This article was downloaded by: [Northeastern University]On: 26 October 2014, At: 18:35Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

Journal of Research onChristian EducationPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/urce20

Paideia Kyriou: Biblicaland Patristic Models for anIntegrated Christian CurriculumSTEPHEN RICHARD TURLEY a ba Tall Oaks Classical School , Newark, Delaware, USAb Eastern University , St. Davids, Pennsylvania, USAPublished online: 03 Aug 2009.

To cite this article: STEPHEN RICHARD TURLEY (2009) Paideia Kyriou: Biblical andPatristic Models for an Integrated Christian Curriculum, Journal of Research onChristian Education, 18:2, 125-139, DOI: 10.1080/10656210903046382

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10656210903046382

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

THE DAYTON AGENDA

PAIDEIA KYRIOU: BIBLICAL AND PATRISTICMODELS FOR AN INTEGRATED CHRISTIAN

CURRICULUM

STEPHEN RICHARD TURLEY

Tall Oaks Classical School, Newark, Delaware; Eastern University,St. Davids, Pennsylvania, USA

In recent years, a number of studies corroborate the importance of an integrated orinterdisciplinary curriculum for an effective education. However, contemporaryproposals for the function of theology as the integrative center have been limitedmainly to sectarian communities and remain a work in progress. Noting thefruitfulness of historical and worldview surveys of the relationship between theol-ogy and education in the works of Holmes, Knight, and Blamires, this essay is anattempt to contribute to these approaches by demonstrating how current researchin biblical and patristic studies can contribute models for the integration ofcurricula and provide a more effective Christian education. Included are analysesof the counter-imperial thesis for Paul’s theology and how it breaks down wallsbetween Bible, Literature, History, and Government classes, the emergence of adistinctly Christian paideia and its contribution to the formation of Christiancharacter, and the concept of cosmological axioms entailed in sacred discoursewhich provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary application of the lordship ofChrist. Observations on the implications of such models for Christian educationare then drawn from the data.

In his book, The Lost Tools of Learning, Douglas Wilson surmisedthat the fundamental reason for the struggle and frustration of pub-lic schools in America is that education has been isolated from itsreligious context. Wilson wrote, ‘‘Education is a completely reli-gious endeavor. It is impossible to impart knowledge to studentswithout building on religious presuppositions. . . . This is becauseall the fundamental questions of education require religious

Address correspondence to Stephen Richard Turley, 35 Avignon Drive, Newark, DE19702. E-mail: sturley@eastern.edu

Journal of Research on Christian Education, 18: 125–139, 2009Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC and Andrews UniversityISSN: 1065-6219 print=1934-4945 onlineDOI: 10.1080/10656210903046382

125

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

answers. Learning to read and write is simply the process ofacquiring tools to enable us to ask and answer such questions’’(1991, p. 59). Entailed within this assessment is the consequenceof the loss of a coherent center by which all subject material canbe integrated and interpreted. The world is therefore presentedin terms of particulars fragmented from other particulars, resultingin an ecology characterized by alienation, an alienation thatinevitably works its way into the student’s sense of identity. Thesolution offered by Wilson, echoing Dorothy Sayers, is a returnto the integration of all subjects through ‘‘the queen of the sciences,theology’’ (p. 63). It is in the inexhaustible knowledge of Godfrom which all things emerge and in which all things cohere.

Wilson’s concern over the religious nature of education ishardly novel. Archbishop Temple, a former headmaster, remarked:‘‘An education which is not religious is atheistic . . . If you give tochildren an account of the world from which God is left out, youare teaching them to understand the world without referenceto God’’ (as cited in Doble, 2000, p. 192). Such sentiments werecorroborated by one of the most influential Catholic thinkers ofthe19thcentury, JohnHenryNewman,whowrote: ‘‘Christianity,andnothing short of it, must be made the element and principle of alleducation. Where it has been laid as the fist stone, and acknowled-ged as the governing spirit, it will take up into itself, assimilate, andgive a character to literature and science’’ (as cited in Doble, 2000,p. 192). Both men witnessed the loss of theology’s plausibility inthe secularization of the modern world and the consequential abdi-cation of its role as the ‘‘queen of the sciences’’ (p. 192).

