Severn Classical Tutorial

	Severn Classical Tutorial
	A Biblical View of Education

This web page is under construction (this is work in progress which will be cleaned up shortly).

One of the elements of the mission of Severn Classical Tutorial is to provide DISTINCTIVELY CHRISTIAN courses. This webpage aids in defining why this is important to our mission and what we mean by distinctively Christian.

(1) Education is not neutral. Education is a religious activity

Some think education is neutral because they think facts or bits of knowledge are neutral. However, facts are only meaningful in regards to a reference point which is ultimately not neutral. More significantly when one is educated they are taught how to interpret facts and how to tie them together to understand reality. How we tie things together and make sense of everything we experience is determined by our worldview. Worldviews are not neutral and are inherently religious.

Greg Bahnsen on a tape on apologetics defined a worldview as " a network of presuppositions not tested by natural science in terms of which all experience is related and interpreted." He defines presuppositions as the most basic convictions we have of reality (how we know what we know and how we should live our lives).

Doug Wilson wrote " There is no such thing as neutrality in education. Every fact, every truth, is understood in light of a certain worldview. This means that history, art, music, mathematics, etc.. must all be taught in the light ot God's existence and His revelation of His Son Jesus Christ.( Recovering the Lost tools of Learning p97)

Cornelious VanTil wrote " To interpret a fact of history involves a philosophy of history. But a philosophy of history is at the same time a philosophy of reality as a whole. Thus we are driven to a philosophic discussion all the time and everywhere. " (Van Til's Apologetic Readings and Analysis p. 35)

VanTil also wrote "There are no pure observations. The is no such thing as the passive, neutral reception of stimuli that somehow bear meaning all by themselves. Observation always involves interpretation and is bound to theory" (Readings and Analysis p 220)

As soon as we try to interpret anything we learn about we are doing so based on presuppositions which is not neutral.

Doug Wilson wrote "Education is a completely religious endeavor. It is impossible to impart knowledge to students without building on religious presuppositions. Education is built on the foundation of the instructor's worldview (and the worldview of those who developed the curriculum). it s a myth that education can be non-religious - that is that education go on in a vacuum that deliberately excludes the basic questions of life. It is not possible to separate religious values from education. This is because all the fundamental questions of education require religious answers. Learning to read and write is simply the process of acquiring tools to enable us to ask and answer such questions" (Recovering the lost tools of Learning p. 59)

J. Gresham Machen wrote "A Christian boy or girl can lean mathematics, for example, from a teacher who is not a Christian; and the truth is truth however learned. But while truth is truth however learned, the bearing of truth, the meaning of truth, the purpose of truth, even in the sphere of mathematics, seem entirely different to the Christian from that which they seem to the non-Christian; and that is why a truly Christian education is possible only when the Christian conviction underlies not a part, but all, of the curriculum of the school." (Education, Christianity, and the State p. 81)

In a biology class a Christian educator will define life very different than unbelieving atheist will define life. This is because the Christian and the unbeliever have totally irreconcilable world views. They are in absolute conflict. Their fundamental convictions about reality are in direct contrast to each other. Therefore how they interpret scientific data points and bring them together will result in very different conclusions (e.g. creation/evolution). A science class that is taught by a card carrying Hindu will be very different from a science class taught by a Christian. Purist Hindu's do not even engage in science because their worldview is that all is illusion and everything is one. A Christian on the other hand will enthusiastically engage in science because he knows God created the world and governs the world with unchanging physical laws. Science reveals Gods laws through careful study. Studying God's physical laws is a holy devotion to God. The scientific method itself presupposes a sovereign God who holds all things together and ensure uniformity in the laws of nature. If this were not true then science would not be possible. An unbelieving atheist cannot explain from his worldview why nature is uniform. He has to borrow from the Christian worldview to expect any repeated experiment to give the same results.

The precondition for knowledge is the existence of a self existing God who created everything with meaning and purpose. The precondition for knowledge is the existence of a sovereign God who controls everything, and who makes absolute physical and moral laws. These absolute laws provide the only basis for the scientific method and which provide the only reference point from which to reason and learn. Education is not neutral because all truth originates from God.

(2) God is the source of all truth. The only truth is Christian truth. The only true knowledge is Christian knowledge.

John Frame wrote “ ...God is the source of all reality, and hence all truth, all knowledge, all rationality, all meaning, all actuality, and all possibility. (Apologetics to the Glory of God p.70).

Prov 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.

All knowledge begins with God. The foundation of knowledge is revelation from God. Our senses dont give us a complete view of reality. Our minds and our reasoning is not perfectly reliable due to corruption from sin and due to our finite, limited perspective. The only way we can know anything with certainty is to have it revealed to us from on who knows it all who is God. God who created all things for his purposes, who works all things for his purpose alone defines what is true and knows everything perfectly. God alone ties all the facts (the little bits of particulars) together to have meaning. Without God everything is fragmented and meaningless. The only true knowledge is Christian knowledge. The only truth is Christian truth.

