The Christian Philosophy of Education
By Rod Dreher
Rawlings School of Divinity
CLED 720: Biblical & Theological Foundations of Education
Genevieve Hamer
July 1, 2022
The Christian Philosophy of Education
What is a Christian education? Although the term Christian education does not occur in
the Bible, the Bible speaks of the moral and spiritual instruction of believers in general and of
children in particular. It places a high value upon knowledge, both of God and of His works. It
describes the moral and spiritual fruits of this knowledge and defines its ultimate purpose.
The present Christian school movement can be understood only as a part—certainly in
these times a very significant and necessary part—of the total endeavor of Christian education.
A full understanding of this movement requires an examination of the basis upon which its
educational theory and practices rest: its philosophy of education. Accordingly there follows,
first, a presentation of the basic beliefs of Christian education and, second, an application of
these beliefs to the specific mission of the Christian school.
Christian Education
Definitions
Biblical Christianity
The God of the Bible is not a god of man’s own making or choosing. The eternal Creator of
all things existed before man and exists independently of man. God, however, has revealed
Himself to man, speaking through His Word (the inerrant, divinely inspired and preserved sixty-
six books of the Old and New Testaments) and His works. His self-revelation is the substance of
Christian belief. What we call biblical Christianity is a system of certain basic truths that God has
revealed. Among these truths, the following are fundamental to Christian education.
God Created Man in His Own Image
Of all created beings, only man is spoken of in the Scriptures as being created in God’s
image. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…So God created man
in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen.
1:26–27). This creation of man was instantaneous—by a direct act and not by an evolutionary
process. Possessing the divine image, man reflects God not only in his moral, intellectual, and
emotional capacities but also in his aesthetic sensibility, social inclinations, and other qualities
of his personality. To acknowledge this correspondency is not to claim a degree of deity for man
but to recognize that man, the creature, uniquely bears the stamp of his Creator.
The Image of God in Man Was Marred When Man Fell Through Disobedience to His
Creator
God created man for fellowship with Him. This fellowship was not to be forced but
voluntary. Man, however, prompted by Satan, chose to rebel against God (Gen. 3). His
rebellion, which we call “the fall of man,” brought all mankind and all creation under the
dominion of sin.
All human beings, consequently, are born essentially evil, not essentially good, having
inherited the evil nature of the first man, Adam (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12). All stand condemned
before God because of their sin and are in need of a Savior (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). Though the image
of God in man was not entirely destroyed by the fall (Gen. 9:6; James 3:9), it was severely
marred. The mind of the natural man, for example, is capable of intellectual but not of spiritual
perception. He “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). On matters of
the greatest importance to man, his mind is not to be trusted, for it has been impaired by sin.
God Has Provided for the Restoration of His Image in Man Through the Person and Work
of Jesus Christ
This restoration is not accomplished by the fanning of a supposed inborn “spark of divinity”
in the individual, as religious liberalism has traditionally maintained, but by the giving of a new
nature. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [i.e., creation]: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Jesus Christ, the virgin-born Son of God, is the designer, creator, and preserver of all things
and is to have preeminence in all things (Col. 1:16–19). He is the answer to those persistent
questions: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? Speaking of Jesus Christ,
the Bible declares, “For of him [where I came from], and through him [why I am here], and to
him [where I am going], are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36).
In Jesus Christ, God became man (1 Tim. 3:16), and, as the unique God-man, Jesus Christ is
completely God and completely man. Though no man has seen God at any time (John 1:18),
man possesses in Jesus Christ the ultimate and complete revelation of God (John 1:1; Heb. 1:2).
Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, came into the world to redeem mankind by His
substitutionary death on the cross (1 Peter 2:24; Luke 19:10; Rom. 3:24–26). His bodily
resurrection proved Him the Son of God (Rom. 1:4) with power to save all who come to God by
Him (Heb. 7:25). When He ascended, He gave gifts to the Church “for the perfecting of the
saints” in the image of God (Eph. 4:7–12).
The Church
The Church is that group of individuals who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit
through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and who have openly confessed this faith (Rom. 10:9–10).
The Church thus is not a building or even a denomination. It is the Body of Christ, composed of
every true believer on the Lord Jesus Christ from Pentecost to Christ’s return (Eph. 5:25–30;
Heb. 12:22–23). Although true believers are commanded by Scripture to assemble in local
churches (Heb. 10:25), to be part of the true Church is not merely to be part of a congregation.
It is not just to be religious or to belong to a religious group. It is to possess the life of God in
the soul. The believer is made a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
Education
From the moment a child is born, certain forces are at work influencing his development.
As his inherited powers and tendencies surface and interact with his environment and his will,
he takes on the characteristics of his adulthood. Human growth, however, does not end with
physical maturity. Some faculties of the personality are capable of expansion and refinement
into old age. Education, whether of child or adult, is the directing of this total ongoing process
of development toward specific objectives.
