Is This America? Part 6
By Mary Ann Collins
December 14, 2009
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Is This America? Part 6 By Mary Ann Collins December 14, 2009 |
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"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)
"...know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?" (James 4:4)
"Sin is a monster of such awful mien,
That to be hated needs but to be seen,
But seen too oft, familiar with face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace."
Alexander Pope
("Mien" means appearance)
We live in a world where multi-culturism, secular humanism, and occultism oppose God's ways and God's moral standards. This can make it difficult for Christian parents to pass their faith and Biblical values on to their children.
Public schools can undermine the Biblical morality of Christian children, using manipulative techniques such as values clarification.1 They can also teach children to do things that are associated with pagan religions or New Age practices. For example, some school children have been taught to make "worry dolls" to ward off evil spirits, and to make representations of Hindu gods. One Earth Day assembly taught students that their mother is the earth and their father is the sun. Some public school children were instructed in New Age teachings about crystals.2
In addition, today's children live in a world that is filled with movies, music, toys, and video games that promote a worldview that is diametrically opposed to Christianity.
UNGODLY ENTERTAINMENT
There are video games, TV shows, movies, and music that glorify violence. Do such things actually promote violence? They can.
Recently a 17-year-old boy murdered his 10-year-old brother because he had a craving to kill somebody. He said that he was inspired by the TV show "Dexter," which features a serial killer. Last year, a Canadian man committed a murder that was inspired by the same TV show.3
The Virginia Tech massacre was inspired by a violent movie that the killer watched over and over.4 (For more information about such things, see "Toying with Death: Learning to love evil & crave violence."5)
There are video games that have players torture people, watch the gore, hear the screams, and get rewarded by the game for doing it. According to the Medical Foundation for the Care and Victims of Torture (U.K.), such games demonstrate "a dangerous decline in social attitudes towards inflicting suffering." Players become "desensitized to torture."6
We live in a sex-saturated culture. For example, the Bratz Babyz are dolls of babies with bottles. And they wear thongs instead of diapers or training pants.7 What kind of message does that give to girls?
The regular Bratz dolls are overtly sexy and immensely popular. Some have described them as being "Hooker Barbie."8
One mother reports that her seven-year-old daughter was crying while she was taking a bath, saying that she wasn't sexy enough. Her daughter liked playing with Bratz dolls with her friends.9
Popular entertainment promotes occultism. The Harry Potter books introduced children world-wide to the world of wizards and sorcery.10 "Charmed" is a soap opera about three sisters who are witches. It is so popular that it had both the current show during the day and reruns at night.11
Popular role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons "open doors to forbidden realms and spiritual seductions."12 A new breed of children's games is "training kids to love evil more than good.13
For Christian children, one week of Sunday school is not enough to counteract the constant bombardment with worldly ideas and ungodly examples. As a result, Christian children need to have praying parents and praying grandparents. They need to be close to Biblically knowledgeable family members who live according to Biblical principles.
JUDGE VERSUS CHRISTIAN HOMESCHOOLER
A ten-year-old girl from New Hampshire has been homeschooled all her life by her Christian mother. But a judge has ordered her to go to public school because she "vigorously" defends her Christian faith.14
The girl is "well liked, social and interactive with her peers," and participates in a number of extra-curricular sports activities. The girl is also "academically promising and intellectually at or superior to grade level," and she attends some public school classes in addition to being homeschooled. Her homeschooling curriculum meets all state standards.
Unfortunately, her parents got divorced in 1999, and they disagree about how she should be raised. As a result, the courts got involved in the girl's personal life, and it appointed a "guardian ad litem" (a person who is supposed to represent her best interests during the legal proceedings).
This "guardian" said that the girl "appeared to reflect her mother's rigidity on questions of faith." And she said that it would be in the needs "exposure to a public school setting" and "different points of view at a time when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief." The guardian told the girl's mother that he could have her put in public school if he wanted to.
The case was heard by a "marital master" (a woman) who reports to the judge. She considered the girl's "vigorous defense of her religious beliefs" to be a problem. This court official said that the girl "has not had the opportunity to seriously consider any other point of view." Therefore, this official recommended that the girl be ordered to attend public school. The judge followed the official's recommendation.
So the stated purpose of forcing the girl to attend public school is to expose her to beliefs that are contrary to her Christian faith.14
The girl's mother has appealed the case. A lower court judge refused to reconsider the order, but the New Hampshire Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.15
Many of the people who first came to America did so in order be able to practice their Christian faith without interference from the government. Our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. And here is a court ordering a Christian girl to go to public school in order to challenge her Christian faith. Is this America?
