What is The Principle Approach?
The Principle Approach is the premier American historical approach to Christian education. We emphasize premier due to the philosophical essence of The Principle Approach. The Principle Approach is a biblical approach to education while integrating the biblical-historical principles that inform our American liberty. Under this philosophy, education aims to enlighten the understanding, shape the character, form the habits of discipline, and prepare young men and women to fulfill their God-given potential.
The Principle Approach is the education that prevailed during America’s first two hundred years. This method produced men and women who were able to reason from biblical principles of government to form the world’s first Christian constitutional federal republic—The United States of America. This great experiment was built upon the Christian ideas of God, man, and government, and it afforded the greatest degree of liberty for the individual experienced up to that time.
The Principle Approach is not political—it’s thoroughly historical and biblical. Unfortunately, our culture, educational institutions, and to a degree, the Church have lost sight of our historical foundations and responsibility that requires moral responsibility informed by Scripture to maintain a free republic. Indeed, this was not always the case. The founding fathers and those closely associated with the founding of the United States understood the connection between Christianity, education, and a free republic. Read the following:
“As it is the distinguishing happiness of free governments that civil order should be the result of choice and not of necessity, and the common wishes of the people become the laws of the land, their public prosperity and even existence very much depend upon suitably forming the minds and morals of their citizens.
When the minds of the people, in general, are viciously disposed and unprincipled, and their conduct disorderly, a free government will be attended with greater confusions and evils more horrid than the wild, uncultivated state of nature.
It can only be happy when the public principles and opinions are properly directed, and their manners regulated.
This is an influence beyond the reach of laws and punishments and can be claimed only by religion and education. It should therefore be among the first objects of those who wish well to the national prosperity to encourage and support the principles of religion and morality and early to place the youth under the forming hand of society, that by instruction they may be molded to the love of virtue and good order.”
~Abraham Baldwin, Founding Father and Signer of the United States Constitution
“Religion and liberty are the meat and drink of the body politic. Withdraw one of them, and it languishes, consumes, and dies… Without religion, we may possibly retain the freedom of savages, bears, and wolves, but not the freedom of New England. If our religion were gone, our state of society would perish with it, and nothing would be left.”
~Timothy Dwight, President of Yale University, 1795-1817
“The brief exposition of the constitution of the United States, will unfold to young persons the principles of republican government; and it is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion.”
~Noah Webster, Founding Father of American Education, Author of the 1828 Websters Dictionary
The following are the seven principles of The Principle Approach:
God’s Principle of Individuality: There is one God who is sovereign over all Creation. Everything in God’s universe is an expression of His character, His nature, His infinity, and His individuality.
The Principle of Christian Self-Government: In order to have true liberty, man must be governed internally by the Spirit of God rather than by external forces. Government begins with the individual, then extends to the home, church, and community.
The Principle of Christian Character: The word character in the New Testament is transliterated as charaktér (from Greek). This term is used once (Hebrews 1:3) in the New Testament. It describes Jesus Christ as the exact representation of God. A self-governing republic requires virtuous, godly people to endure.
The Seed of Local Self-Government: Moving from cause to effect, the seed of local Christian self-government is planted internally in the individual’s heart and then moves outwardly. In short, local Christian self-government expresses the internally planted biblical values in the family, the church, and the civil spheres.
The Christian Idea of Civil Government: Civil government takes into account man’s sinful nature and exists to secure the God-given rights of the individual. Civil government is based upon God’s law, not the will of the people.
The Principle of Unity: Unity with diversity is a reflection of the nature of God, revealed in the Trinity and creatively expressed in the universe. Internal unity produces external union. These and other biblical principles are vital for maintaining the integrity of our representative republic.