Purpose
The purpose of Christian education is the directing of the process of human development
toward God’s objective for man: godliness of character and action. It bends its efforts to the
end “that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim.
3:17).
This goal of godliness presupposes the experience of regeneration. As education in general
begins with physical birth, Christian education proper begins with spiritual rebirth, when the life
of God is communicated to the soul. To say that Christian education proper begins with the new
birth is not, however, to say that it is pointless before regeneration. The student can be
provided with necessary awarenesses of God and responses to His Word so that when the Holy
Spirit brings conviction of sin he will readily and with full understanding accept Christ as his
Savior. Timothy from childhood knew “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise
unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). To make children and even
unregenerated adults “wise unto salvation” is no less a legitimate function of Christian
education today.
Growth in godliness proceeds step by step from regeneration toward full maturity “in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5–8). This growth, like regeneration, is made
possible by divine grace (Titus 2:11–13). It results from the emulation of Christ, who, as “the
express image” of “the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3), is the visible manifestation of the divine
nature that God has ordained for man’s imitation. As regenerated man continues to occupy his
mind with the truth of God revealed in Christ, he is “changed into the same image from glory to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). His full conformity to the image of God in
Christ—his Christlikeness—is the goal of Christian education (Rom. 8:29). This goal is pursued
with the recognition that its complete realization awaits the full view of Christ in the life to
come, when “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
Recipient
The focus of the educational process is, of course, the student, a unique individual created
for a specific purpose in God’s plan. He must be properly qualified and motivated if he is to
perform his cooperative role. Without a regenerated, willing student, Christian education
cannot carry out its purpose. Regeneration does not eliminate the old nature—what the
Apostle Paul called the “old man” or the “flesh”—and carnal attitudes and inclinations can
hinder spiritual growth. It is the student’s responsibility to bring with him a pure heart and a
willing mind. With these and the proper instruction, his success is assured, for “the pure in
heart,” Christ promised, “shall see God,” and the diligent search for knowledge, as for silver and
hid treasures, will be rewarded (Matt. 5:8; Prov. 2:3–5).
Responsibility
In the Scriptures God has commanded two institutions to educate: the home and the
church. As an extension of either or both of these institutions, the Christian school has a biblical
mandate to educate.
The Home
The Bible makes clear that education is to begin in the home (Gen. 18:19; Deut. 6:7; Prov.
22:6; Eph. 6:4; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15). It makes parents responsible for their children and charges
them with an educational task.
The Church
The New Testament indicates that the responsibilities of the church include edification as
well as evangelism (Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 2:42; 2 Tim. 2:2). The scriptural representation of the
church as a body—an organism that grows and matures—implies a teaching function for this
institution. Also, the recognition of the gift of teaching by the New Testament (Rom. 12:4–7; 1
Cor. 12:28) assumes the necessity of teaching in the local churches.
The Christian School
Christians have a biblical mandate to educate in their homes and in their churches. In order
to reinforce the educational ministries of these institutions or to protect their min- istries from
secular interference, Christian parents or church members, acting either individually or in
concert, may elect to form a Christian school. In doing so, they are acting from religious
conviction. To deny them their choice of means in carrying out the biblical mandate of Christian
education is to deny them the exercise of their religious convictions.
It follows that the education of children is the prerogative not of the state but of the
parents or church members. Allowing the state to dictate the standards and procedures of
Christian education jeopardizes the ability of parents and church members to exercise their
educational prerogative, to perform their responsibility to God for the education of their
children. The subjection of the Christian school to the control of the state or of any other
secular agency is, in effect, the subjection of the Christian homes and churches to secular
domination. It is a religious subjection, rightly regarded as vicious, for secular control (even
when it may appear benign) is incompatible with the aims of a spiritual ministry.
The Christian School
The work of the Christian school is an extension of the Christian educational ministries of
the Christian home and the church. Its purpose, therefore, is the development of the student in
the image of God. This purpose determines both the content and the means of instruction.
Content
King David exhorted his son, “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father,
and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind” (1 Chron. 28:9). How perfectly
David must have understood that the education of the child of God must include both the
knowledge of God and the preparation for exercising that knowledge in service. Accordingly, in
Christian education students are taught to know God and to imitate Him in His character and in
His works.
The Knowledge of God
The whole body of Christian educational theory rests on the recognition that all truth is of
God. He is the God of truth (Ps. 31:5); His Son is the Lord of truth (John 14:6); His Spirit is the
Spirit of truth (John 14:16–17). All truth, whether discerned or undiscerned by man, springs
from a single source and therefore consists as one harmonious whole. Consequently, God’s
written self-revelation is the starting point of all ratio- nal inquiry and the guide to all
interpretation of reality. No concept can be true that conflicts with the statements of the
Scriptures. Conversely, no untruth is a legitimate support of divine revelation or has any place
in the ministry of spiritual truth. A reverence for the God of truth compels a conscientious
regard for accuracy in all areas of factual investigation and reporting.
