The Old Deluder Act (and other such actions that lead to government funded schooling) was well intentioned. But we must understand that socialized education is just as defective as socialized health care. It is not the way God has said things should run, therefore it is bound to end up ruining the lives of many.
A small chip in your windshield may be nothing at first, but it eventually spiders. Its corruption may take time to pervade the whole, but it eventually will. Just so, the slight deviation our country made in socializing education way back when, has now led to the corruption of the whole.
We can long for the "glory days" of public eduction (with the New England Primer and all). Or we can long for the days when America really feared God and did not have compulsory, government funded education at all.
Scripture expressly says that government is not God's ordained means of providing education. It is only to "bear the sword" and be "an avenger who carries out the wrath of God on the wrongdoer." (It is good to note too that our Constitution is in full agreement with this.)
In sum, Christians should not look to the government for the education of their children, no matter what the face of its piety. The whole notion of socialized education is defective at its core. Moreover, as we shouldn't be surprised when a defective stick finally breaks and fails us, we shouldn't be surprised that the public schools look the way they do.
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I see a few difficulties with this article. It is true that both our schools and our churches have “become so debauched with humanism and immorality.” I do wish our public schools would return to the ways they used to be under our Founding Fathers and America’s Schoolmaster, Noah Webster (have you ever read his History of the United States?). They used to teach the principles of Christianity and what was right and wrong—according to God’s word. Now, God has been expelled from public schools, as he has from government and from many of our churches.
I agree that when the government takes control, things do not seem to get better, which is likely why our Constitution gives “few and defined” powers to the federal government, leaving the rest up to the states and the people. “Socialized education,” as you call it, is unconstitutional when the federal government controls it—not when the states or localities do. I wonder why some have no problem with unbiblical “socialized religion.”
I wonder when were the “days when America really feared God and did not have compulsory, government funded education at all.” I think it must have been back in the days of the Puritans, in the early colonial days, when there was compulsory church attendance. Is that biblical?
I, too, oppose compulsory education—especially high school. Many students and teachers would greatly benefit if those lazy, trouble-making students who were in school only because they had to be and were just slowing down the other students and causing trouble for the teachers were allowed to drop out.
Some say the government should not be educating our children because that role has been biblically given to parents. Perhaps. Why, then, do so many expect the church to educate their children in matters of religion, when that is extremely clear that it is the parents’ role to teach their children the ways of God. Should then making kids go to church be opposed? Should Sunday School be abolished?
America’s public schools used to teach the children God’s ways. If the church was doing its part, there would be much less need for government programs. Do pastors oppose their tax-exempt status because it is not right? Even Jesus paid His taxes. Benjamin Franklin came up with a plan of education for public schools in 1749 that would teach the necessity of religion and the excellency of the Christian religion above all. Ohio’s own Northwest Ordinance promoted the means to establish public schools to encourage religion, morality, and knowledge. Founding Father Benjamin Rush wrote a defense of using the Bible in public schools. Read Webster’s US history book or a McGuffey Reader or a New England Primer. They contain better messages, more prayer, and more Bible than most of America’s churches.
Let’s go back further, though. I suppose John Calvin is not a very good example at all of what the government is to do biblically. I wonder how much power the government of Geneva usurped unbiblically, since “Scripture expressly says that government is not God's ordained means of providing education. It is only to ‘bear the sword’ and be "an avenger who carries out the wrath of God on the wrongdoer.’” I wonder, then, why Mr. Calvin had an academy in Geneva which included the mandatory public education of Geneva’s youth, which has been called the “forerunner of modern public education.” I wonder how many have read Martin Luther’s “Sermon on Keeping Children in School.” I wonder how many have read Luther’s 1524 treatise “To the Councilmen of All Cities of Germany,” which has been called “the original rationale for public primary and secondary schools.”
Certainly it is not the federal government’s role to take over the education of our children; however, should we not desire public schools to reinforce Godly values rather than teach contrary to them? Certainly we should recognize that it is not unconstitutional for our public schools to teach Biblical morality based upon God’s word.
How many of our children get messed up spiritually because they are forced to go to a church that little resembles Biblical Christianity and are taught that what they see is Christianity. They are taught that the elderly should be segregated from the youth, that it is okay for the youth to be like the world, that somewhere the Bible shows church as being a formal meeting comprised of a welcome, a hymn or two, a prayer, a formal, alliterated sermon (with or without a message from God or any relevancy to everyday life), another hymn, and another prayer. Can you find anything like this in the Bible? Why, then, do churches teach our youth that this is how things ought to be?
We ought to return to the Bible in our churches, and we ought to return to the Constitution as a nation. We have much churchianity, but little Christianity in America. When we leave God, our churches become dry and formal, or fun and worldly. When we leave God and the Constitution, our schools become full of nonsense and immorality and sin.
To all: I, and most all Reformed people, don't believe Calvin, Luther and the puritans were infallible. We do disagree with our respected forefathers at many points. That's why we are Calvinists, we know that even the best of men are ignorant and liable to go beyond the bounds of Scripture.
I agree that parents shouldn't leave the education of children to the church. The responsiblity is the parent's and the church's job is to see to it that the parents are doing their job. A good reference is the Westminister Directery for the Publick Worship of God. In that document it says that the elders of the church are responsible to make sure parents are providing a godly education for their children and discipline them if they aren't.
"If the church was doing its job government wouldn't have as many programs." True! Amen! And the same is true for parents: if they were doing their job, we wouldn't have public schools!
As to the ordering of divine worship: You can put the elements together virtually any way you want, just as long as you have what the Bible prescribes: singing of God's praise, prayer, Scripture reading and preaching and sacraments. You'll notice that Jesus happily went to the synogogue each week where all these things took place (Lk 3), even when those in charge were sinful men.
BTW, what church are you a member of?
I think we agree on most things.I belong to the same church was founded on the Rock, Christ--the one to which Peter and Paul belonged. Find which one that is, and you will know to which one I belong.
I agree that it seems many parents are leaving raising their children (education, morality, religion, simply raising them) up to others (school, church, television, daycare, etc.) It would be good for parents to find God's truth and lead their children in following the Savior.
I agree that we agree on most things. This conversation has been good too.
"I belong to the same church was founded on the Rock, Christ--the one to which Peter and Paul belonged. Find which one that is, and you will know to which one I belong."
You testify to your belonging to the universal and invisible Church. But I assume by your lack of specificity that you are not making that reality visible by joining a particular, local church?
I know that there all churches are a mixture of truth and error to differing degrees; some having gone so far as to become synogogues of Satan. But we are Biblically mandated to be members of one of those churches.
(Funny enough, my next sermon will touch on this subject. I've also been thinking about doing a blog on the subject too. So if you see one, don't think that I'm coming after you. I know a lot of professed Christians who don't belong or even go to church).
Part of the rational is that we display our allegiance to Christ by being associated with His people, submitting ourselves to the authorities He has insitited, and participating in the life, work and worship of those churches that acknowledge His headship.
I'm happy to extend the invitation to you to worship with us. I would love to have a man of wisdom like yourself in our group. I'm sure your gifts and graces would be most useful and welcome in our midst.
But we could talk more about it over a burger if you would like.
Cheeri-o
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