The Purposes of Christian Education

The Purposes of Christian Education Through this paper, I try to examine the ideas of education and Christian education specifically with its natures or characteristics and its purposes. The main theme is how Christian education in community of faith looks like. I also focus on doing justice (act justly and right injustice) in Christian schools which consist of Christians (teachers, students, and staff) only as injustice issues are inevitable to occur even within the community of faith. But, I realize the reality and situation in Christian schools around the world which have non-Christian members including the school which I have worked with and I try to respond to this issue, especially how to bring the idea of hope. First of all, it is important to understand the nature of education and it is broad whether in public education or Christian education. Naturally, education is about how to educate and to be educated. Many educators have different concepts of educating students. Some of them might see education is only a way to help or support students to acquire high achievements of cognitive or knowledge, therefore the way they educate students focuses only on preparing students to be successful. Some of them might emphasize the importance of shaping students’ good moral beside having good knowledge, or living in the community of school. And not a few do their teaching as part of their job only. Differ with public education, the natures of Christian education in Christian schools generally are the schools should bring students to know God, to live their faith, and to implement their faith into the community(s). Obviously, dealing with high achievements, critical thinking processes, deep engagement of study, good moral or character, or living with others within the community of school are also important and fundamental for Christian schools. But, they should give something different from public or general schools out there. Because, basically Christians are and should be different from this world. Romans 12:2: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (King James Version). Christian education is and should be unique, different, and alternative. Therefore, the teachers also should be the same. But, the problem usually is whether the schools or the teachers are irresponsible for being Christian institutions or educators. They are not different from this world in many ways. Although the schools have Christ’s identity, sometimes their goals are totally secular. Lot of Christian teachers do not know what to do and how to do their Christian teaching, or some of them think that that is not important. The problem is just too complex and complicated, but generally the main problem is the lack of understanding and realization of being true Christian schools and bringing students to divine purposes. Nicholas Woltersorff through some of his books and articles talks about the ideas of justice and how to bring it into schools. Through his book “Educating for Shalom” (2004), he describes that shalom is really important to occur in Christian schools in regard to doing justice for marginalized and oppressed students. Christian faith in the school should state God’s shalom. What is shalom about? He argues that shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature – and in taking delight in such relationships (p. xiii). I argue that the community of shalom should consist of believers, the elect, or the covenant people of God only. Christians should be holy and faithful in every aspect of their lives, including works and education. Afterwards, in my opinion, every specific thing in Christians’ life should be related to Church and family. Therefore, if we are talking about Christian education, it must be related to the Church and the family. Those three things are related and interconnected. They should support and nurture each other in order to achieve maximum and best faithful Christian lives. If a couple of parents put their child into a Christian school, the school should collaborate and work together with them. They must communicate each other well to give good and strong Christian education to the child whether in the home or in the school. Then, the parents with the whole family have responsibilities to teach and educate the kid in strong and faithful Christian ways and bring him to the Church so he knows and believes God. In other words, the Church is involved in this kid’s life especially in his education. Therefore, I argue that the kid’s spiritual life will be grown and flourishing properly if he has good and strong Christian education in school, if he has parents and family who are faithful Christians, if he goes to a church which can support him to be a good and faithful Christian, and if he is in communities of believers. But, having good and faithful Christian lives is still God’s grace, whether He works or not toward people. It is fundamental for Christians to have faithful Christian lives through many communities of believers: the Church, the families, the school, or any other communities of faith. Although the school, the Church, and the family are related, but still their natures are different one another. A school is a school, the Church and the family are not the school, vice versa. The school’s main purpose or obligation is to educate students and support them to achieve many good and right things. The basic idea of that relation of the three is believers should love each other within the community which at the same time they should love God. Its root comes from what Jesus says about how to love God and love our neighbors as the main things that believers should do (the Great Commandments). It is right that we live among people or in societies whether it is marginalized or not which makes us to love others. It is important and I agree with that. But, we have a Divine Creator, a Mighty God who deserves