There is a battle for the minds of America’s youth.  The battlefield: the public school system.  The adversary: the New Age and humanist organizations that see a child’s mind as fertile soil for their brand of spiritual perversion.  The catch: you, as your child’s defender, are kept from entering the battlefield.  Does this sound like a bit of paranoia to you?  I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that.  Paranoia is an illogical and baseless fear.  Sometimes though, fear is justified.  I contend that such a secretive battle for your children’s minds IS going on today. 

In 1925, a substitute teacher in Tennessee was charged with the crime of teaching evolution in a public school classroom.  This man’s name was John Scopes.  This trial became known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial”.  Scopes was defended by the American Civil Liberties Union.  The lead counsel for the ACLU was a man by the name of Clarence Darrow.  While I’m usually not inclined to agree with the ACLU, I love the following statement by Darrow, “It is the height of bigotry to teach only one view of origins.”  That statement was made in 1925.  By the early 1930’s, evolution was widely being taught alongside creationism.  Today, evolution is the ONLY view of origins taught in public schools.  The teaching of creation science is deemed to be a violation of the first amendment, and is frequently touted as such by the ACLU.  I guess bigotry is relative, depending on one’s agenda.  Furthermore, most science teachers and textbooks refer to evolution as a fact, rather than a theory.  Any student of science can tell you that the scientific method (the process by which a hypothesis becomes a theory and eventually a fact) precludes calling evolution anything more than theory.  The teaching of evolution is unfortunately just one step in removing God from the classroom.  The adversaries have other weapons they are using on your child’s receptive mind. 

In October of 2001, Debra Loveless opted her daughter out of attending a school-sponsored assembly at Metro High School in St. Louis, Missouri.  The assembly was put on by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network.  The assembly was held to educate student in tolerance for the homosexual lifestyle.  Loveless chose to attend the assembly herself, to see what sort of activity her tax dollars were supporting.  She was met at the door by an armed security guard, and told that school officials did not want her to attend.  Loveless has since filed a lawsuit against the school district.  In the late 1980’s, students were subjected to pro-homosexual books in the schools.  Resembling “Dick and Jane” type books, Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy’s Roommate were meant to indoctrinate children into believing that homosexuality is a perfectly acceptable lifestyle.  In another recent case, students in an elementary school classroom were told to sit in a circle on the floor.  Their teacher then asked questions on various issues.  Students that responded with the politically correct answer were allowed to leave the circle.  As the number of students still in the circle was reduced to three, their teacher asked if any of their parents believed it was wrong to be homosexual.  When all of the students raised their hands, the teacher asked if it was because of some sort of religious belief.  Again, the students stayed in the circle, this time to the jeering and laughing of their classmates.

Christianity is shunned in public schools, while tolerance is advocated for other religions.  A California middle school required students studying Islam to dress in Islamic garb, say Muslim prayers, and wage their own personal “Jihad”.  In a New York school district, as holidays approached, the school district deemed that nativity scenes and crosses would not be allowed on school property.  However, the Star of David, the menorah, the Star and Crescent and the Christmas tree would be allowed.  The Christmas tree was allowed, as it was mostly a “secular symbol”.  The school district did not say why Jewish and Islamic religious symbols were permitted.  This same school district, while not allowing students to pray out loud, set aside a special room for Islamic students to go pray.  Elementary school students are being taught self-hypnosis and meditation as relaxation techniques.  At the same time, many of these schools have discontinued the practice of reciting the pledge of allegiance, or re-writing it to exclude the words, “under God”. 

