Humanism, No. 2

RV115-02

© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)

We are studying the first seal of Revelation 6:1-2. This is segment number 13. The American people are now under the threat of an enormous conspiracy which permeates all facets of American society and all the institutions of the nation. The goal of this conspiracy is very simple – to detach Americans from their Judeo-Christian heritage, and to replace it with the religious humanism as expressed in Humanist Manifestos I and II. Religious humanism is nothing more than the old-fashioned occultism – the forces of demons in operation. The primary vehicle for this national change into a new age of human reason and the deification of man is the nation's public school system. Once the children of the nation have been won to humanism and to the New Age movement dogmas, then it matters little what their parents believe or what their parents want.

The dry-run antichrist, Adolf Hitler, on one occasion, in a speech in 1933, said, "When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already. What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time, they will know nothing else but this new community.'" Hitler knew whereof he spoke. He went after the children; he brought them into the Hitler Youth Movement; he purged the teachers out of the public school system; and, then he ensured that they had the teachers that were teaching the occultism that was attached to the Nazi movement. And from then on, they had it made. It was only the grace of God that brought him down.

Public Schools

Public school education in the United States is humanism. Public school education in the United States is not just influenced by humanism, but it is humanism. It is more so in some parts of the country than in others, but that's irrelevant. The tidal wave is going to engulf us wherever we live. It is on its way. The movement is going to be very difficult to turn back. Much of the rebellion; the despair; the drug addiction; the illicit sex; and, the violence of American youth is being taught them in the public schools as an alternate lifestyle. That's where it is basically being taught. Therefore, No state in the Union is free of the inroad of humanism, and the concepts of globalism as against nationalism, which is permeating the public school curriculum. Today, the will of a minority of humanists in this nation is being imposed upon the majority of Americans through their school children. Few people seem to be aware of it, let alone resisting it. I think that it is high time that we, as Christians, be educated in what is going on in American society, and the world in violation of Scripture.

So, we have been pausing to take a closer look at the principles of humanism. We have looked at Humanist Manifesto I, which is written in 1933. It was a clear presentation of humanism as a religion. There have been two cases in the United States Supreme Court concerning the question as to whether humanism is a religion or merely a political philosophy. Both cases were ruled by the Supreme Court in favor of humanism as a religion. There can be no doubt about that as you read Humanist Manifesto I.

Humanist Manifesto II

That brings us 40 years later to 1973 when Humanist Manifesto II was written, and a large number of very prominent Americans signed it. It was an attempt to update what had been stated 40 years previously, and it was brought together in much greater detail. It is important for us to review that; for you to know that; and, for our papers to hear this. The principles stated in the Humanist Manifesto II clearly reflect the belief and the goals of the New Age movement and its basis in Eastern mysticism. It's even clearer than it was in the first manifesto. Some of the principles of humanism, of course, sound innocent enough, and even desirable. However, the basic premise of rejecting God and the Bible make it Satan's religion, and the consequences are inevitable. Humanists and their allies, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have censored all principles of Christianity from public school instruction, but they have permeated textbooks with their religion of humanism.

Anti-God

Now, let's begin by looking at the basic dogmas as they were stated in Humanist Manifesto II. In the preamble, it says, "As in 1933, humanists still believe that traditional theism, especially faith in the prayer-hearing God assumed: to love and care for persons; to hear and understand their prayers; and, to be able to do something about them is an unproved and outmoded faith. Salvationism based on mere affirmation still appears as harmful, diverting people with false hopes of heaven hereafter. Reasonable minds look to other means for survival."

So, right in the preamble of Humanist Manifesto II is made the statement that there is no God who is going to listen to anything you have to say, because there is no God out there. And if you think that you are going to go to heaven by some affirmation, like, "I believe the gospel," and you do really believe it, you are deluding yourself. That's the frame of reference 40 years later.

Continuing: "Using technology wisely, we can control our environment; conquer poverty; markedly; reduce disease; extend our lifespan; significantly modify our behavior; alter the course of human evolution and cultural development; unlock vast new powers; and, provide humankind with unparalleled opportunity for achieving an abundant and meaningful life."

