By Israel Wayne
 
Why do we teach our children? Why don't we just allow them to grow up without being educated? When I ask this question at various conferences where I speak, the most common answer given is, "They need an education to make it in the real world. They need to get a good job and have a career. They need to be able to support a family."
 
It bothers me that the bulk of educational efforts are for a pragmatic economic end. The late Neil Postman called this worldview the "god of economic utility." From a Biblical worldview, is the purpose of an education to "get a good job"? Is life not more important than what we eat or drink or wear? (Matt. 6:25)
 
Another common answer is, "We want our children to be intellectual. We want our children to be smart." Pride can set in as we gloat over the academic prowess of our children. There must be something more to life than just scoring higher than our peers on standardized test scores. Remember, knowledge puffs us up. (1 Cor. 8:1)
 
The worldview of parents rubs off on their children. In a Barna poll, teenagers were asked to share their number one goal in life. Eighty-eight percent said their primary over-arching life's ambition was to get a college degree! Where did they get that worldview? From their parents and teachers who have drilled into them that a college degree is the chief end of man (so that you can get a good job and be intellectual).
 
A New Educational Paradigm
As Christians, we need to pass on something greater than a Capitalistic or Humanistic worldview. From a Biblical worldview, the chief aim of education is so that they will know, love and serve the God who created them.
 
Harvard University's original mission statement sums up pretty well the true purpose of education: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation for all of sound knowledge and learning."
 
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon summarized his humanistic and hedonistic pursuits of work, advancement, knowledge, and wealth, which were all meaningless, by saying, "This is the conclusion of the matter; fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecc. 12:13)
 
Education is not an end, in and of itself. It is a means to end. Psalm 19:1 reveals that the heavens declare God's glory and the skies declare his handiwork. The reason we study Astronomy is not because it is a "required subject." We don't merely study the planets and their orbits because our children may need that information to get a good job someday! We shouldn't just study the heavens so that our children can get a good SAT score! No, we study the universe because we want to understand better the God who created it.
 
John 1:3 tells us that the world was made through the Word, and that nothing exists that was not made through Him. Not only did He create all things, but He sustains them with His mighty power. (Col. 1:16-17) The whole is equal to the sum of all its parts. That means that if the universe is shouting out God's glory, then all the parts of the universe are doing so as well. God is the creator and sustainer of History, Math, Science, Language Arts, Logic, etc. Since that is the case, then all of the academic disciplines can teach us more about our great Creator.
 
A Christian Philosophy of Math?
When we study Math, we learn that God is orderly and precise. (We see His unity.) When we study Science we find His order, but we also see that He loves variety and creates with color, zest and splash. (We see His diversity within His unity.) In Language Arts, we learn that God communicates because He wants to be understood and He wants a relationship with us. We desire to communicate because we are made in His image. Through History we learn that He is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-loving as He orchestrates all the events of space and time to accomplish His purposes.
 
Your children will never learn to see the nature and character of Christ in each and every academic discipline unless they are in an educational context that insists on that approach. If your children are not learning more about Jesus in their Geography, Geometry and Physics classes, they are not receiving an adequate Biblical worldview, and therefore are not receiving an adequate education. It's your responsibility to ensure that they receive a thoroughly Biblical worldview in each of the academic disciplines.
 
Copyright 2007, Israel Wayne.
 
Israel Wayne was home educated and currently serves as Marketing Director for the national publication Home School Digest. He is the author of the book, Homeschooling From A Biblical Worldview, published by Wisdom's Gate. Israel and his wife Brook (also a homeschool graduate) have four young children. Write to: Wisdom's Gate, P.O. Box 374, Covert, MI 49043. 1-800-343-1943 or www.homeschooldigest.com