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June 25th - In Search of Proper Education-1

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Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Rev. 22:20

To Adventists living in the twenty-first century it may seem that Christian education has been central to their church from its inception. That, however, is far from the truth. Formal education, in fact, was the last major institutional develpment within the denomination. The establishment of a rigorous publishing program in 1949, a centralized church organization in 1863, and a health-care outreach in 1866 had all preceded it. By way of contrast, the Adventist Chruch established its first school in 1872 (28 years after the Millerite disappointment) and did not have a widespread elementary system until nearly 1900.

While the tardy develpment of Adventist schooling might come as a surprise to present-day Adventists, it had its roots in the very logic of their spiritual forebears, who, above everything else, believed in the immediate return of Jesus. Religious groups focusing on the nearness of the end of the world have generally not felt much need for educating their children beyong the essential concepts of their religious persuation and the skills needed to earn a living in the short interim.

That was true of the early Christian church, and it was also the case of early Seventh-day Adventism. Why send children to school, so the logic runs, if the world is soon to end and they will never growup to use their hard-earned learning? Some might interpert providing a formal education for one's children as a lack of faith in the immediacy of the Advent. Such attitudes were widespread among Seventh-day Adventists.

As late as 1862 a church member wrote James White asking if it was "right and consistent for us who believe with all our hearts in the immediate coming of the Lord, to seek to give our children an education? If so, should we send them to a district school, where they learn twice as much evil as good?"

White replied that "the fact that Christ is very soon coming is no reason why the mind should not be improved. A well-disciplined and informed mind can best receive and cherish the sublime truths of the Second Advent."

With that statement he set the stage for the development of an Adventist system of schooling.

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God wants us to develop all of our talents as we await Jesus to return.
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