This is Satan's millennium which is being described. The point of Humanist Manifesto II is that it all lies with the millennium that man, with human reason, can produce. We now stand at the dawn of a new age.

Continuing, in the preamble of Humanist Manifesto II: "We affirm a set of common principles that can serve as a basis for united action – positive principles relevant to the present human condition. They are a design for a secular society on a planetary scale."

Did you get that word "planetary? That is another codeword.

"For these reasons, we submit this new humanist manifesto for the future of mankind. For us, it is a vision of hope, a direction for satisfying survival.

There is no God

Section number 1: Beliefs concerning religion: First: in the best sense, religion may inspire dedication to the highest ethical ideals. The cultivation of moral devotion and creative imagination is an expression of genuine spiritual experience and aspiration. We believe, however, that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation (God, ritual, or creed) above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species. Any account of nature should pass the test of scientific evidence. In our judgment, the dogmas and myths of traditional religions do not do so. Even at this late date in history, certain elementary facts based upon the critical use of scientific reason have to be restated. We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural. It is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists, we begin with humans, not God; nature, not deity. Nature may indeed be broader and deeper than we now know. Any new knowledge, however, will but enlarge our knowledge of the natural.

"But we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species. While there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. No deity will save us. We must save ourselves."

That's a very explicit statement – the dogma of humanism concerning God. He's not there. There is no salvation. The only person that is a god is you yourself, and it is you that are the means of securing whatever you are going to secure.

There is no Salvation

The second segment on religion says, "Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful."

The Bible says that they're not illusory, and the Bible says that they are very painful. Here, the idea that there is a heaven and a hell is totally rejected.

We're Just Animals

"They distract humans from present concerns; from self-actualization; and, from rectifying social injustices. Modern science discredits such historic concepts as ... the separable social. Rather, science affirms that the human species is an emergence from natural evolutionary forces. As far as we know, the total personality is a function of the biological organism, transacting in a social and cultural context. There is no credible evidence that life survives the death of the body. We continue to exist in our progeny, and in the way that our lives have influenced others in our culture."

So, what they are saying here, again, in this dogma, is that after you die, you're just a dog; you're just an animal; and, you're gone. There's no future, and therefore, you are to be treated as an animal. That was a very perceptive title that George Orwell had for his book, Animal Farm, as he described life under communism, because it views human beings as just being material that has evolved. Therefore, it has no life. It is just an animal, and it is treated as an animal. It does not have a separate soul. So, the dogmas go on.

Ethics is Man-Made

It has a section on ethics that is very significant. It's the third principle that says, "We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life. Human life has meaning because we create and develop our futures. Happiness and creative realization of human needs and desires, individually and in shared enjoyment, are continuous themes of humanism. We strive for the good life here and now. The goal is to pursue life's enrichment, despite debasing forces of vulgarization; commercialization; bureaucratization; and, dehumanization."

So, the view here of the dogma of humanism is that what's right and what's wrong is decided by man himself. The 51% majority decides what is right and what is wrong. You know that that's how our society now operates.

Man's Reason

Then there is a fourth dogma. It states that: "Reason and intelligence are the most effective instruments that humankind possesses. There is no substitute. Neither faith nor passion suffices in itself. The controlled use of scientific methods which have transformed the natural and social sciences since the Renaissance must be extended further in the solution of the human problems."

Then it goes on to state that man's reason is the key to everything. But the Word of God tells us that man's reason is fallen, and that man's reason, therefore, is distorted.

No Sin Nature

Then it comes to section on the individual. It is the fifth dogma. It says, "The preciousness and dignity of the individual person is a central humanist value. Individuals should be encouraged to realize their own creative talents and desires. We reject all religious, ideological, or moral codes that denigrate the individual."

That word "denigrate" may be interpreted as reflecting the concept that there is a sin nature in man, so that man, as per the revelation of Scripture, is evil by nature.

"We reject all religious, ideological, or moral codes that denigrate the individual; suppress freedom (by which they mean divine viewpoint morals restricting the sin nature); dull intellect (by which they mean impressing upon mankind that his reason cannot be trusted because of mental attitude evil that is inherent in him); and, dehumanized personality. We believe in maximum individual autonomy consonant with social responsibility."

