Exploring the History & Philosophy of Christian Education

Principles for the 21st Century

Michael J. Anthony

Warren S. Benson

WIPF & STOCK • Eugene, Oregon

Wipf and Stock Publishers

199 W 8th Ave, Suite 3

Eugene, OR 97401

Exploring the History and Philosophy of Christian Education

Principles for the 21st Century

By Anthony, Michael J. and Benson, Warren S.

© 2003 by Anthony, Michael J.

ISBN 13: 978-1-61097-732-6

Publication date 8/15/2011

Previously published by Kregel Publications, 2003

To

Warren S. Benson

(1930–2002)

This book is dedicated to one of the finest men I have known in the field of Christian education. He was a wonderful husband to Tenore, father to Bruce and Scott, grandfather to Annie, Emily, and Scotty Jr.

He will be particularly missed by his colleagues from the educational institutions where he held a faculty appointment. These include: Dallas Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Talbot School of Theology.

In addition, his absence will be felt each year by his colleagues attending the annual meeting of the North American Professors of Christian Education. It was always a highlight of each conference to speak with Warren and attend his frequent seminars and workshops. He was one of my closest friends in the field of Christian education and I will forever look back with fondness to his personal mentoring and friendship.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Hebrew Origins of Christian Education

Patriarchs

The Law

The Family

Priests, Judges, and Prophets

The Monarchy

The Exile

The Synagogue School

Religious Leaders

For Further Reading

Chapter 2: Greek Education and Philosophical Thought

Greek Culture

Greek Religion

Greek Education

Greek Philosophical Thought

Greek Influences on Modern Education

For Further Reading

Chapter 3: Roman Education and Philosophical Thought

Roman Culture

Roman Education

Educational Structure in Summary

For Further Reading

Chapter 4: Christian Education in the Early Church

The Context of Early Christian Education

Jesus as the Master Teacher

Christian Education in the Apostolic Age

Catechumenal Instruction

Catechetical and Cathedral Schools

Early Christian Educators: Church Fathers, Apologists, and Polemics

Philosophical Heresies in the Early Church

For Further Reading

Chapter 5: Christian Education in the Middle Ages (500–1300)

The Decline of the Roman Empire

The Rise of Feudalism

The Church Divided

The Condition of the Clergy

Asceticism and the Monastic Schools

The Crusades

Scholasticism and the Development of Universities

For Further Reading

Chapter 6: Christian Education in the Renaissance (1350–1500)

The Cultural Context of the Renaissance

Philosophical Antecedents of the Renaissance

The Brethren of the Common Life

Humanism and the Renaissance

Forerunners of the Reformation

The Inquisition

For Further Reading

Chapter 7: Christian Education in the Reformation (1500–1600)

The Decline of the Papacy

The Era of Church Reform

Lay Reform ...