Old School New Clothes: The Cultural Blindness of Christian Education

Description: Is much of Christian education in America distinctly Christian? Ron Hoch and David Smith say No. Instead it is guilty of having adopted an ideology and methodology that strips it of the right to call itself Christian and the ability to fulfill a truly Christian mission. The authors claim that the fundamentally humanistic ideology of the West conditions and controls much of what is labeled Christian education. By talking about the need to integrate faith and learning focusing on teaching methodology and operating schools in virtually the same way as government-run schools many Christian academics betray captivity to the dogma that humans are the measure of all things and need to do what God has already done. As a result much of what controls the conversation and practices in Christian academia echoes the humanistic arrogance of the West and offers no substantive alternative to it. In Old School New Clothes Hoch and Smith issue a call for Christian academics to own up to their own confession--that all reality was created and integrated by God damaged by sin and has already been reintegrated in and by Jesus. Thus the emphasis in Christian education ought not to be what Christian educators are doing to redeem the culture but on what God is bringing to the Church in order to redeem sinners. Only by recognizing that all human knowledge claims in every sphere are inherently theological and that God is truly seen in and experienced through knowledge of all things will a distinctly Christian education be forged. Christian education must primarily emphasize the reintegration or redemption of teachers brought through right knowledge of Jesus that comes through every subject discipline and expressed in a life balanced on Sabbath work and family. Endorsements: Old School New Clothes is a compelling response to the triumph of neo-Kantian thinking in the realm of Christian education. Hoch and Smith remind us that because we live in a universe that has already been integrated by God the integration of faith and learning is not a project to be pursued but a reality to be discerned. Highly recommended particularly for its emphasis upon the doctrine of creation and its relevance to the life of the believing mind. -Paul Kjoss Helseth author of Right Reason and the Princeton Mind: An Unorthodox Proposal No matter which choice you make about Christian or homeschooling it is vital that parents and teachers pay attention to the philosophy on which that school is founded. This book made me think deeply about my own education how we choose to educate our children and how our decisions will affect the biblical foundation of the church for generations to come. This book is a great resource for fostering thoughtful discussions on biblical education among homeschooling families as well as in parent/teacher associations. -Cheryl Brubaker As an educator and administrator who spends hours contemplating the great questions of education I read with voracity the ideas presented within the pages of Old School New Clothes. Ron Hoch and David Smith like surgeons excising cancer have cut through to the most fundamental truths and fallacies of education. In doing so they challenge the Christian educator to closely examine every presupposition that is held in Christian schools today. -Dona Hedgecock About the Contributor(s): Ronald E. Hoch holds a BS in Biblical Studies from Philadelphia Biblical University and is studying for his MA in Religion from Reformed Theological Seminary. He teaches Bible at the Delaware County Christian School in Newtown Square Pennsylvania. David P. Smith holds a BA in Psychology from Carson-Newman College an MDiv from Covenant Seminary and a PhD in historical theology from Trinity International University. He is the author of B. B. Warfields Scientifically Constructive Theological Scholarship (Wipf & Stock 2011). He currently pastors Covenant Fellowship AR