SEX EDUCATION IN KINDERGARTEN
The United Nations is promoting sex education beginning at age five. One of the goals of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is to promote "worldwide curricula reflecting UNESCO values." It is presently writing a sexually explicit curriculum for children beginning at age five.16
The United Kingdom has announced that by 2010, England will have mandatory sex education for five-year-olds. This is a compulsory program beginning in kindergarten, and becoming more sexually explicit in higher grades.17
Could this happen in the United States? There are people in high places who want to make this happen in America. Back in 2007, Obama told Planned Parenthood that "age-appropriate" sex education should be done in kindergarten.18
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Never has it been more important to train children to see reality from God's perspective. The truths about our sovereign God, His creation, the world, our own human nature, the spiritual war that rages behind the scenes all have been turned upside down by the new global paradigm.
It's up to parents to teach children to see everything through the filter of His Word. So, while public school children are immersed in myths and experiences that promote the global paradigm, we must immerse our children in God's truth. That takes time, and Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says it well:
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit walk, lie down, and rise up."
Does that sound like homeschooling to you? Keep in mind, unless we teach our children to know and follow His Word, they will not be ready for the spiritual battles ahead.
Education leaders are fighting hard for control over all children, not just those in government schools. Curfew laws, national standards and tests, work certificates, requirements for teacher certification that would include parents who teach at home these are some of the threats to our freedom.
We don't know what our earthly future holds, nor how long we may freely train our children to love and follow God. But we can trust the One who holds the future in His hands. One day-maybe very soon-He will come for His own. Between today and that glorious day, we may be tested in ways we can hardly imagine. Will our children be ready? Will you and I?
Now is the time to prepare. We can trust our Shepherd to provide all the time and strength we need to follow. Remember,
"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:24
NOTES
1. "Schools and Values Clarification," http://www.crossroad.to/Books/YourChildNewAge/YCNA-3.htm
2. David Limbaugh, "Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War against Christianity" (Regnery Press, 2003), pages 81-82.
3. "Andrew Conley Says He Was Inspired by 'Dexter' to Strangle Brother," December 4, 2009. (The news story mentions the man who committed a similar murder in 2008.)http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9252620
4. "Copycat: Killer Re-Enacted Violent Film," August 20, 2007. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/20080641261563
5. "Toying with Death: Learning to love evil & crave violence," April 19, 2007. http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/007/toying-with-death.htm
6. "Medical Foundation Urges Retailers to Boycott Violent Video Games Promoting Torture," July 26, 2006. http://www.torturecare.org.uk/news/latest_news/296
7. "At Least One Bratz Babyz Has Abandoned Her Thong ," January 4, 2006. (One mother was dismayed when she discovered the thong and replaced it with training pants.) http://www.commercialexploitation.org/news/bratzthong.htm
8. "Over-sexed and over here: The 'tarty' Bratz Doll," October 20, 2006. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-411266/Over-sexed-The-tarty-Bratz-Doll.html
9. "Grade-school Lolita: ‘So Sexy So Soon': The sexualized childhood and how it affects kids younger than you think," August 6, 2008. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26037851/
10. "Harry Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft with Praise from Christian Leaders." http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/Harry&Witchcraft.htm
11. "Charmed." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charmed
12. "Role-Playing Games & Popular Occultism Open doors to forbidden realms and spiritual seductions." http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2003/occult-rpg.htm
13. "The Rising Darkness in Children's Games: Training kids to love evil more than good," October 22, 2009. http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/009/bakugan.htm
14. "Court orders Christian child into government education: 10-year-old's 'vigorous' defense of her faith condemned by judge," August 28, 2009. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=108084
15. "Hearing for homeschooler forced into gov't system: Judge: 'Lost opportunity' if child's Christian views not challenged in public setting," November 26, 2009. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.printable&pageId=117023
16. "UNESCO Gets off the Track Again" by Phyllis Schlafly, October 9, 2009. http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2009/oct09/09-10-09.html
17. "UK Announces Mandatory Sex Education for Kindergarteners," October 24, 2008. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102406.html
18. "Sex Ed for Kindergarteners ‘Right Thing to Do,' Says Obama," July 18, 2007. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/07/sex-ed-for-kind.html
See also Is this America - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
See also God's Warnings for our Times