Should Christians Stay in Public Schools
Should Christians Stay in Public Schools?
Debate on Beacon Hill Shows Differing Views
by Ed Oliver
from _The Massachusetts News_, May 8, 2001 - http://www.massnews.com/581chr.htm
Should Christians continue to send their children to public schools?
That was debated in the Great Hall at the Statehouse on Beacon
Hill yesterday afternoon.
Rev. Ron Crews, President of the Massachusetts Family Institute,
said that each parent must answer for his particular children
whereas Rev. E. Ray Moore, Director of Exodus Mandate, said that
Christians should leave behind the government schools.
Rev. Crews said he was there as a concerned parent of four children.
He believes parents should diligently seek the Lord to find out
his will for where their children should be educated. Crews children
have done it all, they've been home schooled, attended Christian
schools, and attended public school.
Each of those decisions was a prayerfully made decision, so my
concern for parents today is that we spend some time praying for
the children of the Commonwealth, that God would have mercy on
this next generation, said Crews.
Crews said that standards of decency and righteousness are under
attack in the schools. He is very concerned that evil is called
good and he is not sure what the answer is. He said, Im asking
the Lord, what is your strategy?
Crews said his heart tells him that Gods people should be his
people in whatever arena they are placed. They are to be lights
and the salt of the earth. Crews said he saw a sign on route 16
reading Caution, Low Salt Area. He immediately wondered how many
churches and Christians should have that sign at their front door.
Within a year of his children attending a public high school
in Atlanta, he was elected president of the PTA. He then began
regularly praying with the principal before hiring teachers and
before other important decisions. Still, Crews said every situation
is different and parents must make a prayerful decision at least
yearly about where to send their children to school.
||| Forsake the Government Schools |||
Rev. Moore sees it differently. The former Army chaplain represents
Exodus Mandate, which he explained is a Christian ministry to
encourage Christian families to forsake Pharaohs school system,
meaning government schools, for the promised land of Christian
schools or home schooling.
We are asking and urging Christian people to leave behind the
government school system, because its legitimacy is seriously
in question, both biblically, theologically, historically, and
now morally and academically.
Rev. Moore told Mass News, You're facing some rather serious
questions here in the Massachusetts area with the crowding in
of the homosexual agenda into the public schools. Society seems
to be helpless to prevent it and the families are desperate and
they cant seem to forestall it. So we think that Christian people
should be looking at Christian education as the only biblical
option for educating their children at the K-12 level.
When asked how Christians are responding to his message, he said
some are and some arent. Moore said Exodus is having to deal with
salt and light theology, which he said is a valid theology but
is being misapplied in the area of the education of children.
Christian people often justify putting their children in public
schools based on the fact that they are being salt and light in
the culture. However, we feel that is work for the adults. Christian
families shouldnt be sending little children as surrogate evangelists,
particularly the K-6 and K-8 level, before they are able to handle
the pressures and the hostile environment that a pagan public
school system now represents. We feel it is a mistaken approach
to education so were trying to correct that as really a practical
and theological error that many evangelical Christians hold.
Moore said practically speaking, many families use the excuse
that they can t afford Christian schooling. He acknowledged that
is the case in some circumstances and he said home schooling is
an option but does presuppose a non-working mother. But we think
Christian people are just going to have to reach down and find
resources and help and seek the Lord for this choice in ways they
never have before.
We are urging churches to support it and pastors to get behind
it. We are hoping that Christian pastors will organize schools
at their churches, that is happening in some places. Home schooling
is growing about 15% a year nationally, that is one of the most
hopeful signs that I see in the nation.
Rev. Moore said the Bush administration is attempting something
impossible by trying to reform the schools at the federal level.
They are not going to fix the schools. So I guess they are going
to have to go through several more years of futility and wasted
money to try to fix it at the federal level. Plus, they dont have
any constitutional authorization to be tampering with the schools
at the federal level. So Im frankly disappointed at that level
of the administration even though Im hopeful overall that this
administration is an improvement.
||| Christians Have Been Silent Too Long |||
Rev. Katherine Puleo, who leads a prayer group once a month at
the statehouse, told MassNews they pray for a spiritual awakening
because they see that as the ultimate solution to the problem.
In her speech however, she advocated fighting the evil head on.
She said Christians have been silent too long. She said Christians
must come out from praying behind church walls and be a light.
They must stand up and say, No, that is wrong! The silence is
killing this nation and killing our children, she said. We must
speak out!
Puleo asked the audience, What are you prepared to do? Are you
prepared to tell your neighbors? Your legislators? The news media?
Are you scared to say no more? How dare we compromise Gods word!
Yesterday's event was organized by Lawrence Andrade of Swampscott.
He told MassNews that ideas about human sexual behavior are integral
to religious belief, which touches on salvation. Basically what
this means is the schools are in violation of the establishment
clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution. They teach
religion in the public schools.
(c) 2001, The Massachusetts News
Related Web Site:
Exodus Mandate: http://www.exodusmandate.org and http://www.christianity.com/exodusmandate
Side Note: Rev. E. Ray Moore, and Lawrence Andrade are members
of the Christian Education Awareness Network (CEANet).
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