Dr. Richard Lappert, Ph.D., Chairman • Dr. Robert Simonds, Th.D., Co-Chairman • With contributions by members of the Education Committee of The Coalition on Revival • Dr. Jay Grimstead, D. Min., General Editor • Mr. E. Calvin Beisner, M.A., Assistant to the General Editor
The Christian World View of Education. Copyright 1986, The Coalition on Revival, Inc. All rights reserved. The Coalition on Revival, Inc. P.O. Box 1139, Murphys, California 95247
PREFACE
This document presents a Christian world view of education. It comes at a time of serious crisis within the Christian Church. Harry Blamires has described one aspect of the population in these words:
"There is no longer a Christian mind...the modern Christian has succumbed to secularization. He accepts religion—its morality, its worship, its spiritual culture; but he rejects the religious view of life, the view which sets all earthly issues within the context of the eternal, the view which relates all human problems—social, political, cultural—to the doctrinal foundations of the Christian Faith, the view which sees all things here below in terms of God's supremacy and earth's transitoriness, in terms of Heaven and Hell."
This work is, therefore, addressed to Christians who need a concise statement of the essential elements of a view of education that is based on Christian philosophical and theological assumptions, the essentials of which are as follows:
1. The Christian God is the only God.
2. This existing, personal-infinite God created the universe and revealed Himself by it.
3. The supernatural world in which God exists is just as real as the natural world and is susceptible of being known.
4. This personal, infinite God has chosen to bridge the gap between the two worlds and to reveal Himself to human beings in three ways:
4.1 special revelation in the Bible
4.2 personal self-revelation in His Son, Jesus Christ; and
4.3 general self-revelation in material and natural creation.
5. There is no dichotomy between secular and sacred truth. All of created reality has been deliberately and purposefully brought into being by God. This, it is dependent on Him for meaning.
All reality, then, should comprise the subject matter, or content, of education. Any educational systems that withholds from learners some aspect of this reality, therefore, cannot be considered complete.
It is our belief that in many cases the Christian world view of life is being deliberately and consistently withheld and even censored from the content of education. Paul Vitz and Cal Thomas have presented impressive evidence for this charge. As the Christian world view is being pushed out of education, our educational system is increasingly based on a secular or non-theistic world view that looks to human reason and experience alone for the answers to life's questions and problems. Rousas John Rushdoony has insightfully described the dilemma this presents:
"Education today occupies an equivocal position in contemporary life, functioning both as a scapegoat for every failure and as a catch-all for every hope and expectation of society....The attitude of people towards education is that it is a god that has failed and yet a god who can perhaps still be whipped into fulfilling his mission."
This atheistic form of education, while pretending to be neutral, actually opposes the reality of God and His truth, and this is doomed to fail even at its well-intentioned purposes.
It should be stressed that it is not our intention to impose our Christian world view on all educational activity. It is our intention, though, to define clearly for all educators, parents, and students, what comprises education with a distinctly Christian viewpoint. One purpose for doing this is to unite Christians under one clearly defined set of standards for such a viewpoint. Another purpose is to exhort leaders in public, government-controlled and private forms of education to end the deliberate censorship and distortion of the Christian world view and to expose students to the truth about this view.
We therefore propose that any educational system that calls itself Christian should be in agreement at least with the statements of affirmation and denial in this document. Further, we believe that parents who seek a truly Christian education for their children can use it as a standard by which to evaluate the educational alternatives available. Finally, any publisher or educator sincerely interested in conducting balanced, reality-based, non-sectarian education should use the content of this document to insure that the Christian world view is being presented fairly in each aspect of the educational program.
The following statements of affirmation and denial are organized into ten sections. Parts I and II contain statements of the definition and purpose of education from a Christian perspective. Part III addresses the nature of God and His vital role in education. The next two sections deal with the subject matter of education: Part IV with the nature of truth and reality and Part V with the content to be learned. Four sections pertain to the immediate participants in any educational activity: Parts VI and VII addressing the nature and role of learners and the kinds of outcomes expected of them, and Parts VIII and IX referring to the nature and role of teachers and to pedagogy, that is, the methodology of teaching. Finally, Part X deals with the question of responsibility for education; in this regard, we present the respective roles of parents, schools, the Church, and civil government.
