Exegete The Text

Quote...

2010-11-09T08:57:00.000-06:00

I am convinced that there are many things in religion and the Scriptures that are made difficult on purpose to try men, and to exercise their faith and scrutiny, and to hinder the proud and self-sufficient.

Jonathan Edwards

Building a new home!

2008-11-08T10:38:00.003-06:00

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything, but hopefully, that will soon be corrected. We have been building a new home and it has been consuming all of my extra time, but the project is nearing completion. Between my family, my ministry, my job and the new home project, I really haven't had time to do much of anything else. Anyway, I write this just to let you know that I will be back to finish the Educating Children Series, and then maybe starting something new!

In the mean time, visit the photo journal of our new home: http://pl.scarbrough.net/

Blessings!
-DS

FOR WHOM DID CHRIST DIE?

2007-11-28T10:12:00.000-06:00

A Question... For Whom Did CHRIST Die?

If the Father imposed His wrath due unto sin, and the Son underwent punishment for sin, then this was for:

All the sins of all men.
All the sins of some men, or
Some of the sins of all men.

In which case it may be said:

If the last be true, some of the sins of all men, then have all men some sins to answer for, and so shall no man be saved; for if God entered into judgment with us, though it were with all mankind for one sin, no flesh should be justified in his sight: “If the LORD should mark iniquities, who should stand?” Ps. cxxx. 2. We might all go to cast all that we have “to the moles and to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty,” Isa. ii. 20, 21.
If the Second, that Christ in their stead and room Suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the world. This is the truth!
If the first, why then, are not all freed from the punishment of all their sins?

You will say, “Because of their unbelief; they will not believe.”

But this unbelief, is it a sin, or not?

If not, why should they be punished for it? If it be, then Christ underwent the punishment due to it, or not. If so, then why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which he died from partaking of the fruit of his death? If he did not, then did he not die for all their sins. Let them choose which part they will.

What say ye?

Originally written by John Owen (1616-1683)

EDUCATING CHILDREN - ADDRESSING OUR PHILOSOPHY

2007-08-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

The first step in our effort to regain the control of our children's educational destination is get them back to the basics in both areas of academics and morals. Modern educators have gone to the extreme trying to find new ways to teach old subjects. They have been busy trying to re-invent the wheel; and now we're just rolling around on square stone blocks. When all the while, all we really needed to do is to use the perfectly round wheels that we already have; and that is, get back to the basics of education. But where should we begin?

Well, all education must begin with a basic philosophy. What is your philosophy of education? That is the first hurdle that we must overcome, and that is exactly where most parents get stumped right off the bat. This is where they get off the straight and narrow and onto some broad way that leads to destruction. This is not a difficult concept; the idea of a "philosophy of education" is really quite simple, especially if you are a Christian. Let us break this idea down a bit.

First, what exactly is a philosophy? Well, part of the definition of philosophy that is found in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that a philosophy is a "theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought."^[1] I actually prefer the definition found in the 1828 Webster's dictionary. It states that a philosophy is "Literally, the love of wisdom." Put in more practical terms, it says that a philosophy "is a general term denoting an explanation of the reasons of things." In other words, "why do you do what you do" – in modern day English! So for us, as Christian parents, a philosophy of education is simply the aim, the primary reason if you will, for why we educate our children. If we can answer this question, then we have found our philosophy of education.

In his book A Christian Philosophy of Education, Dr. Gordon Haddon Clark states that one of the greatest problems of the modern educational establishment is their inability to pick a particular aim of education. He says that "they generally speak of aims in the plural rather than the aim of education." To Dr. Clark, this is a "tacit admission of failure to find any one comprehensive aim. It is a failure to provide any criterion by which one subject should be included and another excluded from the curriculum."^[2] So what is your aim in educating your children? Again, if you are a Christian, then the answer should be simple. To find our aim, our primary goal, our philosophy of educating our children, we must turn to our primary source book, which of course is the Holy Bible. In Scripture we find, clearly stated the reason why God put man and woman together in the first place. In Malachi chapter 2, verses 14 and 15, the scripture tells us the outcome that God was seeking when He joined man and woman together - He desired a "godly seed!" So our number one goal, our aim, our reason for doing what we do, our Christian philosophy of education is simply this; to produce a child, who grows up to be a godly adult. If we can do this, then we have been successful, at least in God's eyes, in our educational endeavors, and pleasing God should be a Christian's only concern. Yes, it will be great if they learn to read and write along the way too, but let us not lose sight of our aim; the production of a "Godly offspring!"

OK, I can already hear you ask, if that is all we need to do, then why worry about academic subjects? Well, again, this is one of the benefits of having a philosophy of education. As Dr. Clark stated, it gives us a criterion by which one subject can be included in our child's curriculum, and another can be excluded. It not only gives us our desired end result, but it also gives us our general direction for getting where we want to be. In other words, it helps us define guidelines for how we will reach our desired goal. For example, since our goal is to produce a "godly seed", one of the first questions that we should ask is; what does a godly child look like? Well again, we turn to our primary source book for the answer. We turn to the Bible, and see if we can find out what it is God would have us look like, and when you do, you find in the book of Romans chapter 8, verse 29, that God has determined that His children will be made to look like Christ. There are many others, but this is a very good primary example. So, if that is what God desires, then that should be what we desire for our children as well, we should want to shape them and mold them to be a Christ-like as we possibly can.

So what are some of Christ's characteristics? Well there are many, but we will only select a few just to give you an idea of what we are trying to accomplish. In John's Gospel chapter 1 verse 14, we find that our Lord Jesus is full of grace and truth. So these would be two characteristics that we would want to instill in our children, and in doing so, we would want to base our lessons or our curriculum around achieving these desired results. For example, in order for our child to grow to be full of grace, they would need to learn to be servants and to be thankful at heart. They would need to be directed to have a grateful and thankful spirit. They would need to work along side us as we served and helped others in a gracious manner. They would need lessons on being courteous and well-mannered. This type of instruction requires a more practical, hands-on type of approach than what many are willing to give, but it would still be required none the less. The other characteristic we mentioned was truth. So what is truth? Well, it would simply be anything that was not false. It would be things that are correct, right, and absolute! To teach our children anything that is false, for example, teaching evolution is a fact, rather than teaching it is a humanistic theory would not be filling them with truth, and in turn, we would not be molding them in the image of Christ.

So our philosophy of education, not only gives us our desired aim or our target, it also helps us determine how we will get there. This, "how we will get there", this "route we will take", encompasses all the different things that will make up our child's curriculum. Things like communication skills, our general knowledge of mathematics or sciences, our understanding of history and the mistakes of the past, and all the other, practical, hands-on skills that they need to become more like Christ. All these things help us form our basic curriculum. So, as we expand our philosophy of education we begin to see more clearly why we do what we do, and that will help us determine exactly how we will accomplish it.

So what is your philosophy of education?

[1] Merriam-Webster Dictionary, (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated) 2005-2006
[2] Gordon Haddon Clark, The Works of Gordon Haddon Clark Volume 10, A Christian Philosophy of Education (The Trinity Foundation, Third Edition 2000) 14.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - THE PROBLEM AGAIN - LEST WE FORGET!

2007-08-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

So again, what exactly is the problem? Well, the real issue is parents; parents who have abdicated the educational responsibilities given to them directly by God. In modern day America, what was once the exclusive territory of the home and to some lesser degree the church has now become the almost exclusive territory of the government school system. Children are being turned over, for the most part, in blind faith by their parents, to be thoroughly indoctrinated by a totally secular humanistic system of education. All aspects of Christianity have been systematically removed from the public areas of our society, and no area has been harder hit than the American public school classroom. Many of today's parents have moved away from the biblical principles of education and have taken upon themselves, and their children, the principles of the world. John Macarthur, in his book, The Fulfilled Family, which is an exegetical look at Ephesians 5 and 6, states the problem perfectly. He says:

"Today's parents tend to be more passive and less involved in their children's lives than any generation in our nation's history. They have turned their children over to artificial, surrogate parents. Day-care centers, relatives, the television set, and the child's own peers often have far more influence on the moral and social development of today's children than parents do."

That, Macarthur says "is an abdication of the parent's duty before God." He says that the "Lord Himself gave parents – not schools, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, or anyone else – the primary responsibility for the nurture and admonition of [their] children."^[1] Macarthur is of course referring to Ephesians 6:4 which says "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." The original Greek word that is translated discipline in the English Standard Version is "paideia." In the original language it was used to pass along such meanings as: education, training or some form of disciplinary correction like: chastening, chastisement, instruction, or nurture, and this discipline was to be carried out, not by some surrogate, part-time fill-in, but by the father. And while the ESV translates the Greek word "pater" as father, it could have just as easily been translated as either parent, but no one else. You see if we believe the Bible is the literal Word of God, and take what it says to heart, then we can in no way interpret it to say that the schools are responsible for the education of our children. While Macarthur goes on to say that he is not suggesting that everyone should home school their children, he does say that all parents should remain intimately involved in every aspect of their children's lives, including school.^[2] The reason why Mr. Macarthur suggests that home school may not be for everyone is because he feels that some parents may not be qualified to home school their children. He said that some parents may not have the skill they need to teach the academic subjects. However, I would say that if God has entrusted you with children, then He will fully equip you for every aspect of your child's training needs. As Augustine prayed; "O God, command what you wouldst, and grant what thou dost command." In other words, if God calls us to do any task, even educating, then He is not going to leave us short handed in regard to our responsibility; He will thoroughly equip us for the job. All we have to do is by faith, trust in His sufficiency! But don't just take my word for it, as a matter of fact; Dr. Brian Ray quotes statistics in his book, The World Wide Guide to Home schooling, which shows that there is no significant relationship between student achievements and the teacher certification status, or education level of the parent.^[3] In other words, on average, home schooled children who have parents with little or no education tend to do just as well, academically, as those with highly educated parents. Even further, Dr. Ray states that even children who have parents that hold a state teachers certification tend to do no better that their counterparts who have parents that are not teacher certified. Now while there are other legitimate reasons why a parent may not be able to home school their children, there is absolutely no reason why they cannot be intimately involved in every aspect of their child's education. But for some reason, this has become the norm. We have somehow grown into a mindset where the "normal" thing to do is to pawn off our children to any and everyone who sets behind a desk and has a teaching certificate. And we do this, all because we can not or are not qualified to do the job ourselves; or at least that is what we are told. But the truth is, as Christian parents, we are not only qualified, we are commanded to carry out and oversee the entire education process of our children. Armed with this information alone, we must return to a biblical model of education if we ever expect to overcome the problems that are so rampant in our society today.

While having all this new information is helpful, just having an understanding of the problem will not bring about change. As Moses told the Children of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 5, he said "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.(Deuteronomy 5:1)" First we must listen, then we must learn and finally we must do! So the real question then becomes; what do we do about it? In order to develop the best solution, we must first make sure we are approaching it with a biblical prospective. We must make sure that we consider the problem in light of history; where did we come from? We must also consider where we were originally and how and when we got off track, considering all the mistakes of the past and also its successes, and then, in light of these facts, develop a solution based on the direction of scripture; one that will move us from where we are today to where we need to be tomorrow. All the time, being mindful of the fact that our solution needs to cover the primary issue of responsibility – helping parents take that responsibility - and also the secondary issues of, academics and morality. So with that in mind, let us make our best effort to solve the problem.

[1] John Macarthur, The Fulfilled Family, God's Design for Your Home (Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2005), 101.
[2] Macarthur, 102.
[3] Ray, 2004 - 2005 Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling, 78-79.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Where Are We Today?

2007-04-26T08:23:00.000-05:00

The current state of education is at a historic low. Academic trends have been moving down for years, and student's grades have followed. A quick look at standardized test scores reveal that America is no longer the academic leader that it once was. Even when the tests are watered down or the number of questions reduced, the results barely improve. In 1993, the $14 million dollar National Adult Literacy Survey found that even though most adults in the survey had finished high school, 96 percent of them still could not read, write, or do math well enough to go to college. That means there were only 4 percent could! Even more to the point, 25 percent of those that were surveyed "were plainly unable to read."^[1] Why? Because traditional methods of teaching the foundations of reading, writing, and arithmetic have been put out to pasture and replaced with trendy named experiments that continue to produce poor results.

Not only have academics suffered, traditional family values or common sense morals have suffered just as much if not more. The Bible and prayer have been totally exiled from the government school system, and along with them biblical morality, and with no moral standard, children are left to develop their own idea of right and wrong with the aid of programs like Values Clarification and other outcome based approaches. But what are the results? Have we created the ultimate utopian citizen? Absolutely NOT! Children are killing other children and teachers too. More and more children are becoming victims of violent crimes while at school, teen pregnancy has increased many times over, and a growing number of children are on drugs. One of the worse parts of this last crisis is that many of these children are taking some form of legal psychotropic drug like Prozac, Ritalin, Luvox, and Paxil. Things are truly looking grim. Our youth are in desperate trouble today and in need of being rescued. But only with a return to a Bible based educational system can we hope to save them.

A quick look at the major discipline problems in schools from just over a half a century ago reveals quite a change since that time. The top seven school discipline problems in 1940 were: talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of turn in line, wearing improper clothing and not putting paper in the trash can. In 1987, the same questions were posed again and these were the answers: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery and assault.^[2] But the truly sad part of all this is that the vast majority of parents, including Christian parents, never give their children's education a second thought. Institutional, state run, government education has, in just over 100 years, become the national norm. It has become a non-issue for the majority of parents! It has simply become what people do with their kids for seven to eight hours a day, five days a week. In his book "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools" Bruce Shortt asks of Christian parents: "Why are you educating your children in a pagan seminary?" He says "You're a Christian; you love your children; you know that the Bible instructs you to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Yet, you send them for their education to an institution from which all vestiges of Christianity were driven out long ago."^[3] So why do Christian parents do this to their children without ever considering the consequences? They do it, simply because that's how education is done today, and for some reason, most accept it without question.

Without a doubt, things are bad, and from the looks of it, they are not going to get any better by themselves. Left alone and allowed to continue on its same course, the educational system of modern America is doomed to a dismal failure, and in light of this, some kind of rescue effort is desperately needed. In his commentary for June 17, 2005, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary put it this way; he said "now is the time for responsible Southern Baptists to develop an exit strategy from the public schools." But exit to what? Do we move to a system of education that just mimics the public school system with a good dose of Christianity added in? No, that wouldn't be helpful. So where do we start? If the effort is going to be successful, we must focus our attention on the most critical areas first. For the government schools in modern America, the two primary areas of concern are: the academic and the moral. And while there are many other side issues, they all seem to stem from one of these two primary issues. So if the rescue effort is going to be even partially successful, it will need to focus on these two areas first.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Let's take a more in-depth look at these two areas of concern. First, what does this academic decline mean for our children and their future? It will likely lead to our nation being surpassed by other, better educated nations. Since it is already happening on the academic front, it will soon happen on the economic front as well unless some drastic changes are not made. Colleges and universities are already spending more and more time teaching remedial programs to their students than they are advanced courses. Businesses are spending millions to train employees in basic math and communication skills before they are even marginally qualified. The end result can only be a loss of jobs and market share in our hi-tech modern world.

But while the academic decline is a crisis in itself, the greater of the two issues is the moral decline. Overall as a country, we are teaching generation after generation that man can determine truth apart from God, and the end result of this can only be spiritual bankruptcy. With programs like values clarification, school-to-work, OBE, drug awareness education, graphic sex education, and many others, children are creating their own value system; they are creating their own standards for right and wrong, and as a result, violence is at an all time high. This was clearly seen in the events of recent days. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in late 2005, we saw video after video of looters; bands of five to seven young people, wondering the streets of New Orleans breaking into shop after shop, steeling whatever they could take. They were not after food and water, but things like new shoes, jewelry, electronics, and guns. But not only is violence on an upswing, sexual immorality is rampant as well. Homosexual clubs are becoming common place on the public government school campuses of America. Every kind of sexual deviancy is being taught and even sanctioned from the American classroom. Drug use is also on a rise. But this time, the most common drugs are not the illegal ones, but they are legal forms of psychotropic drugs such as Prozac, Ritalin, Luvox, and Paxil. So yes, things are looking bad, we must intervene soon. If we do not, we may not be able to reverse the damage.

However, there is a ray of hope. With alarm after alarm sounding over and over, many sleeping parents have finally been awakened. Many are finally taking notice of the magnitude of the situation and have started seeking educational alternatives. This new awakening has given rise to several new alternative forms of education. Charter schools, private schools both secular and Christian, and even a renewed interest in home schooling are all making a difference in the current crisis. But will it be too little too late? Only time will tell. But if we ever expect to see any real change in the educational environment of our nation, then we must return to seeking God's will as the ultimate direction for all of our educational efforts. The Bible clearly tells us that: "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."^[4] Only then, when we as Christian parents, return to a biblical model of education for our children; only then can we expect to see the positive results of God's intervening blessings. As Christian parents, we must do this; our children deserve it and our God demands it.

[1] Susan Du Plessis B.D., B.A. Hons (psychology), Dyslexia: Is the Shoe Perhaps on the Wrong Foot? , http://www.audiblox2000.com/dyslexia_dyslexic/dyslexia003.htm.
[2] Short, 176, and California Department of Education, in Sept, 1987, quoted in Homemade, http://www.bible.org/illus.asp?topic_id=965
[3] Shortt, 17.
[4] 2nd Chronicles 7:14.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Various Educational Alternatives

2007-04-03T07:46:00.000-05:00

While most of the new educational trends in America seem to be doing more damage than they are good, there is a bit of encouragement on the horizon. Many parents are finally waking up to the crisis of education in our country and are looking for alternatives to the traditional government school system. But what is out there? What are the options? The major problem for most parents is that they have little or no idea that there are other options available, much less any specifics about them. However, the truth is, for most parents, there are many options; options ranging from the so-called “Free” government schools systems, private schools, in-home tutoring and even home school. That being the case, we will attempt to shed some light on this dim subject by covering many of the more common of these options and highlight some of the pros and cons related to each.

The various options can be broken down into three basic groups. The first group will be the government options; including charter schools, magnet schools, and even virtual schools. Then there are the various forms of private education which include both secular and Christian schools. Finally there is the smallest, but growing group of options, the home school options. These include options for in-home tutoring, home schooling and other more creative combinations of home schooling combined with more “traditional” approaches. Some of these methods would clearly be preferred over others. Some are more difficult than others. But as parents, we need to be aware of our options and opportunities for educating our children.

So what are the options?

First of these options are those government related options. They are the various extensions of “public” government schools. Public schools, originally called “common” schools in this country, are typically those schools that get their funding entirely from the federal, state or local governments. In most cases, they have strict regulations regarding which students that they can and cannot admit. For the most part, public government schools are required to admit all students who live within the borders or boundaries of their assigned district. However, there are some newer “Alternative” forms of public education that are a bit more selective, a bit more flexible, to the extent that in some cases, they can even offer a little better educational alternative.

GOVERNMENT ALTERNATIVES:

The first government school alternative is known as the charter school. These schools began to appear in the early 1990s. They are basically privately run schools that operate with a mixture of state, federal and private funding. Since they still receive most of their funding from state and federal sources, they must adhere to the basic curricular requirements of the state they are in. However, they are free from many of the regulations that weigh down the performance of the typical government school. They are usually free to design programs that are more able to meet the specific community’s needs. One of the primary advantages of the charter school is that they normally cater to a group with higher academic standards. They tend to draw students from families that are more concerned about their children’s future. These students are on average more willing to learn, since they are encouraged by their parents, and are also better behaved. While charter schools would be a much better option than a typical government school, they are still part of the government system and are still under many of the same regulations as their traditional government school counterparts. They are also always entirely secular in nature. While many of theses schools employ Christian teachers, the law places limits on what they can do and say regarding their faith. This should be of a major concern to the Christian parent.

Another form of public education that is a bit non-traditional is known as the magnet school. Magnet schools are for the most part highly competitive, highly selective public schools. Magnet schools draw their students based on those interested in specific subject areas such as math, science or the arts. Most magnet schools have specific geographical boundaries or districts and like their normal “public” government school, they are also tax funded. Since they are tax funded, they are subject to many of the same rules and regulations as their unselective public school counterparts. However, since magnet schools can be a bit more selective when it comes to admitting students based on academic performance, they can weed out many of those typical bad apples that tend to spoil the whole bunch. While a magnet school might not be as good a choice as a charter school, they are still a better option than the typical government school. But again, this is a totally secular option. The Christian parent should keep this in mind when choosing this option.

One of the most recent additions to the various government school alternatives is an option known as the virtual school; AKA the state run or state managed home school. In light of the increasing popularity of home schooling, many states are coming up with creative ways to get children back into their government systems. In these programs, the state run school system will get the additional tax funding for the children, but the parents will still be allowed to educate them at home. So while the added burden on the school system is negligible, the added tax dollars are normally equaled to even greater than those for in-residence students. However, these state managed home schools are really nothing more than a government school extension programs. In these virtual schools, the state sets the curriculum, the state sets the standards, and the state oversees the promotion process. One of the major benefits to this type of educational program is that it is state and federally funded, so it relieves the individual parents of any additional expense, though they have already paid in the form of tax dollars, and also the time required locating and purchasing curriculum. It is also beneficial for those parents who want to directly oversee their children’s education and manage those peers that the child would normally come in contact with in a typical school setting. Another good aspect to this type of education is that parents can supplement the standard state supplied curriculum with other courses of study of their own choosing. These supplemental courses can be Christian in nature, and can be used to counter much of the humanistic indoctrination that they would normally receive from only using the state supplied curriculum. Parents could easily add a Bible course to their student’s workload to assist in their training. Though they would likely not get credit for it, they would still benefit from the additional instruction. The down side to this type of school is that, since it is government funded, it is still subject to all ridiculous, political correct, standards that their traditional government school counterparts are subject to. While the virtual school would be the absolute best of all the government school options, it is still ultimately controlled by a godless, secular humanistic system, and thus it can not really be trusted from a Christian parents’ prospective.

PRIVATE ALTERNATIVES:

Next in the list of available options are the various private schools alternatives. These are normally either secular schools or they are sponsored by some religious church body or denomination. All private schools will perform differently. Some are large, some are small. Some have sports programs, some do not. Some will be better for the student academically, while some will be better for the student morally. Some will even be better in both areas. While you might think that by being in a private school you would automatically be relieved from all the normal government rules and restrictions, you would be wrong. Because when it comes to the way a school operates within a given state, or which rules or regulations it must abide by, it will all depends on how the school is classified within the states system. Nationally, all private schools have several different classes or categories that they fall into. This is obviously dependant on the state that they are located in, because almost all states do it a little differently. But in essence, there are really only two basic types. State accredited and non-accredited, with several sub-categories within these two main categories. The accredited schools are those that receive some kind of state approval. These are the schools that will say they are better than all the others because they have passed some state standard. While in reality all this really means is that they are subject to some form of the state regulation regarding their choice of curriculum and also on which teachers and administrators they can hire. Typically state accredited schools can only hire state licensed teachers and administrators. It also normally means that regular government school teachers who move into this type of private school system can still retain their time toward retirement. They can even move back into a government school setting without any problems or loss of tenure. The non-accredited schools however are not subject to the states rules and regulations. They are entirely free to choose their own curriculum and to hire anyone they choose as teacher or administrator, regardless of whether they are state certified or not.