A number of studies corroborate the importance of an inte-grated or interdisciplinary curriculum, most notably MortimerAdler’s 1982 educational manifesto, Paideia Proposal.1 WhileWilson’s observation on the religious nature of education has notgone entirely unheeded.2 Theology as the source of integrationhas been addressed primarily by sectarian communities andremains a work in progress. A fruitful path toward this work has

1For a survey of the studies over the past two decades with a bibliography, see thedevelopment by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory based on the worksponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department ofEducation, at: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/8/c016.html

2For example, see http://www.csuchico.edu/rs/rperc/ by The Religious and PublicEducation Resource Center at California State University, Chico.

126 S. R. Turley

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

been a number of historical surveys of theology and education,particularly exemplified in the work of Arthur F. Holmes (1991,2001) and George R. Knight (1998a, 1998b), and the role of world-view in education and the development of a ‘‘Christian mind’’ inthe work of Harry Blamires (1963). This essay is an attempt to con-tribute to these historical and worldview surveys by demonstratinghow current research in biblical and patristic studies offersmodels for the integration of curricula, providing interdisciplinaryprecision for a more effective education in the cultivation ofwhat Lewis envisioned as nothing less than true humanity(1944=1972).

Christ and Caesar

A rather immediate point of integration is the historicalrelationship between scripture and the Greco-Roman world. Suchintegration is the hallmark of a collection of essays published underthe title, Paul and Empire: Religion and Power in Roman ImperialSociety. Edited by Richard A. Horsley, the essays are situatedwithin a strand of scholarship that has built upon the work ofGeorgi with a particular eye toward the supposed verbal and con-ceptual parallels between Paul’s eschatological presentation ofChrist and the Roman Imperial language that surrounded theunparalleled figure of Caesar.3 Such analysis on the relationshipof the New Testament (NT) to Roman imperial eschatology sug-gests that the universal nature of Jesus’ kingship pronounced byPaul represented a deliberate ‘counter-imperial’ theology to thepseudo-gospel of Caesar.

Interpreting Paul’s pronouncement of Jesus as s�ooter and kyriosas a direct challenge to the imperial propaganda of Paul’s day, oneof Horsley’s own essays explores the significance of Paul’s use ofthe term ekklesia (i.e., ‘‘church’’) which, in accordance with its pri-mary meaning in the Greek speaking eastern Roman Empire,denoted his communities as ‘‘citizen assemblies’’ of the Greek polis(Horsley 1997, p. 208). Horsley thus maintains that:

Paul evidently understood the ekklesia of a Thessalonica or Corinth not asa ‘‘cultic community,’’ but as the political assembly of people ‘‘in Christ’’

3See also the studies by Brown, 2001; Georgi, 1991; Harrison, 1999; Wright 1994,2000.

Paideia Kyriou 127

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

in pointed juxtaposition and ‘‘competition’’ with the official city assembly(e.g., 1 Thess. 1:1; 1 Cor. 11:18; cf. all the ‘‘assemblies’’ of a given Romanprovince, 1 Cor. 16:1; 16:19; 2 Cor. 8:1; Gal. 1:2; 1 Thess. 2:14). (1997,p. 209)

That Paul intentionally referenced his communities with suchpolitically charged terminology is corroborated by LarryHurtado’s observation that of the variegated nomenclature forreligious gatherings available to Paul—thiasos (worship of a parti-cular deity), eranos (religious feast), koinon (fellowship), or synados(group following a particular teaching)—ekklesia, however,was not one of them (Hurtado, 1999, p. 54). While the roots ofthe term ‘‘ekklesia of God’’ are rooted in the Septuagint’s transla-tion of qahal for the formal assemblies of ancient Israel, Paul’sappropriation of the term for his communities as the legitimateheirs of the Jewish commonwealth is interpreted by Horsleyand others to represent alternative societies to the Roman imper-ial order (Horsley, 1997, p. 209).

