La Salette of Roxas College, Inc. Magsaysay St.

, Vira, Roxas, Isabela

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The concern of this chapter is to present literature and studies found very congruent to
the present study. It should be mentioned that the perseverance and patience of the researcher
satisfactorily resulted to finding out reading materials that made this research endeavor more
enriched and substantial in information and desired outcome.
A large body of research focuses on what is the impact of Christian living Education to
the faith dimension of grade 10-Bethlehem students of La Salette of Roxas college Inc. In the
study,it will discuss first what is Christian Living Education and what is the impact of it in their
faith dimension.The aim is to enhanced the understanding of grade 10-Bethlehem in the impact
of Christian Living Education on their faith dimension.
Related Literature
Education is the process whereby the community seeks to assist the students to
assimilate, react to, integrate, and use the knowledge called our “heritage.” Heritage includes the
most valued and relevant knowledge of a group—Christians for example. Education
communicates heritage in such a way that the educated may experience personal growth and
make the greatest contribution to the community (Gilbert, 1963).
According to the Scripture, education is to train (instruct) the child in ways that they can
never forget as they grow. Scripture implies that all instructions must be disciplinary, that is, by
directing the child to do the right thing. It explains that education is Christian when it directs
the child as a religious being to the Creator (De Beer and Jaarsma, 2000).
Christian education is the process by which persons are confronted with and controlled
by the Christian gospel. It involves the efforts of the Christian community to guide both young
and adult persons toward an ever-richer possession of the Christian fellowship. It is both
individual and social in nature. Christian education fosters the growth of a persons
consciousness of God as a reality in human experience and to foster a sense of personal
relationship to Him. It develops the understanding and appreciation of the personality, life, and
teachings of Jesus to lead them to better personal experience that results into progressive and
continuous development of Christian character.
In developing a stronger faith, the task is to balance the three-legged stool of faith
formation, church, home, and school. The Bible mandates that the parents educate the child.
This mandate is the first and only obligated assignment given to the parents, and should not be

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shortchanged by excuses or other assignments. The complexities of life have created room for
the teachers to come into the lives of children as parents–teachers. Therefore, the Christian
school becomes the extension of the Christian home.
Culture has influenced Christian educational institutions. In addition to culture, the
government, finance, and social policies have also played major roles in reducing the Christian
schools. These challenges can be describe in three words: secularism, consumerism, and
relativism. Secularism deals with the introduction of mass media—television, movies, music,
and the Internet. This force usually represents faith as being for fools, and it touts individualism,
consumerism, hedonism, and relativism as tantalizing idols. Consumerism promotes the idea
that both church and school have become one. Therefore, parents now need to discern between
choices related to school admission for their children. Christian schools are not exempted in
these concepts; in fact, most Christian schools add layers of Christian values within their
curriculum. Beyond the Christian schools, parents now choose charter schools that emphasize
family values. Relativism is based on the assumption that truth is relative, meaning there is no
absolute truth. Each person’s history shapes that individual’s thinking and perception of truth.

In reality, Catholic Institutions provides quality education of the Christian Life imparting
the essential dimension of faith, Doctrine, Moral, and Worship. This ideas opened the minds of
the learners to participate in charity, church, and promotes quality life through Christ
Teachings..

Doctrines are not ends in themselves; rather they articulate the fundamental truths
underlying human meaning and destiny as illumined by God’s revelation and perceived in faith.
Doctrine is a set of accepted beliefs held by a group. In religion, it is the set of true beliefs that
define the parameters of that belief system. Hence, there is true doctrine and false doctrine
relative to each belief set. In Christianity, for example, a true biblical doctrine is that there is
only one God in all existence (Isaiah 43:10;44:6,8). A false doctrine is that there is more than
one God in all existence. Christian morality is not just a list of do’s and don’ts, but the moral
vision and principles grounded on the truths of faith, with their depth-meaning evoked and
nurtured in worship. Morality is the distinction between right and wrong.  It is the
determination of what should be done and what should not be done. Morals differ among
cultures and there are morals that are relative, dependent upon situations and context. But there
are other morals which seem to be universally true.  For example, it is morally wrong to murder.
Subjects of morality vary but deals with "ought’s" of person to person relationships as well as
person to animal, and person to environment. Worship is not some spiritualist, out-of-this-

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world ritualism, but rather the celebration of the fundamental convictions of the Christian faith,
which grounds, inspires, and empowers moral witness and action. Worship is the obligation
of God's creation to give to Him all honor, praise, adoration, and glory due him because he is the
holy and divine creator.

