Bible Students

Christian Presuppositions

What is Christian Education?

Christian education is intricately tied to its purpose. Christian education is education which seeks to honor God through exploring His universe. What Christian education is not is a simple presentation of facts apart from acknowledging the One who set those facts to be. Additionally, Christian education is not simply secular education with a “Christian” label. Christian education is the fulfillment of what education was actually meant to be: The exploration of God’s universe for His glory. 

What is the purpose of Christian Education?

The purpose of Christian education is clear: To explore God’s universe for His glory. Christian education is inherently theistic, as it is ultimately for the glory of God. This purpose statement can be broken into two parts. First, Christian education explores God’s universe. To explore God’s universe simply means to seek to understand and appreciate the arts and sciences. Christian education is not irrelevant in the discussion of mathematics or drama, as all arts and sciences are relevant in exploring God’s universe. Second, Christian education is for His glory. Christian education does not simply seek to explore God’s universe, but to do so for His glory. This mean mathematics and drama are not explored simply because they are interesting, but for the purpose of honoring the one who produced a universe where arts and sciences are possible. “The primary purpose of the school is neither intellectual nor social; it is to develop free, moral individuals” (Anthony and Benson 2011, 403). Christian education is ultimately for the purpose of exploring God’s universe for His glory. 

Who is God?

Who is this God whom Christian education seeks to glorify? Christian education must be Christian. Christian education is not syncretistic. It does not acknowledge the validity of other monotheistic religions such as Judaism or Islam, but affirms alone the essentials of Christianity: The nature of Jesus, the Triunity of God, salvation by faith alone, and the teleology of the universe toward glorifying God. These are the theological essentials of Christian education. Apart from the first three essentials, the education will not be Christian. Apart from the fourth essential, the system will not be education.

What is Truth?

The discussion of education must also include the discussion of philosophy. As Anthony and Benson remark, “The second area that should be included in a comprehensive philosophy of ministry includes a discussion of your philosophical foundations,” (Anthony and Benson 2011, 414). Truth is thinking or discovering God’s thoughts after Him. This means truth is objectively based in God. To uncover truth means to discover how God views something. Truth, then, must begin with God’s Word, as that is His expression of His thoughts (the truth). Then, the Christian can explore the universe and compare their thoughts to the thoughts of God, attempting to make their thoughts more and more like God’s. Because truth is grounded in God, Christians must first seek to know God personally before seeking to understand other things. When people seek to understand the world before they know God personally, they will believe they have discovered truth without comparing it to how God views things, and inevitably end up believing untruths. Dow comments, “Before we move on, it is also important to recognize that for Christians the earnest pursuit of truth and a commitment to being the best stewards of our minds as we can be are in themselves authentic acts of worship,” (2013, 96). I believe Dr. Keenan puts it well when he says we as students and teachers must seek to see the world from God’s point of view (Keenan session 3). 

The Narrative of the Bible

The narrative of the Bible from cover to cover is commonly described in four epics: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consecration. In the beginning, God created the universe good and for His glory. Then, mankind chose to rebel, and cast the world into a fallen state. God saw this, and chose to send Jesus to redeem mankind and the universe. The universe and mankind is now in a place of redeemed, but not fully restored. There is both a redeemed and fallen nature of the universe currently. However, everything is moving toward the ultimate consecration, where all evil is destroyed and the good is remade to be without imperfection. This journey back to the way God originally created things (good) means for students, teachers, and curriculum there is both a fallen and redeemed aspect. 

Nature of the Learner

The Fall of Man

In the beginning, humankind was made good and for a good purpose. However, after the fall, humans are now sinful and desire evil. Left in this state, the learner does not desire to know truth (how God views things), but desires to learn for their own benefit (if at all). Dow remarks, “The tendency of modern culture to ignore evil and our own unwillingness to face the depravity in our own thinking make us all too eager to place excessive confidence in reason,” (Dow 2013, 71). Where the redeemed learner can seek to honor God through their learning, the unredeemed learner will desire self-interested goals. However, if the student is going to glorify God through their education, they must be willing to put in effort (Keenan session 4). 

The Image of God and the Redemption

However, God did not leave mankind in the fallen state they were in. God sent His Son to die for those who love Him, that they would be redeemed. Christ’s redemption is restoring the Image of God in those who love God. This means those who love God are helped by the indwelling of the Spirit of God to not only be able to understand truth (how God views things), but to also desire truth. Those who have the Spirit of God have the ability to desire to think God’s thoughts after Him (to know God personally and by extension know truth). Gregory remarks, “The mind has its laws of thought, feeling, and volition, and these laws are none the less fixed that they are spiritual rather than material,” (Gregory 2014, 19). All things are secular for the one who makes them secular. All things are of the Lord for the one who makes them of the Lord. The student must make all of their subjects for the Lord if they are to gain eternal benefit from them. 