to be glorified and actually God is and should be the priority of Christians’ life. I agree with the answer of the first question of Westminster Catechism which says that people’s main purpose of life is should glorify the Triune God. Therefore, Christians’ love should work both vertically (to God) and horizontally (to others). So, for me the ideas of community of shalom plays an important role in Christian education just if it consists of Christians or believers. The other reason is it is about the effectiveness and properness of the community. The community or the church (not physical building) consists of the people who are the bodies of Christ to serve Him and to serve others, to love Him and to love others. If there are people who are unbelievers in that community, although they might know and understand about the Triune God but we do not know whether they believe in God or have the true faith in Him. Therefore for me, it is not effective and not proper. Furthermore, I believe that God would not accept unbelievers to be part of His community. For instance, the parable of sheep and goats tells us clearly that God distinguishes His people (the righteous ones) from the unrighteous ones. Then, how about them who are unbelievers? Do not they have the same opportunity like Christians to know God? How if they are trying to open their hearts to be evangelized? Evangelism is the church’s task, not the school’s although for some reasons evangelism in schools is needed and necessary. Shalom which should consist only believers persuades all school’s members to have right relations with God and others who are believers at the same time. Then, why cannot we have relations with others who are not believers within that community? My suggestion is it relates with people’s spiritual growth. Christians are also sinners, but they cannot compromise with those who do not know and believe God. Those unbelievers can influence believers to do sins and to become impious. Engelsma (2000) argues that non-Christians are actually anti-Christians. Furthermore, through the Presbyterian Charles Hodge, he says that education without religion is irreligious. It cannot be neutral, and in fact is not neutral. According to Herman Hoeksema, he also says that: Religion must not be something added to our life, but it must be the heart of our life. Religion must not be something that is added to our education, but it must be the heart of our education. The precepts of the Lord must be the basis from which our entire education must proceed. (p. 13) How about being the salt of the earth and the light of the world? Christians or believers can do those things when they engage with secular world, when they are in non-Christian communities or societies. But, I concern about Christian community or institution that is Christian school. Therefore, in my opinion, it is foundational and cannot be compromise that being in any Christian communities, the members must be believers, they are those who believe in same God, the Triune God, so they are in the right path and they can love, support, and care each other under God’s authority as the High Chief. Furthermore, Christians actually still can be the salt and the light to other believers within the community. For instance, they can exhibit their faithfulness to God and influence other believers to do the same, and how their piousness can remind other believers who are in weak-faith conditions to be strengthened and back to God’s path. I believe that Christians should be exclusive from this fallen world, so be the Church, Christian schools, and Christian family. Christians still can engage with worldly people, but that is not the priority. Christians’ main purpose for being in this fallen world is to nurture their spiritual lives by loving God and loving others in the right direction and in my opinion, Christians should prioritize to do anything as the attempts to reach that purpose by being in the community of believers. That must be the priority. Then, they maybe can be involved with people outside of the community of believers to exhibit God’s love or to spread the Gospel, even actually evangelism is the church’s task as I said earlier. Therefore, the Christian schools should nurture the spiritual life of students who are believers, the covenant people of God. Once again, Christianity should be different and exclusive. I argue that Christians have no difference with unbelievers who have good morality if they just bring peace into the earth. Like in the answer of the first question of Westminster catechism, our purpose of life is for God alone. Therefore, everything that we do in this world is for God alone. The Great Commandment also should be viewed in a way that our love to God must be more than our love to our neighbors, because he is the predominant, the Divine Creator and Redeemer. Some biblical passages explain the exclusiveness of Christianity as follows: -  God has put enmity between the church and the world (Genesis 3:15). -  Jesus came not to bring peace in the earth, but rather division (Luke 12:51). -  He even sends forth the red horse throughout world history “to take peace from the earth (Revelation 6:4). -  Paul warns that those who strive for peace and safety in this world will meet sudden destruction when Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians. 5:3). It is true that sins have corrupted believers also, but Jesus has promised that through the Holy Spirit, He would guide and preserve His people until He returns. Therefore, I believe that God has controlled his people to be faithful Christians and to grow spiritually within the community of believers. There are lot of questions regarding that statement, for example: Does not God control His people also although they are not among the community of believers? Is not God capable to transform people’s heart to believe in Him? I believe God works in every situation that