The main purpose of doctrine is to teach us about God. It is how we live that ultimately
determines whether or not we are God's children. The purpose of doctrine then is not to create a
belief system to determine who or who is not a follower of Christ, but it is to give us direction in
how we are living our lives. Doctrine primarily exists to change the way we live. Morality
provides goals that are achievable for groups of humans with a wide range of emotional and
cognitive capacities.  Moral norms achieve their ends in part by their ability to be inculcated in
almost all humans. The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please God.
Our worship must show our adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in providing us with the
way to escape the bondage of sin, so we can have the salvation. Our singing, praying, studying
His word, giving, and communion is a form of worship.

Foreign Literature

Although the term Christian education does not occur in the Bible, the Bible speaks of
the moral and spiritual instruction of believers in general and of children in particular. It places
a high value upon knowledge, both of God and of His works. It describes the moral and spiritual
fruits of this knowledge and defines its ultimate purpose.
The present Christian school movement can be understood only as a part—certainly in
these times a very significant and necessary part—of the total endeavor of Christian education. A
full understanding of this movement requires an examination of the basis upon which its
educational theory and practices rest: its philosophy of education. Accordingly there follows,
first, a presentation of the basic beliefs of Christian education and, second, an application of
these beliefs to the specific mission of the Christian school.
Christian Education in, biblical Christianity. The God of the Bible is not a god of man’s
own making or choosing. The eternal Creator of all things existed before man and exists
independently of man. God, however, has revealed Himself to man, speaking through His Word
(the inerrant, divinely inspired and preserved sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments)
and His works. His self-revelation is the substance of Christian belief. What we call biblical
Christianity is a system of certain basic truths that God has revealed.
Among these truths:

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[1]God Created Man in His Own Image. Of all created beings, only man is spoken of in
the Scriptures as being created in God’s image. “And God said, Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness:…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:26–27). This creation of man was
instantaneous—by a direct act and not by an evolutionary process. Possessing the divine
image, man reflects God not only in his moral, intellectual, and emotional capacities but also
in his aesthetic sensibility, social inclinations, and other qualities of his personality
[2]The Church is that group of individuals who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit
through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and who have openly confessed this faith (Rom. 10:9–
10). The Church thus is not a building or even a denomination. It is the Body of Christ,
composed of every true believer on the Lord Jesus Christ from Pentecost to Christ’s return
(Eph. 5:25–30; Heb. 12:22–23).
[3]From the moment a child is born, certain forces are at work influencing his
development. Human growth, however, does not end with physical maturity. Some faculties
of the personality are capable of expansion and refinement into old age. Education, whether
of child or adult, is the directing of this total ongoing process of development toward specific
objectives.
The purpose of Christian education is the directing of the process of human development
toward God’s objective for man: godliness of character and action. As education in general
begins with physical birth, Christian education proper begins with spiritual rebirth, when the
life of God is communicated to the soul. Growth in godliness proceeds step by step from
regeneration toward full maturity “in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5–8).
This growth, like regeneration, is made possible by divine grace (Titus 2:11–13). It results from
the emulation of Christ, who, as “the express image” of “the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3), is the
visible manifestation of the divine nature that God has ordained for man’s imitation. The focus
of the educational process is, of course, the student, a unique individual created for a specific
purpose in God’s plan. Regeneration does not eliminate the old nature—what the Apostle Paul
called the “old man” or the “flesh”—and carnal attitudes and inclinations can hinder spiritual
growth.
In the Scriptures God has commanded two institutions to educate: the home and the church.
As an extension of either or both of these institutions, the Christian school has a biblical
mandate to educate.

