The Integration of Faith and Learning

E. G. White Quotes

Compiled by

George H. Akers

Department of Teaching and Learning

School of Education

Andrews University

Berrien Springs, MI 29104

Summer, 1992

What religious education is not:

Religion + Education Does Not = Religious Education.

What religious education is:

"By, some, Education in placed next to religion,

but true education is religion."

Counsels to Teachers, p. 108

I. Power of the Word

1. "The creative energy that called the world into existence is the word of God. This word imparts power; it begets life. Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and recreates the soul in the image of God." Education, p. 126.

2. "And there is nothing more calculated to energize the mind, and strengthen the intellect, than the study of the Word of God. No other book is so potent to elevate the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. If God's word were studied as it should be, men would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of character, and stability of purpose, that is rarely seen in these times." FCE 126 (R&H, 7/17/88)

3. "Men are changed in accordance with what they contemplate. If commonplace thoughts and affairs take up the attention, the man will be commonplace. . . It is a law of the mind, that it will narrow or expand to the dimension of the things with which it becomes familiar. . . The mind will enlarge; if it is employed in tracing out the relation of the subjects of the Bible, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and spiritual things with spiritual."

4. "Through tradition, through false education, (these) men are exalted as the world's educators; but in going to them students are in danger of accepting the vile with the precious, far superstition, specious reasoning, and error are mingled with portions of true philosophy and instruction. This mingling makes a potion that is poisonous to the soul--destructive of faith in the God of all truth. Those who have a thirst for knowledge need not go to these polluted fountains, for they are invted to come to the fountain of life and drink freely. Through searching the world of God, they may find the hidden treasue of truth that has long been buried beneath the rubbish of erros, human tradition and opinions of men. The Bible is the great educator' for it is not possible prayerfully to study it's sacred pages without having the intellect discpilined, ennobled, purified, and refined. (She quotes Jer. 9). Let not the wise men glory in his wisdom. . . etc., and calls all drink of polluted fountains in the name of eduction "fools". FCE 171 (R&H, 11/10/91)

II. The Word to be the Chief Study in Christian Schools

5. "The Holy Scriptures are the perfect standard of truth, and as such should be given the highest place in education." Education, p. 17.

6. "It is the word of God alone that gives to us an authentic account of the creation of our world. This word is to be chief study in our schools." FCE 536 (R&H, 11/11/09)

7. "The Word is the great lesson book for students in our schools." FCE 390 (Special Testimonies, 12/1/95)

8. "The Word of God should have a place--the first place--in every system of education as educating power, it is of more value than the writings of all the philosophers of all ages. FCE 542 (R&H, 8/22/12)

9. "The Bible should not be brought into our schools to be sandwiched in between infidelity. The Bible must be made the ground work and subject mater of education. FCE 474 (R&H, 8/17/97)

10. See "Higher Education," pp. 392-396, in Fundamentals of Christian Education. (R&H, 2/25/96)

Whole 4-page essay is on the superiority of the Word in educational programs. See also "True Higher Education" FCE. Pp. 429-437 on the same theme.

"The true higher education is what makes students acquainted with God and His word and fits them for eternal life." FCE 431 (Special Testimonies, 6/12/96)

11. "The great lesson to be given to the youth is that as worshippers of God, they are to cherish Bible principles and hold the world as subordinate." FCE 470 (R&H, 8/17/97)

12. "The master mind in the confederacy of evil is ever at work to keep the truth out of sight, and to bring into full view the opinions of great men." FCE 188 ("Science of Salvation," R&H, 12/1/91)

See also FCE 198: "Shall affairs of minor importance absorb the whole power of the being, and the love of God meet no return?"

13. "Christ is the greatest educator this world ever knew, and it is not the pleasure of the Lord Jesus that the subjects of His Kingdon, for whom He died, shall be educated in such a way that they will be led to place the wisdom of God, as revealed ini His holy Word, a place in the rear." FCE 328-330 ("Basic of Time education," YI 1/31/95)

See the whole article--a powerful piece warning against testing Bible revelation of science and reporting scientific research.

III. Principles of the Word to Control the Curriculum

14. "It is the extent of the moral power pervading the college that is the test of it's prosperity." Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 31-32.

15. "I speak to the workers in our college . . . let the wisdom from above pervade your instruction." CPT, p. 95.

16. "We are to make the Word of God the basis of our instruction. Letter 64, 1909

17. "Wherever there are a few Sabbathkeepers, the parents should unite in providing a place for a day school where their children and youth can be instructed. They should employ a Christian teacher who, as a consecreated missionary, shall educate the children in such a way as to lead them to become missionaries.* Let teachers be employed who will give a thorough education in the common branches, the Bible being made the foundation and the life of all study." Counsels on Education, p. 184.

