A CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1
A Christian philosophy of education
Studies have shown that high numbers of people are raised as an Christians end up
abandoning christianity in their 20s (Barna Group, 2023). Since education is a creaturely (God’s
creation) activity, it must be pursued in submission to God and to the worldview revealed in His
World. I would like to share how I look at the philosophy of education, through the corrective
lenses of creation, fall, and redemption. I am going to show you how the Bible enables us to
pursue these questions in a creational way. I’m also going to show you how the Bible helps us
identify and critically evaluate how they are often pursued today in a fallen way. Then, I am
going to show you how teachers can help students respond redemptively to the challenges that
the broad fall has brought into the pursuit of these questions. These questions of what is
real?What is true?, What is good?.
Creation and the Work of Education
Choose anything God puts in this world, and you can be certain that it is fundamentally good
because God created it (Ward, 2016). In the beginning was the word, and the word was with
God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through
him, and without him was not anything made that was made (John 1:1-3). God is real, God is
true, and God is good. God created everything that man (we) are either using for good or bad.
When I mentioned everything I am referring to churches, schools, homes, businesses, animals,
natures, and so much more. He even created us in his own image, even if sometimes we take life
for granted and don’t appreciate who we are. Nonetheless, when it comes down to education,
educators would start at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis to discuss the Biblical perspective
with the students to have a better understanding of who God truly is and why he is so important
to us. Without God we have nothing and we are nothing. Also, this helps students not only to
, A CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 2
learn facts but to become the people that God created them to be. This is why we should always
praise and honor him through the good and bad.
In a Christian worldview, reality begins with God. He is the ultimate being, and all created
things exist because he willed them into being (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16). The world is not
random or meaningless but ordered and purposeful. Human beings, created in God’s image
(Genesis 1:27), are real, valuable, and relational. Education, therefore, involves helping students
understand their place in a world that is both material and spiritual created by God, fallen
through sin, and in the process of being redeemed through Christ.
Truth is not relative or self-constructed; it is rooted in God’s character and revealed through
both creation and Scripture (Psalm 19; John 17:17). Because God is a God of truth, he invites us
to know and discover reality through observation, reason, and faith. A Christian educator teaches
students to pursue knowledge with humility and perception, recognizing that all truth is God’s
truth. Learning becomes a way to know God more fully and respond to him with amazement and
obedience. Further, (Wolters, 2005) argues that understanding creation involves seeing the
structure God has woven into the world and aligning our lives with that design. Christian
education prepares the perception by teaching students to view knowledge through a biblical
lens, fostering wisdom rather than just information.
Goodness flows from the nature of God, who is holy, loving, and just (Micah 6:8; Matthew
22:37–39). In a creation based framework, the good is that which aligns with God’s design for
creation and human life. Education must therefore not only aim at intellectual development, but
also moral and spiritual formation. Teachers help students recognize and understand what is
good, prepare for goodness, and develop a desire to serve others and glorify God in all they do.
Equally important, (Van Brummelen, 2009) notes, a Christian curriculum should help students
A Christian philosophy of education
Studies have shown that high numbers of people are raised as an Christians end up
abandoning christianity in their 20s (Barna Group, 2023). Since education is a creaturely (God’s
creation) activity, it must be pursued in submission to God and to the worldview revealed in His
World. I would like to share how I look at the philosophy of education, through the corrective
lenses of creation, fall, and redemption. I am going to show you how the Bible enables us to
pursue these questions in a creational way. I’m also going to show you how the Bible helps us
identify and critically evaluate how they are often pursued today in a fallen way. Then, I am
going to show you how teachers can help students respond redemptively to the challenges that
the broad fall has brought into the pursuit of these questions. These questions of what is
real?What is true?, What is good?.
Creation and the Work of Education
Choose anything God puts in this world, and you can be certain that it is fundamentally good
because God created it (Ward, 2016). In the beginning was the word, and the word was with
God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through
him, and without him was not anything made that was made (John 1:1-3). God is real, God is
true, and God is good. God created everything that man (we) are either using for good or bad.
When I mentioned everything I am referring to churches, schools, homes, businesses, animals,
natures, and so much more. He even created us in his own image, even if sometimes we take life
for granted and don’t appreciate who we are. Nonetheless, when it comes down to education,
educators would start at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis to discuss the Biblical perspective
with the students to have a better understanding of who God truly is and why he is so important
to us. Without God we have nothing and we are nothing. Also, this helps students not only to
, A CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 2
learn facts but to become the people that God created them to be. This is why we should always
praise and honor him through the good and bad.
In a Christian worldview, reality begins with God. He is the ultimate being, and all created
things exist because he willed them into being (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16). The world is not
random or meaningless but ordered and purposeful. Human beings, created in God’s image
(Genesis 1:27), are real, valuable, and relational. Education, therefore, involves helping students
understand their place in a world that is both material and spiritual created by God, fallen
through sin, and in the process of being redeemed through Christ.
Truth is not relative or self-constructed; it is rooted in God’s character and revealed through
both creation and Scripture (Psalm 19; John 17:17). Because God is a God of truth, he invites us
to know and discover reality through observation, reason, and faith. A Christian educator teaches
students to pursue knowledge with humility and perception, recognizing that all truth is God’s
truth. Learning becomes a way to know God more fully and respond to him with amazement and
obedience. Further, (Wolters, 2005) argues that understanding creation involves seeing the
structure God has woven into the world and aligning our lives with that design. Christian
education prepares the perception by teaching students to view knowledge through a biblical
lens, fostering wisdom rather than just information.
Goodness flows from the nature of God, who is holy, loving, and just (Micah 6:8; Matthew
22:37–39). In a creation based framework, the good is that which aligns with God’s design for
creation and human life. Education must therefore not only aim at intellectual development, but
also moral and spiritual formation. Teachers help students recognize and understand what is
good, prepare for goodness, and develop a desire to serve others and glorify God in all they do.
Equally important, (Van Brummelen, 2009) notes, a Christian curriculum should help students
