By Mike Riddle
The fact that America was founded upon biblical principles is well documented. The Declaration of Independence makes reference to the Creator and being created. Our Washington, D.C. monuments have inscriptions that make reference to God and Jesus Christ. The original public school system used the Bible as a main reading source. Many of the first universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton trained students to be ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, over time, America has become a different nation. We no longer use the Bible in public schools, and our universities openly ridicule anyone believing in creation. What happened?
In January 1963, Democrat Congressman Albert S. Herlong, Jr. read into the U.S. Congressional Record a list of Communist goals for America. [1] The goals that pertain to education are listed below. Note: bracketed comments added by author.
“Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of ‘separation of church and state.’”
“Discredit American culture. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and divorce.” [many secular universities]
“Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as ‘normal, natural, and healthy.’”
“Infiltrate churches and replace revealed religion with ‘social’ religion.” [emergent church movement]
“Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a ‘religious crutch.’” [called evolutionism]
“Control schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum.”[called Common Core]
“Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.”
In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev (Premier of Russia from 1958 to 1964) stated: “Your children’s children will live under communism. You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept Communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of Socialism until you will finally wake up and find that you already have Communism. We won’t have to fight you; we’ll so weaken your economy until you fall like overripe fruit into our hands.”
Antonio Gramsci, Marxist and founder of Italian Communist Party and author of Prison Notebooks (a strategy for conquering America) said, “This [secular humanism] could be done with a long march through the institutions by infiltrating the schools, the churches, the universities, the law, the arts, theater, music, the news media, the courts, television, and the motion picture industry.”
The question is, “How successful has the communist party been in integrating their philosophy into the American public school system?” To answer this question we only need to observe what is being taught (or not taught) in our public schools today.
Schools today
disallow the singing of Christmas carols.
disallow prayer.
disallow the posting of the Ten Commandments.
disallow the name of Jesus at athletic events or school assemblies.
disallow the teaching of a Creator God.
Schools today
teach only one view of origins (evolutionism) and censor all opposing views.
teach abortion as an acceptable means of birth control.
teach tolerance (acceptance of all views except biblical Christianity).
teach moral relevance (no right or wrong).
promote gay rights (including same-sex marriage).
In 2014, the National Education Association (NEA) held a conference in Denver, Colorado. Below is a partial list of resolutions adopted by the association. [2] Note the similarity to the communist party goals.
The National Education Association (NEA):
Wants unlimited funding from the federal government.
Opposes homeschooling. The NEA believes that homeschooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. All curriculum should be provided by the state.
Supports early childhood education starting from birth.
Supports financial aid for undocumented students.
Promotes global education (UN standards over the U.S. Constitution). The NEA endorses that the United States should recognize and support the International Criminal Court as the authority.
Promotes the recognition of and participation in Earth Day.
Wants teachers to be exempt from censorship and lawsuits when teaching sex education. In addition, the NEA believes that to facilitate the realization of human potential, it is the right of every individual to live in an environment of freely available information and knowledge about sexuality.
Believes that all organizations that oppose the NEA should be labeled extremist.
Believes that competency testing should not be used as a requirement for hiring or promoting teachers.
I am not suggesting that all teachers endorse secularism in the schools or the Communist philosophy. What has happened is that the overall philosophy of the public education system as well as secular universities promote these concepts.
“Looking back, I realize that my church upbringing didn’t stand a chance against all of the immersive ‘education’ that I’d received.” Brian Rohrbough (Son Dan was murdered in the Columbine massacre), “Heavenly or Earthly Treasures,” IndoctriNation, 2012, p. 20.
A BIG question
Why has this been allowed to happen in the Christian culture (churches, schools, and homes)? There are several reasons. Some of these include:
Apathy
A lack of discernment in the church due to lack of good teaching
A lack of strong biblical teachers who hold to the authority of Scripture in our churches and Christian universities
A willingness to compromise in order to “get along”
What can be done?
