The Seven Laws of Teaching for Christian Education

Ideally that every Christian teacher should follow certain fundamental principles so that the aim of Christian education can be met. And this idea is not just a current modern issue or mere utopian thought but profound time-tested element. And the basis of those principles should be on Biblical truth. Through ages and centuries these principles or in other word laws has been conducted by what we know now as classical education. No matter what the subject is, the tools or the strategies that are used in these principles will become the foundation of the teaching to face any challenges within the context of ever-changing setting. In this essay, the classic work of John Milton Gregory written in the nineteenth century, titled The Seven Law of Teaching will be analyzed by examining its philosophy and biblical truth out of systematic theology. From the research that has been done, conclude principles that Gregory brought up as The Seven Laws of Teaching is linier with biblical truth and Christian teachers can rely on these principles as the foundation for shaping and molding their Christian teaching in today world that keep building and reconstructing without firm foundation.


Introduction
Every Christian teacher must have an understanding of Christian education so that chief end of Christian education can be achieved through teaching-learning process. Christian teacher and learner are expected to carry out the Great Commission responsibility. 1 Christian teacher and learner should have knowledge about the nature of Christian education. One that makes Christian education Christian is its centrality to the absolute truth. 2 In the contemporary culture, the way people perceive and process truth is different. 3 Truth is relative and this way of thinking is taken not just by the secular world but also within Christendom. 4 As we experience major change in our culture and society, education should play its role to bring understanding of the current trend and fostering creative flexibility to respond effectively to ever-changing circumstances. 5 However, educational changes are inevitable. There are many newcomers and "a million change agents" try to find the best knowledge to overcome todays critical issues particularly in education field. 6 We can find stream waters of innovation in education methods and strategies. Our cultural environment brings us to think that everything old is thought as bad and what is good is new whereas God's word in Psa. 119 teach us that God's way is old established way since the beginning. 7 The aim of this essay is to help Christian teachers understand and grasp the importance principle of teaching which is knowing the boundaries and the idea of following certain fundamental laws in order to meet the goal in Christian education. The purpose of Christian education is restoration of God's Image through the bible as the foundation of education. 8 In his book, Wilson wrote "principles must be mastered first." 9 As Christian we have to believe that all things created by God the principle should be laid upon biblical truth. Christian worldview should become the motive behind our teaching and learning process and also shape the way we teach and learn. "Learning is best done from within the Christian framework." 10

The Absolute Truth
The analysis of this topic is started by elaboration of absolute truth because this topic is very important to shape the idea of this essay. Before getting into the absolute truth definition, it is important to start with the definition of the truth itself. According to Nighoskar, to understand truth we need to see from what it is and from what it is not. "Truth is not: what works, that which coheres, that which was intended, what is comprehensive, what is existentially relevant, what feels good. From description of what truth is not, now comes to what truth is: correspondence with reality, arguments for correspondence and objection to correspondence." 11 Understanding of the nature of truth brings us to claims that truth cannot be relative as what many people believe today; relative truth is that the truth may be true for one person, but not for all people. 12 The Bible 13 clearly stated that "God is the essence of truth." 14 This leads us into conclusion that we can only find the truth through God. can be seen through His creation, within a statement's universe of discourse, every truth is an absolute truth. 15 For the truth is absolute, Christians educators, must lay their practice upon this foundational understanding. Many methods and strategies can be made and innovated, but it must be within the frame work of absolute truth to fulfill the criteria of Christian Education. In this essay, each law in Gregory's work, The Seven Laws of Teaching will be analyzed from biblical theology to ensure its compatibility with biblical truth.