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STATEMENTS OF AFFORMATION AND DENIAL
I. The Definition of Education
1. We affirm that in its most basic meaning, education is the triune God teaching His truth to mankind. (Genesis 1:27-31; Psalms 19:1-9; 94:8,9; John 1:1-9). We deny that education is solely mental or physical activity associated with learning the thoughts and experiences of other human beings. (Psalm 119:99).
2. We affirm that education is the action or process by which a person comes to know and use God's truth, and the education is learning to think God's thoughts after Him and to see things as He sees them. (Isaiah 55:8,9; John 5:19,20). We deny that education is merely the action or process by which a person acquires knowledge or skills.
3. We affirm that education is lifelong and that it incorporates every thought, experience, and activity of man. (Deuteronomy 6:7-12; 11:18-20; Isaiah 29:24; Matthew 9:13; 24:32; Mark 13:28; 1 Corinthians 4:6; 14:31). We deny that education is confined to formal schooling in traditional classroom settings or to tutorial relationships. (Matthew 5:1-48; 6:1-34; 7:1-29; 11:29)
II. The Purpose of Education
4. We affirm that the purpose of education is both to reveal God and to bring students into conformity with His revealed will. (Luke 24:27; John 7:17; 14:21, 23,24). We deny that the sole purpose of education is to accomplish human perfection and understanding of the material world.
5. We affirm that the ultimate goal of education should be to orient human beings Biblically toward the knowledge of God, humanity, and the rest of God's creation, in order to prepare them to take their places in family, Church, and society to the glory of God and in the service of Christ's Kingdom and their fellowman. (2 Kings 22:8-23:26; Malachi 4:4-6; Matthew 20:26-28; Acts 16:30-34). We deny that the ultimate purpose of education should be human self-development and self-fulfillment. (Acts 2:37-47).
III. The Nature and Role of God in Education
6. We affirm that God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things and is the Source of all truth. (Genesis 1:1-27; Psalm 55:22; 119:151; 121:1-8). We deny that human beings, society, or the external world are sources of truth in and of themselves. (Psalm 14:1).
7. We affirm that God created, sustains, and will consummate all things through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, education must focus on the Person of Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17). We deny that "education" that omits reference to Jesus' role in this world is education at all. (John 14:6).
8. We affirm that the Holy Spirit of God teaches and enlightens every believer in Jesus Christ and leads that person into all truth. (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13). We deny that human beings can find or understand all truth through human effort alone. (Romans 3:11,12)
9. We affirm that the existing personal God has communicated truth to all mankind through personal revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ and through propositional, verbalized revelation of Himself in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. (Genesis 15:1; 17:1; Exodus 3:2-15; Isaiah 6:1-8; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22; 24:27; John 1:1,2; 12:28; Acts 9:4,5; Hebrews 1:2,3). We deny that the individual person is capable of learning all truth from within himself or from human teachers and secular learning materials. (John 7:15,16; 1 Timothy 6:3-5)
IV. The Nature of Truth and Reality in Education
10. We affirm that truth is what is known to God about Himself and all of His creation, and that it is absolute, eternal, and objective. (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalms 25:10; 57:3; 119:142,151). We deny that truth is solely what is known to one or more individuals or to mankind collectively, and that is relative, temporal, or subjective. (Romans 1:25; 3:3,4; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)
11. We affirm that the existing, personal-infinite God has chosen to reveal truth to us both through special revelation, which is communicated to us by means of the Bible and God's Son, Jesus Christ, and through general revelation, which is communicated to us by means of His rational and nonrational creation; and that education should entail the pursuit of learning, which is derived from all of these sources of revelation. (Genesis 1:28; 2:19,20; Daniel 4:37; John 1:14,17; 14:6; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; Hebrews 1:1,2). We deny that truth is found only in human beings, in nature, or in a combination of the two, and that a person's sole purpose in education should be to attain learning apart from God's revelation. (I Kings 17:24; 1 John 2:27).
