WHO IS TEACHING OUR CHILDREN WHAT?
Christianity teaches it. The Bible commands parents to train up their children in the truths of God. Christians are to let their children hear the truths of God multiple times during the day, rising up in the morning, going out, coming in, and in-between, Christian parents are to instruct their children in the ways of God. Why? Because children are like fertile soil, and they can grow whatever seeds get planted in them.
Even an atheist like B.F. Skinner understands the importance of examples to children.
In the American history curriculum which he helped design to alienate children from the traditional values of America, Skinner applied modeling and step-by-step progression of thought to lead the students to his desired conclusions.
Especially the humanists who have so dominated the text book publishing industry realize the importance of training children, even more than those people who go to sit on a red velvet pew on Sunday morning. Actions taken speak louder than words promised, and it is clear to see that the influence of Jesus Christ is not dominating the mood of most children's story books in our public schools today.
A statistical analysis of elementary and junior high reading opportunities reveals strong bias toward nonsense, foolishness, anger, madness, disorder, confusion, chaos, occult, rebellion, discontent, and the like. It is rare to find a children's book in public school displaying fruit of the Spirit of God.
Before you judge my decision as wrong, please inform yourself of the subtle issues which have been documented by far many others besides myself. William Bennett is a good beginning for valid opinions on current literature. How many books from his list are in the schools for children to check out? Why the discrepancy? Humanists are working harder at their job than Christians are working what God would have them do. It is as Jesus said, The people of this generation are wiser in accomplishing their goals with their devices than are the people of God.
Christians have presumed on the mercy and grace and goodness of God even at the risk of their own children. What does Molech have on the false god many christians obey called presumptuous grace? Molech only required children be burned to a quick death in a short fiery sacrifice. The false god of Presumption and Lasciviousness turns children over to a long season of arsenic to their soul by their parents being so busy with things of the world that they choose to presume on God rather than take responsibility for their children's education.
A minimum required understanding that might qualify someone to evaluate the books can be found in these sources:
Holy Scripture, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Jesus Christ, The Spirit of Truth, A Christian Faith and Life
Communist Manifesto
Nonsense Is Destroying America
Humanist Manifestos I&II
Reason In the Balance
Humanism, on the Net
Rewriting America's History, all of it
Original Intent, David Barton
Some may argue that not every book is so bad. That is true; however, there are not enough good books that present good, uplifting and life strengthening characters. It is not enough that not every book is so bad. The books for children are food for their life. Those books are either good food or evil food.
The books either produce life, or they produce death. It must be that every glass of milk must be free of arsenic. Don't come to me saying, "Well, Mr. Rice, not every glass of milk in the cafeteria had that much arsenic in it."! But rather come to me saying, we have inspected all the milk, and there is no arsenic at all!
The Bible is a book that produces life. Some argue against God and say the Bible is a book of nonsense over which men have killed each other for thousands of years.
It has been pointed out that over 20,000,000 lives have been taken by those professing to serve the God who gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. Let those who point that number also point the restraint which godly influence had. Count the lives taken by people denying God and you reach a number many many times greater. So even that laboratory of history shows a Christian restraint on the evils of man
It is men who are Christians, and those men are not perfect, but, thank God, they are less barbaric than Stalin and Hitler and Atilla, and the Romans.
It is Christian money that paid most of the world's relief over the years. It is Christian mercy that spared most lives. In all the imperfections of those who seek God, they still come out with less guilt than those who deny Him.
God blesses those who seek Him. Those who deny Him or would turn children from Him are left to their own destruction which they bring upon themselves. To seek Him is to raise up our children on goodness and mercy and love. It is the goodness of God to bring up our children with gentleness and tenderness.
David wrote, The gentleness of God has made me great. But the current ideas of naturalistic humanism thinking is "Go down to the gutter, find the lowest level to address these children and write from there." So the children's books are filled with anger, madness, rebellion in all forms, and displayed by word and picture for the children to identify and relate and be shaped thereby. A terrible sin for which we must repent is before us. Just look at the shelves of books being freely given to your schools for your children.
Count the rotten books, the obviously stinking books. Then count the questionable books. Then count the ones you might call neutral. Then count the ones your preacher would call good and helpful that redeem the time and help one to be wise. Now compare the numbers and ask God what is before you.
Two girls who found great pleasure in reading books that are uplifting to the soul, even delighting in the short stories found in William Bennett's The Moral Compass, when asked to select books out of Fain library, came home with the following:
I believe those two little girls choice of books was influenced more by the available selection than by their own desires. They were obligated to select something. And they selected as best they could out of the trash offered to them. God bless the little girls! They are to be commended for they chose the least unworthy out of the many more that were often more unworthy.
But time has come for this papa bear to stand up and fight for better food for his offspring! I will no more see my little girls subjected to such a choice as though there were no better options.
There is better food available. If the public schools will not provide good life giving food then someplace else will.
After I became frustrated with the dilemma of screening out the rotten books from my children's reading, I decided to call a strong Christian man who had been recommended to me as a wonderful educator. He told me he couldn't help. His children were in private school. I thought and thought, till I remembered another strong Christian whose little child knew my children in Fain. I called him. I got the same answer. Is it coincidence that two respected men I called one after the other for help with my problem told me they had already taken their own children out of public school because they could not solve the problem to their satisfaction for their own children?
Who will acknowledge the strong bias among those in the educational system? When a survey is taken among those who get their pay check from the system, the books are defended and judged as OK.
Several rationalizations are offered as excuses for why the books are what they are; but when outsiders are asked to evaluate the books, a different answer is given. There is a bias among those in the king's court to agree that his clothes truly are golden. It took a little child in the story to declare, "The king has no clothes!"
Only the little child was not trying to please the king: everyone else in the court was afraid of what people would think if they said differently from all the crowd. It is just as much a sin to follow a multitude to do evil as it is to commit a sin in secret.
Too many of the current books are a sin against God and the children. It is a sin for the preacher to be too ignorant for speaking on the issue, and it is a sin for the preacher to be afraid of speaking on the issue if he knows the truth. And scripture teaches it is a sin to pull the punch, to hold back the sword from drawing blood, to cover the truth with velvet gloves and not convict anyone of sin.
The Holy Ghost when He is come will convict of sin and righteousness and eternal judgment. He will not condemn, but He will convict of sin, for that is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance so we perish not. And He will convict of the mercy and righteousness of God so that anyone who repents should not perish but find mercy and forgiveness. But then He will lead you to chapter seven of the second letter to Corinth where godly repentance is defined.
Isaiah 7:15 says Jesus was raised up on butter and honey so He could know to reject the evil and accept the good.
We don't have to raise our children up on trash so they can recognize trash. Just raise them up with beauty and truth, goodness and mercy, then they will know evil and reject it. For who having tasted the good will be satisfied with any less? But any one who is given only waste products will eat anything for he knows no better. To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. Parents, raise up and feed good food to your children. Man shall not live by trash but by the goodness and word of God. Written by Larry A. Rice in response to local events that are mirrors of national events. If these things were mentioned from the pulpit then I will have done some good with this effort. People, get together and learn what's going on in education.
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