Analysis of The Laws
Gregory brought up two notions of education: the development of capacities and the acquisition of experience. From this notion he defines teacher's work to cultivate capacities and transmit experience through training and teaching that are unseparated. Through this, Gregory set the principles of teaching into 7 group that will help teachers to do their work based on 7 factors : (1) a teacher, (2) a learner, (3) a common language or medium of communication, (4) a lesson or truth or art to be communicated, (5) a teacher's work, (6) a learner's work (7) a final or finishing process to test and fix the result. 16 Gregory constitutes The Seven Laws of Teaching : (1) A teacher must be one who knows the lesson or truth or art to be taught. (2) A learner is one who attends with interest to the lesson. (3) The language used as medium between teacher and learner must be common to both. (4) The lesson to be mastered must be explicable in the terms of truth already known by the learner, the unknown must be explained by means of the known. (5) Teaching is arousing and using the pupil's mind to grasp the desired thought or to master the desired art. (6) Learning is thinking into one's own understanding a new idea or truth or working into habit a new art or skill. (7) The test and proof of teaching done, the finishing and fastening process must be a reviewing, rethinking, re-knowing, reproducing and applying of the material that has been taught, the knowledge and ideals and arts that have been communicated. 17 The philosophy of the laws is taken from John Milton Gregory book, titled The Seven Law of Teaching will be elaborated as follows before come into the biblical analysis.
To attain successful teaching-learning process, all the seven laws should be applied in relation because the seven laws is interrelated. Gregory saw teacher as the one who give training and instruction. Teacher must have knowledge about things he is going to teach to the learner. The teacher must be well-prepared. As he has clear vision about the knowledge, the teacher can inspire the learner to be enthusiastic learner by giving the vivid picture of the knowledge through many methods. Teacher is also leader, he leads the learner to the knowledge and gain confidence to explore the knowledge so that real learning can be conducted.
Learner has the ability to learn since the very beginning of his life. Transfer knowledge is not just merely part of the teacher's work but the learner also plays important part to receive the knowledge, even the learner is the primary factor. Motivation of the learner is very important in the nature of mind. Because the learner must work to receive the knowledge, and to work on something fully someone needs grit that comes from strong motivation. Motivation comes from interest. Interest will stimulate the mind to give attention on something. Thinking process can be done if the learner does the process with attention, not just listen and store up knowledge. The learner needs will to work on his learning process not just become passive learner.
Language is the medium of the knowledge transmission. Language portray idea, which to perceive new knowledge, the teacher must use language that can be understood by the learner for the limitation of words that the learner has. Teacher can use words that are familiar to the learner and enrich the learner with correct language if the learner expresses his idea with words that cause distortion or over refinement so the learner can have an ability to express his idea well. The idea comes before the words, and words display the learner's idea of the knowledge.
Knowledge has its relation, not just an independent fact. In order to teach new knowledge, teacher must start from knowledge that the learner has already had in the past. Knowledge that has already been understood become tools for the learner to acquire further knowledge where he can practice the old idea into new discovery. Lesson should be taught through steps and should have its objective. The explanation about new material should be given through familiar words and experience that the learner can easily perceive. The law of lesson also talks about thinking process. Teacher can use problem from the learner's experience to stimulate thinking about how to solve that problem using new knowledge and lead the learner to gain new knowledge through it.
The learner has his part to do self-discovery and do thinking process. Human are created to learn, as children learn about many facts before they enter the school. Even though children can learn by themselves without teacher, the knowledge that they learned is scattered. Because of knowledge is connected to one another, the teacher's role is to direct and organize the knowledge and provide condition that promote real learning process. Instead of doing passive learning, the learner must be stimulated not just to know but to do real learning by applying his knowledge to "develop abilities and skill." 18 His mind should be activated. One of the signs that the mind is awaken can be seen when the learner starts to ask question about things in his experience that are connected with the new knowledge. Being thoughtfulness, must be start from having knowledge. Along with increasing knowledge, the interest will also grow. So, rejoicing of truth is the start of the process of thinking.
As discoverer, the learner should come to the point, where learning is not just stop in memorization and repetition of other's thought and ideas. But from the thought of others and his own thought he can correlate it then he can gain understanding and put it in his own words without distortion and formulate an argument about the statement. When the learner masters the knowledge, it should be demonstrated through practical wisdom in his life as the indicator that he has gain a full knowledge through real learning process.
In order to the lesson become permanent, review must be done. Review is not just repetition, though "repetition is the simplest form of review." 19 Knowledge will become familiar by repeating it over and over. This will help the mind to remember and recall whenever the knowledge is needed. Review, is repetition that requires thinking, so that the learner can find new insight from the knowledge he has been mastered. To practice review, the learner must recall the knowledge and then apply it in practical setting to "the solution of common problems, the conduct of any process, or the performance of the series of acts." 20 Theological Review

