Paul requires Christian fathers to provide their children with a "paideia of the Lord." What should that look like?
To the ancient world, the boundaries of paideia were much wider than the boundaries of what we understand as education. Far more is involved in paideia than taking the kids to church, having an occasional time of devotions in the home, or even providing the kids with a Christian curriculum.
In the ancient world, the paideia was all-encompassing and involved nothing les than the enculturation of the future citizen. He was enculturated when he was instructed in the classroom, but the process was also occurring when he walked along the streets of his city to and from school. The idea of paideia was central to the ancient classical mind, and Paul's instruction here consequently had profound ramifications for how we in turn educate our children.
In this collection of essays, Douglas Wilson discusses this and other education-related issues."And, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).
150 pages.
Paideia of God and Other Essays on Education, The is in the following collections:
