Biblical Worldview Development

At Northside Christian School, we believe that ALL OF LIFE is ALL ABOUT GOD! We do not believe that life is designed to be compartmentalized into the “spiritual” and “secular” realms, yet it is so easy for us to do that! It is easy for us to think that school is simply the place for students to learn the facts of Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language, and church is simply the place to learn the facts about Jesus from the Bible. However, this is not a life that reflects the mercy and grace of God in every aspect of our life. As followers of Jesus, all of life is FROM Him, THROUGH Him, and FOR Him — and school should be no exception to that!

When we think about integrating the Word of God into school curriculum, we are really talking about shaping and developing a biblical worldview into the minds and hearts of students. In every subject and content area, our desire is to use the biblical narrative as the lens through which we look at education — and all of life, for that matter. The biblical worldview is best expressed in the biblical story of creation, the fall, and redemption. (These are briefly explained below). Through this lens, we rely on God through His Word to dictate the educational experience of our students.

Creation

In Genesis, we learn that we have been created in the Image of God. This reminds us that every person matters to God and, likewise, should also matter to every one of us. We learn early on that God’s design for His people is to love Him — because He is the Holy and only God — and to love others, just as much as we would love ourselves. As God’s image-bearers, we are tasked to “subdue the earth” and “have dominion over it” (Gen. 1:28). Also known as the ‘Creation Mandate’, God calls us to maximize the usefulness of the world to the glory and for the benefit of fellow humans. We see the knowledge and understanding of disciplinary content such as math, science, history, and language as a means of maximizing the usefulness of God’s world.

Fall

We believe that because of human sin, everything in God’s world has become twisted. Nature does not respond to human dominion as it was intended, but worst of all, the human heart does not respond to God as it should. Human cognition and affections are now bent away from God. God’s Word explains that the fallen human mind cannot understand the world as it was meant to be understood (Jer. 17:9; 1 Cor. 2:14), but also helps us understand that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7). Through God’s Word, we learn that the proper affection (“fear”) for God is the key to proper cognition (“knowledge”) regarding His world. If man is left to sin, not right with God, we cannot and will not live in His world as we should.

Redemption

This biblical narrative would have a depressing and hopeless tone if the story ended here. BUT GOD has not abandoned His creation! God put forth a redemptive plan for man to be saved through the person and the work of His own son, Jesus. Through His atoning life, death, and resurrection, Jesus subdues the hearts of believers to make them His own! Christ becomes the king of His follower’s lives — mind, body, and emotion. Over and over in scripture, we understand that salvation involves the mind, as well as the heart of a person (Rom. 12:2). Jesus came as the redeemer of all mankind. What the ‘first Adam’ could not do, Jesus did and was victorious — to His own glory, honor, and praise!

As a Christian school, we are desiring to partner with Christian families to help their students better learn, love, and live THIS Christ, the one and only King of eternity! We pursue education so that our students may be more skilled in loving their neighbors as themselves. The world around them also helps them to get a bigger picture of the glory and goodness of God. We firmly believe that our educational content and practice MUST be shaped and developed by the perfect Word of God. By this, and in Christ, we, “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Our eternal hope and life are found in Christ alone, and therefore, we desire for our students to learn, love, and live Him through every aspect of their lives, for His glory and in His church!

*Content taken in part from “Biblical Worldview in your Textbooks” pamphlet by BJU Press.