Statement of Faith

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Tapestry of Grace

An integrated, classical approach to educating your children.

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Our Statement of Faith and

the Theological Underpinnings of Tapestry of Grace

Tapestry of Grace is a distinctively Christian curriculum without being exclusive.

We believe that God created time and space for His own glory, and that He is unfolding history to accomplish His perfect purposes for His people. Our passion for learning is a direct expression of our passion for God, as we seek to love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength.

We believe that it honors God for us to learn the truth that He has revealed in Scripture, in nature, and in history, whether that truth fits into our preconceived notions or not. Some parts of history make us feel good about ourselves, and others make us feel ashamed. Our reason for studying history is not to make ourselves feel good, however, but to learn from the experiences of others more about God's character and more about our own frailties and calling. We want God to receive the glory He deserves for all His mighty acts in history. Therefore we seek to study the full scope of church history, at age-appropriate levels.

We love our own church, which is an unusual mix of Puritan theology and charismatic practice. (See the Sovereign Grace Ministries website for more information! We would also fully agree with the Statement of Faith posted there.) As much as we love the Puritans, and seek to learn from their deep wisdom, we recognize that they made many mistakes (like beheading their lawful sovereign, Charles I, in their impatience, for example). We seek to learn from their mistakes, not repeat them. We hope that Christians in every orthodox tradition will preserve what is good and learn from regrettable incidents in their own heritage.

Our position in presenting Tapestry is to remain historically accurate and biblically oriented. Tapestry guides present accounts of the events of history in the main body of the Teacher's Notes, and "commentary" or "in-depth information" in the sidebars. The commentary primarily consists of excerpts from Scripture. Each parent is left to determine for their children how they will interpret the juxtaposition of historical events and these Scriptures.

A primary emphasis in our Teacher's Notes and Student Activity Page questions is the frequent noting of evidence of God's sovereignty in history (which will trouble no true believer in God). It is our belief that children need to be led in "connecting the dots" of the events of history with both Scripture and a sense of the loving, active presence of God in world events. It is our aim to strengthen in them a sense of both humility and destiny as they view the sweeping majesty of God acting in HIS story.

Men and women who love God still sin; no expression of the body of Christ has been without sin. Our position is that if children are taught to view the sins or errors of others with compassion (there but for the grace of God go I!) and a biblical interpretation (such as "when I would do good, evil is right there with me," or various other Scriptures that warn against the love of money and the quest for worldly power), they will both be warned of their own human tendency to sin, and become compassionate, but accurate, historians.

The author of Tapestry of Grace is Protestant, and is therefore most aware of good Protestant resources for Church History. Church History readings are broken out in the Reading Assignment Charts as separate entities. Therefore, those who wish to study Church History from a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox position can easily substitute resources written from their perspective. Tapestry provides website space for Catholic and Eastern Orthodox users to exchange resource ideas below (click on the appropriate label to see them). Tapestry can bear no responsibility for the content of these resources because we do not have the time or expertise to review them.

Our sincere hope is that through these pages, we can all grow in our understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, come, and magnify the Lord with us, and let us exalt His name together!

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Roman Catholic resources.

Greek Orthodox alternate resources.