The Lenses of Reformation Concerning Shema and Biblical Education vs. Public Education"
by Dr. Patti Amsden
Them preeminent mandate for education of children is found within the Shema (meaning “hear”) in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It reads: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Reformation lens #1 – The responsibility to educate children rests on the family and the content of the education must be centered around the word of God.
“Not only does education find its foundation in religion, but the educational curriculum expresses the religious standards and expectations of a culture. The Latin word curriculum, from which the English word is taken without change of spelling, means a running, a race course, a chariot, and is cognate with the Latin verb, currere, to run. A curriculum s thus the chariot, race course, or vehicle whereby a culture expresses its religious faith and standards. The basic curriculum is called the liberal arts curriculum, ‘liberal’ from the Latin liber, free, and it is a course in the arts of freedom, or a vehicle in the arts of liberty. A liberal arts curriculum is thus a practical answer to the question, what is liberty? And, How does a man prepare himself to be a free man?” (Rushdoony, Rousas John., The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum, Ross House Books, 1981, page 4.)
Reformation lens #2 – “I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution that does not unceasing pursue the study of God’s word become corrupt.” (Schultz, Glenn., Kingdom Education, Lifeway Press, 1998, page 30.)
“The word education, like most English words, comes from a Latin root. When going to the root of this word, we gain an understanding as the modes or process of education implied by the word itself. Let us look at two important definitions here, one for the word. Educate, and the other to it closer Latin root educe.
Educate – to instill the mind with principles of arts, science, morals, religion, and behavior.
Educe – to bring or draw out; to extract; to produce from a state of occultation. (Webster defines occultation as a place of hiding).
Both of these words mean to lead. Thus, education is leadership, yet a leadership that operates in two ways. Education embraces a pouring in and a drawing out mode of operation. An instilling, pouring in, instruction mode that sets absolutes for the mind of the child and then a drawing out, extracting (bringing out of hiding) of that which the child has been taught is imperative in order for teaching and learning to take place. Thus, education is a process of instruction and discipline, teaching and learning, a pouring in and drawing out.” (Jehle, Paul., Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations, Plymouth Rock Foundation, 2006, Volume I, page 154.)
Reformation lens #3 – Education, according to the Shema, requires not only instilling God’s word but also drawing out and applying that Word to the circumstances encountered in life, which occurs within the family life as “you sit in your house, when you lie down, when you rise up.”
As reformers, we must understand that families and parents are responsible for the child’s education and that they will stand accountable before the Lord as to the execution of that responsibility. According to the Shema, education includes curriculum, or the selection of information that will be poured into the child. Curriculum must be God-honoring and in harmony with biblical truth. To allow godless, humanistic, or pagan information to set the mental foundations for the child is dedicating the future of the child and, thus, the family to destruction. Likewise, according to the Shema, the parents must help the child to apply the godly training to every area of life. By this process, a biblical worldview is developed in the child. Public schools and the curriculum used to train the students do not fit within the framework of the Shema.
Reformation lens #1 – The responsibility to educate children rests on the family and the content of the education must be centered around the word of God.
“Not only does education find its foundation in religion, but the educational curriculum expresses the religious standards and expectations of a culture. The Latin word curriculum, from which the English word is taken without change of spelling, means a running, a race course, a chariot, and is cognate with the Latin verb, currere, to run. A curriculum s thus the chariot, race course, or vehicle whereby a culture expresses its religious faith and standards. The basic curriculum is called the liberal arts curriculum, ‘liberal’ from the Latin liber, free, and it is a course in the arts of freedom, or a vehicle in the arts of liberty. A liberal arts curriculum is thus a practical answer to the question, what is liberty? And, How does a man prepare himself to be a free man?” (Rushdoony, Rousas John., The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum, Ross House Books, 1981, page 4.)
Reformation lens #2 – “I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution that does not unceasing pursue the study of God’s word become corrupt.” (Schultz, Glenn., Kingdom Education, Lifeway Press, 1998, page 30.)
“The word education, like most English words, comes from a Latin root. When going to the root of this word, we gain an understanding as the modes or process of education implied by the word itself. Let us look at two important definitions here, one for the word. Educate, and the other to it closer Latin root educe.
Educate – to instill the mind with principles of arts, science, morals, religion, and behavior.
Educe – to bring or draw out; to extract; to produce from a state of occultation. (Webster defines occultation as a place of hiding).
Both of these words mean to lead. Thus, education is leadership, yet a leadership that operates in two ways. Education embraces a pouring in and a drawing out mode of operation. An instilling, pouring in, instruction mode that sets absolutes for the mind of the child and then a drawing out, extracting (bringing out of hiding) of that which the child has been taught is imperative in order for teaching and learning to take place. Thus, education is a process of instruction and discipline, teaching and learning, a pouring in and drawing out.” (Jehle, Paul., Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations, Plymouth Rock Foundation, 2006, Volume I, page 154.)
Reformation lens #3 – Education, according to the Shema, requires not only instilling God’s word but also drawing out and applying that Word to the circumstances encountered in life, which occurs within the family life as “you sit in your house, when you lie down, when you rise up.”
As reformers, we must understand that families and parents are responsible for the child’s education and that they will stand accountable before the Lord as to the execution of that responsibility. According to the Shema, education includes curriculum, or the selection of information that will be poured into the child. Curriculum must be God-honoring and in harmony with biblical truth. To allow godless, humanistic, or pagan information to set the mental foundations for the child is dedicating the future of the child and, thus, the family to destruction. Likewise, according to the Shema, the parents must help the child to apply the godly training to every area of life. By this process, a biblical worldview is developed in the child. Public schools and the curriculum used to train the students do not fit within the framework of the Shema.