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[1]The Home, the Bible makes clear that education is to begin in the home (Gen. 18:19;
Deut. 6:7; Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:4; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15). It makes parents responsible for their
children and charges them with an educational task.
[2]The Church, the New Testament indicates that the responsibilities of the church
include edification as well as evangelism (Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 2:42; 2 Tim. 2:2). The
scriptural representation of the church as a body—an organism that grows and matures—
implies a teaching function for this institution. Also, the recognition of the gift of teaching by
the New Testament (Rom. 12:4–7; 1 Cor. 12:28) assumes the necessity of teaching in the
local churches.
The work of the Christian school is an extension of the Christian educational ministries of
the Christian home and the church. Its purpose, therefore, is the development of the student in
the image of God. This purpose determines both the content and the means of instruction.
Accordingly, in Christian education students are taught to know God and to imitate Him in His
character and in His works. Since it is the purpose of Christian education to develop redeemed
man in the image of God, Christian educators must point students to the original of this image,
God Himself. Students come to know God by studying His revelation of Himself in His Word
and in His works. Of these, the more fully revealing of God is His Word; and, therefore, the Bible
is the center of the Christian school curriculum.
The presentation of biblical truth is thus not confined to a single segment of the curriculum
—the study of the Bible—but is diffused throughout the teaching of all subjects. Though the
Word of God is the main source of the knowledge of God, both factual and personal, and
therefore deserves precedence, the works of God are also an important part of the Christian
school curriculum. The glories of the vast universe and the myriad wonders of man’s earthly
habitation testify that their Creator is a God of order, of beauty, and of power (Ps. 19:1; Rom.
1:20). Accordingly the Christian school curriculum includes astronomy, physics, chemistry,
biology, mathematics, and related subjects because they provide a knowledge of God’s nature
and His work in this world. In the curriculum of the Christian school, the voice of creation joins
with that of the written revelation in praise of the glory and goodness of God.
The Imitation of God, in endeavoring to fulfill the purpose of Christian education—the
development of Christlikeness in redeemed man—the Christian school teaches, as a
consequence of the knowledge of God, the imitation of God. Students learn of God so that they
may imitate Him. They are to become “followers of God” (Eph. 5:1). In following God they
imitate both His nature and His works. The imitation of God’s works by the Christian student
necessitates a continual emphasis upon the goal of service and a provision in the curriculum for

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instruction in skills and dis- ciplines that equip students for service. Academic subjects—
whether in the humanities or in the natural sciences, whether general or strictly vocational—are
studied not as ends in themselves but as means of improving the student as a servant of God.
The student learns that bodies must not be abused or neglected but be de- veloped and
disciplined for the service of God and presented to Him for His use and His glory (Rom. 12:1–2;
1 Cor. 6:20). If the student is to imitate God in His judgment, to obey the injunction to “approve
things that are excellent” (Phil. 1:10), he must possess the aesthetic as well as the moral
perceptions and inclinations to identify and prefer the best in this area of his experience, as in
all others.
Methods are chosen for their power and efficiency in accomplishing designated goals. In the
Christian school they are chosen also for their reflection of the example of God, with the
assurance that God’s methods are the most effective in carrying out His will. Christian
methodology naturally rejects any method contrary to the principles of Scripture. In His
teaching, Christ, the Master Teacher, used an amazing variety of methods and materials. In the
Old Testament God taught man through a diversity of means. In the Garden of Eden, He used a
tree to teach Adam. Since the Flood He has used a rainbow to inform the world that He will not
again destroy the earth by water.
Biblical methods as a rule require some effort on the part of the student, though the
effort need not be tedious. They provide for the discovering of truth (actually the revealing of
truth by a God eager to reward diligent study), as well as for the reinforcing of learning, by
man’s search (Prov. 2:4–6). The parables, for example, required a mental searching on the part
of the disciples before their truths were fully revealed. The means of achieving godliness—the
purpose of Christian education—is the imitation of God. The imitation of God by the student
depends upon and conforms to the imitation of God by the teacher. The Spirit-filled Christian
teacher stands in the place of God, representing God to the student. What the student knows of
God is often what he sees in his teacher. “Ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,” Paul
reminded the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:6). It is for this reason that the Christian school must
pay careful attention to the character and conduct of its teachers. No school that is careless
concerning the Christlikeness of its teachers can be sure to fulfill the purpose of Christian
education.
Of course, a Christian school should be concerned about the professional as well as the
spiritual preparation of its teachers. Knowledge of the student and mastery of the subject to be
taught as well as of the methodology of its presentation are necessary for effective teaching.

