What Does The Bible Say About Education?

— Will Sopwith

What does the Bible say about education? Well, my teacher friend, Phil tells me that the word " Education " comes from two Latin roots - educare , which means to train or to mold, and educere which means to draw out. And there's this dual meaning of the input of knowledge as part of education, but then also our response or reaction to that knowledge.

Education can be general and informal. It can also refer to a more formal system of education. And what I'm not talking about today is people as learners, because people are natural and amazing learners, all you have to do is watch a newborn baby in their first year and you'll see how much they learn and develop in terms of skills and knowledge in that first year. People are natural learners. So I'm going to talk more about intentional education and attempts to teach.

So I'm going to share a few thoughts about what the Bible's influence on education has been and is, different types of education in the Bible, and then finally, the example of Jesus.

How has the Bible influenced Education?

So to start us off, a quote from Nelson Mandela, the freedom fighter, social campaigner, and eventual president of South Africa. And he said,

And I think this sentiment is a clue as to why the Bible has influenced the establishment and spread of education quite so much. Because the Bible is full of this imperative to change the world for the better, for us to be changed so that we can go on and change our wider world. One example of this is in Deuteronomy 10, verse 18, and in there's a command to God's people, to defend the cause of the fatherless, and the widow. And throughout history, children and women, and especially those without families to provide for them have been among the most vulnerable and exploited people. And even now, in the 21st century, there is still in some parts of the world a fight for the rights of women and children to receive literacy, numeracy, the skills they need to avoid that exploitation. And historically, the Christian Missions Movement, compelled by the Bible to make disciples in all nations has always gone hand in hand with introducing schooling and training to communities where there is none, or amongst the neediest.

Why? Well, knowledge is power. As we've heard from that quote from Nelson Mandela, power to change your circumstance and power to change the world. And these are themes from the Bible. Throughout the Bible, from the escape of Jews from slavery led by Moses, right through to the teachings of Jesus, the formation of the early church, there is this theme of power to change the world.

Sunday School & Education

In parts of India, the word for school literally means the building beside the church. School and missionaries are just inseparable. Setting up schools has always been part of the Christian mission. The first Sunday schools began in 1780 in Gloucester, set up by a guy called Robert Rakes. And he was appalled by the destitution and criminality of the majority of young people in the town where he lived. And these young people would be working 12-hour shifts, Monday to Saturday, in fields and factories and completely without any form of formal education, and very little time for it. So for an hour each week before church, there was Sunday school, and this was introduced to teach reading and writing to whoever wanted it. And it was quickly oversubscribed and many more Sunday schools were set up, and the movement spread across the UK and into America. And for many, this was the only source of education until schools became more organized and laws were changed to allow and then enforce the education of children.

Examples of Christians who helped further Education

Louis Braille was a boy blinded at the age of five in France, who went on to develop the system that is now used worldwide by those unable to see, that system of raised dots that we call Braille. He was a committed Christian. A French priest called Charles-Michel de l'Épée was the one who first opened a public school for deaf children in Paris. And in translating the whole French alphabet into sign language, actually became the basis of international signing that we use today.

So, these are a few examples of the faith of followers of Christ guided by the Bible that inspired these initiatives in education. And people reading the Bible have been prompted by words like those of Jesus in Matthew 19:14,

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.””

-- Matthew 19:14

They're not at the bottom of the heap, they are important. And they should have the opportunity to know God, to be trained and educated. So as well as the inspiration to transform society, the Bible actually as a book has had quite a significant impact on education.

The Bible - a miniature library

The Bible is a whole library in miniature. It has books of history, poetry, philosophy, leadership, eyewitness documentary, and lots of different literary styles. And Christians have worked through history to mass print it, translate it, and generally make it as available as possible.

Why? Well, because we believe it holds the keys to life. And the result is that the Bible might have been often the only book owned by a family or community. And because of its status as a kind of mini-library of different literary forms, it becomes an excellent resource for literacy. And for many cultures around the world, where language is traditionally spoken only, there is no written down form of language, it's been portions of the Bible, that have often been the first written material and the basis then for developing a full written account of that spoken language. And that's because of the efforts of Christians, again, inspired by what the Bible teaches.