12. We affirm that in God's design all of the particular elements of the universe are united into a meaningful whole; that it is one purpose of education to help learners to find relationships among these elements and, thus, to find their meaning; and that Biblical revelation is the ultimate criterion for this meaning. (Genesis 1:1-31; Psalm 19:1). We deny that the particular elements of the universe exist without rationality, order, and meaningful relationships derived from the Supreme God. (Genesis 3:1-24)
13. We affirm that true reality originates with God and is spiritual and eternal, as well as material and temporal, and that the content of education is complete when it includes all true reality. We deny that true reality originates with mankind; that it is limited to what is material and temporal; and that the content of education is complete when it is limited to the study of material reality. (I John 2:27).
V. The Content of Education
14. We affirm that freedom of inquiry is central to man's innate desire for truth, and that all truth is God's truth. Therefore, we encourage inquiry into all fields of knowledge not forbidden in the Bible. (John 8:31,32; 2 Corinthians 3:17). We deny that public and private schools ought to restrict freedom of investigation into religion by teachers and students so long as that investigation does not interfere with the legitimate duties of teaching and learning.
15. We affirm that freedom of inquiry and academic freedom have a legitimate place in the pursuit of truth and in the framework of the learning and teaching process. (John 8:32,36). We deny that academic freedom implies the right to disobey or contradict the Scriptures as the embodiment of God's truth in this world, or to violate a contractural agreement with an employer. (James 3:14; 5:19)
16. We affirm that all curriculum content must be integrated with and interpreted by God's truth as revealed in the Bible. (John1:9; Romans 1:20; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). We deny that there is any real separation between secular and sacred truth, and that secular learning should be treated in isolation from God's revealed truth. (Philippians 4:8,9).
17. We affirm that scientific investigation is a valid and necessary means of studying the universe and of discovering its orderly operation. (Genesis 1:14; Psalms 19:1,2,4,6,7,8; 104:19; Daniel 2:21; Matthew 16:2,3; Luke 21:25,26). We deny that scientific investigation is incompatible with any truth revealed in the Bible, and that science education may rightly reject or ignore all non-empirical sources of truth. (Romans 1:19,20)
18. We affirm that God is the Author of all true ethics; that true ethics is based on absolute truth and unchanging principles of right and wrong, as revealed in the Bible; that there are ethical absolutes that apply equally to all people everywhere; and that one purpose of education should be to help students to discover these unchanging Biblical standards of right and wrong and to reflect on the logical consequences of departing from these standards. (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 7:7-11; Matthew 5:17,18; Romans 1:19,20). We deny that students should be taught that neutrality with regard to ethics is either possible or desirable in any sphere of human activity; that people can choose what is right behavior for themselves without regard to the absolute standards of moral behavior revealed in the Bible; that ethics is situational; and that ethics can properly be based on the assumption that truth and morality are relative and changing. (Deuteronomy 28:14,15; 30:8-10; Matthew 5:19,20; Romans 1:25-32; 2 Thessalonians 2:4, 10-12; 2 Timothy 3:2,70 4:3,4).
VI. The Nature and Role of the Learner
19. We affirm that a human being has worth because he has been created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 8:29,30). We deny that a person has worth merely because he exists or because he says it is so. (Psalm 33:16; 53:1-3; Proverbs 12:15; 14:9).
20. We affirm that every human being is created in the image of God and is, therefore, in need of development in the spiritual areas of existence as well as in the intellectual and physical areas, and that true education of the whole person must include attention to all three aspects of human life. (Genesis 1:26). We deny that human beings are merely higher animals without soul or spirit, and that any education that addresses only the intellect and body, while ignoring the spiritual aspect of human beings, is appropriate to their nature.