So, what the fifth dogma calls for is man as an autonomous lord of creation without any restraints from a God above him. It's interesting that they reflect by the statement "consonant with social responsibility," that man has a way of letting his freedom get out of hand so that it is a threat to the society in general. This is such as the AIDS syndrome currently among homosexuals, and seeking to restrain them from being food handlers, and so on, so that they are minimized as a threat to public health.

Non-Repressed Sexual Freedom

The sixth dogma reads: "In the area of sexuality, we believe that intolerant attitudes often cultivated by orthodox religions and puritanical cultures unduly repress sexual conduct. The right to birth control, abortion, and divorce should be recognized. While we do not approve of exploitive, denigrating forms of sexual expression, neither do we wish to prohibit by law or social sanction sexual behavior between consenting adults. The many varieties of sexual exploration should not, in themselves, be considered evil. Without countenancing mindless permissiveness or unbridled promiscuity, a civilized society should be a tolerant one. Short of harming others or compelling them to do likewise, individuals should be permitted to express their own sexual proclivities, and pursue their lifestyle as they desire."

The problem with that principle basically is that when people do pursue the lifestyle as they desire, contrary to the principles of morality laid out in the Bible, it inevitably does injure others. Again, the homosexual AIDS syndrome is an example of that. The very thing that the humanists are proposing is the thing that does lead to the harming of other people.

A final sentence reads, "Moral education for children and adults is an important way of developing awareness and sexual maturity."

What they're referring to there is an education in society's morality – human viewpoint morality, not God's divine viewpoint morals. Furthermore, it's a suggestion for the whole sex education Planned Parenthood programs in public schools with children, in order to teach them, in effect, how to be sexually promiscuous, and how to, in effect, be able to practice an immorality, hopefully without getting any dire consequences.

Civil Liberties Include Euthanasia and Suicide

The seventh dogma reads, "To enhance freedom and dignity, the individual must experience a full range of civil liberties in all societies."

The problem with that concept is that in a society that rejects God and the Word of God (the Bible), there is actually no basis for securing liberty. It is the divine institutions that ensure personal liberties. Where God has been rejected, and His divine institutions, relative to personal volition; the family; marriage; and, nationalism – as in Russia, there is no personal freedom.

This dogma also includes a recognition of an individual's right to die with dignity; euthanasia; and, the right to suicide.

This, again, is viewed as a privacy matter, in spite of the fact that the Word of God says, "God gives life, and God takes life, and it is only His right to do that."

Participatory Democracy

The dogma reads, "We are committed to an open and democratic society. We must extend participatory democracy in its true sense to the economy; the school; the family; the workplace; and, voluntary associations."

Don't miss know what that is saying. When they talk about participatory democracy in the family, they mean that every child has one vote; every parent has one vote; and, the decisions are made on the basis of a committee, not on the basis of the centralized biblical authority of father and mother.

It says, "Decision making must be decentralized to include widespread involvement of people at all levels: social; political; and, economic. All persons should have a voice in developing the values and goals that determine their lives. Institutions should be responsive to express desires and needs."

So, we're talking about a committee type of rule which is plain Sovietization of our society.

The eighth dogma concludes: "People are more important than Decalogues; rules; proscriptions; or, regulations."

So, the issue is that society decides what it will do as a group rather than the fact that there are guidelines from above which establish God's law as governing man's law.

The Religious Viewpoint of Humanism

The ninth proposition reads: "The separation of church and state, and the separation of ideology and state are imperatives. The state should encourage maximum freedom for different moral, political, religious, and social values in society. It should not favor any particular religious bodies through the use of public monies, nor espouse a single ideology, and function thereby, as an instrument of propaganda or oppression, particularly against dissenters."

That's a very interesting proposition in view of the fact that the humanists, which admittedly have a religious system in their secular humanism, try to impose that system upon the American public and upon all facets (all the institutions) of our society, and most of all, in our public school systems. They do not want the principles of biblical Christianity in the public school system, but they do want the religious viewpoint of humanism.

