Making Disciples of Christ

Education is part of Christ's Great Commission to disciple the nations. The Bible tells parents that they have a moral responsibility before God to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). The word discipline means to train, and the word instruct means to teach. Education thus includes both instruction as well as discipline. Therefore as teachers labor to nurture, instruct, and discipline students, their central task is to make disciples of Christ.

Students should learn to Glorify and Enjoy God

The purpose of Christian education is not primarily to meet human needs or develop human potential, but preeminently to labor to the greater glory of God, the honor of the name of Christ, and promote the development of His kingdom. In a word, the ultimate goal of Christian education is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. It means that we are to serve Him in every area of life and calling. This takes place when the student learns to fear God and trust Christ so that he will think and act biblically. For this reason, true Christian education must be God-centered.

God created man for the joy of communion with Himself. Therefore, one's joy and fulfillment in life is not to be found in himself or in the world in which he lives, but in loving communion with his Creator. As students learn to glorify God and live for Christ, they will have true enjoyment in life. Without holiness there is no happiness. As the student grows in the knowledge of creation, and discovers the wonders that God has made, he should be taught to enjoy and praise the One who made it. Each new discovery should lead him to acknowledge that God has made us and all things. If education is to train the child for life, then the chief end of man must be constantly kept in view.

For education to be consistently Christian it must self-consciously teach all subjects in the framework of biblical authority. To accomplish this we must have a methodology that guarantees its biblical character. The proper method is to use the Bible in each and every course both directly and indirectly. It is applied directly when we derive our understanding of each topic from the actual statements of the Bible, and using the text of Scripture appropriately in each subject. It is applied indirectly as we work out the implications of biblical truth as the proper framework for understanding each subject.

These basic principles and fundamental truths are the teachings of Scripture. Biblical doctrines must regulate the way we teach and learn. One key goal of Christian education is to teach the student to reason biblically. Because of this, the educational process must show how the doctrinal truths of God's Word provide the Christian worldview. This worldview is a unified system of principles that guides the way we educate. It requires that every thought be made captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

Committed to the Bible as the standard for education, Cornerstone desires to interpret it in line with the faith of historic Christianity and biblical principles. Among such biblical principles are the following:

Of Squirrels, Socrates, and Scripture

Vizzini: Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
Westley: Yes.
Vizzini: Morons.
Westley: Really?
--William Goldman, The Princess Bride (1987)

Sometimes They Do Say, "A Squirrel"

It was Christmastime. Around our table sat some of our school's brightest graduates. "What do you remember best from high school?" I asked them. Something from Biblical Theology, I supposed, or maybe Systematics. They were all good Bible students. But the first answer I got was Rachel's: "You remember the squirrel that runs up and down the World Ash Tree? That!"

The World Ash Tree: Yggdrasill, the cosmic axis of the Nine Worlds in Norse mythology. I don't remember the name of the squirrel. Yes, I teach mythology-Egyptian, Greek, Norse, and Germanic.[1] It falls in World Literature, a junior/senior class. In addition to my lectures, we read Edith Hamilton's Mythology, the Enuma Elish, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and the Aeneid. We read a little from the Elder and Younger Eddas, early sources for Norse mythology.

I'm not sure why the Norse squirrel stuck in Rachel's memory: probably because the idea was a bit quirky. I do know that Rachel has an excellent knowledge of Scripture and of systematic theology. We spent a few weeks here and there with mythology: we spent four years with the words and doctrines of holy Scripture. Quirky squirrels to the contrary, Rachel and her classmates are not classicists: but they are Christians. And they know their Bibles well.