Computer programming? At a classical Christian school? When parents first hear of the idea, many are a bit surprised. Yet logic and computer science belong together far more naturally than most people expect, and a classical education turns out to be one of the best preparations a student can have for both. The same logic that orders a good argument orders a good program.
The Logic and Art of Computer Programming courses at Scholé Academy were built to bridge those two worlds by an instructor who holds an MA in Classical and Christian Studies and has taught computer science at the college level. The results have been remarkable. Students took their classical, Christian education and not only produced creative, useful programs, but also formed and expressed their own convictions about technology from a biblical and classical point of view, through discussion, essays, and fiction.
Consider, then, why it matters that students understand how the technology they use every day actually works. That understanding lets them keep these tools in their proper place, use them in a more advanced capacity, and think critically and biblically about how current and emerging technologies can be used to honor or dishonor our Lord.
In this post
- Why Teach Computer Programming at a Classical Christian School?
- What Is the Connection Between Logic and Computer Science?
- Learning Programming Logic Before Writing Code
- Thinking Biblically About Technology, AI, and Virtual Reality
- Essays and Dystopian Fiction: Putting Convictions Into Words
- What Classical Education Brings to Computer Science
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why Teach Computer Programming at a Classical Christian School?
From the beginning of man’s creation, God has set it in the human heart to create through technology. Within a few generations of Adam, Scripture names Jubal, “the father of all such as handle the harp and organ,” and Tubal-cain, “an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron” (Genesis 4:21-22). Making tools and instruments is part of what it means to bear the image of a Creator.
Technology has the power to be used for good and for evil, depending on the heart of the one who uses it. In the Scriptures we read of a city of sin called Babel, where men used the new technology of brick and mortar to build a tower “whose top may reach unto heaven,” for the exaltation of self and an ascent to heaven on their own terms (Genesis 11:3-4). Yet we also read of another city, the one Abraham looked for, “which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
There is no doubt that the technology of computers, along with a wide-ranging plethora of programs and applications, has transformed the way our world communicates and solves everyday problems. Like any technology, computer programming can be used for evil or for good, for the glory of man or of God. As Christians, we ought to use technology to serve our Creator and further His kingdom here on earth.
Most students, while familiar with using a computer, have never been taught the details of how one works, nor how to create a program of their own. They have not thought philosophically, classically, or biblically about the important cultural implications of these ever-changing technologies, or about the decisions those technologies will ask of them. A Christian approach to computer science begins by filling both gaps at once.
What Is the Connection Between Logic and Computer Science?
Logic is the study of valid reasoning: how true premises lead, step by step, to a sound conclusion. Computer science applies that same discipline to machines. Every program is a chain of precise logical steps, built from conditions, comparisons, and decisions, so a student trained in logic already knows how to think the way a programmer must think.
The connection is an old one. Aristotle laid out the syllogism in his Prior Analytics, and for centuries formal logic stood at the heart of the trivium, the liberal arts of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. In 1854 the English mathematician George Boole published An Investigation of the Laws of Thought, showing that logical reasoning could be written as algebra, with true and false as its only values. In his 1937 master’s thesis at MIT, Claude Shannon showed that Boole’s algebra could describe electrical switching circuits. That insight sits underneath every computer chip made since. The simple words of Boolean logic, AND, OR, and NOT, remain the grammar of modern computing.
So the classical student who has learned to define terms carefully, to test premises, and to follow an argument to its conclusion is already doing the work that programming logic requires. That is why a classical, rather than a modern, approach to programming makes such good sense.
Learning Programming Logic Before Writing Code
In the Logic and Art of Computer Programming courses, students step back from their familiar use of technology and, with a classical rather than modern approach, learn the logic behind computer programming: how computers work, and what logical processes they use. Before touching an actual programming language, they learn to develop their own programs in pseudocode and flowchart form.
The path through the course runs roughly like this:
- Understand the machine. Students learn how a computer stores information and follows instructions.
- Reason it out on paper. They design programs in pseudocode and flowcharts, the pure logic of a solution.
- Write real code. Using that logic, they build creative programs in multiple programming languages.
- Reflect on the tool. Through daily discussion and writing, they consider the place technology should hold in a Christian life.
Because they learn the logic first, students could easily pick up a new programming language on their own. This allows them to develop programs if they continue in the field of study, or to build tools to help in whatever field they enter in the future, since technology has now become an important part of every industry. Families can read the full description of The Logic of Computer Programming course on its course page.
What Students Built
Students created simulations of going to a restaurant, using a bank, and driving a car. They developed a shopping budget program and a gravity and velocity calculator, along with various basic games with graphics. Each project began as logic on paper before it became code on a screen.