Alternative Economic Systems

The 10th dogma says that: "Humane society should evaluate economic system not by rhetoric or ideology, but whether or not they increase economic well-being for the individuals and the groups; minimize poverty and hardship; increase the sum of human satisfaction; and, enhance the quality of life. Hence, the door is open to alternative economic systems. We need to democratize the economy, and judge it by its responsiveness to human needs, testing results in terms of the common good"

They say: democratize the economy. You know how that's come out today, don't you? The liberals realize that "socialism" is a bad word in this country, so they've come up with a substitute word (a euphemism). It's taken right here from this phrase: "democratize the economy." The phrase now is not "socialism," but "economic democracy." When you hear Jane Fonda and her husband, Tom Hayden, talking about economic democracy, they mean socialism. If you sit in a public school classroom, and you hear the term "economic democracy," that is socialism, and it comes right out of the manifesto II.

Moral Equality and a Guaranteed Annual Income

Principle number 11 says, "The principle of moral equality must be furthered through elimination of all discrimination based upon race, religion, sex, age, or national origin."

Then it goes on to talk about all of the help (the cultural needs of people being met), including a guaranteed annual income for everyone, and that everyone has the right to an education provided by the society.

The paragraph concludes with this statement: "We are critical of sexism or sexual chauvinism, male or female. We believe in equal rights for both women and men to fulfill their unique careers and potentialities as they see fit, free of invidious discrimination."

However, unfortunately, unless you know the Word of God, you don't know what is the unique careers and potentialities of a male or a female, and how God designed them, and how they would fulfill those unique potentialities. It is only Scripture that gives us that, and they've already cut themselves off from that.

Transnational Federal Government (Globalism)

Then comes a section of the world community. The 12th principles says, "We deplore the division of humankind on nationalistic grounds. We have reached a turning point in human history where the best option is to transcend the limits of national sovereignty, and to move toward the building of a world community in which all sectors of the human family can participate. Thus, we look to the development of a system of world law, and a world order based upon transnational federal government."

There you have the principle of globalism – bringing nations to an end, in spite of the fact that the Word of God clearly said that God has ordained people to live together as nations, and has ordained their boundaries. They want to bring that to an end, and come into a united federal world government – a transnational federal government. And then there would be a system of laws which would be imposed upon that. That is the whole concept of the New Age movement: the building of a world community; and, the building of a single nation. It's right back to the concept of the Tower of Babel all over again.

Word Peace and a Nuclear Freeze

Then in principle, 13 says, "The world community must resort to violence and force as a method of solving international disputes. So, it is a planetary imperative to reduce the level of military expenditures, and turn those savings to peaceful and people-oriented uses."

Here is where the nuclear freeze movement is based. This is the vain hope that without the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, they can bring peace upon this earth.

Redistribution of Resources

The 14th dogma says, "The world community must engage in cooperative planning concerning the use of rapidly depleting resources. The planet earth must be considered a single ecosystem." Then it speaks of the very thing that the environmentalists pursue: restricting growth; and, restricting the use of the resources for the purpose of being controlled by a world organization to redistribute those resources.

Redistribution of Wealth (Socialism)

Principle number 15 deals with: "Problems of economic growth and development, which can no longer be resolved, but by one nation alone, they are worldwide in scope. It is the moral obligation of the developed nations to provide, through an international authority that safeguards human rights, massive technical, agricultural, medical, and economic assistance, including birth control techniques to the developing portions of the globe. World poverty must cease. Hence, extreme disproportions in wealth, income, and economic growth should be reduced on a worldwide basis."

You know what that means. That means redistributing the wealth of nations like the United States (which have prospered), in order to bring us down to the level of the indolent, non-developing, third-world countries, and the communist countries. It is no secret that if it was not for the determined infusion of American technology and money into communist countries, communism could not survive. It simply could not stand. It is only because it can feed off of us, and because our politicians are determined to feed it. Well, this principle of humanism says that that's what we are to do. Socialism is the ultimate goal. When you have an educational system that is based upon these principles, what do you think your children are going to be taught? What do you think they are going to learn?

