Biblijno-teologiczne podstawy wychowawczego posłannictwa Kościoła

Abstract

Seeking a theological motivation for the pedagogical mission of the Church we discover deep interconnections and interpenetration of many problems, such as upbringing and faith, upbringing in the faith and purely human upbringing, or the Church as a pedagogical institution. The authors of the article try to make the necessary distinctions, spell them out and show the interconnections and the multifaceted nature of the realities involved. Then they present a theological and biblical motivation for the pedagogical mission of the Church. God’s saving action towards men has some characteristics of the upbringing process, so that it is possible to speak of a soterio-pedagogical action of God. The Scripture reveals true pedagogy on His part. The Church, which by the will of Christ is the universal sacrament of salvation, acts in a similar manner. The function of mediating in the soterio-pedagogical action of God and the resulting pedagogical mission are proper to the Church by virtue of the spiritual fatherhood which exists in it and which is closely linked with the apostolic mission of proclaiming the word of God. This is confirmed by the teachings of St. Paul and by tradition. The notion of the Church as Mother is another aspect, both an expression of and a foundation for the Church’s mediating function in the soterio-pedagogical action of God. The article has an introductory nature and stresses the need for deeper reflection.