Thinking Biblically About Technology, AI, and Virtual Reality
Every day, the class engaged in discussions about current and emerging technologies. Students did a great job articulating their beliefs and thinking critically about their own uses of technology, along with concerns and opportunities for the future. Ultimately, they saw that technology is a tool that Christians should be wise to use, but must never allow to take God’s place as an idol or to weaken our creative and thinking capacities. That kind of wisdom is what the classical tradition calls prudence, right judgment about the way things really are.
Though some in the world seek to use technology to build a utopia, a heaven on earth, or to rise to the status of gods, Christians should keep technology in its proper place.
Artificial Intelligence and the Image of God
Students discussed how technologies like artificial intelligence, if developed into artificial general intelligence or something close to it, could be used in an attempt to create a new, technologically based version of humanity “in our own image.” As Christians, we know that we are created in God’s image, that sin has marred that image, and that we are being redeemed by God. Anything we try to create in our own image, AI included, would carry our errors and corruption with it. Like any technology, AI can be a tool for specific purposes, but it should not be used to replace human beings or to attempt to create something superior to them.
This conviction is older than the computer itself. In 1843, Ada Lovelace published notes on the Analytical Engine, a general-purpose calculating machine that Charles Babbage designed but never finished. Her notes included a step-by-step method for the engine to calculate a series of numbers, which is why she is often called the first computer programmer. Yet even as she wrote that first program, she saw the machine’s limit clearly: the engine “has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform.” A computer, however advanced, carries out what its makers order. It does not originate as a person made in God’s image does. For more on discernment in an age of AI, see our reflection on seeking authentic wisdom in an age of artificial intelligence.
Virtual Reality and the Real World
Students also discussed virtual reality. It could serve as a tool to simulate reality in dangerous situations, such as training a pilot or a surgeon. It could also become a tool to build a utopian version of reality and escape into it, to the neglect of our physical world and the amplifying of humanity’s sinful tendencies.
Essays and Dystopian Fiction: Putting Convictions Into Words
Informed by class discussions about their own personal use of technology and the technologies now emerging, students wrote essays and dystopian science fiction short stories to illustrate their thoughts. They wrote about how they could serve God with their technology, and how they need to be careful not to over-depend on it or become addicted to its use. Learning to enjoy a good tool without being ruled by it is one form of temperance, the virtue that orders our desires.
Their stories imagined a future in which technology without limits, in the hands of sinful men and women, would lead to great oppression, slavery, and a mindless humanity. They also showed that in the midst of whatever the future holds, only God can give us true hope, liberty, and happiness.
What Classical Education Brings to Computer Science
It was a wonder to see how students took the classical and Christian foundations they already had and applied them to this area of study. It certainly attests to how such an education can help a student flourish in any field, by teaching them to think well and to love what is good, true, and beautiful. It also shows how beneficial it is to take that approach to every area of study.
Helping students understand modern technology in its historical context, along with how computers work, and walking them through the process of building programs themselves, gave them further insight into both the benefits and the dangers of technology. It also gave them confidence that they could use their knowledge to design tools that glorify and serve God. The habits behind that confidence are the ones classical students practice daily when they justify their answers and learn to reason in Socratic discussion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should Christian students learn computer programming?
Computers shape how the world communicates, works, and solves problems, and Christians are called to use every good tool in the service of God and neighbor. Learning to program helps students understand the technology they use daily, keep it in its proper place, and contribute wisely to its future rather than simply consuming it.
Is logic important for programming?
Yes. Every program is a sequence of logical steps, conditions, and decisions, and modern computing rests on Boolean logic. Students who have studied formal logic already know how to define terms, follow a chain of reasoning, and spot an error in it, which is most of what programming asks of them.
Can students learn programming without a computer?
They can begin that way. In the Logic and Art of Computer Programming courses, students first design programs in pseudocode and flowcharts, working out the logic of a solution before writing a line of code. With that foundation, moving into real programming languages comes much more easily.
What does classical education have to do with computer science?
Classical education trains students to reason carefully, to read and write well, and to ask what a thing is for. Those habits prepare them both to write programs and to think biblically about the role technology should play in human life.
Teaching Our Children to Shape the Future With Wisdom
Rather than being Luddites and rejecting technology entirely, let us teach our children to consider the technology they use from a classical, biblical point of view, and to use it well, in a way that glorifies God. Then they can help shape the future with wisdom, discernment, and creativity.
Families who would like their students to study logic and programming this way can learn more about The Logic of Computer Programming and The Art of Computer Programming courses, explore our upper school courses, or browse the full Scholé Academy course catalog.