I often find myself reminding people that state “certified” does not necessarily mean “qualified”. Many of the so-called licensed or certified teachers in our government school systems are extremely under-qualified to teach the subjects that they teach. But when you try to test their skills or try to enforce some type of proficiency standard, the vast majority will hide behind the powerful educational union and cry foul. While there are some very talented and knowledgeable teachers in our state school systems, many of them can not even pass simple proficiency exams in their own area of expertise. So to have the freedom to hire someone that is qualified, but not necessarily certified, is in my opinion, a tremendous benefit for a school to have.

PRIVATE SCHOOL CATEGORIES:

Since I live in the state of Tennessee, and am most familiar with its rules and regulations, I will use it as an example. In this state, there are five categories or classes of schools. Category I schools are those that are State approved or accredited. These are the typical government school. The Tennessee Department of Education evaluates and inspects all of these schools to verify that they meet all state standards. Category II Schools are those that are approved by a state approved private school accrediting agency. There are several state approved accrediting agencies and each has its own set of standards for accrediting. After a school has been approved by one of these agencies, it is then considered to be state approved or accredited. This type of private school is really no different than the Category I public school. Category III schools are schools that have been approved by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. Schools that are approved by this association are also considered to be state approved or accredited.

These first three categories are those where the state has placed some type of restrictions on their curriculum, and on whom the school can hire as teacher and administrator. These last two types do not have these restrictions. So from a totally Christian prospective, these last two types of schools would be the preferred over the first three. Because only in one of these types of schools, are you totally free to follow the will of God without any restrictions from the state. Wile many of the approved state curriculums are high quality and Christian based, like A Beka Books or Alpha Omega, the state still has the right to change its policy and no longer allow these.

The second to the last category is the Church-related school. These are classified as Category IV schools in the state of Tennessee. State Law, T.C.A. 49-50-801 allows these schools to operate legally in the state of Tennessee as long as the school is operated by a church or bona-fide church organization. They also must be a member of one of the associations listed in the law. These associations are the same agencies that are approved by the state to do accrediting. However, having a membership with one of these associations and being accredited by them are two entirely separate processes. The first simply means that you meet a minimal set of specific guidelines for academic standards and have paid the associated membership fee. The later means that you have completed the accreditation process, in which case you would then be considered state approved or accredited and then have restrictions placed upon you. The Department of Education has no direct involvement with this section of Tennessee Law and, therefore, does not extend the title of accreditation to schools that seek the legal covering of church-related school. Finally there are Category V schools. These are simply schools that have received an acknowledgement to operate. Any school may contact the state directly for an application to operate a school. The school will not be accredited, and if the information supplied is satisfactory, the state will grant approval for that school to operate. While many schools operate successfully under this type of program, having the protection of a church-related status grants much more freedom in the day to day operations.

So with private schools, the type of school is very important. The type or category of the school will dictate the amount of freedom that the school has to operate. As far as cost is concerned, the sky is the limit. Some are extremely expensive, some are extremely affordable. Just as some are very sound academically, some are very poor academically. The best advice for anyone looking into a private school would be the same as for any other educational option. Be informed and be involved. Remember, God has given you the responsibility to educate your children. Even if you choose to get help with this process, you must still oversee the entire operation, and to do this, you must be involved.

HOME SCHOOL:

Finally we have what is considered by most to be the more creative schooling option. Although in-home schooling was the original or standard model of education in this country, it is now considered just one among many alternatives. This mode of education would include standard parent lead in-home education, in-home private tutoring, or even a combination of home school with some other form of private school. But for many, the first big question is; “Is it legal?” Because the majority of people just do not know the facts, but the fact is, while home school laws do vary from state to state, home schooling is actually legal in every state and in every territory of the US.[1]

So what is home schooling? Well home schooling is nothing more than teaching your child at home. While the laws for home schooling do vary from state to state, the statistics for successful home schooling in this country do not vary. According to Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, home schooling, which was once common in all nations, had almost become extinct by the mid 1970s. However in the last twenty years, home schooling has seen a dramatic reversal of that trend. Home education is actually enjoying a surge in popularity and success.[2] In a recent study, produced by Dr. Ray and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), called Home schooling Grows Up, Dr. Ray reported some very revealing statistics about home schoolers as compared to their traditional government school and private schooled counterparts. For example Dr. Ray found that the percentage of home schoolers that go on to college was much higher that that of non-home schooled children. He also found that those who were home schooled were much more likely to attend a public meeting such as a community planning meeting. Or that those who were home schooled were over twice as likely to vote in a national or state election as were those who were educated in some other fashion.[3] These are just a few of the many surprising statistics. There are actually many others that seem to show that children who are home schooled are better behaved, have better social skills, tend to excel academically, and become better citizens than children who are educated in some other more “traditional” fashion.

But how can we possibly teach our children at home? I wouldn’t know where to begin? I don’t know all there is to know about geometry or biology or world history! Well, the good news is that curriculum options for home schoolers have never been better. The only down side to what is offered today is the simple fact that there are so many good options. Companies such as A Beka Books, Alpha Omega Publishers, Bob Jones, ACE, and many others offer complete packaged solutions for home schooling. Some are traditional book solutions, others are computer based, some are offered as on-line classes, and some programs even offer an entire year of classes via DVD or satellite. Again, the choices are almost unlimited, and so are the prices. Some programs are very expensive and some are very affordable. There are even very creative programs such as the Charlotte Mason system, which is actually more of a philosophy of education than it is a program. Under this system, the entire curriculum is really nothing more than a list of good books that can be checked out from the local library. So with this system of education, you essentially end up with little or no cost at all.

Another aspect to home schooling that you will need to consider is the reporting requirements. These will also vary by state and even sometimes by grade. Some states are very lenient, and some are very strict, but almost all of them are different. Reporting requirements may also vary if you are part of a larger home school umbrella program or a home school academy. The important thing is to be informed about your particular home school laws or requirements in your state or local area. A great place to look for legal information is the Home School Legal Defense Association. Their web address is: http://www.hslda.org/. They are a “nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms.”[4] On their website, they offer a basic rundown of all state home school laws for free. They also have a very informative email newsletter that will keep you up to date on many home school related issues. If you join their organization one of their legal counselors will always be on hand to defend you in case you have any trouble you’re your local school board or truant officer.

One of the newer alternative forms of home education is an option known as the University Model School. These are schools that combine traditional home school education with traditional classroom education. Home schoolers will normally meet one or two days a week for different group classes and then the rest of the instruction is carried out in the home by the parent or teacher. The University Model Schools are great ways to supplement a typical home school curriculum with those specialty classes that may be out of reach for the less creative parents. That completes our look at the more common educational alternatives. There are still many other options and combinations of options that we could cover, but an exhaustive treatment of all the different options is beyond the scope of this book. A good general overview should be enough to wet your appetite and encourage you to dig in the specific area that interests you the most. Some of these options are better than others, but one thing is vitally important for all. If you, as a parent, are not involved in every aspect of your child’s education, it will not be successful – So BE INVOLVED!

[1] Ray, 2004 - 2005 Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling 162.
[2] Ray, 2004 - 2005 Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling 2.
[3] Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., Homeschooling Grows Up (NHERI, HSLDA, 2003), 3-5.
[4] About Page (Home School Legal Defense Association), http://www.hslda.org/about/default.asp

Thoughts on Family-Worship - A Book Review

2007-03-08T22:42:00.000-06:00

Alexander, James W. Thoughts on Family Worship. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publications, 1847.

James W. Alexander was the pastor of the Duane Street Presbyterian Church in New York. He was the author of at least five other books, including Thoughts on Preaching and Consolation: Addresses to the Suffering People of God. His book on family-worship is one of the most complete books available on the subject. It has been quoted extensively in many other books written on the same topic, including the book, Family Worship in the Bible, in History & in Your Home by Donald S. Whitney.

In the preface, the author states his reason and defense for writing the book Thoughts on Family-Worship. James Alexander, who was writing over one hundred and fifty years ago, seems to speak as if he were writing to counter problems of today. He states that he is in a “period when the world is every day making new inroads on the church” and “where it has especially invaded the household” (1). He says that along with things like “Sabbath observance, and the catechizing of children, Family-Worship has lost ground” (2). He also states that there are even reports of “ruling elders and deacons, who maintain no stated daily service of God in their dwellings” (2) It is to “awaken such to their duty” (2) that the author undertook to write this book.

The book itself is divided into eighteen short chapters. These are all arranged in a very logical fashion. The author begins the first chapter by discussing the nature, warrant, and history of Family-Worship. The next section of the book begins in the second chapter and ends with chapter thirteen. In this section the author discusses the influence that family-worship has on the various aspects of life; beginning with the individual, then moving to the family, and then others inside the household. From there he moves to those outside the family, to include guests, then the church, and finally the commonwealth. He finishes this logical section with a discussion of the influence of family-worship on posterity. In the next four chapters, the author gives some practical information regarding the actual act of family-worship. These chapters include some practical examples of a typical family-worship service in various types of households, and they offer suggestions on things to include and things to leave out. The author closes the volume by answering many of the common difficulties and objections that have been offered for neglecting the responsibility of family-worship.

The author begins his awakening call by establishing the biblical foundation for family-worship in the home. He skillfully uses both the Old and the New Testaments to prove his case. After laying the foundation based on Scripture, he then makes his appeal to history. He gives examples from the early church and also from the reformers. He then makes his final appeal to one of the historic confessions of the Christian faith; the Westminster Confession of Faith. This confession states that “God is to be worshipped every where, in spirit and in truth; as in private families daily, and in secret each one by himself” (25). After compiling all his evidence in favor of family-worship, the author is ready to move to its influence.

In this second section, which is by far the longest, the primary theme is the influence that family-worship has on the various aspects of life. The author first focuses on that area of life within the family itself. He begins by covering the effects on the individual, and on the parents and also on the children. According to the author, one of the most significant influences comes from simply reading the Word of God. He states, “The daily regular and solemn reading of God’s holy word, by a parent before his children, is one of the most powerful agencies of the Christian life” (62). This particular fact has been demonstrated to me personally as I have taken up this practice of family-worship in my own household. However, the effects do not stop within one’s own household, the author continues this section to give several other areas of influence, many of which I have also personally experienced. Of all the influences mentioned by the author, the final one is the most compelling, and that is the influence on posterity. Since God’s relationship to man is covenantal in nature, the author points out that this covenant is most easily passed from “father to son” (177) as can be clearly seen in the pages of Holy Writ. Examples of this are Adam to Seth, Noah to his sons, Abraham to Isaac to Jacob, and many others. As Scripture clearly states, “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39).

The next section is filled with practical information regarding how to carry out family-worship. This includes advice on what to do and what not to do. I found this portion of the book to be especially helpful as I looked to conduct family-worship in my own home.

In the final section, the author answers many of the common objections to conducting family worship. This includes such objections as “I have not time for family-worship” (250), “Our family is so small” (252), “The truth is, I am ashamed to begin” (255) and several others. In each case the author gives a more than adequate answer with practical advice on how to overcome each obstacle.

In summary, I will say this was a most excellent book. I have read many books on the topic of family-worship, and this one is by far the best. I would recommend this book to any adult Christian who is not currently practicing family-worship. Whether they are a family of one, or part of a very large family, there is information in this book that could be immensely helpful. However, even if the reader is already practicing daily family-worship, there is still plenty of material here that could be of value. James Alexander’s book is without a doubt one of the most thorough of all books on this particular topic. If I must say something critical about the book it would be; the only drawback that I can see is that it is well over one hundred and fifty years old. This being the case, the language, and some of the subjects and examples are a bit dated. Other than that, I would highly recommend this book. Many fathers and heads of household would greatly benefit from the information found in this book.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Modern Educational Trends

2007-02-02T09:19:00.000-06:00

With the likes of big government, and big labor unions molding and shaping the educational horizon, we couldn't possibly be going in the wrong direction. Could we? With all these billions and billions of dollars being spent on education today we should have the best educational system in the world. Shouldn't we? We spend more on education per student than almost any other country in the industrialized world,[1] so it must be going right. But is it? One might think so if all you did was look at who was backing all this education reform and how much they were spending as compared to the rest of the world. You might also think that, as long as you just listened to the education reformers and never look at any of the results. But the truth is, in spite of big government, and in spite of big labor, and in spite of all the billions and billions of dollars in spending per year, if you look at the results, you find American students filling in the last places in every academic area, and not just academics, moral values have also been on a decline for many years. It seems that the only thing American students excel in these days is self esteem. So while they can't perform as well on math or science tests, and while they know less about their own history as a nation, and while they continue to decline in reading and writing proficiency, and while they have little or no moral values, they still think they are doing well. So at least we're getting something for our money! But is it enough? Definitely not!

So is this a new problem. Well, not exactly. The problem itself is an old one, one that dates back, at least in this country to the mid 1800s. But although there has been discussion about the effectiveness of the American educational system for several decades, the official alarm wasn't sounded, at least not very loudly, until April of 1983; and oh what an alarm it was.

Eighteen months prior to this, on August 26, 1981, the then Secretary of Education, Honorable T. H. Bell, created the National Commission on Excellence in Education and then directed it to present a report on the quality of education in America, and that is exactly what they did. The report was titled "A NATION AT RISK: The Imperative For Educational Reform" and it took the country by surprise. While the majority of Americans believed we were doing well, the men and women who created this report had discovered the real truth, and they proclaimed it loud and clear. The report began with:

"Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world. This report is concerned with only one of the many causes and dimensions of the problem, but it is the one that undergirds American prosperity, security, and civility. We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago has begun to occur--others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments." [2]

It was a total shocker, it was completely unexpected. The American people had never dreamed that any other nation would be able to match us in education much less surpass us. But it had apparently happened right under our own noses. How? Why? Can it get any worse? Well, yes, because while the first paragraph of this report took us by surprise, the second paragraph made us angry. It said:

"If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have even squandered the gains in student achievement made in the wake of the Sputnik challenge. Moreover, we have dismantled essential support systems which helped make those gains possible. We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament." [3]

So what the report was essentially telling us is that we have in effect done something to ourselves that would have been considered to be an act of war if it were imposed on us by another nation. We would have been ready to go to war to protect our rights to give our children the very best education they could possibly get. But instead of fighting to keep something we might lose, we squandered away those very things we might otherwise have been willing to fight and even die for. We did it to ourselves and never even knew that it had happened.

So what's been done about it? Have there been any major changes in how we do education since the release of "A Nation At Risk?" Well yes, but they have all been much more of the same old thing. Big business and big government have teamed up like never before to combat this invisible enemy. But the problem is, they're losing the war, and it is becoming an increasingly more expensive endeavor. They continue to pour more and more of our money into this broken system and we continue to get less and less in return; reform after reform is introduced and paid for and still nothing changes, nothing improves. So what exactly are we paying for? Is it really the very best education that money can buy or have we been sold a bill of goods? Let's look at some of the current educational trends in modern America.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

First a look at communication skills… The ability to communicate is a fundamental skill that is needed by all students. In one way or another, language, whether written, spoken or read, is how we communicate. Without it we couldn't possibly get along in life. We couldn't communicate with each other, we couldn't pass things on, and it would make learning anything new extremely difficult. We would in essence, be stuck in a rut with no way of escape. What would likely occur is that, other countries, countries with a much better grasp of their own language and communication abilities, would likely begin to surpass us. Surpass us in things like technology, manufacturing, and business in general, and that is exactly what has happened. We have literally lost billions in our gross national product,[4] all because we are falling short in education. Communication is one of the most basic educational skills needed, so how is it being taught in the American schools? Well, the most popular trend in the Language Arts arena is what is known as the "Whole Language" approach.

The Whole language approach to reading instruction is currently the most widely used method of teaching reading in the public school systems of the United States. Its development dates to the early 1930s when John Dewey, William S. Gray, and many other educational experts decided to do away with the phonics based approach to reading. Up until this point, from about 1836 till the 1920s, the most widely used text book in America was McGuffey's Eclectic Reader series by William Holmes McGuffey. It was reported that more than 120 million Readers were sold during this time period. McGuffey's reader stressed religion and its relationship to morality and the proper use of knowledge.[5] They also relied heavily on phonics based training for instruction in reading, beginning with the primer or introductory book. But to the education reformers, these books were too strict, too demanding, and the experts felt they might lead to a bad experience in reading, thus giving the child a poor start. So McGuffey's Eclectic Readers were replaced with books like those from the Dick & Jane series, books that contained carefully screened vocabulary lists and lots of colorful illustrations to help describe the action.[6] With these new books, children could be taught to read complete stories and they could grasp complete words and sentences, without having to learn all the boring rules associated with teaching phonics. This new approach was called "look-say" or the "whole word" approach. The primary reason behind the use of this approach is that researchers discovered that experienced readers could grasp the meaning of entire words all at once. In other words, when experienced readers, those who have been reading for some time, pick up a new book and begin to read, they don't normally spend time sounding out the words, they just read them, the whole word at a time. They also discovered that when children talk to each other, they normally do so with complete words, and as they do, they normally don't stop and give any noticeable attention to the individual sounds that make up those words; they just say the complete word. So because of these reasons, the educational experts felt it unnecessary to teach children to read by teaching them the component sounds of words, which is the phonics approach. Why spend all that extra time, when you could simply bypass that step entirely and move directly into teaching them the "whole language"? Besides, this new whole language approach is much more compassionate than the drill and repetition necessary for intensive phonics training. Drill and repetition are after all very boring and would likely inhibit the proper emotional growth of the child or possibly discourage the child that is being subjected to this type of training, and discouraged children couldn't possibly learn to read. Could they?

Well, this all sounds good, except it completely ignores the facts. A child that is taught to read with the whole language approach has done so before he learns the mechanics of reading. He can read and say words, but he doesn't know why.[7] Adults that already know how to read and already know the mechanics or rules of reading, have the ability to pick up new words without having to verbally recite the rules. Also, children whether they give any conscious attention to the individual sounds that make up those words or not, still go through the same process to create the sound. The key is, once they have the rules in memory, they have no need to recite them, they come out instinctively. That is how the phonics approach to reading works. Children are first taught that each letter has an associated sound and then they are taught that they can decode the words by sounding them out. Traditionally, a child that had been taught phonics for a couple of semesters and who has mastered the concepts could easily have a vocabulary of 24,000 words. But a child being taught using the whole language approach would have a much smaller vocabulary. For example, the 1930 Dick & Jane pre-primer only taught a total of 68 different words.[8] The concept is simple, give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he can feed his family for the rest of his life. The same is true with reading. Give a child some words and he can read that book, but teach the child phonics and he can read any book written in his language by using his phonics based rules.

So if children aren't being taught to read, then how are they learning to write? Well the answer is simple, they are not. Inventive spelling is another one of the most popular teaching techniques used in modern America. Today, teachers are instructed to not correct spelling errors. In fact, this type of creativity, the misspelling of words that is, is permitted and in many cases even encouraged.[9] But why, why would we encourage misspelled words or not correct spelling errors on children's papers? Well according to the professional educators who promote "inventive spelling"; they say that this type of creativity, this freedom to spell words however they want, encourages children to write more. Another problem with the restrictive approach, the only one right way approach is this; to tell a child that there is only one way to spell a word would be too limiting or constraining; it would not encourage enough creative thinking. Besides, once they find the real joy in writing, and start using their new found skills, they will eventually learn the right way to spell words. It's a lot like osmoses! By just doing it over and over, all the proper spelling and grammar rules will just pop into their head. It's really all part of the holistic approach to language.[10] At least that is what the educational professionals that promote this philosophy will tell you, and they should know, after all, they are the professionals. It is almost as silly as the new trend to grade all papers in purple, or some other warmer color, a color that's less offensive than red. I mean really, we wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by telling them they got something wrong would we? WELL OF COURSE WE WOULD! That's one of the primary purposes of education! Passing on a truth to someone who doesn't have it! But I guess for the education reformers, the truth is really just whatever they want it to be.

MATH:

So what about math? There's not really more than one way to teach math is there? Well, actually there is. The date was Friday, October 4, 1957, and the number one enemy of the United States was the Big Red Monster of Communism, AKA, the Soviet Union. But on this night, we learned via the evening news that our greatest adversary had put an object into earth orbit ahead of us. They had beaten us in the space race with the successful launch of the Sputnik I satellite. It was the world's first artificial satellite and was about the size of a basketball. It weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth. With the launch of the Sputnik I, new political, military, technological, and scientific developments were ushered in as our country marked the official start of the space age and the space race.[11] In light of this tragic defeat, our then president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, decided that he would correct the situation by calling for more funds for public education. He wanted to bolster support for math, science and foreign language programs. So in 1958 the U.S. Congress, who was determined to keep the U.S. on the forefront of technology and development, passed the $1-billion dollar National Defense Education Act.[12] This was the first act of it kind; it was the first time that the federal government stepped this deep into the public education arena, an area that was the normal territory of the individual states. But never the less, this was a welcome act for a country seeking to get back into first place. The National Defense Education Act paid for things like student loans, scholarships and even scientific equipment for schools. It also emphasized the study of math, science and foreign languages, and with this new emphasis, a "new math" was born. But although the "new math" of the 60s wasn't much more than a new emphasis on old mathematics, it did encourage many educators to start looking for new ways to teach the old subject. Big names such as the General Electric Corporation and the National Science Foundation, with the encouragement of the Department of Education, were devoting much time and money into developing and promoting "New Math". But schools still had the problem of teaching it. They needed a newer, new math if the students were ever going to make any real progress. This prompted many in the academic community to devote much of their time and resources toward the problem as well. One of the better known projects was one that was carried out at Yale and Stanford by Ed Begle and the School Mathematics Study Group.[13] Some say that this group can be credited for creating the grandfather of the new "New Math." But the problem with this new-new approach was that they applied many of the same "whole" principles to mathematics that had been applied to language just a few decades before. They were looking for a short cut to learning, and in their new-new math, they found it. This new-new integrated approach to teaching math emphasized group discussion, essays, and later calculators and even, you guessed it, guessing! It also de-emphasized basic skills and the direct instruction, the only things that were truly necessary to help children learn the math.

As part of a Congressional debate on education legislation, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) gave a speech on the Senate floor about the mathematics education reform movement. Based on a study of 8th graders published in 1996, it was discovered that United States ranked 28th in average mathematics performance in the world against other major industrialized nations. Also according to this same study, Japan ranked third. Senator Byrd blamed this situation on the current approach to teaching mathematics in our schools. Regarding this new-new math, Senator Byrd said:

"Apparently the concept behind this new-new approach to mathematics is to get kids to enjoy mathematics and hope that that "enjoyment" will lead to a better understanding of basic math concepts. Nice thought, but nice thoughts do not always get the job done." [14]

If you think you have heard this before, it is probably because this is the same nonsense that is said about whole language, and since it does not work for language, I don't think we should expect it to work any differently for math? Never the less, the educational reformers continue to promote it. But Senator Byrd was obviously not convinced. As the discussion continued, the focus turned toward a text book titled "Secondary Math: An Integrated Approach: Focus on Algebra." The book was produced by Addison-Wesley, a well known public school text book publisher. This book had 5 "algebra authors," 20 "other series authors" and 4 "multicultural reviewers." This in itself made the book suspect to Senator Byrd; the idea that an algebra book even needed multicultural reviewers or why were there 4 times as many "other series authors" than there were "algebra authors" in an algebra book? But the real icing on the cake was the opening section titled "Getting Started" with the subheading "What Do You Think?" it stated:

"In the twenty-first century, computers will do a lot of the work that people used to do. Even in today's workplace, there is little need for someone to add up daily invoices or compute sales tax. Engineers and scientists already use computer programs to do calculations and solve equations." [15]

So just exactly what message were they trying to get across with this statement? Senator Byrd seemed to think that it was "Don't worry about all of this math stuff too much. Computers will do all that work for us in a few years anyway."[16] So is this really what we want to teach our students? Well, apparently it is, because it is one of the most popular trends for math instruction in the modern American public school. So popular in fact that, in 1992, the state of California formally adopted this new integrated approach to math for their state wide K-12 math programs. But the results were not what they expected. Not only did it result in lower math scores, but it also resulted in a state wide increase in remedial college level math, and an increase in the failure rate for freshmen taking the state college level math entrance exams. David Klein, a professor in the Department of Mathematics at the California State University at Northridge, stated that, as a result of the overall lower math skills of students across his state, the percentage of entering freshmen failing the entry level math tests has "steadily increased from 23% in 1989 to 54% in each of 1997 and 1998."[17]

In his book "None Dare Call It Education" John A. Stormer gives many other glairing examples of the kind of math problems that are plaguing our children in the public school system today. One such example is that of the plight of a Pennsylvania parent who called a member of her local school board to discuss a question that was on a math paper that her child had brought home. The question was: "there were four birds in the nest and one flew away. How do you think the bird that flew away felt?"[18] Who cares how the bird felt! What in the world does this have to do with teaching math anyway? Absolutely nothing - and if this were not so tragic, and if it were not such a wide spread problem in our public school systems today, it would almost be funny. But the truth is, this new approach to teaching math, whether it goes by the name of "whole math", "new-new math", "fuzzy math", "integrated math", "multicultural math" or what ever other label it's given to disguise it, is a growing trend in our math classes today, and the potential results are devastating!

