The Importance of Christian Education
by Dr. Phil Stringer (Florida)
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old,
he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)
Martin Luther said, "I am much afraid that schools will prove to be the
great gates of [H]ell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy
Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his
child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount."
David Feddes, a radio teacher on the Back to God Hour has been quoted as
saying, "I don’t believe in prayer in public schools. It’s not that I
don’t believe in prayer; I just don’t believe in public schools."
GOVERNMENT EDUCATION
The concept of government control of education has become so accepted in the
United States that most people take it for granted. Yet, there is no concept of
civil government controlling education in the Bible, in the Constitution, or in
the first 75 years of American history. The American people need to rethink the
idea that the civil government should be responsible for educating children.
The problem is not just poor academic achievement, the wasteful spending of
the public school system, or the loss of moral standards. The problem is that
the government is the wrong agency to be involved in education.
Some would argue that education is too important to be left up to the public.
But, such an argument could also be made about food, housing, clothes, shoes,
and transportation. Such an argument is being made about health care. If the
civil government was given charge of clothing, freedom would be lessened and
special interest groups in the textile industry would soon have a stranglehold
on American life. This is why the Founders of our country never considered
putting the government in the education business.
Public education is unconstitutional and inefficient. But, most of all, it is
unbiblical.
All education is religious in nature, even when educators pretend that it is
not. All forms of education are based upon a world view. All forms of education
try to answer basic questions of life that are religious in nature. In fact,
many of the current debates about separation of church and state involve the
public schools. The Founders of our republic who authored the First Amendment
never envisioned the day when American parents would surrender their educational
freedom to the government. Our nation’s original schools were home-based,
church-based, or local community-based. The man who gave us the wording of the
First Amendment, Fisher Ames, said this about education: "We must keep the
Bible the number one textbook in our education, or we will fail without the only
source of morality." Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Constitution, is
sometimes called the Father of American education. He wrote, "If we allow
removal of the Bible from our education, we will see an explosion of rebellion
and crime."
BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION
The Bible teaches a great deal about education.
• First, it teaches that wisdom begins with the right attitude toward God.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the
knowledge of the holy is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10). God is the
Creator or reality. He is the infallible Explainer of reality. To leave God out
of the education process is to totally surrender the education of our children
to the imagination of man’s heart. Explanations of science, history, and
citizenship that leave God out distort and falsify the disciplines they
supposedly represent.
• A second Biblical principle of education is that all knowledge is related
to Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:16-17 says, "For by him were all things created, that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and indivisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist." Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ are hid all treasures of
wisdom and knowledge.
Christ is the unifying center of the universe. You can learn all kinds of
facts but not see their importance. Truth is centered in Christ, and all facts
have their meaning as they relate to Christ.
Disconnecting the education of our children from Christ has caused them to
try to relegate Christ to a portion of their lives. Just as Christ should be the
center of our lives, He should be the center of our education.
• A third Biblical principle of education is that the foundational textbook
is the Bible.
The Bible should be the definitive Book in any curriculum. It should be the
Book by which all other books are judged.
• A fourth principle of Biblical education is that parents are responsible
for the education of their own children.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, "And these words, which I command thee this day,
shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto they
children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou
walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." The
oft-quoted Proverbs 22:76, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and
when he is old, he will not depart from it," is directed at parents. No
place in the Scriptures are parents ever allowed to pass their responsibilities
for training their children over to anyone else.
Parents may choose to use a formal school setting as a tool to educate their
children, but they are still responsible for the training.
Parents should remember that neutrality in education is impossible. Is it
neutral to pray? Is it neutral to ban prayer? Is it neutral to study history and
ignore Jesus Christ? Is it neutral to study biology and geology without
mentioning the Creator?
SCHOOL CHOICE
Many Americans are beginning to challenge the whole concept of public
education and are demanding school choice in some form. Michigan Governor John
Engler said, "Public education is a monopoly and monopolies do not
work. Why? Because in a monopoly customers do not come first."