First, we must recognize that we are in a battle. Second, we must recognize where the battle is taking place. The battle is largely taking place on two fronts:
The public education system and universities
The Bible’s foundation (Genesis)
The following quotes provide a summary of the devastating effects the public education system has had on our youth.
“Unfortunately, our schools are all too often indoctrination chambers where children come to be scrubbed of their trust of parents, their church, and their sexual identity, and are force-fed a diet of secularism and immorality.” Erwin Lutzer (Ph.D., Senior Pastor Moody Church, Chicago, Professor of Bible and Theology, Moody Bible Institute), When a Nation Forgets God, p. 224.
“In fact, the public school system has done more to undermine the basic principles of freedom, free enterprise, patriotism, and Christianity than any other single institution.” Marlin Maddoux (Founder of the USA Radio Network and Alliance Defense Fund), Public Education Against America, 2006, p. 76.
“The correlation is clear: If we continue to send our children to Caesar for their education, we need to stop being surprised when they come home as Romans.” Voddie Baucham, Jr. (M.Div., D.Min., D.D.), IndoctriNation, 2012, p. 263.
“I’ve seen the signs of war, and you have too. Yet to no avail. Too few of us have taken action. Too few seem to realize that the enemy is at our own back door. It is time to wake up and acknowledge that this is our war for the hearts of today’s teens and for the future of America. It is time now for us to get involved, not only as supporters but as warriors.” Ron Luce (President and Founder of Teen Mania Ministries), Battle Cry For A Generation, 2005, p. 20.
Since Christian universities are not properly training teachers for the battle and many churches have either compromised with the teaching of the world or decided to be neutral, we must do the training ourselves! This is the main reason Creation Training Initiative (CTI) was founded. Our mission is to train other Christians to teach biblical creation and apologetics. We do this by offering training courses specifically for this purpose.
“I can’t think of a more urgent need than enabling young people to understand their faith and preparing them to defend it against the onslaught of secular thought they encounter in their schools and in popular culture.” Charles Colson, Cited in, Battle Cry For A Generation, 2005, p. 16.
Christian education must be life-changing and prepare students to be able to defend their faith (1 Peter 3:15; Jude 3, and 2 Corinthians 10:4-5). It must enable them to share and defend the Gospel (become better evangelists – Matthew 28:19-20). Much of Christian education today is entirely too passive, and that is unacceptable, because Christianity is the most revolutionary force on the planet. It should never be boring, watered down so as to not offend people, compromised with the world, or ignore parts because they are too controversial.
It is time to take action. It is time to prepare the next generation for the battle they are in. It is time to equip an army of Christian educators.
What You Can Do
Become a prayer warrior
Get equipped for battle by receiving biblical training
Become a financial supporter of organizations engaged in the battle for our children’s hearts and minds
Creation Training Initiative (CTI) trains people in our 5-day Creation Apologetics Teachers College to be teachers of biblical creation and apologetics. We also offer shorter 1-day courses in biblical creation and teacher training. Plan to attend one of our shorter courses or attend the 5-day course. For more information about these courses go to our website: CreationTraining.org.
Reprinted with permission.
Mike Riddle is President of CTI, an Education Specialist, and an international speaker and educator on Christian education and apologetics. Mike is also an adjunct speaker for Answers in Genesis. He holds a degree in mathematics and a graduate degree in education and has been involved in creation ministry for more than thirty years. Prior to getting involved in creation ministry, he was a captain in the U.S. Marines and a national champion in track and field. Mike currently lectures and teaches worldwide on creation apologetics, Christian education, science and the Bible, and developing a biblical worldview. He resides in Northern Kentucky with his wife, Lesley.
Footnotes
1. Vol. 109, 88th Congress, 1st Session, Appendix, pp. A34-A35. For a complete list go to www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1595013/posts.
2. http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/nea-resolutions-2014-15.pdf
Volume 7 Issue 1 - The Renewanation Review
Comments