How Far We’ve Fallen

How about a little history lesson as we prepare for a new school year!  You may not know this, but in 1642, Massachusetts required parents to ensure their children’s ability to read. Five years later, Massachusetts passed the “Old Deluder Satan Act of 1647,” which laid the basis for public schools in America.  The Puritans valued literacy very highly, and believed that children should be able to  read and understand the Bible for themselves.

The reasoning behind this Act was explicit:  it’s intention was to thwart “ye old deluder, Satan” in his goal “to keep men from the knowledge of ye Scriptures.”  Parents and civic leaders wanted children to be able to read well enough to understand the scriptures, and thereby avoid Satan’s deception.  So the law required every town with 50 or more families to hire a teacher to instruct all children in reading and writing.  Towns of 100 or more families were required to support a grammar school to prepare students to attend Harvard College, which at that time had as its sole purpose training pastors and lawyers.

My, my, my.  The public education system has moved a long way from its godly beginnings.  The Bible is legally outlawed and only humanistic values are allowed.  The philosophy of government schools is ONLY secular, what with “separation of church and state” and all.   Students are being conformed to the mores of society, not to the mind of Christ.  The goal is to make them fit into this world’s system.  But this opposes God’s objective.  Scripture commands, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Romans 12:2)

Christian schools do not exist to get kids away from drugs, gangs, or poor academics.  The Christian school is established to help parents obey God’s command to give their children a Biblical world view, and resist that “Old Deluder Satan!”   Please pray for Temple Christian School this year that we will be faithful to our calling!