21. We affirm that, though we are created in the image of God, because of the fall of Adam we are born sinful and need to experience salvation through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ in order to reach our full potential. (Romans 5:8,10). We deny that we are born perfect and uncorrupted, and that we are inherently good by nature and in need of education alone to achieve our highest potential and to attain a state of fulfillment. (Romans 3:10-12,23).
22. We affirm that education must include the consideration of sin as a fact of human behavior. (Acts 2:38; Romans 1:28-32; 3:23-25; 6:23). We deny that textbooks and curricula should ignore the fact of sin or rebellion against God in human behavior. (Luke 3:7,8; Romans 6:12)
23. We affirm that people who are restored to a proper relationship with God must receive instruction from the Word of God—the Bible—concerning the rights and responsibilities of this privileged position, and that providing such instruction is one of the most important responsibilities of education. (Proverbs 9:9). We deny that people can learn the rights and responsibilities of the Christian life without studying the revelation of God's truth in the Bible. (2 Timothy 3:14,15)
24. We affirm that students have the responsibility to attend to and to apply effort to a learning task. (Proverbs 23:12; Colossians 3:23; 2 Timothy 2:15). We deny that students are absolved from cooperating with a teacher and from exercising personal effort to learn. (Proverbs 5:12,13; 6:4-11; 13:4; 20:4)
VII. What Education Should Produce in Learners
25. We affirm that education ought to cultivate in students the four basic skills of cognition, communication, imagination, and valuation. (2 Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 4:29; Philippians 4:8,9). We deny that complete education can occur without attention to these four skills. (2 Timothy 2:15,16; 3:13; 4:3,4).
26. We affirm that education ought to promote development of the learner in at least three areas, viz., spiritual and moral growth, academic growth, and personal and social development. Examples of specific results in each area follow:
26.1 In spiritual and moral growth, learners should: (Psalm 143:10; Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Colossians 3:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; 2 Timothy 3:16)
26.1.1. consider the Bible God's inspired Word and develop attitudes of love and respect toward it.
26.1.2. know the basic doctrines of the Bible.
26.1.3. have a desire to know and obey the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures.
26.1.4. make a decision to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
26.1.5. develop an understanding of a Christian's role in the Church.
26.1.6. develop the mind of Christ toward right and wrong conduct.
26.1.7. develop self-discipline and responsibility bases on submission to God and all other authority.
26.1.8. develop a Christian world view.
26.2 In academic growth, learners should: (Philippians 4:8,9; Colossians 2:23; 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16,17)
.26.2.1. reach their full academic potential.
26.2.2. gain a thorough command of the fundamental processes used in communicating with others, such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
26.2.3. develop a thorough comprehension and command of science and mathematics.
26.2.4. develop an appreciation for and understanding of the humanities.
26.2.5. develop the use of good study habits.
26.2.6. pursue independent study and perform independent research.
26.2.7. be able to reason logically.
26.2.8. use critical thinking and Biblical criteria for evaluation.
26.2.9. develop good citizenship through understanding and appreciating the Christian basis of freedom, human dignity, and acceptance of authority.
26.2.10. develop understanding of and appreciation for God's world and man's responsibility to use and preserve it properly.
26.2.11. develop an appreciation of the fine arts through study and personal expression.
26.2.12. develop physical skill and coordination through participation in physical education and athletic activities
26.3. In personal and social development, learners should: (Isaiah 54:13,14; Matthew 6:19-21; 19:4-6; John 13:34, 35; Romans 8:14-17,31,32; 1 Corinthians 6:13,15,19,20; 7:10-16; 9:27; Ephesians 1:3-6; 5:15,16,22-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 2:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:8-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13; 1 Timothy 6:10,17; Hebrews 13:5)
26.3.1. develop a healthy personality based on properly understanding and accepting themselves as unique individuals created in the image of God.
26.3.2. learn to respect others because they are also made in God's image.
26.3.3. become contributing members of society, realizing the interdependence of one person on another.
26.3.4. appreciate time as a God-given commodity and the individual's responsibility for using it effectively.