The political significance of the early church provides a bridgebetween biblical studies and classical literature. A major differencebetween the Caesarean and the Augustan age at least partiallyaccounts for the Julio-Claudian permeation of imperial propa-ganda. The men who represented the new age were neitherscholars like Varro nor philosophers like Cicero: they werepoets—Horace, Virgil, Propertius, Ovid, Manilius, who communi-cated the ideal of Rome to the spiritual imagination of the senateand citizenry alike (Momigliano, 1984, pp. 210–211). With Virgil’sAeneid overlapping his Fourth Eclogue, Augustus emerged as thesecond founder of the eternal city, the father of his country, thelaw-giver who ‘‘reinforced the trembling hopes of the lovers ofpeace with the magic splendor of ancient ritual and the benigncompulsion of a world-wide security’’ (Granger, 1897, p. 285).Indeed, as the sixth book of The Aeneid suggests, if Rome werenot patterned after paradise then maybe the gods would want todo a bit of remodeling after Rome. Horace’s pen echoed theimperial praises of Virgil: ‘‘We believe that Jove is king in heavenbecause we hear his thunders peal; Augustus shall be deemed agod on earth (praesens divus) for adding to our empire the Britonsand dread Parthians’’ (1988, 3.5:1–4, pp. 194–195). Thus, Horacecould celebrate: ‘‘Neither civil strife nor death by violence will Ifear, while Caesar holds the earth’’ (3.14:14–16, pp. 226–227).

128 S. R. Turley

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

Moreover, the counter-imperial significance of the NT can befurther illuminated by the introduction of extant epigraphy in aWestern Civilization I or social studies class. Such a historical sur-vey would introduce the student to how the pen of the emperor’spoet was but the blueprint for a surge of images and inscriptionsthat permeated the Empire with billboard-like ubiquity. In Ankara(central-western Turkey), an inscription of the Prologue to theRes Gestae publicly pronounces: ‘‘[A copy of] the acts of the DeifiedAugustus by which he placed the whole world (orbem terrarium)under the sovereignty of the Roman people’’ (Paterculus, 1924,pp. 344–445). In Halicarnassus in Caria (south-western AegeanTurkey), an inscription reads:

Since the eternal and immortal nature of everything has bestowed uponmankind the greatest good with extraordinary benefactions by bringingCaesar Augustus in our blessed time the father of his own country, divineRome, and ancestral Zeus, saviour of the common race of men, whoseprovidence has not only fulfilled but actually exceeded the prayers ofall. For land and sea are at peace and the cities flourish with good order,concord and prosperity. (Braund, 1985, p. 40)

At Narbo (in southern France), the imperial cult was honoredwith the following:

The colonists and inhabitants of Colonia Julia Paterna of NarboMartius . . .have bound themselves to the worship of his [Augustus’]divinity in perpetuity. The plebs of Narbo erected an altar at Narbo inthe forum, at which each year on 23rd September, on which day the felicityof the generation (saeculum) brought him forth to guide the world [sacrificesshould be offered]. (Braund, 1985, p. 61)

Perhaps most significant for the language of the NT is theinscription from Priene (9 BC) which acknowledges the blessingsbrought by Augustus:

Since the Providence [Pronoia] which has ordered all things and is deeplyinterested in our life has set in most perfect order by giving to us Augustus,whom she filled with virtue [divine power] that he might benefit mankind,sending him as a Savior [Soter], both for us and for our descendants, that hemight end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appear-ance [phaneis] [excelled even our anticipations], surpassing all previous ben-efactors [euergetai], and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassingwhat he had done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the

Paideia Kyriou 129

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

beginning for the world of the good tidings [euagelion] that came by reasonof him . . . (Ferguson, 2003, p. 46)

In contrast to such an eschatological counterfeit, the lordship ofthe resurrected Christ entailed in Paul’s gospel stretches over theentire cosmos and all that is in it, both in heaven and on earth(Rom 1:1–7; cf. Eph 1:20–21). And because God the Father hassubordinated all things to his Christ, including earthly kingdomsand civilizations (1 Cor 15:21f; cf. Eph 1:21–22), divine benefi-cence is mediated through his messianic throne (Eph 1:3–14).The very existence of the church for Paul is an affront to Caesar,since it is within this Spirit circumscribed community thatallegiance is given to another lord, to ‘‘another king’’ (Acts 17:7).Here we have a horizontal integration between Bible, history,and literature classes reciprocating and thus reinforcing oneanother and providing a point of subject integration that invitesfurther participation. For example, it has been observed that thecounter-imperial thesis opens up possibilities for exploring Paulinetheology in the Government and Civic Education classroom(Wright, 2000). Students can then be encouraged to understandhow Paul’s message applies to proclaiming Christ’s lordship overagainst imperial tendencies in our time.

The Emergence of a Christian Paideia

It is highly significant that students of classical education are peri-odically introduced over the course of their studies to the sacredtexts of the Greco-Roman world, such as Homer and Hesiod. Ofimportance to subject integration is understanding the role of thesesacred texts as the foundation for a distinct education modeltermed paideia. According to Werner Jaeger, paideia had beenfor centuries ‘‘the unifying cultural ideology of the Roman Empireand the civilization for which it stood’’ (1965, pp. 71–72). At theheart of paideia was a formative process termed morphosis, theformation of a particular kind of human personality (Jaeger,1965, pp. 86–87). The object of this formative process was the lit-erary texts by which the student was shaped (Jaeger, 1965, p. 91).The emulative instrument through which such shape took placewas mim�eesis (imitatio) which, beginning with the Sophists, becamean established educational technique where both text and imitation

130 S. R. Turley

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

provided the means by which the heroism of the past could beembodied in the present (Conte and Most, 2003, p. 749).

Against the backdrop of the church as an alternative society,what is of further interest is how paideia related to the ancient polis.The classical idea of paideia as an educational ideal or integratedmodel did not exist in a social vacuum. Since paideiawasmore a pro-cess of slow vegetable-like growth, it required a climate and nutrientsby which it might be nurtured and cultivated, which, as Plato taught,the social atmosphere of the polis was more than able to provide(Kelsey, 1992). The interaction between paideia and polis developedinto a synonymous identification of paideia and culture. It was thepolis that gradually defined the difference between ‘‘barbarian’’and Greek as the polis embodied the standard of ‘‘education andculture’’ on (Georgi, 1991, p. 34; cf. Hale, 1970, pp. 81–82). Thus,Paul’s conception of the ekklesia as the new eschatological poliswould provide a natural foundry for a distinct Christian paideia.

The exhortation to a distinctively Christian paideia is evidentin the earliest epistolary witnesses to Christianity, particularlyEphesians (6:4), Hebrews (12:5), and II Timothy (3:14–16). How-ever, the conjunction of polis, sacred text, mimesis, and morphosisweaved together by Paul into a network of formally related termsis entailed throughout his epistolary corpus. For example, Paul’sdistinctly textual argument for the Galatians’ new identity in Christby virtue of their relationship to the new polis—‘‘Jerusalemabove’’—involves the maternal motif of his ‘‘laboring’’ over themuntil Christ is ‘‘formed’’ (morpho�oo) in them (Gal 4:19), a formationthat has already taken place in the life of Paul (1:16; 2:20). ThusPaul exhorts his Galatian ‘‘children’’ (teknon 4:19) who embodythe Spirit (3:1–5) to be imitators of him (4:12 ginesthe�oos eg�oo; cf. 1Cor 4:16, 11:1) as he himself imitates Christ (cf. 3:1 with 6:17; cf2 Cor 4:10), not by keeping the ‘‘works of the law’’ but rather byexemplifying the cross of Christ in his life (putting to death sinfulinclinations) together with his resurrection and law-keeping lifewithin him, enabling God’s servants to endure suffering with joyas lived-out testimonies of God’s grace exemplified on the cross.As such the Galatians were to formulate a distinctly Christianidentity through mimesis. A distinctive characteristic of Christianmimesis, observed by Judith M. Lieu, is the dilemma of the NTauthors writing to an audience that feel themselves sharing aChristian identity but who do not yet grasp what that identity

