Light for the Mind: Rediscovering the Purpose and Promise of Adventist Education

One of the most important biblical stories for Adventist identity and mission is found in the first chapter of Daniel. Here we discover the very heart of Adventist education — its character, purpose and eternal significance.

The story begins this way:

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it" (Dan. 1:1).

I learned this story as a young boy. I remember being terrified by Babylon. This empire, filled with violence, hate and cruelty, embodied the worst impulses of our fallen planet.

I also learned, however, that Nebuchadnezzar, while evil, was a very smart man. He understood what the two most valuable resources on planet Earth are, and he took both from Jerusalem.

First, he stole articles from Israel’s temple, which symbolized the biblical theology and moral philosophy of Israel. He took sacred objects to demonstrate that he was subordinating them to his own way of thinking — his Babylonian political and religious doctrines.

Nebuchadnezzar knew that whoever controls the symbols and ideas of worship controls the worldview of a people. He recognized that ultimate ideas — the deepest and most important kinds of thinking and knowing — are essential for shaping both the present and the future.

Second, he kidnapped the next generation. He stole the young people — the best and brightest of the Hebrew community.

He took them both — the two most valuable resources on our planet. He captured ultimate ideas, and he captured young, impressionable human minds.

The combination is devastating. If you can reshape the convictions of a culture’s youth while redefining its sacred truths, you can redirect the destiny of nations. Nebuchadnezzar understood this principle all too well, and every generation since has seen its own version of Babylon attempt the same strategy — capturing hearts and minds through the classroom.

This is why the question of where and how we learn remains a deeply spiritual issue, not merely an academic one.

The story continues. Nebuchadnezzar enrolled Daniel and his friends in his University of Babylon. Soaking the hearts and minds of students in an education built on Babylon was his plan. Putting his god, Marduk, and the ways of idolatry in every classroom was his scheme. Teaching math and science, literature and religion — all of it — with values of violence and power, deceit and destruction was his agenda.

Daniel and his friends were well-trained in their earliest years, however. They saw the problem. They understood, even at a young age, the dangers of having their promising minds damaged by years of undergraduate study drenched in immoral ends. So they protested.

They told Nebuchadnezzar and his educational leaders that the school was not for them. They took a huge risk. They would rather die than go to the wrong university. The stakes were just too high. Learning about the world from God’s viewpoint mattered that much. Enrolling in God’s college was worth every sacrifice — even their very lives.

Nebuchadnezzar granted them the opportunity. The book of Daniel doesn't give us many details. Different textbooks? Other teachers? Another campus? We don’t know, but we learn this:

"To these four young men, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds" (Dan. 1:17).

The Torah was their foundational textbook. God was their principal teacher. Jesus Christ — who would soon appear in the fiery furnace — was their campus.

Graduation arrived three years later. The brave young people stood before Nebuchadnezzar. His evaluation?

"The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom" (Dan. 1:19–20).

Ten times better. Adventist Christian education’s mandate is to be academically excellent. We are called to prepare students for jobs, the marketplace, medical school, graduate school and life — with superior skill.

Nebuchadnezzar, despite his evil intentions, recognized the higher quality of Daniel’s alternative schooling. The world — outside the church — should recognize our excellent product. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Col. 3:23).

Excellence, then, is not a marketing slogan; it’s a testimony. To study, teach and create under the lordship of Christ is to proclaim to the watching world that faith and intellect belong together. True education refuses the false divide between mind and spirit. The classroom becomes a sanctuary of worship, where excellence itself gives glory to God.

A note: Pacific Northwest brothers and sisters, Walla Walla University is your university.

We are the epicenter of engineering in the Adventist Church. But we are also recognized across the country and around the world for the quality of engineers we produce. They go to the best graduate schools and work in significant organizations around the world.

The same is true for the students we prepare to be physicians, dentists, entrepreneurs, nurses, therapists, teachers, pastors, communicators, aviators, attorneys, computer scientists, automotive technicians and more.

We prepare students exceptionally well — 10 times better — because we combine technical expertise with whole-person education. We employ an Adventist philosophy of education that values spiritual, social, physical and mental training.

The marketplace covets emotional and social intelligence, critical thinking, teamwork and moral character. These are precisely the values and skills we teach. These are the foundational principles articulated by Ellen G. White in her vision for Adventist education. We teach them faithfully, and they put our students in a very good position to succeed both in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the world. (See Luke 2:52.)

