一心向神的基督教教育觀點

Abstract

基督教的教育主張，與古希臘之注重哲學理論及羅馬之強調實用，大異其趣。神父們認為聖經的絕對性不可懷疑，如果世俗學問與教義相合，則並不排拒哲學或文學作品之價值；若二者有違，則根據人性本有原罪而滋生的知識，是不能容評它存在的。本文評述基督王國（Christendom）時代教會領袖對教育的態度，並以St. Augustine及St. Thomas Aquinas的宗教教育觀點來闡發宗教教育的主張。從這兩位最具代表性的宗教權威之教育觀念裡，吾人方可汲取不少教育智慧，可供當今教有工作者之反省與檢討。

If we study the works of the church fathers themselves, we find that they deal relativelylittle with the education of youth. Of course, one could say that they were concerned mostlywith the devotion of mankind and that this is education in the highest sense of the word. History itself, according to Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, is nothing but the fallenman's way back to God. Education is the process of achieving this goal. This paper takes the two most conspicuous Christian Fathers-Augustine and Aquinas-asthe best representatives of educational philosophers of theology. Philosophically, both Fathershave different background of original thinkings, Plato and Aristotle, respectively. Yet in termsof education, they endearour to emphasize the importance of obedience to God as the onlytrue and proper means and aims of education.