how worldviews shape education

How Worldviews Shape EducationCertificate of Christian Education

Chris Parker

rabbit or duckwhat do you see in the next picture?

half full

half empty

1. Worldview Definitions

(world-and-life view)

“weltanschauung”

life perspectiveset of principles and ideals

system of values

“The comprehensive framework of one’s basic beliefs about

things.”

everybody hasa worldview ofsome kind

articulate

rawdifficult

confronting

metaphors

other factorscharacter disposition

emotionsperception issues

They exert influence via our worldview

worldviewphilosophy | theology

2. Worldview Questions

“There are times when all the world's asleep, the questions run too

deep for such a simple man.

Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned? I know it

sounds absurd but please tell me who I am.”

Supertramp, Logical Song

Who am I?

Where am I?

What is wrong?

How is it fixed?

James Sire

1. What is primary reality?2. What is the nature of the

world around us?3. What is a human being?4. What happens to a person at death?5. Why is it possible to know anything at

all?6. How do we know what is right and

wrong?7. What is the meaning of history?

Peter Singer

1. Rejects the notion of God

2. Therefore rejects humans’

unique place in creation

3. Therefore “we are animals”

4. Therefore “sex across the species

barrier ceases to be an offence to our

status and dignity as human beings”

3. Origins of Western Worldviews

Judaic Hellenistic

early life of the gospel

Plato | Aristotle300BC

Plato reality is ideas and ideals

Aristotle reality is experience

Plato

Aristotledualism

intellectual melting pot

Augustine400AD

legitimises and institutionalises

eternal (spiritual)

temporal (material)

legitimises and institutionalises

Middle Agesthe gospel doesn't impact

everyday life issues

The Enlightenment“If God and Christianity were already basically irrelevant

to most of life, why not make their irrelevance complete.”

(Walsh and Middleton, 1984)

The Enlightenmentscientific revolutionhuman conquest

age of exploration

Francis Bacon1600AD

inventor of scientific methodscientism

Descartes1600AD

mindmatter

ISM’s18th, 19th, 20th Century

scientismtechnocismeconomism

consumerism

consumerismInstead of our core values influencing consumption,

our consumption influences our core values

early churchintegrated Greek dualistic thinking

modern churchstill integrates dualistic thinking

discussion

4. THE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW:Creating and Cultivating

biblical story

gospel

IsraelCreation Church New CreationJe

sus

lifedeath

resurrectionascension

enthronementHoly Spirit

Fall

birthprophecy and expectation

expected return

1. original good creation

2. perversion of creation through sin

3. restoration of the creation in Christ

frameworkcreation + cultivation

disobedience + distortionredemption + recreation

Directly: planets in motion | animals reproduce | gravity pulls

Indirectly: entrusts humans to innovate | do justice | produce art | learn

culture creatorsit’s a reflection of our

stewardship/rule over the earth

God’s creational decree

1. Laws of naturegravity | heredity | thermodynamics

2. “Laws” of cultureless clear

God’s creationalnorms or ideals

explore and navigate towards

broad scope of creationstructure of the atom

movement of the stars

life cycle of a plant

instincts of a platypus

beauty of creation

structure of society

art and music

economics and business

politics and government

education

and

“Everything that humans are and do is

thoroughly creational.”(Wolters, 2005)

hopeprofound

meaningfulness

educationlaws of nature

andlaws of culture

units of labourculture creators

5. THE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW:Disobedience and Distortion

disobedienceGenesis 3:17 (NIV)To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'

"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

disobedienceRomans 8:22 (NIV)We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

disobediencewhole creation is catastrophically

affected

disobedience

distortion

creational goodness still remains

creation is not defined by the distortion

Sin is Adam’s “my bad”, not God’s.

prostitution |sex

totalitarian |anarchy

current or flowfor God | against God

changing the current

humans repentance

natural world restore

culture redeem

6. THE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW:Redemption and Restoration

redemptionthe gospel of Christ is cosmic

notions from scripture:salvation

restorationreconciliation

renewal

implicationsmarriage sanctified | not avoided

emotions purified | not repressed

sexuality redeemed | not shunned

politics reformed | not decreed off limits

art claimed for Christ | not proclaimed “worldly”

scope of redemption

“...to reconcile to

himself all things...”(Col 1:20)

all creation fallenhumans pivotal

all creation redeemablehumans pivotal

Adamic human raceperverted the cosmos

Christ-ian human racerenews it

2 Corinthians 5:18 (NIV)“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave

us the ministry of reconciliation...”

kingdom of Godrestoration of creation = the coming kingdom of God

Jesus’ ministry1. preaching the coming

kingdom

2. demonstrating the coming kingdom

now but not yet

garden | city

graduates1. intellectual schizophrenia

2. swept up into secular humanism

creation | fall | redemption

not

biblical worldview

Who are we?

Where are we?

What is wrong?

What is the remedy?

What time is it?

creationWho? | Where?

fallWhat’s wrong?

redemptionHow to fix it?

7. Changing Your Worldview?

Worldview

Bible

biblical worldview

Bible

disorientation | reorientation

8. Worldviews and Education

education is shaped by a worldview

The Bookseller of KabulWar was the central theme in math books too.

School boys—because the Taliban printed books solely for boys—did not calculate in apples and

cakes, but in bullets and Kalashnikovs, something like this: little Omar has a Kalashnikov with three

magazines. There are twenty bullets in each magazine. He uses two-thirds of the bullets and kills

sixty infidels. How many infidels does he kill with each bullet?

(Seierstad)

Bible to curriculumbiblical theology

biblical worldview

subject philosophy

lesson content

botanist | artist | chemist | grocer | child

Chris Parkercparker@nice.edu.au

Plato | Aristotle300BC

Augustine

Aquinas

CHRIST

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

BaconDescartes

ISM’s

300BC

300BC

300BC

300BC