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Last week, Texas became the first state in the nation to return the Bible to school classroom curriculums. Texas voted to adopt a school curriculum that includes the historical and literary role of the Bible. Oklahoma and Louisiana have also recently included the Bible and Ten Commandments at their schools. With 77% of Texans Christians and 68% of all Americans identifying as Christians, it isn't surprising that Texas and States across the country are working to restore faith-based values to schools. Mainstream media has predictably responded in unison with outcry, citing "separation of church and state" fallacies and misinterpretations of the First Amendment. However, the Supreme Court established over 50 years ago, in Abington Township School District v. Schempp, that academic Bible classes in public schools are constitutionally permitted. As Justice Clark opined:
Justice Stewart added:
Alliance Defending Freedom, the world's largest legal organization protecting the freedoms of speech and religion, has defended students' rights to pray together in school during free time, distribute religious fliers, have Bible clubs, depict the Bible and religious symbols in artwork, and share their beliefs, just as schools permit other secular activities that don't disrupt operations. Clarifying another frequent misunderstanding, they add: "A school may not prohibit student expression solely because others might find it offensive.” The Bible has historically held the core of school curriculums in America. Bible instruction in schools is nothing new. It's perhaps one of the most important ways we can begin to heal our nation and unify and restore our Country. After decades of revisionist secular education, America has lost its soul. Millions of young people no longer understand or appreciate what it once meant to be an American, grasp and value the unique freedoms and self-government established in our Constitution, or share the Founders' assurances in the guiding protections of Divine providence. "Sad will be the day when the American people forget their traditions and their history, and no longer remember that the country they love, the institutions they cherish, and the freedom they hope to preserve, were born from the throes of armed resistance to tyranny, and nursed in the rugged arms of fearless men." – Roger Sherman , a Founding Father of Christian faith who signed all four of our Country's Founding documents. America Is America Because of the Bible No book shaped America's founding more than the Bible. This important aspect of American history is undeniable, but seldom taught in public schools or revered nowadays, as secular culture increasingly removes religion from the public square. Known as the "people of the Book," the first colonists carried the Geneva Bible when they departed Holland. As God's people, the colonists faced horrendous hardship, sacrifice and danger to flee religious persecution and cross the Atlantic. They were part of the Virginia Charter for colonization, primarily guided by their Christian purpose, believing "the way to achieve good success, is to make yourselves all of one mind for the good of your country and your own, and to serve and fear God, the Giver of all Goodness; for every plantation which our Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted out." Upon landing on the shores of Virginia, they knelt in prayer and Thanksgiving, and erected a wooden cross. Three days later, on April 29, 1607, they shared communion and dedicated this land to God, establishing the First Landing Covenant of Dedication. They vowed the Gospel of Jesus Christ would go forth through the New World, and to raise up Godly generations as long as this earth remains. There was broad agreement among the Founding Fathers, regardless whether they were all Christians, although most certainly were, that the Bible was essential for nurturing the civic virtues that give citizens the capacity for self-government and that are necessary for a republic form of government to succeed. It promotes the principles of wisdom, justice, dignity, virtue, and goodness. They understood that without a national morality, a representative republic form of government could not survive. "The Bible contains the most profound Philosophy, the most perfect Morality, and the most refined Policy, that ever was conceived upon Earth. It is the most Republican Book in the World.”- John Adams The Bible can actually be seen as the fourth Founding document. It was the most frequently read and cited book throughout America’s founding era and played a major role in the establishment of our government. The Declaration of Independence expressed the soul of the new Country, establishing the moral, spiritual, rational, political and legal grounds for its founding. Each sentencecame from the Bible. The Constitution laid out the fundamental features of our country’s representative republic form of governing. While the authors made no actual mention of God in the Constitution, they didn't need to as the Bible was a core of daily life at that time. Judeo-Christian concepts − of covenant, sovereignty, limited government, consent of the governed, social contract, unalienable rights, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, rule of law, due process of law and representative government – all also came from the Bible. The Bill of Rights – which laid out the essential principles of human liberty and rights given to all people from the Creator – came from the Bible. First among those rights was the First Amendment : freedom of religion to believe and practice our faith without interference from the government; the freedom of speech and a free press, and the right of people to assemble and petition to the government. The Founding Fathers understood that religion, speech and assembly were essential for a free and sovereign country. Totalitarian rulers understand this, too, which is why these are the key freedoms they try to destroy. To recapture the Spirit of '76, a critical first step is to bring understanding of the Bible and the admirable beliefs and qualities of our Founding Fathers. Biblical author, B. Nathaniel Sullivan, shares twelve essential characteristics to instill in our children, communities and leaders in order to meet the challenges we face as we work to restore our country. The Bible's Long History in Education As States across the country are bringing the Bible back to schools, it's actually not a new concept, just a forgotten one. The Bible had a fundamental role in education and in school curriculum throughout America's early history. The Puritans strongly supported education and literacy, which they believed was necessary to read and understand the Bible, and to have an informed citizenry. They believed that building a Christian culture required knowledge of God's Word and the ability to think and reason through its truths. During America's first 150 years as English colonies, most children were home schooled. The Bible was their primer. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Even the Father of American Education, Noah Webster, believed it was important to teach the worldview of the U.S. Constitution and its underlying Christian principles of liberty and civil governance, wrote theological professor, Dr. Elizabeth Youmans. Webster understood that words are the building blocks of ideas and that the "colonies had fought eight years to win independence from England in order to be self-governing under God." His first 1828 American Dictionary referenced the root meaning of words in Greek and Hebrew and defined them according to how they were used in Scripture! "In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children under a free government ought to be instructed. . . . No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people…Education is useless without the Bible." – Noah Webster In The Remarkable Role of the Bible in Early American Education, Dr. Youmans explains how Scripture was heavily relied upon by early leaders and in America's public schools in order to produce thinkers. The Bible defined "education" and learning in America's schools. And that learning is not gained by passively sitting in front of computer screens, filling out endless worksheets and checking multiple choice boxes, she said. "Christian imagination is cultivated to dream God-sized dreams and to wonder at His glorious creation and His overruling hand in their lives and nations," she said. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician and co-founder of five colleges, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and founder of the Bible Society, wrote in 1791 that teaching the Bible in schools could "eradicate infidelity among us and render civil government scarcely necessary in our country." A biblical curriculum was designed to nurture children and give them an understanding of Christian history, with each lesson built on a biblical principle to guide them to reason and rightly apply truth to their own lives. The Society of Biblical Literature, founded in 1880, is the oldest academic organization advancing academic study of the Bible. It saw the winds of social turbulence after the Civil War and by 1900, the waves of anti-God and Marxist beliefs, and new age naturalistic beliefs threatening every traditional Christian doctrine. This international organization has a deep history of research and teaching the importance of Bible literacy in contributing to American scholarship and creating a more informed and enlightened citizenry. It has produced resources , guides and lesson plans on teaching the Bible. Today's popular objections and concerns are decisively addressed in its comprehensive Bible Electives in Public Schools: A Guide. Character and virtue education has historically been seen as the most vital part of education. "Educators throughout the centuries believed that it was of utmost importance to create a society that was loving, compassionate, civil, and self-disciplined," wrote William H. Jeynes, education professor and Senior Fellow at Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ. "Without this foundation, having intelligent people was of limited value." America's Founders understood the Bible's importance in developing character and educated, reasoning citizens. Their centuries-old wisdom has proven true in modern academic research. In a comprehensive meta-analysis of forty studies, professor Jeynes found a clear association between character education and overall successful outcomes, academic achievement, higher levels of self-discipline, sense of purpose, perseverance and moral decision making in students. His research, published in 2017, helps explain "why educators for well over 2,000 years have placed such confidence in the efficacy of character education," he wrote , and makes it difficult to argue against. In the early 1960s, courts removed voluntary prayer and Bible reading from public schools, thereby removing Judeo-Christian foundations, resulting in the "de-facto jettisoning of character instruction from American public school classrooms," he wrote. Schools removed all semblance of moral education in schools with disastrous results. By the 1990s, calls grew to reintroduce the Bible and religious foundations to public schools. Over recent decades, he wrote, up to 99% of Americans believe qualities such as the golden rule, patriotism, honesty and responsibility should be taught in public schools. The Bible Literacy Project, begun nearly two decades ago, has identified significant reasons to teach the Bible, as key to understanding our culture, helping children succeed academically, and develop character. According to BLP, academic Bible study promotes critical thinking skills, incorporates a range of disciplines (literature, language, social studies and arts), and develops leaders and informed citizens. At least eleven states have already passed legislation encouraging Bible literacy in schools. But public schools have generally continued to fail to embrace and teach the Bible and its role in our lives, our history, and the moral fabric of America. Students have lost an understanding of who we are, where we’ve come from, and what we can become. Those disastrous results have been very real for students, families and our nation. Public School Exit, an education nonprofit, has identified the Top Reasons parents, families and churches cite as they actively work to get children out of government schools as fast possible to protect them. Among the reasons cited are:
Homeschooling is now the fastest growing form of education, and Christian schools have exploded, both outpacing government schools, as parents rush to provide better educations for their children. Today's parents are recognizing that our nation's public schools are deeply troubled. But they face an uphill battle to overcome the country's largest union and lobby, the National Education Association (NEA), with $388.4 million in revenue in 2023. It's been the political and financial power behind public schools and directly responsible for their extreme progressive policies . Americans may soon have an opening to enable making change happen, though. President-Elect Donald Trump plans to eliminate the federal department of education, which was only just established in 1979, thereby cutting the massive federal layer of administrative bureaucracies. Decisions and control of educating children would be returned to states and local communities, as well as to parents, homes and families. This is just as was the original intent and long tradition of education in America. Our Founding Fathers intentionally established our Constitution so that most aspects of life would be managed by the people and those closest to the citizens, their local communities and States. Our nation is recognizing that the U.S. Constitution gives no authority over education to the federal government , which has become bloated and corrupted , has scholastically failed our children, and radically departed from the morals and values of most of the country. The word "education" doesn't even appear in the Constitution and it was unthinkable to have federal control over schools well into the 20 th century, wrote Neal McCluskey with Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom. So, the onus will be on parents, local communities and States. Our work has just begun if we are to save our children and restore our Country. If we take the example and admonitions of our Founding Fathers, bringing the Bible back to schools is a wise and proven first step. It is not a radical idea. It is America's educational tradition. *** Comments are closed.
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Sandy Szwarc, BSN, RN, retired emeritusAs a former registered nurse with a biological science degree, my early clinical practice took me from critical care to triage, case management to medical outreach, but always immersed in research. Writing has been my devotion. I went on to work in communications and editorial in science, publishing, healthcare, medical research and ethics, public utilities, and public policy. I believe people deserve to know the soundest facts to make informed decisions and that policies affecting peoples' lives should be based on sound evidence and reason…and, most of all, guided by God's word. Archives
November 2024
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