Shared Technology

The 16th Principle says, "Technology is a vital key to human progress and development."

This passage is dealing with the fact that technology, being the key, should be promoted and again shared.

International Expanse

And then finally, the 17th dogma says, "We must expand communication and transportation across frontiers. Travel restrictions must cease. The world must be open to diverse political, ideological, and moral viewpoints, and evolve a worldwide system of television and radio for information and education. We thus call for full international cooperation in culture, science, the arts, and technology across ideological borders. We must learn to live openly together, or we shall perish together."

There again is the idea of sharing American technology across ideological borders so that what the motivation of the free enterprise system produces must be given to the communist and socialist systems, which do not encourage people to be creative. The communists are not about to open their world to various viewpoints, and to a communication system where their people can hear what life is really like in the paradise of American free-enterprise capitalism.

A Worldwide Community

Then, in the closing portion entitled "Humanity as a Whole," there is this closing remark: "The world cannot wait for reconciliation of competing political or economic systems to solve its problems. These are the times for men and women of goodwill to further the building of a peaceful and prosperous world. We urge that parochial loyalties and inflexible moral and religious ideologies be transcended. We urge recognition of the common humanity of all people. We further urge the use of reason and compassion to produce the kind of world we want: a world in which peace, prosperity, freedom, and happiness are widely shared. At the present juncture of history, commitment to all humankind is the highest commitment of which we are capable. It transcends the narrow allegiance of church, state, party, class, or race, in moving toward a wider vision of human potentiality. What more daring a goal for humankind than for each person to become, in ideal as well as practice, a citizen of a world community? It is a classical vision. We can now give it new vitality. Humanism thus interpreted as a moral force that has time on its side. We believe that humankind has the potential intelligence, goodwill, and cooperative skill to implement this commitment in the decades ahead."

So, here again is a call for a worldwide community. Here again is the optimistic, vain hope that man, by his reasoning capacity, can bring about a world that is not in chaos. Of course, no such thing is going to take place. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, when He returns and establishes His kingdom upon this earth, will fulfill that kind of a vision. Humanism is bankrupt. It will never do it.

History of American Education

Those are the goals and the objectives of the humanist religion. This is the foundation, in brief, that we summarize of the New Age movement in the religion of humanism, and the New Age movement, in turn, affects American education. In colonial America, there was a close tie between the state government, the church, and the schools. The strong Christian influence on colonial culture was reflected in the schools' curriculums. Christian theism and morality, as revealed in the Bible, were the unquestioned standard for thought and conduct in colonial America. Schools were expected to inculcate the Christian principles of Scripture into their students. When the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was passed (when the Northwest Territories came into the possession of the United States), this ordinance set aside land for the purpose of teaching "religion, morality, and knowledge" in order to ensure good government and happiness for the citizens. This ordinance said that the public schools were expected to foster religion, by which they meant Christian ethics. Early American textbooks unashamedly referred to God; referred to the standards of biblical morality; and, referred to Bible stories. The McGuffey Readers of 1836 through 1920 were replete with this kind of reference.

So, in the 19th century, America had little conflict between the state and the church; or, between the home and the school. But then, as the 19th century moved on, the secularization of the public schools began. It began under the influence of a Unitarian educator named Horace Mann. The Christian orientation of public schools began to be replaced by what we have read to you here of the principles of secular humanism. The secularization of public schools was later completed by John Dewey in the 20th century, who saw supernatural Christianity as a hindrance to preparing children for a socialistic world. So, the public schools today no longer deal with God, biblical morality, freedom, prayer, nationalism, and economic self-dependence. American youth is detached from the anchor of biblical Christianity, and is adrift in a sea of meaningless human viewpoint evil. So, when Christian parents turn from the humanist oriented public school to a Christian school, they come under increasing attack from the secular state; from the public school authorities; and, sometimes, even by other Christians.

