[1] I have been invited to draft an essay regarding biblical
perspectives on education. The specific context for this
essay is the preparation of a social statement on education by the
ELCA. Two qualifications need to be stated at the
outset. The first qualification is that the communities that
formed the Bible did not share our modern idea of the separation of
"church and state" or a split between "sacred and secular."
This is the sort of qualification that has been expressed so many
times that it may sound almost pro forma. However,
when considering how the Bible should shape Christian thinking
about education, this qualification cannot be stated clearly
enough. Precisely because the education system is one of the
flashpoints in the current wars over how the sacred and secular
should interact in our society-just think of current and recent
debates over prayer in school, how biology and sex education are
taught in schools, or vouchers-we need to be aware that any
explicit passages the Bible has about educating the young may
assume a marriage between government and faith that our society
does not accept.
[2] The second qualification is that the people that formed the
Bible did not differentiate between different types of knowledge in
the same ways that we moderns do. Today, we divide knowledge
into different domains such as science, social science, the
humanities (of which religion is considered a part), the arts,
modern languages, vocational studies, and so on. Within these
domains, knowledge is pursued by a set of rules particular to each
domain-for the study of ethics, for example, data is processed
under a different set of values and processes than in the study of
economics. Even within Lutheran theology (a fairly specific
sub-domain to begin with), we differentiate into Old Testament, New
Testament, Theology, Ethics, and so on-each discipline with its own
rules and processes for pursing truth. The ancient biblical
communities certainly had categories into which they divided
knowledge, but their categories were different from ours and they
did not have particular rules that were different for the
investigation of knowledge in different domains. To make a
distinction between theology and ethics, for example, would have
baffled the ancients.
[3] The challenge that these two qualifications presents should
be obvious. On the one hand, as Lutherans, we are called and
pledged to be faithful to the biblical witness and to be formed and
informed by it. On the other hand, the context in which we
live assumes basic stances that present problems for those who wish
to be shaped by the biblical witness. First, our modern idea
about the separation of church and state in public
institutions-educational institutions are public
institutions-presents a challenge. Second, our modern ideas
about how to pursue and divide knowledge-and knowledge is the
subject matter of education-presents a challenge. I was
tempted to essay an analogy and say that we must attempt to
"translate" the biblical witness into our own context. But
this analogy fails, because as any student of a second language
knows, one always loses something in translation. Rather,
what we must do is let the biblical witness speak out of its
context and we must hear it in our own context. Neither
context should silence the other.
I. A Concern for the Common Good
[4] So what is the biblical witness when it comes to
education? One place to start is with the canon itself.
The canon, after all, was collected to educate. Because we
are a people surrounded and bombarded with the written word, it is
hard to appreciate properly the daring and creative act that it
took to assemble a "book" in witness to God's presence. But
if we stretch our imaginations and cast ourselves back to a time
when the written word was as rare as visions from God, we realize
that the formation of the canon was itself brave and revolutionary
action. But toward what end? The biblical
collection-these many scrolls, poems, prayers, genealogies,
stories, and letters-betrays a significant concern for the common
good.
[5] Within the Old Testament, there are key passages that shed
light on the formation and purpose of the Scriptures. Three
of these passages are the story of giving of the law at Mt. Sinai,
the story of King Josiah's reform, and the story of the rebuilding
of Jerusalem following the Exile. In each of these stories,
several elements occur: the Scripture is either given newly or in a
renewed fashion; communal worship takes place; and the Scripture is
either forming or reforming the people. In the story of the
Exodus, what is given is the law, especially the Ten Commandments,
which are the center of Israel's law and the center of its
Scripture. Following the Passover and the escape through the
sea, the people go to worship God at Mt. Sinai. God enters
into a covenant with the people and makes this promise: "You
shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.
Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly
kingdom and a holy nation" (Exod 19:5b-6a). Then God gives
the law, and the crowning jewel of the law is the Ten
Commandments. But note the focus on the people. The law
is not given primarily for individual holiness or personal
morality. Rather, the law is given as the means for the
rescued mass of Israelites to become a community, a nation, a
people.
