The old saying goes “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” 
Every year in America, millions of well meaning Christian moms and dads send their children off to public school to be indoctrinated into a secular humanistic worldview. They also might manage to pick up a few other skills like reading, writing and arithemetic. Most Christian parents have not caught on to why their kids often grow up and have no Christian world view, in spite of being taken to Sunday School and worship their entire life.
In the formative years of our Republic, Bible reading and prayer were commonplace. In fact it has been in my lifetime that these have become anathema in the public school. Today Christianity, prayer and the Bible have all been expelled from public classrooms. More and more Christians are realizing the truth and are educating their children at home, instilling them with a Christian world view.
One of the best treatises I have read on reasons for Christians to educate their children at home was written in 2007 by Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr. The occasion of the writing was regarding a resolution submitted to the Southern Baptist Convention. After reading this posting, we would love to have your feedback.
SBC Education Resolution 2007
The recent resolution Bruce Shortt and I submitted to the 2007 Southern Baptist Convention has brought mixed responses. Many fail to realize that this resolution is merely building on the statements of other prominent Baptist leaders. Dr. Al Mohler’s statement that it was time for all responsible Baptists to develop an exit strategy from the public schools sent shock-waves through the SBC in 2005 and led to the passage of a version of the first Baucham-Shortt resolution.
More recently, SBC President, Dr. Frank Page called on Southern Baptists to start new schools and make them affordable for lower income families. I applaud his sentiment. I also believe that his statement (and similar statements by former SBC President Jack Graham and others) is a direct result of the consistent drumbeat over the past several years. This issue can no longer be ignored.
Some people are on board with what we are trying to do and have been since our successful 2005 effort. Others have accused us of sewing discord, causing dissension, and tilting at windmills (since all SBC churches are autonomous, and passage of the resolution would not change the Convention or force churches to comply). Then, of course there are the usual ‘Salt and Light’ objections raised by those who believe Christians are called to send their children into the school system to ‘win the schools’ for Christ. I have addressed much of this in other entries. However, I believe I need to address a few of these questions here.
FIRST, ALLOW ME TO BE CLEAR ABOUT MY BELIEFS.
I believe our current government education harms children academically, socially, morally, emotionally and spiritually. I believe Christian parents are obligated to do whatever they can to see to it that their children receive a Christian education. I do not believe this is a neutral, “whatever-you-feel-led-to-do” issue. As I have stated elsewhere, the Bible is not silent on the education issue. Nor has the church been silent over the years:
“Non-Christian education puts the child in a vacuum…. The result is that child dies. Christian education alone really nurtures personality because it alone gives the child air and food…. Modern educational philosophy gruesomely insults our God and our Christ. How, then, do you expect to build anything positively Christian or theistic upon a foundation which is the negation of Christianity and theism?…. No teaching of any sort is possible except in Christian schools.” -Cornelius Van Till
“This whole process of education is to be religious, and not only religious, but Christian…. And as Christianity is the only true religion, and God in Christ the only true God, the only possible means of profitable education is the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” -Charles Hodge
“I am as sure as I am of Christ’s reign that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education, separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and of anti-social nihilistic ethics, individual, social and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen.” -A.A. Hodge
And people call me divisive! These quotes cannot be mis-understood. These men understood not only the danger, but the outright foolishness of non- (and thus anti) Christian education.
I recognize the inevitable tension here. Most Christians want to make this a ‘personal’ issue. We use statements that drip with relativism like, “What’s right (or true) for you and your family is not necessarily right (or true) for us.” However, this tension cannot be avoided. If we are called to send our children into the government school system as missionaries, then I (along with every other homeschool/Christian school parent) am violating the Great Commission. Not only that, but every Christian college and seminary in the country is also in direct violation of the Great Commission. If our 10-year olds are called to be missionaries in the schools, then certainly all of our 25-year old seminarians should be in the most godless, secular institutions they can find as they prepare for the ministry.
On the other hand, if the Bible teaches that education is discipleship (Luke 6:40) and we are commanded to place Christ not just at its center, but throughout its warp and woof, then those who have chosen to send their children to the government to be educated have erred. There is no middle ground. David Allen Black, professor of New Testament Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary puts it well:
No academic skepticism, no secularist authors, no blatant materialism can so undermine the spiritual life of the country like the completely secularized training of the child under the authority of the state… Bible-based education is mandatory for Christian parents. If we think we can keep our children in a secular school system and escape the dumbed-down, amoral, and immoral results of secular humanism in schools, we are sorely mistaken (emphasis added, see: http://daveblackonline.com/our.htm).
Let me be clear. I believe the overwhelming majority of Christians who send their children to the corner to catch the school bus have not thought about their decision for any length of time (not to mention from a biblical perspective). We have used the government education system because we’ve been conditioned to do so. We choose our neighborhoods based on the ‘quality’ of the schools. We plan our vacations based on the school calendar. Its like a Pavlovian response for most parents. Oftentimes it is too late when we see the scars.
