[Greek] παιδεία (paideia), [Latin] educare, [Latin] erudire, [Latin] disciplina: training, instruction, nurture, education, discipline, correction, upbringing; 2Tim.3:16, Eph.6:4, Heb.12:5
Greek teacher writing with stylus and folding wax tablet (500 B.C)
Background:
Greco-Roman culture: This education of children was carried out by the aristocracy. This instruction sought to attain the intellectual, moral, and physical refinement of the child. This education consisted of subject based schooling, liberal arts, rhetoric, grammar, and philosophy. The purpose was to provide a well-rounded education. This educational system served as the model for the later Christian institutions of higher learning. The wax tablet was constructed with a wood or ivory frame. The inside was filled with a layer of wax. A stylus was used, having the same dexterity as a pen. The Roman expression “Tabula rosa” means clean slate. This originates from the Roman tabula used for note-keeping. The wax was heated and smoothed, essentially becoming erased. Wax tablets were used by teachers, students and secretaries.
Judaism: For the Jewish people, the Law is the revealed standard of growth in discipline and order. There is no broad vocabulary of education. The Old Testament focuses on discipline and correction. All discipline ultimately comes from God. The Old Testament shows how the prophetic admonitions and warnings about chastisement are presented as education. The Law is the pedagogy. The scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees are the pedagogues.
New Testament: With the advent of Jesus, the Law itself loses its comprehensive and unconditional significance. Education through the Law ends with man’s coming of age, in which God makes us adults. Man enters into a more mature and personal relationship with God. This relationship now involves instruction, discipline, and correction. With this new relationship comes the possibility of chastisement, punishment, and suffering.
Scripture:
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” 2Tim.3:16
As the New Testament scripture was not yet fully determined, the scriptures referred to the Old Testament. Evangelical instruction in the family is applied to the community. It serves the purpose of teaching, correction, conversion, and instruction in righteousness. This is in reference to the proper use and understanding of the Old Testament.
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them with the training and instruction of the Lord.” Eph.6:4
This is the education which the Lord gives through the father. This serves to instill the proper discipline, training, and the rearing of children in the family structure.
“Endure your trials as discipline; God treats you as son. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?” Heb.12:7
This scripture passage speaks of the discipline of suffering. This speaks to the compassionate correction, purification, and perfection of a child from a loving father. This may also relate the Christian’s sufferings to Jesus’ sufferings. Christian perfection is a gift given by God.
Conclusion
Encyclopedia, pedagogy, pedagogue, educate, education erudite, discipline
It was interesting to see how these separate cultures approached the application of teaching and instruction. The word encyclopedia literally meant training in a circle. This circle was a well-rounded education in many disciplines. Today, this word means a storehouse of a volume of books of knowledge. I was also fascinated that the Greeks had made use of a tablet and stylus.