CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
-Mr. Abhinilesh Prakash
The purpose of studying Christian education is to enable persons to become aware of the
seeking love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and to respond in faith to this love in ways that
will help them to grow as children of God, live in accordance with the will of God, and sustain a
vital relationship in the Community. It also help us to understand and evaluate the relationship
between education and social change, and to bring transformation in the church and society.
This course also enhance the understanding of the Biblical and Theological foundation for
Christian involvement in Social Change.
Unit 1. Education and Social Change
Education
Etymologically, the word "Education" is derived from the Latin words "educare" and "educere".
Educare refers to "to bring up' or "to nourish", whereas the word 'educere" means to "to bring
forth" or "to drag out".
Education is the basis for development and empowerment for every nation. It plays a vital role in
understanding and participating in day to day activities of today’s world. It builds one’s character
and plays a significant role in transmitting one’s culture, belief and values to others in society. It
helps in creating innovations and meeting the growing needs of every nation. The development
of a nation is not measured through the buildings it has built, the roads it has laid down, bridges
it has constructed but by the human resources, the nation has developed through a well-defined
system of education.
Paulo Freire defines education as a practice of freedom, an act of knowing and a critical
approach to reality. It is an act of knowing with a dialectical movement, which goes from action
to reflection and reflection upon action to a new action. He emphasizes that education is a
powerful instrument in the struggle of liberation. And it is an act of knowledge and process of
transforming action that is to be exercised on reality. According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia,
education in the broadest sense is any actor experience that has a formative effect on mind,
character or physical ability ofan individual. In its technical sense education is a process by
which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one
generation to another.
Christian Education
To define Christian education is indeed a significant task because of the many different views,
opinions, and questions involved. Indeed, it has changed substantially over the years of its
existence as well.
Its definitions must therefore take into consideration the historical period involved, for clearly
how one would define it at the turn of the century is vastly different from its meaning and
purpose today.
Some Definitions of Christian Education:
Randolph Crump Miller: “Christian education is the effort to make available for our generation-
children, young, People and adults – the accumulated treasures of Christian’s life and thought, in
such a way that God in Christ may carry on his redemptive work in each human soul and in the
common life of man.”
Beth E. Brown: Christian education is the interaction with truth and its implications for life under
the guidance and power of Holy Spirit, so as to affect change in the life of the learnerthis change
being conformity to the image of Christ. Included here we find the elements of the image of
Christ. Included here we find the elements of the interaction of truth with application to life
working with the Holy Spirit.
Limatula Longkumer: Christian education is a life -long process of the church activity educating
deliberately, intentionally and unintentionally the whole community of the people of God in
faith, to live out the meaning of Christian faith in their lives and to transform the individuals and
communities and thereby bringing wholeness and transformation in the society and in the whole
creations.
We can look the Christian education from two perspectives:
First, from the narrower sense, Christian education is understood as an exclusive activity of the
church for reserving a particular set of religious belief, customs and Judeo-Christian traditions. It
becomes mainly doctrinal, sacramental and moralistic.
Second from the broader sense, Christian education is a shift toward a more holistic and
comprehensive approach in which, education for social transformation is advocated. It is to help
the learners to develop critical analysis and evaluation of their lives and the society in which they
live.
All these definitions include the significant basics that evangelicals will consider important such
as: Bible- based, theologically sound, Holy Spirit empowered, the elements of teaching/learning/
growth/equipping, change, the Church, evangelism and service. Christian education then is more
than merely teaching Christians. From the above definitions we get the idea that Christian
education is all round development in learning certain things and it is based on the scripture and
the Christ
What is Social Change?
Social change is the transformation of culture and social organization/structure over time. In the
modern world we are aware that society is never static and that social, political, economic
and cultural changes occur constantly.
Christian education and Social Change
Christian today finds themselves in a world of several on-going changes. Scientific,
technological advancements, political, social, cultural, economic and other changes etc in our
society have become rapid and inevitable, these changes can be classified under social change.
Social change is primarily the restricting of human social institutions and social conditions:
family, community, consciousness, religion, political systems, financial institutions, culture,
science and technology and many more. The various form of social change has direct impacts on
our life affecting and influencing our individuality, rights, livelihood, community formation and
human relations and interactions, it requires human responses. In such a context Christians as
responsible human beings cannot be blind and ignorant to these changes and the challenges they
bring to the to the whole of human life and earth. Christian’s engagement in social change has
stronger application for us Christians in India. Our society is undergoing many changes and these
changes may have concerns for our life. Among them, identity, justice and human rights
concerns are important. Especially the increasing hostile environments towards Christians in
India invites us to engage actively rather than withdrawing or detaching from these realities.it is
through these engagement in social change that we make Christian message more relevant and
significant.
Factors responsible for Social Change.
There are some following factors/reasons which lead to social change
Culture
Culture is a system that constantly loses and gains components. There are three main sources
of cultural change, the first source is invention. Inventions produce new products, ideas, and
social patterns. The invention of rocket propulsion led to space travel, which in the future
may lead to inhabitation of other planets. The second source is discovery. Discovery is finding
something that has never been found before, or finding something new in something that already
exists. The third source is diffusion. Diffusion is the spreading of ideas and objects to other
societies. This would involve trading, migration, and mass communication. The ‘mass media’
is a vital factor in the speed of social change. It permits rapid diffusion of ideas, making
these manifests in the private and relaxing environs of the home, where audiences are at their
most easily influenced by emotions.
Conflict
Another reason social change happens is due to tension and conflict between races, religions,
classes etc.
Idealistic factors
Idealistic factor includes values, beliefs and ideologies. For example: - Freedom and self-
determination and Capitalism: not only the type of economic system, but also ideology,
connected set of values and ideas emphasizing positive benefits of pursuing one’s private
economic interests, competition and free markets.
Demographic Change
Change occurs from an increase in the population or human migration between the
Places or country to country.
Social Movements and Change
Change can also occur from people joining together for a common cause. This is called a
social movement. This can make good or bad impact on the society.
Environmental factors
Change can be through the impact of environmental factors such as drought and famine.
The degree of natural disasters between different countries and regions also lead the different
social changes between the countries.