The Law of the Teacher
"A teacher must be one who knows the lesson or truth or art to be taught" "The Word know stands central in the law of teacher." 21 In teaching, knowledge is the material which the teacher works with so the teacher must have an understanding of the nature of knowledge. 22 In his book Gregory explained the stages of knowledge start from glimpse of truth to the full understanding: (1) no recognition (2) faint recognition (3) limited recall (4) Immediate explanation (5) changed conduct. 23 The teacher must have the knowledge that he is going to teach to the learner. This will give the teacher confidence and will awake the learner's mind to do active learning. The teacher must inspire the learner with his clear illustration of the knowledge that can be vividly felt by the learner, which the secret of enthusiasm can be found in clear conceived earnest feeling of truth. Even though the law of teacher is not the only factor that determine the success of teaching, teacher's readiness will help learner to gain confidence and inspire learner to be enthusiastic learners. 24 First, human has been justified and has received forgiveness of God. For "Nature knows no forgiveness" only retribution 25 so that faith is important aspect for human to accept His grace. While after receiving justification, human need to continue to do good works in his life. Even though good works is the work of the human itself, human has been fallen and has limitation. So that sanctification itself, would be His work and His gift. 26 It has been written in the Old Testament, when Israel failed the covenant and should receive judgment, what God did was establish new covenant to fulfill His promise. The only way for the believer to bear fruit is to remain in His love as branches in the vine and obey His commandments. 27 God enables believer to do good work through Him, so believer must work their salvation with fear and trembling until the day of the lord Jesus Christ. 28 "Justification or the forgiveness of sins, which is received by faith, must be followed by sanctification because Christ is a complete Savior, who not only delivers us from the guilt and punishment of sin but also from its pollution and power." 29 We can say that good work can only be done by those who know and love God. 30 Sanctification process through justification enables teacher to practice the truth and lead his learner to come to the truth. Teacher must learn from God through knowing Him by personal relationship with Him. Teachers supposedly in their doing is to know and teach the truth, therefore teachers should be prepared and learn the truth. 31 And teachers should also live the truth. Human has finite mind and human cannot perceive full knowledge of his 21 Gregorry, 23. 22  creator and the creation. But in Christ are "hid all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge." 32 It is important for teacher to received God's grace in order to do good works, especially when it comes to lead others to the truth.

The Law of The Learner
"The learner must attend with interest to the material to be learned" In his book Gregory wrote that the mental state of true learner is characterized by interest and attention. Attention will bring about the object into focus within consciousness. This activity come into varying degree of absorption or concentration and as human mind can be controlled. 33 The same context as what Littlejohn and Evans write in their book that attention needs effort. When the teacher passes the knowledge to the learner, the learner needs to process the fact by thinking. The way student learn through thinking can be found in three primary way (1) acquisition of new knowledge, (2) critical interaction, and (3) meaningful expression. 34 The learner need to find right relation about the knowledge through things that concern himself which might bring interest that will lead the learner into attention. The teacher and also the community can also inspire the learner for such as self-interest. Apathy and distraction are two things that can hinder interest. 35 "God justifies us on the basis of Christ's righteousness, which is ours through faith. This faith is reckoned to us as righteousness and consist in heartfelt trust in God's grace in Christ, a personal relationship and communion with Christ." 36 As the follower of Jesus we have been forgiven by grace and we are called to follow him, even we have to give up our things to follow him. Taking our cross daily, obey to his command and remain in His love is part of the process of sanctification. 37 On the day of Pentecost God has communicated Himself to the church. Believers is not only received God's forgiveness but also has given fellowship with Christ. Here God has enabled us to do good work, and "believer must work out their salvation with fear and trembling." 38 Justification as juridical act of God and sanctification as ethical process that need to be done by believer, cannot be separated. 39 In Greek word, the disciple (mathētēs) is literally the learner. Learning has to be part of Christian's life. When Christian decide to shut his mind, that will be the end of discipleship. The journey of discipleship begins with believing and follow by obedience. God has given ability of teaching and studying to human beings. "He is the one who endow us with physical, intellectual, creative, moral, spiritual and relation capacities." 40 Mutual effort of teacher and learner should take place in teaching process. While teacher strives to help learner understand the fact or truth, the learner has responsibility to make effort to learn. The responsibility of the learners may be said in concern, some of them are hearing with intelligent attention and hearing with personal interest, just as believer respond to the justification willing to go through lifetime sanctification process.

