such as the quest for truth, exploration, and the pursuit of excellence. Secretary Rubio emphasized the need for pride, strength, and courage, warning that many in the West lost the will to survive, while enemy militaries grew strong, and that the West is at a crossroad of decision.

A serious speech. I recommend it to middle and high school students.

The Hobbit

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Part of Bilbo did not want to leave his Hobbit hole. Not for a mountain of treasure or his friend Gandalf. He could not stand the thought of adventures: “Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!” But Bilbo’s adventurous side got the best of him.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel to The Lord of the Rings is a delightful children’s tale about courage, written two years before World War II. Deeply influenced by the heroic, ancient story of Beowulf, Bilbo confronts a dragon and many other perils.

Who can forget Bilbo’s escape from the Misty Mountains and goblins? His encounter with the giant spiders and their sticky webs? Their journey through dark Mirkwood? Bilbo’s descent into the Lonely Mountain’s side door and down the dark, hot tunnel? And Thorin Oakenshield’s injustice and redemption? With every step, Bilbo’s courage grew, though he often longed for home, tea, and chair.

Bilbo did not start with courage. But like a muscle, it grew with use. And love of the good fueled it. Though not a warrior and underappreciated by his party, Bilbo rose to the occasion, surprising all with his resourcefulness, conviction, and bravery.

A beloved tale with lessons in courage in every chapter, the story climaxes in an epic battle for the Lonely Mountain’s treasure. Tolkien’s personal experience of World War I deepened his writing of battle. Tales of sacrifice, maneuver, charge, desperate action, gloom, and hope permeate the story and reach readers young and old alike.

Tolkien tells a timeless tale of courage: it comes from the unlikeliest of places and can turn the tide for the good.

The Elements of Rhetoric

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A young person should keep a few short books handy. The Elements of Rhetoric is one of them. It provides a crash course in writing and speaking well.

Good persuasion has been cast away, and with it, much beauty and good, the author believes. The author covers the elements of persuasion: logos, pathos, and ethos, or the grammar, logic, emotion, and character of the speaker. Then, the author turns to the considerations and mechanics of planning, organizating, and delivering a speech or essay. Special attention is paid to devices that make a speech easier to hear.

The book is memorable, harmonizing rules of speech with examples and drawing on greats like Cicero, Augustine, Shakespeare, and Dickens. Importantly, it provides practical exercises for students who want to improve.

It’s a beautiful and enlightening work. The author is clearly a practitioner and teacher of the topic, and shares much wisdom about speaking truthfully and beautifully. Highly recommended gift for middle and high school students.

Death on the Nile

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Only the Bible and Shakespeare outsell Agatha Christie. She is the best-selling and most translated fiction writer. Known for Whodunit murder mysteries, her page-turning stories hook readers with suspense and plot twists.

Death on the Nile is a prime example. Set in Egypt on the Nile, a young, beautiful traveler is murdered, and the observant detective Hercule Poirot endeavors to identify who did it. Cases and possible motives emerge across several characters, and complications arise, but the theories fall short. Will the observant, wise, and arrogant detective find out the truth?

Murder mysteries like Death on the Nile are not only entertaining, but they take evil, crime, truth, order, and justice seriously. Poirot warns one character, “Do not allow evil into your heart; it will make a home there…” And like an archaeologist, the detective sought to brush away debris to find the “naked shining truth.” Crime novels, like Christie’s, have been noted as products of Christian cultures, which hold truth and justice in high regard.

The book contains swearing. I recommend it for no younger than 10th grade.

Ben-Hur (1959 Film)

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An epic story: a Jewish prince seeks to free his nation from Roman oppression, but a childhood friend and military tribune wrongly imprisons his family and condemns him to the gallows. While seeking revenge, he meets the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who gives him a priceless gift.

Lew Wallace, a Civil War general, wrote what became the top-selling fiction story of the 1800s. The story’s prose is clear and compelling, and its elements and plot form an epic that ranks with the greats. The 1959 movie won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The movie’s characters, music, set, and story combine to make an overwhelmingly moving experience.

I highly recommend the movie for middle and high school students.

Wisdom and Eloquence

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This wonderful book helps Christian educators and parents understand the original purpose of liberal arts education and how it ought to be practiced in light of classical and Christian teaching for the good of students and society.

Education, in the classical sense, sought to prepare individuals for lifelong and “self-directed learning” (p. 29). Greek and Roman educators sought to produce wise, eloquent future leaders who would benefit the city and society.

The authors are classical educators; their thesis is that the trivium (i.e., grammar, logic, and rhetoric), the primary building blocks of classical education, must be taught from day one and throughout a child’s education. This includes the quadrivium, or the mathematical arts.

They also recommend that teachers and homeschooling parents educate their students by keeping the end in mind. This means setting out what a student should know and be able to do by grade 12 and working backward.

The book summarizes what the parts of the trivium (language arts) and the quadrivium (mathematical arts) entail and require. It summarizes classical subjects and curriculum, though not in step-by-step detail.

Appendix B, “The Liberal Arts Tradition in the Public Square: A Historical Apologetic for the Liberal Arts,” was outstanding. It offers a brief history of classical education, focusing on the ancient debate regarding the use and value of rhetoric versus philosophy. Most importantly, it explores Augustine of Hippo’s thoughts on rhetoric for Christian education and ministry. In short, truth and wisdom surpass eloquence, though practical eloquence is essential for helping Christians grow.