26.3.5. develop a Biblical view of work and the prerequisite attitudes and skills for success in employment.
26.3.6. develop Biblical attitudes toward marriage and the family.
26.3.7. develop physical fitness, good health habits, and wise use of the body as the temple of God.26.3.8. develop a Biblical attitude toward material things.
VII. The Nature and Role of the Teacher
27. We affirm that a teacher is a presenter of God's truth and a guide to its discovery by students through the ministry of God's Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 30:20,21; Jeremiah 3:15; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11,28-31; Colossians 1:28,29). We deny that any teacher can, without the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, guide others adequately to an understanding of God's truth.
28. We affirm that a teacher who is a good example in the spiritual realm must consciously and deliberately have accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord. (1 Timothy 4:11,12). We deny that a teacher who denies Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord can be a suitable example in spiritual matters. (2 Timothy 3:5-7).
29. We affirm that a teacher is one who models the learning process by being a seeker of God's truth as revealed in the Bible and by applying that truth to his own life. (Ezra 7:10; Jeremiah 29:13; Luke 6:40). We deny that a teacher should avoid seeking God's truth or should seek the truth solely in ways others than through the Bible and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father.
30. We affirm that teachers must know the content or subject matter to be taught. (Luke 4:4,8,12,16-22; 1 Timothy 6:2-5). We deny that it is possible to teach adequately without a thorough knowledge of the subject matter to be learned by students. (1 Timothy 1:7; 2 Timothy 2:1,2).
31. We affirm that teachers must create conditions that result in learners' desire to learn. (Luke 2:46,47,49,52). We deny that it is possible to produce adequate learning in students who are not motivated to learn. (Proverbs 5:12,13,22,23)
32. We affirm that verbal communication used by teachers must be understood by and have the same meaning for both teachers and learners. (Ephesians 4:29; 2 Timothy 1:13). We deny that it is possible for teachers to produce adequate learning in students when they use language or ideas outside students' daily life and language. (Ephesians 4:29)
33. We affirm that teachers must teach what is unknown through what is already known by learners. (Mark 11:12-14,20-24). We deny that it is possible for learners to learn adequately that which is not based on previous learning or experience. (Matthew 6:26-31).
34. We affirm that teachers should give students the opportunity to produce in their own minds the ideas or truths, and to become skillful at performing for themselves the acts or skills, to be learned. (Luke 9:1,2,6; 10:1,9,17). We deny that teachers should require students to acquire knowledge or skills without encouraging original thinking and applications of what they learn to other situations.
35. We affirm that teachers should confirm and test learning by review, repetition, and practical application, where necessary. (Luke 24:44; John 21:15-17). We deny that learning is adequately established generally by having students go once through a learning experience and then be tested for a mark or grade. (Matthew 14:15-21; 15:32-34).
IX. Methodology of Education
36. We affirm that there is a variety of teaching and learning methods that may be appropriate for specific curriculum content with a particular learner or group of learners. A limited list of examples follows:
36.1. Demonstration (Matthew 6:9-15: Mark 6:41)
36.2. Involvement of students in learning (Mark 6:7-12)
36.3. Discipline and correction (Mark 11:15-17; 2 Timothy 3:15)
36.4. Discovery (Mark 14:66-72)36.5. Familiar Illustrations (Luke 6:4)
36.6. Individualized instruction (John 3:2-21; 4:5-26; Luke 19:1-8)
36.7. Lecture, formal teaching (Luke 6:20-49; 1 Timothy 4:13)
36.8. Memorization (2 Timothy 3:15)
36.9. Practice (Matthew 10; Luke chs. 9,10; 1 Timothy 5:4)
36.10. Questions and answers (Matthew 16:13-18; Luke 6:39)
36.11. Repetition (Matthew 16:21; 17:22,23; 20:18,19; 26:1)
36.12. Review (Luke 24:44)
36.13. Small group activity (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 6:7-12; Luke 10:1-11)
36:14. Visual aids (Matthew 22:19-21; Luke 13:19)
We deny that there is one teaching method that should be used consistently to the exclusion of others.