Paideia Kyriou 131

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

entails (2004, p. 157). Reminiscent of this dilemma is theindicative-imperative relationship summarized in the exhortative,‘‘become as you are.’’ As they are ‘‘inChrist,’’ they are to live in termsof who they have become (cf. Rom 6) and, which is to say the samething, in terms of whoChrist is (Phil 2:5). Thus their practice serves togenerate an identity that embodies the virtues of Jesus Christ(Lieu, 2004, p. 158). In the case of Galatians, this identity-generatingpractice is imitatively based upon both the personal Christ-likeexample of Paul and the textual paidag�oogos function of the law whichleads them to a new polis, the freedom of ‘‘the Jerusalem above’’(3:24–5; 4:26), and a new identity (4:28) that they are called toembody (5:1). Paul’s paternal metaphor in Galatians conceptuallymirrors Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 4, when, in the contextof rebuking their ‘‘over-realized eschatology,’’ he writes in verse15: ‘‘For if you were to have countless tutors (paidag�oogous) in Christ,yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I becameyour father (genna�oo, lit. ‘‘given birth’’) through the gospel.’’ He thusexhorts in verse 16: ‘‘be imitators of me’’ (mim�ootai mou ginesthe).

The Primacy of Narrative

The emergence of a distinctly Christian paideia entails a profoundsignificance for course integration. For example, the mimeticnature of early Christianity serves as a common factor for allclasses that integrate personal narratives and stories in their curri-culum. Along side of learning proverbs and morals, doctrines andcatechisms, narrative communicates life lessons in ways only astory can. Only a story is able to show how what appears to becourage is actually foolish recklessness or how what appears tobe infidelity is in actuality an expression of commitment (Guroian,1998, p. 19). As such, the story nurtures what has been called the‘‘moral imagination,’’ the center for cognitive and affective integra-tion that classical thought understood as the means of moral forma-tion. It is not a coincidence that the Greek word for ‘‘character’’(charakt�eer) means ‘‘impression.’’ This character-impression isformed by the subjective embodiment by the student of the virtuesand wisdom entailed in the story which is itself a mim�eesis of thesacred texts that form the foundation of paideia. Thus, all narrativesread in the Christian classrooms should be read in terms of thestudent thinking through how they shed light on, imitate, or are

132 S. R. Turley

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

critiqued by the scriptures, thus stimulating his or her moral imagi-nation as the means of Christian character formation (see Guroian1998 for an excellent introduction to the use of narrative in theformation of the moral imagination).

Exegesis and the Formation of Culture

But the student’s familiarity with stories that form Christ-likenesscan provide a further model for interdisciplinary subject material,one that historically differentiated itself from its social milieu. Thismodel is shaped by how biblical exegesis historically led to the for-mation of a distinct Christian culture in the midst of the Jewish andGreco-Roman worlds. In her 1997 publication Biblical Exegesis andthe Formation of Culture, patristic scholar FrancesM. Young providesa breathtaking account of how a distinctly Christian paideiaemerged by means of an alternative literary culture to that fosteredby classical paideia (p. 51). Young traces the process, following aprecedent already established in the synagogue, whereby Christianapologists deliberately attempted to subordinate the sacred writingsof the Greeks (e.g., Homer, Hesiod) to the philosophical, chronolo-gical, and theological primacy of the (developing) Christian canon(p. 68). The selective survey of early Christian apologists, like Justin,Tatian, and Theophilus, demonstrates that such efforts were notinterested in getting rid of Hesiod and Plato as much as they wereinterested in reading these texts in light of a canonically circum-scribed theological foundation different from that which character-ized Hellenistic culture (p. 53). Young observes that the patristicaim of such subordination was the provision of ‘‘a body of approvedliterature to be used for Christian paideia’’ (p. 68).

Young draws out the significance of mim�eesis for the earlyChurch by pointing to the Christian narratives that were mimeticof Scripture and intended to inspire mim�eesis (p. 240). Liturgicaland literary mim�eesis, the latter represented by The Acts of Pauland The Martyrdom of Polycarp, generated new panegyrics, newChristian narratives which were in turn incorporated back intoliturgy and life, thus formulating a recursive framework for theemergence of a distinctly Christian cultural identity. Young writes:

Just as paideia in the schools was based on exegesis of texts and their appro-priation by critical mim�eesis of style or ethics, so Christian paideia took place

Paideia Kyriou 133

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

through reading texts and discerning their appropriate application . . . . Thecorresponding analogy between Church and school became moreapposite . . . (p. 241)

A survey of the homilies and catechetical lectures in the early Chris-tian period highlights the particularly pedagogical interest of thebody of writings, especially in terms of how literature functionedin the process ‘‘of educating people into a particular culture . . .withwith a body of literature rather different from the elite texts of theclassical tradition’’ (p. 243). Young concludes that ‘‘there are, then,many reasons for supposing that the early Church was more like aschool than a religion in the social world of antiquity’’ (p. 244).

