A Challenge to the Modern Church: Invest in Christian Education!

On schools, the Father of the Reformation, Martin Luther, said,

I am much afraid that the universities will prove to be the great gates of hell, unless they diligently labour in explaining the Holy Scriptures, and engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not unceasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt.

Tragically, the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in America have proven this wise adage true. In the world today, there are few things more corrupt than the godless government schools that dominate the education system of the United States of America. Additionally—proving themselves “great gates of hell”—few things are more responsible for the widespread immorality, and corresponding cultural rot, that currently plagues America than are the godless government schools. This is true of k-12 schools as well as colleges and universities.

Not only do American government schools shun the Scriptures, but they directly undermine them. Everything from instruction to discipline is rooted in a godless, secular worldview. America's government schools promote or encourage a wide variety of wicked philosophies that are almost always in direct opposition to a Christian worldview. Most of such philosophies are rooted in the evil “theology of self.” The ultimate goal of the “theology of self” is to make oneself the center of all things, or put another way, to rule one’s own world. From the Fall until today, this is the age-old problem of humanity, and nothing in secular education, therapy, science, or politics is—nor are those devoted only to such—properly designed to deal with this problem.

A “theology of self” elevates humanity above God and looks to human efforts and achievements alone to solve the world's problems. Foolishly thinking that humanity alone has the solutions for all that ail us, the godless government schools have helped lead the way in turning generations of Americans away from true religion and the Truth and into scientism. Scientism is not science. It is an ideology that is often confused with science. It is, rather, an abuse of the scientific method and scientific authority.

In other words, scientism is a false religion with many “denominations:” Darwinism, environmentalism, feminism, hedonism, humanism, Marxism, socialism, and so on. Scientism arrogantly attempts to lift itself above all other beliefs and disciplines—philosophy and theology included. “Philosophy is dead,” declared Stephen Hawking in his 2010 book The Grand Design. Hawking declared it “dead” because, “Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics.”

Thus, as we see, scientism seeks to elevate the methods of natural science to a level where it is the bar by which every other intellectual discipline is held. Scientism ridicules faith and religion and tells us that “God is dead.” Scientism tells us that the “debate is over,” so “shut up and get in line!” Scientism tells us to “put on your mask” and that you must “get the [experimental] vaccine!”

As a result of decades of indoctrination in godless philosophies, staggering numbers of American youths are abandoning Christianity and the Church. According to the American Worldview Inventory 2021—a study conducted by the Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University—more than any other generation of Americans, millennials (born 1985-2002) have cut ties with Christian beliefs. Tragically, 43% of millennials stated that they either don’t know, don’t care, or don’t believe that God exists.

Additionally, the study notes that “Millennials…are far more likely than any other generation to:

· Define success in life as happiness, personal freedom, or productivity without oppression  

· Consider an abortion performed to reduce personal economic or emotional discomfort to be morally acceptable

· Consider premarital sex with someone expected to be their future spouse to be morally acceptable

· Deem reincarnation a real possibility

· Be liberal regarding fiscal and social policies

· Champion liberal theology.”

The study also reports that millennials are “much less likely [their emphasis] than Americans from older generations” to:

· Embrace the Bible as their primary source of moral guidance

· Accept the notion of God being the all-knowing, all-powerful and just creator of the universe who still rules that universe today

· Consider Satan to be a real and influential being

· Participate in religious activities such as worshipping God, praying to God, studying the Bible, seeking and following God’s will, and asking for God’s forgiveness for their sins

· Identify as a Christian

· Believe that after they die they will spend eternity in God’s presence solely because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

Of course, millennials did not get to this sad point on their own. These “spiritual transitions” represent a continuation of dramatic changes introduced by Gen X prior to the arrival of the Millennials. As George Barna—Director of Research at the Cultural Research Center—points out,

[T]he reshaping of America’s religious landscape began nearly 60 years ago. Baby Boomers were the most aggressive initiators of spiritual change, embracing dramatically different beliefs and behaviors than their predecessors. Their successors, Gen X, realigned the nation’s religious boundaries even further. The youngest adult generation of today, Millennials, are now threatening to reshape the nation’s religious parameters beyond recognition.

To combat this long and tragically effective war on Christianity and the truth, U.S. churches must embrace and invest in Christian education. For far too long, far too many American Christians have surrendered their children to the godless government schools. This must change, and the church in America must act as a powerful agent for this change.