HISTORY:

OK, language instruction has problems, and math class is not doing so well either, but what about history? Isn't history just a set of facts written in stone that we teach to our children so that they can learn from the mistakes of the past? Well, yes. But the history class of today is quite different than the one sixty or seventy years ago. Prior to the 1930s, it would not be uncommon to find stories of historical figures such as Joseph, Moses, King David, Ulysses, Alexander, Horatius, Cincinnatus, Siegfried, Arthur, Roland, Alfred the Great, Richard the Lion Hearted, Robert Bruce, William Tell, Joan of Arc, Peter the Great, Florence Nightingale,[19] and many other great figures of our past. But history has gone through some of the same transformations as the many of the other subjects taught in the public school system. In fact, history was the subject that the educational reformers started with first. Since the 1930s, history has been making a slow transition from a study of historical facts and events into a new subject called "social studies." Harold Rugg, an associate of John Dewey at Columbia University stated, if "A new public mind is to be created. How? Only by creating tens of millions of individual minds and welding them into a new social mind. Old stereotypes must be broken up and new climates of opinion formed in the neighborhoods of America,"[20] and the place to start was the American history book. It was no longer enough to simply teach history as history. The content of history must be selected based on the pupils own immediate needs and the general social significance[21] of the topic or topics being taught. The goal of this new curriculum would not be to teach the events of the past, but to teach good citizenship. All the great historical figures were replaced with common every day people and their humble situations. It was no longer appropriate to give children examples of outstanding people that they could look up to, because they needed simple people that they could relate to. This, according to Mr. Rugg and many of the other educational reformers, is how the new history should be taught. To repeat a not-so-famous quote, "They keep finding new ways to celebrate mediocrity!"[22] But while many thought Mr. Rugg was justified in rewriting the history books for a new generation, and filling them with "mediocrity," there were many that stood in opposition. Groups like the American Legion, the Advertising Federation of America, and the New York State Economic Council all voiced their dissatisfaction with these new textbooks. While this did lead to many school boards dropping the new Rugg textbooks, there were already many more socially correct text books waiting to pick up where Mr. Rugg's and his new social studies textbooks left off.

VOCABULARY:

Not only has the content changed to promote a new political system and a new social order, but many texts were edited simply because they were found to be "offensive" to one minority group or another. As the idea of relativism and political correctness began to emerge in the 1960s and 1970s a new round of attacks started against traditional education; attacks that are still continuing today and they seem to get even more ridiculous with each passing day. So what do you do when you have to please everyone? Well, you either ignore the offensive parts of the textbook, you tear out the offensive page, or you rewrite the books to say what you want them to say so that no one gets mad, and it is the last option that seems to be the modern trend. But not just in history books, it is happening in every textbook and in every subject. Remember the report from Senator Byrd? His big question was "Why [do] we need multicultural review of an algebra textbook?"[23] Well, the answer is clear, to make sure that the language used in the book is not offensive to any one particular group of people. So whether we like it or not, all textbooks must receive the seal of approval from some multicultural review board out to protect the rights of the latest minority group. These reviewers are the people that Diane Ravitch calls the "Language Police." Here is a sample list of some of the words that have been banned from our children's textbooks, along with the reason for their banning:

Abnormal (banned as demeaning to persons with disabilities)

Aged (banned as demeaning to older persons)

America/Americans (use with care, because it suggests "geographical chauvinism" refer instead to people of the United States)

Black/blacks (banned as a noun)

Brave (banned as offensive when it refers to a Native American person)

Colored (banned as offensive, when it refers to specific group)

Congressman (banned as sexist, replace with member of congress, representative)

Devil (banned)

Fisherman (banned as sexist, replace with fisher, angler)

Gay (banned, as it suggest homosexual, replace with happy)

God (banned)

Homosexual (banned, replace with person, child)

Housewife (banned as sexist, replace with homemaker, head of the household)

Idiot (banned as offensive to person with mental disability)

Mothering (banned as sexist, replace with nurturing, parenting)

Provider (banned as a synonym for husband)

Repairman (banned as sexist, replace with repair person, maintenance person)

Satan (banned)

White (banned as adjective meaning pure)

Workmanship (banned as sexist, no replacement)[24]

This is just a small sample of the madness of these so called language police - the list goes on and on. But not only have single words been edited out of the text books, but entire topics have been labeled taboo and banned as well. Topics such as behavior that could lead to dangerous situations, e.g., children should not go with strangers, the subject of conflict with authority (parents, teachers, law), or things like Crime, Divorce, Drinking, Lying or duplicity of any kind.[25] Teachers are no longer allowed to say something is morally wrong. They can tell a child the consequences of bad behavior, simply because there are laws governing how crimes are punished, but they can not approach the subject from a moral prospective. Even references to Christmas, Easter and Hanukah are now all to be avoided. The traditional merry Christmas and Christmas break have been replaced with things like happy holidays and winter break. The classic "Away in a Manger" has been replaced with "Here Comes Santa Clause" or "Jingle Bells." We have gone to the extreme to censor every form of "possibly" offensive language from every area of the government public schools and their textbooks, and no subject has been left untouched. We are becoming obsessed with pleasing everyone. As long as the group you're pleasing is politically correct enough and acceptable enough to the desires of the educational reformers. Christianity for example is one of those groups that are considered to be too inclusive, or too closed minded and therefore cannot be tolerated. We tolerate all views they say, but all views obviously do not include Christianity.

So how are these current trends affecting our children? How can you teach a child that "We hold these truths to be self-evident" and that "all men are created equal" and that all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights", if God and creation are taboo subjects and can not be mentioned in the classroom or the text book? How can we teach morals to children if there is no standard on which to base these morals? Well, the truth is, educational reformers have come up with a new standard, or at least a replacement standard; a replacement that grew naturally out of the ideas and philosophies of those men who shaped modern education. Ideas like those of the Unitarian Horace Mann, where morals should be taught, only taught without those individual trappings of religion that tend divide us. Or ideas like those of Atheist Charles Darwin, who in his book "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle of Life," popularized a particular view of evolution; a view which teaches that man answers to no one but himself, because there is no creator God; a view that has been taught over and over in the government school classroom. Or even ideas like those of the Humanist John Dewey who replaced the supremacy of God with the supremacy of man, and through the propagation of progressive education techniques that taught that the value of anything is based only on the quality of the experience. In all of these, morals are basically boiled down to be totally relative to the immediate situation. In the modern vernacular, they call it "Values Clarification." It is a concept that is based on a 1972 book with the same title by Sidney Simon, Leland Howe, and Howard Kirschenbaum. The book was designed to "engage students and teachers in the active formulation and examination of values" but "it does not teach a particular set of values."[26] It taught that what was moral or right to one group may or may not be moral or right to another. What was right or wrong, was completely dependant upon whom you were and where you were located. It completely removed the standard of God and the Bible, and replaced it with a new standard of YOU; in other words, it is up to each individual to determine his own value system. But in his book, "Which Way to Educate?" author and Christian educator Philip May stated the truth so clearly when he said that "What the Bible says on the subject of morality is undeniably applicable to the upbringing of children and young people." He goes on to say that the unfortunate problem is "many people today are ignorant and confused about Christian morality. Most children are now growing up unaware [that there is a set] of moral standards based on the law of God."[27] Why, because those moral standards, by law, cannot be taught in the government "public" school system of modern America. They have been edited out of the modern American textbook, and completely removed from the curriculum because they have been found to be offensive to one group or another. So the results of many of these modern trends are not only generation after generation of academically bankrupt children, but also generation after generation of morally bankrupt children.

So what else has our government done to help? What reforms have they implemented to help us solve the problems identified by "A Nation At Risk?" Actually there have been several. Over the last few decades our government has been very active in promoting education reform. But exactly what kind of reforms are they promoting? Well, the first of these major new reforms are those designed to create a national workforce of skilled labors. They are being carried out under the Goals 2000 Educate America Act (HR1804), the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (HR2884), and the Improving America's School Act (HR6), all of which were passed and signed into law under the Clinton administration in 1994.[28] Lumped collectively under the name of Outcome-Based Education or OBE for short, these programs are not designed to directly improve academics or increase morality, but are focused instead on modifying children's behavior and preparing them to be the workforce of tomorrow. This, according to the government reformers, should result in improved academics and morality. The Littleton, Colorado school system was one of the first test bed systems that the NEA and the government used to experiment with this new educational model. The program was implemented there in the late 1980s. It was basically a testing ground for many of these various educational theories. In 1987 the Colorado Eagle Forum produced a video in which Tara Backer, a student of Columbine High School in Littleton, spoke at length about the focus on death, dying and suicide in her sophomore classes.[29] She explained that the topic of death was integrated into many of her courses. She stated that death was made to look so glamorous that living was difficult, and that reincarnation would likely solve students' problems. So how well did the program do? On November 3, 1993, parents who were part of the Littleton school district voted by a two-to-one margin to oust the pro-OBE school board members and replace them with members who favored a more traditional "back-to-basics" approach to education.[30] Obviously, to the majority of the Littleton school board, this experiment was not successful. One can only judge by what would appear to be very damaging and lasting results. On April 20th, 1999, what is now known as the Columbine High School massacre, occurred in Littleton, Colorado. Two students, who had been indoctrinated with OBE and Values Clarification type teaching techniques, came to school that day with two twenty pound bombs, two sawed-off shotguns, a 9mm semi-automatic carbine, and a 9mm AB-10 semi-automatic pistol. The results, thirteen dead and twenty-four injured, not counting the two deceased shooters. They had decided to take the cowards way out and committed suicide.

But even in spite of this and the growing number of other like occurrences, many people have not linked the violent behavior of children in the classrooms to the material that is being taught to them. But the sad truth is, if you teach children that they have descended from animals, why should you not expect them to act like animals. If you teach a child that he can come up with his own value system, then why are we shocked when he does exactly that! But for some reason, the Federal Government still does not get it. Their idea of what is wrong is always, we must not be spending enough money on education. But we are now under a new administration, we have a Republican President, and a Republican controlled House and Senate, they must be doing a better job, right? Well not exactly, while the Democratic Clinton administration set aside billions and billions in tax dollars toward their various OBE type education reform programs, the Bush administration would not be outdone in the area of education reform. The latest in government innovation in education is known as the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001, (HR1). As a result of this Act, there are four educational objectives that dominate President Bush's agenda for education, they are: accountability, standards, testing and choice.[31] The one-thousand plus page NCLB education document combined a big spending increase with an increase in conservative buzzwords. The spending increases seemed to please the Democrats and the many conservative buzzwords that were included, such as "accountability," "standards," and "testing," seemed to be enough to please the Republicans. It all sounded good anyway, and everyone was happy. But what has it really accomplished for education? What kind of return are we getting for our lofty investment? Well so far, it has only cost us a lot more money in the form of tax dollars and has not delivered any real improvements in education. Not to mention the fact that it has tightened the reign of government control of the local education system. To me, this would be the opposite of choice. But the government still insists that their new way is much better than the "old" one, which is really no different than the "new" one. But the good news is, many local educators are coming up with ways to get around all these new standards for accountability. They are not letting these new standards of educational excellence keep them from the business as usual process of public education. Instead of improving the teaching methods to improve the test scores, the Texas State Board of Education for example has reduced the number of questions students must answer correctly in order to pass their exams.[32] So now more students pass, and the state gets more funding, but are students learning any more? Absolutely not! They are not learning more simply because the methods have not changed. No real reform is happening. Because the ones doing the reforming continue to ignore the time tested and proven methods for teaching traditional basic education and continue to look for exciting new methods that always seem to fall short, but sound so good in a sales pitch.

Another part of the "No Child Left Behind" Act is that more funds are being set aside for Mental Health Integration. Millions of dollars have been earmarked specifically for this new trend to help improve our schools and our students. It is designed to give more aid to the handicapped and those considered to be "At Risk." Now again, this all sounds good up front, but exactly who are the handicapped, and what are they really "At Risk" of? Well, the truth is, the majority of the handicapped or "At Risk" students that this funding goes to help are those considered to have a form of mental illness known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It is actually the most diagnosed mental illness in America. These are the students that, according to the federal government, are the most "At Risk". So what exactly is ADHD? Well, ADHD was established as a mental illness back in 1987 by a vote of a committee of psychiatrists belonging to the American Psychiatric Association (APA). According to the APA's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), there are two basic types. One characterized by inattention and the other by hyperactivity-impulsivity.[33] So how can you tell them apart? To me, both of these things would go together; at least they would if you were a "normal" child. Both of the words inattention and hyperactivity seem to describe my children very well. Well, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center and the National Institutes of Mental Health, here are some of the diagnostic criteria for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:

1. Should have 6 or more of the following symptoms of inattention, persisting for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

Often fails to give close attention to detail, makes careless mistakes.

Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play.

Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.

Often does not follow through and fails to finish tasks.

Has difficulty organizing tasks and activities.

Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained mental effort.

Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities.

Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.

Is often forgetful in daily activities.

2. Should have 6 or more of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity persisting for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

Often fidgets or squirms when sitting.

Has difficulty remaining seated when required to do so.

Often runs about or climbs excessively in inappropriate situations.

Has difficulty playing quietly.

Is often "on the go," acts as if "driven by a motor."

Often talks excessively.

Often blurts out answers to questions before they have been completed.

Has difficulty awaiting turn.

Often interrupts or intrudes on others.[34]

Now, I'm not sure, but I do not believe I've ever actually met a child that wouldn't pass, or rather fail, at least half of this list, and most would definitely qualify for all nine. So does that make all children mentally ill? Well, maybe not, but it's a good excuse if you are looking for a large group of lab rats. According to the official NEA Journal, they "predicted" in 1969 that a "New drama will play on the educational stage as DRUGS are introduced EXPERIMENTALLY to improve in the learner such qualities as personality, concentration and memory. The application of bio-chemical research findings, heretofore centered in the infra-human subjects, such as fish, could be a source of conspicuous controversy when CHILDREN become the objects of EXPERIMENTATION."[35] So as we can see, the NEA has been looking for a legal way to experiment with children for many years, at least since 1969. So now, with "No Child Left Behind," all they have to do is have some under-qualified "public" school counselor diagnose a child as "mentally ill," and then they can legally experiment on them with psychotropic drugs. At least they can as far as the Federal Government is concerned, and once they start experimenting, with drugs like Prozac, Ritalin, Luvox, or Paxil, they can then even have the Federal Government pick up the tab with tax payer's money. All too easy!

Another interesting aspect is that it is a rather new phenomenon. According to a report given November 1, 2000 to the Texas State Board of Education, in 1970, a best guess was offered that 150,000 children in the United States were taking Ritalin. A realistic estimate for 2000 was 5,000,000. The report went on to say that since Ritalin represents only 70% of the total prescriptions for amphetamine-type drugs, we can add the other 30% and we have about 7,000,000 school-age children in this country on stimulant, psychotropic drugs. That is about 45 times greater that the 1970 figures. That is a huge increase in the number of children on prescribed stimulant drugs in the last three decades.[36]

So is this some kind of frightful new behavior pattern for children? Are we just now finding out that children have a hard time sitting still? Or are the educational reformers just now getting tired of dealing with "normal" children and are in need of a new way to enforce their mind control and social conversion? In "The Sunday School Manual" a book published in 1923 by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, L.P. Leavell stated in his discussion of the "beginner" pupil that:

"The beginner is restless. Restlessness is bodily energy expanded aimlessly or without direction toward definite ends. It is a spending of bodily powers rather than a using of them. Possibly the question most often asked by the little child of its mother is "What can I do?" The casual observer notices first of all the wiggling and fidgeting of a child. Parents and teachers often say "Be still" and "don't" Nature says "Do." " [37]

Was Mr. Leavell talking about ADHD, was he talking about a sick, abnormal, unhealthy child? Absolutely not! He was merely talking about the activity of a normal healthy growing child. He goes on to explain the cause behind the perceived problem, he says:

"Why is the little child so restless? Because it is growing. It must exercise. The heart pumps away at a powerful rate, sending the blood bounding to the extremities, which are not far away. The child must work off the energy generated. It is nature's provision against one-sided development. " [38]

So according to Mr. Leavell, a restless, wiggling, fidgeting, and questioning child is a normal healthy growing child. However in today's society, this child is considered to be "At Risk" and in need of medication!

These are many of the modern educational trends that have been sweeping America for the last century. Some are definitely scarier than others, but none would be what I would call beneficial. But whether they are beneficial or not, these are the trends that are in the traditional government school system of today. So is there no way out? Are we, as parents, stuck with a monopolized system that can not improve itself? Well not exactly, there are alternatives. In the next chapter we will look at many of the educational alternatives that are available to parents today, some of which are better than others.

[1] Report on education spending per primary school & secondary school students (Copyright NationMaster.com 2003-2005), http://www.nationmaster.com.
[2] National Commission on Excellence in Education, A NATION AT RISK: The Imperative for Educational Reform (April 26, 1983).
[3] National Commission on Excellence in Education.
[4] Sykes, 24.
[5] History Unwrapped – June 2005, (2005 American Vision), http://www.americanvision.org/osafarchive/june2005.asp
[6] Ravitch, Left Back, 253.
[7] Sykes, 102-103.
[8] Sykes, 102.
[9] Stormer, 6.
[10] Sykes, 93.
[11] Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator, Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age, February 21, 2003 http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/
[12] Edward Willett, Sputnik (1997), http://www.edwardwillett.com/Columns/sputnik.htm.
[13] Morris Kline, Why Johnny Can't Add: The Failure of the New Mathematics (St. Martin's Press, 1973), chapter 9
[14] Senator Robert Byrd, A Failure to Produce Better Students (Congressional Record of June 9, 1997), S5393.
[15] Byrd, S5393.
[16] Byrd, S5393.
[17] Professor David Klein, A Brief History of American K-12 Mathematics Education in the 20th Century (Pre-Print edition)
[18] Stormer, 6.
[19] Ravitch, Left Back, 256.
[20] John Taylor Gotto, The Underground History of American Education, On-line Edition (The Odysseus Group, 2000-2003), Chapter 12, page 15.
[21] Ravitch, Left Back, 127.
[22] Bob Parr, AKA Mr. Incredible, The Incredibles, (Disney/Pixar, 2005)
[23] Byrd, S5393.
[24] Diane Ravitch, The Language Police, How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn (Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2003), 171-183.
[25] Ravitch, The Language Police, 194-195.
[26] Glen Schultz, Kingdom Education, Second Edition, God's Plan For Educating Future Generations (LifeWay Press, 2002), 27.
[27] Philip May, Which Way to Educate? The Christian's role in education today (The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1975), 119.
[28] Stormer, 141.
[29] Phyllis Schlafly, What Caused Columbine? (Eagle Forum May 12, 1999), http://www.eagleforum.org/column/1999/may99/99-05-12.html.
[30] Dr. Phil Stringer (Florida), Outcome Based Education, http://www.usiap.org/Viewpoints/Society/Education/OutcomeBasedEducation.html
[31] Douglas B. Reeves, Ph.D., Crusade in the Classroom, How George W. Bush's Education Reforms will Affect Your Children, Our Schools (Simon & Schuster, 2001), 8.
[32] Phyllis Schlafly, More Children Left Behind (Eagle Forum, Oct. 29, 2003), http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2003/oct03/03-10-29.shtml
[33] Bruce N. Shortt, The Harsh Truth About Public Schools (The Chalcedon Foundation, 2004), 208.
[34] Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: 4th Edition (Washington, DC., American Psychiatric Association, 2000).
[35] Albert Burns, JUST A MATTER OF TIME: DRUG FREE ZONES? (April 8 2001), http://www.geocities.com/graymada/AB/drugfreezones.html, quoting Today's Education (January 1969) 29-31.
[36] John Breeding, Ph.D., Director, Texans For Safe Education, Testimony on the Issue of Psychiatric Drugs in Schools Before the Texas State Board of Education (November 1, 2000).
[37] B.W. Spillman, L.P. Leavell, and P.E. Burroughs, The Sunday School Manual (Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1923), 84.
[38] Spillman, 84.

The church of the living dead...

2006-12-07T19:06:00.000-06:00

The church of the living What! Is that some new, low-budget, horror film?

Well no, not exactly... While it may not be a new Sam Rami film staring Bruce Campbell, it is a pretty horrifying way to describe the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

Sadly, according to Jim Elliff, this is an accurate description of the vast majority of Southern Baptist churches in America today. According to his article titled “Southern Baptists, an Unregenerate Denomination”, Jim gives us some pretty gory details of how this once very lively denomination, has become rotten and lifeless. And while this may not be new news to most, it was very telling to me, especially when you consider our current numbers along side those of a few hundred years ago. Yes, we may boast of 16 million members, but when you look at the real numbers, we are not so impressive.

Anyway, this was a great article, I highly recommend it.

You know, I'm not a big comedy fan, but I do enjoy a good laugh every now and then, and this reminds me of a joke told by Mark Lowry on one of the Gaither homecoming programs. I don’t actually remember the joke, but it had something to do with raising the dead. The punch line was that if Jesus did that in his Baptist church, he’d have to raise everyone! I wonder if Mark Lowry reads Jim Elliff?

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough ~ dave@scarbrough.net

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Government and Education

2006-11-02T10:03:00.000-06:00

By 1918, every state in United States had passed some form of compulsory attendance law, and the still fledgling Department of Education was now deeply involved. Though by this time, it had already been through several transformations. Originally it was created for the purpose of collecting information on schools and teaching, and to help the States establish more effective school systems, at least that was what the original charter said. But this didn’t last long; in 1869 it was transferred to the Department of the Interior as the Bureau of Education. Then in 1939 it was transferred again, by executive order, to the Federal Security Agency, which in 1953 became the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Although during these years, there was not an "official" Department of Education, the concept was still very much alive in Washington DC, and the eyes of the government were still clearly focused on education in America, and the potential it had for shaping society.