Such mimetic exegesis of scripture is indicative of a largerentailment within sacred texts, an entailment observed by theecological anthropologist Roy Rappaport (1999). According toRappaport, there are entailed within divine discourse cosmologicalaxioms that constitute ‘‘assumptions concerning the fundamentalstructure of the universe or, to put it differently, . . . refer to theparadigmatic relationships in accordance with which the cosmosis constructed’’ (1999, p. 264). As a necessary entailment of sacreddiscourse, cosmological axioms serve to interpret ecology inrelation to divine referents. This is perhaps most explicitly demon-strated in the theology of the American Puritan theologianJonathan Edwards, who exemplifies a stunningly detailed under-standing of creation as an arena of divine glory (see his TypologicalWritings). The patristics were no exception to this. Note Ephrem’sscriptural interpretation of ecology:

A bird grows up in three stagesFrom womb to egg, then to the nest where it sings;And once it is fully grown it flies in the air,Opening its wings in the symbol of the Cross.But if the bird gathers its wings,Thus denying the extended symbol of the Cross,Then the air too will deny the bird:The air will not carry the birdUnless its wings confess the Cross. (as cited in Young, 1997, p.148)4

Theophilus deliberately cast the Genesis cosmogony account inlight of Hesiod’s Theogony, demonstrating the reliability and

4An exceptional book on the nature of biblical imagery is Jordan 2000.

134 S. R. Turley

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

consistency of the former at the expense of the latter (Young, 1997,pp. 54–56). Aristides presented Christians as a new race amidst theGreeks, barbarians, and Jews (Dulles, 1999, pp. 31–32). JustinMartyr was anxious to demonstrate how Christ’s fulfillment ofprophecy contained in the Jewish scriptures enshrined within thosescriptures a philosophical veracity of which Plato and the otherphilosophical schools were but foreshadows (Young, 1997, p. 67).Clement of Alexandria challenged the Pythagorean concept of themusic of the spheres by presenting Christ as ‘‘the minstrel whoimparts harmony to the universe and makes music to God’’(Dulles, 1999, pp. 39–40). Cosmology, race, philosophy, history,and music are but examples of how early Christian paideia func-tioned to integrate the totality of life around the lordship of Christin the midst of the Greco-Roman world. Even the gym class can beunderstood in distinctly Christian terms. The recent study byJames R. Harrison (2005) compares and contrasts the ideals of Paulwith those of the ancient gymnasium, the most popular educationalinstitution in antiquity. Harrison argues that the ubiquity of gymna-sia accounts for Paul’s ‘‘basic familiarity with the athletic ideal ofthe Greeks (1 Cor 9.24–27; cf. 1 Tim 4:7–8) and the honours itbestowed (9.25; cf 2 Tim 2.5), as was the case with many otherfirst-century Jews’’ (2005, p. 6). The Christian athletic programcan contribute to the formation of Christian identity by interpret-ing athletic participation as mimetic representations of biblicalideals, such as the development of spiritual discipline, persever-ance, and character, projecting upon an athletic competition themetaphor for a student’s life in Christ.

Observations

Our models for an integrative curriculum provided by the surveyof current research in biblical and patristic scholarship yield thefollowing set of observations.

First, the primacy of biblical text and mim�eesis that led to theformation of a distinct Christian culture in the Greco-Roman worldcorroborates what Temple, Newman (Doble, 2000), Blamires(1963), Van Til (Berkhof & Van Til, 1990), and colleagues haveargued, namely, that institutions and pursuits of education are situ-ated within a social story, a meta-narrative, in relation to which thetotality of human experience is understood, however incoherent