This is especially true for churches with large campuses and large budgets. These large campuses often sit mostly empty throughout the school day and could be used for classrooms, cafeterias, theaters, and the like. Gyms and athletic fields could be built; buses could be bought; and so on. It’s true that schools require large budgets, but churches—especially “mega churches” could forego campus expansion and the like and devote such resources to providing children with a sound Christian education.

Also, many U.S. churches have long been devoted to foreign missions, and rightly so. However, while seeking to spread the Word on other continents, many American churches have neglected the moral decay and the war on Christianity that’s been right under their noses for decades. Instead of trying to undo the vast damage caused by godless government schools, churches should rid themselves of the problem by getting in the education game.

Small churches that lack the budgets and other resources to provide a quality education could pool their resources and partner with other small churches, or they could partner with larger churches. Christian schools could be supported by a network of churches, both large and small, making this an affordable educational option for Christian families. This could happen in communities across the U.S.

What’s more, once this network of Christian schools spreads and becomes more popular, Christians could lobby for state laws to change so that the tax resources of Christians could be directed to the schools of their choice. Thus, not only would the godless government schools lose vast numbers of students, they would also lose the large financial resources that (are supposed to) follow these students. Almost without fail, Christian schools would prove themselves much better stewards of these resources (both financial and human).

To turn the tide of rampant immorality that currently plagues the U.S., many Americans are longing for a new spiritual “Awakening” for our nation. Educating millions of American youths from a Christian worldview would go a long way toward this end.  

(In the coming days I will publish my opinion on what should be the mission of modern Christian schools.)

(See this column at American Thinker and The Blue State Conservative.)

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
Trevor Grant Thomas
At the intersection of politics, science, faith, and reason.
www.TrevorGrantThomas.com
Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America.

A Message to Millennials

While much is being made of the political ramifications of a recent report on Millennials from the Pew Research Center, instead of conservatives wringing our hands about what to do with these young “Spicolis,” in order to straighten them out, we need more conversation about how we have gotten here. Also, Millennials need a clear understanding of the political choices that they face.

There is much to address with the generation that, more than any other, is responsible for electing Barack Obama leader of the free world—twice. Sadly, this is the case for Millennials who call themselves conservatives as well as their uber-liberal counterparts.

First of all, they’ve all been lied to—a great deal, particularly about sex. Such deception is nothing new. It has been going on for millennia. As J.R.R. Tolkien put it nearly three-quarters of a century ago, “The dislocation of sex-instinct is one of the chief symptoms of the Fall. The world has been ‘going to the bad’ all down the ages… [T]he ‘hard spirit of concupiscence’ has walked down every street, and sat leering in every house, since Adam fell.”

However, growing up in the age of technology that we all enjoy, Millennials have been saturated with sexual propaganda like no other generation. This is significant in that so much of what we debate in the moral realm of our culture centers on sex.

Abortion, same-sex marriage, homosexuality, divorce, pornography, contraception, and the like are ultimately all about sex. For decades now, these issues have been hotly debated everywhere from the dinner table to the Supreme Court of the United States. Far too many Millennials have voted for politicians based solely on where they stand on these matters. Thus, they certainly need and deserve the truth when it comes to these moral issues.

Second, the oft-repeated protest that goes something like, “We need to stop legislating morality!” is a tired, foolish, and ignorant complaint. Likewise, and just as foolish and ignorant, is the idea that conservatives can be “socially conservative in their private activities without trying to impose their views on other people.” Why aren’t liberals implored (especially by conservative Millennials) to be socially liberal in their private activities without trying to impose their views on other people?

Conservatives did not ask for these battles. We are not the aggressors in the moral wars. For example, after the Lawrence vs. Texas ruling (which overturned the remaining anti-sodomy laws in the U.S.) by the U.S. Supreme Court, most conservatives would have been content with the “live and let live approach.” However, having government “out of the bedrooms” was not good enough for liberals. Thus, the assault on marriage began.

Make no mistake about it; someone’s morality is going to rule us. Before shunning the Christian morality (upon which this country was founded), that teaches among many other wonderful things that sex outside of marriage is wrong and that marriage is a union of one man and one woman for life, Millennials would do well to examine the evidence.