*Missionary service--also basic theme to be stressed. See part)

18. "What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. While religion should be the prevailing element in every school, it will not lead to a cheapening of the literary attainments. It will make all true Christians feel their need of thorough knowledge, that they may make the best use of the faculties bestowed upon them." CPT p. 504.

19. "The youth are in need of educators who shall keep the word of God ever before them in living principles. If they will keep Bible precepts ever as their textbook, they willhave greater influence over the youth; for the teahers will be learners, having a living touch with God. All the Time they are inculcating ideas and principles that will lend to a greater knowledge of God. . ." FCE 88 (Special Testimonies, 6/12/95). Also CPT 436.

20. "In every line of instruction, teachers are to seek to impart light from the word of God, and to show the importance of obedience to a 'Thus saith the Lord'. The education should be such that the students will make right principles the guide of every action: Ths is the education that will abide through eternal ages." FCE 516 (R&H, 11/7/07)

21. "There must be schools established upon the principles, and controlled by the precepts of God's word. Another spirit must be in our schools, to animate and sanctify every branch of eduction . . . We may see the Spirit of the Lord diffused as in the schools of the prophets, and every object partake of divine consecration. Science will then be, as she was to Daniel, the handmaiden of religion; and every effort from the first to last will tend to the salvation of man, soul, body, and spirit, and the glory of God through Christ." FCE 99 (Signs, 8/13/85)

22. "The natural and the spiritual are to be combined in the studies in our schools. The operations of agriculture illustrates the Bible lessons. The laws obeyed by the earth reveal the fact that is under masterly power of an infinte God. The same principels run through the spiritual and natural world. Divorce God and His wisdom from the acquisition of knoweldge and you have a lame, one-side, dead to all the saving qualities. . . The author of nature is the author of the Bible. Creation and Christianity have one God. FCE 375 (YI, 5/30/95)

23. "From the first opening of a book the candidate for an eductions hould recognize God as the one who imparts true wisdom. He should seek His counsel at every step along the way. No arragements should b e made to which God cannot be made a party, no union formed of which He is not the approver. The Author of widom should be recognized as the Guide from first to last. In this manner the knowledged obtained from books will be bound off by a living faith in the Infinite God." FCE 347 (Special Testimonies, 3/21/95)

24. "Let every moment that is devoted to study be a moment inwhch the soul is conscious of its God-given responsibilities. There will be no need then of enjoining the students to be true and just and to preserve the soul's integrity. They will breathe a heavenly atmosphere, and every transaction will be inspired by the Holy Spirit, and equity and righteousness will be revealed." FCE 351 ("Speedy Preparetion," Special Testimonies, 3/31/95)

25. "Knowledge is power, but it is a power for good only when united with true piety. It must be vitalized by the Spirit of God, in order to serve the noblest purposes. CPT p. 38.

26. "The character of the education given must be greatly changed before it can give the right mold to our institutions. It is only when intellectual and moral powers are combined for the attainment of education, that the standard of the word of God is reached." FCE 527 (R&H, 9/3/08)

27. "The character of the work done in our church schools should be of the very highest order. Jesus Christ, the Restorer, is the only remedy for a wrong education, and the lessons taught in His word should ever be kept before the youth in the most attractive form." Counsels on Education, p. 186.

28. ". . . The idea that education must stand as an independent work. This mixing of religious matters and Bible doctrines with scientific education you considered as a drawback in our eductional work and as a hindrance in the work of carrying the students to the higher degrees of scientific knowledge. The great reason why so few of the world's great men and those having a college education are led to obey the commandments of God is that they have separated education from religion, thinking that each should occupy a field by itself. God presented a field enough to perfect the knowledge of all who should enter it. CE 107 (from 5T, 503).

IV. Themes to be Stressed in the Integrating Faith and Learning

29. "The thought of the eternal life should be woven into all which the Christian sets his hand. If the work performed is agricultural or mechanical in its nature, it may still be after the pattern of the heavenly. It is the privilege of the preceptors and teachers to reveal in all their work the leadings of the Spirit of God. CPT, p. 58.

30. "The science of redemption is the science of all sciences; the science that is the study of the angels and of all the intelligences of unfallen worlds; the science that engages that attention of our Lord and Savior; the. . .science that will be the study of God's redeemed throughout endless ages. This is the highest study in which it is possible for man to engage. As no other study can, it will quicken the mind and uplift the soul." Education, p. 126

31. "The cross of Christ--teach it to every student over and over again. How many believe it to be what it is? How many bring it into their studies and know its true significance? Then keep the cross upheld in your school as the foundation of true education. . . . Educators who will not work in this line are not worthy of the names they bear. Teachers, turn from the example of the world, cease to extol professedly great men; turn the minds of your students from the glory of everything save the cross of Christ. . . . The most essential lessons for teachers and students to learn are those which point, not to the world, but from the world to the cross of Calvary." CPT, pp. 23-24.

32. "Jesus and His life should be interwoven with all the education given, as the very best knowledge the students can have. . . . Bring the Prince of Life into every plan, every organization. You cannot have too much of Jesus or of Scripture history in your school." Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 587.

33. "The teacher who has a right understanding of the work of true education, will not think it sufficient now and then to make casual references to Christ. With his own heart warm with the love of God, he will constantly uplift the man of Calvary. His own soul involved with the Spirit of God, he will seek to fasten the attention of the students upon the pattern Christ Jesus, the chiefest among 10,000. The one Altogether Lovely." FCE 526.

34. "The justice and mercy of God, the beauty of holiness, and the sure reward of rightdoing, the heinous character of sin, and the certainty of punishment. . ." (Previous sentense placed in constrast to this as "superficial talk, mere sentimentalism, (which) passes for instruction in morals and religion, but it lacks the vital characteristics of real godliness") FCE 99 (Signs, 7/13/85)

35. "In the night season these words were spoken to me: 'Charge the teachers in our schools to prepare the students for what is coming upon the world.'" FCE 526, 527

36. "The work of the people of God is to prepare for the events of the future, which will soon come upon them with blinding force." Country Living, p. 10.

37. "The Lord is soon coming--talk it, pray it, believe it, make it a part of your life." Testimonies, Vol. 7, p.243.

38. "There are great principles of righteousness to control the life of all intelligent beings and upon conformity to these principles the well-being of the universe depends." COL, p. 48.

39. "The student should learn to view the world as a whole and to see the relation of its parts. He should gain a knowledge of its grand central theme, of God's original purpose for the world, of the rise of the great controversy and of the work of redemption. He should understand the nature of the two principles that are contending for supremacy, and should learn to trace their working through the record of history and prophecy, to the great consummatin. He should see how this controversy enters into every phase of human experience; how in every act of life he himself reveals the one or the other of the two antoganistic motives; and how whether he will or not, he is even now deciding upon which side of the controversy he will be found." Education, p. 190.

40. "Unselfishness, the principle of God's kingdom, is the principle that Satan hates; its very existence he denies. From the beginning of the great controversy he has endeavored to prove God's principles of action to be selfish, and he deals in the same way with all who serve God. To disprove Satan's claim is the work of Christ and of all who bear His nam." The Testing of Job, Education, p. 154.

41. ". . . Above all else, to learn life's great lesson of unselfish service." Education, p. 30.

42. "All who in this world render true service to God or man receive a preparatory training in the school of sorrow. The weightier the trust and the higher the service the closer is the test and the more severe the discipline." The Discipline of Suffering, Education, p. 151.

43. "Only through sympahty, faith, and love can men be reached and uplifted." Education, p. 78.

44. "Love, the basis of creation and redemption, is the basis of true education." Education, p. 16.

45. "In choosing men and women for His service, God does not ask whether they possess worldly wealth, learning, or eloquence. He asks, '(1) Do they walk in such humility that I can teach them my way? (2) Can I put my words into their lips? (3) Will they represent me?'" Ministry of Healing, p. 37.

V. Miscellaneous (other authors)

46. "If Christ be in the mind, the wildest storm is full of solemn beauty; the midnight flash but shows the path of duty. Each living creature tells some new and joyous story; if Christ be in the mind." (Author unknown)

47. "The Ideal Teacher and the Ideal Pupil are the ones with a medium grid through which ideas can be filtered and tested and reasonsed choices made." Harold Lindsay, "Advice to Teachers," Journal of Adventist Education, 2/3/76.

48. "And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when those walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

"And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

"And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." Deut. 6:6-9

Addendum

49. "The precepts and principles of religion are the first stpes in the acquisition of knowledge, and lie at the very foundation of true education. Knoweldge and science must be vitalized by the Spirit of God in order to serve the noblest purposes. The Christian alone can make the right use of knowledge. Science, in order to be fully appreciated, must be viewed from a religious standpoint." Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, p. 427.

50. "The college at Battle Creek was estabished for the purpose of teaching the sciences, and at the same time leading the students to the Savior, whence all true knowledge flows. Education acquired without Bible religion is disrobed of its true brightness and glory. I sort to impress upon the students the fact that our school is to take a higher position in an educational point of view than any other institution of learning by opening before the young nobler views, aims, and objects in life, in educating them to have a correct knowledge of human duty and eternal interests. The great object in the establishment of human duty and eternal interests. The great object in the establishement of our college was to give correct views, showing the harmony of science and Bible religion." Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, p. 274.

51. "A knowledge of God and His requirments will open the understanding of the student to realize his responsibilities to God and to the world. To this end he will feel that his talents must be developed in that which will produce the very best results. This cannot be done unless all the precepts and principles of religion are connected with his school education. In no case should he disconnect from his studies. In the persuit of knowledge, he is searching for truth; and all truth comes from God, the source of truth." Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, p. 273.