challenge Christians to be grown up spiritually and He works in every moment that can bring His people back to Him. But, regarding to Bible passages that I said earlier, Christianity is different and exclusive from this fallen world and every member in the community of believers can grow spiritually together and support each other as the bodies of Christ. Christians are absolutely sinners who do sin every day and every time, they are so weak in dealing with sins, and they tend to do sin consciously even they are pious. But, it is not about practical sins, but more about conceptual sins: the ideas of sins of believers which have already been redeemed and the wicked or reprobate who do not know and believe God and always live in sin. I think that if a Christian school is available for non-Christian students to be there, the tendency of Christian students to do sin is bigger because non-Christian students who do not know and believe God possibly can drag believers to do more sins and it could be worse that they will drag believers to leave God. Naturally, they always do sin even with what they believe. For instance, by worshiping false God (gods), they are doing sin. So, it is not only about practical sins of believers, although it is a struggle also for Christians to deal with practical sins every day. The next question is: are all of Christian students saved? How do we know that? It is true that we cannot know and judge people for being saved or not. Therefore, it is important to consider who their parents are. If the parents are faithful and pious Christians who tend to educate and help their children to be the same, I am sure that it is proper for a Christian school to put those kids into the community of believers. It is possible that in the future they might leave God and become unbelievers. But, the idea of putting students into the community of faith should be started by their parents because God has worked on His people through covenantal ways. Therefore, it is important for Christian schools to be parental schools which let Christian parents to be involved in every decision that the schools make for the behalves of students’ material and spiritual grow. Once again, Christians should be unique and different from this sinned world, so be the Christian schools. Therefore, Christian schools must have special identities which distinguish them from any other secular schools. It is not about moral, ethics, or goodness which is understood by people who do not know God, but it is about biblical virtues and perspectives. Therefore, Christian schools should emphasize those biblical virtues and perspectives into their systems, curriculum, policies, or principles. If they bring moral justice which is not based on The Bible, they are not different with secular schools because secular schools can bring that moral justice well, even maybe better than Christian schools. But, is not the main focus of school to bring good education to students, so does it not matter if Christian schools have non-Christian students? The answer is yes, but we should teach and introduce God and The Bible to students since their young ages beside the knowledge of this world through school’s subjects and in my opinion, school is a perfect place to do it, because students spend their times mostly in school rather than in their home or church. The next question is: is not it the church’s task? Yes, it is, but it is also Christian school’s task. Christian schools play an important role to build and develop students’ Christian minds as same as the church. Therefore, in my view, Christian schools are similar with the Church as ways or places to grow spiritually in right directions and same as the Church, Christian schools must consist of believers as the bodies of Christ. Wolterstorff urges Christian schools and Christian educators to do justice and to right injustice, especially to those who are oppressed, marginalized, and treated differently. Furthermore, Joldersma (2001) emphasizes the importance and necessity of shalom-seeking in Christian-education setting. There are so many issues of injustice even in a Christian school, such as gender, race, parents’ income level, socio-economic status, ethnicity, disability, religion, even Christian denomination. As I focus on the community of faith in a school, therefore the religion issue cannot occur. But, the reality is there are many Christian schools who have students from many different religions and I will talk about it later. It is interesting how Wolterstorff (2004) says that he has moved from Christian humanist model to a blend of the Christian academic-discipline model and the Christian vocation model. Those blended models are important to be implemented in Christian schools. Ultimately, after finishing study at school, students will deal with their higher education or occupational and professional roles. Therefore, the school and teachers have to prepare them very well in Christian ways, in Christian academic-discipline ways. Students and any other Christians have been dealing with this world and society in particular which are secular. Even if they are faithful Christians, the fact is it is inevitable that they deal with the secular world and society day by day, whether in a big scale or a small scale. Therefore, a school should be aware of how students who have experienced different social contexts can exhibit injustice activities to other students. What seems wrong to other students might be right for them. Christian students who come from bad societies or communities need full support from the school to have strong Christian characters. That is the way of doing justice. And it seems that injustice issues not only occur in individuals, but also certain groups of people.   