"The language used in teaching must be common to the teacher and learner"
Gregory says that language is an instrument of thought. 41 This also said by Whorf that "language is the shaper of ideas, the program that guide for the individual's mental activity." 42 Gregory mention in his book that talking is thinking and the full and clear statement of a problem is often the best part of solving it. 43 While how to fit words to ideas and make it clear and correct is not an easy job. 44 Language is very important aspect in how people comprehend the world. Language portray our thought. In education context teacher's role is "to communicate undiluted, life-transforming principles." 45 To fulfill this role, medium is needed and language is the primary medium for transferring knowledge. In his book Gregory say that "language has been called the vehicle of thought, but it does not carry thoughts as trucks carry goods, to fill an empty storehouse." 46 Rather it conveys them as the wires convey telegrams, as signals to the receiving operator who must retranslate the messages from the ticks he hears. Not what the speaker expresses from his own mind, but what the hearer understands and reproduces in his mind, measures the communicating power of the language used." 47 It is important for the teacher to pick the right word from the language that is known well by the learner and teacher as the instructor. And as language is also storehouse of our knowledge, for the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process, teacher need to understand the need of the learner through word. Sometimes learner knows thing can be seen as accomplishment and representation of the learner's knowledge. 48 We can see the practice of the law of the language from the practice of the church. As we know, the church is "the community of the true believer of all time." 49 The purpose of the church in the ministry of God is to worship God, while in the context ministry of man is to nurture and in the ministry of the world is to evangelism and mercy. 50 As the group of believer gather together to achieve the purpose of the church, we can see the attendance and the outward change of the people but only God who know the heart of each person in the church. 51 There are many variant people that come to the church whether they are believers or unbelievers, but the only one can see the heart is only God. The scripture provides us with many metaphors to understand the church. One of the most familiar metaphor is the church as the body of Christ. 52 It is a privilege that God has given to us so that we can be incorporation 41  into the church, to strive together for "purity and holiness, and also greater love for Christ and submission to him." 53 The law of the language that Gregory brought up emphasizes on the connection between the teacher and the learner, which the teacher and the learner have same context. While the teacher cannot really see how the knowledge is processed in the learner's mind, by learner articulate it, can shows how the knowledge is perceived by the learner. While the teacher and the learner are in the different level of language, it is important for the teacher to pick the right word from the language that is known well by the learner and teacher as the instructor, so that the purpose of transferring knowledge can be achieved. For the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process, teacher need to understand the need of the learner through word. Sometimes learner knows thing imperfectly and the teacher need to help the learner to gain full and clear expression, and this is the act of love that the teacher can practice in the education context.

The Law of The Lesson
"The Truth to be taught must be learned through truth already known" Gregory explained that "the new and unknown can be explained only by the familiar and the known." 54 For effective process to transmit knowledge to the learner, it is important to get them start with knowledge that familiar to them and find the likeness with the new knowledge they will learn and the acquisition of new knowledge from the acquired one is really important to avoid drudgery. 55 In learning there should be stages to gain thoroughness, which each step must be taken before the next one, "The pupil who has mastered one lesson, half knows the next; therefore the well-taught class is always eager for the next step." 56 As knowledge comes from solved problem and facts that are linked together, it is important for the teacher to bring the learner to instil thinking process through problem in the teaching. 57 Gregory defined process of thinking, "(1)the stage of doubt or uncertainty, certain things are known, and something is to be done to them, (2) there is an organizing stage in which the individual considers the means at his disposal to reach the ends desired, (3) critical attitude involving selection and rejection of the schemes which have suggested themselves." 58 To encourage thinking process in the learner, the teacher should be thoughtful know the problem of the learner's life as possible. 59 This could be the starting point of the learning process, start from things that are familiar and move into new knowledge.
Holy scripture is God's inspired word to His people. Even though it has divided into two parts, Old Testament and New Testament, both has same authoritative. "For Jesus and the apostles, the books of the Old Testament canon had divine authority is reflected in the way they refer to the Old Testament as authoritative as well as in explicit teaching." 60 Jesus and the apostle used the Old Testament to prove and conduct their teaching. The authors of New Testament also cited from the Old Testament. "In the case of Jesus and the apostle, this exegesis of the Old Testament assumes the understanding of that a word or sentence can have a much deeper meaning and a much farther reaching thrust than t he original author suspected or put into it." 61 Educating the whole person is the focus of the teaching in the New Testament, educating through personal relationship, the process of both instilling knowledge and encouraging learning through discovery, and educating experiential learning. 62 We can see this principle is applied in Jesus's teaching. Jesus' teaching method goes from "sufficiently familiar to his hearers to make them comfortable but also sufficiently different to arrest their attention." 63 As if the teacher give all the explanation, then the process of learning will stop. The teacher must arouse the learner attention by not giving them all of the information, so the thinking process to receive new knowledge can be proceed. As Jesus in His teaching used parables in order to "cause people to stop and think, so Jesus would bury his meaning somewhere below surface, so that people would have to dig for it." 64 Jesus's ultimate purpose in his teaching is to bring the hearer to God so Jesus often times challenged them to act and make decisions upon the information they have gotten from the teaching the respond may vary either believed or offended and left. 65

