Has God Become a Political Pawn?
Check out this Kent Hovind video.
We recently witnessed a presidential inauguration in which God was mentioned in prayers, songs and speech. Even the phrase "in Jesus' name" was used in ending one of the prayers.
It is rather ironic that at the highest level of power, God-words are acceptable, yet in the ubiquitous venue of public education, essentially any mention of God is completely forbidden. Moments of silence have replaced prayer, and those who do say an invocation are not allowed to mention Jesus for fear of offending a person of a non-Christian faith or an atheist.
Why does secularism fear debate?
In teaching science, it is absolutely forbidden to propose creation as an alternative to evolution, which has now been labeled as scientific fact. An open dialogue about irreducible complexity or intelligent design is off-limits in the arena that purports to teach our youth how to think and carry on effective debate.
Teachers are mandated in most schools to focus strictly on the state-mandated standards, purportedly to guarantee a substantive education for all students. There is no small irony in the teaching of science which is supposed to actively search for truth, the limits on open debate are strongly enforced. Interestingly, many of those teachers who yield unremittingly to state mandates have not investigated any opposing viewpoints, nor have they done any research on the important scientists who are actively supporting both irreducible complexity and intelligent design.
Restoring the Christian Voice in the Public Square
Unfortunately, many Christians have acquiesced to the mandate of silence. Perhaps it is fear of losing a needed job. Worse yet, the profound silence may come from a lack of knowledge about strong science that questions evolution or in the teaching of history, lack of information about the Christian leanings of those who founded our country.
Whatever the reason, the Christian voice in the public school has become the prisoner of political correctness, the misunderstood concept of diversity and the fearful giving-in to stifling laws.
Is there any hope?
Yes, I do believe that God has become a political pawn in order to keep public school teachers from even suggesting the Christian faith in classrooms. Even though the United States of America was founded upon many Christian principles and beliefs, fear of religious persecution has come back to bite Christianity in the rear end. This, in itself, is ironic because so many of the original colonists wanted religion to be separated from the government and its processes. Despite many folks over the years who have kept one eye on religious issues and the other eye on the Establishment Clause, the government has actually violated the Establishment Clause without so much as a peep from these people. The Establishment Clause (as I have been led to believe in a public, secular school) is the clause that requires the government to not promote or demote any type of religion in the United States of America. Creationism cannot even be a suggestion anymore! Any hope that is left in public schools is up to the students, because let’s face it: there are no mandates that require students to stay quiet about creationism… is there? And if a brave student were curious enough about creationism, could the student educate fellow classmates through this loophole?
ReplyDelete-JNB
You brought up a really good point the Establishment Clause. I have wondered this myself. Why is it that evolution has to be talked about to fulfill this standard, but we can take out all references to creationism in science books. I also liked what you said about students standing up for what they believe in. The problem these days is that many Christians are still so shallow in their faiths throughout high school especially. Students are still creating a faith for themselves and slowly branching off from their parents. They know what they're supposed to believe but not all of them have developed the courage to know what they believe and firmly stand up for it.
DeleteI had not considered earlier that students are not bound by the same restrictions! It is definitely a great idea to empower students to be a dissenting voice. As a teacher, I am sure that they are not allowed to tell students to start these conversations, but parents should definitely encourage their children to advocate for alternative creation theories and a true Christian presence in schools.
DeleteAs an alumnus of the primary and secondary California public school systems, I have always wondered why it is so unacceptable to discuss creation during science class when it is perfectly fine to talk about Greek mythology in English class and Islam and Buddhism in social studies. It definitely seems like the expectations for public education aren't always consistent across the board.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying this as a Christian who merely wants "my side" to be heard. Even from an educational perspective, I believe that it would be beneficial to present all prominent viewpoints of the world's origins, including creation. Students who hear many different theories and ideas become better critical thinkers as they wade through the different sides of the issue and decide for themselves what they think is most accurate, most believable, most compelling. If students are only told about evolution, they are being deprived of the opportunity to know (about what others believe and why) and to choose (which viewpoint they wish to adopt for themselves). Students who graduate high school without hearing at all about creation are, in my opinion, less educated, and most of the time this is of no fault of their own.