Students from different social classes tend to have and experience injustice activities whether from other students or even from teachers. From example, Anyon (1981) through her interviews says that the main theme of two working class schools is resistance. I believe that many teachers in every social class schools for many reasons are overwhelmed, exhausted, stressed out, or bored of being teachers. Therefore, those things tend to lead to doing injustice activities to students. One teacher said: “They are lazy”, the other one said: ”You can’t teach these kids anything” (p. 7). Those words which being said by teachers are not proper and horrible. But, that is the fact. It happens to teachers sometimes. Teaching preparations, administrative tasks, school’s achievement standards, and all things which students do are some of many factors of how difficult and challenging of being a teacher. Therefore, sometimes it is plausible and reasonable that teachers consciously or unconsciously doing injustice activities to students through their words and deeds. On the other hand, injustice activities among students likely occur because of different social class or their parents’ different income levels. They might despise and disrespect to each other, have no willingness to engage and partake in the whole community, and so forth. In a particular class, for example in an executive elite school, I believe that some students feel that they are superior to those who are in lower classes and that is kind of doing thing unjustly. Injustice activities because of different social classes are also inevitable to occur in Christian schools. As I relate to Christian schools which should emphasize and prioritize the community of shalom as a distinctive and alternative way of education, I believe that social classes issue have become a particular challenge for those Christian schools. Therefore, I suggest for the schools to involve parents to this issue. Christian schools have to teach parents beside teach the students. Parents’ involvement for students’ development in education is important and necessary. Christian schools should teach students in alternative ways which are Christian ways including bringing the ideas of shalom and justice to education. Therefore, giving parents understanding of how students being taught in those alternative ways is important and ask them to realize how their different social classes or income levels can or have possibility to affect and actually prevent their children to have and experience justice activities. Through parents’ conferences for example, the schools have to ask the parents to tell and teach their kids in the home how to deal with others who have different social classes.  The purposes of Christian schools should diminish themselves from secular thoughts or values, including social classes. They should be divine. God sees his people as sinners only, He does not distinguish their divine status (eternal salvation) by their particular social class, particular culture, deeds, merits, and so forth. This parents’ involvement is important, because once again the social classes issue likely occurs even in the community of shalom. Through school’s curriculum, pedagogy, and teachers, students are able to learn together in love, although they are from different social classes, and are able to exhibit their love to others in the community of shalom. Hopefully, in the future they will be able to tell the world (family and society) that in God’s eyes, different social classes have no place. This is an alternative way of education, this is a Christian way. Racial and ethnic differences possibly make students to act unjustly to other students, whether verbally or physically. Particularly, racism issue is very common to occur in a school, even in a Christian school. Racism is not a small issue, but conversely it tends to create evil, or at least denial to certain objects. Silva (1997) says that racism is not an ideology, but a real phenomena which has been happening in the society system which he calls it by racialized social system. Racism does not affect only to certain individuals, but to the whole society or community. He exemplifies of the slavery history of black people in the United States. Racism to black people in the United States is still happening, although the slavery was happening long time ago. Therefore, it is very possible that racism is inevitable to occur in a school, even in a Christian school. Joldersma (2016) says that racism is an idea, doctrine, or a set of belief by one group to another group psychologically. In other words, people are called racist if they do racism activities to other different races. But, I have been thinking of a community which consists only of one race and a school which has students and teachers who come from the same race. Is racism not happening in that school? I think it is still, but in a different way. Therefore I propose an argument that addressing others who are different culturally in negative ways is kind of similar with doing racism. Talking about cultural issues, in my opinion, it is not only about culture of a set of cultural groups, but also about perspectives, backgrounds, values, and so forth. Therefore, for example, if a student does a bullying, then it has no difference with being racist. Those both can make others feel neglected, despised, uncomfortable, angry, and so forth. Injustice activities are likely happening. There are some fears of oppressed, marginalized, or inferior groups to be treated negatively by superior groups even though those superior groups are not racist. For example, the slavery of black people in US historically is really bad, for some black people who were free from slavery, they still experienced racism by whites. Then, I relate to education and multicultural education specifically as Sleeter (2015) talks about. She says that as considering many different cultures and backgrounds, multicultural education can be viewed as a process of transforming education to serve diverse populations well, and to build cross-group dialog