Paideia Kyriou 135

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

that relation may be (as per the contemporary post-modernphenomenon). Therefore, Christian education, if it is going to bedistinctly Christian, must understand itself in relation to the divinenarrative that climaxes in the messianic ministry and reign ofChrist. The importance of such situatedness is the filtering functionentailed within such an interpretive paradigm, one that causes itsadherent to morally and intellectually cling to the plausible anddismiss the implausible. Thus, Paul’s messianic narrative did notmerely subvert the reigning imperial paradigm or the sacred textsof his particular age. The Christian story was the reality of whichthe classical world and Caesar’s Empire was the parody (Wright,2000). From this posture, Paul and his churches could embracethe good and reject the evil of their age by the arbitration of thebiblical narrative embodied through the process of mim�eesis. TheChristian narrative, as the realization of the hope and dreams sooften expressed in a variety of competing but inexorably grave-bound ideologies, enables the people of God to affirm the good andshun the evil, to collaborate and critique. It is essential, then, that thebiblical narrative remains foundational to the endeavors of Chris-tian education, for if pre-suppositional narratives entail a filteringfunction by which the claims of competing non-Christian ideolo-gies are rendered implausible, then the foundational occupationof a competing ideology will only serve to render distinct elementswithin the Christian narrative proportionately implausible.

Second, the implications of our study are such that theChristological centre of Christian education would manifest inboth classroom and character alike. In the classroom, Paul’s mes-sage of messianic kingship deliberately subverting the imperialpropaganda of his day demolishes the Enlightenment separationof politics from religion, the civil from the ceremonial. Paulinethought is just as relevant in Government and Social Studies classesas in Bible classes. The cosmological axioms entailed in sacred dis-course engender fundamental structures of the universe so thatevery square inch of cosmos and culture symbolically reflects thereign of Christ. In terms of character, the heart of such Christolo-gical integration is a daily mimetic reinforcement of the character-istic virtue of the Christian: self-giving love. Students and teachersshould together strive to live out the cross in their daily livesby considering the needs of others as more important thantheir own. The prayerful, spiritual, and moral fostering of this

136 S. R. Turley

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

orientation collectively would go a long way to promoting aconstant presence of the cross and crown in every area of life.

Third, and perhaps most profoundly, the imitation of Christby the student as it is modeled by the teacher means that bothteacher and student reciprocally grow together in Christ-likeness.The beauty of Christian education is that it provides a foundryfor progressive Christ-formation in both teacher and pupil.Christian education is not just for the student. In seeking to formChrist in our students, Christ is in turn formed in us. We togetherbegin to realize our own integration of mind and heart, resultingin what is expressed in John Ruskin’s description of ‘‘moraltaste’’:

The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do theright things, but enjoy the right things—not merely industrious, but to loveindustry—not merely learned, but to love knowledge—not merely pure,but to love purity—not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice.(1905, pp. 435–436)

Conclusion

This essay was an attempt to demonstrate how current researchin biblical and patristic studies can contribute models for theintegration of curricula and provide a more effective Christianeducation. The counter-imperial thesis for Paul’s theology brokedown walls between Bible, Literature, History, and Governmentclasses. The emergence of a distinctly Christian paideia modeledthe importance of mim�eesis for the formation of Christian characterand identity based on text and narrative. And the patristicformation of Christian culture from biblical exegesis and the cos-mological axioms entailed in sacred discourse modeled a compre-hensive cosmic and cultural application of the lordship of Christwhich shaped a distinct Christian culture in the midst of theGreco-Roman world. For the early church, a new cultural worldwas formed out of their confidence in the inexhaustible knowl-edge of God as that from which all things emerge and in whichall things cohere. Perhaps these recent studies of scripture andexegesis will provide resources for Christian students today tolearn to think coherently within—and thus provide healing to—an exhausted and fractured world.

Paideia Kyriou 137

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

References

Berkhof, L., & Van Til, C. (1990). Foundations of Christian education: Addresses toChristian teachers. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing.

Blamires, H. (1963). The Christian Mind. New York: Seabury Press.Braund, D. C. (1985). Augustus to Nero: A sourcebook on roman history 31 BC–AD 68.

Totowa, NY: Barnes and Noble Books.Brown, M. J. (2001). Paul’s use of DOULOS XRISTOU IHSOU Romans 1:1.

Journal of Biblical Literature, 120(4), 723–737.Conte, G. B., & Most, G. W. (2003). Imitation. In S. Hornblower & A. Spawforth

(Eds.), The Oxford classic dictionary (3rd ed., pp. 749). Oxford, UK: OxfordUniversity Press.