Many of them need to look no further than their own upbringing. Millennials are more likely than any other generation in American history to have been brought up in homes that suffered divorce or no marriage at all. The consequences that children endure as a result of their parents divorcing or as a result of growing up in a single-parent home (almost always without a father) or with same-sex parents are tragic and well documented.

Children of divorce are more likely to be poor, have behavior problems, and use illegal drugs. They are also more likely to struggle academically, suffer with depression, and commit suicide. Children born out of wedlock suffer even worse. They are significantly more likely to be poor; they have more health problems; and they have much slower cognitive and social development. Children born out of wedlock achieve significantly less academically as well as occupationally.

These consequences are devastating not only for individuals and families, but for the nation at large. Even liberals realize this, although their solutions, of course, involve bigger government. A case in point is the recent column by DeWayne Wickham on how President Obama “seeks to fix what ails minority males.”

A great many of these minority males were brought up in homes without fathers. Do you think Obama, Wickham, and the like will urge these men not to perpetuate this crisis by fathering children out of wedlock? Do you think traditional marriage—where mothers and fathers are together in the home and both invested in their children—will be part of their solution?

Of course not. Wickham wants another “War on Poverty.” (Because the first one worked so well—evidenced by the record number of Americans on food stamps.) Obama advisor Valarie Jarrett is “pumped up…to have the federal government do all it can to support this effort.” Whenever liberals say “federal support,” it’s time to hide your wallet. Whenever liberals say that they are “pumped up” about “federal support,” it’s time to visit banks in the Caymans.

Even more disturbing are the proposed solutions to “fix” our economy offered up recently by Millennial Jesse Myerson. (The fact that Rolling Stone saw fit to print his drivel is also quite disturbing.) In what almost seems like satire meant to deride liberals, Myerson presents a socialist smorgasbord that every Millennial “should be fighting for.”

As a solution to unemployment, he proposes government-guaranteed “work for everybody.” Such work would, of course, pay a “living wage,” that, of course, would be determined by the government. “But let’s think even bigger,” Myerson declares as he next suggests Social Security payments for everyone; “universal basic income, in which the government would just add a sum sufficient for subsistence to everyone's bank account every month.” Thus, Myerson amazingly concludes (giving us even more reason to stereotype young liberals as lazy), participation in the labor force would become “truly voluntary, thereby enabling people to get a life.”

The third proposal is to “take back the land.” Myerson then goes into a rant about landlords who “don't really do anything to earn their money. They just claim ownership of buildings and charge people who actually work for a living the majority of our incomes for the privilege of staying in boxes that these owners often didn't build and rarely if ever improve.”

Did you catch that? Myerson’s stupidity and hypocrisy are stunning. Just a few sentences after he lauds the idea of a nation where work is optional, Myerson criticizes property owners for not having to work—while patting himself on the back as someone “who actually work[s]!”

After Jonah Goldberg took Myerson to task, Emmett Rensin of the L.A. Times ran to Myerson’s defense. Rensin concluded that “Young leftists like Myerson and myself share a moral outlook that fundamentally differs from conservatives like Goldberg: Freedom, in the most prosperous nation on Earth, must entail the freedom to act without the constant specter of homelessness, hunger and preventable illness.”

In other words, Rensin and his comrades want to live by the pagan “do as thou wilt” philosophy and not have to suffer any consequences for their choices. Or, to paraphrase George Costanza, such “leftists” would prefer to live in the fantasy world of Cosmo Kramer: do nothing, make money without working, mooch food (and health care, etc.) off their neighbors, and have all the sex they want without any of the costs.

All of this begs a question of Millennials—especially those calling themselves conservatives. What do you prefer: to be guided by, and have a government that reflects, principles that place “moral chains” upon our appetites (as Edmund Burke instructs us) in order to help us prevent social and economic crises; or expensive Big Government programs to “fix” them? (Immorality is expensive—in more ways than one!) You’re going to have to live with one or the other.

It is folly to pursue politics that take a conservative approach to economic issues and a liberal approach to the moral ones. There is no going halfway here. It’s time for Millennials who want to be conservatives to be big boys and girls and swallow the whole pill. Conservatives cannot leave our morality at the door when it comes to issues involving sex. The moral arguments in favor of sound fiscal policy (“It is no act of charity to be generous with someone else’s money.”) are rooted in the same morality that teaches us that marriage is a union of one man and one woman and that killing a child in the womb is wrong.

(See this column on American Thinker.)

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com