C. Isaacson
I think you made a great point in your response. When you said, "Why is it so unacceptable to discuss creation during science class when it is perfectly fine to talk about Greek mythology in English class and Islam and Buddhism in social studies," that hit home for me. The comparison is a great starting point for a debate on this issue. I also agree when you pointed out that students who graduate without hearing about creation are less educated. Being educated is having the most wholesome knowledge about the subject, not just one perspective. If we want to raise a generation that can compete with our founding fathers, we need to start teaching all aspects. I think this directly relates to the government and who we have put into office. I think this issue will only keep getting worse but I pray that there is a revolution. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
DeleteA. Pulpaneck
I also agree with both of your posts. Exposure to other ideas is important and something that I personally felt deprived off in school. And as you mentioned, C. Isaacson, in a previous post, part of this really comes down to the teacher. For this reason, I feel that teachers, as well as students, should not be hesitant in challenging evolution with other views, not just like creationism. A vital part of creating intellectual individuals is by encouraging the challenging and debating of ideas. Nevertheless, one does have to be careful given that the idea here is to present "healthy" and educationally stimulating debates that benefit students, not place them against each other or create segregation among ideas.
DeleteC. Alonso
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DeleteI agree with what you said here, how people who graduate from highschool are often less educated at no fault of their own. I think it is a huge mistake to limit students to only one form of thinking becaue this results in a stalemate when it comes to thinking independently and outside the box. In the real world, some students will be unable to cope with the idea that there is more than one way of thinking, and some will respond by either shutting everything out, believing everything and anything, breaking down, or growing stronger and finding something to believe upon. Another downfall of graduating "uneducated" high school students is that most of them will be suceptible to accepting vague forms of truth and will be unable to stand up for themselves. Their beliefs are only shadows of truth, and they never really learn to develop opinions of their own, and if they do, some of them become really close minded to other ideas. Thinking outside of the box is crucial if one wants to achieve success. And if one cannot think out side of the box, can success be achieved at all?
DeleteR Burger
I love that you wrote "I am not saying this as a Christian who merely wants 'my side' to be heard." I think the whole reason we are in this position of being lawfully unable to teach creation in the classroom is because so many people assume that we Christians, if given the opportunity, will shove creation and all other Christian teachings down the throats of others. Most of us probably won't do so; however, I agree with you in that teaching creation will give students an opportunity to decide for themselves which side they want to believe. As Professor Hitchcock has told our class on multiple occasions, the ability to critically think is declining. I think your idea of teaching both creation and evolution is one that should be taken into account and highly considered by all educators.
Delete-JNB
I really liked your response and completely agree with it. Being on the opposite end of the spectrum and only being in Christian schools and being taught creation, i also wondered why we were not taught more about the other arguments. They were touched on a lot during class, but only surface level and not enough to challenge the students. I think you are completely right when you say that students "are being deprived of the opportunity to know (about what others believe and why) and to choose (which viewpoint they wish to adopt for themselves)." It is very important to know all viewpoints so that people are able to make this decision for themselves.
DeleteI completely agree with your response! I am also an alumnus of the public California education system and I wondered the same thing. I especially liked how you said "I am not saying this as a Christian who merely wants "my side" to be heard." If the education system is teaching their students about other religions in other classes, they should broaden the spectrum and have every viewpoint.
DeleteA. Stoker
I completely agree with your response. I agree that they assume we are all Christians and we are expected to have learned creation growing up. But it'll be better if we were taught also creation in school and that way students can make their own decision on what side to believe.
DeleteYes, I agree. God has become a political pawn. Teachers are not allowed to pray in classrooms or to talk about God to their students. The Christian faith cannot even be suggested. Yet in the midst of this, ancient Native American religion is taught as well as other mythological religions and views. So the schools are not necessarily against religion, they are just against Christianity. Christians have been too silent on these issues. Many have watched and disagreed with school policies, but very few have taken action and spoken out against this. Although the government is largely to blame for violating the Establishment Clause, they have done so because all they hear is silence. Opposition, if any at all, does not exist.
ReplyDeleteWhen science is taught in schools, evolution is the main and accepted theory. I am not posting this to say that evolution is wrong, although I do disagree with it, I am posting this to say that schools need to teach many different viewpoints to its students, not just evolution. The students should be given the privilege to decide for themselves which idea they want to accept. They should not be forced to only accept one idea or one theory.