Does this mean that every child who goes to a government school is doomed? Of course not. Nor do I believe that every Christian school kid is destined for sainthood. But anecdotes aside, its time we look at the facts. This is not a pragmatic, utilitarian decision; this is a question of pursuing righteousness. I want to live by the book to the best of my ability. I want to listen to Dr. Jesus and not Dr. Phil when it comes to raising, training and educating my children.
SECOND, LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT MY GOALS.
My goals are threefold. First, I want to see Christian children receive an education that puts Christ in his rightful place (Colossians 1:15-19). I want to see parents rich and poor have the opportunity to say yes Christian education.
Second, I want the Federal Government out of the education business. They have no constitutional right to be there. I want to see all education privatized and governed by individual States (I realize this raises numerous questions… find the answers at www.schoolandstate.org). I want to free all children from the academically inferior, spiritually bankrupt, economically irresponsible, morally reprehensible educational system. I want to see competition for students serve as the tide that raises all educational ships. Thus, I want to bankrupt the American educational establishment one student at a time. Every child we get out of the school system represents $5,000 to $8,000 taken out of the coffers of the educational establishment. A loss of 20% would send the system into a tailspin. This is already happening in places like Detroit and San Francisco.
Why would anybody want to do that? Because the government education system cannot be reformed. It is rooted in Secular Humanism and flawed at its very core. We cannot mend it; we must end it. If the system loses enough money it will have to be scrapped. Only then will we see true educational reform. Government monopolies are rife with inertia and destined for mediocrity. Only when its lifeblood is cut off will those who profit from it wake up.
Third, I want to be ‘Salt and Light’ in a dark and decaying world. That’s right, my actions are designed to accomplish the very thing I am accused of ignoring! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to ‘a city on a hill.’
““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16, ESV)
Have you ever thought about the imagery here. A city on a hill is distant and distinct. It can be seen by all because it is set apart. Salt is salty because it is distinct. However, if salt is over exposed it begins to take on the characteristics of its surroundings (try leaving some salt in close proximity to fish for a while). Moreover, the next paragraph makes it clear that teaching children in accordance with the Law of God is ‘required’ of those who believe. Those who do not are called ‘least’ in the Kingdom.
““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19, ESV)
People are often shocked when I tell them that I believe wholeheartedly in being ‘Salt and Light’ in education. They are even more surprised when we tell them that’s one reason we chose to homeschool. Our family is ‘set apart’ and distinct. Our children don’t think, talk, walk or act like typical American children (nor would I want them to). They are different! Not perfect; but different. We have families in our home and they know instantly that there is something fundamentally different about us. They see the light of the city on a hill.
FINALLY, I WANT TO BE CLEAR ABOUT MY EXPECTATIONS.
I do not expect Southern Baptist churches around America to respond to our resolution by pulling students out en mass. I do, however, expect to make it difficult for Christians in general, and Southern Baptists in particular, to ignore this issue. One of the top indicators of whether or not a child will continue in the faith is where, how and by whom he or she is educated. We cannot ignore this fact.
How long will we twiddle our thumbs while the church loses 70-88% of its teens by the end of their freshman year in college and homeschoolers remain in the faith of their families at rates above 90%? How many times will the P.E.E.R.S. test have to demonstrate the deleterious effects of government education on Christian worldview development before we admit that there is a price to be paid when we close our eyes and put our kids on the little yellow bus?
How long are we going to have to watch teachers have sex with children, show Brokeback Mountain to fifth graders, pass students who cannot read, conduct mock school shootings, suspend students for opposing gay holidays, portray Christians as terrorists, single out Christ for exclusion from school events, fail to teach vast numbers of our children to do basic math, trumpet the myth of ‘Separation of Church and State,’ and promote the philosophy/religion of evolution as hard science before we say, ENOUGH? Of course, virtually every Christian parent in America shrugs these things off with heartfelt chorus of , “Our schools are different,” and “Our teachers are Christian?” Thats what parents at a Port Naches, TX elementary school thought before their Principal (a Baptist deacon) was caught in a sex sting.(for much much more insight on how bad things are in our schools go to www.101reasons.org, or get a copy of Bruce Shortt’s book, The Harsh Truth about Public Schools)
Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr. has been referred to as an “Evangelist to intellectuals.” He is one of the most sought-after preachers of his generation His unique blend of sound biblical exposition, theological content, down-to-earth demeanor and engaging presence make it clear why this man is considered a modern day prophet. He is a pastor, church planter, and author of The Ever Loving Truth, Broadman /Holman, 2004; Family Driven Faith, Crossway, 2007 and his newest release What He Must Be, Crossway 2009. For more information visit www.VoddieBaucham.org
Copyright © 2007 – Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr. – All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of the author.
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