"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Pro 22:6)
When people think of a biblical blueprint for a girl's education, they often see a major conflict between this and a so called higher education. Both sides argue that a college or university education would be wasted on a girl that prepares to be her husband's help meet as a good and godly home keeper and mother to their children, with a different thrust of the argument, of course. One side wants to stress the importance of young women to stay under the protection of their fathers until married and not run off to college or university, the
other side wants to stress the importance of equality of chances, and basically uses the argument to make biblical womanhood look hopelessly backward and outdated. Both sides, however, are missing the point.
The question of whether or not a girl is able to think straight and reason well, whether or not she is able to be a responsible adult who knows God's word and follows it, whether or not she is able to fulfill her part in the family with intelligence, prudence, and efficiency has nothing to do with what the world calls a higher education. How many people with a degree in one field or another have you met that, other than in their chosen field of knowledge, were unable to follow a discussion with the necessary concentration and awareness, or were unable to apply simple logic, or were unable to develop a consistent view about anything ? How many so called educated people fall back on the "I mean, come on!" attitude when faced with something they are simply unwilling to accept or even see, or resort to an ad hominem attitude, or to other logical fallacies ? The kind of higher education we should strive for in our children is not to be had in a college or university.
Instead of looking at society's standards, we look to the bible for the goal in educating our children. The first and foremost principle we find in the bible is that teaching our children is our own responsibility, and not that of either church or state.
According to God's Law, the parents are held responsible for how their children turn out to be when they are grown up, whether they be a burden and an evil to the community, or not (Deu 21:18-21).
In the New Testament, the conduct of the children is one of the criteria by which to select an elder or leader in the young church communities (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1).
And in Deutronomy 6, we are very clearly told what it is, first and foremost, that parents are to live and teach their children:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deu 6:4-7)
So there we go. The #1 issue to teach a child, male or female, is God's word and God's ways. Everything else groups and structures itself around this main goal, starting with an awe for God's creation as well as reading and writing skills, some Greek and Hebrew as well as arts and crafts mentioned, and with all this, knowledge about all the things mentioned in the bible, family matters and matters of kings and prophets, cultural habits and eternal truths, God's design in everything and the direction the world is headed. Understanding the
bible requires teaching, and study, and most of all, the fear of God and trust that His word stands unchanged in its entirety, yesterday, today and forever.
A girl just like a boy learns to think with God's word as his and her "training material" as well as the content of their studies. God's logic is perfect, and completely consistent, and therefore the perfect example to be used as a teaching tool for clear, consistent and logical thought. Only if she is not afraid to accept God's logic will she end up with a consistent world view, and she will learn directly from the one Teacher that teaches best.
If a girl is taught this way, and at the same time lives with parents who are living according to God's roles He has ordained to husband and wife, mother and father, there will be no question of college or university or not, but she will grow up to be a godly woman who knows her place as well as her responsibility, and not only enjoys all the different aspects of biblical womanhood, but is also well versed (literally) enough to stand up for God's word if need be, and cling to God's word not only in good times, but also in the times of trial and tribulation we are preparing for.
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