Col 2:2-8 2of Christ; 3In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge....8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Greg Bahnsen concerning Col 2:3-8 writes: " Note he says ALL wisdom and knowledge is deposited in the person of Christ - whether it be about the War of 1812, water's chemical composition, the literature of Shakespeare, or the laws of logic! Every academic pursuit and every thought must be related to Jesus Christ, for Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). To avoid Christ in your thought at any point is to be misled.... Hence the Christian is obligated to presuppose the word of Christ in every area of knowledge; the alternative is delusion. .... By attempting to be neutral in your thought you are a prime target for being robbed - robed by "vain philosophy" of all the treasures of "wisdom and knowledge" which are deposited in Christ alone." (Always Ready p. 5)

Doug Wilson wrote "God is the light in which we see and understand everything". (Recovering the lost tools of Learning p. 59)

Bahnsen in exposing the myth of neutral thinking writes:

"Attempting to be neutral in one's intellectual endeavors (whether research, argumentation, reasoning, or teaching) is tantamount to striving to erase the antithesis between the Christian and the unbeliever. Christ declared that the former was set apart from the latter by the truth of God's world (John 17:17). Those who wish to gain dignity in the eyes of the world's intellectuals by wearing the badge of "neutrality" only do so at the expense of refusing to be set apart by God's truth. In the intellectual realm they are absorbed into the world so that no one could tell the difference between their thinking and assumptions and apostate thinking and assumptions. The line between believer and unbeliever is obscured. Such indiscrimination in one's intellectual life not only precludes genuine knowledge (c.g Prov 1:7) and guarantees vain delusion (cg. Col 2:3-8) it is downright immoral." (Always Ready p 7)

"Either have "the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:16) or the "vain mind of the Gentiles (Eph 4:17). Either "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:5) or continue as "enemies in your mind" (Col 1:21)" (Always Ready p 8)

"Do you have the courage of your Christian distinctives in scholarship, apologetics, and schooling, or have you been trying to wipe out the contrast between Christian thought and apostate thought by following the demands of neutrality? Put in biblical perspective this question can be rephrased in this way: does your thinking operate under the Lordship of Jesus Christ or have you become an enemy of God through neutral, agnostic, unbelieving, thought patterns? Choose this day whom you will serve !" (Always Ready p 8)

(3) Truth is discovered by learning to think God's thoughts after him.

To be objective (rather than subjective) in our learning one needs to see things as they really are. This means one needs to see things according to their true nature. This means to really understand something as it really is we need to see it from Gods point of view.

Van Til wrote "God makes the truth. Man discovers it. Man grows in knowledge by coming to what God thinks. God made us with ears, hands, eyes, a brain to experiences his glory, learn about creation and exercise dominion over it. When we learn about the world we are thinking Gods thoughts. Man can never know anything exhaustively because God is incomprehensible. Mans system of knowledge must therefore be an analogical replica of the system of knowledge which belongs to God. Gods signature is found in every fact of the world" (Readings &Analysis p.262)

Doug Wilson wrote:

"Every subject, every truth bears some relationship to God. Every subject will be taught from a standpoint of submission or hostility to Him. (Recovering the lost tools of Learning p.60).

" God is the light in which we see and understand everything else. Without Him, the universe is a fragmented pile of incomprehensible particulars. Indeed, the universe can no longer be understood as a universe, it must be understood as a multiverse. Christian education must therefore present all subjects as parts of an integrated whole with he Scriptures at the center. Without this integration, the curriculum will be nothing more than a dumping ground for unrelated facts. Without this integration, the curriculum will be nothing more than a dumping ground for unrelated facts. When God is acknowledged, all knowledge coheres. It is obvious that al aspects of this coherence cannot be known to us - we are finite creatures." (Recovering the lost tools of Learning p.59).

Van Til wrote:

"All of our knowing whether about God, ourselves or the world, is a matter of "imaging" (reflecting) God's thinking about the same things. True human knowledge corresponds to the knowledge which God has of himself and his world.. We should say that our ideas must correspond to God's ideas." (Readings &Analysis p. 223)

"God knows his play for every detail of creation and history as well as the relations between all events and objects. His understanding is infinite and without flaw. Moreover, it is in terms of His creative and providential activity that all things and events are what they are. God's thinking is what gives unity, meaning, coherence, and intelligibility to nature, history, reasoning, and morality. In terms of this knowing process, man can search for causal relationships and laws (thinking God's thoughts after Him about His providential plan) He can think in terms of shared properties, similarities, or class (thinking Gods thoughts after Him about conceptual and truth-functional relations). He can make meaningful normative judgments (thinking God's thoughts after Him about demands of His righteousness). (Readings &Analysis p. 223)