During the same years that the Department of Education was going through its many transformations, the National Education Association (NEA) was also making its long journey to become what it is today. Since its inception, it has been a "uniquely privileged organization."^[1] As a federally chartered corporation it was exempted from property taxes, which is a very unique status that not many unions enjoy. But as was stated earlier, the NEA was not actually started as a union in the modern sense. It was originally started as simply a professional organization, an organization whose goals were the promotion of new educational trends, improving schools, helping teachers, and improving cooperation among educators. But by the 1960s, their transformation into a powerful lobbying group and activist labor union was nearly complete. It was President John F. Kennedy who, in 1962, opened the way for the NEA to become a full fledged labor union. The President issued Executive Order 10988 which approved the formation of federal public sector unions. This allowed labor unions to organize and represent public sector employees, something that had not previously been done. Up until this point, the vast majority of unions were private sector unions. They were primarily concerned with things like better wages or better working conditions. But these new public sector unions were more concerned with things like political power and directing more funds toward their employer, which in this case was the Federal Government. So with this new status, the NEA could now organize and promote teachers strikes and other militant type actions under the protection of the union, and completely within the limits of the law. This gave the NEA the clout and staying power that it needed to effect changes in the education system. While the percentage of Americans in private sector unions has been in a steady decline over the past fifty years, the percentage of Americans in public sector unions has continued to grow, with groups like the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) leading the way. Together, their combined membership, in 2005, was well over 4 million, and they account for about 40 percent of the total membership of all public sector unions today. But even though they had the power and the numbers, they still didn’t have the official voice that they wanted or needed in Washington DC.

By the early 1970s, the NEA had become one of the nation’s largest political lobbying groups. Armed only with a great number of America’s teachers, they set out to regain their voice in our nation’s capitol. In 1972, the then NEA president, Catherine Barrett, was quoted as saying "We are the biggest potential striking force in this country and we are determined to control the direction of education."^[2] Like many of the educational reformers before them, they knew that if they could control education, they could control the direction of the country. With that as their goal, they set out to win their biggest political score to date, the election of Jimmy Carter as president. In 1976, that is exactly what happened. Jimmy Carter won the election, but just having "their" candidate in office was not enough. In return for their support, they, along with their new President, proposed legislation that would reestablish the Department of Education as an official government department again. This would give them the voice in Washington DC that they wanted and increase their political bargaining power exponentially. While there were many opposed to the idea of a new federal Department of Education, congress did manage to pass the new Carter/NEA legislation by a narrow margin of 215 to 201. By 1979, the Federal Department of Education was once again an independent branch of the government, and this time, it had a huge partner in crime, the NEA.

As an interesting side note, the night before President Carter signed the new bill into law creating the new Department of Education, a leading NEA official was quoted as offering a toast saying: "Here’s to the only union that owns its own Cabinet Department."^[3]

Once again, fully funded and ready to work, the Federal Department of Education was back on the job. While the stated mission of the Department of Education is "to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation"^[4] it would seem that a more accurate translation of this mission statement would be; to influence state education through legislation and the selective disbursement of federal aid based on compliance with federal standards as directed by the NEA. And it is that direction of the NEA, which continue to influence the efforts of this now colossal political force. With the strength of these two combined groups, the agenda of the educational reformers seems almost unstoppable, and for "public" education, that very well may be the case.

But what is their agenda? What sort of education reforms are they after? Well, the real problem is that most of their agenda has very little to do with education, and very much to do with politics. As they have become more politically involved, they have also become more radically liberal, and with this shift, their radical agenda has continued to drift away from Christian values of our forefathers. By the early 1990s, the NEA along with its smaller sister organization the AFT, displayed their tremendous political prowess to elect Bill Clinton as president. During the 1992 Democratic convention, the NEA alone accounted for one-fourth of all the delegates who attended the convention that year. As their political efforts increase, their radical agenda continues to evolve. Over the last 50 years their focus has been drawn more and more away from education and more towards any and all forms of radical social reform. In the past decade alone, the NEA has lobbied for "a host of non-education, culture-transforming resolutions supporting" many such things as: "abortion, homosexuality, radical feminism, nuclear disarmament, and world government."^[5] In their Annual Meeting held on July 7, 2005, in Los Angeles, California, one of the major business items that passed was a measure committing the NEA to "develop a strategy to counter new attacks on curricula and practices that support gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students and staff in public schools."^[6] In other words, they have committed themselves to promote homosexuality as a normal lifestyle through the public education systems. But that was not all, they also passed several other resolutions that had absolutely nothing to do with education, they included a call to boycott Wal-Mart, statehood for the District of Columbia, affirmative action, opposition to private accounts in Social Security, opposition to capital punishment, gun control, "single-payer health care", and endorsement of the International Criminal Court and the UN Declaration on Human Rights, just to name a few.

In an article entitled "How Public Schools Have Changed", Phyllis Schlafly commented that there were a few NEA resolutions that did pertain to education, they "called for the teaching of global, multicultural, suicide, environmental, and bilingual education." But as she also mentioned, apparently "resolutions about the need for improvement in the teaching of phonics or basic math didn't make the cut."^[7] So my question is; is this organization really in the education business? It is hard to tell, but one thing is for sure, they are a group with a current membership of nearly 3 million and they work daily with, and have direct access to, 99 percent of all school aged children in the United States!^[8] That is exactly the kind of influence they want. According to a recent report from the Family Research Counsel, that’s roughly 48 million children,^[9] that is about 1 out of every 6 people in our country! That makes the NEA a group with a tremendous potential realm of influence. But while the NEA’s radical left agenda has become increasingly damaging, none of its efforts have been more devastating to the children of America than its efforts to promote social reform through what has come to be known as "progressive education." This continues to be the ultimate goal; the promotion of social reform through progressive education policies and philosophies.

What exactly is progressive education? Well, progressive education comes in many different flavors. The American model is basically a group of ideas and philosophies that are aimed at making schools more effective agents of our democratic society. They are also aimed at the improvement of the democratic social order as a whole. Some have called it "child-centered", some have called it "social reconstructionist", but whatever the current label, they are all "progressive education," and it has been popular in this country for almost a century.

Progressive education is really nothing more than a term used to describe all these various ideas and philosophies that are used to promote of social reform through education. Although there are many different methods espoused among progressive educators, they all share a common conviction that democracy means the active participation by all citizens in the social, political and economic decisions that will affect all our lives. While on the surface this certainly sounds like a worthwhile goal, a deeper look into the specific philosophies reveals some serious flaws, especially when compared to the model found in Scripture. According to the philosophy of progressive education, the production of good citizens should consist of two essential elements.

First, it must require respect for diversity. This means that each individual should be recognized for his or her own abilities, interests, ideas, opinions, and cultural identity. It also means that each of these abilities, interests, ideas, opinions, and cultural identities are of equal value. One set should not be held above another because all are equally valid. There is not one single way of life or one single set of moral values that are better than all others! All are equally valid.

Secondly, it should require the development of a critical, socially minded intelligence. In other words, all persons should be required to develop a way of thinking that always considers community first, with the majority as the standard. This helps the individual to understand and participate effectively in the affairs of their community. Only as a collective can people achieve the common good, and they will only do that, according to the philosophy of progressive education, when they have been educated correctly, as good, tolerant minded, citizens. Through the promotion of progressive education, the thoughts and ideas of the individual actually become secondary to that of the community. There is also no one standard for right and wrong; everything is relative to the current situation or the current feelings of the majority. The desired outcome is simply unity under all standards as long as the common goal is achieved.

So where do these ideas come from? Well, American progressive education has its roots in the thoughts of many men. Men like the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, German philosopher Johann Herbart, and German educator Friedrich Froebel. All these men "sought to substitute natural methods for the traditional implements of learning."^[10] By natural methods we mean that they emphasized the experience of the learning situation over the mere learning of facts during an educational experience. While they were all successful in promoting this method, no one has influenced the propagation of progressive education, especially in America, more than John Dewey.

John was born in 1859 in Burlington, Vermont. His father owned a general store there. As a boy, John delivered papers. He was raised in a traditional American home and attended the White Street Congregational Church in Burlington. John was a bright young man who loved to read. At age fifteen, he entered college. He attended the University of Vermont and graduated head of his class with a major in philosophy. After graduation, he taught high school for two years in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Later he earned his doctorate degree from the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences at John Hopkins University. He studied under men like G. Stanley Hall, George S. Morris and Charles S. Price, all of whom were deeply influenced by the rationalism^[11] and the philosophy of German educators. After he earned his doctorate, John went on to teach at the University of Michigan and later the University of Minnesota. Soon after this, he moved to the University of Chicago where he assumed the role as the chair of the combined departments of psychology, philosophy and pedagogy.^[12] During his stay at the University of Chicago, he, along with the help of his wife Alice, conducted the first major experiment using progressive education techniques in a classroom setting. Dewey said that school "must represent present life – life as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighborhood, or on the playground."^[13] Dewey believed the best way for children to learn would be through hands on experience, and the things that they needed to learn were those things that helped them live out their day to day lives as participants in their communities. In this, we see the focus of the social reforming aspect of progressive education. The focus was removed from the dull every day subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic and placed on hands-on activities such as sewing, cooking, gardening, carpentry, building, dramatics, storytelling, and recreating basic occupations.^[14] Dewey’s model "Laboratory School," was an exciting school. It was unlike anything that had ever been done in America before. Children were exposed to many different instructional techniques and experiences, and while the results of this experiment are questionable, each side of the debate claims victory. Dewey critics say it was a total failure. They say that history and the current state of education in America has proven this point. But Dewey supporters say it was an overwhelming success. They say that while many other attempts to run schools like Dewey’s have failed, they all did so because they did not carefully duplicate Dewey’s vision. So while no one really knows the outcome of this first model school experiment, I tend to side with his critics. We can look to the results of an experiment to determine its success or failure, and after decades of progressive education in our government school systems, all we have is decreased test scores and decreased moral values. Without a doubt, Dewey’s experiment was a failure.

After John left the University of Chicago, he was called as the head of the prestigious Teachers College at Columbia University in New York. In this position, by the 1950s, he became the nation’s most influential educator. As many as 20% of all American school superintendents and 40% of all American teacher college heads received advanced degrees under Dewey.^[15] Robert L. Cooke wrote about Dewey saying that he "probably applied his philosophy directly to education in a greater degree and in broader ways than any other man."^[16]

With the help of the NEA and the Department of Education, John Dewey’s educational philosophy has become the predominant method for training teachers in the United States. Even greater than his predecessor Horace Mann, John Dewey’s educational ideas have spread far and wide. While both had similar convictions about education they both also had their own religious bent as well. This is primarily where the two began to part ways. Mann was a Unitarian, and believed in teaching a form of religious morality to children, a form based on his own Unitarian beliefs. Dewey on the other hand was an atheist, and a humanist, and did not feel that moral training had any place in education. Where Mann believed that morals should be taught apart from the specific religious doctrines about a higher authority, Dewey believed that there was no higher authority to be accountable to. As one of the co-signors of the Humanist Manifesto I,^[17] Dewey believed that there were no moral absolutes, everything was relative to the situation at hand and that was relative to the quality of the experience. This was clearly visible in Dewey’s teaching style. It was one of his best known teaching techniques, known as experiential learning. The closing remarks of the Humanist Manifesto I sums up Dewey’s beliefs very clearly, it states:

"So stand the theses of religious humanism. Though we consider the religious forms and ideas of our fathers no longer adequate, the quest for the good life is still the central task for mankind. Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power for its achievement. He must set intelligence and will to the task."^[18]

So to Dewey, positive experience was everything, the "quest for the good life" was the central task for all of mankind including children. If the experience was good to the child, if it brought him closer to the good life, then this was something of value to the child and should be retained. If it was not, then this was not something the child needed and should be put aside. The accumulation of mere facts was no longer the focus of education, only the accumulation of positive learning experiences. In this we see some of the most devastating effects of the progressive education movement. Not only has it resulted in the academic decline of the American student, but it has also been the chief cause of the moral decline as well. Thanks to progressive education, American students now achieve some of the lowest scores in the world on standardized tests. They also have little or no morality to go with them. Right and wrong have been relegated to the quality of the experience, to whether or not it feels good at the time. If it does, then it has value, otherwise it is simply discarded as outdated or unneeded.

This is the foundation that our current system of public education is built on. With the help of men like Horace Mann and John Dewey, and organizations like the NEA and AFT, the federal government has redefined the way education is to be carried out.

^[1] Charles J. Sykes, Dumbing Down Our Kids, Why American Children Fell Good About Themselves But Can’t Read, Write, or Add (St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1995), 230.
^[2] Samuel L. Blumenfeld, NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education (Phoenix, AZ: The Paradigm Company, 1985). 78.
^[3] Sykes, 231.
^[4] U.S. Department of Education, ED.gov official website, http://www.ed.gov/about/.
^[5] John A. Stormer, None Dare Call it Education: What’s happening in our schools? (Liberty Bell Press, 1999), p43.
^[6] National Education Association Website article, Annual Meeting, July 7, 2005, http://www.nea.org/annualmeeting/raaction/index.html
^[7] Phyllis Schlafly, How Public Schools Have Changed, (Eagle Forum Newsletter, Aug. 17, 2005).
^[8]Brian D. Ray Ph.D., 2004 - 2005 Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling: Facts and stats on the benefits of home school (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 27.
^[9] Family Research Counsel newsletter, August 17, 2005.
^[10] Towns, 319.
^[11] Towns, 310.
^[12] Ravitch, Diane, Left Back, A Century of Battles Over School Reform (Touchstone, 2000), 57.
^[13] John Dewey's declaration concerning education (The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3 January 16, 1897), 77-80.
^[14] Ravitch, Left Back, 172.
^[15] Stormer, 39-40.
^[16] Towns, 319.
^[17] Stormer, 44.
^[18] Humanist Manifesto I, Copyright 1973 by the American Humanist Association

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Education in Early American History

2006-10-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

Education in America has gone through a major evolutionary process. But unlike the so-called "evolution of man" which is widely taught in the government school systems, the evolution of the American school is based on fact and not fiction. It is a process that started with the Pilgrims and Puritans who first settled this country in the 1600’s and is still continuing today.

So who were these Pilgrims and Puritans? Why did they come to America? The most common answer is religious freedom, and while this may be the most common answer, it may not be the best. So let us take a closer look at these two groups for a more complete answer.

The Pilgrims were mostly farmers, and with the exception of their leaders, they were generally not well educated. However, this did not mean they were illiterate, because standards for literacy were much higher then. All this really meant was that while most them could read and write, they had little or no formal university education. The Puritans on the other hand were generally better educated. They were primarily from England’s middle and professional class.^[1] Though the Pilgrims and Puritans were drastically different in makeup, their goals were strikingly similar. Each group wanted very similar things. They wanted the freedom to worship God in accordance with their own beliefs, they wanted the freedom to teach those beliefs to their children, and most of all they wanted all men everywhere to know the Lord. But while each group wanted similar things, they each took a drastically different approach to achieve them.

The Pilgrims wanted no part of the Church of England. To them, it was too much like the Roman Church. Too much of the emphasis was on pomp and show with little focus on reading and interpreting scripture. There was also a great divide between the clergy and the laity, and the King of England, James I, wanted it to stay that way. It was his opinion that royally appointed bishops were one of the pillars of a strong monarchy. His response to their protests was "No bishop, no king."^[2] So the only real recourse that the Pilgrims had was to flee the country. But only after several different failed attempts did they finally escape to Holland. It was on February 12, 1609 that they settled in Leyden, Holland, which was a small town about twenty miles southwest of Amsterdam. Here they remained for the next eleven years. It was here that they finally experienced the religious freedom that they had so longed for back in their mother country of England. But, if they had finally found religious freedom among the Dutch, why did they make the dangerous voyage to America? The real reason can be found in the document known as the Mayflower Compact, it says:

"In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain. France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, & etc. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together in a civil body politick, for our better ordering and preservation, and the of the ends aforesaid: and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient of the general good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November, in the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland, the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."^[3]

So the main reason for their final departure to the Americas was "for the Glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian Faith." They were missionaries at heart and wanted to carry their faith to the uttermost parts of the world. Here in the "New World", they would have the freedom to worship God according to their own beliefs. They would have the freedom to teach those beliefs to their children. Most of all, here they would be able to carry the gospel to a land where it had not been before.

While the Pilgrims were busy trying to escape their current situation, their better educated and more affluent counterparts, the Puritans, were doing what they could to reform the church and the government from within. They didn’t really want to form a new church; they just wanted to purify the one they had. They were the dominant party in the English House of Commons,^[4] and they tried to use their positions of influence to persuade the English people and her king, to adopt a form of government that was more religiously tolerant. While this was only partially successful, many of their members, some 900 or so Puritans, saw the proverbial writing on the wall and sailed to America in 1630 under the leadership of John Winthrop.

John was born in Suffolk, England in 1587. He was the only son of Adam Winthrop, the lord of Groton Manor. He was privately educated as a youngster and later attended Trinity College in Cambridge. After a few years of college, he returned home to help run his fathers estate. He was later married and had 10 children. John went on to study law and then at some point became part of the Puritan movement. Once in this new movement John became more and more dissatisfied with the Church of England and worked feverishly to try and implement change from within. But after much effort, John discovered that change was not coming, so he decided to leave his home in search of a better place to raise his family. This is when John became involved with a company known as the Massachusetts Bay Company. This was a newly chartered company that would travel to the New World and setup an entirely new way of life. John, with his background in management and law was quickly elected the first Governor. With that, John and the rest of the Puritans sailed aboard the ship Arbella along with a flotilla of eleven other ships to the New World, and like the Pilgrims, who went before them some ten years earlier and had drafted the Mayflower Compact, these men also drafted their on covenant to explain their actions. It stated:

"God Almighty in His most holy and wise providence, hath so disposed of the condition of mankind as in all times some must be rich, some poor; some high and eminent in power and dignity, others mean and in subjection. First, to hold conformity with rest of His works, ... Secondly, that He might have the more occasion to manifest the work of His spirit, ... Thirdly, that every man might have need of other, ... All men thus (by divine providence) ranked into two sorts, rich and poor, under the first are comprehended all such as are able to live comfortably by their own means duly improved, and all others are poor, according to the former distribution. There are two rules whereby we are to walk, one toward another; justice and mercy. ... There is likewise a double law by which we are regulated in our conversation, one towards another; in both the former respects, the law of nature and the law of grace, or the moral law of the Gospel. (1) For the persons, we are a company professing ourselves fellow members of Christ; (2) the care of the public must oversway all private respects by which not only conscience but mere civil policy doth bind us; (3) the end is to improve our lives to do more service to the Lord, the comfort and increase of the body of Christ whereof we are members; (4) for the means whereby this must be effected, they are twofold: a conformity with the work and the end we aim at. ... Thus stands the cause between God and us: we are entered into covenant with Him for this work; we have taken out a commission, the Lord hath given us leave to draw our own articles, ... if we shall neglect the observation of these articles ... the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us. ... Therefore, let us choose life, that we, and our seed may live; by obeying His voice and cleaving to Him, for He is our life and our prosperity."^[5]

While the Mayflower Compact was a distinctly religious document, the Arbella Covenant was even more so. The final line of the document gives a very clear summary: "Therefore, let us choose life, that we, and our seed may live; by obeying His voice and cleaving to Him, for He is our life and our prosperity." So if the Pilgrims were missionaries to the new world, the Puritans were missionaries too, but with a primary purpose of being a godly example for all to see, a light on a hill^[6] to shine before all men. They would strive to live according to the laws of God, and would train their children to do likewise.

In their search for religious freedom, both the Pilgrims and the Puritans eventually came to America, and once they were there, they would establish homes, churches and schools modeled after the pattern given in scripture. It is here, among the lives and homes of these early European settlers, that we find the Christian roots of education in American.

So what were some of these early Christian roots of American education? Well, from its earliest beginnings, the schools founded in this country were distinctly Christian. Harvard University for example, founded in 1636, just sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock,^[7] was founded on Christian principles. In her report, Plymouth Rocked: America Departs from Founding Values, Wendy Griffith states that "Harvard, chartered in Boston in 1636, was established primarily to train ministers of the Gospel, and to evangelize the northern Atlantic seaboard. A statue of John Harvard, a young minister when he came over from England, stands in Harvard Yard. For more than 200 years, Harvard remained dedicated to Christian education…"^[8] If you look at the statue of John Harvard, you will see an open Bible in his right hand. Harvard was clearly founded with Christian values in mind, but has since left those values behind and replaced them with the values of the world. But this was not the only school founded on Christian values that has become secular. Every historical Ivy League school founded in this nation had the same Christian moral roots. Take Columbia University for example; this is the 6th oldest school in our nation. According to an article in the New York Mercury on June 3, 1754, announcing the opening of King's College, the original name for Columbia, it stated that:

"The chief thing that is aimed at in this college is to teach and engage the children to know God in Jesus Christ and to love and serve Him in all sobriety, godliness, and righteousness of life, with perfect heart and a willing mind, and to train them up in all virtuous habits and all such useful knowledge as may render them creditable to their families and friends, ornaments to their country, and useful to the public weal in their generations."

But does Columbia still have those same lofty goals? Not in the least! Columbia University today is a totally secular institution. In fact, this is the same university where the well known humanist and atheist, John Dewey, was called as the head of its teacher’s college. But that is an issue that will be covered in greater detail later.

The founding of Christian schools of higher education was only the beginning of Christian education in this country. Just a few years after the founding of Harvard University, the first mandatory school law was established for elementary education. It was the Massachusetts Bay School Law of 1642. This law required parents and masters to teach their children the principles of religion and the capital laws of the commonwealth.^[9] The main idea behind this law was that it was the duty of those responsible for the children: parents and masters, to see that they could read the scripture for themselves and by doing so could become good citizens.

Five years after this first school law was passed another new law was enacted. It was the Massachusetts Law of 1647,^[10] also known as the Old Deluder Satan Act. This law stated that all towns with at least 50 residents should hire a school master. It seems that we’ve seen something similar to this somewhere before in history. You see prior to this, all elementary education was primarily carried out in the home. But there must have been some concern as to the quality of the education that parents were giving. Just like the Jewish leaders in the last century BC, those early American leaders questioned the ability of parents to teach their own children. So they sought to establish a system of improved education that would be better than what most children could receive at home, and what was the primary reason? The preamble to the Massachusetts Law tells us why, it stated:

"It being one chief e project of ye old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of ye Scriptures, as in former times by keeping him in an unknown tongue, so in these latter times by persuading from ye use of tongues, yt so at least ye true since & meaning of ye original might be clouded by false glosses of saint seeming deceivers, yet learning may not be buried in ye grave of or fathers in ye church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting or endeavors…" ^[11]

The Massachusetts Law of 1647, like the School Law of 1642, was also drafted to ensure that children had an opportunity to learn to read the scripture. While it was enacted with good intentions, it would later lead to a national system of government controlled schools that would be totally devoid of Christianity; although that would not happen until many years later. But in the mean time, Christian influence in education was still going strong.

The next major milestone for education occurred in 1690 with the first printing of the New England Primer. The New England Primer used Bible lessons and spiritual training to teach children to read and was the home education book of choice for most Americans. It included such subjects as Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, The Lord's Prayer, The Ten Commandments, a Bible alphabet, two catechisms, Bible questions, a dialogue between Christ, the youth and the devil, and the advice John Rogers gave his nine children before he was martyred for Christ. A quick look at the rhyming alphabet of the New England Primer reveals a bit of the books Christian heritage. Here is a sample from the 1777 version, it begins with:

· A – In Adam's fall – We sinned all.
· B – Heaven to find – The Bible Mind.
· C – Christ crucified – For sinners died.
· D – The Deluge drowned – The Earth around.
· E – Elijah hid – By ravens fed. ^[12]

For nearly two-hundred years, the New England Primer was used to provide a Christian education to countless boys and girls in the home and schools all across our country.

