In San Jose, California, 300 teachers and school employees gathered to “improve education” with workshops and lectures on communication, relaxation, and self-esteem:
"One group sat cross-legged in a darkened classroom, learning how to reduce stress with Yoga. While some felt self-conscious, others happily released their minds to the quieting sounds that flowed from a tape player on the desk. In the next room, another group meditated behind locked doors."2Since the ’90s, an explosion of New Age influence has occurred in North American schools—children from as young as pre-school age are being taught about Mother Earth, Yoga, meditation, and just about every other kind of pagan religion and Eastern practice.
Masks of the New Age
New Age, or New Spirituality, is actually ancient occultism with a facelift. It is the “beautiful side of evil,”4 an enticing facade for the kingdom of darkness. Disguised as peace, inner-power, wisdom, and love, this attractive deception pretends to offer everything God promises, yet asks nothing in return—for the moment. Its seductive call to be like God dates back to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5).
God told us long ago about deceptions that would lead many to “depart from the faith, giving heed to "seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). The Bible warns:
"[T]he time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine....And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4)Today’s most popular myth distorts the character of God and the identity of man. Unwilling to bow to a personal, holy God, multitudes have reshaped their Creator into an image of their own wishful thinking. This imagined god becomes an impersonal power source ready to fulfill the whims of a god-man determined to direct his own destiny....
For all intents and purposes, Satan can counterfeit almost any good thing God gives us. In his hands, even tools for learning can become weapons loaded with distorted messages aimed at young minds. Look at his three major thrusts toward global society:
- Replace biblical Christianity with a self-centered blend of all religions joined in spiritual oneness.
- Replace Judeo/Christian values with New Age values—anything that frees people to follow the desires of self and create their own reality.
- Replace nationalism with a one-world government under a spiritually evolved leadership.
Despising Christianity, the 20th century humanists paved the way for New Age/global education, but most of us didn’t notice. Now we can no longer deny the fact that most -- if not all public schools -- teach goals and values that contradict biblical values. And the humanist-oriented educational establishment promotes its beliefs as aggressively as any other religious group. Listen to their war cry:
"The battle for humankind’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....American philosopher and educator John Dewey kindled the fire of such educational reform. The first president of the American Humanist Association, Dewey was determined to weed out Christian absolutes and reseed our schools with “truths” that could adjust to changing cultures. The Humanist Manifesto, which Dewey signed in 1933, declares the heart of the movement. This is part of its introduction:
These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level—preschool, day care, 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...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."5
"There is great danger of a final, and we believe fatal, identification of the word religion with doctrines and methods which have lost their significance and which are powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century . . . Any religion that can hope to be a synthesizing and dynamic force for today, must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present."6Without the 3.2 million-member National Education Association, considered one of the nation’s most powerful political machines, Dewey’s ideas might have been confined to university campuses. Supported by the NEA, comprised of textbook writers and superintendents as well as professors and public school teachers, Dewey’s vision spread like wildfire. Through its militant leadership, the whole educational system became involved—with or without the personal support of local educators, many of whom didn’t realize what was happening.
Few textbooks have escaped the watchful eye of NEA censors, who have doggedly followed Dewey’s plan to provide a “purified environment for the child.” Historical facts that clashed with "progressive education” have been distorted or erased. The NEA has sought total control of curriculum content, control of teachers’ colleges, and sex education, free from parental interference....
One book, Censorship: Evidence of Bias in Our Children’s Textbooks, unveils some alarming facts. Christianity, family values, and certain political and economic positions have been systematically banished from children’s textbooks. For example, in 670 stories from third-and sixth-grade readers:
"No story features Christian or Jewish religious motivation, although one story does make American Indian religion the central theme in the life of a white girl.When children are subjected to such suggestions and pressures year after year, many yield to the hostile forces that oppose their beliefs....
"Almost no story features marriage or motherhood as important or positive. . . . But there are many aggressively feminist stories that openly deride manhood.
"In an original story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, the main character prayed 'to God' and later remarked 'Thank God.' In the story as presented in the sixth-grade reader, the words 'to God' were taken out and the expression 'Thank God' was changed to 'Thank goodness.”'8
"While some elementary history textbooks still tell about Thanksgiving, they do not explain to whom the Pilgrims gave thanks. Pilgrims were defined as “people who make long trips.”
"The Pueblo Natives “can pray to Mother Earth—but Pilgrims can’t be described as praying to God.”9...
Back in 1982, Professor Benjamin Bloom, an internationally known behaviorist, defined “good teaching” as “challenging the students’ fixed beliefs and getting them to discuss issues.”18 He stated:
"[T]he evidence collected so far suggests that a single hour of classroom activity under certain conditions may bring about a major reorganization in cognitive as well as affective [attitudes, values and beliefs] behaviors."19Indoctrinating students with diverse beliefs, socialist values, utopian dreams, and idealized love leads to deception, disillusionment, corruption, and chaos. Today’s change agents need chaos and crisis to justify their oppressive action. Not only does it unravel the old social order, it gives an illusion of newfound freedom—from family values as well as moral restraints.23 ...
