Biblical Philosophy of Education - Research Paper Example

? Biblical Philosophy of Education (Add (Add (Add Biblical Philosophy of Education Introduction According to the Biblical concept of education, truth is God and hence, the sole purpose of education is to know God. As God communicates through the revelations in Bible, it remains the primary source of knowledge for humans. Other subjects are all learned in the effort to know God and his glory better and to serve him better. While education in the worldly sense is the end, according to Biblical philosophy, education is only the way; the way to truth, that is God. The Purpose of Education According to the Biblical message, the purpose of education is to increase in the knowledge of God and to subject the Earth and the Sea and the Sky to Gods glory. To illustrate, it is stated in Habakkuk 2:14 that “Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”. A look into John 8:31-32 gives further clarification to the issue. It states “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Evidently, the purpose of Christian education is to become the Disciples of Christ by knowing the truth. Education has no meaning except as it relates to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. To illustrate, Matthew 16:26 states, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” A similar notion comes from Ecclesiastes 1:14, which states “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Philippians 3:8 proclaims “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ”. Evidently, the main purpose of education is to know God. Education will either be biblical and edifying to that relationship with Jesus, or it will be ‘the wisdom of this world’ and hence anti-Christ; it cannot be neutral. The first priority of learning is to know God. “And this is eternal life that may know you, the only true god, and Jesus Christ Whom you have sent” (John 17:3). The second main point evident from the biblical philosophy is that education should support our proclamation of the truth. For example, 1Peter 3:15 states “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” The third purpose of education is that it should facilitate our service to God and to people (Matthew 22:37-39), and the fourth purpose is that it should equip us to watch out that no one deceives us (Mathew 24:4, 5). However, if someone is to believe that the Bible is against using education as a means of livelihood, it is necessary to look into Genesis. It states, learning should equip us to work for a living and to support our families (Genesis 3:19). In addition, Proverbs 31:10-31 shows how skilled the wife of a noble character is. She does a number of works ranging from selecting wool and flax, and works with eager hands. Evidently, Bible is not against using skills and education as a means to survive, but it only glorifies the same. For evidence, 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 says that “man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”. In order to understand the purpose of education in a church perspective, one should listen to Colossians 1:17. It states, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together”. Thus, it is evidently said that true knowledge is possible only when it is grounded in God. In other words, the ones who do not acknowledge this fail in their interpretation of facts. A look into the Colossians 2: 2-10 will prove what the purpose of education is. It goes “my purpose is that they may…know the mystery of god, namely Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine sounding arguments. So, then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him…See to it that no one takes you captive through deceptive and hollow philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ who is the head over every power and authority”. Admittedly, schools teach various techniques, mechanisms and skills. However, the contents, values, purposes and meaning that are not rooted in Christ are inimical to God as it is rightly said by Matthew 12:30 that ‘he who is not with me is against me’. Thus, through education, we demolish arguments and even pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Thus, what one gets from the analysis is that the purpose of education is a God-centered living, which, in the opinion of De Beer & Jaarsma (1958), includes understanding God, self-understanding, a responsible civic and social behavior, and, vocational effectiveness. Here, Rev. Prof. Lee (2001), presents a totally new concept of Christian education. According to him, the word ‘education’ had its birth from the Latin words ‘e’ and ‘duco’ which together mean ‘I lead out of’. However, in the modern sense, education means both education and inducation. In other words, both ‘draw out of someone’ and ‘put into someone’. Thus, the best way to describe education is to encourage the development of knowledge and virtues in a human being by incorporating them into the personality of the students. Thus, in the words, of Lee (2001), Christian education is the process of education and inducation which is pursued in accordance with the incarnated and the inscripturated Word of God. In other words, the way one can differentiate between common education and Christian education is that the latter is a humanitarian discipline which educates or extracts and develops those individual gifts given to each person by God. Thus, evidently, in order to achieve this knowledge, humans require knowledge, and in fact, specialized knowledge of the Earth, the Sea and the Sky and