All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

— II Timothy 3:16-17

LESSON 4 — ASSIGNMENTS

Readings

Lesson 4

Reflections and Writing

Begin your Biblical study of education by completing Word Studies on the following words from the definition of education:

Instruction
Discipline
Understanding
The four active verbs in the definition
Habit
Art
Science

In the light of God’s Word, build your reasoning and thinking upon the following questions:

Who is God? What are the characteristics of His nature?
What is the nature of man?
Why does man need a Savior?
What is the role of parents in education?
What is the role of the teacher?
What is America’s Christian heritage in education?
What is the fruit of American Christian education?
How will you evaluate education?

Using the chart for “Establishing a Christian Philosophy of Education,” pp. 103-104, identify and write the qualities and principles for the Leading Ideas on the chart. This exercise, although it will take time and reflective thought, is the most important step toward renewing your mind concerning education and establishing your own definition and philosophy of education.

EDUCATION—A WHOLE VIEW

Definition of Education:

It is extremely important to thoroughly understand the meaning of education from a Biblical Christian worldview. Noah Webster, father of American education and scholarship, was a master philologist who defined words by researching their root meanings in the original languages and in the Bible. His American Dictionary of the English Language (1828) is a valuable and one-of-a-kind study tool for all American Christians. His definition of education should be memorized by all pastors, parents, and educators:

education, noun, [L. educatio].

The bringing up, as of a child; instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and from the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.

Compare this definition of education with the definition from any contemporary dictionary.

Christian education requires that God’s covenant people place His commands and precepts at the heart of teaching and learning This develops our ability to reason with the revelation of God’s Word as a habit of learning. A search of the Scriptures reveals that a true educational experience for God’s people was meant to be an education with a difference! It has at its heart the standard of holiness—of separation from all other peoples in order to wholly belong to God. The Book of Leviticus is the “book of holiness” and contains God’s commands for holy living. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy. (Leviticus 19:1-2)

The object and aim of this kind of education are the knowledge of God and submission to the authority of His Divine Word. When God’s Living Word is at the heart of education, it produces the following:

Renews and consecrates the mind;
Illumines the pathway of thinking and reasoning;
Reveals God’s principles and purpose for every subject;
Provides the methods by which the will be imparted;
Builds a Biblical Christian world and life view based upon the presuppositions of the Bible within the student.

Gaining the Mind of Christ in Education

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up on him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him.”

— Colossians 2:6-10

The word philosophy comes from the Latin root which means “to love wisdom.” It is defined as the reason or cause of things; the body of wisdom, laws, or principles which govern all the subordinate phenomena in any department of knowledge. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary) Your philosophy of education is the internal body of wisdom that governs all educational choices, decisions, policies, and methods for instruction and discipline. It affects who will teach, choice of curriculum, school governance, classroom discipline, student programs, and the fruit produced by each individual student.

An educational philosophy contains the “seeds” that are to be planted and the means by which to cultivate them in the hearts and minds of children. If you want an oak tree to grow, you must first plant an acorn. The same is true for education. Just having Christian teachers in the classroom and gluing Scripture verses to secular curriculum do not produce Christian education or graduates with a Christian worldview.

Your philosophy of education should be rooted in the authority of God’s Word. The Apostle Paul vigorously warned first century Christians many times to beware of the spirit of the anti-Christ, the vain philosophies of the world’s system after the tradition of men, lest their minds be taken captive through deception and they be led astray! Memorize the following Scriptures and apply them to our life:

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

— II Corinthians 10:5

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray.

— II Corinthians 11:3

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

— Romans 12:2

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

— Colossians 2:8

Please read the chart, “Rudimentary Pagan versus Christian Views” on p. 39.

The Impact of Christ in Education

The end of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright and out of that knowledge to love Him, to imitate Him, to be like Him.

— John Milton, Of Education

Christian education should reflect the impact of Christ—a new spirit and a new power in education. Christian education, in and of itself, is not a means of salvation for the individual or the nation, but rather preparation for salvation in the unregenerate child and instruction for those who know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. In order to fully comprehend true learning from a Biblical perspective, the basic fallen nature of man and the role of education in building individual and national character must be understood.

Christ: The Cornerstone of Education

Jesus Christ, The Living Word, The Logos

— John 1

God’s word establishes Biblical reasoning, fives purpose for studying the subject, and reveals the study of each subject begins with the Word of God. The subject is illuminated through its Biblical principles and the pathway of reasoning is directed toward true understanding. This approach challenges teachers and students to continually research God’s Word and primary sources, rather than being dependent upon textbooks, most of which reflect a secular view of education, government, and history.

Jesus Christ, The focal Point of All History

— Ephesians 1:9-10

The Principle Approach® places great emphasis on the providential works of God in history, His hand in human affairs. God is the sovereign Lord of nations as well as of individuals, having a plan and purpose for each. Principle Approach® students, studying the Scriptures and primary sources such as the political sermons of colonial pastors and the writings of our Founding Fathers, discover the primacy of long-neglected Biblical principles in shaping American and the American consciousness.

Every American needs to be re-educated as to God’s providence in the founding of our nation and of our unique purpose as the first nation in the history of the world to express the Christian idea of man and government. Our government, laid out in Biblical form in our Constitution, expresses the purposes of establishing civil and religious liberty and a Christian civilization and culture which give glory to God.

Jesus Christ, The Master Teacher

— John 3:2

Jesus touched individuals, causing each person to feel especially loved. Teaching is in essence a relationship between the teacher and the student through a subject. To teach Christianly is to examine the Master Teacher and learn from Him. Jesus taught by modeling and is the archetype of teaching, the standard, the ideal. Through His Son, God answered the question of what teaching is, Jesus taught by loving, accepting, affirming, receiving. He taught by healing, by enabling, by prodding. He imparted truth in such a way that its intrinsic beauty delighted his students, captivated their hearts and minds, so much so that two thousand years later, we are touched by His words and respond to His message with our hearts.

The Christian Idea of the Child

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

— Mark 10:13-16

Christian education should see the individual child as possessing an independent value apart from the class group and its agenda. Christianity’s central doctrine, that man was created in the Divine image and destined for immortality, pronounces that in the eye of God all children are equal. This shift in the view requires a new approach to the classroom, the curriculum, the methodology, and a new role for the the teacher of children. Principle Approach® education applies the methods that honor the child’s innate value in Christ and lays a foundation of Biblical principle and precept in every subject while forging the character that is Christian—Christ within. This is the Christian idea of the child!