117 Christian Anthropology and the (W)Holistic Approach 3 3.1 WCD INSIGHTS AND CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY Holism is a term that, in the last few decades, has gradually become socially acceptable among well-respected Christian educationalists. David I. Smith (2017) has repeatedly argued for holistic Christian education, as did James K. Smith (2017). Nicholas Wolterstorff (2004) used the adjective ‘holistic’ for his shalom model. Swaner et al. (2021) promoted ‘holistic teaching’ in a report by the Association for Christian Schools International, explaining that it ‘involves helping students develop spiritually and emotionally (teaching the heart and soul, as well as the mind’ (p. 12). However, after these clear references, it all stops. There is no clear-cut definition—or, at least, no detailed description— to be found of what should be understood by holistic teaching or education. Apparently, the desire for a more holistic approach exists, albeit only as an implicit and unspecified need. In this section, I intend to address this gap between a felt need and its articulation, for which knowledge of WCD is particularly helpful. The search for a clear answer starts with a selection process. In the wide field of Christian theology, pedagogy and philosophy, three contemporary thinkers stand out for their opposition to reductionistic tendencies in Western culture and education. Each connected his plea with a historic thinker and scholar from the Christian tradition of the West. The first is the Czech pedagogue and educationalist Jan Hábl (2011, 2017), who referenced his great inspiration Ján Amos Comenius (1592–1670) in relation to holistic education as opposed to the dehumanising trends in Western education. The second is André Troost (2005), who presented a contemporary version of the Reformational philosophy that can be characterised as fundamentally non-reductionistic. He based his ideas on the work of the father of Reformational philosophy, Herman Dooyeweerd (1894–1977). The third is the Canadian-American philosopher James K.A. Smith (2009, 2013, 2016, 2017), who based his view on the life and work of Church Father Augustine (354–430). All three famous scholars combined a clear idea about the complexity of the inner person with an extremely broad view on the complex interrelatedness (coherence) of totality. Rather than consider them in chronological order, I choose to start with the pedagogue Comenius and his contemporary advocate Hábl, as doing so enables me to focus first on education (1.1). After Comenius, the philosophy of Dooyeweerd will be helpful in connecting education to both the totality of the cosmos and the totality of the human being, as summarised by Troost (1.2). Finally, the shift back to Augustine as the theologian of interiority can be made with greater clarity and through his contemporary advocate James K.A. Smith it will be possible to link back to education (1.3).
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