THE FIRST AGORA OF WESTMINSTER

This is a picture of the ancient Agora in Athens, Greece. Agora is a form of the Greek word 'Agorazo' which means "to buy" - hence the meaning, marketplace. The Agora was much more than a marketplace; it was the center of Greek society, and it was the place where "the" discussion and debate of the polis (a Greek city-state) took place.

This past Saturday night, at my house, several students, a parent, a doctor, a teacher and one head of school sat down to discuss the concept of truth. Discussions like these often take place at lunch but are always interrupted by time (the bell). We kicked around the idea of getting together outside of school to discuss and debate various topics, and Agora was born and finally fulfilled on Saturday night. This Agora was focused on the idea of truth, and the question: what is truth?

For almost two hours we discussed this idea of truth. We came away with a better understanding of how difficult it is to define truth, and that thinking critically is hard work. We did agree on some things. First, that absolute truth, which we called 'T" ruth, is only found in a Holy God, and it defines all other truths. We agreed that all other truths, which we called 't'ruth, are grounded in these three dimensions and subject to 'T'ruth. We discussed facts and standards and their relationships to both 't'ruth and 'T'ruth, and how many have elevated them to the status of 'T'ruth with little or no justification to do so. All in all, it was a great beginning to what I hope are many more to come.

The goal of Agora is to discuss topics in an inviting open environment with civility and the love of Christ. Saturday night only Christians came, but our hope is to expand and receive non-Christians as well as Christians in the future. We wish to engage students from other schools (we had one student from another school) and discuss the tough topics for one main reason: we trust that our God is mighty and the only answer to a hurting world.

Discussion and debate are both higher categories of thinking, and what we should be teaching our students as Christians. As adults they will need to discern and think in higher categories to root out false prophets, defend their faith, and continue to bring the gospel to the world.

So...stay tuned for details on the next Agora!