However, excellent preparation for work is not the greatest lesson in Daniel’s story. Making a wise choice for a university education goes beyond career considerations.

The remaining chapters in the book of Daniel powerfully describe the significance:

• A dream of God prevailing with the Rock of Jesus against all other kingdoms in the world (Dan. 2).
• Young men who will not bow down to a politician’s gold (Dan. 3).
• Courageous words spoken against the arrogance and cruelty of the king (Dan. 4).
• Clarity about the failure to honor God (Dan. 5).
• A commitment to pray even when the law forbids it (Dan. 6).
• God prevailing against the beasts of this world (Dan. 7).
• Jesus active in the end times (Dan. 8).
• Jesus active on the cross (Dan. 9).
• Jesus prevailing in the end (Dan. 12).

The book of Daniel pulsates with divine energy. This prophecy, central to an Adventist understanding of history and the world, is ignited by the decision of young people to choose a better education.

A university experience framed by biblical thinking produces a narrative of courage, truthfulness, character and hope. Without God’s early action in the lives of these young people, it's hard to imagine the rest of the story. A godly education makes all the difference.

Today, there are some 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. Many of them, and perhaps most, can effectively prepare students for the workforce. And there are many Christians — and many Adventists — who attend these schools and do quite well.

There is no shame, and we must not lay guilt on those who choose for-profit or government schools. God is at work everywhere.

However, as Adventists, we must come to grips with our historic calling: Christian education. The first Sabbatarian school was in session in 1853, a decade before the church was formalized in 1863. White began writing as early as 1872 about the importance of an alternative educational philosophy.

White's book, Education, remains an essential, inspired text for Adventist commitments. Nearly 7,000 schools are operated by the Adventist Church around the globe. The story of Daniel, embraced by the church, is alive and well in the 21st century.

Yet, in our time, the need is sharper than ever. The modern world is awash in information but starving for wisdom. Our culture produces specialists but struggles to form saints.

Adventist education stands in this gap, insisting that the purpose of learning is not just to make a living, but also to make a life that honors God. In this way, our classrooms become mission fields — places where intellect, faith and service converge for eternity’s sake.

The opportunity for Adventist education in the U.S. has never been greater. Turmoil in American education — and higher education — has created an important opportunity.

Government schools, at the behest of politicians, serve the state. For-profit schools, lining the pockets of private owners, recognize students as customers. Community colleges, dedicated to job preparation, produce employees for local economies.

These goals are worthy, but who will do the work of deep education in the way, truth and life of Jesus Christ? Who will build citizens, consumers and employees who understand these realities from the perspective of God?

Who will educate young brains in the final years of frontal-lobe wiring, when the malleable plasticity of the mind intersects with enough maturity to consider the weightiest truths and most profound questions? Who will teach and learn an Adventist worldview, where Jesus is at the center and circumference?

I want to make the case that the most important commitment Adventists can make is to invest in Adventist education. Until that great day when Jesus comes again, our most impactful commitment — the action that will determine the strength of our witness in the world — is growing the quality and quantity of our school systems.

We need to invest in the best teachers. We need to send as many young people as possible to Adventist schools. The power of our light and salt in the world will be generated by the light-and-salt factory: Christian education.

This is our moment. Donors, we need you to give. Let’s continue to make an Adventist education — and Adventist higher education — affordable.

Teachers, we need you to teach with brilliance. Pastors, we need you to preach the importance of a faith-informed education. Grandparents and parents, we need you to encourage your precious children to be the next Daniels of the world.

When I was in third grade, we had a teacher we adored so much we simply called our teacher, “Teacher.” One day, Teacher told us something strange. Teacher was going to be out of the classroom for a couple of hours, and two of our classmates — third-graders — would oversee the class. I'm confident this would never happen today.

Teacher left and it was a mess. Frustration, crying and arguing — life in the classroom was terrible without Teacher. When Teacher finally came back, we were thrilled. We yelled, “Teacher!” and hugged Teacher’s legs and told Teacher how glad we were to have Teacher back.

A couple of weeks later, Teacher told us that there were two days coming up when Teacher would be gone. Teacher told us we would have someone called a “substitute teacher.” Those two days were so long. We missed Teacher so much.

Finally, on the third day, Teacher came back. Again, we were so excited. “Teacher!” we cried, and we hugged Teacher and told Teacher how much Teacher had been missed.

And that’s really the lesson, isn’t it? There is only one Teacher, and there can be no substitutes.