No.
Government schools shouldn't teach the Bible to the children of this nation.
Then again, government schools shouldn't teach anything. Government schools shouldn't exist. Government schools should be abolished outright. The government should stop taking my money and using it to indoctrinate the children of my community with humanistic and socialistic ideologies.
There is no such thing as moral neutrality. Jesus made that clear enough. If you are not pro-Jesus, you're actually anti-Jesus. There can be no middle ground when discussing submission to the King.
As a Christian parent, I am called not only to protect my children from receiving false instruction, but to apply the truth of God to every part of their training. There is simply no way that a Christian can obey that command while allowing their children to be indoctrinated in a Godless education system.
Any education system that fails to give God the glory that He deserves should automatically be removed from the list of options for a Christian. Any academic institution that considers the Creator of the Universe to be meaningless for the study of His Creation is blasphemous and philosophically self-defeating.
Am I too extreme? Am I too harsh? Am I too unequivocal? Jesus was unequivocal. Those who aren't His followers are His enemies. There is no third option. How can Christians allow their children to be trained by enemies of the cross?
There are essentially two types of people in this world: covenant keepers and covenant breakers. Everyone has a relationship with God, whether they acknowledge Him or not. They are His creatures and stand in a position of either faithfulness or rebellion to His authority over their lives. An education system that does not teach children to honor and submit to their Creator is fundamentally antichristian and should not receive the support of the Church. If you don't like this sort of bifurcation, you don't like the Bible.
Paul was unequivocal, too. He commanded us to do everything for the glory of God. He commanded us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. How can we educate our children for the glory of God by seeking truth from those who deny God's existence? How can we take education captive to the obedience of Christ while sending our children to a system that openly and intentionally imparts a humanistic worldview? The book of Proverbs tells us that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." How can a Christian learn anything properly in an environment that denies the foundation of learning?
Opposing government education doesn't make me anti-education. I'm actually really pro-education. Parents, churches, and private Christian schools should educate the offspring of Christians. It doesn't make me anti-philanthropic either. Churches, private schools, and wealthy philanthropists have long subsidized the education of needy children (the idea that nothing can get done without the government doing it is one of those socialistic ideas they instill in your children, by the way), and they've provided a much higher quality of education, too. I would personally be willing to donate to funds/organizations/ministries that do this kind of work. History proves that many of my fellow Americans would be like-minded. I'm willing to pay for Godly education, both for my children and for children in my community. Just stop making me pay to educate your children in a way that I morally oppose.
Why do Christians want to be a part of the world so badly? Why do Christians want to imitate the world and to be accepted by them? James tells us, again unequivocally, that being a friend of the world automatically makes one an enemy of God. Once again, there is no other option. This is war! You have to choose sides. You cannot be in the army of God and the army of the Prince of Darkness.
Let me be clear. I am not suggesting that you are not a Christian if your children attend a government school. I am not saying that you are a bad person. I am not saying that you hate God or your children. I understand that situations are different and life is often more complicated than black-and-white ideological polemics present them.
What I am saying, however, is that Christians placing their children in an education system that denies their God is philosophically contradictory and spiritually hazardous.
Frankly, it blows my mind that more Christians don't recognize the dangers of the government education system. We talk about following God, dedicating our lives to Christ, and raising our families according to God's Word, but then five days a week we send our children to an establishment that teaches our children the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. We talk about having a Christian worldview and then we allow our children to be educated in schools that systematically teach a worldview that is antagonistic towards Christianity.
How does that make sense? Think about it for just a moment. Really consider that. How does that make sense?
"Our schools aren't that bad!" "I make sure to teach my children at home." "My child is a missionary!"
The cliches are abundant, albeit many times sincere.
There are good, Godly teachers in the public schools. There are good, Godly kids in the public schools. Those things are true enough, but there is also state-approved curricula that explicitly and intentionally reject Christianity. There is a federal department of education that universally outlaws the acknowledgement of God. There is a long and well-documented history of public education being utilized to indoctrinate children with progressive liberal ideals, both in our country and around the world.
Think about it. How many hours does do American children spend in school? How many hours do they spend at church? How many hours do they spend with their parents? It's a recipe for spiritual and cultural disaster, as the statistics demonstrate.
It's not enough to give our children an education that is "not that bad." Christians must educate their children in an explicitly-Christian way. We must teach our children about math, science, language, history, etc. in an environment that openly and intentionally glorifies God.
So, no, government schools shouldn't teach the Bible. Government schools shouldn't exist. Sell the buildings to the teachers unions and make them compete in a free market. Let's see how long they stay open!
