A Christian Philosophy of Education - By Gordon Clark

This book was influential in my life. When I first read it, I felt betrayed by my Christian pastors and teachers. No one ever told me how thoroughly my education could have been Christian and the advantages to having a thoroughly Christian education. Here are a few quotes to give you the flavor of Gordon Clark's writings.  J P Bartlett

" A narrow technical training provides no safeguard against being deceived. Only a liberal arts education that uncovers three thousand years of human motives, foibles, reflections, and devices offers hope." p. 19

"There is only one philosophy that can really unify education and life. That philosophy is the philosophy of Christian theism. What is needed is an educational system based on the sovereignty of God, for in such a system man as well as chemistry will be given his proper place, neither too high nor too low. p. 21

"...unless a thinking begins with God, he can never end with God, or get the facts either." p. 31

"The atheist who asserts that there is no God, asserts by the same words that he holds the whole universe in his mind." p.38

"Non-theistic justifications of arithmetic are failures because non-theistic theories of life are failures." p. 59

"In the Christian view, motive is as important as the overt act." p.66

"Experimentation itself, as the philosophy of science shows, is based on philosophic principles. The choice of methods of experimentation is directed by the experimenter's view of what the world is like." p. 68

"The early American colleges were distinctly Christian institutions. But the public school system, unlike the colleges, was not so inspired." p. 69

"The Scriptures say that the fear of the Lord is the chief part of knowledge; but the schools, by omitting all reference to God, give the pupils the notion that knowledge can be had apart from God." p. 73

"..Christians should organize as many schools as possible, and seek to dismantle the tax-supported school system. The exercise of liberty is essential to its preservation. p. 190

"Besides History there are Physics and Mathematics. So far as their details are concerned, it is harder to infuse the courses with Christian material. But it is not hard to do so when the discussion turns to their significance." p. 195

"The just about knowing more and more about less and less until one knows everything about nothing has almost come true." p. 195

"Broad views of the sovereignty of God as affecting all parts of the universe, and the consequence that science and theology form a single, organized, intelligible system, are both inspiring and necessary; but the only proof of which they are capable is their application to the details of physics, psychology, education, politics, and all else." p. 215

Gordon Clark penned this book in 1946.

What do you think?