of the God who created and redeemed everything. Hence, it becomes evident that humans require instructions too. In religion, one needs instructions to learn about the Creator, in philosophy, to learn about the Creation, and in mathematics, to learn how to count God’s creations, and science to learn about the qualities of various things God has created. Now, it is necessary to see who the ones who are destined to educate are and the necessary qualities in them in the light of Holy Bible. In the opinion of Cates(n.d), one can say that in order to become good disciples of Jesus, there are six purposes of education to be fulfilled. They are; to know the importance of having a right relationship with God, to acknowledge the blessings of God, to know the history of God’s dealings with mankind, to gain academic knowledge to help others, to have biblical knowledge to evaluate worldly matters, and to bring all thoughts into religious obedience. About teachers Evidently, God proclaims that He is the Supreme Teacher and is the center of all knowledge. He says “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). However, there are various other people too who are directed to instruct each other. A look into the Bible shows various instances where it is said that the people who are to the church are responsible to edify and equip one another (Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 4:11-13, Titus 2:3). The second point as evident from the Bible is that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truths (John 16:13). Thirdly, one can see many places where parents are directed to teach their children. For example, in Proverbs 1:8, it is said “My son, hear the instruction of your father and do not forsake the law of your mother.” Moreover, John 5:19 shows “he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. According to Lee (2001), parents are the first and the most important teachers of Christian education under God. They are irreplaceable because only Adam and Eve could have educated Cain, Abel and Seth, because they were the only human beings around at that time. Admittedly, it is necessary to have a method to know what one is going from, and what one is going towards. In the words of Evearitt(n.d), According to Christianity, God is the center of all truth, and the duty of teachers is to communicate his truth. As a result, the Christian teacher is a medium who has a high and holy view of his or her role. One can see the Bible instructing people to become teachers by setting themselves as examples in front of others. To illustrate, Titus 2:7-8 states “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” Evidently, here, the teacher has been directed to lead such a life that demonstrates integrity and dignity and sound speech. The second role of the teacher is to give a student proper direction in life and make the student firm in the decisions. For example, Proverbs says “train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it”, and similarly, Psalm says “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you”. Now, regarding the nature of the teachers, it is said “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…(Matthew 20:26-28). Christian teachers are not supposed to behave like masters, but like servants. In other words, politeness and loyalty in dealings are two essential features of the teachers. In the opinion of Paul & Schutte (2002) it is the duty of teachers to shelter children from the influences of outside forces that influence their morality. The Curriculum Since God is the source of all truth, then all truth is God’s truth. Thus, evidently, as the purpose of education is to know truth, it is to know God. For Christians, the primary source of truth is God’s revelation. This revelation is available through the Inspired Word, through God’s creations, and through human reasoning enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Thus, evidently, the basis of Christian education must include God’s revelation through His creations and written words. In order to understand His revelations in his creations, one should learn science like physics and chemistry to understand the nature of the things, mathematics to count them, and language to demonstrate them. As God is central in the universe, and as He is the source of all truth, admittedly all subject matter is related to God. Thus, the revelations from God must be the subject matter, and being the primary source of God’s revelations, Bible must be the central subject in the curriculum. Thus, one gets the insight that the inspired words from the Bible should function as the integrating and correlating factor in all subjects that are taught at the school. Here, one can see two functions of the Bible. Firstly, it provides content and knowledge of its own, and secondly, it provides a service function to other subjects. In other words, it is necessary to apply the principles of Bible to other subjects in order to evaluate the claim to truth from those subjects. Thus, one gets a broad idea of what Christian education should be. Christian education is based on the premise that all truth is God’s truth, and hence the knowledge from al other subjects should be evaluated in the light of the Holy words of God. Though it does not mean that Bible is a book that contains all subjects, yet it functions as a reference point from which one can evaluate all other areas and sources of knowledge. From the above analysis, it becomes evident that in the case of curriculum, the philosophy is that all subjects are usable for