Government schools shouldn't teach the Bible to the children of this nation.
Then again, government schools shouldn't teach anything. Government schools shouldn't exist. Government schools should be abolished outright. The government should stop taking my money and using it to indoctrinate the children of my community with humanistic and socialistic ideologies.
There is no such thing as moral neutrality. Jesus made that clear enough. If you are not pro-Jesus, you're actually anti-Jesus. There can be no middle ground when discussing submission to the King.
As a Christian parent, I am called not only to protect my children from receiving false instruction, but to apply the truth of God to every part of their training. There is simply no way that a Christian can obey that command while allowing their children to be indoctrinated in a Godless education system.
Any education system that fails to give God the glory that He deserves should automatically be removed from the list of options for a Christian. Any academic institution that considers the Creator of the Universe to be meaningless for the study of His Creation is blasphemous and philosophically self-defeating.
Am I too extreme? Am I too harsh? Am I too unequivocal? Jesus was unequivocal. Those who aren't His followers are His enemies. There is no third option. How can Christians allow their children to be trained by enemies of the cross?
There are essentially two types of people in this world: covenant keepers and covenant breakers. Everyone has a relationship with God, whether they acknowledge Him or not. They are His creatures and stand in a position of either faithfulness or rebellion to His authority over their lives. An education system that does not teach children to honor and submit to their Creator is fundamentally antichristian and should not receive the support of the Church. If you don't like this sort of bifurcation, you don't like the Bible.
Paul was unequivocal, too. He commanded us to do everything for the glory of God. He commanded us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. How can we educate our children for the glory of God by seeking truth from those who deny God's existence? How can we take education captive to the obedience of Christ while sending our children to a system that openly and intentionally imparts a humanistic worldview? The book of Proverbs tells us that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." How can a Christian learn anything properly in an environment that denies the foundation of learning?
Opposing government education doesn't make me anti-education. I'm actually really pro-education. Parents, churches, and private Christian schools should educate the offspring of Christians. It doesn't make me anti-philanthropic either. Churches, private schools, and wealthy philanthropists have long subsidized the education of needy children (the idea that nothing can get done without the government doing it is one of those socialistic ideas they instill in your children, by the way), and they've provided a much higher quality of education, too. I would personally be willing to donate to funds/organizations/ministries that do this kind of work. History proves that many of my fellow Americans would be like-minded. I'm willing to pay for Godly education, both for my children and for children in my community. Just stop making me pay to educate your children in a way that I morally oppose.
Why do Christians want to be a part of the world so badly? Why do Christians want to imitate the world and to be accepted by them? James tells us, again unequivocally, that being a friend of the world automatically makes one an enemy of God. Once again, there is no other option. This is war! You have to choose sides. You cannot be in the army of God and the army of the Prince of Darkness.
Let me be clear. I am not suggesting that you are not a Christian if your children attend a government school. I am not saying that you are a bad person. I am not saying that you hate God or your children. I understand that situations are different and life is often more complicated than black-and-white ideological polemics present them.
What I am saying, however, is that Christians placing their children in an education system that denies their God is philosophically contradictory and spiritually hazardous.
Frankly, it blows my mind that more Christians don't recognize the dangers of the government education system. We talk about following God, dedicating our lives to Christ, and raising our families according to God's Word, but then five days a week we send our children to an establishment that teaches our children the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. We talk about having a Christian worldview and then we allow our children to be educated in schools that systematically teach a worldview that is antagonistic towards Christianity.
How does that make sense? Think about it for just a moment. Really consider that. How does that make sense?
"Our schools aren't that bad!" "I make sure to teach my children at home." "My child is a missionary!"
The cliches are abundant, albeit many times sincere.
There are good, Godly teachers in the public schools. There are good, Godly kids in the public schools. Those things are true enough, but there is also state-approved curricula that explicitly and intentionally reject Christianity. There is a federal department of education that universally outlaws the acknowledgement of God. There is a long and well-documented history of public education being utilized to indoctrinate children with progressive liberal ideals, both in our country and around the world.
Think about it. How many hours does do American children spend in school? How many hours do they spend at church? How many hours do they spend with their parents? It's a recipe for spiritual and cultural disaster, as the statistics demonstrate.
It's not enough to give our children an education that is "not that bad." Christians must educate their children in an explicitly-Christian way. We must teach our children about math, science, language, history, etc. in an environment that openly and intentionally glorifies God.
So, no, government schools shouldn't teach the Bible. Government schools shouldn't exist. Sell the buildings to the teachers unions and make them compete in a free market. Let's see how long they stay open!
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