"All mighty God in whose Hands our future lies..."
SOLUSI UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
TOPIC: The challenge of incorporating Seventh Day Adventist beliefs into the National Curriculum in the Zimbabwean Primary School system.
A PROJECT PAPER PREPARED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE COURSE
RELP 199 RELIGIOUS AND ACADEMIC WRITINGS.
WRITEN BYLAMULANI B NGWENYA
CHAPTER 3.
CHALLENGES.
OVERVIEW.
There is a tendency to water down the pillars of Adventism in order to create a theologically inclusively environment. The main purpose of mission schools is to propagate the teachings or Doctrines of the responsible authority. The conflict therefore arises if the doctrines of the responsible authority are in apparent contradiction with the policy makers. These will be outlined in the next coming paragraphs. It is also important to know the theology of Adventism in brief, especially those points that set it apart from other Faiths.
Theology and pedagogy have always been akin. Philosophers like Socrates were men of 'faith'1. He was, executed by drinking Hemlock, because he was indoctrinating the youths against the systems of his day.
The philosophers of ancient Greece proposed to solve the problems of the origin, nature, and destiny of man and the natural world by the rational processes, and were thus of a quasi-religious character2. However the other side of the story claims that he was killed by the members of his religious order because he revealed some of the insider information pertaining to some secret doctrine. This would mean that as a teacher Socrates taught from his theological point of view. This theological point of view was adopted by Plato his faithful student. Plato further integrated his educational-pedagogical paradigms to another of his student a man known as Aristotle. With reason becoming the main pedagogical exercise.
Plato was an initiate into the mysteries of Eleusis and he even tells us in his writings how he was initiated. He claimed that he was placed in a pyramid for three days where he died symbolically, was reborn, and was then given the secrets of the mysteries3.
The Adventist church still holds the traditional protestant fundamental principles which include “...the belief in the virgin birth, the resurrection, the atonement the second coming and eventual the literal interpretation of the bible...4”
It would be interesting to note that John the Baptist was also a teacher. The bible in the book of Malachi 4: 6, states that John the Baptist was going to “turn the hearts...” The word for “...hearts...” can mean the intellect as well5. John was a wilderness teacher he had a different pedagogical paradigm. He was not educated in the schools of his day but had an education that was totally different from his counterparts and he was able to identify the messiah in the midst of confusion and dogmas of the theologians of his days.
Of John the Baptist, Christ declared, "Of them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater." That prophet was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness, away from the contaminating influences of the city, to obtain an education that would qualify him to receive instruction from God rather than from any of the learned scribes6.
John the Baptist lived a life that was, in a weird sense similar to that of the 'prophets' of his days known as the Essences. These individuals had many similarities with John the Baptist but they differed theologically. There later developed a philosophical system known as Gnosticism. Gnostics believed in the goodness of humanity.
All philosophies of education tend ultimately to rest on the concept of the nature of human beings that is held by the founders of that particular educational system. These philosophies regard man as inherently good7. Many education philosophies are based on the assumption that human beings are born good, and that the purpose of education is to develop the good latent in children. This premise naturally leads to a child-centered or subject-centered philosophy of education. Certain other educational systems are built on the premise that children are born to serve the state, and that therefore the educational program is designed to shape the product entirely for the ends of the government.8
Gnosticism which is the philosophical approach (to, in this case education) replaces faith as the pedagogical paradigm to education. This mindset is seem in the school of Alexandria. Mackey (1888) states that:
The Alexandria School of Philosophy which was thus established, by the commingling9 of Orientalists, Jews, Egyptians, and Greeks, became eclectic in character, and exhibited a heterogeneous mixture of the opinions of the Egyptian priests, of the Jewish Rabbis, of Arabic teachers, and of the disciples of Plato and Pythagoras. From this school we derive Gnosticism and the Cabala...10
Gnosticism is the backbone of the modern day pedagogical paradigms. Social theology is the ideology that man is all there is and that man is the one who can help himself deal with the misery in this world11. The great invocation of light which is a world prayer to be recited by every child in the world by the year 2020 is, according to the guardians of the writings of Alice A Bailey, “...a self-evident truth that only through humanity itself can the divine Plan work out”. Implying that man is in quintessence his own divine self. This is the bed rock of education. This therefore may pose a substantial challenge to the teacher who may wish to integrate Adventism into learning.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has “...embarked on a curriculum review...” where they have “...motivators...” which are intended to inculcate patriotism and “...prepare and orient them for participation in voluntary service and leadership12”. The national pledge is an example of the “motivating factors that will help the child cherish his national identity...” Like the Greek philosophy of Socrates it highlights more the capabilities of man to help himself than to rely on the divine intervention. The pledge is contained in the draft curriculum review document. Infant pupils will recite the following pledge of allegiance:
“Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag, I commit to honesty and dignity of hard work.” Junior and secondary schools, pupils will be expected to recite the pledge of allegiance saying: “Almighty God13, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag. United in our diversity by our common desire for freedom, justice and equality. Respecting the brave fathers and mothers who lost lives in the Chimurenga/ Umvukela and national liberation struggles. We are proud inheritors of the richness of our natural resources. We are proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures. We commit to honesty and the dignity of hard work14.”
The term “Almighty God does not in any way refer to the God of the Bible. As it shall be noted in the following chapters that the theology of the policy makers is totally at variance with the theological ideologies of the Adventists. This term refers to the cosmic god or christ, “...who is known by many names...”
Many religions believe in a World Teacher, a “Coming One”, knowing him under such names as the Lord Maitreya, the Imam Mahdi, the Kalki Avatar and the Bodhisattva. These terms are sometimes used in versions of the Great Invocation for people of specific faiths15.