" Excite and direct the self-activities of the pupil, and as a rule tell him nothing that he can learn himself"
Gregory have considered teaching as the communication of knowledge or experience. 66 Teacher must know the aim and purpose of the teaching, from there on teacher can construct the way he teaches can be by demonstration or lead the learner to discover for himself. 67 To receive the knowledge, the learner should think and in this case the teacher's role is to arouse the mind of the learner to do such a thinking process. 68 Facts can be learn by self-taught without instructor or teacher, as child can learn many things before he enters school, and here the teacher is the one who build the condition of self-learning. 69 Knowledge need to be connected, the school has function to provide curriculum and condition of learning that facilitate the learner to learn best. 70 "True teaching, then, is not that which gives knowledge, but that which stimulates pupils to gain it. One might say that he teaches best who teaches least, or that he teaches best whose pupils learn most without being taught directly." 71 Teacher can only guide and direct when the learner learn through self-active effort to discover the truth, when the mind is sufficiently awake, the truth will ask its own question and when learner ask question that is the sign that his education is begin. 72 As the crown of creation, human was created in God's image and to be master over all things. 73 "To be human is to be an image bearer of God, created in his likeness and originally righteous and holy. The entire world reveals God's attributes and perfections and every creature is in its own way the embodiment of God's thought." 74 Human has been created in God's own image and likeness, "in soul and body in all human faculties, powers and gifts." 75 This definition does not mention certain attribute, instead the whole deity. 76 We are created as freely acting agents, we are created "with concrete intellects and wills, our doing good depends on being good." 77 As the image of God we are not created as "morally indifferent powers and potentialities but immediate made physically and ethically mature, with knowledge in the mind, righteousness in the will, holiness in the heart." 78 Community is the full and complete humanity as a whole is the image of God. "Only humanity in its entirety, as one complete organism, summed up under a single head, spread out over the whole earth, as prophet proclaiming the truth of God, as priest dedicating itself to God, as ruler controlling the earth and the whole of creation, only it is the fully finished image, the most telling and striking likeness of God." 79 Teaching is not merely about the subject or material to be delivered. Teaching is about seeing the other side which is pupil or student as individual, a person. Teaching shall took account not just content but put into context, pupil as the image of God. Seeing each student as a whole individual. That involves not just head but heart as well. Teaching must have its goal, change of heart. And only by seeing this way, teachers could bring about potential in every pupils flourish in their teaching process.

