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Posts from the ‘Educating Image Bearers’ Category

Apr 11

exercising dominion
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Exercising Dominion

This is the 7th post in the Educating in the Image of God blog series. 

We all exercise dominion. It is one of the great attributes that we inherit by virtue of being created in the image of God. What is unique about this attribute is that it is not just inherited, we are commanded to use this attribute correctly.

“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:28.

We will all always try to exercise dominion over things. When Cain was expelled and sent into the land of Nod, he realized that he was cut off from God and was a fugitive. So, he built a city to give himself a sense of importance and security. Cain was exercising dominion in that situation. However, we often neglect this attribute in the education of children. Often, we spend our energy teaching students not to exercise dominion. We try to squelch the desire and innate tendency to exercise dominion in our homes and classrooms. Unfortunately, a child’s desire to exercise dominion does not disappear, but rather appears in the form of apathy. A child who is not taught to exercise dominion appropriately will inevitably exercise dominion inappropriately.

We are born fallen, that means we must be instructed in righteousness. Scripture tells us to train our children in the way they should go. We are image bearers of God and that includes the innate ability to exercise dominion. Our children should be taught how to use that innate ability to follow and serve God. If this attribute is neglected, children will inevitably use it to serve themselves.

Apr 4

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Educating The Will

The first attribute we discussed in this series was purposeful. We all know that God is purposeful in all that He does.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

If God acts according to His will, then by virtue of being image bearers of God, we also act according to our will. The issue with us is that while God’s will is perfect, our will is distorted and sinful. God’s will is also limitless, while ours is finite. However, that does not change the fact that we have free will.

We make choices and judgements according to our purposes, acting freely within the boundaries of our created nature. So, what does all this mean regarding education? It means that if we are going to educate a student’s behavior, we must educate students in a manner that recognizes their free will.

If our goal is to teach our children to love God and live according to God’s will, we must approach education in a manner that is different from the world. The world tends to approach the student as a passive learner. A teacher presents information deemed to be true, and the student accepts that knowledge. This does not recognize the created nature of free will that we all have.

This manner of education will not do anything to inspire the student to truly live the Christian life; rather, it only allows the student to regurgitate what the Christian life is. Teaching is not just telling children what to believe. Children have free will, and they will always have free will. As teachers, it is our job to point that will to God.

This is where it gets tricky for parents/educators. The free will we all have comes from where the Heart is.

“As a Man thinks in his heart; so is he.” Proverbs 23:7

We must approach the student as if they are a free agent. We must teach the student that we, in our current fallen state, are not free. Rather, when we submit ourselves to God, we are truly free. Only when we submit ourselves to God’s will are we free to live as God created us to live.

Mar 27

10848_12572_5
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Educating Morality: A Matter of the Heart

Absolute morality exists and is knowable. This is the first thing we must acknowledge when attempting to educate morality. The second thing we must understand is that God and His Word is the standard for this absolute morality. This is one aspect of educating  that though often considered, the approach is too often ineffective.

C.S. Lewis writes in The Abolition of Man:

“Education without values only serves to make man a more clever devil”

This is absolutely true. Man is born fallen and with the natural inclination to sin. Any ability taught to man through education, apart from the biblical way to use that ability, only gives man another way to sin. When we educate our children and students, we must do so in a way that not only teaches them how to do something, but also the biblical reasoning and biblical way to do it.

The problem is that we often teach biblical values with a “do this/don’t do this” method. While we must teach biblical commandments, we must also teach students the reasons behind these commandments. God does not arbitrarily hand down commands through scripture. He has a reason behind His commandments and He often explains the reasons to us in scripture. Why then, would we as educators, teach students the what, without the why? Understanding the why is imperative to educating the heart. Teaching the what may penetrate the mind, but seldom permeates or changes the heart.

One cannot have biblical morality apart from a reorientation of the heart from sin towards God. We must educate towards the heart if we are to truly educate morals. If we want our children to live the Gospel, then they must experience the Gospel in their hearts. Psalm 119:11 reads “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against you”. Have you ever considered what this verse is NOT saying?  “Your word I have treasured in my mind,…” Through this verse, God is teaching us a key point in educating morality:  Morals are not a product of the mind, but rather, they are a matter of the heart.

Mar 23

rocky
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Educating Creativity

The very first thing that we learn about God is that he is a Creator. “In the beginning God CREATED…”. He formed the world in all its diversity, colors, simplicity, and grandeur. And then He declared it all to be good. This profound attribute of creativity is something that we, as image bearers, possess. We see this attribute displayed in the art we create, the concepts and ideas that we envision, the businesses we form, and so many other ways. However; in our educational settings we often squash a child’s creativity.

The typical classroom is sterile. It has florescent lights and cinderblock walls. We place an emphasis on memorization, fact acquisition, and quantitative analysis with no appreciation of other ideas, work, or cultures. We don’t allow students to experience or grow in their creativity. There is a tendency to put creativity in the “fine arts box” and ignore it altogether when studying the academic. What a shame! How much we miss when the creative Hand of God is not fully acknowledged and the creative hands of our students not passionately encouraged.