[6] The two other passages mentioned betray a similar
pattern. During the reign of King Josiah, c. 620 BCE, a
scroll was found in the temple. Scholars believe that this
scroll was what we know as the central portion of the Book of
Deuteronomy. Apparently the scroll had lain neglected in the
temple for some years. Upon finding the scroll, King Josiah
put in place legal and religious reforms and he commanded that the
festival of Passover be celebrated: "No such Passover had
been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during
all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah" (2
Kings 23:22). Following the Babylonian exile, after the walls
of Jerusalem were rebuilt, the scribe Ezra brought "the book of the
law of Moses" before the assembled people. "And Ezra opened
the book in the sight of all the people. . . So they read from the
book, from the law of God. . . ." (Neh 8:6a, 8a). Scholars
believe that this book of the law of Moses was what we know as the
Pentateuch-the first five books of the Bible. Following the
reading, the people celebrated the festival of Booths. Notice
especially the concern in these two accounts for the formation of
the people. In the first, account, the religious and ethical
reforms were put in place to shape the people as the people of
God. Likewise, following the return from Exile, the people
needed to be formed-this formation was provided in part by the
reading and interpretation of the law.
[7] The concern for the communal good to which the shape of the
biblical canon bears witness is also a major concern of the
prophets of Israel. As many commentators have noted, the
prophets by and large do not direct their messages to specific
individuals or even the "believer" as an individual person.
Rather, their focus bores in on the community, the people, the
nation. We normally associate the prophets with a call to
justice. But as the great Jewish commentator Abraham Heschel
noted, the prophetic preoccupation with the larger community was so
intense that at times it was itself unjust: "If justice means
giving every person what he deserves, the scope and severity of the
accusations by the prophets of Israel hardly confirmed that
principle. The prophets were unfair to the people of
Israel. Their sweeping allegations, overstatements, and
generalizations defied standards of accuracy." But Heschel
adds, "What seems to be exaggeration is often only a deeper
penetration, for the prophets see the world from the point of view
of God, as transcendent, not immanent truth."1 That is, if we
examine ethical reality under a statistical microscope alone, then
yes, the prophetic accusation that the community as a whole bears
responsibility for social evil is unjust. However, truth
cannot be weighed by numbering predicates or subjects. And
the truth is that if the communal good is the highest value then it
is the community that bears responsibility.
[8] It should be obvious that this biblical concern for the
corporate good must crowd in on us when we are thinking about
education. Education must be about the common good. If
we think of education only as a means for the young to develop
their skills, or to achieve their potential, or to be equipped to
succeed in life, then we have seen only one side of the coin.
Rather, education must do all of that and also serve the entire
society. It must be the lungs that breathe spirit into the
whole community, it must serve not just its students but all of
society, it must be as concerned about responsibility to the world
as it is about the rights of students. This, in turn, means
that education is by definition a moral enterprise; its focus is on
not only the mind but the heart of the students. One secular
reason why for this is that the one thing a democracy cannot live
without is a good citizens-and I mean good in the moral
sense. A government of the people cannot survive without good
people. Without them, the body politic will slouch on the
clay feet of its own people. The extent to which education is
a moral enterprise is, of course, a subject where the Bible and the
prophets have a witness that our secular society cannot hear.
This is so because for the Bible-and especially for the
prophets-there is no good apart from God, no justice apart from the
law of God. This perspective also continues in parts of the
New Testament, as well.
[9] All of this bring us back to one of the original
qualifications with which this essay started, namely the
qualification that for the communities that formed the Bible, there
was no division between sacred and secular matters. How
should a church-that now exists in a secular nation-be formed by
the biblical witness about the common good, especially when the
biblical witness itself cannot conceive of distinguishing between
the common good on the one hand and the God who creates and
sustains on the other?
II. The Wisdom Literature
[10] A second locus within the Bible to which we can turn for
insight on matters of education is the wisdom literature of the Old
Testament. Specifically, the Book of Proverbs was explicitly
collected precisely in order to shape the young. It may be
the only biblical book that was written for this express
purpose. As such, its voice deserves to be separated out from
the choir of biblical voices for special hearing.