As early American history progressed, many such events transpired; events that tie together education and Christianity. Events that clearly define what the founding fathers had in mind when they first established a new life in this country. While these events are exciting to look at, and would show us many different aspects of our early Christian educational roots, I believe it would be more helpful to narrow our focus to a more specific path. I would like to concentrate on those events which took us from our early Christian roots of education in early America, to the totally secular educational system of modern day America.

The first two of these major events are defining moments in our nation’s history. They would take place at the end of the 18th century. But while these events were of utmost importance to the direction of our country, they had absolutely nothing to do with education. So what were they? Well, the first one was the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788.^[13] This event helped set the stage for all future law in this country. The second was the Bill of Rights in 1790,^[14] which were the first 10 amendments to the constitution. So if these events have nothing to do with education, then why mention them at all? Well, these documents define the boundaries of the authority of our government. While they cover many different areas of our national or public life, nowhere do they mention anything about the government’s responsibility to educate children. But for some reason, here we are in the first part of the 21st century, little more than two-hundred years later, and the education system is controlled, almost entirely, by the federal government. So how did it get that way? Well, it all began with a population explosion in the early 1800s. Many immigrants were coming to America and most could neither speak nor read the English language. So a cry went forth for more "common" schools to help in the process of Americanizing these new citizens and their children. While many thought that schools could be supported privately through churches and private citizens, many others feared that too many would not accept such charity. So the end result lead to the need for tax funded "free" schools. But since the Federal government had no authority in the area of education, the majority of this process was left up to the individual states. At that time in the New England states, specifically Massachusetts, this effort was lead by a young lawyer named Horace Mann. Horace was also known as The Father of American Public Education.^[15] It was here that Horace and his fellow education reformers would set the pace for education in America, a pace that would be followed by educators for many years to come.

Horace was a bright young man with a passion for education. Although he had humble beginnings, he eventually graduated at the top of his class from Brown University. He then went on to study Law at Litchfield Massachusetts Law School. Later, Horace was elected to the Massachusetts state legislature where his passion for education manifested itself in legislation that ultimately formed the Massachusetts Commission to Improve Education. An organization that later became the Massachusetts State Board of Education.^[16] Eventually, in 1837, Horace gave up his law practice to become the Secretary of this organization.^[17] It was through his efforts as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, that state funding to education was doubled, teacher salaries increased, and many educational related laws and reforms were passed. These laws not only shaped education in his day, but also education for generations to come.

But what was Mann’s vision for education? Well, Horace believed that education should be free and available to all, no matter what a person’s status. He thought all children should be given the opportunity to learn the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Horace also felt that children needed moral instruction as well, and he patterned this instruction after his own liberal Unitarian beliefs;^[18] beliefs which stressed the unity of the nature of God as opposed to his tri-unity and promoted more "free-thinking" about who God was. Unitarians were extremely liberal, theologically, as were their Universalists counterparts. The two groups eventually merged into one to form the Unitarian Universalism church that we have today.^[19] This is the kind of ideology on which Mann patterned his public school model. It was a kind of nonsectarian religious education, one where moral principles would be taught, without the doctrinal ties that, to Mann, tended to divide the various religions of the day. So how was he to accomplish his dream of a unified well educated population? He would do it through education reform.

The first major step toward Mann’s educational ideal was the Compulsory Attendance Act of 1852.^[20] It was enacted, with his help, in the state of Massachusetts and required mandatory school attendance for children between the ages of eight and fourteen for at least three months out of each year. While there were other educational laws prior to this one, this was really the first that defined the total scope of what children would learn. So while local communities would provide the meeting place, Man and the other education reformers would supply the teachers and the curriculum. For those parents that would not participate, they would be threatened with a hefty twenty dollars fine. However, there was definitely more bark to this dog than there was bite. The problem was, the school board didn’t have the authority to arrest people or enforce the fine, so obviously something more was needed.

Another major step in the process of educational reform was to start the training earlier. The Compulsory Attendance Act of 1852 had already captured children as young as age 8 years old, but this wasn’t early enough to build a good foundation for reform. So in 1860, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, the sister of Mary Tyler Peabody Mann, who was the wife of Horace Mann, started the first English Language Kindergarten^[21] in Boston. By reaching children at an even earlier age, the chances were much greater that they could be molded into the model universal citizens that were at the center of Mann’s vision. The Peabody sisters were both Unitarian Transcendentalist, and they "strove to realize their vision of human goodness through practical application in the world."^[22] It was through the kindergarten where the practical application began. It was a process where by children could be molded and shaped at an even earlier age.

So as the schools progressed, Mann and his fellow education reformers found that they lacked real authority. So in 1873, the Massachusetts compulsory attendance law was revised. The school year was expanded from twelve to twenty weeks per year and they added the built in ability to enforce the law by forming jurisdictions for prosecution. They then hired truant officers to enforce the attendance laws, and as they did, many more towns began to fall into compliance.

Meanwhile, as this new business of mandatory state education progressed, it started to catch the attention of education leaders in other states. In 1850, many of these leaders got together and formed The National Teachers Association, which a few years later, in 1857, became the National Education Association^[23] or NEA. On the surface, this appeared to be a professional organization whose goals were the promotion of new educational trends, improving schools, helping teachers, and improving cooperation among educators. But in reality, the main idea behind this group was the promotion of government owned public schools, and the demise of private education.^[24] Because Mann and his cohorts in Massachusetts were doing such a great job with their education reform efforts, many education leaders of other states used Massachusetts as their model, and the NEA was the means for promoting these model ideas. As the process of government education matured in Massachusetts, more and more other states began to follow suit with the help and efforts of the NEA. As the movement continued to grow on a national scale, the Federal Government began to take notice. It was merely ten years after the official creation of the NEA, that in 1867, the US Department of Education was formed, and along with it, the rise of Federal Government involvement in the policies and practices of state education, and with this event, we have officially moved into the modern age of education.

So again, we see history repeat itself; just like the Roman Catholic Church of the sixth century, and the Jewish Rabbis of the first century, "Horace Mann and the education reformers [of his day] worked to extend the state’s role in defining what would be taught in schools and [also] preparing those whom would teach in them."^[25] As they expanded their efforts, other states followed through with the help and activities of the NEA which was followed by Federal Government involvement. Within a few short decades, education in America had gone from a mostly home based system founded on Christian principles, to one that was totally secular and controlled by the government. The foundation is now laid for a total government takeover of education in America. This event, along with many that came before it, have all added to the cause of the willing abdication of educational responsibilities by millions of parents all across the land.

^[1] Kienel, 370-371.
^[2] History of the Monarchy > The Stewarts > James VI and I (Crown Copyrithg, 2005), http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page136.asp.
^[3] Harold Jinks Editor, The Book of Freedom, Our American Heritage (Merkle Press Inc., 1968), 3.
^[4] Robert E. Lerner, Standish Meacham, and Edward McNall Burns, Western Civilizations Volume 2, Eleventh Edition (W W Norton, 1988), 531-534.
^[5] The Arbella Covenant or "A Modell of Christian Charity" 1630, http://www.curriculumunits.com/crucible/background/arabella.htm.
^[6] Matthew 5:14-16
^[7] President and Fellows of Harvard College, (Harvard College 2005), http://www.news.harvard.edu/guide/intro/.
^[8] Wendy Griffith, Plymouth Rocked: America Departs from Founding Values (CWNews, The Christian Broadcasting Network, 2005), http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/CWN/073004plymouth.asp.
^[9] The Massachusetts Bay School Law 1642, http://personal.pitnet.net/primarysources/schoollaw1642.html.
^[10] The Massachusetts Law of 1647, http://www.extremeintellect.com/08EDUCATION/masslaw1647.htm.
^[11] The Massachusetts Law of 1647, http://www.extremeintellect.com/08EDUCATION/masslaw1647.htm.
^[12] The Rhyming alphabet from the New England Primer, printed by Edward Draper, 1777
^[13] ACLJ, American Center for Law & Justice, Foundations of Freedom booklet, 5.
^[14] ACLJ, 35.
^[15] Interactive State House, Education Timeline, http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/statues/mann_landing.htm.
^[16] Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia 1938 Edition, Volume 9 (F.E. Compton & Company, Chicago, 1938), 53.
^[17] Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia, Volume 4, 178.
^[18] Susan Ritchie, Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography, Horace Mann (Unitarian Universalist Historical Society (UUHS) 1999-2004), http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/horacemann.html.
^[19] John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions (Harvest House Publishers, 1999), 503.
^[20] Vicky Grocke, COMPULSORY EDUCATION, http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/%7Ecfrnb/compulso.html.
^[21] Interactive State House, Education Timeline, http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/1800.htm.
^[22] Susan Ritchie, Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography, The Peabody Sisters (Unitarian Universalist Historical Society (UUHS) 1999-2004), http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/peabodysisters.html.
^[23] Jodie Gilmore, National "Indoctrination" Association (The NewAmerican, Vol. 20, No. 17, August 23, 2004), http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2004/08-23-2004/indoctrination.htm.
^[24] Lowell Ponte, Unholy Trinity (FrontPageMagazine.com, July 16, 2004), http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=14258.
^[25] Matthew J. Brouillette, School Choice in Michigan: A Primer for Freedom in Education, (Mackinac Center for Public Policy, 1999), 9.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Education and the Reformation

2006-09-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

The Protestant Reformation was a time of spiritual renewal and awakening that brought the world out of the Dark ages. However, it wasn’t a time of peace; it was a time of great conflict and struggle. It was a time when many faithful men and women gave their lives in the fight to return the truth of God’s Word to the common man on the street. This was a war that was waged on many different fronts, but none more important than the front of education.

For hundreds of years, men had allowed themselves to be lied to because of their lack of education. They had lost the ability to read and understand the scriptures for themselves, and the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church were able to hold them captive in ways that would not have been possible if more people had been armed a proper education. But it was through the efforts of certain brave Christian men, many of whom were Catholic clergy, that years of ignorance was about to end. This was the time of the reformation, a reformation of education.

So who were these reformers; who were those who had the greatest impact on education during the reformation? Well, the first of the noted reformers was a man named John Wycliffe. He was known as "The Morning Star" of the reformation.^[1] Though he lived almost 200 years before the reformation officially began, the role he played was still crucial in bringing about reform. Wycliffe was a Catholic priest and an Oxford professor who disagreed with many of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church.^[2] But none of these did he disagree more with, than the Church’s stand on the availability of scripture for the common man. The church practically held the common man captive with its tight reign on who was allowed to read the Bible and who was not. But Wycliffe believed that everyone should have an opportunity to read the scripture for himself. So he took on the challenge of translating the scripture from the Latin Vulgate, into the English language. The finished work however did not receive any wide spread distribution, mainly because it had to be copied by hand^[3], but it did have a serious impact on future translations. Being the first English translation of the Bible, it encouraged the likes of Tyndale, Luther, Calvin and others to put the scripture in the hands of the common man. This was one of the leading factors that allowed the reformation to begin. The common man and woman once again began to read and understand the scripture for themselves, and because of this, they could no longer be held captive by any pope or church.

Now while Wycliffe had a profound impact on the students of Oxford University, his reach did not stop there. His doctrine had spread as far away as Bohemia, into the hands of a man named John Huss. Huss, like Wycliffe, was also a Catholic priest and a professor. However, Huss taught at the University of Prague in Bohemia. Because of some of the students, who had come from Oxford,^[4] he became familiar with the works of Wycliffe and accepted them with great zeal. Huss used his position as a professor and later as president^[5] of the university to propagate Wycliffe’s teachings throughout the educational community. Huss was extremely popular among the student body but much less so among most of the faculty, and because of this, he was eventually excommunicated. However, through a relationship with the Bohemian aristocracy he was allowed to live for a short while in exile and was not immediately condemned to die. Though exiled, he was still very active in promoting the teachings of Wycliffe. Then finally in 1415 at the Council of Constance, he was condemned as a heretic, and on July the 6th, he was burned at the stake.^[6] Though this was the end of Huss the man, his legacy lived on long after his death. His supporters were so outraged, that they started what is now known as the Hussite revolt,^[7] which tore the Bohemian country away from the grip of the Catholic Church for the next several hundred years.

Although men like Wycliffe and Huss had a profound impact on education, their roles were small in comparison to the man known as the Father of the Reformation. Martin Luther was without a doubt the most influential of all the great reformers. From the nailing of his famous 95 Thesis to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg Germany, until the time of his death in 1546, Christian education had no greater champion than Martin Luther.

Luther was a young Augustinian monk who did not start out to be a reformer. But through the study of scripture, he was led to question many of the teaching of the Catholic Church.^[8] First and foremost, was the churches teaching on soteriology; the doctrine of salvation. But it didn’t stop there. Luther began to challenge the church in many different areas. But no area was Luther more passionate about than the area of Christian education. While the church tried to keep strict control over who could attend school and what they could be taught while they were there, Luther thought that everyone should enjoy the benefits of a proper education. Luther actually wrote more on Christian education than any other reformer of the sixteenth century.^[9] He was a passionate proponent of Christian education, and always encouraged parents to take seriously their role in the education process. In one letter; the Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther wrote:

"I would advise no one to send his child where the Holy Scriptures are not supreme. Every institution that does not unceasingly pursue the study of God's word becomes corrupt. Because of this we can see what kind of people they become in the universities and what they are like now. Nobody is to blame for this except the pope, the bishops, and the prelates, who are all charged with training young people. The universities only ought to turn out men who are experts in the Holy Scriptures, men who can become bishops and priests, and stand in the front line against heretics, the devil, and all the world. But where do you find that? I greatly fear that the universities, unless they teach the Holy Scriptures diligently and impress them on the young students, are wide gates to hell."^[10]

Luther also wrote many other letters and sermons addressing the subject of education, but was almost always met with staunch opposition. But on this issue, the opposition didn’t come as much from the Church as it did from apathetic parents^[11] and leaders. It was Luther’s idea that education should be a partnership between the home and the church. A partnership where the parents would take the lead and the church would assist. However, the vast majority of ex-catholic parents were content to turn over all the responsibility of educating their children to the church, and when the church could no longer do the job, the parents were content to do nothing as well. The problem was; these parents had been trained by their educational system to think that way, and they didn’t realize that there was another, better, way to educate their children. But Luther was so overwhelmed with the idea of the need for Christian education that he compromised his original plan, and invited another member into this educational partnership, the city government.^[12] But even this arrangement proved to be an uphill battle. In another letter written to the mayors and councilmen of all the towns of Germany Luther wrote:

"Beloved rulers, if we find it necessary to expend such large sums as we do yearly upon artillery, roads, bridges, dykes, and a thousand other things of the sort, in order that a city may be assured of continued order, peace, and tranquility, ought we not to expend on the poor suffering youth therein, at least enough to provide them with a schoolmaster or two?"^[13]

His new educational partnership was eventually semi-successful. It was a reform that would last for several hundred years and also impact other public education systems for years to come. It was a three way partnership between parent, church, and government. Yet he would not live to see how this new partnership would become corrupted in the years that would follow. He would never see how it would be used to lead countless children away from the savior that he so desperately wanted them to know.^[14]

Although Martin Luther was known as the "Father of the Reformation" and was the proverbial spark that started the wild fire of reform burning, it was John Calvin that kept the blazes burning far and wide. Luther’s doctrine had spread across Germany and into many of the educational establishments of the day, and in that way continued to spread. But Luther took a more haphazard approach to spreading his message than Calvin did. He knew where he wanted to go, but didn’t really have a formal plan for getting there.^[15] But Calvin, on the other hand, knew exactly where he was going, and he had a very systematic plan for getting there. Calvin’s teaching would eventually influence Switzerland, France, England, Hungary, Holland, Scotland, and even America.^[16] But while their approaches were different, their goals were still vary similar. Like Luther, Calvin devoted as much of his time reforming education as he did to reforming the church. In reality, to Calvin, the two could not be separated. Even though each had its own function, one could not survive without the other.^[17] While Luther’s final approach to education was a three way partnership between parents, church and state, Calvin’s system was a bit different.

Calvin proposed a mandatory system of education through an autocratic^[18] type of government. Here, the government not only controlled the social life, but also the religious life as well. In this form of government, there was no separation between church and state at all. It was a system where the state totally controlled the schools and parents were obligated to send their children there. But unlike our modern day schools where the state controls both the school and curriculum from a totally secular prospective, in Calvin’s state system, the state did its best to perform its duties according to the precepts of God. In Calvin’s system, the church and state were more like partners, with the church being the senior partner. So while the church and state both helped with funding and enforcement of the laws, the church was the one that decided what should be taught and even who would do the teaching.

So Calvin, Luther, Huss, and Wycliffe all had a great impact on the direction that education took during the reformation period, but they were not alone; there were many others. Men like William Tyndale who also translated the Bible into English. With the aid of the printing press, he was able to distribute fifteen thousand copies of the New Testament to England between the years of 1525 and 1530.^[19] The 1611 King James Bible, which is the most widely distributed and widely read translation of the Bible in the world, is almost a 90% word for word copy of Tyndale’s translation. There were others too, men like the Swiss theologian, Ulrich Zwingli,^[20] who in his essay "Of the Education of Youth", wrote of God’s providence in the education process, and of our responsibility to God to learn all we can in order to know him better. And John Knox^[21] who, under the leadership of John Calvin, wrote many works dealing with the education of children. He also, along with many others, was able to reform the entire educational system of land of Scotland prior to his death.

So the reformers had a profound effect on the educational system of their own day. But it didn’t stop there. Many of those effects are still felt today. Not only in the educational systems of their European homes, but also in the educational of America as well.

[1] Paul A. Kienel, A History of Christian School Education (The Association of Christian Schools International, 1998), 137.
[2] Edward McNall Burns, Robert E. Lerner, and Standish Meacham, Western Civilizations Volume 1, Tenth Edition (W W Norton, 1984), 386.
[3] Kienel, 137.
[4] Burns, 386.
[5] Kienel, 139.
[6] John Foxe, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Grinton W. Berry editor (Spire, 1999), 134.
[7] Burns, 387.
[8] Burns, 466
[9] Elmer L. Towns, A History of Religious Educators (Baker Book House Company, 1975), 104.
[10] Martin Luther, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Respecting the Reformation of the Christian Estate, 1520, (The Harvard Classics, 1909–14).
[11] Kienel, 171.
[12] Kienel, 172.
[13] Martin Luther, Address to the Councilmen of all towns of Germany that they Establish and Maintain Christian Schools, 1524. Translated from the German of Karl von Raumer (Henry Barnard’s American Journal of Education).
[14] Kienel, 173.
[15] Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience of Mankind, Third Edition. (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984), 469-470.
[16] Kienel, 212.
[17] Kienel, 221.
[18] Towns, 168.
[19] Philip W. Comfort Ph.D., Essential Guide to Bible Versions (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2000), 139.
[20] Towns, 124-134.
[21] Kienel, 175,

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Education in the Early Church

2006-08-26T11:32:00.000-05:00

In the early days of the first church, education was almost identical to that of the Jewish community. Although the bulk of Christian converts over the centuries have been gentiles, almost all of the first converts were Jews. While these Jewish Christians made up only a small percentage of the Jewish population, ^[1] their numbers were enough to bring notice to this new movement. Along with the new movement, a new church was started in Jerusalem. Again, with mostly Jewish Christians, and the majority of these Jewish Christian parents continued to educate their children in the same way that they themselves were educated. (The normal practice of teaching how you were taught is an old one.) Some of the education was still carried out in the home, but the majority was given over to the synagogue school and to the hazzan or attendant that was in charge of the synagogue. However, with the rise of Christianity, a rift began to emerge between the Christians and Jews. A rift that was so serious, that it would drive the Christians even further away from their homes and finally out of the synagogues and synagogue schools forever.

During the first years of the church; the years immediately following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the early Christians continued to worship along side their Jewish counterparts in the temple and in local synagogues. Services were typically held on the Sabbath or Saturday, and then additional services were held on Monday and Thursday.^[2] While these services remained thoroughly Jewish, the Christians began to supplement these with daily meetings in the temple and in the homes of fellow believers.^[3] They also began to meet regularly on the first day of the week as a day of celebration and remembrance for the Lord’s resurrection.^[4] Now these new meetings, along with their new doctrine, did not go un-noticed by the Jewish religious leaders. One group in particular; the Pharisees, who had much influence over the synagogue and over those that met there for regular worship, were the ones chiefly responsible for much of the hardship that the early Jewish Christians endured. The Pharisees; a word derived from Aramaic word "perushim",^[5] which means "separated", were the primary religious party among the Jews at the time of Christ. Their primary interest was in the protecting of their positions of authority and their religious traditions. These were the religious zealots of Judaism; they insisted on the strict observances of the Jewish laws, the Torah and the Jewish calendar, and they were greatly opposed to the occupation of their homeland by the Romans. While they could tolerate, at least initially, the coexistence of Christians in their community, they could not tolerate the presence of the Romans, and this was the beginning of the end of Jewish and Christian relations. The Christians were primarily pacifists. They chose to take the teachings of Christ literally, by turning the other cheek.^[6] Since this was the case, the Christians abandoned the fight for Jerusalem, at least initially, and left it totally between the Romans and the Jews. For the Jews, this was the proverbial final straw. Under the leadership of Gamaliel II, Samuel ha-Katon composed the "benediction against the minim" or Benediction Twelve:

Bikat HaMinim

"And for slanderers [sectarians; minim] let there be no hope, and may all the evil in an instant be destroyed and all Thy enemies be cut down swiftly; and the evil ones uproot and break and destroy and humble soon in out days. Blessed art You, LORD, who breaks down enemies and humbles sinners."^[7]

This was part of the synagogue prayer, also known as the Eighteen (later nineteen) Benedictions. This was a prayer that was invoked against the Nazarenes; the Jewish Christians, and others who were considered heretics. They were all grouped together and called by the general term minim. The prayer was meant to exclude such heretics from the synagogue, and was to be recited by all faithful Jews three times daily. The primary result of this was increased persecution of the Christians by the Jews within the synagogue and then their ultimate, final expulsion from the synagogue and, also along with it, its system of education. While this may seem to be a bad thing, it only proved to strengthen, at least for a time, the type and quality of education that these early Christians were giving to their children.

For the next several hundred years, education among Christians reverted back to being centered in the home, and it was through this system of home education that Christianity had its greatest number of converts.^[8] Although they had moved away from the persecution of the Jews, they moved into a new era of persecution from the rest of the pagan world. It was a persecution that started with the Roman Empire and is still continuing through various outlets today. But just like silver that is refined in the fire,^[9] the persecution only served to strengthen these early Christians.

As the persecution began, many Christians lost their lives in some of the most horrible ways imaginable. Like their Savior, some were crucified, others were fed to the lions, others were burned at the stake, and still others were beheaded. Even those that did not lose their lives still faced being exiled, sold into slavery, or put into forced labor. But the truth is, the persecution that the early church went through only served to strengthen her faith and lend credibility to the story of the risen Messiah; because while many would possibly suffer some persecution to cover for a fabricated story, none were foolish enough to die for one. So the fact that the early Christians were willing to die is even further proof that Christianity was based on fact and not fiction. Not only were they willing to die for the cause, they even took extra efforts to prepare for it. No, they didn’t exercise to build up endurance, they prepared spiritually; they started martyr’s schools.

