By W.Abijah Williams, Ph D

The ethos of Christian education is determined by its philosophical foundation. Three areas constitute philosophical content: metaphysics, epistemology and axiology. Through these three media, philosophers seek answers to three questions: What is real? What is true? And what is of value.

Metaphysics deals with the question of what is real in four areas:

Cosmology - about the universe

Theology - conceptions of God

Anthropology - who/what is man

Ontology - what it means ‘to be'

Epistemology deals with knowledge thus:

Dimensions - is truth absolute or relative?

Subjective or objective?

‘A priori' or ‘a posteriori'?

Sources - revelation, authority, reason, intuition and empiricism

Validity - the correspondence theory

The coherence theory

Then pragmatic theory

Axiology deals with values: conceived and operative

Ethics; good or bad conduct - absolute or relative?

Local or universal standards

Religious or otherwise?

Who determines the standards?

Aesthetics: beauty and art - imagination and creativity

Imitative or creative?

Deals only with beautiful or ugly?

Socially functional or private?

For admiration or utility?

THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION

God, in creating the earth, created a perfect man in His own image and likeness. The entrance of sin broke the harmony between man and God, himself, his fellow man, the universe, truth and beauty. Negativity to all of creation was initiated. Lost man needed salvation. To meet man's greatest need, God had to reveal Himself to man again.

God reveals Himself to man through nature, reasoning, revelation, and Christ. The life of Christ, personal intuition and revelations, and the basis for reasoning are all substantiated in the greatest available source of revealed truth - the Bible. It is become the foundation and context in which all truth is integrated and all knowledge validated.

All truth is God's truth, since He is the source of knowledge in all its dimensions

Man is a being of many dimensions: physical, social, mental and spiritual.

To be restored to the image of God, man needs an education that caters to all dimensions.

Every element of that education is important to his wholeness, his restoration.

There is no religious and secular knowledge; only godly and ungodly, truth and error.

Since the bible is truth, then it is the source of all knowledge, or true education.

The bible, therefore, should be the primary text in all teaching, its truths permeating all lessons. The bible does not contain the totality of truth and leaves space for other texts.

The first goal of true education is the salvation of the student: the restoration of the total individual. That should be clear to the student, the teachers, the parents and all concerned. It is the reason for SDA schools, the distinctive reason for our existence.

How is the work of redemption and education one?

Ephesians 4:11 says some of Christ's followers should be "apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers". The two terms - pastors and teachers - denote one and the same class of men. They are to remain functional. The implication is - the pastor is to be a teacher and the teacher a pastor. Christ exemplified this.

The secondary aims of Christian education include:

• (1) the healing of our natural alienation from God, fellow men, self and nature;

development of a Christian mind and character; acquisition of knowledge; job preparation; and the possession of social, emotional and physical health. The ultimate aim is service for humanity.

 The first and most important qualification of a Christian teacher is the spiritual: a personal, saving, growing relationship with Jesus.

They must know their subjects, and especially as it fits into the Christian world view, the biblical perspective, the eternal framework.

He also needs social qualifications. Relationships outside the classroom lead to success within. Tactfulness, patience, sympathy, concern, respect, firmness, fairness, flexibility, and impartiality were all visible in the example of Christ.

Physical qualifications ensure the teacher is in health, has a healthy lifestyle, and is in a position to inspire his students towards the same.

THE CURRICULUM must have an integrating factor which, in the Christian school is Christ and the truth as it is in Him. Christ is the theme and the Bible the core text of a unified curriculum. It is to guide and give purpose, meaning and direction to human activity and thought, to provide a pattern for thinking in all areas.

The teaching of any topic in a Christian school is not to be a modification of the approach used in non-Christian schools. It is rather a radical reorientation of that topic within the philosophical framework of Christianity. ...the bible provides the framework, and the disciplines bring forth the bits and pieces. The bible provides the pattern which gives interpretive meaning to the otherwise meaningless details uncovered by the scholar.

VALUES: when modern culture lost the concept of the God who is "out there," it also lost the idea that there are universal values "out there" that apply across time, individuals and cultures. When education was divided into secular and religious and the one was separated from the other, then education lost its unity, integrity, purpose and direction.

METHODOLICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The essence of Christian education is to enable students to think and act reflectively for themselves rather than be trained to respond to environmental cues, or the word or will of an authority figure. Self control is central in Christian education and discipline. Students must be empowered to make their own decisions, and be responsible for those decisions without continually being coaxed, directed and/or forced by a powerful authority. This constitutes moral maturity - making moral decisions in relation to God and others. The aim of Christian discipline is self control.

Christian education must move beyond techniques for merely teaching the knowledge and abilities for acting responsibly. They must aim at developing a "tendency to engage in such actions." Students should be led through the stages of ‘consider' and ‘choose' to ‘commit'; and then provided with the opportunity to act on the commitment.

Biblical methodologies aimed at awakening inquiry and developing curiosity. It employed symbolism (the Passover and sacrificial system). Jesus used parables, object lessons, provocative questions, a lot of illustrations, and innumerable stories. He  maintained a positive attitude towards his audience, and showed concern for each sector - the aged, the women, the children, the sick, and all in need he respected them as individuals, and saw hope for each of them. He utilized the positive power of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Because they sensed His care for them, they began to care more for themselves.

SOCIAL FUNCTION OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

The direction that the youth of today will take the society tomorrow is determined by their education. Christian education is both conservative and revolutionary. Its conservative function is twofold: (1) to pass on the legacy of Christian truth, and (2) to provide a protected atmosphere for the young in which this transmission can take place and in which Christian values, skills and aspects of knowledge may be imparted to the young in their formative years. As a revolutionary agent the school can be seen as a staging ground for Christian activism and missionary work. It should be the nursery in which reformers are born and reared.