"Because God place man in the world with the calling to understand and control it, we have a God-given ability to observe (with our senses), check generalize, and apply truths about the cosmos. Because God's plan and purpose (and not our imaginations) determine whatever comes to pass. , we need to explore research, and gather details about nature and history to "know God's mind" regarding them. Because God's thinking is faithful and coherent, we must seek to be conceptually clear and logically consistent in our reasoning, so that we might think as God thinks" about truths and their relationships. So when we learn things through empirical research and logical reasoning - and not simply when we receive pre-interpreted information through diving revelation - we are coming to thinking thoughts on the creaturely level which God originally thought (or thinks as Creator and providential governor of the world, and to reach such truths by means of the intellectual tools He has granted us as His image bearers. " Man was to gather up in his consciousness all the meaning that God had deposited in the universe and be the reflector of it all. The revelation of God was deposited in the whole creation, but it was in the mind of man alone that this revelation was to come to self-conscious re-interpretation. Man was to be God's reinterpreter, that is, God's prophet on earth." (Readings &Analysis p. 224)

When one educates they are revealing something about God regardless of the academic discipline. Science is the Revelation of Gods laws. History is the revelation of Gods providence.

(4) In Christ all things hold together therefore theology is the "Queen of the Sciences"

Doug Wilson wrote :

"We must understand the world in the light of Christ; He is the light in which we see truth. Christians cannot understand the world in a Biblical way without reference to Jesus Christ. In HIM all things hold together (Col 1:15-18). (Recovering the lost tools of Learning p.62).

"Because all truth comes for God, the universe is coherent. Without God, particulars have no relationship to other particulars. Each subject has no relationship to another subject. Christian educators must reject this understanding of the universe as a multi-verse; the world is more than an infinite array of absurd "facts." The fragmentation of knowledge must therefore be avoided. History bears a relation to English, and biology a relation to philosophy; they all unite in the queen of the sciences, theology" (Recovering the lost tools of Learning p.63).

Henry Morris in referencing the figure below writes " The first great commission to mankind was to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it ..." (Gen 1:28). This commandment is still in effect, and is our fundamental warrant for research, development, education, and all other legitimate activities of mankind." (The Biblical Basis for Modern Science p.42) The figure below illustrates well the different lawful activities of man and how they relate to truth. As seen in the below chart Science is the discovery of truth. The physical sciences include physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy and so on. These disciplines do not explain what all the technical facts mean in a complete framework. They are limited. Theology on the other hand explains what it all means. It can be thought of the interpretation of truth.

Education is not the downloading of information from one computer to another; the human mind is far more than an organic hard drive. Although education does involve the successful transfer of information from one person to another, the student is not a mere receptacle for knowledge. Biblical education goes far beyond transfer of information. (Recovering the lost tools of Learning p.69).

The Biblical view of man must affect our view of education

John Milton wrote: "The end then of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents (referring to Adam and Eve) by regaining to know God aright and out of that knowledge to love Him, to imitate Him, to be like Him." (Recovering Lost tools of Learning p. 74)

We are to see that godly education is made necessary by our sinfulness, and that the goal of this education is to "repair the ruins." (Recovering Lost tools of Learning p. 74)

Christian content alone is insufficient. It must be presented in a certain way, and that way cannot be reduced to a technique. (Recovering Lost tools of Learning p. 77)

Teachers shape the way children think about the world.

Harvey Bluedorn (p. ) wrote " The Ultimate goal of education is Holiness - separation to God for his Service".

Biblical View of Math

God created with numbers, God himself is numerical (3 in 1).

Biblical view of History

History is the revelation of Gods providence.

Biblical View of Science

Science is the Revelation of Gods laws.

Biblical View of English/Language

Jesus is "the word". God uses language to create and to communicate to us

(5) Education involves learning to Love God with our minds

Matt 22:37-39 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment.

Education involves learning to love God with all our minds. A Christian Education is not just adding a Bible class to your other classes. It is not learn English, Science, Math, History and so on like the unbelievers do because these are neutral subjects and then add a Bible class so you get a Christian education. Christian education teaches all subjects as part of an integrated whole with Scripture at the center. The scriptures effect how you should learn and understand every subject. As in a wagon wheel scripture is center hub upon which all the spokes representing each subject rest.

"If our children do not think like Christians when they study history, math, or science, then they are not obeying the command to love God with all their minds. ((Recovering the lost tools of Learning p.49).

(6) Parents are ultimately responsible for the Biblical education of their Children

Deut 6:7"And these words which I command thee this day shall be in they heart, And thou shall teach them diligently unto they children"

Bluedorn wrote: "Teach diligently means to sharpen by repeatedly rubbing. The picture is one of repeatedly rubbing against a sharpening stone, and re-sharpening whenever the edge is becoming dull, so that the edge remains share at all times. ... We are to teach our children the command to love God. But the command to Love God encompasses all of God’s commands. ..We are commanded to make our children shapre, ready and expert in applying the Word of God to all areas of life. This is not optional." (Teaching the Trivium p. 57)

Eph 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Parents can delegate the educational work to tutors and schools but they are ultimately the ones responsible to God ensure the quality of the education of their children.