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Beacon MediaBeacon MediaSupporting Christian schooling worldwideSupporting Christian schooling worldwide
The History of Education
The FallThe Fall and advent of sin meant that communication was forever distorted, and relationships were impaired.
The Tower of Babel After languages were confused, tribes went in
different directions.
Education developed within different cultural groups… some included God’s truth, some didn’t.
Truth became corrupted Elders passed on knowledge, including
historical truths from the foundation of the world.
e.g. Flood stories appear in the history of many cultures
But many cultures began to worship other gods.
Truth was lost to many cultures.
A God-centred culture The Mosaic ideal was that every facet of the
culture was to be God-centred.
Clothes, place names, monuments, calendar dates, the law and every day practices were God-focused.
The Ancient Greeks The Greeks worshiped many false gods.
The educational system they established is still evident today.
Religion was separated out in a divided curriculum.
All for the glory of MAN
Jesus, our example His parables and His example impacted
educational thinking and practice.
God’s love and the gospels permeated the teaching-learning process.
Relationship restored The world now had the opportunity to be
reunited with God through the cross.
The Gospel was now a key to education.
The spread of the Gospel The Gospel impacted learning from Jerusalem
into Africa and Europe and beyond.
The Reformation In Europe, the Reformation was a spearhead
for literacy and education for all, so the Bible was in the hands of everyone, and everyone was a priest.
John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and other edifying books were widely read.
Church-based education In Europe, the church valued literacy and
promoted study of the creation.
Seminaries became universities.
Cathedrals founded great schools.
Godly foundation The foundation of schools and universities was
theology – the study of God.
Godly character and spiritual disciplines were expected of students.
The church took responsibility for education
Schools were linked to the local church community.
A Christian worldview permeated all lessons and informed school practices.
The dawn of evolutionary thinking
Darwinism created a setback to Christian education.
There was now a conflict.
Was God’s word really true, or was man’s idea better?
False teaching throughout science, history and social science meant that generations grew without any reference to the Gospel.
Christian education diluted Church schools became chameleon-like, trying
to be all things to all people. Faith was diluted out of education.
The State took control of education.
Church schools became elite fee-paying schools for the rich.
God’s plumb line ignored Graduates left school with no certainties, no
plumb lines for life.
Discipline, academic standards and school cohesion fell.
Where is God? The integrating force of the cross was denied.
God was no longer included.
State education in Western nations was “free, secular and compulsory”.
Church schools followed State curriculum.