A Prophet Among You

What Makes Christian Education Different?

Introduction: Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 56. “We are rapidly nearing the final crisis in this world’s history, and it is important that we understand that the educational advantages offered by our schools are to be different from those offered by the schools of the world.” APAY 457.6

I. A different purpose. APAY 457.7

A. Education, 15, 16. “To restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul, that the divine purpose in his creation might be realized,—this was to be the work of redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life.” APAY 457.8

B. Education, 225. “True education does not ignore the value of scientific knowledge or literary acquirements; but above information it values power; above power, goodness; above intellectual acquirements, character.” APAY 458.1

II. A different basis. APAY 458.2

A. Education, 16. “Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the basis of true education.” APAY 458.3

III. A different source. APAY 458.4

A. Education, 16. “Since God is the source of all true knowledge, it is ... the first object of education to direct our minds to His own revelation of Himself.” APAY 458.5

B. The Ministry of Healing, 400. “His [Jesus’] education was gained from Heaven-appointed sources, from useful work, from the study of the Scriptures, from nature, and from the experiences of life—God’s lesson books, full of instruction to all who bring to them the willing hand, the seeing eye, and the understanding heart.” APAY 458.6

C. Fundamentals of Christian Education, 194. “Daniel did not walk in sparks of his own kindling, but made the Lord his wisdom. Divine philosophy was made the foundation of his education.” APAY 458.7

IV. Different methods. APAY 458.8

A. Patriarchs and Prophets, 595. “All the varied capabilities that men possess—of mind and soul and body—are given them by God, to be so employed as to reach the highest possible degree of excellence.... Every faculty, every attribute, with which the Creator has endowed us, is to be employed for His glory and for the uplifting of our fellow men.... APAY 458.9

“Were this principle given the attention which its importance demands, there would be a radical change in some of the current methods of education. Instead of appealing to pride and selfish ambition, kindling a spirit of emulation, teachers would endeavor to awaken the love for goodness and truth and beauty,—to arouse the desire for excellence.” APAY 458.10

B. Fundamentals of Christian Education, 328. “The general method of educating the youth does not meet the standard of true education. Infidel sentiments are interwoven in the matter placed in schoolbooks, and the oracles of God are placed in a questionable ... light.” APAY 459.1

C. Education, 17, 18. “Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator,—individuality, power to think and to do.... It is the work of true education to develop this power; to train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s thought. Instead of confining their study to that which men have said or written, let students be directed to the sources of truth, to the vast fields opened for research in nature and revelation. Let them contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny, and the mind will expand and strengthen.” APAY 459.2

V. Different results. APAY 459.3

A. Education, 18. “Instead of educated weaklings, institutions of learning may send forth men strong to think and to act, men who are masters and not slaves of circumstances, men who possess breadth of mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions.” APAY 459.4

B. Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 434, 435. “Such an education will restore the image of God in the soul. It will strengthen and fortify the mind against temptation, and fit the learner to become a worker with Christ in His mission of mercy to the world. It will make him a member of the heavenly family, prepare him to share the inheritance of the saints in light.” APAY 459.5

C. Education, 19. “As he [the Christian teacher] awakens a desire to reach God’s ideal, he presents an education that is as high as heaven and as broad as the universe; an education that cannot be completed in this life, but that will be continued in the life to come; an education that secures to the successful student his passport from the preparatory school of earth to the higher grade, the school above.” APAY 459.6

D. Fundamentals of Christian Education, 328. “True education is that which will train children and youth for the life that now is, and in reference to that which is to come; for an inheritance in that better country, even in an heavenly.” APAY 460.1

Conclusion: Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 56. “Our teachers need to understand the work that is to be done in these last days. The education given in our schools, in our churches, in our sanitariums, should present clearly the great work to be accomplished. The need of weeding from the life every worldly practice that is opposed to the teachings of the word of God, and of supplying its place with deeds that bear the mark of the divine nature, should be made clear to the students of all grades. Our work of education is ever to bear the impress of the heavenly, and thus reveal how far divine instruction excels the learning of the world.” APAY 460.2

Key quotation: Fundamentals of Christian Education, 328. “True education is that which will train children and youth for the life that now is, and in reference to that which is to come; for an inheritance in that better country, even in an heavenly.” APAY 460.3

Principles involved: Testimonies for the Church 6:142. “Altogether too long have the old customs and habits been followed. The Lord would now have every idea that is false put away from teachers and students. We are not at liberty to teach that which shall meet the world’s standard or the standard of the church, simply because it is the custom to do so. The lessons which Christ taught are to be the standard. That which the Lord has spoken concerning the instruction to be given in our schools is to be strictly regarded; for if there is not in some respects an education of an altogether different character from that which has been carried on in some of our schools, we need not have gone to the expense of purchasing lands and erecting school buildings.” APAY 460.4

Bible background: Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Deuteronomy 6:6, 7: “And these words, which I command thee: ... thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.” 1 Corinthians 1:25: “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Colossians 2:3: “In whom [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Luke 2:52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” APAY 460.5