My Biblical Worldview as Pertains to Education: How to teach in the world without being a part of it

Education Education refers to anything and everything a person is taught with the intent to transfer a particular set of values held by a culture in order to produce a citizen that can then contribute to that culture (Cambridge, 2020 & Britannica, 2020). People do not learn all of this exclusively by attending school. Schooling, then, cannot be education (Pritchett, et. al., 2013). Schooling refers to a more narrow aspect of learning—the processes and procedures, behavior and academic expectations associated with attending a school (Pritchett, et. al., 2013). Although schooling like educators understand today did not formally exist in the ancient world, education certainly did. Literature from various cultures and eras testify to teachers or rabbis or masters sharing their culture’s beliefs and values and customs through oral tradition. Those beliefs and values and customs have since been recorded that allow scholars to identify patterns. One of these patterns is that historically, entire cultures only shared and agreed upon beliefs and values because they shared a common religion. Being a teacher in America, then, is much different since the country was founded on religious freedom. United States citizens come from various countries, cultures, heritages, and backgrounds. With their backgrounds also comes their religion or worldview. These varying religious views directly impact a people’s culture. Trying to teach in a culture that accepts or at least tolerates all forms of religion can be extremely challenging for the Christian teacher. Whether in public or private school, Christian teachers should be holding to a Biblical worldview and practicing within a Christian philosophy of education. When Christ gave the apostles the Great Commission, he commanded them “to make disciples” (Matt 28: 16-20) which means to educate people with the intent of them becoming a citizen of Heaven who can then contribute to the Christian culture—the church, Christ’s bride. Therefore, as Christian teachers, part of fulfilling the Great Commission requires them to educate their students within a Biblical worldview and Christian philosophy of education.

Biblical Worldview A Biblical worldview means that a person is viewing the world in the same framework that God views the world (Tackett, 2006). The only way to know how God views the world is by reading His Word, the Bible. This foundation is key because it also means that those who ascribe to a Biblical worldview believe the Bible is infallible and has authority over their lives (Tackett, 2006). If they believe God, as the Creator, has the authority over their lives and believe the Bible is the Word of God, then the Bible has authority over their lives. The Bible is what establishes absolute truth, since the Bible claims God is truth, and therefore is the sole authority on deeming what is moral in life (Tackett, 2006). A Biblical worldview also means believing that man is sinful and in need of a Savior in order to be redeemed and return to a perfect state (Tackett, 2006). Only the Savior, someone without sin (namely, Jesus Christ), is capable of dying in the place of all of humanity in order to appease the wrath of God. After salvation, the Bible clearly addresses the lifestyle of a believer. Because believers receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, He helps the believer each day to become more sanctified, that is, to make right, moral, holy choices and therefore sin less and less over time (1 Peter 1:1-2).

Christian Philosophy of Education Holding to a Christian philosophy of education means that those in charge of establishing and executing the education institute their curriculum and policies based on a Biblical worldview. Because a Biblical worldview means believing in absolute truth, then followers believe that it is critical to be objective when understanding any facet of life since truth means understanding (Schaeffer, 1982). So when teachers in Christian education teach their lessons, regardless of disciplines, they should be sharing the same narrative of Creation, Fall and Redemption (Bartlett, 2007, p. 5). Gardner alludes to this process as vital to a learner’s intelligence; and Smith defined intelligence as “the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting” (Bartlett, 2007, p. 6-7). Christianity is, in essence, a culture. So students need to learn truth, which is from God, and therefore how to solve problems the way God would, and value that which God values. Because learning is rooted in understanding truth, which according to the Bible is absolute—that which we learn from God and God alone—how individuals learn about all facets of life shapes a person’s worldview.

Implications for Educational Practice One element in particular that needs to be a focus of Christian education is the humanities and the arts (Schaeffer, 1982). Both areas of study are directly related to human nature, the human experience, and how humans attempt to answer life’s ultimate questions: “Where did I come from?”; “What is my purpose in life?”; “Where will I go when I die?” The Bible is definitively the only religious text that gives believable, credible and sufficient answers to each of these questions. Teachers and administrators in a school that hold to a Christian philosophy of education use the Bible to answer these questions, ensure the teachers all share those same answers, and then integrate those answers into the way they present their particular discipline. “Christian education should produce students more educated in the totality of knowledge, culture and life, than non-Christian education rooted in a false view of truth” (Schaeffer, 1982).

Conclusion As a Christian teacher, the best way to fulfill the Great Commission and commands of Christ is to teach within a Biblical worldview and Christian philosophy of education. Various other philosophies of education exist and contain good aspects of teaching. Pragmatists, for instance, emphasize problem-solving skills. Essentialism focuses on a set base of knowledge. Progressivism primarily tailors education to the learner’s interests and skills. Each of these theories alone are incomplete, but together they teach to the whole person. Even the realists’ argument, which is closest to a Christian philosophy of education, is incomplete. Applying elements of other educational theories can be helpful as long as they are filtered within a Biblical worldview. Scripture calls believers to “excellence” (2 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Peter 2:9; Philippians 4:8; 1 Corinthians 2:1; 1 Peter 2:12). In order to reach excellence in teaching, the Christian teacher must seek to first and foremost focus on educating students. And educating basically means the same as discipling. A disciple is a follower: one who walks and talks, thinks and believes like the master. If Christian teachers claims to abide by a Biblical worldview and call Christ, the greatest teacher of all, their master, then they should be seeking to obey His command “to make disciples” (Matt 28:16-20). Christian teachers should not want to educate—transfer the values and beliefs of a particular culture to produce a citizen that can then contribute to that culture—their students in any other way than that which produces followers of Christ, citizens of the church and heirs to Christ.

References

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