Nature of the Teacher

The Fall of Man

Likewise, the teacher is a fallen being. Teachers are those who have an understanding of a topic and the ability to communicate that understanding to other people, able to bring them to a similar understanding. Teachers are fallen creatures and must have the humility to know that they are not inerrant, even in their primary field. They are not perfect, but can err, especially when they are seeking to build themself up, rather than seek to glorify God above all else. Teachers can often feel that they know everything relevant in their field, however it is important to note that “Because of our finiteness, we cannot relate to everything as a whole” (Graham 2023, 181). Teachers are still fallen beings who must fight to continue to have their minds renewed. 

The Image of God and the Redemption

Though teachers are fallen beings, the Spirit of God indwells those who love God. The Christian teacher is one who seeks to understand how God sees something, and desires to communicate that understanding to the students. The Christian teacher is fallen, but the Spirit of God in the teacher is actively redeeming them to heal their broken and selfish desires, purifying their teaching ability. The redeemed heart of the teacher should not be that they graduate with a degree in chemistry but that I would prepare them for who God wants them to be (Keenan session 2). Redeemed teachers should be a model and an influence to those in their classroom for true intellectual virtue and desire to honor God (Keenan session 1). Teachers should have a desire to impact the life of the student, to disciple them into a biblical holistic worldview, and should desire to see their lifestyle change into Christ-likeness (Keenan session 4). 

Nature of the Learning Process

As previously noted, both teachers and students are fallen, and those who love the Lord are in the process of being restored. There is both an aspect of fallen nature and redeemed nature. Christians spend much time discussing what learning theories are most biblical and most seemingly effective, but I believe there is one aspect of the learning process which trumps all else: The internal desire to honor God. Education is direction in this (Keenan session 4). 

The learner who seeks to honor God through exploring His universe has an internal motivation and desire which can not be reproduced by outside coercion. Christians who seek to love the Lord through learning will devote the needed time to learn well. Therefore, the greatest amount of time given to learning theories must be to develop the desire in the child to love and honor the Lord. When they have the internal desire to honor God through exploring His universe, they will not need to be coerced by making a subject “interesting.”

Additionally, the teacher who seeks to honor the Lord will have a genuine enjoyment of the subject which encourages the students to be interested in the subject as well. The teacher who cares about their subject will act as a lighthouse of encouragement, who turns a “secular” subject into a beautiful picture of God’s creative power. When the student and the teacher both love the Lord and seek to honor Him through exploring His universe, the learning and teaching process will succeed.

This does not mean that the teacher can ignore the communication methods needed to communicate a subject well; Rather, the teacher should love the students to the point of learning to communicate the subject well with genuine interest in both the subject and the learning of the student.

Because of this, learning is inherently a moral choice. To learn well requires that one loves the Lord, and this is intrinsically tied to morality. Christian students must act in intellectual humility, courage, tenacity, and many other virtues in order to honor God well in their learning. Dow says in his book Virtuous Minds, “…intellectual character is like a bank that we can invest in or withdraw from,” (Dow 2013, 23). Intellectual virtues must be exercised purposefully, not by accident. “If the fireman who risked his life rescuing the young child were suicidal and the fact that he saved the infant was accidental, would his act still be considered courageous?” (Dow 2013, 27). Intellectual virtues must be consciously used, as “Favorable conditions [those in which it would easy to use intellectual virtues] never come,” (Dow 2013, 39). Without the practice of intellectual virtues, “…the result is a corrupted intellectual conscience that no longer values the truth, if it can still distinguish the truth from falsehood at all,” (Dow 2013, 66). 

Subject Matter and Curriculum

STEM

Exploring God’s universe is not restricted to biblical studies, but permeates all subjects. The Christian who desires to honor God through exploring His universe should do so no matter what the subject is. This includes STEM subjects. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics all reflect the genius and wisdom of a God who set the universe according to a specific order for His own glory. The laws of nature all accomplish God’s purposes, and the human ability to create according to those laws expresses the wisdom of God. 

Arts

Additionally, the Christian must navigate the arts subjects (such as drama, art, and musical instruments) for the purpose of giving God glory. God has creatively painted the universe for the purpose of expressing His creative power (and bringing praise in response). Christians, then, must navigate the arts for the purpose of glorifying God. 

