BCM Summer Missions 2009: Kaneohe, Hawaii

As I promised, I am going talk about the Paidagogos and why it is significant. To start off, ill share with you why this has caught my attention. Earlier this semester in my communications class, we talked about a Paidagogos as we began the semester about the roots of the study of communication. It just so happened that same day as I was doing my study on comentary about Galatians that I came across the verse that also is specifically talking about the term Paidagogos. Obviously it seems like that a concept I had never heard before in my life being brought up in to different areas of my life on the same day... well it would foolish of me not to pay attention to it.

So what is a Paidagogos you ask? Well lets first take a look at where it comes in from Galatians 3:25-

"But after faith has come, we are no longer under the schoolmaster"

A quick definition of a Paidigogos is related to the term "schoolmaster". In class it was defined as the person your parents hired to make sure you went to school and didn't cut class. Its soooooo much deeper than that, and Paul uses it as such a relevent metaphore to the Galatians. A closer look at what a Paidagogos is was that they were actually slaves under hire of the rich in ancient Rome. Understand that just because they have the title of slave does not mean they were "property", but most slaves were actually bond servants and or kinda subsistance workers. Anyhoo, so this servant is the paidagogos. He or she is given custody of a child from birth and they become the primary care taker. They do everything from feeding, clothing, bathing, disciplining, to basic teachings. At some point in the early development, the child would exceed what the Paidagogos could teach he or she, so at that point the Paidagogos just had to wake them and prepare them for school, then escort them to and from school.

So with all that in mind, to understand this metaphore, you must understand that Paul is talking about the difference between the Law and Faith. The Paidagogos is the symbol for the Law. The law is ment to guide us, make sure we don't touch the stove, and lead us to a greater understanding of God, but it cant save us. Ultimately, the Law is constructed to point out that we are sinners and that we aren't self-sufficient or faultless. It points us to Faith. When we reach the point of Faith, then we are no longer under the authority of of the schoolmaster.

Here comes part 2...
~D-Rice