If you still think I’m suffering from paranoia, let me share with you some quotes from your adversary.  In the Jan/Feb 1983 issue of The Humanist magazine, New Age leader John Dunphy said the following:

“I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classrooms by teachers who correctly perceive their role as proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call the Divinity in every human being.  These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers.  The classroom must and will become and 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…”

The International Humanist and Ethical Union, a non-governmental organization that advises the United Nations, recognizes the battleground.  The IHEU’s executive director Babu Gogineni addressed the U.N.’s International Consultative Conference on School Education in Relation with Freedom of Religion or Belief, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination in Madrid, Spain, in November of 2001.  The following is taken from his address:

“The propagation of myth as knowledge continues to this day and the danger is as serious in today’s contemporary world. American fundamentalist Christians would want all American school children to learn the Bible story of Genesis as a scientific account of creation! Creationism is rooted in religious doctrine, and therefore immune to change when confronted with opposing evidence. It is not only a Humanist position that it is the obligation of the state to present, in adequate pedagogical form, the most solidly based, i.e. scientific, knowledge to the pupils. Of course, as part of their training in the scientific methods, pupils should also be made aware of the fallibility, revisability and un-dogmatic character of scientific knowledge which is its strength, not weakness.”

“Education is transmission of civilisation and preparation of children for complex responsibilities in a multicultural and pluralist world…. The minimal value system that all states today are bound by are those underpinning the international human rights regime. Let us teach children these values.”

The Aquarian Age Community is another non-governmental organization that advises the United Nations.  The AAC is a blatantly New Age group that is preparing the world for the reappearance of the “great teacher”.  They rely heavily on meditation and spirit guides.  From their 2001 Roundtable Report, I take the following comment:

“Education is key.  We should influence the government to teach goodwill in schools…We should utilize these means of helping to educate public opinion.”

Believe me when I tell you that “goodwill” in this context is a New Age concept, not traditional Judeo-Christian good will.  In their 2000 Roundtable Report, the AAC says this: 

“The Piscean Age was known for authoritarianism.  For example, children were taught to listen and not question their parents or authority.  In school, students were taught to obey and follow the rules.  Creativity was not sought.  Today, that is no longer the case.  In the Aquarian Age everyone must become the Knower-him or herself.  People will know not because they have conferred with the experts, but because of their own experience.  Straight-knowledge will be sought and appreciated.” 

From their April 1999 Plenary Session on “The Spiritual Work of the United Nations and the Spiritual Welfare of the Planet” the AAC states:

“Another purpose of the UN concerns education; through changes in education such as introducing school children to the principles and values of the UN (which are inherently spiritual although not religious, per se) children can be assisted in their spiritual development.”

There is your adversary.  You are not defenseless to protect your children, though.  First and foremost, it is imperative that you raise your child to know the truth.  Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”  The education you provide your child at home is necessary to balance what he or she is receiving at school.  Take a look at their curriculum, and take an active role in their studies. 

Secondly, I said earlier that you are prevented from entering the battleground.  That’s NOT true, but it is what the adversary wants you to think.  Make it a point to study your child’s curriculum – to know what they will be teaching your child.  If you find any of the curriculum offensive, or contrary to your sincerely held religious beliefs, you have the RIGHT to opt your child out of the portion of the curriculum.  For more information on your rights as a parent, and your child’s rights as a Christian student, check out the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) website on education:  http://www.aclj.org/resources/education/index.asp. 

Third, attend school board meetings and parent-teacher conferences, and don’t be afraid to speak up.  If you don’t speak up on behalf of your child, who will?  Be aware of your rights, and fight for them.  If you don’t believe there’s a battle for your child’s mind, you may find it’s happening right under your nose.  And if you’re a Christian educator, you have options as well.  You may feel that your hands are tied by the rules of your position, but you do have some freedoms as well.  For instance, you may not be able to teach creationism in your classroom, but you CAN present evolution as a THEORY.  My oldest brother is a high school science teacher who presents evolution as a theory, and encourages analytical thinking and critical debate on all aspects of that theory – even its shortcomings.  This is completely legal. 

Your child has the right to pray in school.  They have the right to carry their Bible with them, and read it when appropriate.  They have the right to share their faith with others in school.  And you have the right to be an active combatant on that battlefield, defending your child from the humanist and New Age onslaught.  May God strengthen and encourage you as you enter that battlefield and contend for the faith!