and action that can become the foundation of social transformation (p. 115). Therefore, it is a particular challenge for teachers who deal with multicultural students to encourage inferior students about racism issue although it does not happen to them. Is racism issue important to be in school curriculum, or pedagogy, or both, or outside the teaching and learning activities? I argue that multicultural education takes an important role in this situation. First of all, students and teachers are multicultural, they have many differences in culture, background, perspective, value, norm, faith, belief, and so forth. In order to create or build a justice-oriented education (which is really important), a school should bring multicultural education into its system, curriculum, policy, and pedagogy. The recognition and realization of multicultural teachers and multicultural students about the diversity will help them to be aware of any injustice activities, and racism issue is the example. I believe that the encouragement verbally to students to be aware of this issue is inadequate. The school should do more than that. According to Banks, Sleeter describes five-dimensions of multicultural education: the content integration, knowledge construction process, equity pedagogy, prejudice reduction, and empowering school culture and social culture. In my opinion, those dimensions are interconnected and interdependent to support the proper implementation of the multicultural education itself. This is really important and fundamental to be inserted or implanted into schools. Furthermore, I guess Christian schools should consider to apply multicultural-education system. Multicultural education is an alternative way of education, and Christian education too. It is true and obvious, on one hand, that as an alternative way, Christian education should go in divine approach, which means how they bring the understanding of how people should know who is the true God and how they live their life in Christian ways. On the other hand, cultural differences are inevitable to occur in Christian-education setting, including the racism issue. Therefore, I suggest that Christian school should collaborate a Christian education with a multicultural education. Those both look similar, but actually they are different whether theoretically and practically. There are some benefits which can be achieved from those two. The community of shalom can be aware of threats and benefits of cultural differences. There are varied injustice activities occurring in a school in which teachers should be aware of. LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) students are often treated unjustly and differently whether by other students or teachers. Being LGBT is a stigma for particular societies. LGBT issue becomes quite complicated to exist in Christian schools. Some of LGBT people are naturally and biologically have sexual problems, whereas some of them have reasons and backgrounds of being LGBT such as family’s child-rearing or family’s condition, society and friends, an attempt to be accepted in communities, and so forth. Therefore, I believe that LGBT people can change, can repent (as related to Christianity because it is sin) to not act as LGBT anymore, and back to “normal”. But, on the other hand, biological condition cannot be avoided and this is a serious matter. I argue that teachers should do justice to LGBT students who are caused by biological condition only. For those who are not, then doing justice is not the approach. Teachers should accept them as human beings or God’s images and allow them to be in the school. In my opinion, rather than focus on doing justice to them, Christian teachers should focus on love and discipline approach. They should help and support LGBT students to change and to repent, because there is a hope. It is also important to approach their parents and family. It is just something wrong. It is part of sin and similar with other sins. Therefore, through conversations, pedagogy, and curriculum, the school must help and support students, teachers, and staff to be disciplined by being holy and realize the main purpose of Christian’s life and avoid sins as much as possible, including being LGBT. Doing inclusion for students with disability is also part of doing justice. Basically, those who are disabled whether in physical, intellectual, or emotional impairment need helps and supports. They cannot do something properly or things which are called “normality”. Normality, in my opinion, is humans’ set of belief which is shaped or influenced by their experiences and knowledge of seeing things which are normal. Even, if it is not about disability, people tend to see and judge ones to be “not normal” or “abnormal” if they not doing something properly or not doing things based on what societies or groups of people believe. Therefore, judging and rejecting disabled persons in society and in the school specifically are wrong and unjust, because everyone is “abnormal” in many ways and I relate to the biblical perspective that because of The Fall, human beings have totally been depraved. Everyone is sinner and cannot do anything properly anymore. What people call “normality” is based on what they believe and see which are corrupted by sins already. On the other hand, it is important and fundamental to view disabled students as human beings who have the same rights and acceptance like others. More specifically, disabled students have same opportunities to learn, to socialize, to be accepted, and to be loved like other non-disabled students. Furthermore, in a Christian view, everyone is created by the image of God, including those who are disabled. Christian faith talks clearly about how God’s people should not only concern on their life in this world, but also to concern on their spiritual lives, their relation to God. I believe that in God’s view, all people are disabled and