Once there was a perfect classroom with perfect students and a perfect Teacher. But not for long. Both of the students broke the Teacher’s only rule, and He threw them out of the classroom. Ever after, all students were prone to break rules, and they all had to study in an imperfect environment.
Only the Teacher remained perfect. He provided a way for his students to want to do right, and He ordained education as a means to help them do right. But the fallen students thought they knew the best way to educate themselves—apart from the Master Teacher.
And thus began the battle between secular education and Christian education.
Christian education began in the Garden of Eden—a fact not often cited by education historians but one substantiated by Scripture.
The Bible is God’s infallible textbook for life and the very essence of God’s revealing Himself to man. In II Peter 1:3, the apostle says that the knowledge of God is all we need for “life and godliness.” Thus, those who ignore what the Bible has to say about any matter, including education, are missing an essential element to life as God intended it.
So what does the Bible have to say about education? A lot. Both the Old Testament and New Testament are filled with examples of teachers who sometimes failed, sometimes succeeded their students: Eli; Manoah, the father of Samson; the Wise One of Proverbs; Christ with His disciples; and many others.
God often emphasizes the influence of teachers upon students. In Luke 6:40, Christ says that every student, when fully trained, will be like his teacher. In Ephesians 6:4, He instructs fathers to bring up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” John 14:6 identifies Christ as the source of all truth.
Yet, across the years, Christian education has struggled to find a prominent role among even the Christian community.
During the years before Christ’s birth, Jewish children were required to receive their education at the synagogues where they studied mostly the Old Testament. Synagogues also offered a more advanced form of education, mainly for boys.
Years later, during the Roman Empire, some early Christians enrolled their children in the Roman public education system. Others, however, were wary of secular education. Records reveal that Christian schools, some former Roman public schools, sprang up. Many believe that the Christians in the catacombs also established some form of Christian education.
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