[11] At the beginning of the Book of Proverbs, the collectors
placed a short poem that clearly defines the purpose of the
book
For learning about wisdom and
instruction,
forunderstanding words of
insight
(lit.: "for discerning words of
discernment")
for gaining instruction (lit.: discipline) in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and
equity;
to teach shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and prudence to the
young-
let the wise also hear and gain in learning,
and the discerning acquire
skill,
to understand a proverb and a figure,
the words of the wise and their
riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Prov 1:2-7)
[12] One of the striking things about this poem is how
ordinary-even basic-many of its goals are: "instruction,"
"understanding," "wise dealing," "shrewdness," "knowledge and
prudence," "learning," and so on. And note that the text says
that everyone has something to learn about these common
matters-both the "simple" and the "wise"! Nobody is too
advanced in learning to spend a little time thinking about the
basics. (Martin Luther said something very similar about the
need to study the catechism.) Because this is the Bible, readers
tend to weigh down these words with all sorts of spiritual baggage,
or dress them up with all sorts of theological frippery. For
example, one might be tempted to turn "wise dealing" into a
spiritual discipline. But, in truth, the goals of the Book of
Proverbs are really quite elementary: to pass some basic life
skills on to the next generations. This is shown by the everyday
nature of so many of the proverbs that follow in later chapters.
For example:
A gift opens doors;
it gives access to the great. (18:16)
Many seek the favor of the generous,
and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.
(19:6)
Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suffer hunger. (19:15)
[13] These three examples (which speak of the importance of
being industrious, of being generous, and of warming up a cold room
with the right "hostess gift") could be multiplied seventy-fold,
but they make the point. What the Book of Proverbs means by
"wisdom" is a very ordinary and practical kind of wisdom.
This is not to say that there Proverbs is devoid or theology or
theological potential! Far from it!! Rather, the point
I am making is that the when modern faith communities think about
education, the Book of Proverbs reminds us that we should not
overlook the importance of ordinary life and ordinary skills.
If education is a matter of learning to put one step in front of
the other, then we should remember that the first steps are very
basic. It is this preoccupation with the ordinary that causes
many theologians and ethicists to overlook Proverbs. As Ellen
Davis writes,
This is a book for
unexceptional people trying to live wisely and faithfully in the
generally undramatic circumstances of daily life, on the days when
water does not pour fourth out of rocks and angels do not come to
lunch. The Israelite sages are concerned with the same things
we worry about, the things people regularly consult their pastors
and friends about: how to avoid bitter domestic quarrels, what to
tell your kids about sex and about God, what to do when somebody
asks you to lend them money, how to handle your own money and your
work life, how to cultivate lasting friendships.2
[14] I used to think that the Book of Proverbs was basically a
book for teenagers, because in my experience, they were the ones
who were most interested in the witty quips and pedestrian proverbs
that fill its pages. Now I have learned better. The
teenage attraction to these sticky little sayings is a clue to the
broader importance of ordinary life skills.
[15] The Book of Proverbs also could teach us many more concrete
individual lessons about learning to living life well. For
instance, the book is enthralled with the power of words to hurt
and the sins we commit with our tongues. It is concerned
about the difficulty we have breaking bad habits. It is
worried about the power of sexual attraction to lead us
astray. It is preoccupied with the choices we make. It
teaches us to keep a tight rein on anger and our other
passions. And so on. But in the space allotted here to
think about education, at least two of the book's major concerns
deserve further exploration: discipline and discernment.
[16] Discipline. Discipline is not a topic that generally
finds favor today-either in our culture, our schools or our
church. In our culture, discipline has given way to false
understanding of self esteem and an incomplete understanding of
egalitarianism. In our schools, educators have lost the
social standing to create a climate where discipline
succeeds. In our church, discipline smacks (wrongly) of works
righteousness. But in the biblical wisdom tradition,
discipline is a treasure to lust after. In the text from
Proverbs 1, the third verse is more accurately translated:
"for gaining discipline in being wise." That is, being wise
is a matter of discipline. The theme of discipline repeats
many times in the Proverbs. To cite one of many proverbs that
reinforces this message: "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but those who hate to be rebuked are stupid" (12:1). In the
biblical view, discipline is a trait that must be taught; it comes
from outside of oneself. One might almost say that discipline
needs to be imposed from outside. If this seems too strong,
then at least one might say that discipline is taught or
modeled. In a world of endless choices and constant
distractions, discipline is a necessary virtue. Perhaps the
church could contribute to refashioning a climate in which
discipline makes sense. Indeed, as with most sins, the church
could start by cleaning its own house on this matter. The
state of biblical illiteracy is but one of the many symptoms in our
church that shows that discipline has not been a virtue we
Lutherans respect. One assumes that within the broader scope
of societal education, the church will have things to say about
parish education. Discipline is one clear note that the
church might sound in that context.