The Mission of the Public Schools

Here is the mission of the public schools. Let's go back to the authorities. Paul Blanchard, who is a prominent humanist, considers the destruction of Christian theism in the United States the responsibility of the public schools. Here's what he said in "The Humanist" magazine, the March/April, 1976 issue: "I think that the most important factor moving us toward a secular society has been the educational factor. Our schools may not teach Johnny to read properly, but the fact that Johnny is in school until he is 16 tends to lean toward the elimination of religious superstition. The average American child now acquires a high school education, and this militates against Adam and Eve and all other myths of alleged history. When I was one of the editors of "The Nation" in the 1920s, I wrote an editorial explaining that golf and intelligence were the two primary reasons that men did not attend church. Perhaps I would now say, "Golf and a high school diploma."

Another humanist, author, John J. Dunphy, declares that: "God has failed as the cosmic policeman, and that Christianity has failed to uphold the dignity of mankind, and the right of all. So, a new religion is needed." The new religion that he calls for is humanism. He says, "The battle to establish this new religion is the public school classroom."

Quoting from "The Humanist" January/February, 1983 edition, John J. Dunphy has this to say: "I am convinced that the battle for mankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith – a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preacher, for they will be ministers of another sort – utilizing the classroom instead of the pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level: preschool; daycare; or, large state university. The classroom must, and will, become an arena of conflict between the old and the new: the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery; and, the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of 'love thy neighbor' will finally be achieved."

That is not some rabble-rouser. That is the kind of people who are training public school teachers to do their jobs in the classroom. And it is being done everywhere. The teachers understand what they're calling is. A few Christian teachers will stand in the gap and resist, but they're going to be run over by the tanks. It is impossible for them to hold back the tide when they are surrounded by the horde of the enemy of the humanist mentality. These humanist leaders are championing John Dewey's program of using the public schools to change the United States into a global community under socialism. That is the direction of American politicians today. All you have to do is listen to them. Now that you know something about humanism, you will realize that that's what the politicians are talking about. You will realize that globalism is what they're after.

The National Education Association (NEA)

At the heart of all of this is the National Education Association. Here's where the control of American school lays. The NEA is the largest, most influential lobby in the United States affecting the public schools. It is a labor union, and it calls strikes. In 1948, the NEA published "Education for International Understanding in American Schools." This was a basic guideline for training American children in globalism in the tradition of the New Age movement. In 1954, the NEA was warned by a congressional committee that it was not authorized to impose global concepts on American schoolchildren.

Today, this minority labor union is able to override the majority will of American parents and the education of their children in violation of the structure of our constitutional republic. Most public school administrators today belong to the NEA, and most teachers feel obliged to join it for their career future. The NEA endorsed Jimmy Carter for president in exchange for establishing the Department of Education in his cabinet. The NEA now dominates the Department of Education, and thereby influences public school programs toward humanism. President Reagan came into office, in part, recognizing this problem, and said, "I'm going to terminate the Department of Education." Isn't it interesting that he has not done, so and he does not seem able to do so? The conspiracy is in place, and it is not about to be dislodged by someone like a president of the United States.

The control of the American education by the National Education Association is strengthened by the fact that they control the accreditation of teachers. They control it in such a way that they eliminate the American traditional value types. The NEA, with its humanist orientation, is an avowed enemy of Christianity, and Christian schools become a serious threat to the NEA control of education. Public schools are, in reality, the private domain of a small core of humanists within the NEA who are attuned to the New Age movement. So, while the Constitution gives no authority whatsoever to the federal government to involve itself in education, the government nevertheless uses public school education as the vehicle for social change.

So, the NEA endorses congressional presidential candidates, and it works for their election. It endorses those, obviously, who are sympathetic to its goals. We will not have time in this session, but in the next session, we will go through and tell you exactly what the NEA stands for, so that, again, somebody isn't going to come up to you and say, "Hey, wait a minute. This is a good group. They're out to improve the education of our children." They are what their roots are. If you believe the Bible, then you better believe what the Lord Jesus said. What is going to be produced on this tree is going to be determined by the roots of this tree. What this tree is, is what it's going to produce. When you discover what the roots of the NEA are, you will know what the fruit is, inevitably, that is produced in the public school classroom.