37. We affirm that learning is most effective for all learners when more than one instructional modality is used, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities. (Matthew 14:27-33). We deny that learning is effective for all learners when one instructional modality is used exclusively.
X. Responsibility for Education
ROLE OF PARENTS
38. We affirm that God entrusts children to their parents for their nurture and education; that parents have both a right and a duty to raise their children in a manner consistent with Biblical standards of responsible moral conduct; and that parents have the right, therefore, to educate their own children at home or to delegate the task to schools. (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6,7; 11:19; Proverbs 6:20,21; Ephesians 6:4) We deny that civil government or any other entity has legitimate authority to supersede parents in the nurture and education of their children, and that governing agencies have legitimate authority to compel students to attend public schools. (1 Timothy 5:4)39. We affirm that parents have both a right an a duty to teach their children about biological reproduction and sexual health and morality. (Genesis 35:22; 49:4; Leviticus 20:10-21; Deuteronomy 6:6,7; 22:22-30; 23:17; Proverbs 6:20-29) We deny that civil government on any level has legitimate authority to usurp parents' responsibility to teach children about sexuality and reproduction or to establish mandatory sex education classes for children.
ROLE OF SCHOOLS
40. We affirm that it is a schools' responsibility to assist and to cooperate closely with parents in every aspect of a student's education. (Mark 9:17-27). We deny that schools have no responsibility to assist and to cooperate with parents in the education of their children.
41. We affirm that it is the responsibility of the schools to be sensitive to the wishes and values of parents with respect to the content and methodology of their childrens' education. (Philippians 3:5,6). We deny that it is the right of schools to decide arbitrarily and unilaterally what values system shall be the basis for the content and methodology of their students' education.
42. We affirm that a school is an extension of the home, existing to supplement parent's primary responsibility to educate their children. (Ephesians 6:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:4,5). We deny that schools have the right to supplant parents' primary responsibility to educate their children.
ROLE OF THE CHURCH
43. We affirm that each congregation of the Church has the responsibility to teach all its members the doctrines of God, of creation, of salvation, of God's Law, and of worship, so that the people of God are fitted for a godly walk and for a living testimony of the saving grace of Christ to those outside the faith. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 20:28-32). We deny that the Church has no authority to assemble its members for instruction in the faith.
44. We affirm that the home, the church, and the school must share cooperatively in the total design of education and yet remain separate in their respective spheres of jurisdiction. (1 Corinthians 7:20-24). We deny that education can function for the greatest good for all and for the Kingdom of God without the home, the church, and the school working in concert. (John 17:21).
ROLE OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
45. We affirm that education ought to operate in a free market, with each existing form of schooling having equal opportunity to enroll students on the basis of the proven success of that schooling. (Acts 5:35-39). We deny that civil government should arbitrarily favor through public funding one system of schooling over another.
46. We affirm that parents have a right to educate their children at home or in private schools that are free from control by civil government. (Proverbs 4:1-14). We deny that civil government has legitimate authority to monitor, regulate, or directly control home schooling or private school education by such means as compulsory attendance laws, state curricula, state-wide student achievement testing, mandatory state teacher certification, or other intrusions into these areas of schooling. (Daniel 1:8,17,20).
47. We affirm that all forms of education should receive equal benefit from taxation, whether in money, goods, or services. (Matthew 22:17,21). We deny that public education ought to be tax-supported unless proportionate tax support is available to all education, and that parents who send their children to private schools or who teach them at home ought to be taxed to support the education of children in public schools.
48. We affirm that education plays an important role in shaping the ability of people to think and in determining the content of their thoughts, and that education, therefore, ought to be free from control of its methods and content by civil government (John 9:1-23) We deny that civil government ought to be allowed to control the minds of its citizens by influencing the methods and content of education. (John 9:24-34).
