Sunday, October 2, 2011

Tenet 18: Biblical educational methodology

18. Educational methodology is not neutral. The Christian should build his educational methodology from the word of God and reject methodologies derived from humanism, evolutionism, and other unbiblical systems of thought. Biblical education is discipleship, a process designed to reach the heart. The aim is a transformed person who exhibits godly character and a trained mind, both of which arise from faith. The parents are crucial and ordinarily irreplaceable in this heart-level, relational process. (Deut. 6:5-7; Lk. 6:40; 1 Thess. 2:7-12; 2 Tim. 1:5; 2 Pet. 1:5-8)
6:5-7 – You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
Once again, this is a command to the Israelites, to teach Deuteronomy ("the words I teach you today" refer to those written down in Deuteronomy) all the time.
Lk. 6:40 – A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
That is a great reason why to be careful who you allow to teach your children. It is also a reason why parents should really not teach alone: We are not perfect. I do not want my children to be a mere copy of me, who lacks a few of my strengths. (Where their talents differ from ours, they would not be able to develop strengths.) I want them to develop all their talents, even those I don't share. I want them to have right beliefs where I have wrong ones, and good qualities where my bad ones are.
1 Thess. 2:7-12 – But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
2 Tim. 1:5 – when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
They set a good example: They preached the message of God.
These people did not spend time exclusively with the congregation day and night, but taught part time and worked part time not to be a (financial) burden. This example would be the equivalent of working parents lovingly teaching children about God in the evenings after work, and even in lunchtime or when the kids pop in at their job, but the children learned everything else about life from elsewhere before the parents started teaching the gospel.
Sometimes, children follow what the parents taught. This is a good example of why we should model faith to our children - not only if our spouse agree. (Timothy's father or grandfather were seemingly not a part of it.)
2 Pet. 1:5-8 – But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At least some forms of knowledge depend on having faith and virtue first. Obviously, that cannot refer to all forms of knowledge. A non-virtuous student could know her algebra as well as a virtuous one. A student with faith in God may know less history than another who does not.


18a) Educational methodology is not neutral.
I believe this, but it is not in the Bible, and thus not a Biblical tenet.

b) The Christian should build his educational methodology from the word of God, and should reject methodologies derived from humanism, evolutionism, and other unbiblical systems of thought.
Methodology refers to things like learning from books, learning from observation (from seeing how their parents treat each other, they learn how to treat a spouse, for example), learning by repetition (the only way to learn something like multiplication tables), and learning by experiment. I know of no educational methodology derived from humanism or evolutionism. However, some educational philosophies could come from humanism or evolutionism. 

I don't think that the Word of God contains a proper manual for all the ways in which we could learn, and thus disagree that we could build an educational methodology from the word of God. The methodology for some things (like teaching a child how to brush his teeth, or preparing a delicious casserole, or teaching children to count) are not in the Bible.

c) Biblical education is discipleship, a process designed to reach the heart. The aim is a transformed person who exhibits godly character and a trained mind, both of which arise from faith.
Yes. And people need that. But they also need, in order to function in the real world, a solid education in reading and maths and basic knowledge of, for example, how to work with money and how to nurture babies. The Bible does not say how or by whom that part of education should be imparted. And the aim of that kind of education is different, and not taught in these texts.

d) The parents are crucial and ordinarily irreplaceable in this heart-level, relational process.
Crucial and irreplacable? Many a greatly succesful Christian develop a relationship with God, and a knowledge of Him, even though their parents were not Christians. Many children of Christian parents do not become disciples.
Important, yes. Very important. That is why God instructs Israelite parents and grandparents to teach the law in Deuteronomy, and why He tells parents/ fathers to bring children up in the training and admonition of God (Eph 6:4). But important is not synonymous with crucial, and the provided texts do not teach it is crucial.


Other ways Christians understand this:

(No extra notes this time)


Summing it up

How reliable is this tenet? I will use a color code:

      The color code:
      This is adequately Biblically defended
      This is not Biblically defended

18. Educational methodology is not neutral. The Christian should build his educational methodology from the word of God and reject methodologies derived from humanism, evolutionism, and other unbiblical systems of thought. Biblical education is discipleship, a process designed to reach the heart. The aim is a transformed person who exhibits godly character and a trained mind, both of which arise from faith. The parents are crucial and ordinarily irreplaceable in this heart-level, relational process.

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