The ark as a symbol of the Christian School


Of course, the story of Noah and the ark has much that is clearly appealing to young children.  Among the attractive elements are:
  • the colours of the rainbow
  • the animals
  • varieties of weather
  • a charming story line — we all love  a good story.
There can be no wonder that toy arks and Noah picture books are such great favourites.

Going beyond this, the ark is a symbol of the school itself.  Cornelius van Til (1895-1987) was a very significant Dutch American theologian.  He was the teacher of Francis Schaeffer and a seminal influence.  He had a particular interest in education and wrote this: “What an easily intelligible symbol the ark that Noah built is of the unified culture of Christians, who unify their efforts in the family, in the church and in the school, about the all-comprehensive redemptive work of Christ.”  These words are not perhaps quite so ‘easily intelligible’ to us – his writing is quite difficult to understand!

Van Til goes on, “In particular, what an easily intelligible symbol the ark of Noah is of the Christian school as it lives by the grace of God and then unites the various aspects of human culture….”  The ark is a suitable symbol because it speaks of
  • Divine provision.  The ark was God’s provision for Noah and his family and in deed for the future of humanity.  We should regard Christian schools as the provision of the Lord for believers and for many others beside.
  • Shelter and safety.  Conspicuously, Noah and all in the ark were safe.  It might not have been very comfortable; one may suppose it would have been smelly and sometimes scary, but at least it was safe, and the only safe place to be.  In days when our world is a frightening place, awash with all sorts of hazards and dangers especially for the young, the Christian school provides a refuge.  It is a place where the very young, and those who are young but regard themselves as worldly-wise (adolescents), can be protected from moral and spiritual threats.
  • a distinctive culture.  This is the main thrust of what van Til says.  There is a completely different culture in the ark in comparison with that among those who remain outside.  The whole worldview is markedly different. Those outside are careless concerning the impending disaster and content to go on as if there were no moral and spiritual issue to be faced.  Those in the ark, even if they are not personally committed to God, even if they are full of doubt about Him and the future, they are under the banner of the Judge and Redeemer.  The prevailing ethos focuses on a new start that excludes violence and yields to the Lordship of God.
At Mr Noah’s Nursery School a deliberately Christian culture is expressed in the stated values:
  • Loving one another.
  • gentle Living
  • Learning together
It is not imagined that Christians have a monopoly of these aspirations, but these three certainly represent core Biblical ideals.  Everyone knows that love is the duty of Christians; men are represented in Scripture as having responsibility to look after the world and to handle it as careful stewards; we are called to be disciples — the very word means learners.

Then let us return to the story-line of the ark’s journey.  The ark is a perfect vehicle for the Christian message.  All the essential elements of the gospel are present.  There is sin, judgment, and destruction and salvation. There is revelation and covenant.  Children who engage with the narrative imbibe the categories and concepts of Christianity.  A great obstacle to our contemporaries receiving the gospel is that the very thought patterns are foreign and as incomprehensible as an unfamiliar language.  C S Lewis said that his purpose in writing the Chronicles of Narnia was that children who heard them read, or who read them for themselves, would become familiar with the themes of good and evil, victory and defeat, justice and mercy, and even of Christ and the devil, so that later in life, hearing the gospel, they would recognise all these things.  The story of Noah and the ark introduces the Christian gospel in bold symbolic form in precisely the same way.

*This is the substance of the address given at the Mr Noah’s Nursery School AGM on 6th June 2013 when Dave Donkin’s beautiful and provocatively quirky model of the ark was unveiled.  This fascinating ornament sits in the centre of the room as a label, the room being named ‘The Ark’