The “School of Christ” in Ellen G. White’s thought: reflections based on Fundamentals of Christian Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19141/1809-2454.kerygma.v21.n1.pe2201Keywords:
School of Christ, Ellen G. White, spiritual development, character formationAbstract
This study analyzes the concept of the “School of Christ” in Fundamentals of Christian Education by Ellen G. White, aiming to understand its theological meaning and its implications for spiritual and moral development. The research adopts a qualitative, exploratory approach and employs content analysis, based on Bardin, to examine the meanings attributed to the expression in the selected work. The analysis identified four thematic categories that structure the concept of the “School of Christ”: dependence on God in teaching, character formation, preparation for mission, and the Heavenly School. The concept also involves the practices of conversion, communion, and submission to Christ, through which the individual renounces self-sufficiency, continually seeks divine guidance, and directs their life according to God’s principles. It is concluded that, in Ellen G. White’s thought, the “School of Christ” constitutes a theological and pedagogical paradigm of spiritual formation, understood as a continuous process of sanctification and restoration, in which God takes the initiative and the human being responds to this action. This process, begun in this life, will continue in the Heavenly School after the resurrection of the saved at the second coming of Christ.
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