"The Lenses of Reformation Concerning Sex Education in Public Schools"
by Dr. Patti Amsden
All four, God-appointed jurisdictions, which includes the realms of self or the individual, the family, the church, and the civil must be discussed when considering the subject of education. The preeminent responsibility rests upon the family. Children are the Lord’s heritage (Ps. 127:3), and God entrusts parents to nurture and to train their covenant children for the purpose of personal maturity, self-governance, and cultural integrity. Neither the civil realm nor the religious realm may supersede or circumvent parental rights and responsibilities.
Reformation lens #1 – Parental sovereignty is the main principle in education.
Every fact is God-ordained and God-defined. There is nothing in the earth or in the heavens above, in the realm of the seen or in the realm of the unseen, in the sphere of nature or the scope of the human heart that does not serve to define and reveal the will, purpose, and intent of the eternal God. To believe that the education offered in state schools is religiously neutral is to assume facts are free of values, information stands independent of interpretation, and life skills are not interrelated with values. All of life is founded upon religion because religion is a system of belief in and worship of the controlling power, whether that power is a supernatural force such as God or a natural controlling power such as man. The question is never God or no god. The question is who is the god or controlling power of the system. Humanism is the belief that humanity is in control because man is the highest of all beings. Humanism stands in opposition to biblical theism. Humanism is the religion promoted in state schools.
Reformation lens #2 – Children who honor God and serve His purposes is the main goal of education; therefore parents, who buy the myth of neutrality, rob their children of the honor of worship and the reward of wisdom.
Parents are entrusted to bring their children from infancy to maturity, which is the state of full development that enables one to exercise responsible self-government and cultural stewardship. Releasing the potential within the child is the accomplished throughout the development process. Education and training must be imparted when age appropriate. That which is learned must be applied, so the parents must also watch for the application of the information. If parents are unskilled or untrained in a particular educational disciple, they may appoint surrogates or hire tutors.
Reformation lens #3 – Parents may share the task of education but may not abdicate the responsibility of the education process.
Need does not grant authority for jurisdictional violations. One family may be childless and have deep and sincere longings to become parents while observing another family with many children who have neither the finances nor the character to give godly nurturing to the ones born into their household. The family with no child may not confiscate, steal, or kidnap a child from the family with many children by justifying that both the couple and the child would be better off if the transfer occurred. The end justifies the means is an unbiblical concept. Although any nation needs a good educational system and although not all persons within that nation would be able to afford a quality education, the state may not confiscate, steal, or kidnap the children of the nation by justifying that both the nation and the children would be better off if the transfer occurred.
Reformation lens #4 – Jurisdictional authority and limitations must dictate the actions of both the family and the civil realm when building and operating educational systems.
As reformers, we must understand that repentance for wrong practices and rebuilding by new patterns are both necessary to avoid reaping what we have sown. Lamentation over the situation is only the first step toward change. From the ashes of discouragement and sorrow must arise a will to turn the heart and the steps onto a path of righteousness. Christian laypersons, ministers, and churches must be willing to not be blind followers of blind leaders but rather give light and guidance by example to an educational system falling in the ditch dug by jurisdictional tyranny and humanistic philosophy.
Reformation lens #1 – Parental sovereignty is the main principle in education.
Every fact is God-ordained and God-defined. There is nothing in the earth or in the heavens above, in the realm of the seen or in the realm of the unseen, in the sphere of nature or the scope of the human heart that does not serve to define and reveal the will, purpose, and intent of the eternal God. To believe that the education offered in state schools is religiously neutral is to assume facts are free of values, information stands independent of interpretation, and life skills are not interrelated with values. All of life is founded upon religion because religion is a system of belief in and worship of the controlling power, whether that power is a supernatural force such as God or a natural controlling power such as man. The question is never God or no god. The question is who is the god or controlling power of the system. Humanism is the belief that humanity is in control because man is the highest of all beings. Humanism stands in opposition to biblical theism. Humanism is the religion promoted in state schools.
Reformation lens #2 – Children who honor God and serve His purposes is the main goal of education; therefore parents, who buy the myth of neutrality, rob their children of the honor of worship and the reward of wisdom.
Parents are entrusted to bring their children from infancy to maturity, which is the state of full development that enables one to exercise responsible self-government and cultural stewardship. Releasing the potential within the child is the accomplished throughout the development process. Education and training must be imparted when age appropriate. That which is learned must be applied, so the parents must also watch for the application of the information. If parents are unskilled or untrained in a particular educational disciple, they may appoint surrogates or hire tutors.
Reformation lens #3 – Parents may share the task of education but may not abdicate the responsibility of the education process.
Need does not grant authority for jurisdictional violations. One family may be childless and have deep and sincere longings to become parents while observing another family with many children who have neither the finances nor the character to give godly nurturing to the ones born into their household. The family with no child may not confiscate, steal, or kidnap a child from the family with many children by justifying that both the couple and the child would be better off if the transfer occurred. The end justifies the means is an unbiblical concept. Although any nation needs a good educational system and although not all persons within that nation would be able to afford a quality education, the state may not confiscate, steal, or kidnap the children of the nation by justifying that both the nation and the children would be better off if the transfer occurred.
Reformation lens #4 – Jurisdictional authority and limitations must dictate the actions of both the family and the civil realm when building and operating educational systems.
As reformers, we must understand that repentance for wrong practices and rebuilding by new patterns are both necessary to avoid reaping what we have sown. Lamentation over the situation is only the first step toward change. From the ashes of discouragement and sorrow must arise a will to turn the heart and the steps onto a path of righteousness. Christian laypersons, ministers, and churches must be willing to not be blind followers of blind leaders but rather give light and guidance by example to an educational system falling in the ditch dug by jurisdictional tyranny and humanistic philosophy.