Friday, February 26, 2010

Families – Threats – Morality not being taught in schools

From our Introductory Post:

“The righteous have sat back and allowed the wicked to take over our relationships to God, families, churches, governments, schools and colleges, journalism, entertainment, sports, sciences, and a whole litany of other endeavors in our society.”

Families – Threats – Morality not being taught in schools

In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically Pornography. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, Morality not being taught in schools.

We must understand from the start that this blog considers all Morality to be Biblical in nature because true morality derives from the Bible, the Word of God. Some may disagree with this approach, and that is your privilege, but the only reasonable approach is that morality is objective. Any morality that is subjective can change and, therefore, is not truly morality.

“In Colonial America the schools were mostly run by the churches. The first settlers in America felt that it was important that children learned to read so they could read their Bibles.” This statement from http://www.schoolprayerinamerica.info/ provides the basis for teaching Biblical morality in American schools. Students of that day read the Bible and the New England Primer. “Daily school prayer was a natural part of this educational system. After the American Revolution, Noah Webster introduced the Blue-backed Speller which also used Bible verses to teach reading and spelling. In 1836 the McGuffey Reader was introduced which also featured Bible verses to teach moral values. This school system produced some of the world’s brightest inventors and set the Industrial Revolution in motion. The schools continued to be run mostly by Christian Churches until the 1890's at which point States started to take control of the existing schools. By 1900 many other text books were in use and they all had Bible quotes in them.”

In today’s schools people expect the continued teaching of “morality,” but many of them think of morality in terms of a humanist approach, as in http://www.freeinquiry.com/teaching-morals.html . Cities are concerned about the incidence of crime and feel that the problem can be addressed through the educational system. “While everyone in our city (New Orleans, LA) should seek to comprehend why so many high school- and college-aged people are involved in violence, educators have a particular responsibility to understand the problem and take action.” See http://blog.nola.com/guesteditorials/2009/01/why_schools_must_teach_moralit.html . Some school systems approach the teaching of morals as “character education.” Such terms as “fairness” and “respect” are used without explaining the basis of these character traits. See http://www.hcde.org/site/partners/character_ed/default.aspx .

All approaches are doomed to failure except a return to Biblical morality. How can anyone argue with a system that produced the greatest republic in the history of the world? Even with all of our present problems America is still the shining light attracting people from all over the world.

Summary

This post has examined morality not being taught in schools as a major threat to families. We discovered that the solution is found in returning to the Biblical morality of our founding ancestors. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Poverty.

I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.

“Mr. Phil”

Friday, February 12, 2010

The Stop Sign, Part 7

The Stop Sign, Part 7

Soon the hall was empty except for Billy and the professor who remained sitting on his desk. Shortly Billy rose from his seat, grabbed the loops of a backpack and walked down the slanted aisle to where the professor sat. Reaching into his pack, Billy took out a brown paper wrapped item, a gift with a colorful red ribbon and placed it on the professor’s brief case. Billy extended his hand to the professor.

“I really appreciate your thoughts,” he said. “I think it was difficult to share those in today’s class. Good luck as you retire.”

The professor grabbed Billy’s hand and shook it but not sure exactly what it meant. In his heart he wanted to confirm what Billy Lynch had said but it seemed unwise at the moment as he simply wanted the day to end, not knowing what might happen next as the word spread among the students that he had actually questioned the validity of evolution.

“Thanks,” he said. “Thanks for being in my class today. What is in the package,” he asked, lifting it from its place on the desk and balancing it in his hand.

“It is something I’ve been holding for you,” said Billy. “I hope you enjoy it.”

With that, Billy Lynch left the professor sitting on the desk, walked up the stairway to the hallway and disappeared.

The professor sat on his desk for a long time, pondering the comments he had just made and heard and wondering about the package he held. He wondered how it could be that he had drifted so far away from the goals he had embraced when a child. His mind took him back to moments when, as a ten-year-old lad at a church camp, he had decided that being a Christian was the right thing to do. His decision followed a week of camp fun; lots of swimming, hiking, singing and bon fires at Camp Lake Louise in Michigan. It was a great trip for a kid like him. He remembered the ride in a old green school bus which took the young people from their small country church near Bowling Green, Ohio to the camp not far from the big Mac bridge at the northern tip of Michigan’s southern peninsula. He could nearly smell the inescapable odors of the Cedar boards used in the construction of the cabins and the wonderful meals; the experiences came back to his mind as though they occurred yesterday. It had been a memorable experience. Each night at the campfire, the camp pastor would tell bible stories and challenge the young people to give their lives to Christ. On the last night little Jimmy Wilson (that’s what they called him) raised his hand and decided then and there that he would live for God the rest of his life.

When he returned to the Ohio farmhouse where he lived with his mother and father, he was quick to share the news of his time at camp, especially of deciding to be a Christian.

“This is wonderful,” said his father. “We have been praying for you even since you were born.” His mother hugged him and kissed him on the check. “We are so happy,” she said.

Dan Schobert, W9MFG@charter.net

Monday, February 8, 2010

The Stop Sign, Part 6

The Stop Sign, Part 6

Professor Wilson was surprised, as were his students, to hear such words in a University classroom, words that had not resonated there in many years, though it was commonly discussed in the early days of the institution, those days when the leadership and founders had dedicated the campus to the Glory of God. A lot had happened in the following years, decades of gradual decline until the present moment when it seemed that even the mention of God was like expressing an ugly word.

Billy Lynch appeared to be satisfied with the answer. “Thank you professor,” he said. “It seems to me,” he continued, “that if God is the one who provides absolutes, He would also be the one who could give important information about the origins of things. This being the case, it would seem necessary to consider His words. But the lectures we have been getting have pretty much tossed the Bible aside and asked us to believe that everything we see around us are the result of time and chance. I am aware that there have been many attempts to reconcile both views but, in my opinion, these have failed because, in the long run, they have tended to down play the role of God. So, perhaps, it comes down to trusting God.”

“But there is more,” he said. “Let’s say that I have a gun.”

He quickly pushed his right hand into his pocket. The students and Professor gasped, perhaps thinking they were going to be victims. Slowly Billy Lynch pulled his hand from his pocket but it was in the form of a gun, with his index finger pointing ahead and thumb erect, the kind of gesture kids make when playing. He pointed the “gun” around the room, finally taking aim at the professor.

“Imagine this is a real gun,” he said. “And I was about to shoot you or maybe some of my classmates, even myself. Though an illegal act, and besides the fact that you probably wouldn’t like me to shoot you or anyone else, on what basis can it be said that I shouldn’t do this? I mean, we have been hearing in this lecture series that evolution has always proceeded on the basis of survival. And maybe I sense that you and the others in this room are a danger to my survival and believe that removing you would increase my longevity. So, under the rules of evolution, I have every right to do just that, and not be punished for it because I would be acting in accordance with the rules of evolution.”

Billy slowly put his “gun” back into his pocket and sat down. The hall was quiet except for the hum of the air conditioner. Professor Wilson said nothing. He was stunned because he knew that what Billy Lynch had said was true. He knew it to be true and he also knew that most of his fellow professors, deep down, would agree.

Soon the students began to file out. Some paused at Billy’s desk, shaking his hand or giving him a thumbs up salute. “Way to go,” someone said in passing.

Not a few, however, shook their heads, believing Lynch to be some sort of fanatic. “You’re crazy,” one said. “What are you, a religious nut?” someone shouted.

Dan Schobert, W9MFG@charter.net