Physical education in holistic Christian education : a Christian ethical perspective

Abstract

The historical-literary phenomena and all the facets of research have been carefully tested against Biblical principles and indices. During the journey through historical-literary material and in the quantitative and qualitative research that has been undertaken, the striving has continuously been to test each phenomenon, event and research data against the fundamental, Biblical principles that were enumerated in the second chapter, i.e. * The Bible makes a clear case that the whole person needs to develop and be developed for holy service; * God Himself is interested in the body as part of the entirety of the person He created and demonstrates and teaches through His Word against dualism; * Included in the sixth commandment regarding murder is the principle that one should not harm one's own body in any way, but rather nourish it (Vorster, 2004:123). * Christ and the apostles demonstrate in many ways the necessity to serve God as a whole person; * To be fit for service includes being fit to live before God as a well-balanced spiritual, emotional, cerebral and physical being; * Man's fallen-ness has led to imbalance, causing disfuntionality in stewardship and in training for stewardship; * Physical education, as declared in the central theoretical argument and as reasoned throughout the thesis on the basis of Biblical-ethical principles, should be regarded as essential to development of vicegerents under Christ.