The message of the Bible is also a direct encouragement towards education or at least developing and using our talents. So a few examples, Psalm 119:33 says, Teach me your ways, oh, Lord , and in 1 Timothy 4:14 we're commanded, Do not neglect your gift. And Proverbs 1:7 has the description of a fool as one who despises instruction and wisdom.

Examples of educated people in the Bible

And amongst people God uses in the Bible, some of the well-known figures mentioned are:

1. The scholar Paul , who wrote a lot of the letters in the New Testament.

2. Artisans like Huram-Abi in 2 Chronicles 2, and he was an expert in working precious metals and commissioned to decorate Solomon's temple.

3. There was Solomon himself, a king of Israel, who was famed for his wisdom and learning and who wrote three books of the Bible.

4. Daniel is described in the first chapter of Daniel as a young man showing aptitude for every kind of learning.

5. And then Joseph from Israel, sold into slavery in Egypt learned Egyptian culture and was very skilled as a manager and administrator.

But most importantly, educational status is not a definer of our engagement with God. There are no glass ceilings in God's kingdom because of how qualified we are, as it sometimes feels there are in our society and economy. There are no minimum essential criteria required in our application to follow Jesus. God used those who would have been considered uneducated, just as well as the clever ones.

There was Amos , the shepherd , a book in the Old Testament Prophets, Peter , the fisherman , one of Jesus's key disciples, and he was even described in Acts as uneducated and untrained, Gideon , the youngest least important son of a farmer who went on to become an important leader of Israel in the Old Testament.

The Bible values Wisdom over Knowledge

And one of the reasons Christians have worked so hard to translate the Bible into local vernacular languages is this faith that there are no limits to knowing Jesus whereas before it was only those who are educated enough to know Latin or maybe in modern-day to learn English that could read God's word. God's word offers salvation for anyone and everyone. You don't need a degree in theology. You don't need a degree in anything. You don't even need a GCSE to know God. See what God has described in the Bible as valuing most is not knowledge, but wisdom.

Paul was a very learned man and writes in 1 Corinthians 8,

“But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to now.”

-- 1 Corinthians 8:1,2

And again, writing in 2 Timothy 3:7, he encourages Timothy to be careful of people who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Paul knew that education can actually be a trap. Knowledge, without wisdom or understanding, is just a load of facts. It can even make us too proud to engage with God's wisdom, who can teach us anything right? Even wise Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:13, writes, " I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. ", which basically means everything in the physical world that he could see. " All is meaningless ", was his conclusion.

How can education become meaningful?

So how can education avoid becoming a meaningless bunch of information, knowledge divorced from understanding, or the concept of education that includes our response to what we learn?

All information we receive gets slotted into our existing view of things and builds up what's called our worldview, which is the lens through which we understand the world. It's why fake news can amplify so quickly in social media echo chambers, we tend to fit information into our preconceived understanding, rather than evaluate it at face value. It's a natural response, we all do it. And I think part of the wisdom that the Bible talks about and values is referring to the worldview that we fit our knowledge and learning into.

How do we interpret knowledge? What does it all mean?

The Bible actually gives us a very coherent worldview, that many Christian schools, including here in Liverpool, seek to base their education around. If you like, it's the Bible's view of reality. It describes four main truths.

1. God created all things, and he created them good.

2. Creation has been spoiled by humanity's self-centeredness and rebellion, which the Bible calls sin.

3. Jesus died and rose from death, a perfect man, and yet God, to cancel out the effect of that spoiling.

4. One day, in the fullness of time, God's creation will be restored to its initial perfection and goodness. And how we live can contribute to that eventual restoration. We each have a part to play for good or bad towards that restoration.

The reason this makes sense as a worldview for education is that it not only illuminates why there is tension between what was fundamentally good but seems to have become messed up, it also gives us a very clear purpose and hope for our learning and understanding, to participate in restoring that innate goodness. It knits our personal development into a much bigger picture, a much bigger story. I wonder what alternative worldviews you've encountered at your school or perhaps in your children's school. It's worth thinking about. Ultimately, God holds us as parents accountable for our children's education. And if you have children, what lens do you think they are developing?

