Is Education Neutral?

Education is a not religiously neutral. Having attended traditional and government sponsored schools it took me a time to see this because I didn't know of alternatives. Now that I have been free from public schooling for some time and while helping my children pursue an education from a Biblical viewpoint, I have begun to see clearly that an education that does not acknowledge the works of God is inadequate and even a hindrance for the Christ-follower. Doug Phillips helps us understand:

Education Choices are Not Neutral: The Implications of Islamic Madrasahs and Government Schools for Our Christian Children

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Pslam 1: 1-2

By Doug Phillips

Education is inescapably a religious discipline. The content, methodology, and the very culture in which education takes place are the product of the theologies which drive them. There is no neutrality. When parents choose between a Biblical vs. non-Christian educational paradigm for their children’s education, they are actually making a decision between competing faith systems. The question is simply this—in which religious educational system will my child be discipled?

Content is Not Neutral

As to content, the choice of which facts to emphasize and which to exclude, the interpretation of those facts, and the organization of ideas are all driven by faith assumptions which are entirely religious in nature. Without the correct starting points, even “facts” will not be adequately explained within the context of a truly Christian worldview. As Van Til has observed, “brute factuality does not exist.” All facts must be interpreted to have meaning. Furthermore, the Bible rejects the notion that facts can be taught in a neutral environment when it declares that one must first fear the Lord before presuming to attain knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).

Methodology is Not Neutral

Educational methodology, or pedagogy, is not neutral. For thousands of years, men have debated over educational methodology. All of these debates have centered around issues like “What is the true nature of the child?”; “What are the true goals of education?”; “What is the role of the state vs. the parent in training the child, ” and “How are values, ideas and information best taught to a child?”; just to name a few. The answers to these questions are at the heart of the greatest religious battles of all time. These questions can only be answered in terms of religiously-driven faith assumptions about God, man, the state, etc.

From the ancient Greeks to the evolution-driven pedagogical theory of the 19th, 20th and 21st century, religious beliefs have always driven educational models. It is inescapable. The modern government school classroom is a reflection of the religious priorities of men who are at war with the God of the Bible. The government school model is a self-conscious rejection of the biblical model, and an advancement of a humanistic, evolutionary and statist view of the child. It was built on the philosophies of some of the most virulent God-haters in history from Plato to Rousseau to Dewey.

Ultimately, there are only two pedagogical models—that which was known to Abraham and Moses and Solomon and can be described as the biblical or Hebraic approach to discipleship, and everything else. “Everything else” might be described as the Greek model. It comes in many shapes and sizes, but at the end of the day, it grants to the state a jurisdiction reserved to the family. It is based on a wrong view of the goals of education, the nature of the child, and the nature of the universe.

Culture is Not Neutral

But there is even more on the line. The very culture in which education takes place is a reflection of the religious assumptions, values, beliefs, and character qualities of the people who form the environment in which education takes place. Plato understood this. His religion was heavily rooted in statism. The child was a ward of the state. Plato was deeply concerned about the negative impact of the culture of the family on the educational objectives of the state for the child. This is why he made it a primary objective of his pedagogical philosophy to remove children from their parents, strip them of their clothing, place them in gymnasiums (“place of nakedness”) and have a special class of state approved experts disciple children in the objectives of the state with an emphasis on athletics, philosophy, and warfare.

Moses understood this too which is why, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he set forth and prioritized a form of discipleship training that required substantial parental involvement through face-to-face interaction that would occur in real-world environments over the course of a day. The very culture of the family—both the household and the family enterprise—is a primary backdrop for this walk-along-side, educational model communicated in Deuteronomy 6 and elsewhere.

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