The martyr’s school was one of the first forms of uniquely Christian education. In the years immediately following the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD, Christians suffered from some of the worst persecution imaginable. Because of this, most Christians knew that on any given day, they might have to choose between confessing their Savior and dying, or denying him and living. And since martyrdom was such a real possibility, the early church trained for it.^[10] And although this training may not be considered by some to be the same as "school education", it was well organized, and it profoundly affected the lives of Christians in the early church.
But it wasn’t until Constantine and the Edict of Milan in 313, that Christian education really began to flourish.^[11] Because it was here that they were finally given the freedom to operate publicly, without persecution. In a joint edict between Constantine Augustus, who ruled the West, and Licinius Augustus who ruled the East, they stated:

"we thought, among other things which we saw would be for the good of many, those regulations pertaining to the reverence of the Divinity ought certainly to be made first, so that we might grant to the Christians and others full authority to observe that religion which each preferred;"^[12]

So in 313, with the Edict of Milan, Christians began again to publicly and actively train their children through the school system. It was by the efforts of the early Christians that the pagan schools of the day began to be replaced by schools that taught Christian doctrine.

But just like any other freedom, there always comes abuses. It was during this time that the Roman Catholic Church began to emerge.^[13] Although Christians had been around since the death of Christ, this formal organization known as the Roman Catholic Church had not. It was not until the year 438 that Emperor Theodosius II established the name "Catholic Christians",^[14] which simply meant Christians that were part of the universal church. Prior to that, they were simply known as Christians, or people of the Way, and their Christian leaders were primarily concerned with doctrine. The main reason that many of the early church fathers; the leaders of the first church, came together, was to find common ground and to establish standard statements of faith. It was during some of these gatherings,^[15] such as the Counsel of Nicaea or the Council of Chalcedon that many heresies were put to rest and many of the official doctrines of Christianity, that up until this point were only transmitted verbally, were finally formally written down. But as this new church age began to form, many of the church "leaders" started to have a different focus, and by 590 AD, the Roman Catholic Church began to take more control the state government.

The one person that can be given much credit for this was Pope Gregory I,^[16] also known as "Gregory the Great." He had extraordinary skill as a statesman, as well as a theologian. Through this man, the Roman Catholic Church began to take more and more control of the government. As a result, state government began to slowly evolve into a new form of church-state government. It was through this the new church-state type of government that a new form of persecution came into being. This was much less physical that the persecution of the years before, but no less devastating. This new persecution came in the form of control and restrictions. The authority of parents to educate their children however they wanted was removed and it was placed into the hands of the official State "Church."^[17] The presiding pope along with his official group of cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests and monks would set the tone for Christian education that would, for the most part, last throughout the Middle. During this time, education in general was reserved for those dedicated to the service of the church, and even then, many were still illiterate. Only a few choice individuals were allowed access to education, and even fewer were allowed access to the Holy Scriptures, and in many cases, the penalty for simply reading the Bible was death.^[18]

While the grip of the Roman Church was far reaching, there were still bands of separate Christians that opposed them. These believers, for the most part, were hunted down and persecuted by the Roman Church, but they still withstood assimilation into the "official" state church of the day. They did whatever it took to remain separate, and because of this, many were martyred. They were known by many different names; including the Waldensians, the Lollards, the Hussites, the Anabaptists, and many more.^[19] Although they were persecuted for their beliefs, these individuals considered educating their children, especially in the scripture, to be of a very high priority. A privilege and a command that was given to them by God Himself, and no human authority would tell them otherwise. So by the grace of God, there remained a remnant of true believers that were able to pass along the doctrines of the apostles in the way that God intended.

So in many ways, education in the early church, just like education in the Jewish community, was stifled by organized religion. The "religious" leaders of the people thought they knew what was best for all, and began to control what was taught and who it could be taught to. But while the majority conformed, there was still a small group of dedicated men and women who continued to educate their children God’s way. They took seriously their God given responsibility to educate their children and would not conform even under the penalty of death! And there they stayed until the Protestant Reformation.

^[1] ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, Origin of Christianity: the early Christians and the Jewish community (ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA, 2000), Internet Article
^[2] Pfeiffer, 1640
^[3] Acts 2:46.
^[4] Mark 16, Luke 24, Acts 20:7, others.
^[5] Ninian Smart, The Religious Experience of Mankind, Third Edition. (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1984), 312
^[6] Matthew 5:39, Luke 6:29
^[7] The Weekday Amidah Prayers, Part II: Blessings of Petition, Blessing Twelve - Bikat HaMinim (Against Heretics).
^[8] Paul A. Kienel, A History of Christian School Education (The Association of Christian Schools International, 1998), 41.
^[9] Zechariah 13:9
^[10] Kienel, 37.
^[11] Paul L. Maier, Eusebius, The Church History, (Kregel Publications, 1999), 345.
^[12] Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European history, (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press [1897-1907]), Vol 4:, 1, 28-30. This text is in the public domain.
^[13] Kienel, 46-52
^[14] Kienel, 56
^[15] Smart, 363-373
^[16] Edward McNall Burns, Robert E. Lerner, and Standish Meacham, Western Civilizations Volume 1, Tenth Edition (W W Norton, 1984), 273.
^[17] Kienel, 57-77
^[18] John Foxe, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Grinton W. Berry editor (Spire, 1999) many pages.
^[19] Kienel, 79.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - The Jewish Roots of Christian Education

2006-08-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

Here’s a question you may have never considered; why do you educate your children the way you do? Have you ever considered that? As you look around at the traditions that we have, especially those regarding educating our children, you have to wonder, where did it all come from? Why do we educate our children this way? Well, just like many other “traditions”, this one too has been influenced by many different factors. But I would say; there is no other single factor that has had greater influence on our modern educational system than that of historic Judaism. Judaism you ask? That’s right, we as Christians can thank or despise, our Jewish brothers for many, if not most, of our religious and educational traditions. As Paul said in Romans; they, referring to the Jews, were the ones that God originally entrusted with His Word! So to begin with, we can thank our Jewish brothers for passing on the Holy Scripture as it was given to them by God, because it is in the Holy Scripture where they found their model for educating children. And it is in those same scriptures, where many of our traditions for educating our own children can also found. Scriptures like those in Genesis chapter 18, Exodus chapter 12, and Deuteronomy chapters 4, 6 and 11. These scriptures were foundational to the Jewish concept of education and were the primary principles that the Jewish people used to create their own educational systems. Like everything else that is Jewish, the Torah, or Holy Scripture, laid the ground work for everything that they did. It explained why they were to educate their children, who was responsible for carrying it out, and even how it was to be accomplished.

Now as for the “why” of Jewish education; it was primarily religious in nature. The primary text book was the Torah, or Old Testament scriptures, and the goal was for the child to gain an understanding of the laws and statutes of God, and then to learn what it meant to be one of God’s chosen people. They were taught these laws and statutes from a very early age. Even before they could read, Jewish children were exposed to the Holy Scriptures through many different instructional means. One such means that is still incorporated in many Jewish homes today is through the use of a small scroll known as the “Mesusah” or “Mezuzah.” The Reverend Dr. Edersheim, in his book, Sketches of Jewish Social Life, says “The Mesusah was a kind of phylactery for the house, serving a purpose kindred to that of the phylactery for the person, both being derived from a misunderstanding and misapplication of the Divine direction, taking in the letter what was meant for the spirit.”¹ But even if this practice was derived from a misunderstanding and misapplication as Dr. Edersheim suggests, it was still used to teach children. It was a constant reminder of God's presence throughout the home and also of the parent’s duty to fulfill God's commandments to train their children. The Mezuzah was a small scroll that contained two Torah portions, the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and the Vehaya (Deuteronomy 11:13-21). These were two of the most important scriptures for the Jews concerning God and the way He expected them to educate their children. These small scrolls were placed in protective cases and then hung from the door post of each room in the home except the bathroom of course, which would have been considered unclean. The Mezuzah was not only displayed in the literal obedience of God’s command which said: “And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house”, but it was displayed for the purpose of teaching every questioning child even before they could read. Each time a little one would pass through the doorway, the parent would have an opportunity to teach them about God.

Now for the “who”, in Jewish education, that would be the parents. They were the one’s who carried the primary responsibility for seeing that their children were properly educated. Although this was a joint effort, it was ultimately the responsibility of the father.² He was to see that his children could read and understand the Holy Scriptures. The Bible says in Genesis 18:19 - “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

But even though the father was ultimately responsible, the mother was still very much involved in the educational process. From birth to about 5 years old, the mother was the primary care giver and the primary educator. A good picture of this can be found in 1st Samuel, with Hannah. As Samuel’s mother, she nurtured him and gave him his primary training until he was ready to attend to Eli the High priest and to his duties in the tabernacle. In his Explanatory notes, John Wesley points out that the child Samuel would have been “Weaned - Not only from the breast, but also from the mother's knee and care, and from childish food; 'till the child be something grown up, and fit to do some service in the tabernacle.”³ So the mother was the one that nurtured and fed the children, both physically and psychologically. She was also the one that started the child’s primary education, helping him establish sound communication skills. So both mother and father were heavily involved in the child training process, and the majority of this training was carried out in the home.

That brings us to the “how” of Jewish education. How was the process carried out? It was the famed Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, which noted: “from the earliest infancy”⁴ they were taught the Laws of God. This process of teaching started early for Jewish children, and it was centered in the home. Early Jewish parents would have never sent their children away for their primary education. It simply wasn’t done. Although there were some schools or companies of prophets mentioned in the Bible during the days of Samuel, Elijah and Elisha, and also possibly later in the New Testament with Paul in Acts, these were more like colleges or seminaries for the training of the “professional” clergy, or older students, and not children. The education of Jewish children was something that was done at home. The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” This was the basic formula for Jewish education! It started in the home with the mothers and fathers depending on the specific needs and abilities of the child, and it continued during the day as they went along their way, and concluded at night when everyone went to bed. Then it started all over again the very next morning. It was a continual cycle that did not end until the children left home to start a family of their own. Learning was simply part of the Jewish lifestyle.

These were just a few of the Jewish educational traditions that were founded in scripture. But at some point in Jewish history, things began to change. The Jews, like many other cultures, allowed outside influences, and even their own stubbornness, to change their way of doing things. They began to depart from a God centered way, and move to a man centered way. They began to develop new methods and new models for educating their children. There is a passage in the Mishnah where Rabbi Judah ben Tema gives a general outline of the normal educational process in the life of a Jewish boy, he says: “At five years old one is fit for the Scripture, at ten years for the Mishnah, at thirteen for the fulfilling of the commandments, at fifteen for the Talmud, at eighteen for the bride-chamber, at twenty for pursuing a calling, at thirty for authority, at forty for discernment, at fifty for counsel, at sixty for special strength, at ninety for bowed back, and at a hundred a man is as one that has already died and passed away and ceased from the world.”⁵

So where exactly did things begin to go wrong? At what point did they leave God’s plan and start to develop their own? Well, if there is one single point in biblical history where we can see a change in the way education was done, it would have to be during the Babylonian captivity. It was during this time when a transition was made from the home to a new establishment called the synagogue. Although the origin of the synagogue has been the subject of much debate, it most likely came into existence or at least into wide spread use during this time. Since the Jews had been relocated away from their temple, they had to come up with a new or alternate place of corporate worship. This is why the synagogue came into existence. The synagogue was “a congregation or assembly of Jews [that] met for the purpose of worship or the performance of religious rites.”⁶ It was here that many Jewish parents started to bring their children to listen and to learn from the Word of God through the teaching of the synagogue attendant. A surrogate or substitute teacher if you will that was used to help or supplement the education that Jewish children received at home. This was the case, for the most part, up until the Maccabeen or intertestamental era of Jewish history. It was during this period that Jewish fathers became so remiss in their duties of training their children, that the Rabbis of the day started to implement compulsory education laws similar to those of the heathen nations around them. Now whether these were actual remissions on the part of fathers, or simply perceived remissions on the part of pious rabbis, we may never know. But never the less, educational responsibility was taken from parents, and given to someone else. Many of these laws can be traced back to the Apocryphal book of Sirach also known as Ecclesiasticus. This book was said to have been written by one Rabbi Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira⁷ who encouraged the unlearned to come and learn from him. He said “Draw near unto me, ye unlearned, and dwell in the house of learning.”⁸ It was around 180 BC that these first Jewish “Houses of Learning” came into existence. It was under Jason the high priest, the second son of Simon II and brother of Onias III that the first gymnasium was built in Jerusalem.⁹ Jason had purchased the high-priesthood by bribing Antiochus Epiphanes; the Syrian King who had conquered the Jewish nation and favored the Hellenistic form of education that the gymnasium modeled. But this was only the beginning of the downfall of God centered education. It was less than a hundred years later that Rabbi Shimon ben Shetah introduced the first compulsory education law for all Jewish boys. Then ten, to fifteen years after that, Rabbi Joshua ben Gamala ordered that every town should have a school for the training of all boys starting at age six. These schools were usually attached to or organized through the local synagogue, and were run by a head teacher known as the hazzan; the attendant in charge of the scrolls. The schools were supported with tuition that was paid in tithes and offerings through the synagogue. It was at this point that the quality and quantity of education for the vast majority of Jewish children started to decline. Since most fathers could not afford more that an elementary education, the entire process stopped for most children at around age twelve. And since most parents had begun to rely solely on the “established” educational system, rather than teaching their children at home themselves, they too ended their educational process prematurely. When their children stopped learning, so did the parents. So in reality, the implementation of compulsory education laws had an opposite effect. It didn’t improve education, but caused an overall decline in learning for all those involved, students and teachers alike. But it didn’t stop there; since the vast majority of the first Christian converts were Jews it also carried over into the newly forming Christian community as well.

Next time, we’ll look at the early church and see how they improved upon or continued to declined in the area of educating their children.

1 Rev. Dr. Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life (Hodder & Stoughton, 1904), 106.
2 Exodus 12:26-27, Deuteronomy 4:9 & 6:7
3 John Wesley, John Wesley’s Explainatory Notes of the whole Bible on 1st Samuel 1:22.
4 Flavius Josephus, The Life and Works of Flavius Josephus, The Learned and Authentic Jewish Historian And Celebrated Warrior. Translated by William, A.M. Whiston (The John C. Winston Company), 891
5 Mishnah, Aboth: Sayings of the Fathers, 5:21
6 Noah Webster, Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language (e-Sword, electronic edition, V 7.1.0, 2004).
7 The Apocrypha, King James Version (World Publishing), Ecclesiasticus 50:27
8 The Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus 51:23
9 The Apocrypha, 1st Maccabees 1:14, 2nd Maccabees 4:9

SBC Leader Alarmed? The solution is simple!

2006-08-07T16:12:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to an article from Agape Press. It is an article about a statement made by Dr. Frank Page, the new SBC president, regarding disturbing news about children leaving the church.

"SBC Leader Alarmed Over Young Adults 'Dropping Out' of Churches" http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/8/72006e.asp

May I suggest that the answer to the problem is not - a "new" method to "reach" any particular demographic group - but a return to the Old Paths! A return to family worship in the home AND in the church, and a return to parent led HOME education!!! That's right family worship, that is families worshiping together in the home and in the church, AS A FAMILY - NOT SEPARATE, and parent lead HOME education are the keys to recapturing the hearts of our youth! NOT MORE PROGRAMS!

WARNING - The following statement is VERY sarcastic, please stop reading if you are easily offended!

I know taking the biblical approach may seem a little radical to most of our SBC pastors, and many in our denomination would tell me that it will never work, but then again, the narrow way has never been popular!

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough

EDUCATING CHILDREN - What are we talking about? - Part 2

2006-07-26T08:06:00.000-05:00

Now that we have a better understanding of what is meant by “proper education”, who should we look to in order to see that it gets done? Is it the states responsibility, or the federal government? What about the church? Who should see that our children receive this proper education? Well, in Deuteronomy Chapter 4 verse 9, the Bible says “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;” The Scripture is clear; we as parents and grandparents must pass on what we have learned to our children and even to our grandchildren. We are the ones whom God gives the responsibility to; we must see that it is properly carried out.

But how do we do it? What is the method for implementing a proper education? Deuteronomy Chapter 6 verses 4-9 contains the basic outline for carrying out this education process, it says:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

So according to the Bible, the process of education is something that is to be carried out at all times. Christian parents should be teaching their children early in the morning, in the middle of the day, and late at night. It is a process that is started when you get out of bed and doesn’t end until you lie down again at night. Then it starts all over again the next day and continues throughout the child’s life until he no longer lives in the home of the parent. Even after that, parents should be available to guide and direct if needed. They should also be willing to do the same for their grandchildren. Childhood education is a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week process. The only break, according to the Bible, is when they are asleep.

But to what end; why did God give Christian parents this task in the first place? A similar question was asked in the book of Malachi, in Malachi chapter 2 verses 14-15, the prophet says:

“Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.”

The answer that God gave was clear; the objective in bringing man and woman together and making them one was to produce godly offspring. In other words, God put man and woman together so that they could produce children that they could train to be godly. Offspring that would know God, know His ways, and would have a desire to serve Him. This is the original role of parents. Parents are not merely to superimpose their own ideas or opinions on to their children, but they are to transfer to their children the very thoughts and mind of God Himself as found in the Bible! This is the task that God has assigned to each and every parent. These children that He has entrusted us with are merely on loan; they are not ours to keep, they are not ours to do with as we desire; they are ours to train in the way the Lord requires; to teach them about God, to teach them His statutes and His judgments, to point them toward Christ, and this falls under the category of Christian stewardship.

So what is Christian Stewardship and how does that relate to the education of children? You may say “I thought that stewardship only pertained to how we spend our money!” Well it does, partially, but it also includes much more. While our financial responsibility is one that every Christian should take very seriously, there is much more to stewardship. As a matter of fact, in Proverbs chapter 22, the idea of avoiding debt is the subject that immediately follows that of training children. So while money management is an important part of stewardship, one that we must teach our children, the total idea of Christian stewardship covers how we manage all of the assets which God has allowed us to have for the short time that we live on the Earth. And there is no greater asset than the asset of a godly legacy that is passed on to our children through their proper education. A legacy that will live on for many generations to come, still producing fruit long after we have gone home to be with the Lord. An excellent picture of how God expects us to manage our assets, including our children can be found in the parable of the talents as seen in the book of Matthew chapter 25 verses 14-30. In the parable, there is a Land Owner, which represents God, and the Land Owner goes out of town, but leaves behind some of His possessions for His servants to manage. Those that did well with what they were given were rewarded, but those who did not, were severely punished. So we, as stewards of God, are allowed to manage God’s children for a short time, and God requires that we manage these children in the proper way; that means that we give them a proper Christian education.

So with a better understanding of these basic concepts, let us press forward with a look at education, specifically religious education, throughout history. And as we do, I’d like for us to consider where we got off course and then how to get back on track again.

Still More Later…

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough

EDUCATING CHILDREN - What are we talking about? - Part 1

2006-07-20T08:54:00.000-05:00

So why are we even having this discussion in the first place? Well, the primary reason is that the popular methodology of education in America today is not only ineffective, but it is also not scriptural. When entire generations of children are trained in a way that is contrary to scripture, it can only lead to problems, and this generation of Christians is not any different than any other; we are not isolated from the troubles associated with disobedience. In modern America, we are seeing problems that are affecting us in every aspect of our daily lives: family problems, health problems, morality problems, and many others. But these are just symptoms of a greater spiritual illness. But before we can understand this greater sickness, we must first have a clear understanding of all the related terms. So what exactly are we talking about?

Well, the first and primary term is education. What does it mean to be educated? The simplest modern definition of education seems to be a process where by knowledge of some subject is transferred from one individual to another. Although this definition may be sufficient in modern times, it is not one that is historically accurate or complete. Throughout history, the process of education has always been linked with the idea of discipline, chastisement, or punishment; and while it was once the case, it is no longer true today. For example, the Egyptian word for education comes from a root word which means “to chastise” or “to punish.” The Egyptian teacher’s motto was “A youngster’s ear is on his back; he only listens to the man who beats him,”¹ likewise, the Hebrew word for education “musar” means “to chasten” or “to discipline.” In the New Testament, a common Greek word that was often used in relaying the thought of education is “paideia”. It too carries the idea of chastisement. So while a modern definition of education would only contain a reference to the passing of knowledge from one person to another, a more complete definition would also have to include the idea of discipline along with that passing of knowledge. But not just any knowledge, on the contrary, for real education to occur, a specific kind of knowledge must be passed on. In his book, “A Christian approach to Education”, H.W. Byrne said that “knowledge is defined as an acquaintance with, an understanding of, and a clear perception of truth.” He goes on to say that “the Biblical view of knowledge presupposes a source of all knowledge, for knowledge is dependant upon truth and truth is dependant on God.”² So the knowledge that must be passed for any real education to occur is that knowledge that comes from God. God’s truth is the only real truth; anything else would not be education at all.

But the understanding of the substance and the process of education is only part of our goal. The real goal is to gain a complete understanding of “proper education”, and of the one who is responsible for carrying it out. Now by adding the adjective “proper” to the word education, it gives the impression that there is only one, right way to do it. One way that is better than all others. For the Christian parent, this is truly the case; there is only one way to educate our children. Like every other aspect of the Christian life, the Holy Bible is the sole source for instruction, and should be used as our guide for carrying out this mandated education process. So with this in mind, let us update our definition of proper education. Proper Christian Education is a process where by the knowledge of God, as found in the Bible, is transferred from parent to child through love and discipline as taught in Scripture. That is proper education.

More Later...

1 Charles F. Pfeiffer, Howard F. Vos, and John Rea, Wycliffe Bible Dictionary (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc, 2001), 494.
2 H.W. Byrne, Ed. D., A Christian Approach to Education (Mott Media, 1977), 63.

A quote worth re-quoting...

2006-07-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

"Those who are in the teaching office should teach with the greatest faithfulness and expect no other remuneration than to be killed by the world, trampled underfoot, and despised by their own... Teach purely and faithfully, and in all you do expect not glory but dishonour and contempt, not wealth but poverty, violence, prison, death, and every danger."

(Luther Works 12.220-221)

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Whose Responsibility Is It? - Part 2

2006-07-04T11:36:00.000-05:00

So we’ve chosen our own path, we’ve developed our own model for educational success, and now, "Houston, we have a problem!" But it is not a new problem! It is actually quite old, and it is a problem that has gone on long enough that we are finally beginning to reap the dreadful harvest of what we have sown. This same thing has occurred over and over throughout history, and because we do not look to the past for advice, we are destined to repeat its mistakes.

It all began in the garden with man’s first rebellion, and it continues today, and as with all things, one of the best examples of man’s plight can be found in the pages of Scripture. We read about it in the opening chapters of the book of Judges. This same exact thing happened to the children of Israel following the days of Joshua. The fathers and mothers of Joshua’s day had forgotten their real responsibility; they had failed to pass on the things of primary importance - the things of God. They had failed in giving God His rightful first place in everything, including their children’s education, and as a result, after they were gone, their children reaped a harvest of God’s anger. In Judges chapter 2 verses 8-12 the Bible says:

"And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger."

The same thing that happened during the days that followed the death of Joshua, and his generation, is happening all over again today in this nation. Another generation is being raised up that knows little or nothing about the Lord and even less about what He desires His people to be, and it is all because so called "Christian parents" have not fulfilled their God given responsibility. Children are not being properly educated; they have not been taught the ways of the Lord, and as a result, we are reaping a harvest of God’s anger.

In his book Christian Education for the Real World, Dr. Henry Morris stated:
"As far as the Bible is concerned, the function of transmitting truth and educating the young belongs to the home and church... As with so many other divine ordinances, however, man has sadly corrupted God's plan, especially in these latter days, until finally the educational activities of mankind, as formalized in vast systems of public education, have become a chief instrument for turning man [children] away from the truth..."