knowledge but should remain in harmony with the primary source; that is the Word of God. It is rightly said that “he who is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). Evidently, a knowledge that is not in peace with the Bible is against Christianity. In total, the school curriculum should be something that helps the students grow deeper in faith. Nature of the Learning Process Admittedly, learning is understood as the personal and intentional need or wish to acquire and integrate knowledge. Unlike the worldly notion of education that considers knowledge as the end, religion considers knowledge as the way to the ultimate truth that is God. So, learning is considered as something personal. In order to ensure this growth in God, and to make them “followers of God” (Eph. 5:1), usually, the imitation of God’s nature is encouraged at schools. So, an important aspect of imparting education is to make them interested and skilled in service. In other words, students are taught various subjects; science, humanities, general studies, or vocational studies, and they are all intended to make the student a better servant of God. So, in Christian education, students learn not only about mind, but also about body. They learn the fact that their bodies must not be abused or neglected but developed and disciplined for the service of God and presented to Him for His use and His glory (Rom. 12:1-2, Cor. 6:20). Here, it becomes evident that the role of teacher in education is very important because the perfection with which a student imitates God is based on the success of the teacher in imitating God, because it is said in John 8:31-32 “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Evidently, for the teachers, there is no way to deviate from the His teachings, and thus for the students too. The Learners Admittedly, the aim of the educational process is to improve the student, a unique individual created for a specific purpose in God’s plan. If the student is not qualified and motivated, it will be difficult for him or her to play a cooperative role. In the opinion of Taylor (n.d), without a willing student, Christian education will not be fruitful. Admittedly, as Apostle Paul reminds, the ‘old man’ in one or the ‘flesh’ which indicates the carnal attitudes and inclinations, can hinder the spiritual growth of a student. So, it is for the student to have a pure heart and a willing mind. With these qualities and proper instruction, the student will grow in knowledge. As He has promised, “the pure in heart shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) In addition, it is said that the diligent search for knowledge will be rewarded (Proverbs, 2:3-5). Here, it is necessary to remember the fact that Christianity considers qualities like fear of God and discipline as two very important qualities a student should possess. Proverbs rightly claim “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7) It is pointed out that the students of Christian education are all people who are born inside the Covenant of Grace and especially children, and it should be remembered in Christian education that all Christians are conceived in sin, and as far as they are not born again, the will not be able to see the Kingdom of God. But by God’s grace, they are saved sinners unlike other non-Christian children. Yet another point to be remembered here is that each child is a unique creation of God. As each person is created in resemblance to God, each child deserves special attention; first because of the godliness in the child, and secondly because of the uniqueness of each child. In addition, as each child is unique, each of them has different talents, and they should not be restricted from developing individual skills by a rigid curriculum. Thus, evidently, what Christian schools should attempt is a total educational approach in which the whole child is educated, which includes religious education, moral education, intellectual education, and physical education. Conclusion In total, it becomes evident that Christian education is an effort to be a good disciple of God. In other words, education is meant to acquire knowledge to become useful tools of God. As truth is God, gaining knowledge means knowing God. Also, it is evident that a knowledge that is not in harmony with the God’s revelations is not knowledge, but deception. Gaining education will help one to safeguard oneself from such deception. References Beer, J. D & Jaarsma, C. (1958). Toward a Philosophy of Christian Education. National Union of Christian Schools. 1-25. Retrieved from http://www.calvin.edu/academic/education/news/publications/monoweb/debeer~1.pdf Cates, P. W. (n.d). A Christian philosophy of education. Transforming Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.transformingteachers.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=196 Evearitt, T. C. (n.d). The role of the Christian teacher. Retrieved from http://www.acsi.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=dkjPqC20B4I%3D&tabid=681 Lee, F. N. (10 March, 2001). The biblical theory of Christian education. 1-23. Retrieved from http://www.dr-fnlee.org/docs3/btoce/btoce.pdf Paul & Schutte, M. (2002). Developing a biblical philosophy of education. 1-23. Retrieved from http://mysite.verizon.net/res1cii2/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/developingabiblicalphilosophyofeducation.pdf Taylor, V. J. W. (n.d). A Biblical foundation for the integration of faith and learning. 395-406. Retrieved from http://www.aiias.edu/ict/vol_27/27cc_395-407.pdf Read More