What is Adventist Education & Why Does It Matter?

Soon after the Seventh-day Adventist Church was established as a denomination, it built a two-fold foundation upon which to further its mission: comprehensive health (the health message), and a system of education with a philosophy that was different from—and even antagonistic to—the emerging modern university.

When the concept of Battle Creek College was being developed by church leaders with the guidance of Ellen White, they were not acting in a vacuum. They were responding to a rising philosophy of higher education that was beginning to sweep the nation with the establishment of institutions like the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, Harvard, the University of Chicago, and others.

As these secular universities redefined learning, knowledge, scientific inquiry, and scholarship, Adventists had to ask themselves:  What is Adventist education? How will our philosophy of education differ from the world around us? In this context, Ellen White penned these words: “In a knowledge of God all true knowledge and real development have their source” (Education, p. 14). This philosophical line in the sand declared, contrary to all other philosophies then and now, that outside of God, knowledge itself is unknowable and undiscoverable. This was to be the foundation of proper or true education. This was Adventist education.

The adoption of academic freedom from European models was among the key elements of modern education. This paved the path for some to mistake inquiry as synonymous with intelligence, ultimately causing faith and science to be at odds intellectually. Thus, whether by intent or accident, modern education gradually bifurcated morality and knowledge. In their best efforts, Christian institutions combatted secular universities by developing strong apologetic programs to champion religion in academic contexts. In many cases, the approach that was taken was a baptized version of the secular model—a general study of the same material with an emphasis on faith. However, the danger here was that God became a philosophical idea instead of a person.

A different model

Adventist education was founded on a completely different model. For Ellen White, true intellectual freedom could only be experienced by students and faculty as they understood the limitations of human finiteness in trying to understand an infinite God. The purpose of real or true education was to teach Adventist young people how to use mind, body, and spirit to know God, to love Him, and to love others as themselves. The assumption was that the proper use and development of our human faculties are not obvious to us and require a pivot from what is natural to our way of thinking. Adventist young people needed to learn how to think about thinking. Thus, Adventist education was a philosophy first before becoming a system or a church institution.

Unfortunately, our understanding of Adventist education has gradually shifted over time.  In our discussions about the topic, we have largely reduced Adventist education to learning that takes place inside the halls of buildings owned by the church. This seemingly slight philosophical change is responsible for several errors regarding Adventist education that are not necessarily evil but can be harmful to its mission.

One example is the idea that Adventist education is intended to be a year-long evangelistic series. Although everything that the church does ought to be for the ultimate purpose of leading souls to Christ, Adventist education was not intended to serve as a hall for another tent meeting. Instead, it was created to redefine what missionaries look like in a modern context. To develop physicians, mechanics, ministers, educators, and others to learn how to think about using their gifts and occupations to change the lives of those with whom they came in contact.  Another example is the notion that the spiritual safety of our young people is to be found in church-owned institutions. This has led to prioritizing the prevention of church school closures, almost assuming that Adventist-owned buildings automatically produce Adventism.

Why does it matter?

More than half of our Adventist young people lose their faith by the time they complete their college years. Like the schools of the prophets, Adventist education can play a leading role in reversing that trend through the relentless pursuit of godliness—God- likeness. But if we think that it won’t come at a high cost, we will never be able to accomplish this critical role. Understanding Adventism’s unique role in the world today must become crystal clear in the minds of any who occupy positions of trust. And students enrolled in Adventist as well as non-Adventist colleges and universities must be encouraged to know God instead of knowing of Him.

Adventist education matters only for the right reasons. If we lose sight of its primary purpose to teach young people how to think, it immediately loses its premium value. The biggest danger in losing sight of what Adventist education ought to be is that while focusing on very important things, we neglect the critical one.