The Paideia of God: And Other Essays on Education
Overview
In Ephesians 6:4, Paul writes, “And, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” In this passage, Paul requires Christian fathers to provide their children with a “paideia of the Lord.” To the ancient world, the boundaries of paideia were much wider than the boundaries of what we understand as education. Far more is involved in paideia than taking the kids to church, having an occasional time of devotions in the home, or even providing the kids with a Christian curriculum.
In the ancient world, the paideia was all-encompassing and involved nothing less than the enculturation of the future citizen. He was enculturated when he was instructed in the classroom, but the process was also occurring when he walked along the streets of his city to and from school. The idea of paideia was central to the ancient classical mind, and Paul’s instruction here consequently had profound ramifications.
Top Highlights
“Werner Jaeger, in his monumental study of paideia, shows that the word paideia represented, to the ancient Greeks, an enormous ideological task.2 They were concerned with nothing less than the shaping of the ideal man, who would be able to take his place in the ideal culture. Further, the point of paideia was to bring that culture about.” (Page 11)
“So the word paideia goes far beyond the scope and sequence of what we call formal education. In the ancient world, the paideia was all-encompassing and involved nothing less than the enculturation of the future citizen. He was enculturated when he was instructed in the classroom, but the process was also occurring when he walked along the streets of his city to and from school. It included walking by the temple for the gods of his people.” (Page 11)
“the rise of Christian education is creating (whether we want it to or not) a demand for Christian culture” (Page 13)
“So then, paideia is not just bounded education, it is enculturation—every aspect of enculturation.” (Page 12)
“the boundaries of paideia are much wider than the boundaries of what we understand as education” (Page 10)
- Title: The Paideia of God: And Other Essays on Education
- Author: Douglas Wilson
- Publisher: Canon Press
- Publication Date: 1999
- Pages: 160
Douglas Wilson (1953– ), a prolific author and speaker, has been the pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho for over 30 years. He is a senior fellow of theology, a permanent member of the Board of Trustees, and a professional in residence at New Saint Andrews College. Wilson graduated from the University of Idaho with a BA in classical studies and a BA and an MA in philosophy.
He is the editor of Credenda/Agenda magazine and has authored numerous books, including The Paideia of God: And Other Essays on Education, Standing On the Promises: A Handbook of Biblical Childrearing, Reforming Marriage, and Reformed Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant, which can all be found in the Douglas Wilson Collection (17 vols.).