abnormal. When Jesus was in this world, he had seen abnormality, how people loved to do sins, even Israelites who are the covenant people of God. Jesus who has no sins must be struggling while seeing sins. That is something abnormal in His view. But, He loves this world too much. He sacrificed His life for those abnormal people. Therefore, how could we cannot love and accept disabled students based on what Jesus taught through His salvation? He also accepted and loved disabled persons more specifically: a paralyzed man (Matthew 9: 1-8), a man with a shriveled hand (Matthew 12: 9-14), a man with leprosy (Matthew 8:1-3), a bleeding woman (Matthew 9:20-22), the blind and the mute (Matthew 9:27-34), a demon-possessed boy (Matthew 17:14-18), and many things else. Although those verses more talk about Jesus’ miracles, but it is obvious how they describe His actions to love, accept, involve, and include them who are physically, intellectually, and emotionally disabled. Jesus realized that those people needed helps and healings. They could not be cured by their attempts. After healed, I believe that those people could do anything more properly than before. But, that is not the main purpose for us to help and support disabled students, although we should admit that we are hopeful that after they get helps and supports, they can achieve many good things and show their maximum performances. Our view to disabled students should focus on love and acceptance approaches which show justice. Therefore, if they still cannot exhibit improvements of their achievements, at least we are in the right direction by loving, caring, involving, and including them into the community of school. Therefore, inclusion is the main theme on this situation. God teaches us to love our neighbors with pure heart and motives which can be seen through our words and deeds comprehensively. By doing inclusion, justice can be seen. Doing justice and righting injustice should be done comprehensively through pedagogy, curriculum, school’s policies, or even daily conversations with students. I will focus now on curriculum. It is important and fundamental for curriculum makers to consider justice issues as part of school’s curriculum. Every school has own views and understandings of doing justice based on situations there. Blomberg (2007) says that curriculum should not only be viewed as noun, but also as verb (processes), preposition (relationships), and adjective (worldview). Those three other terms of curriculum are a must to be used by Christian schools. As adjective, curriculum in Christian schools or I call it Christian curriculum has to have divine purposes in order to bring God’s Kingdom into education, to bring students to the true understanding of who God is and how they live their Christian faith, or to create the community of shalom. In my opinion, it is more proper that Christian schools should more focus on having right relationship and fulfilling processes of Christian teaching and learning, rather than pursuing achievements of this world. A Christian school has its own curriculum and standards which are different from secular or public schools. But, many Christian schools deal with national standards such as high achievements and high-stakes testing. On one hand, the pursuit of high-stakes testing is good and plausible for one country to improve its citizens’ quality of life and its own dignity to become good and strong country which can be measured through its citizens’ achievements. But, on the other hand, it cannot be denied that it will lead to competitions, injustice activities, and oppressions. Competitions can be both good and bad. But, if it is about money and power, those competitions tend to make one to exclude and destroy others, or at least to be individualistic and extremely independent. Thus, I relate this idea of competitions to what Wolterstorff says about community of shalom, specifically about act justly and right injustice. Au (2007) says that high-stakes testing influences content, knowledge, and pedagogy. If a school deals with high-stakes testing (most of schools do it), then it affects into curriculum structures and systems and finally affects the way how teachers teach in and outside classroom(s). For some schools, high-stakes testing has become a particular pressure to achieve. Therefore, I guess it is inevitable that the curriculum and pedagogy are adjusted or being flexible to fulfill what high-stakes testing requires. That pressure affects administrators, teachers, policy makers, and also students. It should be another way or an alternative way that schools, especially Christian schools do not deal with this high-stakes testing issue. First of all, Christian schools are unique and different with any other schools. Therefore, they should have identities and specific purposes as Christian institutions. Those identities and purposes are things that should be different or in other words, the word “alternative” that I said earlier should be related to these things. As I said earlier, high-stakes testing does tend to create many injustice activities which are not a Christian way. Therefore, I suggest for Christian schools to avoid those injustice activities to create and provide community of shalom as what Wolterstorff talks about. Rather than pursuing standardized achievements through high-stakes testing, I suggest for Christian schools to more focus on helping students to explore and improve their skills and capabilities which are different from each other in a Christian way. The schools should have standards of course, but standards should not be the only benchmark. Love, care, justice, wisdom, respect, holiness, help, support, and so forth should be considered carefully and seriously by Christian schools. The community of shalom should not only talk about relationships one to another, but also how Christian values and perspectives can be implemented into