Current educational policies are humanistic and they offer to humanity a godless hope and a future. This is encrusted in the three national symbols these being the national flag, anthem and court of arms, with the new comer, the national pledge. However the national pledge of Zimbabwe is not unique to Zimbabwe alone. There are nations that bear the same principles in their own pledges. The national pledge of Ghana bears a startling resembles to the Zimbabwean one:
I promise on my honour To be faithful and loyal to Ghana my motherland.
I pledge myself to the service of Ghana With all my strength and with all my heart.
I promise to hold in high esteem. Our heritage, won for us through the blood and
toil of our fathers; and I pledge myself in All things to uphold and defend the good name
of Ghana. So help me God16.
The secularization problem is at every level in Christian education elementary, secondary, and graduate school, regardless of denominational sponsorship17. This is the challenge that is face by the Adventist educational system. There are basically five doctrines of Adventism that make it unique from other Christian faiths. The doctrine of the second advent of Christ, the doctrine of the sabbath, the state of the dead, the sanctuary and the spirit of prophecy18. Hence it follows that with these challenges (of which were not exhaustive) the Adventist teacher may have to deal with a whole range of issues with the policy makers, the secular nature of the ideology of the curriculum (irregardless that there is any mention of 'God' and eventually with the inherent belief of the students that may be in line with the prevailing thought of the times.
Jones states in considering the system of education of the present day, we have found, upon the highest authority on the question, that, from the common school to the university and the theological seminary, it is a system in which doubt is the beginning, the process, and the end. This at once marks it as exactly the Greek system of education reproduced.
The Ignatian Pedagogy is a ...form of educational service that in one way or other is inspired by the experience of St. Ignatius recorded in the Spiritual Exercises, in Part IV of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, and in the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum19. The Spiritual Exercises were a means by Ignatius Loyola to attain to higher level of Spirituality without 'faith'. Meaning that he employed empirical techniques that ensured that the supernatural world would become an empirical reality. In quintessence, the unseen world is made visible not by faith as prescribed by Hebrews 11:1-3 but by the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola.
The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigms are based of the 'experiences' of Loyola. By experience is meant the supernatural apiphany that he induced himself to have, not by studying scripture but by emptying his mind and self mutilations.
The icon and the books gave him visions. The visions, in turn, led him to develop a process of “preparing and disposing the soul to rid itself of all inordinate attachments, and after their removal,
of seeking and finding the will of God” Iñigo called this process “the Spiritual Exercises20.”
Therefore by Ignatian Pedagogy, is refered to the type of education were man becomes the central figure in learning and teaching. He/she is the one in whom all things begin and end, this is called Natural Law. Natural Law according to the Roman Catholic scholars:
Pope John Paul answered this question nicely in his encyclical Veritatis Splendor. He said the natural law of moral theology 'receives this name not because it refers to the nature of irrational things but because the reason which promulgates it is proper to human nature'. The moral law is called natural law because it is based on our nature as rational beings21.
SUMMARY.
Educational philosophy is an extensive field of study. This chapter dealt with a very insignificant fraction of a very large whole. One major theme embodied in this chapter is the challenges that will be faced by the Adventist teacher in trying to inculcate Adventist philosophy of education. The secularization of th educational system (dare say the 'occultinization' of the educational system) is also a challenge to the Adventist teacher. The Greek mindset infused into the curriculum will make it th more difficult to teacher in a faith based way. The diversity of the two mindsets is so conspicuous that it is virtual impossible to miss the differences between the two and the concept of unity of diversified perspectives is an oxymoron that can only be an affront to the Adventist pedagogical-theological processes. Secular education which is frammed from the Ignatian Paradigms leaves very little room for the Adventist teacher to lead young souls to Christ.
1Online dictionary article fundamentalism
2Horn, Siegfried H (1979) Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association.
5 Strongs Hebrew concordance reference H3820 leb labe a form of 3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very
widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the center of anything.
6White G. E.(1923) Fundamentals of Christian Education, Washington DC,Maryland, Reveiw and Herald, p311
7SDA Encyclopedia article 'SEVENTHDAY ADVENTIST PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION', Washington, D.C, Review and Herald Publishing Association 1979
8ibid
9 Full Definition of commingle (transitive verb) to combine (funds or properties) into a common fund or stock,
10MACKEY A. C. (1880) Encyclopedia of freemasonry and its kindred sciences Washington DC, Maryland, Scottish rite Freemasonry.
11Bailey A, A (1922)The Great Invocation its use and significance, New York, New York, Lucius trust, 1922, pp 3
12The Chronicle, article 'Children to be require to take the national pledge', retrieved May, 18 2015 from http://www.chronicle.co.zw
13The term God does not make reference to the God of the bible, instead it is a Cosmic diety whose fundamental principles will satisfy all the religions of the world but one. Bailey A, A(1922) The Great Invocation its use and significance New York, New York, Lucius trust, footnote.
14ibid
15Bailey A, A The Great Invocation its use and significance (New York, New York, Lucius trust, 1922, page 2)
16The National Pledge of Ghana retrieved Feb 12 2016 from http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/about-ghana/the-national-pledge
17 George H. Akers and Robert D. Moon Integrating Learning, Faith, and Practice in Christian Education()
19V J. Duminuco, S.J.(1993) Ignatian Pedagogy A Practical Approach, (Rome, The International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education pg 5)
20Saussy F T (1991) Rulers of Evil, California, Ospray BookMakers.
21Pope John Paul II, Veritatis-Splendor (http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_06081993_veritatis-splendor.html)