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The Christian school administrator exercises authority over both the teacher and the
student in order to serve the teacher in his service of the student. The chief responsibility of the
administrator is to provide an environment most favorable for the communication of Christ to
the student. The teacher can function as a “teacher come from God” (John 3:2) only as the
administration serves his needs and, through him, the needs of the student.As a godly
administration undergirds the ministry of a godly teacher to a responsive student, the goal of
godliness in the student’s character and action is progressively realized.

Foreign Study
Religious Education is generally defined as the process of behavioral changing in the
religious behavior of an individual (Beyza Bilgin, Eğitim Bilimi ve Din Eğitimi, Gün Yay., Ankara
1998,7; Cemal Tosun, Din Eğitimi Bilimine Giriş, Pegama Yay., Ankara 2005). RE therefore
directs human instincts in the appropriate direction
The subject of RE is the person: The person performes all acts which are deemed
intellectual; the person feels all the moods which we connote as emotional; the person
appreciates the states which we term aesthetic; the person makes all choices which belong to
freedom; the person is the object of remorse or of exultation-the person who seeks, as he is able,
to know God and all spiritual phenomena. The subject, therefore, who is educated are, alike, the
person (Charles Franklin Thwing, 1929).
RE, briefly, is the process which forms behavioral change in the religious behavior of the
person. RE, with its fundamental position in human life, leads to some changes.
The impacts of RE are summarized as follows:
1. RE establishes a value system: These values guide many behaviors of people and
determine the direction of life. From birth to death, the person faces a value system
that is created by the effect of several factors, such as religion, culture, traditions and
so on
2. RE contributes to childhood development: The first years of childhood development
are very important because, “During the first two or three years, the child learns
more than he does during the rest of his life.”( Chaube, 2002. Education and RE are
not only an instruction. In fact, instruction is only a means for furthering the ends of
education. They stand for developing all the physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual
powers, and take into consideration all those factors that influence person, from
birth to death.( Chaube, 2002).

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The first five years of childhood plays a key role with regard to cognitive, moral and
religious development.( Enver Özkalp, Davranış Bilimlerine Giriş,2004) The basic
emotions develop during this period and it is referred to certain fundamental needs
of children. Some of the more important of these needs may be briefly enumerated as
follows: (1) All children need security (2) All of them need opportunities for various
kinds of games (3) They want to develop contacts with other children for their social,
emotional and intellectual development (4) All children want their questions to be
listened to and answered within the limits of their understanding, and (5) They want
to develop the powers of selfconfidence, initiative, and independence in themselves,
and for this they crave for suitable opportunities. ( Chaube, 2002).

RE is not only for the experiences of ritual and worship; it also provides
answers to many questions, the feeling of security, and an instrument of
communication between the person, society and the Creator. RE must be based on
love, kindness, compassion, integrity and optimism. Thus, RE handles the people
from early ages in all fields. Therefore, everyone acquires the moral principles such
as honesty, stability and harmony between thought and behavior.( Ömer Çam, “Din,
Dil, Kültür ve Eğitim”, Din Eğitimi Araştırmalar Dergisi, İ1994,; İrfan Başkurt, Din
Eğitiminde Adalet Ölçü Denge, İşaret Yay., 2000,)
3. RE establishes a moral system: All known societies have moral rules that identify
certain classes of action as right or wrong. In general, these moral rules condemn
selfish, impulsive, shortsighted actions and instead promote acts that provide
benefits in larger perspectives. Major world religions are amazingly consistent in
their teachings about right and wrong, especially concerning murder, stealing, and
adultery. Generally, moral drives from relationships of individuals that take place
with the other existences. Although many definitions exist of moral behavior, in brief,
it represents what is good. In this case, morality is the general name of networks
which regulate, both theoretically and practically, the activities of people regarding
all being sphers and connects the certain principles. While the Religion puts forth
principles such as peace, love, tolerance, justice and honesty, morality, likewise,
embraces these principles universally. The religion is the most fundamental of the
social establishments that is necessary to internalize the concepts of ‘morality’
and‘conscience’.( Özcan Köknel, Ailede ve Toplumda Ruh Sağlığı, 1981; Ayhan,
Eğitime Giriş, Damla Yay., 1986). It is also a discipline guiding people as a moral
institution and surrounding the person more strongly than laws made by any human.

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Weaknesses in religious feelings leads to increases in crime, anarchism and illegality.