But while we cannot expect the world to follow God’s Word, we should expect Christians to do so, but as Dr. Morris put it, many have "sadly corrupted God’s plan." And because of that, I want to sound the alarm, to make the call, to wake the sleeping Christian parents, and help them turn away from the world’s way of doing things and return to God’s way, and God’s Word.

In future posts, I would like to take a serious look at these accusations, and with scripture as my guide, try to determine who is really responsible for the education of children. I want to look at how education has changed throughout history in hopes of gaining a better understanding of where it went wrong and exactly how to get it back on the right path. I also want to offer time tested, Bible based, alternatives to the current system of education, alternatives that not only honor God, but alternatives that also produce better educated students, doing so with the hope that future generations of Christian parents will return to a system of educating its children that will both honor God, and produce well educated, God fearing citizens who are willing to stand their spiritual ground and fight the good fight of faith. Children are our greatest legacy, and only with God’s help, can we leave a godly legacy! So with this as my goal, please look with me at the question of who bares the responsibility of educating our children.

God Bless!
Dave Scarbrough...

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Whose Responsibility Is It? - Part 1

2006-06-26T10:15:00.000-05:00

Educating children in modern day America, whose responsibility is it? Is it the government, the community, the church, the parent, the child? Does educating children really take a village, or just a family? Who is really responsible and why?

Well, for the Christian, the answer is really quite simple. According to scripture, the parents or the guardians of the children being educated are duty bound to God to carry out this task. It is a command that is repeated over and over in scripture, and it should not be ignored.

But the problem is, at least for the vast majority of Christian parents living in modern America, this biblical command is being ignored. Most Christian parents have given up their God given responsibility for a more passive approach to education; an approach that has been evolving for many years, so long in fact that most Christians never even give it a second thought. They never even realized that the educational process in this country was once completely different than it is today. But the sad truth is, sending a child away to a secular institution for their “education” has just become the normal thing to do.

For the majority of Christian parents, they believe that if they have their children in church once or twice a week, for an hour or two, and if they pray at meal times, and are generally good people, then they have fulfilled God’s plan for Christian education. But nothing could be further from the truth. While the time spent in church is no doubt helpful for many, it only begins to scratch the surface of what God expects from parents in the realm of education. If the truth were known, many of the modern day evangelistic methods that focus on children and teens likely do more to lead them away from the truth of the gospel rather than closer to it. But that is a topic for another discussion. For the most part, the education that the children receive while they are in church is not the primary problem; the real problem usually comes during the rest of the week. Because many parents have turned over this part of their child’s education to a mostly godless, government controlled system; a secular system known by many as “public education.”

So what is wrong with public education? A big problem with public education is that it is a system that has departed from its traditional role of teaching the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic; to one that teaches political correctness, tolerance, and universal citizenship. This is a system that, in many areas of our country, has become a tool for Satan and has led to the rise of situational ethics, and a decline in the mental, physical, and spiritual condition of many of America’s children. This system is also a major stumbling block that is preventing many of those inside it from becoming the responsible citizens and faithful Christians that God would prefer them to be.

Our nation’s first president, George Washington, in his farewell address on September 19, 1796 stated that:

“Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

That is exactly what many are doing today. Christian parents are educating their children apart from the founding religious principle and they are expecting National morality to prevail, and it is not working, not even a little bit. The result has been, generation after generation of children who know little about God, and know even less about what He desires for their lives, and it is all because Christian parents have abdicated their educational responsibilities. They have chosen man’s model of education over God’s model, a model where man and his ideas have preeminence over those of Christ, a model where man decides truth apart from, and contrary to, that which has been revealed to us in God’s Word.

More Later...

Family Worship

2006-06-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

Family Worship, what in the world is that? I would say that it is something that has been almost totally forgotten in the typical Christian home of modern America. However, the good news is, that can change! If you are a parent, and would like to learn more, there are many good books available on this subject, but let me recommend a new one by Dr. Don Whitney, associate professor of Biblical Spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It is entitled "Family Worship, In the Bible, in History, & in Your Home". According to Albert Mohler, "This book belongs in every Christian home and in the hands of every Christian parent."

Order your copy here: http://www.spiritualdisciplines.org/fworder.html

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough

My progress as a Pilgrim.

2006-06-10T12:49:00.000-05:00

This is my spiritual autobiography that was required as part of my application to Southern Seminary…

It all began for me, as it does for everyone else, as a child in my mother’s womb. This was the beginning, at least as I knew it, of my physical pilgrimage. It was dark there, and warm, and comfortable, all my needs were being met. But little did I realize, at that time, as a sinful little creature, that the parents, whom I was a product of, were given the responsibility by the God of the Universe to train me in the nurture and admonition of Himself. Not because I was to some day draw attention to myself, or that I would one day be credited with great achievements, but solely because He desired a godly seed; to bring honor and glory to Him. So with that, on September, 27, 1966, I, David Glenn Scarbrough entered the world and began my pilgrimage.

I was practically raised in a Southern Baptist church. From what I can remember, we were there every Sunday, every Wednesday, and every other time the doors were opened. I barely remember the first church I attended. We were only there for three or four years before we moved to a new town and new church. This new church I attended till I was old enough to leave home. During the time I was there I had many wonderful teachers, older ladies and older gentlemen, which, through their best efforts, would help to shape and to mold me into a proper young man. By the time I was nine years old, I had sat under some of the finest instruction that the First Baptist Church of Woodland Mills could provide. And then suddenly, through no effort of my own, I had come to understand my need for a savior. I had become aware of my own depravity; although at that time, I had no idea it was called that. So one fine night, in March of 1975, during our spring revival, I walked down the aisle and made a public profession of my faith in Christ. I had trusted Him as my Savior! And so began the second phase of my life, my spiritual pilgrimage.

I was a very typical boy growing up in the Seventies. I attended a typical rural, public, grade school. I also had the typical menagerie of friends; some Christian, some not, some good, some bad, but all, like me, were very typical. My parents were also very typical young adults carving out a life for themselves, in a typical rural North West Tennessee town. They had their typical two children, one boy, me, and one girl, my younger sister. My mom worked some while we were in school, but was always there while we were at home. My dad had a typical factory job at the Goodyear plant that was near our home. Yes, we were all very typical. But the pull of everyday life tugged at us from all sides, and as is the course of many, we allowed the more important things, like Christian discipleship, to slide into second place. This might not have been too bad, but again, as is the course of many, the things that were in second place moved to third, and some even to fourth and so on. But we were still very good Southern Baptists. We attended church every time the doors were open and I was still very secure in my salvation, though by this time I considered it less and less with each passing day.

As I grew older and moved into high school, I continued to move further and further away from the Lord who bought me. I ran with the wrong crowd, and on several occasions got into some things that I know I shouldn’t have. By this time in my life, Christian discipleship had slipped so far down on the priority list that I never really considered it. Although at this time, I still considered myself to be a good Southern Baptist, but I really didn’t know why.

After high school was over, my life began to change. I was quickly ushered into the stark reality of “real life.” I had the girlfriend of my dreams; Suzanne Caudle. She was actually my childhood sweetheart, a girl whom I had grown up with. She only lived a few houses down the street, and we even attended the same Southern Baptist church together. I was also making pretty good money, though all I did was blow it. I worked in a local auto body shop. This was something that I had been doing for several years. It was a family type trade, and I had easily picked it up. So while the work was physically difficult, the money was pretty good. But after a short while I began to consider college and the possibility of using my brain a little more and my back a little less, so I attempted a semester at the local community college. I soon discovered that I was wasting my time and my parent’s money because of a lack of focus. So I transitioned to a local factory job in hopes of more security. Once in this new job it wasn’t long before I realized that the small rural community that had provided for my family had very little to offer me. So out of desperation, I did what many young boys do (or use to do), I joined the military. This was another life changing experience. The Air Force is a great organization, and I credit it with helping me to get a little focus back into my life.

I was no longer in the small rural town where I was raised. I attended basic military training at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas, and for the first time in my life I was actually alone. This wouldn’t last long though, because I had proposed to my childhood sweetheart before I left home. The wedding was tentatively scheduled for some time after my first assignment. During this brief time of solitude, I began to talk to the Lord again, something that I had not done in a very long time. I was also given a small New Testament which I began read, something else that I had not done in a very long time. I spent quite a bit of time considering where I came from and where I was going, and I did what I could to draw closer to the Lord. I prayed and I asked my family to do the same.

I finished basic training and moved to my first base in Biloxi Mississippi where I would go to technical school to become an air traffic controller. After settling in, I made my way back home to take possession of my bride to be. The flight home was very rocky. There were storms all around, and the airplane would go through times of sudden drops. It didn’t make for an enjoyable flight. Needless to say, I prayed even more. On our wedding day, the church was packed. We were one of the first couples who actually grew up in the church to be married there. There were friends and family from several states. It was a big ordeal. I still remember the feeling of awe, as I saw my bride for the first time walking through the door of the church. She was absolutely beautiful! In retrospect, I have much more appreciation for that picture, and the feelings that it produced than I did then. I can only imagine Christ as He will some day come to claim His bride. But anyway, second to my salvation experience, this was the most wonderful day of my life. I thank God that He allowed me to be joined to the most wonderful woman in the world.

After technical school was over, we relocated to Montgomery Alabama. This was really the beginning of our first home. We attended church sporadically, though my wife was more faithful than I was. We had a very good life, and as I look back, I can see the Lord’s hand directing us in it. I began college again, this time with a focus. I was after a degree in computer science. In the early Eighty’s this was a very popular career choice. Jobs were plentiful and I knew I could easily find computer work once I got out of the Air Force. And that is exactly what I did. Once I finished my degree, I transitioned to civilian life. My wife and I had been married for almost eight years by this time and so the talk began about having children. A little over a year later, our first child arrived; Kelsey Marie Scarbrough. I still remember the tears of joy as she, just as I had so many years before, entered into the world to begin her pilgrimage. It was at that point that I realized that I needed to make some serious lifestyle changes. Shortly after this realization, the Lord provided a way for us to relocate back to Tennessee. We were still about three and a half hours away from our families, but closer none the less.

Once we were settled into our new community, Suzanne and I found a new church home. But this time was different; I had finally realized my role as spiritual leader of my household and wanted to be a good one. But I didn’t really know how. So I thought back to my own childhood, and remembered that my parents had always made church a priority. So with this as my only initial guideline, I committed myself again to being faithful to church. As we attended, the Lord even used my new computer skills to help me become more involved. I even began attending a Monday night men’s Bible study. At this point my spiritual growth really began to take off. I began to really study my Bible for the first time in my life, and the more we attended church, and the more I studied, the more I grew, and the more I began to realize what I had missed as a child. Discipleship! Yes, I knew the basics of Christianity, but that was all, and from that point on, I was determined to not let the same thing happen to my own family.

As I continued to grow in the Lord, I felt him calling me into the ministry. I knew I was sorely equipped to shepherd the flock of God, so sought out men who could help prepare me for this work. I found a serious shortage of willing and knowledgeable Christian men in the local church, so I attended seminary through a correspondence program through Andersonville Baptist Seminary. My initial schooling was great and I learned many things, but I know my education has only begun.

It has been almost 10 years since I felt that initial call of the Lord into the ministry, and I have been serving in whatever capacity He has allowed since then. I have been a teacher, deacon, youth pastor, education minister and associate pastor. A few years ago, we felt the Lord calling us back home to the community that, years before had nothing to offer. I only hope that by the grace of God, I now have something I can offer them. I am currently serving on staff at a “typical” Southern Baptist Church in North West Tennessee, though my primary church is still my own family. We start each day by reading and studying the Bible together as a family. But I also know that I am called to do much more than this. The Lord has given me the ability to stand and proclaim His Word without fear of men. So I continue to preach and teach whenever He allows. This is why I want to continue my education, that I may serve Him to the best of my ability, that I may finish the race and one day receive the prize for His glory!

But by the grace of God I am what I am: - 1st Corinthians 15:10.
Dave Scarbrough

Preacher, do you teach?

2006-06-02T13:44:00.000-05:00

What is the pastor’s primary job? Is it keeping the peace? Is it visiting the sick? Is it ministering to the community? Is it making sure that all the paperwork has been filled out or that the building has been maintained? While these may be some things you do as a pastor, or maybe even be some things you think a pastor should do, I would suggest that the pastor’s primary responsibility is not any of these, but is Preaching AND Teaching God’s word! EVERYTHING ELSE should take a back seat. I know many churches have different variations of classes or teaching times. Some have Sunday school, some have discipleship training, some have Wednesday night Bible study or small groups, and some don’t even have any of these. So my question is, who should be the teacher in the church? Well, without a doubt, it should be one of the pastors or elders currently in your church. These are the only men that the scripture says should be “apt to teach!” This is not a cry against Sunday school teachers, how else would the young men in the church ever become teachers unless we give them opportunities to gain experience and to prove themselves. But what I am calling for is that pastors step up and do the primary things FIRST! I have heard so many pastors give the excuse, well I don’t have time to teach and also prepare my sermon for Sunday morning - sounds to me like he’s in the wrong business. If all we as pastors ever do is preach, which is really to cry out or proclaim the gospel, then we have failed in fulfilling the great commission. Preaching is only half of it. The other half is discipling! Teaching! And men if we do not give equal time to both then we have failed. Not only should our flock be receiving the proclamation of the gospel from our pulpits, they should also receive expositional teaching from all of God’s word! Consider the following scriptures:

Jeremiah 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Nehemiah 8:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Matthew 11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Acts 15:35 Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Acts 28:31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

1st Timothy 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

2nd Timothy 1:11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough

Riding the fence!

2006-05-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

What do you call someone who does one thing privately and yet says something totally different in public? I can think of a several different terms, one in particular is politician! But that’s not really what I was looking for. Some other words that came to my mind were: hypocrite, charlatan, impostor, fake, fraud, swindler… anyway, you get the picture!

What caused me to think in this direction was a recent article on Christian education posted by Robert Parham. Mr Parham is the executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics. Now I am not necessarily a fan of the Baptist Center for Ethics because I think they are a very liberal organization. But Mr. Parham does seem to give fair coverage to both sides of the Christian/Public education debate issue, so I do occasionally read his articles.

Anyway, in his most recent posting, entitled “Where Do Southern Baptist Leaders Go to School?”, Mr. Parham listed several prominent SBC leaders and their private educational choices. He listed pastors, missionaries, seminary professors, and denominational leaders who either homeschool their children or send them to a private Christian school. And many of these Christian schools are even directly supported as an extension of the ministry of the church where they serve.

Now this article could be taken in a couple of different ways, and I’m not trying to judge Mr. Parham, or his reasoning behind posting this article. But on the surface like anything else, what you take away from this article would depend highly on where you stand on Christian education.

For me as an example, I am a homeschool parent. I am one by conviction. I homeschool because I think this is what God intended, and as I study scripture, I can not justify sending my children to a “Pagan Seminary” as Mr. Bruce Shortt calls it in his book “The Harsh Truth about Public Schools.” So as I read the article, and in light of the controversy within the Southern Baptist Convention regarding the public school systems, I couldn’t help but think how hypocritical these men were for homeschooling their children or for sending their children to a Christian school, yet not having the backbone, as a SBC leader, to take a stand and say “Now is the time to get your children out of public schools!”

However, if I were a supporter of the public education system, and I were to read this article, I might have a different prospective. I might think, “Look at these hypocrites!” They seem to support public education because they do not take a stand against it, but privately they have removed their children from it. What kind of leadership is this?

So either way you look at it you still see: hypocrite, charlatan, impostor, fake, fraud, swindler… anyway, you get the picture! SBC Leaders, It’s time to get off the fence! Pick a side and get on it, publicly and privately! At least then, we’ll know what you stand for.

Here is a link to Mr. Parham’s article on Ethics Daily.com: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=7406

Soli Deo Gloria!
Dave Scarbrough

Baptists Baptists Everywhere...

2006-05-23T23:03:00.000-05:00

You know when I was a kid and someone asked me where I went to church I remember all I had to say was “the Baptist church” and they knew exactly what I was talking about and exactly what I believed. But you know; times have certainly changed. It seems like every other day, I hear about some new term or combination of terms that is used in a different way to help describe who someone is and what they believe. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those who would advocate dropping the name Baptist from my church sign just to get a few more people in the door. I for one think names are very useful. For example, if I wanted to buy a can of lima beans, I definitely wouldn’t go to a store and pick up a silver can with no label! There’d be no telling what might be inside. But I also wouldn’t grab one that said pinto or chili! If I was looking for lima beans, I would grab the one with lima on the label. Now granted there would likely be several name brands to choose from that had lima on the label, but it would still give me a good place to start. But it just seems like these days the we have gone to the extremes!

Well, I’m an independent, fundamental, dispensationalist, Baptist, or I’m a reformed, Calvinistic, amillennial, Baptist, or I’m a add your favorite Baptist buzz-words here Baptist!

Anyway, there are so many different kinds of Baptist beans on the shelf these days, sometimes it a little hard to make it to the cash register.

Here’s a small sample:

African Baptist Assembly of Malawi, Inc.
African United Baptist Church
Alliance of Baptists
American Baptist Association
American Baptist Churches USA
Association of Baptist Churches in Israel
Association of Baptist Churches of Chad
Association of Fundamental Baptist Churches in the Philippines
Association of Grace Baptist Churches
Association of Regular Baptist Churches
Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America
Baptist Churches of the Central African Republic
Baptist Conference of the Philippines
Baptist Convention of Costa Rica
Baptist Convention of Eastern Cuba
Baptist Evangelical Association of Madagascar
Baptist General Convention of Texas
Baptist Union of Poland
Baptist Union of Southern Africa
Bible Baptist
Brazilian Baptist Convention
Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists
Central Baptist Association
Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.
Colored Primitive Baptists
Continental Baptist Churches
Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches
Covenanted Baptist Church of Canada
Evangelical Baptist Mission of South Haiti
Evangelical Free Baptist Church
First Baptist Church in America
Free Will Baptist Church
Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship
Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of America
General Association of Baptists
General Association of General Baptists
General Baptist
General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church, Inc.
General Six-Principle Baptists
Global Independent Baptist Fellowship
Grace Baptist Assembly
Igreja União Baptista de Moçambique
Independent Baptist
Independent Baptist Church of America
Independent Baptist Fellowship International
Landmark Baptist
Liberty Baptist Fellowship
Marianas Association of General Baptists
National Association of Free Will Baptists
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.
National Baptist Convention of Mexico
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
National Baptist Evangelical Life and Soul Saving Assembly of the U.S.A.
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
National Primitive Baptist Convention of the U.S.A.
New Testament Association of Independent Baptist Churches
North Bank Baptist Christian Association
Northern Baptist Convention
Norwegian Baptist Union
Old Baptist Union
Old Regular Baptist
Old Time Missionary Baptist
Original Free Will Baptist Convention
Primitive Baptist
Reformed Baptist
Regular Baptist
Separate Baptist
Separate Baptists in Christ
Seventh Day Baptist
Southern Baptist Convention
Southwide Baptist Fellowship
Sovereign Grace Baptists
Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Canada
Strict Baptist
Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists
Union Baptists
United American Free Will Baptist Church
United American Free Will Baptist Conference
United Free Will Baptist
Unregistered Baptist Fellowship
World Baptist Fellowship

What kind of Baptist are you?

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dave Scarbrough

Missions and the Doctrines of Grace

2006-05-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

As a Calvinist, one thing I often hear from those on the other side of the theological fence is that Calvinism stifles missions. I am sure that if you are a Calvinist, you have also heard or read this same thing before. Especially if you are like me, and are part of the Southern Baptist Convention. It seems like everywhere I turn, someone is trying to explain to me how Calvinism is contradictory to the way Southern Baptists believe. Many well meaning brothers will say, you can not be a Calvinist and a Southern Baptist at the same time, because Southern Baptists have always been missions minded, and Calvinists are not!

My friend, this is simply not true! Not only were Southern Baptists historically mission minded, but they were also historically Calvinistic, and their theology did not stifle their missionary efforts, it encouraged them.

So where does this misunderstanding come from? Well first, let me say that, I believe the reason for the majority of these accusations is simply ignorance. The vast majority of our accusers have either forgotten or they have never known where we as Southern Baptists came from. They have no idea that historically, the vast majority of those involved in the modern day missionary movement were Calvinists. For example, Adoniram Judson, Luther Rice, and Andrew Fuller – all Calvinists! They all believed in and taught the Sovereign Grace of God! Even the “father of modern missions,” William Carey, was also a Calvinist. Yet he had a great missionary zeal and wanted to use every means at his disposal to win the lost to Christ. He was part of the “Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen,” and Southern Baptists, are descended from those Particular Baptists, Baptists who believed in and taught the Doctrines of Grace, AKA Calvinism.

OK, I can already here you say: “So these early missionaries, who were also Calvinists’, were the forefathers of Southern Baptists, but how can that be?” Why would you go on a mission trip to proclaim the gospel to the lost, if God has already pre-determined who was going to be saved?

This I believe stems from the second and maybe even more common error; and that is an extremely skewed view of what true Calvinism really teaches. For example, if you were to ask most of those that bring these accusations to define Calvinism, you would likely get something like this; “a Calvinist is someone who denies the responsibility of man and appeals to the sovereignty of God.” In other words, a Calvinist is one who believes that God has made an arbitrary choice to save some, and those that He chose, He will drag, kicking and screaming into the Kingdom of Heaven, whether they want to go or not. The problem with this definition of course, is that it is totally untrue. This is however a pretty good definition of Hyper-Calvinism.

So while a true Calvinist would definitely not deny the sovereignty of God, he would also not deny the responsibility of man. Both are taught in scripture, and both are true! God chose his elect before the foundation of the world, not arbitrarily, and not because of some foreseen merit, but based on His own good will and pleasure. He regenerates them and calls them through the gospel, and they are saved! That is what God does. Man, on the other hand, who in his fallen state, can not and will not repent and believe in God. But once regenerated, he then realizes his state and his need for a savior, and in repentance and faith, turns to God for salvation. That is his responsibility! And if he does this, he will be saved!

So why do we go? The Scripture says in Romans 10, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” Because we know that this, going and preaching, is the primary means or instrument by which God uses to save the lost. William Carey knew this full well. He knew that he was one of God’s chosen instruments! He was given the privilege to preach the gospel to the lost. Like Paul, he wanted to be all things to all men so that he might save some. He knew that all wouldn’t accept his message, but he also knew that some would. That’s why he went, because he knew that God had already gone ahead of him and ensured his success, and He will ensure ours as well.

So while many in the SBC may think it's heresy, it's really just history or His Story. Calvinism does not stifle missions, it encourages it, and it guarantees our success!

Recommended reading:

If you are interested in learning more about Southern Baptist and their history, let me recommend a book by Dr. Tom Nettles, Professor of Historical Theology at Southern Seminary, entitled “By His Grace and For His Glory, a historical, theological, and practical study of the Doctrines of Grace in Baptist Life.”

Grace & Peace
Dave Scarbrough

Science education from a creationist prospective!

2006-05-12T10:36:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in furthering your education in Science but have been reluctant because there are so few programs from a creationist prospective, then I have good news for you. The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) Graduate School (ICRGS) is now offering an Advanced Degree in Science through their on-line distance education program. The Master's Degree Program in Science Education is a program designed to prepare teachers to use effectively the skills of learning and teaching to promote higher level thinking among students so the learner can draw valid scientific conclusions relating to the evolution and creation worldviews. This program enhances knowledge, skills, and abilities in science and pedagogy of science teachers and is aimed toward the middle, secondary, and collegiate education but is appropriate for elementary teachers, lecturers, and administrators.

This sounds like a great opportunity for teachers, administrators, or even home school parents who wish to further their education and be better equipped to proclaim God's truth!

