“The end of learning is to repair the ruin of our first parents by regaining to know God aright,

and out of that knowledge to love him, imitate him, to be like him.” John Milton 

            Young men and women, in whose hearts God has worked regeneration, have a desire and zeal to learn all they can about how they can best serve and glorify God with the talents He gave them.  Teenagers, with their parent’s assistance and support, must seek an education which will help them grow and develop as Christians in the midst of a secular world.  This education, as any education, must be based on God’s word.  Emphasizing the need for Christian education, Herman Hoeksema wrote in an early Standard Bearer article: “Religion must not be something added to our life, but it must be the heart of our life.  Religion must not be something that is added to our education, but it must be the heart of our education.  The precepts of the Lord must be the basics from which our entire education must proceed” (Volume 3, p. 536).

Christian young people, therefore, who wish to continue their education past high school, must seek Christian education which is based on the precepts of the Lord.  The goal of Christian education is not simply to teach one to be proficient in a certain occupation, but to teach an occupation along with the desire to serve, glorify and honor God in that occupation.

            “Since the goal is God’s glory, covenant education cannot merely end in the child’s

            being saved, much less in the child’s earthly success.  This would make the goal of

            education man.  But the goal of covenant education must be the child’s service of

            God.  Only then is the goal, God” (Prof. David Engelsma, Reformed Education, p. 85).

            God uses Christian education as one means by which He brings His adopted children to spiritual maturity.

Christian education is essential because all education which fails to make Christ central is fundamentally anti-Christian.  Some people object to the assertion that secular universities are anti-Christian.  They insist that although they are not Christian neither are they anti-Christian; they are neutral.  Gordon Clark tackles this objection:

            “What does neutrality mean when God is involved?  How does God judge the school

            system which says to him, “O God, we neither deny nor assert thy existence: and O God,

            we neither obey nor disobey thy commands; we are strictly neutral.” Let no one fail to

            see the point: the school system which ignores God teaches its pupils to ignore God,

            and this is not neutrality but the worst form of antagonism, for it judges God to be

            unimportant and irrelevant in human affairs” (Clark, A Christian Philosophy of

            Education, p. 207).

            It ought to be obvious to the Reformed Christian that this type of education is devastating.  Subjection to any pagan influence is dangerous for the Christian, but how much more dangerous to be taught and instructed by those who repudiate the Bible and all the truths for which the Reformed Christian stands?  The Reformed Christian who confesses the truth of total depravity, limited atonement, and the covenant of grace ought to be able to see more clearly than any other person the danger and injustice of subjecting ourselves or our children to pagan education.

Education needs a common theme.  That common theme must be the glory of God as that glory is manifest in every different discipline and in the lives of the students.  According to Professor Allan Bloom, who is not a Christian, education without a common theme is worthless and devastating.  In his book, The Closing of the American Mind, Bloom writes:

            “The university now offers no distinctive visage to the young person.  He finds a

            democracy of the disciplines…This democracy is really an anarchy…There is no

            vision, nor is there a competing set of visions, of what an educated human being

            is…there is no organization of the sciences, no tree of knowledge…when a student

            arrives at the university, he finds a bewildering variety of departments and a

            bewildering variety of courses.  And there is no official guidance, no university-

            wide agreement, about what he should study…So the student must navigate

            among a collection of carnival barkers, each trying to lure him into a

            particular sideshow” (Quoted from Gordon Clark, A Christian Philosophy of

            Education, p. x).

            The world and life view of the Christian must be the thread which binds his education together.  The Calvinistic world and life view must permeate all of education in order to prepare us for a life of service.  Herman Hoeksema wrote about the cultural mandate in a journal entitled Religion and Culture:

            “The truly Calvinistic Christian is a Christian everywhere and always.  In the

            home and in the church, in society and in the state, in shop and office, in art

            and in science, in trade and industry, always and everywhere is the Calvinist

            a Christian, would he be consistent and in harmony with his own confession.

            All life and all relations of life he claims must be based on and permeated by

            Christian principles.  In a word I know of no view that is broader in its

            vision, that is more cosmological in its application, that is more all-embracing

            in its powerful grasp, that is more truly liberating in its power than the

            Calvinistic view of life and the world” (Quoted from Engelsma, Reformed

            Education, p. 57).

            There are also many practical benefits to be derived from attending a Christian college.  First, generally, the professors are required to be professing Christians and therefore will treat the student with respect.  The teachers’ respect will be demonstrated by the quality of the required reading, the style of the writing required, and assignments which are more in accord with the students’ convictions.  The Christian professor will respect the name of God in the classroom and will avoid offensive jokes and illustrations.  Secondly, students have the opportunity to live with fellow Christians, and in that way are able to have their faith challenged as well as strengthened as they discuss things pertaining to the Scriptures.  Thirdly, college is often the time for dating and meeting a marriage partner.  Attending a Christian college helps to insure that the mate will also be a Christian.  Fourthly, college and university education is often far more than simply the classroom.  Students become involved in intramurals, dorm activities, sports, and many other friendships are made.  Again, living in a Christian context helps insure that these activities and relationships will be beneficial and profitable for spiritual growth.  Fifthly, the first two years after high school are very important years for personal growth and development in the faith.  Many decisions must be made during this time of life.  Living and being educated in a Christian context will assist this development and decision making.

Many agree with the need for Christian colleges and universities but they hesitate to support existing institutions because so many of them have become secular.  There may be no Christian college with which we can perfectly agree.  We then must face the question whether a pagan curriculum is better than an apostatizing school.  Is there any spiritual profit to be had from attending an institution which views men merely as baboons?  The late Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes, summed up the philosophy of education practiced by public colleges and universities when he stated: “I can see no reason for attributing to man a significant difference in kind from that which belongs to a baboon or to a grain of sand…I wonder if cosmically an idea is more important than the bowels” (Quoted in A Christian Philosophy of Education, p. 8).  Pagan education views man merely as a complex animal who is the product of his environment.  He has no soul, nor does he exist in a relationship with God.

Even an apostatizing Christian college will have faculty members who are faithful to the Scriptures and who refuse to give in to the current trends.  Faithful professors can be positive mentors for the student who needs advice and direction in his major.  A student can easily identify these professors and receive a Christ-centered education from them.

It is the desire of the Christian young person to find the best Christ-centered education which is available; therefore, he ought diligently to check out different colleges in order to find one which honors both his field of interest as well as His Lord.  Parents must encourage and help their young people in this process.  Parents have the continual responsibility to see to it that their children are instructed and raised in the fear of the Lord.  Although the nature and character of their responsibility changes, the baptism vows continue to be binding.

I do not want to minimize the financial burden of Christian colleges.  However, can we place a price on a Christ-centered education?  Can we put a price on our future?  Can we afford to sacrifice in order to be assured that we are seeking God’s will for our lives?  God will use our Christian education for His glory and honor and in that way we will be assured that we are seeking His will for our lives.