The Law of Learning Process
"The Pupil must reproduce in his own mind the truth to be learned" In his book Gregory wrote that the learner plays more part in the work of education instead of the teacher for true learning is not just merely memorization and repetition. 80 The learner should be an investigator where he does not just repeat others thought but he has to rediscover the new fact and raise new ideas comes from borrowed knowledge of others. 81 The notion of learning process is not entirely complete if the learner only become a passivelearner. 82 After the learner absorbed knowledge from others, if they can tell the lesson with his own language is one of the sign that learning process is taken place. 83 The next progress is the learner will prove the discovery then connect it with nature and life itself, and then turn it into practical wisdom. 84 73  Faith plays important role in the process of sanctification. Faith brings us to depend on God' grace. When we accept God's grace through faith, we can do great things through our communion with Christ in the power of Holy Spirit. 85 "It is our faith working through love that believers seek to do God's will as expressed in the Ten Commandments." 86 Spiritual good is act done by believer who know and love God. 87 To do good works, Christian must receive the grace of God through faith, then willing to be sanctified through lifetime process.
According to the law of the learning process, the learner should turn his knowledge into practical wisdom. Wisdom according to the Old Testament is "the practical skills associated with living a successful life. These range from the ability to create highly skilled works to the intellectual capability required to make choices that result in favourable outcomes and avoid trouble." Wisdom is primarily practical, not philosophical, it is not to be identified with reasoning power or the ability to apprehend intellectual problem. It has nothing to do with the question how or why. It is to be sought by earnest prayer and is a gift from God. 88 "Wisdom is realization of value." 89 In his book, Blomberg explain how value is different for one to another person, but for Christians the greatest value is love, so love is not only the goal of wisdom but also means to gain wisdom. 90 Wisdom is not come from ex nihilo, but from things that have known before and done in love. 91 Because to gain wisdom, the learner should do active and interactive process not just through contemplation but also involves imagination, will, commitment and responsibility.

"The completion, test and confirmation of the work of teaching must be made by review and application"
In his book Gregory defined the chief aims of the review: "(1) to perfect knowledge, (2) to confirm knowledge, and (3) to render this knowledge ready and useful." 92 Review is different from repetition, although repetition is the simplest kind of review. 93 Repetition can be done by machine, but review needs intelligent agent. 94 In doing review, there are freshness and new insight into knowledge that has been known before, make it more familiar. 95 In his book, Gregory stated "Every fact has its relation to life, and every principles its applications, and until these are known, facts and principles are idle. The practical relations of truth, and the forces which lie behind all facts, are never really understood until we apply our knowledge to some of the practical purpose of life and thought." 96 As the simplest form of review, repetition is used for memorizing. But the learner should not stop only in memorizing, they should proceed through thinking process so that the aim of perfect knowledge can be met. We can see that repetition is used throughout the bible many times to underline something that is important. Jesus parables can be understood through some basic principles that will help us to interpret, one of the principles is "realize that repetition in parables is for the purpose of stressing a major point." 97 When we read the bible repetitively, we can find the meaning that we may not see before. The technique of repetition that we can find in the bible has two ways, first the writer will write exact same word twice, second, repetition of the concept with different wording. Repetition is one of the discipline in the teaching-learning process in Hebrew education and the purpose of Hebrew education is the learner can have "a lifestyle of doing justice and righteousness." 98 As "new life in Christ, just like all natural life, must be nourished and strengthened. Regenerate persons continually need to be strengthened in their inner being with power through God's spirit." 99 To be in communion with God as well as through Spirit of Christ will give believer strength. And by the power of Christ, a person has died and lives again is the process of recreated in Christ. 100 A new knowledge and faith can be gained by believer through enlightenment of the Spirit. "Recreation never introduces a new substance into the world and faith does not bestow on humans a new capacity, function, or activity that human nature finds foreign to God's original creation of humans in his image." 101 As to walk into the virtue path, believer need to break from his sinful habits. The new life that he gets, will be implemented in his daily life through intellect, faith and knowledge and wisdom in relation to the will, conversion and repentance." 102 Education should not stop in gaining knowledge but it has to develop into understanding and wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom can only be found in Christ. "There is no full knowledge apart from moral commitment. Knowledge is apprehension of truth and wisdom is its application to life. Knowledge is prudent judgement and wisdom is prudent action." 103 Thus, the law of review and application comes after transmission of knowledge from the teacher to the learner has done. Now, the learner should work to demonstrate his knowledge into practical wisdom that he applies in his daily life. "Wisdom is a capacity of the mind, in the Old Testament it involves both knowledge and the ability to direct the mind toward a full understanding of human life and toward its moral fulfilment. Wisdom is thus a special capacity, necessary for full human living, but one which can be acquired through education and the application of the mind." 104

Conclusion
Christian teachers must apply principles that align with God's words in theirs teaching for there is no neutral way. Presuppositions of their understanding must not come only from general revelation but also special revelation. The Seven Laws of Teaching written by John Milton Gregory provides principles for teachers to establish redemptive and transformative teaching, so that both teachers and learner can carry out the great commission and the great commandment.