Integral Upbringing Inspired by Gospel

Abstract

The concept of integral education comprises multifaceted pedagogical measures supporting the person in achieving the highest possible level of maturity. The authors of the article seek the explanations for the meaning of the Gospel – the source of Christianity – for the processes of education. Their explanations focus on the three aspects of the Gospel-inspired, broadened view of life. It expresses itself in a new perspective on life, the discovery of its goal and the new quality of life proposed in the Gospel. This analysis of the biblical pericope (Matt 19: 16–22) hence enables us to argue that the integral education belongs to the tradition of the transcendent pedagogy. It supports the person in discovering his/her dignity and fosters her/his development, corporal as well as spiritual. The discovery of the person’s capabilities opens him/her up to the reality of the non-material world and to the Transcendence – the personal God. Thanks to this property, the integral upbringing reveals a new quality of life. It goes from respecting the dignity of both the student and the educator, which makes it possible to establish and develop both interpersonal relationships and a relationship with God. This approach, in turn, makes us aware that the Christian religion and its foundation, Gospel, provide the new educational tools for the pedagogues.