The Omnibus Classroom
My prayer for the students in The Omnibus Classroom echoes the prayer of Paul for the saints at Philippi: that in everything we read, study, discuss, recite, and sing, the students’ “love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that they may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11). To this end, each class begins with the writing and reciting of a verse from the Bible, a question and answer from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and a hymn from the Trinity Hymnal. As Tennyson writes in The Idylls of the King, “We needs must love the highest when we see it.”​
Curriculum and Philosophy
The Omnibus classes are offered to homeschooling high school students and are built around the Omnibus curriculum by Veritas Press. Over the course of four years the students will have read thousands of pages of great works of literature, history, and theology from classical civilizations to modern times. Great works from the classical civilizations include: The Odyssey, The Aeneid, and the Theban Trilogy. Great works from the medieval and reformation time periods include: The Inferno, Paradise Lost, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, and Pilgrim’s Progress. And the great works from the modern period include: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Little Women, and All Quiet on the Western Front. Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and C.S. Lewis are also well represented on the syllabi.
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As noted in the Hillsdale College course catalogue, "Investing time and effort in reading great literature, history, and theology prepares us for something beyond ourselves. Great books invite us to think about those times and places when our honor will be tested and when our souls will be revealed for what they are." With every book read for Omnibus we examine how the author answers the four worldview questions of origin, meaning, morality, and destiny, and seek to determine whether the author’s answers to these questions are consistent with the teachings of Scripture.
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Courses Taught
Teacher
Chris M. Blackwell
The Omnibus classes are taught by Chris Blackwell. Mr. Blackwell and his wife Jessica have six children, and Mr. Blackwell has taught classes for homeschoolers for nine years. Mr. Blackwell received his Bachelor of Arts from Taylor University where he majored in Biblical Studies and minored in Philosophy. He received his Masters of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Blackwells are members at First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina.
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