True education means that development of the intellectual qualities which facilitate thought. Popular education is a mere exercise of memory. To store away facts without the power to assimilate them is the grand elevating process that is to lift our youth by platoons to the same plane.

Memory, however necessary it is to secure information, is not the mind. On the contrary, when made monstrous by over use and stimulation, it eventually destroys the intellectual facilities it meant to aid.

The impatient child of genius who doubts or disputes the fact given to him to swallow is plucked and expelled while the dull plodding fellow who pigeon holes away a vast store of facts he cannot comprehend is graduated.

The student of books who learns to attribute intellectual motives to human action, finds himself alone and at a loss when dealing with the masses.

A mother’s love and a father’s care train good citizens and give stability to the government. We are enthusiastic over common schools and public institutions and firmly determined to make the pedagogue do the duty of the parent.

The popular superstition that tells us that teaching a child from books elevates its nature, and is all that is called for in the way of training, is curing itself through the most costly of learning, that of experience.

The mind is the most subtle, delicate, and important part of us and yet we turn this over to the stupid pedagogue who is capable of teaching precisely in proportion as he is incapable of other pursuits.

The common schools are worst than Godless; they are idolatrous, for the false god worshipped is memory.

For years I’ve struggled to eloquently express my deep frustration with the educational system in our country. Little did I know that men like Donn Piatt explored this issue nearly a century earlier in an era where home-based schooling was the norm and widespread state-funded and sponsored public schooling was still a new and hotly debated concept.

I’ve also included an additional lesson set titled “greekBasics” which includes flashcards for the Greek alphabet.

Here are some screenshots:

You can find Bible Flashcards in the Android app Market by entering “Bible Flashcards” or by scanning the barcode below:

Additionally, if you are interested in helping out with new lessons or if you would like to provide feedback, please feel free to email me.

While I won’t dare to compile an exhaustive list, I will take my cue from Jeff and list a few favorite sermons by some guys I greatly admire (some of whom are pastors). Sorry, these guys aren’t as dynamic and energetic in most cases as Jeff’s list² but I’m sure yall will enjoy them all the same.

First, some one-hit-wonders³:

John Brandon

Excellent lecture titled “Telling the Truth in the Business World” where he describes, among other things, standing up for Christ in the world of corporate America. He has been/is the CEO of some pretty major corporations (like Adobe) and his stories are pretty inspiring as well as challenging.

Mary Poplin

Excellent lecture titled “Radical Marxist, Radical Womanist, Radical Love: What Mother Teresa Taught Me about Social Justice” where she describes her radical transformation from an extremely liberal worldview to a conservative Christian all while maintaining a strong focus and commitment to issues of social justice. Her testimony is absolutely amazing.

Scott Klusendorf

Has an excellent method of defending the lives of the unborn against abortion via a handy mnemonic device that uses the acronym of SLED.

As a bonus you should also listen to the agnostic Serrin Foster‘s lecture on the feminist case against abortion.

Bruce Little

We had the pleasure of meeting Dr Little when he came to our church in North Augusta for a conference on “God, Evil, and Suffering”. His teaching on such a touchy subject was extremely insightful. Since it’s something everyone in this world deals with, and the biggest objection to a Christian God, I think everyone should take time to explore this subject.

Now for some people you might just want to bookmark:

Os Guiness

Os is a member of the beer-making family of the same name (which alone makes him worthy of note in my book) and a student of Francis Schaeffer (another awesome pastor). He has worked extensively in the academic and political communities and has

William Lane Craig

Dr. Craig actually lives here in Atlanta⁴ but speaks all over the world on a wide range of topics. He is known widely as the bane of atheists and in his many debates (literally hundreds) they (that is, the atheists themselves) only credit his opponents with a handful of marginal victories. One of his best lectures is entitled “Religious Epistemology” and while it is a bit heavy it is extremely useful in combating common “God of the gaps” and “religion is merely wish fulfillment” and “you can’t claim to actually know anything of a religious nature”

Greg Koukl

Greg’s lessons on tactics to defend the faith and never read a verse are things I wish every Christian would take to heart. He also co-authored a book with Francis Beckwith (another great Christian) titled “Relativism: Feet firmly planted in mid-air” which gives a great description and prescription for the current age and climate of our culture.

Peter Kreeft

A Catholic philosopher who has a great lesson on ecumenism without compromise (even though I disagree, obviously, with his assertion about the Roman Catholic Church, his approach and focus on healing the body of Christ is, I think, spot-on). He also has many excellent lessons on CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien (particularly the Lord of the Rings saga). One of the best things he’s produced in my opinion, however, is a mock dialog he has with Socrates⁵.

Gary Habermas

Habermas can almost be compared to a broken record. All of his messages are about the resurrection and it’s historicity and even though that may sound dull and boring, he brings a considerable amount of scholarship to bear on the subject and manges to make it extremely interesting at the same time. Because of his narrow subject matter he manages to cut right to the chase and has been instrumental in convincing hardened skeptics like Anthony Flew that there is indeed truth to what the Bible (and we) proclaim.

Alvin Planginga

One of the foremost Christian philosophers alive today. His material is extremely dense (just ask Beth) but it is also very useful in debate and edifying if you have any questions in the realm of “how do I know what I know” and “can anyone really know anything spiritual?” His series on “Warrant and Proper Function” is absolutely foundational to any study on epistemology.

Ken Myers

Ken is a former NPR reporter who runs a ministry named “Mars Hill Audio”. He recently gave a great lecture at SEBTS on the comprehensive character of Christian discipleship (part 2) where he argues that we, as Christians, need to be more culturally aware and able to, as Isiah says, “understand the age”.

I think I’ll break it here and add more later, enjoy!

1. I say mostly because there is an age gap in our group so some of the people listed I don’t really consider contemporary anymore but I digress…
2. Since Jeff’s a bit of a charismatic, his list included some pretty lively characters.
3. Not that these people haven’t done much, I simply call them one-hit-wonders because I haven’t found a lot from them. What I have found, though, makes me  wish I could. So if you know of any more material from these people, by all means, let me know!
4. In fact, he teaches a Sunday School class (The Defenders) at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. Sadly, people don’t bust down the doors to get into his Sunday School classroom like they do Jimmy Carter.
5. That I’m currently unable to find a link to for some reason…