Many parents are already exercising school choice. Thirteen percent of
America’s school-age children are in private schools. Homeschooling is the
fastest growing movement in American education.
It is no wonder that a worried Keith Geiger, president of the National
Education Association [NEA], said on a radio program, "We’ve got to quit
talking about letting the kids escape."
The NEA spends millions of dollars yearly to defeat school choice
initiatives, yet 22% of its membership with school-age children send their own
children to private schools. Prominent leaders in the Democratic party like Bill
Clinton, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, and Ted Kennedy work against any programs to
empower all parents to be able to choose schools for their children, yet they
all choose to enroll their own children in private schools.
There are four possible approaches to solving the school-choice debate.
• You could, of course, maintain the status quo and reject any changes in
favor of parental choice.
This is the goal of the professional educational establishment and a number
of politicians (especially in the Democratic party). But, this seems to fly in
the face of the growing public demand for change. Several national surveys have
demonstrated that over 80% of black parents favor school choice. A poll
conducted for Parent Power in the summer of 1993 indicates that 61% of Indiana
parents wanted full school choice and 79% wanted inter-district public school
choice. There reports are similar to reports in other states (76% support full
choice in Minnesota, for example). If these numbers hold up, it will become
harder and harder for politicians to resist the demand for change.
• A second option would be to allow school choice, but only among public schools.
This would eliminate the concept of mandatory school districts and create
competition among the public schools. This, however, would do nothing to empower
parents to be able to choose and afford private education. President Clinton has
expressed openness to this type of education reform. Thirty-six states are
experimenting with choice among public schools now. This may (at least
temporarily) satisfy some of the public demand for change. But, this approach
will not help parents concerned about new curricula, new educational methods, or
the need for religious or moral instruction in the educational process. And it
certainly will not satisfy taxpayers concerned about the growing cost of state
education or those concerned about the amount of control that the professional
educational establishment appears to have over our schools.
• A third approach would be the "voucher system" which is being
experimented with in Milwaukee.
Under this system, all parents with school-age children are given a cash
voucher by the state, which should be spent at the school of their choice --
public or private. Ballot initiatives to establish voucher systems have been
defeated in California and Colorado. Many of the strongest proponents for
private education oppose the voucher system for fear that the acceptance of
government funds by private schools will eventually lead to government control
of private schools.
• A fourth approach would be to grant tax deductions and/or tax credits to
parents for the amount of money they spend on their children’s education.
This should recognize the role of parents as "choice-makers" and
keep the government out of any direct entanglement with the private schools.
Businesses and individuals who provide educational scholarships could also
receive tax deductions for their expense. The government would simply reduce the
tax burden on those who provide for education, while saving itself the expense
of educating those in private schools or those being educated at home.
The American free-market economy is built on the premise that consumer choice
will ultimately lead to the best quality product at the lowest cost. We assume
that parents will generally make the best choices about shoes, clothing, food,
and medicine for their children. Why should we assume that a government
bureaucrat can make better choices about the education of these children?
After experiencing 75 years of total government control over education, the
Russians are reforming their failed educational system with parental choice
programs. In fact, many Russian parents have more "educational
freedom" than American parents.
As William H. Meller III, president of the Institute for Justice, said,
"After all, what we’re talking about here is a fundamental freedom.
It’s the notion that parents should have the freedom to select the education
that best meets the needs of their children."
Noah Webster, the great educator who worked on the wording of the United
States Constitution, wrote, "All evils are fostered from not knowing and
practicing the moral principles and precepts of the Bible."
Private Christian education, whether at home or in a Christian day school, is
one of the best investments of time and money that parents can make in the lives
of their children. Christian education is one of the most important weapons in
the Culture War.
Dr. Phil Stringer is Executive Vice President of Landmark
Baptist College, Haines City, Florida.