For more information on this and other educational opportunities available from ICRGS, visit their website at: http://www.icr.edu/

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dave Scarbrough

A day is a day is a day!

2006-05-12T00:13:00.000-05:00

Well, here’s a little item that may have slipped under your radar screen. In a recent news release, Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, and a reporter for American Family Radio News, reported that Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, the flagship seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, has appointed a Young Earth creationist to be the new director of its Center for Theology and Science. The new director is Dr. Kurt Wise, who recently directed the Center for Origins Research at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee, the home of the famous Scopes trial of 1925. Dr Wise is replacing Dr. William Dembski who is a leading intelligent design (ID) proponent.

While this may not be a big deal for many, to someone in the Young Earth creationist camp, this is a huge score. Dr. Wise has a fantastic opportunity to help Southern Baptists, and Christians everywhere move closer to a clear biblical interpretation of the book of Genesis.

OK, wait a minute! Isn’t intelligent design and Young Earth creationism basically the same things? Well, I’m glad you asked, and as a matter of fact, they are not.

Intelligent design is basically (in very, very simplified terms) a concept which states that; since the universe and all things living in it are so complex, they must have had a designer. In other words, they could not have evolved by chance. This is, of course, in direct opposition to the most popular “theory” that is taught as fact in the vast majority of our public education system today. This is the theory, or really the religion, of evolution as was popularized by Charles Darwin.

After hearing this definition, many people would assume that this is a good thing, and in many ways it is a good thing. It does at least suggest that there are possibilities other than millions of years of evolution. However, it does not take the concept far enough. It is really much like riding the fence. While ID does suggest that there may be alternatives, it will not actually suggest what that alternative might be. It will not take a dogmatic stand and say that the creator is the Triune God of the Universe whose name is Jehovah!

Young Earth creationists on the other hand, are so called, because of the stand they take on a literal interpretation of the book of Genesis. Specifically a stand they take on a literal interpretation of the first chapter and even more specifically, a stand they take on a literal interpretation of a single word in that chapter, the word “day.” Young Earth creationists boldly declare that the creator of the universe was the Triune God of the Christian Bible, and that He completed this act of creation in six, literal, twenty-four hour, days, exactly as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis, and since this was the case, the world can not be billions, or even millions of years old.

You see, if you properly exegete the text, you can NOT come up with a different conclusion. (You see what I mean about Young Earth creationists being dogmatic?)

Let me explain. The word translated as “day” in the first chapter of Geneses is the Hebrew word “yome.” It is basically a word that means “to be hot” as in the warm hours of the day. Sometimes it is used to mean only a part of a day, and sometimes it means all of a day and even sometimes it is used to indicate an undetermined amount of time; like “back in my father’s day” or “in those days.” But there is always a context, or additional qualifiers that are used that help us understand which one of these meanings is the right one. For example; if “yome” is qualified by the word evening, or morning, or if it is associated with a number or with another word like night, then it always refers to a normal 24 hour day.

So how is the word “yome” used in Genesis chapter 1? Well, you will notice that in each occurrence, the word “yome” or “day” is prefixed with evening, morning and a number, and even occasionally it is used in context with words like night or light or darkness. So without a doubt, the correct translation of the word “yome” in Genesis chapter 1 is a normal, 24 hour day. To paraphrase Ken Ham, one of my creationist heroes, it’s almost like God is saying, it’s a normal 24 hour day, and if you’re a little slow, it’s a normal 24 hour day, and if you’re really dumb, it’s a normal 24 hour day! There’s really no other way to translate it.

The great reformer Martin Luther, when faced with a similar situation said: “When Moses writes that God created heaven and earth and whatever is in them in six days, then let this period continue to have been six days, and do not venture to devise any comment according to which six days were one day. But if you cannot understand how this could have been done in six days, then grant the Holy Spirit the honor of being more learned than you are. For you are to deal with Scripture in such a way that you bear in mind that God Himself says what is written. But since God is speaking, it is not fitting for you wantonly to turn His Word in the direction you wish to go.”

While Luther was faced with men who wished to pervert the word of God to say that God created in a single day, many theologians today are going to the other extreme. They are afraid to take a stand on a correct interpretation of Genesis chapter 1, and are trying to fit millions of years into the Bible. All because science says so! So who do they really believe; these so-called men of science, or the Word of the Living God?

Charles Spurgeon put it like this: “We are invited, brethren, most earnestly to go away from the old-fashioned belief of our forefathers because of the supposed discoveries of science. What is science? The method by which man tries to conceal his ignorance. It should not be so, but so it is. You are not to be dogmatic in theology my brethren, it is wicked; but for scientific men it is the correct thing. You are never to assert anything very strongly; but scientists may boldly assert what they cannot prove, and may demand a faith far more credulous than any we possess. Forsooth, you and I are to take our Bibles and shape and mould our belief according to the ever-shifting teachings of so-called scientific men. What folly is this! Why, the march of science, falsely so-called through the world may be traced by exploded fallacies and abandoned theories. Former explores once adored are now ridiculed; the continual wreckings of false hypothesis is a matter of universal notoriety. You may tell where the learned have encamped by the debris left behind of suppositions and theories as plentiful as broken bottles.”

So why am I dogmatic? Because proper exegesis allows me to be, the text is on my side!

Be in prayer for Dr. Wise and Southern Seminary. They will likely face much opposition in the coming days, not only from evolutionists, but from the Christian community as well.

You can read the news release on Southern Seminary and Dr. Kurt Wise here: http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/102006e.asp

Grace & Peace
Dave Scarbrough

Are you a foolish preacher?

2006-05-06T21:48:00.000-05:00

In a recent 3 part mini-series within his on-going commentary, Dr. Albert Mohler took an exegetical look at 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18-31. The series was entitled “The Foolishness of the Cross” and over the course of three different days, Dr. Mohler dug, quite deeply, into the mind of God.

In part one, Dr. Mohler pointed out that the word translated as “foolishness” might have better been translated as insanity or madness. Because this is how our message appears to those who are perishing. While this is true, it is still the heart of the message we have been called to proclaim. We do not have the authority to update or change the message of the cross just to make it more appealing to those who think it sounds crazy. But for those who have experienced the “Power of God”, Dr. Mohler points out that over time, we come to an understanding of “just how foolish our previous thoughts really were.” And it is that, very foolish sounding, that has the power to save, and that is well pleasing to God.

In part two, we see how God’s purpose is carried out in this world through this foolish sounding message that we have been called to preach. He says that we, as the church, are really a witness to the power of this foolish gospel message. “For what but the gospel could explain how we got here?” Dr. Mohler concludes with a close look at verse 29. Here he gives us an in-depth look at the original meaning behind the word boast. The original idea not only implies that thought of having bragging rights, but it also implies the idea of trust. Whom should we place our trust in, ourselves or God and His foolish sounding message of the cross that has the power to save?

In the third and final installment, Dr. Mohler looks at verses 30 and 31. He opens with a wonderful statement “Every person will be one kind of fool or the other. We are going to be one variety of fool--the fool who rejects the knowledge of God--or the other kind of fool, who is foolish before the world because of allegiance to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.” What kind of fool are you? Are you foolish enough to think that your flowery words or exciting programs will win converts to Christ? Or do you simply stick with the simple foolish sounding message of the Cross of Christ? Let me encourage you, stick with the text, it speaks for itself!

This was an excellent series, and I would encourage you to read them all.

Part 1: http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-24

Part 2: http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-26

Part 3: http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-28

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough

Together for the Gospel - A Quick Look Back!

2006-05-01T12:18:00.000-05:00

Well, my head was, and still is swimming from all the information! This was one of the most encouraging weekends that I've spent in quite some time. I'm still trying to assimilate everything that I heard. Also, after the conference was over, my family along with several others, took a tour of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. We heard a very educational message by Dr. Russell D. Moore who is the Dean of the School of Theology. It was so encouraging to hear that they are unapologetically reformed in their doctrine and their instruction at Southern. They are training the next generation of pastors, missionaries and leaders, and I am confident that these students are receiving sound biblical instruction from this school.

One additional note, after the tour of Southern, my interest in going back to seminary was renewed. So pray that the Lord will direct us in this decision!

To give you a brief summary of the conference:

The first message was by Mark Dever; "The Pastor’s Understanding of His Own Role". This message contained a lot of helpful information about why we do what we do. It was an expositional message of 1 Cor chap 4. A great example of expository preaching.

The second message was by Lig Duncan; "Preaching from the Old Testament". He started with 2 Tim 3:16-17, but went everywhere. Some very good examples of how to preach the Gospel from the Old Testament. Very encouraging and instructional!

The third was by Dr. Mohler; "Preaching with the Culture in View". This was by far, the most difficult and most abstract of all the topics, but loaded with good info. The most memorable quote was: "if you see a real angel, you'll wet your pants!" You need to hear this!

The forth was by R.C. Sproul; "The Center of Christian Preaching: Justification by Faith". This started out as a historical lecture on the differences between the Roman Catholic doctrine and the Protestant doctrine of justification. Again, lots of good info, very educational!

The fifth was by John Piper; "Why Expositional Preaching Is Particularly Glorifying to God" My notes were not so good on this because I was so captivated by the message. All I could do was listen. You could almost feel the words as John spoke. He expounded 2nd Cor 3:18 - 4:6. A wonderfully encouraging message!

The sixth message was by C.J. Mahaney; "Watch Your Life". This was the first time I had heard him speak. He is a wonderfully warm and funny man. He had me in tears several times during the panel discussions that took place after the messages. This particular message was also a very good one. His text was from 1st Timothy 4:16. Watch your Life, Watch your Doctrine, & Watch God at Work.

The last message was by John MacArthur; "Forty Years of Gospel Ministry". This was not an expository message, but rather an encouragement and an exhortation to pastors to do what God has called us to do. He did share a text; 1 Thes chapter 1 & 2, and drew several inspiring truths from it, but most of the message was simply insight from his many years in the ministry.

Every message was great and filled with instruction and encouragement for the pastor. The Music was also wonderful. It was provided by Bob Kauflin, the Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries. Very inspiring, and very scripturally sound. It was a relief and a blessing to hear theologically sound worship music coming from a choir of 3000+ pastors! I was moved to tears on more than one occasion by the music and the messages.

Another encouraging part of the conference was the panel discussions. These were basically an open discussion between all the speakers of the day. It was refreshing to hear them in this informal setting. I am not sure that these will be available to the public or not. I do think that much of this information will be later available in a book format, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

If you did not get to attend, let me encourage you to purchase the audio of the messages. I am confident that it will encourage and inspire you. Here are a couple of links where you can purchase all the messages from the conference in CD or MP3 format.

CD - More expensive, but you can play them most anywhere:
http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=A2235-00-21

MP3 - Less expensive and if you're savvy, you could make audio CDs!:
http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=A2235-00-22

Or go here for other download/purchase options:
http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/category.aspx?categoryID=1841

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough ~ dave@scarbrough.net

Cave life?

2006-04-23T22:39:00.000-05:00

Unless you've been living in a cave somewhere in the middle of... Well, you know how the rest of that goes. Many times we hear that catchy little cliché from someone, who is obviously more in the know than you are, and they're telling you about all the things you've been missing, just like you've been living in a cave. But, just to set the record straight, sometimes, cave life might not be so bad.

Not so bad! Are you kidding?

Looking in scripture, I find that there are only two possible reasons why someone might be in a cave. The first reason, as in the case of Sarah, or Abraham, or even Lazarus, you might be in the cave because you're dead. In other words, you have no life, and no potential for growth, and if that is the case, it could be bad. However, the other possibility is that you're like Lot, or David, or one of the prophets. You're in a cave, sheltered in other words, because you're weak, and the Lord is protecting you. There's a battle going on outside, and for the short term, God has you sheltered in a cave, and there you'll stay, until the time is right, and the Lord calls you out, fully rested and fully equipped; ready to do battle.

So who could benefit from the shelter of the cave?

Children! They're weak, and they need protecting; they are not ready to face the wiles of the devil alone. They need to be sheltered; they need the protection of the Lord's cave. You see, unless you've been living in a cave somewhere in the middle of, well... somewhere, you would know that there's a war going on. No, I'm not talking about the war on terror, or the war in Iraq or even the war over the border. I'm talking about the war for the hearts and minds of our children; our future spiritual and political leaders. It's a war that's waged day in and day out through the public school systems in this country. While we're busy teaching our children the ways of God, the enemy is teaching them the ways of the world. They are constantly being bombarded with mixed signals; alternate lifestyles, evolutionary ideas and humanistic solutions to their every day problems, and most of them are not equipped to handle it. They are being molded into the image of the world, and not in the image of Christ, and if you think you can counter this with a couple of hours of Sunday School and church a week and maybe a Bible story at bed time, then you're only fooling yourself. We have to stop this casual approach to training our children and make a deliberately Christian effort to train them up in the way they should go. God's way!

So what can we do? How can we make a difference in the lives of our children? Well, as church leaders, we can encourage parents to become directly involved in the education process. Help them to see the urgency of the situation and encourage them to take drastic measures; measures like home school, church school, or private Christian school. Rally the congregational troops and get them excited about Christian educational alternatives that really glorify God! I'm sorry; public schools just cannot do that. It is against the law! We also need to help parents find the resources they need to actively train their children in the ways of the Lord. Solid Bible based resources!

Yeah, there are a lot of things we can begin to do that will help, and some will be better than others. But one thing is for sure, if we do nothing, like the Israelites in Judges chapter 2, we just might lose the next generation. To quote George Barna: "The enemy has a plan for your children - do you?" Let's start making plans today, and then put them into action!

(I wrote this about a year ago, and found it, touched it up and thought it was worth posting.)

Grace & Peace!
Dave Scarbrough

A nugget of gold while panning in the river Luke!

2006-04-19T23:13:00.000-05:00

As I was studying through chapter 24 of the book of Luke, I noticed something that I don’t believe I’ve ever noticed before…

What is it that causes the Christian’s heart to burn - is it entertainment, a seeker friendly, fun filled service, great story telling, or the exposition of God’s Word?

You may be familiar with the details of a visit that our risen Lord made to a couple of disciples on the Emmaus road. It is found in Luke chapter 24, verses 13 through 35. This is actually the only record we have of this visit. Mark does briefly mention this in his gospel account, but does not give us any details. Dr. Luke on the other hand, goes into great detail. His account goes something like this:

There are two disciples traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a walk of about seven and a half miles. One was named Cleopas, the other was not named. As they walked along, discussing the recent events, Jesus Himself came and walked with them, but for some reason, He did not allow them to recognize who He was. When He came close to them, He asked, what are you talking about and why do you look so sad? They were amazed that someone could ask such a question. Apparently they assumed that everyone that was anywhere near Jerusalem would have heard of the circumstances surrounding Christ’s death. Cleopas began to explain to this stranger all the facts about the man Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus listened. Cleopas rambled on about all the things that he knew. He had fact after fact, but still lacked understanding. Finally, after he finished, Jesus spoke. He said; are you guys so foolish, and lacking in the faith that you cannot believe what was written in the scriptures! This was the first bit of hidden treasure for me. Instead of opening their eyes by showing them His scars, or by telling them plainly who He was, He simply “expounded” the scriptures. Verse 27 says “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” I can imagine at this point, that the journey began to speed up a bit. The disciples, listening intently, likely lost track of time, and all of a sudden, there they were at the end of their trek. So Christ acted like He was going on further, but that simply wouldn’t do. These men had been fed a diet of biblical proportions! They were feasting and still wanted more. So Christ came in with them and broke bread. Immediately, their eyes were opened, and He vanished out of their site. Then comes the second piece of buried treasure, verse 32 says “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”

Preacher… what is it that your people are hungry for these days? Do their hearts burn for entertainment? Do they desire seeker friendly, fun filled events or short but entertaining stories? Or do they desire the sincere milk of the Word? If they are truly disciples of the risen Lord, then feed them something that will make their heart burn, expound the scriptures!

He is risen indeed!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dave Scarbrough

Where have all the elect gone?

2006-04-16T23:40:00.000-05:00

In a recent issue of SBC Life, which is a mainstream Southern Baptist newspaper, I read an article by Dr. Malcolm B. Yarnell of Southwestern Baptist Seminary entitled “The TULIP of Calvinism.” As I read the article, I was once again reminded of how important sound exegesis is in preaching, teaching and even in scholarly writing. The article began, with this statement: “The following is a summary of the "TULIP" of classic Calvinism, set against the backdrop of its origins and compared to the Baptist Faith and Message, with the full recognition that Scripture is the final authority on all beliefs and doctrinal systems.” With an introduction like this, I felt sure that Dr. Yarnell was about to give us a fair treatment of the Doctrines of Grace! However, as I began to read, I was quickly convinced otherwise. For what I found instead, was a cleverly crafted attack against the beliefs of historic Southern Baptists.

One of the first things I noticed was that with every point, Dr. Yarnell built a “Calvinistic” sounding straw-man that he could easily tear down. He did this by subtly transitioning each point of classical Calvinism into one with a Hyper-Calvinistic point of view. For those with little or no understanding of what these historical doctrines actually teach, this would be very hard to spot. But for many, this should be immediately obvious. For example, under the point of unconditional election, he begins with a true statement regarding the view of classical Calvinism. He stated that “Followers of Calvin” - though they were not actually followers of Calvin, but followers of Christ - “argued that God decreed from eternity to elect some to salvation.” This is a true statement. You can easily turn to one of many passages of Scripture to see that this is so: 2nd Timothy 1:8-9, Ephesians 1:3-14, 1st Peter 1:1-2 and many others. He then proceeded to say that “Subsequent followers posited a more extreme view” and then describes a heretical Hyper-Calvinistic view of the doctrine of election called double-predestination. The view that he describes is a false view that is overwhelmingly rejected by those of us who hold to the doctrines of grace as described by classical Calvinism. Then following this transition, he proceeds to tear down his readymade straw-man with a comment about how “Most Southern Baptists would counter” with a different opinion. Now it was my understanding that Dr. Yarnell’s objective was to compare the views of classical Calvinism with those held by Southern Baptists as described in the Baptist Faith and Message. However, what he does in each case is compare the views of Hyper-Calvinism to the views of a specific group of Southern Baptists, whose doctrine, while similar in some ways to those of historic Southern Baptists, are much more in line with the views of the Free-Will Baptist church. To say that this is a little misleading would be an understatement.

This is simply very poor scholarship. Dr. Yarnell, while he claims to speak for “Most Southern Baptists,” falls very short of doing so. To support his case, that his is the historic perspective, he quotes selected portions of the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. In this case he states that “The Baptist Faith and Message, in simple accord with Scripture, states: "Election is the gracious purpose of God" which "is consistent with the free agency of man."” And while these words are actually found in the current version of the BFAM, Dr. Yarnell fails to mention that he strategically left out several very important words that appear in between those that he sited. The actual text that appears in the 2000 BFAM states that: “Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.” This is in no way contradictory to the original, “true,” statement regarding the classical view of Calvinism; “God decreed from eternity to elect some to salvation.” On the contrary, The 2000 BFAM affirms that God is the one that does the electing, and that the result of Him doing so is the regeneration, justification, sanctification and glorification of the sinner. It clearly does not say that He elects “all sinners” because doing so would promote the heretical view of universalism.

In another effort to lend credibility to his position, Dr Yarnell mentions the names of E.Y. Mullins, Herschel Hobbs, and Adrian Rogers. While these three men were great scholars in many respects, each of them seemed to have a specific and well documented weakness when it came to the doctrine of election. For example, Dr. Yarnell states that “Hobbs decried the "error that election relates to certain individuals, with some destined to salvation and others to damnation."” This is a quote from a book by Mr. Hobbs entitled “Fundamentals of our Faith”. This quote is taken from page 90 where Mr. Hobbs is stating some of the “errors regarding the doctrine of election.” The third one in a list of four errors is the one mentioned above. As his proof text, Mr. Hobbs suggests John 3:16 and Revelation 22:17, neither of which are verses specifically dealing with the doctrine of election. Very poor exegesis! Again, to think that this is an exhaustive list of prominent Southern Baptists that reject the doctrine of election is very misleading. He failed to mention names like J. P. Boyce, one of the founders and the first president of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky who stated in his Abstract of Principles that “Election is God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life-not because of foreseen merit in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ-in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified.” And while this one Southern Baptist founder should be enough, we could easily name many, many more: John L. Dagg, P.H. Mell, Basil Manly Sr., B.H. Carroll, or even the current president of Southern Seminary R. Albert Mohler Jr., just to name a few.

So, while this article has a good title, and an enticing introduction, the content is very misleading. It is a very good example of how to not “exegete the text!” However, I will say this about SBC Life; in the same issue, they also ran a very good article dealing with the same subject by Dr. Daniel L. Akin of Southeastern Baptist Seminary. It is worth reading!

Below are links to both of these articles:

The TULIP of Calvinism In Light of History and the Baptist Faith and Message by Malcolm B. Yarnell III, Ph.D.: http://www.sbclife.net/Articles/2006/04/SLA8.asp

Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility How Should Southern Baptists Respond to the Issue of Calvinism? by Daniel L. Akin, Ph.D. : http://www.sbclife.net/Articles/2006/04/SLA7.asp

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dave Scarbrough

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

2006-04-12T11:42:00.000-05:00

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision." - Joel 3:14 (KJV)

How many times have you heard a sermon preached on this passage? A pastor offers up this text or one similar to it and explains - "this is where you are today." In this text for example, the word decision is found, and the man in the pulpit exclaims that "there is a decision to be made!" You must choose! Do you want to accept the gift of salvation that Christ has waiting for you? Or will you reject Him, damning yourself to everlasting judgment in the flames of Hell!

While this does "preach", and will likely generate a response or two from the multitudes wishing to escape judgment... is it really an accurate presentation of what the text really means?

I was reminded again this week of how often we hear superficial preaching coming from our pulpits. A pastor used this exact verse as his sermon text during a revival service that I attended. And while this text did come from the Scripture, I do not think the message that went along with it was totally accurate. So with that as my spring board into the world of blogging - pastor, let me challenge you today to exegete the text! So what exactly is Exegesis? The word exegesis simply means "to draw the meaning out" of a given text. This is the opposite of eisegesis, which means to read one's own interpretation into a given text. This is very often what happens to a pastor whose habit is to preach topically. He first comes up with his topic, and then goes in search of a scripture that contains supporting words or ideas. In the case of the scripture above, a pastor might want to preach on making a decision for Christ, so he searches his favorite concordance or Bible software program for words that will support his message. He finds Joel 3:14, and reads into the text the idea that this is encouragement for an individual to make a decision for Christ. When in contrast, what is really happening is that the Lord is making a decision or judgment against all those in the valley. They are His enemies, and the enemies of His people, and will be judged accordingly. Is this the same thing? Is it still ok to use the text to support your topic? Maybe you should ask yourself another question; are those true converts if they are converted with a word that didn't come from God? What does God's Word say? "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17

Pastor, let me encourage you today - exegete the text! Go to scripture first, and let it do the speaking for you. This doesn't mean that you can never preach on a "topic," but when you do, make sure that it is properly interpreted. Make sure that your supporting scripture, actually supports your topic.

In this day of superficial preaching, our churches (I'm a Southern Baptist) are filled with false converts. Those who believe they have been taught the clear un-edited Word of God. Yet, they quickly fall away, or constantly have to make a new "decision"! Why, because preachers have not been faithful with the Word.

Brothers, let us commit from this day forward, to exegetical preaching! Preaching that does not show how clever we are at putting together sermons, but preaching that honors the God of the Universe!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Dave Scarbrough