I think from my school, the worldview I picked up most was get good grades, get a good job, be influential. That's success and that's meaning, which you can't really argue with but it's a little bit hollow. Perhaps another version is to get knowledge so you can be self-sufficient and not dependent on anyone. That way leads to happiness, self-sufficiency. Or even it's all about you, your self-determination, you have the opportunity to do, to be whatever you like. That's certainly the tone of a good chunk of advertising, and the ad film and all media really. It's not hard to imagine, as many commentators have that our education system is more concerned with making our children economically productive in society than actually training them in wisdom. Training people up for jobs, rather than for life. Worldview is really important and education has a big part to play.

Are we training children in selfishness or service, in self-sufficiency or interdependence in community, in knowledge or in wisdom? Now, I'm not an educationist. I've never studied educational theory. I'm not necessarily saying this is what an education system should look like. I'd leave that to much cleverer people. But I do pay attention to God's word as a source of wisdom. The Psalms encourages us to meditate on God's ways, which I take as meaning chewing over God's word and getting all the meaning out of it. Some examples are Psalm 119:97, which says,

“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. ”

-- Psalm 119:97,98

Proverbs uses that analogy to teach concepts, it teaches deeper meaning through a picture if you like. So a couple of gems, Proverbs 25:14,

“Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given. ”

-- Proverbs 25:14

Another one, Proverbs 26:17 says,

“Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.”

-- Proverbs 26:17

Types of education mentioned in the Bible

Paul

We've already mentioned Paul who was trained by a famous rabbi Gamaliel. And his teaching would have included learning scriptures by heart, through repetition, learning interpretation of the law from past case studies, and building on other rabbis' rulings, much like a lawyer would today, but also the use of analogy and parable to teach truth.

Jesus

Jesus was also a rabbi, which literally means teacher, but not formally trained as one. And he used parables from everyday life to teach about God's kingdom. He used everyday situations to be as accessible as possible to normal people. He wanted his listeners to think more deeply than just a trade-off of question and answer.

A rich young ruler wants to know what the most important commandment was, for example, and Jesus told them a story about the Good Samaritan. Someone else wanted a description of the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus told stories about the lost sheep, the lost coin and yeast in dough. He told stories about the sowing of grain and a rebellious son leaving home in scandal. And Jesus is described in the Bible as someone that people listened to for hours, sometimes days.

Jesus was also an excellent coach. For his followers, his approach was completely immersive. He shared three years of his life with his closest disciples. They ate together, travelled together, ministered together. His closest followers learned by watching, discussing and imitating. Jesus put them in situations where they needed to take initiative and practice leadership. And then they'd go away together to debrief. And all the time they were developing skills, growing in insight, and of course, hearing his teaching and witnessing the miracles. His primary call to them as his trainees and the same to us is follow me.

After three years of this education, these followers who were a mix of educated and uneducated started and sustained a movement that now counts around 2 billion people among its members. And this became a movement that has survived lots of attempts to squash and exterminate it by various successive power structures. So initially, the Jewish religious elite tried to stamp out the church, then it was the Roman Empire. And then with the rise of Islam across the Middle East and North Africa, Christianity survived the power struggles between the Pope and the reformers who wanted to translate the Bible, and finally, it survived Nazism and Communism and continues to grow even under persecution today, particularly in Islamic countries. I think you could say Jesus was an effective teacher.

Conclusion

So in summary, the message of the Bible has inspired the establishment of education through history, inspired people to reach out and develop others, often through teaching and training. Developing our gifts and our knowledge and our understanding is encouraged by the Bible, but the level of our education or qualifications is no barrier to knowing God. God values wisdom and understanding above knowledge.

And the Bible gives us a framework and perspective in which education makes sense, a worldview for wisdom. And finally, Jesus taught by coaching and by stories, and his call to each one of us still is " follow me". He's an excellent teacher. And one of my favorite sayings that he spoke is recorded in Matthew chapter 11, verse 29, where He says, Take my yoke upon you , as in the bit of wood that you'd put across two cattle plowing,

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

-- Matthew 11:29 ---