[17] Discernment. A second topic that deserves further
exploration is discernment. In the Proverbs 1 poem cited
above, the "discerning" are told that by attending to wisdom
lessons, they can acquire skill. The same Hebrew root is used
twice in v. 2, which might be more woodenly translated as "for
discerning words of discernment." Discernment is about
knowing that one size does not fit all and one answer cannot suit
every situation. The discerning person knows when to zig and
when to zag. Anyone who has had a child or spent any time
around children knows that no two children can be handled exactly
the same. Children-who have not yet learned discernment-come
equipped with exquisitively sensitive fairness detectors. The
least injustice sparks outrage. Israel's sages knew that
life's three-dimensional experiences will not register on such
one-dimensional instruments. What is required is
discernment. Consider these two parables, which occur back to
back in Proverbs 26:
Do not answer fools
according to their folly,
or you will be a fool yourself.
Answer fools according to their folly,
or they will be wise in their own eyes. (vv.
4-5)
[18] The point is that the wise person knows when to apply the
first rule and when to apply the second. In others word, the
wise know how to discern. Education cannot simply be about
learning rote rules, but must also be about the practical wisdom of
knowing when to apply which of these rules.
[19] Readers may have already noted that I have yet to mention
the important phrase that concludes the poem in Proverbs 1:
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." As I
have already stressed twice, for the ancient Israelites and
Christians who collected the Bible, a wedge had not yet been driven
between faith matters and other forms of learning. One sees
that unity of conception again here in Proverbs 1. There was
no difference between secular knowledge and spiritual knowledge,
and as such the proper relationship with the Lord was the
foundation upon which all learning was to be built. Can we
divorce what Proverbs says about wisdom and the ordinary things of
life from what it says about faith? Proverbs cannot imagine
such a split, yet our world cannot think of life without it.
III. A Culture of Respect and Honor
[20] Given time and space constraints, I will curtail my
reflections about biblical perspectives on education to one final
comment. Much more could be said, obviously, but at least one
more point screams to be made: the environment in which one
learns must be thoroughly saturated with respect and honor.
From the oldest Israelite reflections on teaching the young (in
Deuteronomy and Proverbs) right up through the latest New Testament
writings about the roles of teachers, apostles, and leaders, it is
assumed that servant leaders are among the most honored of
professions. Paul and the later Pauline writers unanimously
see secular authorities as agents of God. Consider how Romans
13 sees that state as a hand of God worthy of respect, how
Ephesians portrays familial and economic authorities as extensions
of God's authority, or how 1 and 2 Timothy see ecclesiastical
authorities in a similar light. Martin Luther was summarizing
the biblical witness when he interpreted the commandment to honor
one's parents as meaning we "must fear and love God, so that we
will neither look down on our parents or superiors nor irritate
them, but will honor them, serve them, obey them, love them and
value them." Luther's interpretation also clearly
includes teachers; this interpretation is faithful to the broader
witness of both testaments.
[21] When we compare this biblical portrait of respect for
teachers and others in authority, a stark contrasted is painted
between then and now. Think of how teachers are portrayed on
television and the movies. (One of my favorite older movies
is "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," in which the teachers are roundly
depicted as fools.) Think of how today's music describes
teachers. Think of how political candidates are eager to make
electoral hay by thrashing the good reputation of teachers.
Even churches have been happy to pile on and heap coals of blame
for today's ills upon the educational system.
[22] But if we take the biblical witness seriously, our task
includes building up the honor of teachers in order to make their
job (educating our children) easier. Part of the task set
before us, it seems to me, is to help shape a culture of honor for
public servants, including teachers. It is true, of course,
that individual teachers and teachers' organizations do not always
make this task easy. Yet there is no alternative.
Helping to shape a climate of respect that includes respecting and
honoring teachers should be a priority for the church.
[23] One problem with this interpretation, of course, is that
the foundation for honoring teachers as authorities is, in fact,
the belief that these authorities are established by God. In
a secular context, this belief is problematic. This is
especially so because the society is increasingly pushing faith
questions to the margins and, in places, is attempting to silence
voices of faith. Yet this problem is simply the reverse side
of the issue that we have already noted several times above: How do
we reconcile the irreconcilably spiritual nature of our biblical
faith and calling with the uncompromisingly secular context of our
society? This, it seems to me, is the first and last question
that we need to ask when seeking wisdom from the Bible for thinking
about education today.
1 Abraham Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harper
& Row, 1962; Perennial classic edition), p. 15, 17.
2 Ellen Davis, Getting Involved with God:
Rediscovering the Old Testament (Boston: Cowley Publications,
2001), p. 92.