First written in 1946, Gordon Clark’s A Christian Philosophy of Education is still timely and relevant today, some sixty years later. His message was ahead of its time and only recently have Christians started to realize some of the issues that were written about in the book. . . .
For those unfamiliar with Clark’s writing, it might appear that upon an initial reading of Clark, he is dealing with many unrelated subjects of philosophy from Chapter one through three. The discussion of the importance of worldview for this portion of the text is important however, because it is by one’s worldview that an individual lives. It must be mentioned early on that there can be no such thing as religious neutrality when it comes to Christianity and applying the Christian worldview in all spheres of life is an imperative for the true Christian. To be neutral, as Clark argues in the fourth chapter, is philosophically impossible and also against what God says in the Bible about reality. . . . To be neutral by saying statements such as “God is irrelevant” is to be hostile towards the God of the Bible. . . . At many points a Christian philosophy clashes with the non-Christian philosophy of education and the result of non-Christian educational philosophy applied is not only foolish but also harmful.
With relativism popular in the educational process today, this undermines the very purpose of education itself. Clark stated, “The aim of education, at least the aim of the purest and best education, is intellectual understanding” (Gordon Clark, Christian Philosophy of Education, 95). How can there be understanding of truth and reality when there is no truth or reality? In contrast, Christianity allows the foundation for education because it believes in truth. The chapter on Christian philosophy of education is important since Clark was making the case that Christianity is intellectualistic: “Christianity, however, is intellectualistic, God is truth, and truth is immutable” (Clark, 97). Intellectualism is about seeking truth in which is the goal of education.
With the foundation of truth discarded in a relativistic philosophy of education, secularists have sought to substitute various purposes for education. Tolerance is a popular theme for education in our post-modern age but during the time of Clark’s writing as well. However, this “tolerance” is a guise for intolerance. . . .
. . . Clark’s solution for this intolerance is the formation of private schools that are Christ centered from beginning to end: “Private schools can avoid these government compulsions, at least as long as a little American liberty remains” (Clark, 113). . . .
Contemporary philosophy of education has gone so stupid that those in the education industry now confuse mistakes with false humility. Flaws and imperfection are now celebrated as “humility” and counselors are even advising their students to make typos in their college application: “If there's a sign of the times in college admissions, it may be this: Steven Roy Goodman, an independent college counselor, tells clients to make a small mistake somewhere in their application — on purpose” (Justin Pope, “Colleges Seek ‘Authencity’ in Hopefuls,” Associated Press, August 22, 2007: <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070822/ap_on_re_us/ back_to_school_authenticity;_ylt=AhJeWghwK9bZtn1oLfBjEspQXs8F>). . .
The problem of a good curriculum in secular education is also problematic and threatening toward the goal of education itself. . . . Since education involves one’s worldview, there is a need for a unified education: “Private Christian schools can be more single-minded in achieving liberal arts goals than present public schools can be” (Clark, 113). The unity and the rationality of the curriculum then, lies in a worldview that rest upon a worldview with the proposition of Scripture as its authority and axiom. (See Gordon Clark, A Christian View of Men and Things, The Trinity Foundation, 2005). It is also education according to a Christian worldview as A Christian Philosophy of Education argues, that can save man from being a puppet or a machine under the name education: “Instead of turning a man into a machine, it aims to prevent him from becoming one” (Clark, 112).
In summary, A Christian Philosophy of Education is an important warning to all Christians about the many problems in secular-driven education: “In this age of apostasy and crime, it is imperative to establish Christian education from kindergarten to university. In this age of ignorance and anti-intellectualism, it is highly desirable to establish schools that can maintain high standards” (Clark, 126). This book and the arguments within it are important if the church is going to have Christ as Lord in all spheres of life including education. Indeed, it is this desire that is evident in the life work of Dr. Clark from political philosophy, philosophy of science, etc. Clark’s last words in the preface to the updated edition of A Christian Philosophy of Education before his death were a prayer: “May God, partly through this argument, save our young people from this present world” (Clark, 10).