curriculum and pedagogy, including the way how schools assess and do tests. Christian education should be better and beyond secular education in many ways and in relations for example. I argue that relations in a Christian school are not merely relations among others, but how the school can invite all of school members to have right and proper relation to God. Faith comes with rationality. Rationality without faith is dead, and faith without rationality is weak. A school is a proper place for students to grow and enhance their rationality, critical thinking, or logic. Therefore I propose that a Christian school should help them to grow and enhance their faith at the same time, to use their knowledge to enrich their faith and vice versa, or to praise and worship God through knowledge. Moreover, I once again emphasize the idea of the divine purpose of human beings that is to do everything for God alone including activities or processes in a school. Biesta (2005) says that the content and purpose of learning should also be part of educational process. One purpose of a Christian school which should make students to have right relationship with God can be implemented through good and strong Christian-values-and-perspectives-giving as part of educational processes and specifically Christian educational processes. Justice activities by loving and caring each other are basic things to do in regard to relationship. It is absolutely a relationship to others, but it can bring to the realization of a relationship to God. Therefore, the idea of sorting by Fendler and Muzaffar (2009) should not necessarily happens in a Christian school in teaching and learning practices. They say that sorting is part of a recursive project of governance and normalization. The school is not the place to gain or achieve knowledge only but the place to grow spiritually also by loving God and others together within the community. Sorting is a tricky thing. On one hand, it could create injustice activities or tendencies to do things unjustly among students or even among teachers such as underestimating or judging students who are under “normal”. But, on the other hand, sorting can lead to the awareness and intervention to those who are under “normal” to be “normal” and more than “normal” maybe. Or, it can encourage students to improve their quality or to exhibit their best. The question would be: is being “normal” so important to occur in a Christian school? The school should be the agent of restoration. Rather than pursuing the “normal” which tend to end in competitions, the school should help students to improve what they have, what their abilities and capabilities are and invite students to respect and accept others whoever they are and whatever qualitatively and quantitatively others can do. The idea of justice that Wolterstorff talks about possibly can occur in this situation. But, I guess sorting is still important and needed in school administration. Maybe, it is better to call it categorizing. Finally, injustice activities possibly occur in Christian schools in many ways. I concern on doing justice in communities of faith or Christian schools which consist only of believers. But, the reality is there are many Christian school which have non-Christian teachers and students, or if all the members are Christians, they come from many different denominations. Christian education is just too complex. But, we have to keep focus on the purposes of Christian education itself. It is not about making people to be Christians or more focus on biblical issues rather than gaining education. But, it is about having Christ’s minds and hearts through education. Christian perspectives and values should be holistic throughout every aspect in educational system. Therefore, doing justice in Christian schools which have non-Christian students or people from different denominations should be with wisdom and discernment. Whatever a Christian school believes or whatever its core values are, it should end for God’s glory and the extension of His Kingdom to this world. It is still important that Christians should be involved in this secular world. It is possible that if Christians engage with unbelievers, they can learn something from them, or evangelism can occur, or there is a hope to heal this sinful and rotten world as Moisio and Suoranta (2007) talk about hope in the era of globalization. They state that hope is the most fundamental dimension of any human activity, especially education. Furthermore, they emphasize that individual and social changes are the heart of education, or at least the hope for change (p. 238). In my opinion, hope actually starts with the recognition that there is something wrong in this world. This world is so depraved and sin has made people corrupt. There is no hope without Christ, there is no hope for unbelievers. Once again, we cannot judge people whether they are saved or not. Those who have faith in Christ can be unbelievers and conversely those who do not believe Christ can be faithful Christians through many ways and through evangelism for example. Therefore, “unbelievers” term is not about now and later in this world which is changeable, but it is about final and eternal destination. Rather than focus on giving hope to this world, I argue that the recognition that there is something wrong in this world should remind Christians to be more faithful, to have spiritual maturity, and to grow spiritually in right ways. I argue that there is hope for Christians to be “perfect” as images of God who is perfect. It is impossible that mortal human beings can be literally perfect, but it is possible that Christians can give their best to become like Christ. Ephesians 1:4 says: ”For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” which means those who are saved should be holy as Christ is holy. I emphasize what I believe that it is better and more proper that Christian institutions