What is Christian Education?
Essay by Mr. Tom Thistleton, continued…
God created the whole world and all that is in it, and this has implications
not just for “religious” education but for all knowledge and
learning. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us that we should bring all thoughts
into submission to Christ. As God is the Creator of the world and the Author
of all truth, we must acknowledge Him in all fields of study. Practically,
this means more than just affirming that God is the source of, say math.
It suggests that we should think about math differently than non-believers
and strive to understand what math teaches us about God and His creation.
With this as a foundation, let me make several assertions and then discuss
each individually. The first is that God commands parents, not the state
or the church, to train and educate their children. Secondly, a child's instruction
should begin and be saturated with God's truth. Next, that we are commanded
to love God with our minds. Finally, that Christian school is the place where
these principles are best put into practice.
As we survey God's Word, we see that when God speaks concerning the instruction
of youth, He is directing His words to parents. The books of Deuteronomy
and Proverbs are most instructive in this respect, as they contain many exhortations
and reminders to parents of their duties to train their children. Deuteronomy
6: 4-9 is just one example in which parents are instructed to teach their
children diligently. In the New Testament, Ephesians 6:4 teaches fathers
to “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” In
contrast, the Bible, in speaking of the duties of the state, never mentions
the work of educating the children of the nation (Exodus 18:22-26; Deuteronomy
1:16-17; Matthew 22:17-21; Romans 13:1-7, Peter 2:13-15). This is especially
noteworthy given the fact that in much of the Old Testament, God speaks to
the nation of Israel as a whole and yet reserves comments about education
and instruction for parents. Thus, any true school must see itself as a servant
to parents before God.