Moving Forward

The Goal of Christian Education

The ultimate purpose of Christian education is to glorify God through exploring His universe. Teachers must act as a catalyst for the work of the Spirit in the educational and personal life of the student. The teacher is not better than the student, but is simply the one equipped to help the student with their personal journey of exploring the universe of God for His glory. The glory of God must be the ultimate “why” of Christian education. My goal of Christian education is to equip students to glorify God for themselves. The teacher must not be an outside force imposing the Law of loving God, but only an aid to help the student to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. The desire to explore and take care of God’s creation for His glory permeates all areas, as Dow agrees when he discusses the overlap between intellectual and physical health: “Are you taking good care of your body? Ignoring your body can have direct and negative consequences on mental alertness, which, in turn, can sabotage the growth of intellectual character,” (Dow 2013, 120). The prerequisite of Christian education is a set of Christian presuppositions to the world. Everything must ultimately be for the glory of God.

This concept is expounded upon greatly in “Some Thoughts on Forming Christian Educational Philosophy” (Oller 2024 [a]), “Should my Kids go to a Private Christian or Public Secular School?” (Oller 2024 [b]), and “Cornelius Van Til and Theories of Learning” (Oller 2024 [c]). The desire to serve God through one’s education is a far greater motivation than an external motivator, and Christian educators must tap into this in order to help students be life-long learners for the sake of God’s glory, rather than students who simply regurgitate information for an exam for the sole purpose of passing a class. When students love God, learning will be a law of God written on their hearts of flesh, rather than an external law to which they rebel against. 

Resulting Educational Practice

After much reflection, my resulting educational practice is to first diagnose whatever special attention the students need, second educate myself on how to address those needs, and third implement whatever special attention those students may need in accordance with helping them to explore God’s universe for His glory. The practical application of this means that the classroom will inevitably not be a primarily lecture-based format. In my experience, the needs of many students are not fulfilled with simply lecture-based teaching. Dow comments, “Students in these schools learn primarily by memorizing large quantities of information and are then judged by exams that seek little beyond a regurgitation of the facts,” (2013, 86). Further, as Gregory notes regarding his understanding of a subject, “Yes; but a year ago I could say everything I knew, but now I know more than I can say,” (Gregory 2014, 74). Teaching and learning is not simply about communicating knowledge, but equipping the learner with the desire and ability to learn on their own, for their own interest in the Lord and His universe. 

Rather, I intend on using a lot of kinesthetic learning, especially for the male students, as in my experience this is what has been needed. Many students need to learn outside of the desk, so depending on the subject and the exact needs I may have the class: (1) explore the playground to estimate the material cost of renovations; (2) perform a science lab with baking soda and vinegar to understand the interaction between bases and acids; (3) decorate and group the desks to be a geographical representation of the 12 tribes of Israel to understand how geography played into the religious-political setting of the Old Testament; or (4) reenact a scene from the ELA reading in order to examine and understand the behaviors of the book’s characters. 

Additionally, all subjects must be viewed through the biblical lens. Mathematics must be understood in the context of the Great Architect. Science should be understand as the laws which accomplish the goals of God. Drama should be understood as expressing the creative nature of humans as implanted by the Creative Creator. My resulting practice is to care deeply about my students and to help them to love exploring God’s universe for His glory. Ultimately, I can not do the work of the Spirit, but I can demonstrate the exciting nature of exploring God for the sake of knowing the Lord.

Works Cited

Anthony, M. J. and Benson, W. S. (2011). Exploring the History and Philosophy of Christian Education: Principles for the 21st Century. Wipf and Stock Publications. 

Dow, P. E. (2013). Virtuous minds: Intellectual character development. IVP Academic. 

Graham, D. L. (2003). Teaching redemptively: Bringing grace and truth into your classroom. Purposeful Design Publications.

Gregory, J. M. (2014). The Seven Laws of Teaching. Canon Press. 

Keenan, D. Philosophy of Christian Education Sessions 1-4. Association of Christian Schools International. https://acsipd.campusedu.com/course/view.php?id=541

Oller, J. (2024) (a). Some Thoughts on Forming Christian Educational Philosophy. Bible Students. https://bible-students.org/2024/04/17/some-thoughts-on-forming-christian-educational-philosophy/

Oller, J. (2024) (b). Should my Kids go to a Private Christian or Public Secular School? Bible Students. https://bible-students.org/2024/04/09/should-my-kids-go-to-a-private-christian-or-public-secular-school/

Oller, J. (2024) (c). Cornelius Van Til and Theories of Learning. Bible Students. https://bible-students.org/2024/04/06/cornelius-van-til-and-theories-of-learning/