Chapter 4: What Can Parents Do About The War on Christianity?
Now that we have glimpsed the conflict, let’s take a look at the invisible war behind the visible facts. Remember that the battle is infinitely greater than any potential conflict between your child and his school. Teachers and principals, many of whom share your values, are not the enemy. Neither are the humanist “new” spirituality missionaries in the NEA. The real enemy is the one who opposed God’s plan from the beginning—Satan, who uses his blinded victims to carry out his hidden agenda. God is our strength in this struggle against a counterfeit force, and He will accomplish His purposes through us. As we trust Him to give us courage and strength, He will remove any fear we have of contending for the faith and doing what we must to protect our children, even if it sometimes means we are standing alone.
Step One: Be Alert & Always Keep on Praying
Pray! For as Jesus said, “[W]ithout me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5). The battle begins and ends with prayer. Pray for open and trusting communication with your child. Pray for discernment to detect teaching that contradicts God’s truth. Pray for wisdom to know when to speak up and what to say.
● Pray for your child. Pray that he learns to discern error on his own and that he will be bold enough to speak truth with courage and to stand alone when all his friends follow after other gods. Pray that pleasing God will be more important to your children than pleasing teachers and peers.
● Pray together as a family. Put on the “whole armor of God” daily. .... It means reading (or hearing) and following the Word, and knowing it well enough to discern error. Read and discuss Ephesians 6:13-17. Memorize the parts of the armor....
● Trust God, not yourself. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Step Two: Know What Your Child Is Learning in School
● Talk with your child. Listen for clues that help you spot good as well as questionable teaching. Be objective and model appreciation of schools and teachers.
Perhaps you have a child who gladly gives detailed accounts of all events from the time he left for school that morning. My boys preferred to answer all my questions with a brief "Good!” or “Okay.” But I discovered that a tasty snack after school could produce at least five minutes of sharing. When my son was fourteen, a sandwich at a local deli boosted our conversations immensely. ...
● Scan elementary textbooks, take-home papers, and fliers. Check to see if significant facts are deleted or distorted. Consider their effects on your child. Ask yourself the following questions about the above material:
Does it censor out important facts about the influences of Christianity in the development of our country? ..Step Three: Know & Exercise Your Privileges as a Parent
Are pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and other Christians denigrated, maligned, and ridiculed—or never described favorably?
Does it emphasize, promote, or give detailed descriptions of other religions, while ignoring Christianity?
Does it include a blatant pro-homosexual slant?
Does it ask your child not to share information with his parents?
Discuss your findings with your child. Express your appreciation for the good things you see. Explain any area of concern. Teach discernment by pointing out contradictions to God’s truth.
If you suspect a problem, you may need to talk with the teacher and, if necessary, ask to see the teacher’s manual and classroom projects.....
● Be spiritually and emotionally ready to face resistance, defensiveness, and denial, but don’t expect them. Cyndie Huntington, author of Combat Handbook for Parents with Children in Public Schools, tells about one encounter with school officials:
When you reach this step, it is not unusual to be told, “Mrs. Jones, your child doesn’t seem to have the problem, you do. Now what can we do to make YOU feel better?” or “We’re the experts, let us raise your children.”Step Four: Enlist the Support of Other Families
[One parent] was told by the principal to consider counseling for herself. Upon the recommendation . . . she went to a secular counselor for two months of therapy. She stated that she . . . counseled the counselor more than the counselor counseled her. It was then suggested by the school that she take the STEP (Steps to Effective Parenting) course. The school said that this would help her “interact” better with people and her children. So she signed up.
At the second session, the instructor made the following statement: “No longer does the biblical principle of the wife being submissive to her husband and the children being submissive to both parents [apply] in society today. We are all equal.”
. . . The mother asked the instructor what she should do if her ten-year-old did not want to clean her room. She was told that the room was the private property of the child and she should close the door if it bothered her; she had no right to enter without permission!
She resigned herself to the fact that she did not have the problem, her child did not have the problem, the school system had the problem. She took her child out and put her in a private school.1
● Get together with other parents to discuss issues, compare notes, seek God’s guidance, and plan strategy. Go to the board meetings regularly and speak out! One strong and wise but gracious voice can wield tremendous influence.
● Show your child you understand the loneliness he may feel in an anti-Christian classroom, and remind him he is not alone.
Equipping Your Teenage Child to Deal With Deception
● Equip your children to discern evil and resist compromise. “Be not deceived...” (1 Corinthians 15:33).
● Listen! Give undivided attention! Be patient. Pray for understanding. Don’t react with shock, dismay, or fear when your teenager shares what’s happening in his world. Respond with gentle wisdom and compassionate love.
● Encourage your child to read the Bible each day. He needs to wear God’s armor as much as you do—and that requires regular feeding upon and exposure to truth....
● Get in the habit of praying together....
● Be a friend as well as a parent....
Children are a precious gift, an awesome responsibility, and your greatest investment. Training them to follow God challenges your faith, demands your time, drains your energy, forces you to your knees, shows you God’s sufficiency, and delights your heart. Hang in there—and “count it all joy” (James 1:2).
"...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31
Kjos
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