The first presidential candidate ever endorsed by the NEA, of course, was Jimmy Carter in 1976, in exchange for the promise to set up a Department of Education. The current presidential endorsement goes to Walter Mondale. Walter Mondale's brother Lester was a signer of Humanist Manifesto II. He was formerly the president of the Fellowship of Religious Humanists. We have an interesting quote by Walter Mondale himself. While he was a senator from Minnesota, Walter Mondale, in addressing the International Humanist and Ethical Union, said, "Although I have never formally joined a humanist society, I think I am a member by inheritance. My preacher father was a humanist. In Minnesota, they called them farm labor rights. I grew up on a very rich diet of humanism from him."

Now, if this is the case, knowing what humanism is all about, then we must indeed, as Christians, say, "I cannot pretend that when a political party takes a position for humanism, then I have no conflict as a Christian." You will unless you fall into a doublethink so that you can hold contradictory opinions. Walter Mondale's socialist orientation makes him very compatible with the National Education Association. Thus he is eligible for their support, and the same for every congressman and every senator that they support. Such political endorsements cannot be ignored by Biblical Christians. They reveal worlds about the politician. Christians cannot pretend that there is no biblical conflict for them to go along and supported it. The NEA is determined to destroy the American Christian heritage, and the God whom it honors. What is wrong with American public schools today is the NEA. That's what's wrong with American public schools.

Parents keep trying to put their finger on the fact that their kid can't read, and he can't do numbers. That is not the problem. That is the symptom of the problem. In "The Review of the News this past week, here's a comment: "Candidates Walter Mondale, John Glenn, and Fritz Hollings recommend more federal money to solve America's education problem. This is interesting. Washington D.C. pays teachers on the average of $22,883, one of the highest rates in the United States. Yet students in the D.C. high schools consistently turn in the worst scores in America on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, reports columnist Patrick Buchanan, noting that 44% of the D.C. high school students, the highest percentage in the nation, quit before graduation. New Hampshire, reports the columnist, pays its teachers an average of $13,220, at the very bottom of the national scale. Yet New Hampshire students had the highest S.A.T. Scores in America. Their teachers are turning out the best prepared students in the entire country. It is no accident, comrade, as the Soviets say, that this decline in education coincided with the rise to power of the National Education Association, the most powerful union in the country."

That's what's wrong with American education: the NEA. This nonsense that you need more money to have better education, we at Berean Christian Academy constantly disprove ourselves, as well as all other Christian schools who are oriented to a true basis of education in the Word of God. What's wrong is the NEA. 70,000 public school teachers are injured each year in attacks by students. College Board Scholastic Aptitude Scores have dropped steadily for over a decade. Public schools graduate a vast number of functional illiterates and cultural baboons. The crime in the United States is increasing at 10% per year. 58% of it is coming from young people under 25 years of age. The number of divorces equals the number of marriages, with the corruption of the biblical moral standards. Half of high school graduates say their education did not prepare them for any special skills and jobs. One million American school-age children run away from home each year. One million just take off and disappear. Drug addiction, alcoholism, and venereal disease run rampant in the public schools. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among ages 15 to 24. The very content of the materials which are used in the textbooks even suggest that suicide might be something you should consider.

Here's a quote from a textbook used in the public schools called Homemaking Skills for Everyday Living, Goodheart, 1981 edition, for grades 6 through 8. It's a little poem entitled "Resume:" "Razors pain you; rivers are damp; acids stain you; and, drugs cause cramp. Guns aren't lawful; nooses give; gas smells awful; you might as well live. Yeah, you might as well live. Suicides a bit grim. Now if only I could think of a better way." Would you like your sixth-, seventh-, or eighth-grader sitting in school learning poetry like that? That is giving the impression that if you're going to commit suicide, you want to consider the technique. You don't want to hurt yourself in the process. The trouble with American schools is the National Education Association. The National Education Association is an octopus that sits upon American education. What can we do? We do what Scripture says. If we are truly compassionate Christians, we reach out, and we snatch from the burning those who will listen. That's all we can do. But thank God that you're the people who know how to give the warning. You know how to point the way. You know how to extend the hand to snatch from the burning, because you have been informed.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1982

Back to the Revelation index

Back to the Bible Questions index