What is truth?
The answer to this question has also gone through major
change. In the early days of our country, the Bible was THE
source of truth. Human reason was part of it, but reason
was subservient to God’s Word. As one moves through this
chart, truth is now determined by one’s experiences and by
whatever a person desires to be true. In fact, I heard a person
make the following statement on a TV special about educa-
tion, “Truth is arrived at through one’s experiences.”
I had a professor in one of my graduate courses in admin-
istration tell the class, “You must understand that something
is true only to those who share your same philosophy.”
When I asked him if he was saying there is no such thing as
absolute truth, he said yes. The shock I experienced because
of this conversation was because I was the only one in the
class of almost 30 students who questioned the professor’s
statement!
As the concepts of ultimate reality and ultimate truth have
changed, the goal of education has also changed. No longer
is the goal of education to develop godly men and women
who live out their faith as they fulfill God’s first commission
for man to rule over the earth. History clearly shows how
being a good citizen became more important than living a
Christian life. Morality in a general sense was still seen to
have value in the education we gave our children. However,
since God was no longer viewed as absolute reality and the
Bible was no longer seen as the only source for absolute
truth, morality could no longer be a priority in education.
Nor could it be taught that certain values were more impor-
tant than others.
Education’s goal would eventually guide students to live
out a life as they wanted it to be. Life became all about me.
A person must be “true to himself ” and do what is best for
him, not others. With God and His Word removed from the
foundation of education, education’s goal is now to produce
a society where political correctness reigns supreme and
what was once considered to be immoral is now celebrated
and applauded as being good.
What does this mean for you and me?
We need to examine our own lives and see if we are living
everyday life as if God is the only ultimate reality that there
is. We must also make sure we live our lives as if God’s Word
is absolute truth. As Del Tackett clearly states in his series,
The Truth Project, “Do you really believe what you say you
believe is true?”
Another implication for Christian parents, church lead-
ers, and educators is that we develop a biblical philosophy
of education that is founded on the fact that God is ultimate
reality, and His Word is the only source for absolute truth.
When the home, church, and school unite together under
these two philosophical underpinnings, we will once again
strive to educate the next generation to become dynamic
disciples of Jesus Christ as the ultimate value behind our
educational efforts.
So the challenge for each one of us today is the same one
that everyone has faced throughout human history. How
are we answering these two questions now and how will
we answer them in the future? What is ultimate REALITY?
What is ultimate TRUTH?
Your answers to these questions will not be found in
what you might write down if given a test but by what you
are striving to produce as you educate the next generation.
Think about it!
Dr. Glen Schultz has given the past 48 years of his life to
educating future generations according to God’s plan. After
five years in public education, he entered the field of Chris-
tian education, where he has been a teacher, coach, principal,
and superintendent. Dr. Schultz just completed nine years as an
associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist Church and Headmaster
of Sherwood Christian Academy. Before this, he directed the
Christian school work at LifeWay Christian Resources for nine years, served as the
Association of Christian Schools International Southeast Regional Director for seven
years, and was Superintendent of Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia
for 16 years. Currently, Dr. Schultz is giving his full-time attention to training the next
generation of Christian educators on a biblical philosophy of education as founder
and director of Kingdom Education Ministries. Glen is the author of Kingdom Educa-
tion: God’s Plan for Educating Future Generations and several parenting booklets. He
has been married to his wife, Sharon, for 47 years and has three children and six
grandchildren. He is a member of the Renewanation Board of Directors.
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