Teaera Raines
Changes in Christian Education in America
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This week we learn the impact of Christian education in Colonial America as well as the 19th and 20th century. Firstly, it is important to emphasize that education was an important component of un the lives of the children and adults in colonial America. The children were expected to learn scripture as well as other life skills. Anthony and Benson (2018) highlight the fact that “the primary textbooks for these early schools included the Bible and the English catechism. Consistent with the Puritans’ reason for coming to America in the first place, religious freedom, and the ability to study the Scriptures were hallmarks of elementary education in the early colonies” (p.294). This still rings true in American society today, however since then, there has been a separation of church and state which prevents scripture from being taught in public schools.
In the nineteenth century the Bible School Movement gained significant traction. According to Anthony and Benson (2018) “in North America, the Bible institute/college came into being in part to provide a biblical education for lay workers. Courses were offered in urban areas in both daytime and evening programs, by correspondence, and at off-campus locations” (p. 230). This allowed people from all walks of life to attend, however it seemed that older people were more attracted than the younger people. Anthony and Benson states ““At the heart of the fundamentalist configuration of education was the Bible institute, which became one of the most influential types of Christian school of the twentieth century” (p. 320). Bible institutes still exist today, they are now called Seminary school and other names. This is proof of how significant the contributions from the nineteenth century are still impactful today.
Christian education in the twentieth century faced its challenges. According to Anthony and Benson (2018) “rejecting the doctrines of evangelical theology and embracing both Protestant liberal theology and many of the features of progressive education, the religious education movement attacked revivalist piety and education provided by the traditional Sunday school” (p. 346). The was a period of restructuring and redefining the way Christians learned. Anthony and Benson states “the religious education movement held an evolutionary viewpoint of the world and embraced the application of modern historical methods to Bible study. These modern forms of higher criticism undermined the authority of Scripture and rejected the notion of a degenerative human nature. To these liberals, the world was changing, and biblical passages written thousands of years earlier could not possibly have foreseen the kinds of issues facing society at the time” (p. 347). These internal conflicts still exist today with many liberals feeling the same about the scripture not being relatable to current times.
Anthony, M. (2018). Exploring the History and Philosophy of Christian Education: Principles for the 21st Century. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com]
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Teaera Raines
Dreher and Carson
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Niebuhr’s fivefold paradigm provides readers with insight from five different perspectives involving Christian culture. This week we have been tasked with comparing Niebuhr’s fivefold paradigm with “The Benedict Option” which sheds light on the idea of Christian education and what it takes to build a successful Christian village. After reading about the Benedict option and considering Niebuhr’s five-fold paradigm, I would say that the Benedict option fits in the Christ vs. Culture Paradox describe by Niebuhr. These people are considered dualists, Carson (2018) describes them as “ the fundamental issue in life is not the line that must be drawn between Christians and the pagan or secular world, but between God and all humankind — or, “since the dualist is an existential thinker — between God and us; the issue lies between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of self” (p. 22). This thought process creates the illusion of thinking that all human culture is corrupt. According to Carson states “Hence the dualist joins the radical Christian in pronouncing the whole world of human culture to be godless and sick unto death. But there is this difference between them: the dualist knows that he belongs to that culture and cannot get out of it, that God indeed sustains him in it and by it; for if God in His grace did not sustain the world in its sin it would not exist for a moment.” And thus, the dualist “cannot speak otherwise than in what sound like paradoxes” (p.23).
It seems that in the Benedict Option, the author seeks to establish a subculture filled with a sore of Christian Utopia that supports all the foundational Christian beliefs. According to Dreher (2017) “to compartmentalize education, separating life from the church, is to create a false distinction” (p.146). The Benedict option supports the Christ Vs, Culture Paradox by rejecting the culture that exists today through creating and establishing a life rooted in Christian beliefs without any secular considerations. It provides a roadmap for how to successfully live within the world and still live a Christian life. According to Dreher (2017) “the separation of learning from virtue creates a society that esteems people for their success in manipulating science, law, money, images, words and so forth” (p. 147). This level of thinking is what makes them fit perfectly into Niebuhr’s Christ Vs. Culture Paradox. The thought of creating a world separate from sin as a salve to save the Godless world.
DA Carson (2018). Christ and Culture Revisited. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com]
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