“If we are going to have . . . a Christian education, it means understanding truth is not a series of isolated subjects but there are associations, and the associations are rooted in nothing less than the existence of the Creator Himself.”
Francis Schaeffer, Priorities, (1982)
Education, like other disciplines, is defined differently by each individual, organization, religion, and institution. Some view it as rigorous training in arts and sciences, others as a pursuit of knowledge in personal interests. Overall, they agree that education should be developmental for children’s character and knowledge. But when we look at the system in place today, there is a furtive goal being rapidly pushed onto our children, as our public schools have turned to politicizing the curriculum on a massive scale.
The agenda is apparent, pushing to teach issues such as critical race theory, sex education and expression, and altogether redefining morality. The education in America continues to be influenced by philosophers such as Freud, Kant, and Marx. These influences are subtle and yet they are blatant, molding our youth into a very specific frame. So, what does education look like for the Christian? How are we to educate our children amongst a culture that seeks to destroy our very beliefs?
I firmly believe that education, especially a Christian one, is defined by at least three characteristic qualities. Firstly, it must teach students how to be critical thinkers and to reason aptly. Secondly, education trains students to be life-long learners. And lastly, education must be centered around truth, that is, centered around God our Creator.
Logic
In order to teach children to be critical thinkers, sound reasoning and logic are imperative. The art of logic is invaluable, yet is not widely taught in our modern-day school system. We isolate this subject of study to certain individuals, such as debaters, politicians, and rhetoricians. However, we as a culture have failed to place the proper importance on this field of study. The only widespread examples of debate and logic are embodied in political debate, which in no way resembles the illustrious arguments recorded from ancient times.
Speech and debate are offered as electives or clubs in public education, but lack quality and thoroughness. Socrates demonstrates how crucial reasoning and logic are in his various dialogues recorded by Plato. By asking meaningful questions to define the subject and to describe various premises regarding the topic, Socrates illustrates how one does not necessarily need to have the answers at hand. Rather, by employment of the “Socratic Method,” an answer can be derived, and truth can be found. He leads the conversation in an eloquent way, so that they can derive an answer, and convince the hearer. This kind of skill ought to be taught and valued among our students since it applies to all areas of life, whether in a business negotiation, conflict resolution, a classroom, or in conversations with your spouse.
“Christian education should deal with all human knowledge – presenting it in a framework of truth, rooted in the Creator’s existence, and in His creation.”
Life-Long Learners
Education is typically not all-encompassing, in the sense that it is impossible for one to go to school and be taught everything there is to know. So, when a student does not understand a subject, where do they begin? A primary function of a student’s education is to instruct them how to learn, so that when they are in a situation of ignorance, they are already equipped with how to research and study.
Learning is a life-long practice, not isolated to primary and secondary education. In the classical model, students are taught to first gather definitions. (What is the topic? What are the facts about this topic?) These kinds of questions help students put into perspective what the topic of research actually is. From there, students are led to ask more in-depth, intriguing questions and learn how to articulate their research. (How is it used? What is it similar to?) In the final stage of learning, students should be able to straightforwardly explain the topic to others in a coherent and polished way.
God at the Center
In this article’s opening quote, Schaeffer effectively identified the characteristic quality of Christian education – God the Creator is center in every aspect of learning. This concept is entirely foreign to our modern education system as we can see by the state of our nation today. The definition of education has been debated heavily throughout the years, but most agree that it is developmental for character and knowledge.
As everyone knows, children are very moldable and absorbent of knowledge. What they are taught in the beginning years is fundamental in their character development. So, we ought to take extreme care in how our children are taught. In an article from The Conversation, a non-Christian journalism outlet, they conclude that, “Education needs to focus on developing the personhood of children, as well as their capability to engage as citizens.” While I agree with this definition of education, I disagree greatly on the how and what should be taught to educate our students. The world will overwhelmingly develop our students’ characters with whatever is deemed as ethical, or honorable.
Simply put, education must be centered in truth. We need an absolute with which to measure everything against, and that absolute is the Bible. When we look at the various disciplines and studies through the framework of the Bible, it greatly illuminates and reveals to us the nature and character of God. Furthermore, if we fail to put everything to the absolute of God’s Word, then society’s lies will seep into our children’s education and worldview. How will children be able to discern fact from falsehood, reality from speculation, authenticity from fallacy? Every subject a student studies must be rooted in the truth of His Word, otherwise the world will infiltrate and provide their own education, absent of truth.
Education is extremely important, since it forms the people who will lead our country, our governments, churches, schools, workplaces, and our families in the years to come. We need sound education to endow students with the skills to be God-honoring individuals in all areas of life. This means students should be taught reasoning and logic, to be life-long learners, and most importantly, to be rooted in nothing else but the Word of God.
Francis Schaffer beautifully summarized this view, expressing that Christian education gives, “the tools in the opening the doors to all human knowledge, in the Christian framework so they will know what is truth and what is untruth, so they can keep learning as long as they live, and they can enjoy, they can really enjoy, the whole wrestling through field after field of knowledge. That is what an educated person is.”
Schaeffer, Francis. “On Education” Excerpt from “Priorities 1982,” two speeches given at the L’Abri Mini-Seminars in 1982, http://www.gbt.org/text/f.html.
Zaphir, Luke. “What’s the point of education? It’s no longer just about getting a job.” The Conversation, 16 June 2019, https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-education-its-no-longer-just-about-getting-a-job-117897.
