A few years ago, while working on my second book, Talking of Dragons, I decided to send the manuscript to Doug Wilson, a pastor and writer I have much admired and appreciated for a number of years. I sent an email to him, asking if he would be willing to read the manuscript, and, if he liked it, to consider writing an endorsement to appear on the book’s cover. I didn’t know Doug, and didn’t expect much from sending the book his way, knowing how extraordinarily busy someone in his position must be.
But I was wrong. Doug replied, stating that he would be happy to read the book, and that, moreover, he might be able to point me in the direction of someone else who might be interested in my work. I didn’t know at the time what that meant, but I was greatly encouraged by the email, so I sent him the manuscript. Doug did read it, and wrote a very kind blurb that did appear on the book once it was published later that year (you can read Doug’s endorsement here).
Then I found out what Doug had been talking about as far as pointing me towards his contact. He sent his blurb via email to Marlin Detweiler, founder of Veritas Press, and publisher of the Omnibus great books curriculum for 7th – 12th graders (Doug is one of the editors of the series, and had listed my book in the recommended reading section of a couple of the essays he had written for Omnibus II). Doug suggested to Marlin that I would be a good writer for Omnibus. Long story short, I was invited to write for Omnibus III: my task was to write the introductory material and general essay for Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.
Since then, I have also written essays and class sessions for Omnibus V (Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, Marco Polo’s Travels, and Shakespeare’s Othello), and, most recently, the final volume (due out sometime this year), Omnibus VI (C.S. Lewis’ Ransom Trilogy, McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom, and Melville’s Moby Dick).
I love and highly recommend the Omnibus series (and not just because of my involvement in the project). Omnibus (meaning “all-encompassing”) is an integrated approach to the study of theology, literature, and history. A student who goes through all six years of Omnibus will get a thorough education in the great books of the Western world, as well as going through every book of the Bible. The historical eras of our civilization are covered twice in the six years, following this pattern:
Omnibus I: Biblical and Classical Civilizations
Omnibus II: Church Fathers Through the Reformation
Omnibus III: Reformation to the Present
Omnibus IV: The Ancient World
Omnibus V: The Medieval World
Omnibus VI: The Modern World
We educate our kids at home, and my oldest child, Grace, is ten. When she’s about twelve, we plan to start her in on Omnibus I. I for one am greatly looking forward to it. This series provides great benefits to adults as well. A friend of mine recently told me he was planning to start going through Omnibus on his own, just to have a good guide through many of the great books that he has always wanted to read—and we are reminded here of Mark Twain’s true witticism (though he was quoting someone else) that a “classic” is a book that everyone wants to have read, but no one wants to read.
Each chapter in Omnibus focuses on a single “great book” or “classic.” The chapter begins with a Prologue, which is a “hook” to get the reader interested: sometimes written in fictional form, sometimes just invoking a fascinating question or scenario, as a way to spark the interest of the reader.
Then follows several General Information sections: Author and Context, Significance, Main Characters, and Summary and Setting. This is then followed by the main “meat” of the chapter: the Worldview essay, which explores the work from a Biblical and Christian worldview. The chapter concludes with the class sessions (question answers and additional material are available on the teacher’s CD-Rom, included with the teacher’s edition of the book).
The classes encourage discussion, deeper delving into the artistry, worldview, and historical context of the book, and often creativity on the part of the student (through writing assignments, including poetry and short stories, and the like). This was challenging for me, as an Omnibus writer, because, if I assigned, say, a short story in one of the classes, I had to write one myself, to serve as an example for inspiration.
The number of class sessions depends on whether the book is a Primary or Secondary book: “Primary” books are the Biblical books, books of history, and literary or theological works of particular significance. “Secondary” books are those works that, while important, are not quite as central as the Primary books.
Students are always reading two books at the same time (well, you know what I mean): one Primary book, and one Secondary book. Omnibus is a serious education in itself, drawing students into the Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Worlds, but with a critical eye: there is no slavish bowing before important books just because they are ancient, or written by Greeks, or whatever. Students learn to think: to think like Christians, about every aspect of the world. As Christians, we hope to raise, not just kids who can grow up to get a cushy job and make a good living, but kids who can grow up to be dangerous: who can leave their mark on the world, for the glory of God. Omnibus is a key part of our family's strategy for doing just that.
Writing for Omnibus required a high level of excellence from me as a writer. I hope I produced chapters worthy of this fine project. My thanks to Doug Wilson, Marlin Detweiler, and editors Ty Fischer and Gene Edward Veith for the opportunity to be involved in such a worthy endeavor.
I strongly encourage every parent to make Omnibus a part of your child's education, whether you homeschool, or just want to supplement what they're learning in the classroom. Check out a free preview of Omnibus III (including my chapter on Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea) at Google Books.
And when you're ready to go for it, you can pick up the books at Christian Book Distributors.