or communities including church and Christian schools should prioritize to nurture or to preserve Christians’ spiritual lives rather than to engage with this secular world. It is not true that engaging with this world is wrong or not important. Actually it is important because Jesus commands His people to do it in Matthew 28:19-20 (The Great Commission). But, having responsible and faithful Christian lives are more important and it should be done rightly in the community of faith. Christians can bring hope to people around them even if they are not Christians, but I argue that that is not the main focus of their purpose of life. Christian community should be flourished for God’s glory. Smith (2009) says that the garden of delight as one of the imageries in the Bible that can be used in Christian-education setting is interpreted as follows: both the school and the learner as a garden; the teacher as one who waters, cultivates, and prunes; the learners as grafts and saplings; and school textbooks as parts of a garden. Furthermore, he argues that the learner is not only to inhabit the garden of delight, but also to be a garden of delight in which he or she grows in erudition, virtue, and piety through learning. Therefore, an individual should be flourished in front of God, not only as a human being and his relation with others and nature, but also (most importantly) his spiritual relationship with God. He must be God’s delight as God’s child, as the elect, as the believer or Christ follower who was predestined that he is saved. Everything that he does is only for God alone, for His glory and for the extension of His Kingdom unto the world. Moreover, I argue that the definition of the garden of delight is a situation which one exists because God works on him and through him, and he recognizes the true God, the Triune God. I believe that God has worked in covenantal ways. I believe that God is both love and just, and I believe that God distinguishes His people from the wicked ones. I talked a lot about doing justice in a Christian-school setting. I reemphasize that the purposes of Christian education should focus on shalom: how to love God, others, and nature at the same time. But, every Christian school has its own situations, reasons, purposes, value and belief systems, and approaches. I have worked with a Christian foundation in Indonesia which has many Christian schools. Those schools are unique because they are open to non-Christian students and the teachers come from many different denominations. Therefore, evangelism is quite a big deal as a hidden curriculum because Christianity is minor in Indonesia. That foundation has its unique situations. Being in United States, I have visited many Christian schools. One of them is a parental school in which almost all of the students and the teachers are the same members of a particular church or denomination. There is a private Christian school which has members from different denominations, but all of them are Christians. I also ever visited a school which has the same situation with the foundation in Indonesia. It is open to every kid, especially to those who are non-Whites and have financial difficulties. Those different kinds of Christian school make me realize that if every Christian school claims that it is the most right and proper Christian school, then we never have exact answers of how Christian education looks like. I believe that there are more kinds of Christian schools with their own purposes which I have not visited yet. What I have talked about the exclusiveness of Christianity and Christian education is just the result of what I believe and what I have studied. Therefore, for you the readers who have different views, understandings, and perspectives, I am really open for discussions because I am still learning and I am eager to have many new insights. Therefore, regarding to those complex situations, I argue that the main purpose of Christian education is how a school can be a place for everyone to grow spiritually beside their worldly responsibilities. The students still have to focus on their studies, the teachers have to do their job, and the staff have to be professionals to deal with administrations. Like I said earlier, the nature of education is how to educate and how to be educated. So is the nature of Christian education. Christian schools are not the Churches. They are institution who have serious responsibilities to help and support the students to achieve good knowledge and to be able to have future. But, still there must be something different of Christian education from non-Christian or public education. I finally urge Christian schools and Christian educators to think and ponder seriously how Christianity, education, and Christian faith matter for their students and for themselves. Christian education is not only for students, but also for the teachers. If the students are expected to grow spiritually, to love God, to love others in the community, or to implement their faith into daily activities, then in my opinion the teachers also must be. I believe that Christian education, Christian teaching, school’s Christian-education approaches, teaching and learning activities, or relationships with students can help the teachers to be more responsible Christians. Those things affect their personal relationship to God. What are your purposes and expectations for being Christian teachers and educators?  References: Anyon, J. (1981). Social Class and School Knowledge. Curriculum Inquiry, 11(1), 3. doi:10.2307/1179509 Au, W. (2007). “High-Stakes Testing and Curricular Control: A Qualitative Metasynthesis”. Educational Researcher 36 (5): 258–267. doi:10.3102/0013189X07306523. Biesta, G. (2005). Against learning. Nordic Educational Research, 25, 54–66. Blomberg, D. (2007). Wisdom and Curriculum: Christian Schooling After Postmodernity. 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