Creativity is what teaches us to think abstractly. Students who do not exercise their creative muscles might be able to learn what is presented to them; however, they will be unable to formulate new ideas.

We must educate students in a way that allows them to experience the divinely inherited attribute of creativity. Creativity is an attribute that God deemed important enough to instill in us when we were created. Therefore, we should deem it important enough to educate. After all, if we are indeed image bearers, and we choose not to educate part of that image, then we are essentially saying the Creator part of God is not as important as the rest of God.

The fact is children have this attribute of Creativity whether we educate it or not. The problem is we live in a fallen world, where sin is pervasive in our culture and lives. Our children are bombarded with examples of creativity which at their best glorify man and at their worst wreak havoc in relationships and lives.  As educators and parents we must ensure creativity is fostered and encouraged in ways which bring honor and glory to the Creator himself.  We must teach the created to exalt the Creator.

Feb 22

think
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Educating the Mind

Rationality is an essential aspect of God’s character. We see this in the creation story. Creation was made in a very rational and thoughtful process.

  • On the first day God created the heavens and the earth.
  • On the second day God created separated sky and waters.
  • On the third day God gathered the waters into one place allowing dry land.

The events that we see in the creation story are no doubt the work of a rational and thoughtful God.

Rationality, reason, and thinking are attributes that we inherit by virtue of being created in God’s image. It something that is inescapable of humans. We think and act with rationality in everything we do. This is something we do by virtue of existing and bearing God’s image. Learning to think and reason correctly is something that must be taught to students.

“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:2

We must teach our students and children to think correctly, to reason as image bearers of God, and to view the world as God views the world.

Now, this next part is VERY important. There are those who would say it is better to wait to teach children reason or logic until they are older. They say that the “child” is not capable to be taught how to reason correctly; however, this view is incredibly incorrect and dangerous. To say this is to deny that children, regardless of age, are image bearers of God. It says that the “thinking” aspect of God’s character doesn’t apply to young children. But any parents who’s child has argued and convinced them to stay up past bedtime knows that children are capable of thinking rationally.

All of the attributes of God that we inherit by being made in his image are present in us from the beginning. They must all be developed and trained to be used correctly from the earliest age.

When we look at our children or students, we must understand that they bear the image of a rational and thoughtful creator. We must acknowledge this ability for students of all ages. It is something that we must develop and instruct correctly and with purpose in order to educate them to perfectly and completely fulfill the purpose that God has for them.

 

Feb 16

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Educating with Purpose

This post is Part I of the Educating In the Image of God series. When I listed the attributes of God that we inherit by virtue of being created in his image, Purposeful was the first one I listed. We start with this attribute because it is profoundly important to wrap our brains and hearts around this concept so we may explore the remaining attributes with a proper frame of reference. We all know that God acts with purpose, but do we always act like we know it?

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

God has a purpose for everything he does and if we are bearing the image of God, we must do all things (including educating) with purpose. As parents, teachers, and educators, we must know the goal and our purpose in education. Donavon Graham, author of the book Redemptive Teaching, gives the best goal of education I’ve ever read.

The task of true education is to develop knowledge of God and His created reality and to use that knowledge in exercising a creative-redemptive dominion over the world in which we live. Such an outcome can be attained only by loving God and communing with him, resulting in the wholehearted worship of God.

You notice that in this “purpose statement” of education, there is nothing about concepts. There is no list of subjects or standard course competencies that should be taught. The entire purpose of education is to allow us to see God, God’s created reality, and to use that knowledge to serve and glorify Him. Every course should be designed with this purpose in mind – from conception to outline to final exam, always giving priority to the “Who” over the “What”.

Jan 26

Educating in the Image of God
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Educating In The Image of God.

Created in the Image of God. That is quite a bold statement. As Christians we know that this statement is true. We teach it in Sunday school, homeschool, and in private schools; however, we don’t teach it in a way that its applicable to our lives. We teach it as an abstract concept that, while true, doesn’t offer any guidance as to who we are, how we should live, teach, parent, or educate.

I’m a teacher at Artios Academies (A homeschool program) where I teach among other things, Worldview. Right now we are talking about this very idea. We are asking ourselves and delving into what it means to be an Image Bearer of God. Surely such an idea has profound implications that should impact every area of life, especially the areas of parenting, education/homeschooling, and our chosen vocation. However, in order to begin to understand the implications of such an idea, we must first begin to understand in what areas are we image bearers of God. While there are many possible areas, I am going to focus on nine areas (or atributes) that we see this idea.

  1. God is Purposeful
  2. God is Rational
  3. God is Creative
  4. We are Creatures of Morality
  5. We Exercise Free Will
  6. We Exercise Dominion
  7. We are Emotional
  8. We are Relational

Obviously, this is to much to go through in one blog post. With that in mind, I’ve decided to turn this post into a series of posts. I will try to post about it once a week until we cover all nine areas. I hope this series will be a thought provoking series that will both challenge and encourage all who read it. But before we begin, what are your thoughts? What do you think about these nine areas? Do you agree or disagree with these attributes? Post your thoughts and comments below.