A Call to Action in Education
General Actions
Because of the preceding convictions, we call upon all men and women who name Christ as their personal Savior and Lord to join us in:
1. examining earnestly these affirmations and denials in the light of God's Word to see if they are true, and informing us directly of those points in which they believe we have departed from Scripture or logic;
2. re-examining our own educational theories and practices and asking God to show us where we are falling short;
3. repenting of all known sins, confessing and forsaking them, asking forgiveness both of God Himself and of all those who have been offended, and then making all possible restitution;
4. praying for God to fill all of His people with the enabling power of the Holy Spirit in order that we may bring our personal lives and our educational theories and practices into closer conformity with His revealed will on a permanent and consistent basis;
5. seeking guidance from our brethren and local church authorities as to how we can mutually support and influence one another to make our education practices glorifying to God.
Having dealt with our own personal sins and failures, and placing ourselves accountable to the Bible and to the brethren, we now commit ourselves to:1. influencing any known Christians or Christian associations with whom we work to consider seriously our affirmations and denials with the goal of enlisting their responses;2. influencing those in the field of educational renewal who agree with our affirmations and denials to implement these proposals in their work;3. mobilizing and networking our Christian resources and working in concert with the other professional spheres both inside and outside COR, to see the behavior of the Body of Christ and our nation changed to approximate more closely the view of reality and morality presented to us in the Holy Scriptures.
Specific Actions
To these ends, we commit ourselves to the following specific actions:
1. God has ordained that the primary responsibility for educating the next generation rests on the shoulders of each child's parents. In consideration of the aforementioned affirmations and denials, we believe that there are several methods of providing children with a godly education. We encourage Christians to respect the methods chosen by others, whether home schooling, Christian day schools, or public schools.
1.1. The Coalition on Revival encourages the formation of local Christian schools and encourages those parents who are greatly disturbed by the humanistic domination of our public schools (but who do not feel called to run their own home schools) to enroll their children in one of the fine Christian school systems that exist or to work in conjunction with local churches to form their own Christian schools where none is available.
1.2. The Coalition on Revival also encourages the Home School Movement as one of the very wise ways of educating the next generation of Christians. Every local church that has parents who are disturbed with their children's educational options should assist those parents in establishing their own home schools if they wish to.
1.3. The Coalition on Revival also encourages those who wish to try to reverse the humanistic domination of our public schools and to turn them to the Judeo-Christian base on which our nation was founded, and recommends that they wholeheartedly lend their efforts to this exciting strategy of reclaiming the ground that we Christians have given up by default. Christians should be encouraged to be involved in and support godly candidates for their local school boards.
2. A high-level dialogue must be established among leaders in Christian higher education to review the entire enterprise of higher education from beginning to end. The Coalition on Revival will endeavor to initiate such a dialogue for courageous re-thinking and to make the fruits of such discussion available for those who are looking for new ways to accomplish an old task.
3. The "Life-on-a-Life" apprenticeship-discipling approach that Jesus used with the twelve disciples must be reinstated as a basic educational strategy in training pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and lay Christians, whether in the home, in the local church, or in some renewed seminary or Bible school training program. Leaders of the Christian Church, at all levels, must be willing to work to renew those seminaries, Bible schools, and Christian colleges that seem to be ineffective at producing graduates who are capable of helping others to become godly people.
4. Two major agenda items for the administration and faculty of most Christian K-12 schools and Christian institutions of higher learning must be: 1) to rebuild their curricula around an integrated, Biblical world view rather than to present a piecemeal and partially connected curriculum; 2) to exorcize from their curricula those humanistic concepts and values that permeate many Christians' thinking and the classroom instruction of many Christian schools.
5. All forms of Christian education should strive for excellence, not necessarily as the world defines it (by test scores, etc.), but as righteousness and truth evidenced in lives, and as credible ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world. We cannot accept the world's standards of what educational goals are, but must form our own. We are not in a battle to prove that Christian schools produce smarter pupils, though in fact that is often the case. We are preparing children to fulfill God's plan for their lives. We must beware of esteeming the child who does well academically more highly than those who don't, for every child has a divine purpose in the plan of God.