Since it is the purpose of Christian education to develop redeemed man in the image of
God, Christian educators must point students to the original of this image, God Himself.
Students come to know God by studying His revelation of Himself in His Word and in His works.
Of these, the more fully revealing of God is His Word; and, therefore, the Bible is the center of
the Christian school curriculum. The Bible is not only the most important subject matter but
also the source of the principles determining the other subject matters and the way in which
they are taught. The presentation of biblical truth is thus not confined to a single segment of
the curriculum—the study of the Bible—but is diffused throughout the teaching of all subjects.
The teacher’s knowledge of the Scriptures controls his selection and interpretation of materials
and determines his whole perspective on his subject matter. The Scriptures possess this
privileged status in the curriculum, for they are the primary means of conveying the knowledge
of God.
This knowledge of God implies more than just knowledge about God. Certainly an
acquaintance with the facts about God in the written revelation is important. But the
knowledge of God that is unique to Christian education is a per- sonal knowledge that begins
with repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and develops through obedience to
and communion with God. To know God is to be born into the family of God and to live in
fellowship with Him (1 John 5:20; Phil. 3:10). It follows that without a student body composed
mainly of students possessing this personal knowledge of God, no school can legitimately be
regarded as a Christian educational institution.
Though the Word of God is the main source of the knowledge of God, both factual and
personal, and therefore deserves precedence, the works of God are also an important part of
the Christian school curriculum. The creation reveals the Creator, and that which reveals God is
a proper study for man. Indeed, the Scriptures themselves invite man to consider God’s earthly
handiwork and hold him responsible for recognizing in it the work of God (Job 38–39; Rom.
1:18–20).
Especially is God revealed in His rational creation, man, who having been created in the
image of God is the highest of God’s works on earth. It is for this reason that the Christian
school gives emphasis to the humanities: the study of man’s language, his literature, his artistic
achievements, the record of his history, the logic of his mathematical reasoning, and other
forms of his personal and cultural expression.
The natural sciences are not disregarded. The glories of the vast universe and the myriad
wonders of man’s earthly habitation testify that their Creator is a God of order, of beauty, and
of power (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20). Though the study of nature has often displaced the study of
nature’s God, even to the point of man’s worshiping the creation rather than the Creator (Rom.
1:25), nevertheless God Himself pronounced the material universe “good” and established its
laws and processes as means of accomplishing His will for man (Gen. 1:31). The perfect
suitability of man’s physical environment to his needs and the fact that God committed the
earth to man to subdue and enjoy (Gen. 1–2; Ps. 8) witness to the goodness of God in His love
for and delight in His human creation.
Accordingly the Christian school curriculum includes astronomy, physics, chemistry,
biology, mathematics, and related subjects because they provide a knowledge of God’s nature
and His work in this world. In the curriculum of the Christian school, the voice of creation joins
with that of the written revelation in praise of the glory and goodness of God.
The Imitation of God
In endeavoring to fulfill the purpose of Christian education—the development of
Christlikeness in redeemed man—the Christian school teaches, as a consequence of the
knowledge of God, the imitation of God. Students learn of God so that they may imitate Him.
They are to become “followers of God” (Eph. 5:1).
In following God they imitate both His nature and His works. The imitation of God’s nature
results in holiness of character. God commands His people to imitate His holiness: “Be ye holy;
for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). The fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) is the expression of the
holiness of God in the believer’s character. The imitation of God’s works results in service.
Service is the consequence of following the one who said of Himself, “For even the Son of
man came not to be ministered unto [that is, to be served], but to minister [to serve], and to
give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
The imitation of God’s works by the Christian student necessitates a continual emphasis
upon the goal of service and a provision in the curriculum for instruction in skills and dis-
ciplines that equip students for service. Academic subjects—whether in the humanities or in
the natural sciences, whether general or strictly vocational—are studied not as ends in
themselves but as means of improving the student as a servant of God. Such instruction
includes not only mental but also physical training: instruction in the proper care of the vehicle
with which God has provided man to serve Him. The student learns that bodies must not be
abused or neglected but be de- veloped and disciplined for the service of God and presented to
Him for His use and His glory (Rom. 12:1–2; 1 Cor. 6:20).
The imitation of God’s works by the student requires provision in the curriculum for the
development of all the powers with which he has been endowed by his Creator and the di-
rection of these refined powers into channels of godly action. One of these powers is creativity.
Human beings have been given the ability to create in imitation of God. It follows that Christian
creativity reflects God’s character and ways as completely as possible.
This principle affects not only the student’s practice of art but also his artistic
discriminations. The Christian school is concerned with the improvement of his tastes. If the
student is to imitate God in His judgment, to obey the injunction to “approve things that are
excellent” (Phil. 1:10), he must possess the aesthetic as well as the moral perceptions and
inclinations to identify and prefer the best in this area of his experience, as in all others. To
imitate God in His actions as well as in His attributes is to develop abilities into skills and
exercise them as instruments of God’s will.