Doble, P. (2000). Education. In A. Hastings, A. Mason, & H. Pyper (Eds.), TheOxford companion to Christian thought (pp. 362–364). Oxford, UK: OxfordUniversity Press.

Dulles, A. C. (1999). A history of apologetics. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press.Ferguson, E. (2003). Backgrounds of early Christianity (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI:

Ignatius Press.Georgi, D. (1991). Theocracy in Paul’s praxis and theology. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress

Press.Granger, F. (1897). The moral life of the early Romans. International Journal of

Ethics, 7(3), 281–301.Guroian, V. (1998). Tending the heart of virtue: How classic stories awaken a child’s

moral imagination. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Hale, W. H. (1970). Ancient Greece. New York, NY: American Heritage Press.Harrison, J. R. (1999). Paul, Eschatology, and the augustan age of grace. Tyndale

Bulletin, 50(1), 79–91.Harrison, J. R. (2005). Paul and the Gymnasiarchs: Two approaches to pastoral forma-

tion in antiquity. Retrieved August, 2008 from http://www.pitts.emory.edu/hmpec/docs/Harrison-Gymnasiarchs-SBL05.pdf

Horace. (1988). Horace: The odes and epodes. (C. E. Bennett, Trans.). Loeb ClassicalLibrary 33. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Holmes, A. F. (1991). Shaping character: Moral education in the Christian college.Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing.

Holmes, A. F. (2001). Building the Christian academy. Grand Rapids, MI: EerdmansPublishing.

Horsley, R. A. (Ed.). (1997). Paul and empire: Religion and power in Roman imperialsociety. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International.

Hurtado, L. (1999). At the origins of Christian worship: The context and character ofearliest Christian devotion. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing.

Jaeger, W. (1965). Early Christianity and Greek paideia. Cambridge, MA: TheBelknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Jordan, J. (2000). Through new eyes: Developing a biblical view of the world. Eugene,OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Kelsey, D. (1992). To understand God truly. Retrieved August, 2008 from http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=379&C=56

138 S. R. Turley

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014

Knight, G. R. (1998a). Issues and alternatives in educational philosophy (3rd ed.).Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press.

Knight, G. R. (1998b). Philosophy and education: An introduction in Christian perspec-tive (3rd ed.). Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press.

Lewis, C. S. (1972). The abolition of man, or reflections on education with specialreference to the teaching of english in the upper forms of schools. New York, NY:Touchstone. (Original work published 1944)

Lieu, J. M. (2004). Christian identity in the Jewish and Graeco-Roman world. Oxford,UK: Oxford University Press.

Momigliano, A. (1984). The theological efforts of Roman upper classes in the firstcentury B.C. Classical Philosophy, 79(3), 199–211.

Paterculus. (1924). Velleius Paterculus: Compendium of Roman history & Res GestaeDivi Augusti (F. W. Shipley, Trans.). Loeb Classical Library 152 for preamble.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rappaport, R. (1999). Ritual and religion in the making of humanity. Cambridge,MA: Cambridge University Press.

Ruskin, J. (1905). The works of John Ruskin (E. T. Cook & A. Wedderburn, Eds.).New York: Longmans, Green.

Wilson, D. (1991). Recovering the lost tools of learning: An approach to distinctivelyChristian education. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Wright, N. T. (1994). Gospel and theology in Galatians. In L. A. Jervis &P. Richardson (Eds.), Gospel in Paul: Studies on Corinthians, Galatians and Roansfor Richard N. Longenecker, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, supplementseries 108 (pp. 222–239). Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press.

Wright, N. T. (2000). Paul’s gospel and Caesar’s empire. In R. A. Horsley (Ed.),Paul and politics (pp. 160–183). Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International.

Young, F. M. (1997). Biblical exegesis and the formation of Christian culture. Peabody,MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Stephen Richard Turley (PhD candidate, Durham University)is a faculty member at Tall Oaks Classical School in Newark, DE,where he teaches Theology, Greek, and Rhetoric, and serves as anadjunct professor of music at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA.

Paideia Kyriou 139

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Nor

thea

ster

n U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

35 2

6 O

ctob

er 2

014