Why Christian Education?

By Chris Hardee

We live in an age where education, knowledge, and intellect are sought as the means and the end.  After years of attending school as a child, teenager, and college student, I was left feeling empty and dry.  As I looked back on my educational experiences, there were so many things that I would do differently for my children… but why?  As a parent, we want to shield our little ones from bullying, drugs, profanity, blasphemy, and anti-Christian worldviews, but should this be the reason for going against the cultural grain?  There are growing numbers who would agree that something is wrong with our education system.  I would like to lay out what I believe is the Biblical reason for Christian education.

Premise: True Christian education is essential to true learning.

Why and on what grounds do I say this? It is true that there are many non-Christians who have vast amounts of knowledge and intelligence. My premise is based upon the fact that the Creator of all things has declared that He is the basis of all knowledge, truth, and wisdom. True Christian education is not merely important; it is the only way to truly disseminate facts.

Reason 1: The Origin of Knowledge

There are only three options for where knowledge comes from. It either originates from man, nature, or God. Based upon experience, I believe that most of our educational efforts assume that the origin of knowledge is within ourselves, or translated from one individual to another. This, or course, stems from the rising prevalence of humanism in the culture and world that we live in. In the case of knowledge originating from nature, individuals with this belief go beyond themselves, but not much. This would be a prevailing belief of naturalism, in which everything is viewed as arising from natural properties and causes, which leaves no place for supernatural or spiritual explanations. As Christians, we believe that knowledge originates with God, as the proverb states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). We would also affirm this in creation, and stated in John 1:3 “All things were made through Him (God), and without Him was not anything made that was made.” By all things, John means just that… all things.

And, according to Proverbs 1:7 “the fear of the Lord is the beginning (or, chief part) of knowledge.” In other words, knowledge is no mere collection of data; it is data seen in relationship to God as the sovereign and almighty one. Knowledge comes from God; it is the reverential subordination of all knowing to the Creator. Man cannot identify himself in terms of himself, nor, ultimately, can he sustain any knowledge in terms of himself. Autonomous man must know everything or he knows nothing if he be consistent to his principle.

— Rousas John Rushdoony

Christian teachers know that not a single “fact” can really be known and therefore really be taught unless placed under the light of the revelation of God. Even the laws of arithmetic cannot be known otherwise.

— Cornelius Van Til

Reason 2: The Standard of Truth

It appears that our world has not changed very much in its philosophies from that of the first century Greeks. John 18:37-38 says, “Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world- to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?””

You see, during those times in the Roman Empire the Greek philosophies of relativism and humanism permeated much of the civilized world. This is what caused Pilate to ask the rhetorical question, “What is truth?” This echoes the similar sarcasm of our philosophies even today. Truth is relative, for there is no way that we can know absolute truth. Whenever I talk about relativism, I have to point out that the proponents of this view declare this absolutely.

From the Bible, though, we know that God is the standard of truth, for Jesus himself declared in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So, then, God is not just the standard of truth, but He IS truth. If we are to know truth, we must know God.

Reason 3: Academic Knowledge is Not the Most Important Knowledge

I just laid out the case that knowledge and truth cannot be known without a knowledge of the true God, but let’s not be short-sighted. Though academics are important, it is not the most important aspect of the child’s education. Whenever education is referred to in the Bible it is always in reference to the spiritual education of the child (Deuteronomy 6:7, Psalm 78:4, Ephesians 6:4). Ephesians 6:4 instructs us to bring our children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. This is consistent with the various other passages in Scripture that refer to what should be taught to our children. We are to teach the “commands” of the Lord, the “instructions” of the Lord, and the “glorious deeds of the Lord.” Our strategy should be that of Jesus’ as He spoke with the disciples on the road to Emmaus: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” The ultimate goal of our education should be that of revealing Christ to our children through the Word of God and our own lives of sanctification and experience. We should be falling to our knees daily for the grace to teach our children and for His mercy to save them, despite our shortcomings and mistakes. We have been given a great responsibility.

Christian Education is Not Just Adding God as an Accessory to Our Education

At this point, there may be some confusion. What I don’t mean, is that you continue your non-Christian education, but just add God on here and there. In order for our Christian education to be true and effective, Christ must permeate our curriculum and methods. He is truth. There is no other. He is the hope and salvation for us and our children.