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Philosophy Of Christian Education Research Paper

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Education does not exist in a vacuum, but is a part of overall existence. Therefore, in order to be consistent with other elements of our lives, a robust philosophy of education has to start with some answers to basic questions of existence. The four primary questions of philosophy that most closely relate to education are: “What is knowledge?” (epistemology), “What is reality?” (metaphysics), “What is valuable?” (axiology), and, “What is man?” (anthropology). The Bible addresses all of these questions and thereby guides us in our philosophy of education.
What is knowledge? God is the source of all knowledge, as its Creator. Knowledge includes our cognitive processes, according to His creation of humans as rational beings, but true knowledge …show more content…

Reality includes the physical and spiritual realms, which are distinct but not separate. Spiritual realities manifest themselves physically, most obviously through God's creation and incarnation (John 1:14), but also through natural moral law (Romans 1:32); the trajectory of history, guided by God; and the sin nature of man. Likewise, physical realities have a spiritual dimension, such as the nature of God as revealed through His creation and the moral nature of human actions. All reality has been created by God and is subject to his will and purposes. The implications of this answer for Christian education are that we must resist any pull towards a dualistic concept that attempts to consign spiritual and physical realities to separate spheres of life. All of reality is under God’s dominion, and it is a worthwhile task to apply this understanding to our learning about the world and our role in …show more content…

It may be tempting to view needs, not as part of God’s design for humanity, but as consequences of the Fall, and the subsequent broken state of creation. We sometimes view them in this way because, in many cases, the ways that these needs are mostly intensely experienced are when they are not met. This condition where scarcity of resources and human failings contribute to unmet needs certainly is a result of the Fall, but needs themselves were part of God’s design in creation. This can be seen most clearly in two needs that God acknowledged before Adam and Eve’s original sin: the need for food (Genesis 2:16) and the need for companionship (Genesis 2:18). If a consequence of the Fall is that our needs are now met imperfectly, improving the ways that students’ learning needs are met can be seen as part of God’s redemptive plan for

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