Thus, we cannot mention any moral activities without religion.( Günay Tümer,1994, ;
Imanuel Kant, Pedagoji Üzerine (çev. M. Rahmi), 2005).
4. RE promotes human happiness: It is a paradox in educational theory that, although
everybody admits, the happiness of in world is an important ultimate aim.( Edward
L. Thorndike, 2007)This aim in education becomes happiness both in this life and
the life after death.
The happiness in this life mentioned in this verse is the major sources of happiness,
such as health, appetite, a peaceful home and a propitious wife. Religion and faith
relate us to our existential limits such as death, aloneless, the need for meaning, and
the threat of freedom. They are two polar extremes that help identify the quality of
the relationship we have with God, self, others, and nature by which we cope or do
not cope with our existential limits.(Jerome W. Berryman,1992).

Different from mentioned above, RE should (1) Enable pupils to achieve knowledge and
understanding of religions in the country and oft he influence religions on people's lives and in
society; (2) Contribute to the spiritual and moral development of pupils; (3) Develop awareness
of the fundamental questions about life raised by human experience; (4) Encourage pupils to
investigate, reflect on, evaluate and respond to such questions in the light of the teachings of the
world's great religious and ethical traditions; and (5) Promote respect for the rights of other
people to hold beliefs different from one's own. (Peter Schreiner, 2001).

Local Studies
It is undeniable that today we benefit from these foundations of Christian Education
whose aim is ‘the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the
good of the societies of which, as man, he is a member, and in whose obligations, as an adult, he
will share.’ (Gravissimum Educationis #1).
Christian Education is tasked to develop harmoniously the persons’ physical, moral and
intellectual endowments so that they may gradually acquire a mature sense of responsibility in
striving endlessly to form their own lives properly and in pursuing true freedom as they
surmount the vicissitudes of life with courage and constancy. (Cf. GE # 1)
Christian education does not merely strive for the maturing of a human person as just
now described, but has as its principal purpose this goal: that the baptized, while they are
gradually introduced the knowledge of the mystery of salvation, become ever more aware of the
gift of Faith they have received, and that they learn in addition how to worship God the Father in

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spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23) especially in liturgical action, and be conformed in their personal
lives according to the new man created in justice and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:22-24); also that
they develop into perfect manhood, to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ (cf. Eph.
4:13) and strive for the growth of the Mystical Body; moreover, that aware of their calling, they
learn not only how to bear witness to the hope that is in them (cf. Peter 3:15) but also how to
help in the Christian formation of the world that takes place when natural powers viewed in the
full consideration of man redeemed by Christ contribute to the good of the whole society. (GE
#2)
Christian Education is not self-seeking. It is not given for the purpose of gaining power
but as an aid towards a fuller understanding of, and communion with man, events and things.
Knowledge is not to be considered as a means of material prosperity and success, but as a call to
serve and to be responsible for others. (Ex Corde Ecclesiae #56)
Furthermore, a number of these schools are not exclusive to Catholics, but serve peoples
of other faiths; others are dedicated to out of school youths, to the handicapped, to cultural
minorities, and those in the periphery.
Catholic Education enables the educational community to see the world as charged with
the power of God. It is transformative. It announces the good news and denounces that which is
not life-giving. It seeks to build a culture of peace and love. It challenges anomalous and evil
structures. Thus, the Catholic Educational community and its graduates must be witnesses to
the power of the Word and should strive to transform society.
Catholic education as prophetic means consecration to the cause of truth. The present
age is in urgent need of this kind of disinterested service, namely of proclaiming the meaning of
truth, that fundamental value without which freedom, justice and human dignity are
extinguished. (Ex Corde Ecclesiae #4)
This means assiduous search for the truth and fidelity to the same truth. This is a bold
aspiration in the present time, ‘for it is typical of the incoherence of modernity that it can harbor
contradictions. On the one hand it dehumanizes, on the other it defies.’ This prophetic
dimension of education highlights the necessity for ‘dialogue between faith and reason. Faith
devoid of reason risk becoming superstition and blind prejudice. Reason inattentive to faith
risks solipsism, self-absorption, detachment from reality.’ (Pope Benedict XVI). This prophetic
dimension includes a deep appreciation of the Catholic tradition particularly in the field of
education. It is a retrieval of the sense of mission and inspiration that can transformed societies,
in education and formation, imbued by the gospel and motivated by the charity of Christ,
transformed communities, nations, even continents.

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