R. Burger
I completely agree with everything that you have to say about God being used as a pawn for many of our Political events in the United States. The United States was based off of Christian values, but I feel that our Politicians use God's name freely without really feeling that way towards him. More than ever now and days since the presidency I have seen lack of love towards God. The school systems have not allowed many public schools the right to use God's name or say our Pledge of Allegiance. Our Government has silenced its people in a lot of ways lately, and it hasn't just been our own religion and values. The idea of evolution has always been interesting to me, however I do not agree with it completely. I do believe that we have adapted into different situations, but I don't think that we evolved. I believe that Go created us the way that we were today. I always loved learning about evolution in school, and I dont think that schools force you to believe in that idea they have their own opinions about the subject matter. I grew up learning from my parents that its okay to have your own opinions about what school teaches you.
DeleteI really liked what you said here. It seems that today if Christianity is even remotely suggested as a system of belief (whether it is science or faith) it is immediately shut down without a second thought. I don't understand why other viewpoints and ways of thinking are so freely expressed when Christianity is silenced so frequently. I think there has been a negative stereotype so strongly imposed on the Christian community that we are all ignorant, close-minded and exclusive for some reason. I look forward to a day when this is no longer true. I think we can only do our best individually and in small groups collectively to have the mind of Christ and to be set upon representing him in the best way that we are able.
Delete- J. Ovenell
R. Burger,
DeleteI do find myself agreeing with several of your points you mentioned above. I do see God as a political pawn too. When you discussed how there is silence from teachers and how they are not standing up for the rights of Christianity to be taught is a touchy situation. I feel many teachers want more than anything to voice out their opinions towards the subject but do not want to step on anyones toes. Can you blame them? No matter what Christianity in schools will always have people who take it as we are boosting our religion and pressuring others.
I think in every schools curriculum there should be some sort of incorporation of religions and views. So that everyone can make their own opinions. Teachers must be ready to have a open mind and be versatile.
I really like that you said, "The students should be given the privilege to decide for themselves which idea they want to adopt." I totally agree. Only teaching evolution is schools does not expose students to alternate views and leaves students very little room to decide what they want to believe.
DeleteWhat worries me about evolution being taught as scientific fact in schools is that many science teachers wish to "preach" evolution just as Christian teachers would want to "preach" creationism. If students don't have the opportunity to make their own choice about how the world came to be, evolution will automatically become truth for them because it is all they are currently hearing about.
-Audra K.
I also agree. God has become a political pawn for sure. But that is something that I don't think will ever change, because we will never make anyone happy. And politicians cannot step on anyones toes, as annoying as that is. I think that might be a sacrifice people take in order to become politicians. But my hope is, is that there are Christians in the political realm that are doing something on the inside. Maybe we can't see it or may never see it, but I can't help but think that there is hope and there are people on the inside of the political parties who are trying to change hearts and minds.
DeleteAs for teaching about Christianity in schools and teaching Evolution as fact... There are so many ways to take this discussion, but how I see it, is that I don't think anything should be pushed down people's throats. I think it is just a challenge to teachers to actively live out their faith, more like an action based evangelism then a word based evangelism. I do not agree with Evolution being taught as fact, I think there needs to be some accountability in the science classroom that holds teachers to a standard that makes it fair for everyone.
- Hailey M. Heikkinen
It is in fact a sad reality that society is spiraling downward into a state of moral decay. Unfortunately so much emphasis is being placed on not offending non-Christians that the spirit of Christianity is suffering. Recently, there were protests regarding nativity scenes on display in public places. In light of this I must reflect, when was the last time one has heard about menorahs in public places garnering protests? Apparently Christian ideals threaten to the extent that some want them abolished. Are we as Christians without hope? The answer is absolutely not. The solution to this pressing concern is not to stand by idly, but rather to rise up and unite and demonstrate through our daily activities that God and Jesus are part of our lives. Now more than ever we need to be more verbal about our relationship with Jesus so others can learn from us. Ignorance is a stifling state of mind, but it is also oftentimes an easier path to take. It may not be easy to actively speak of one's faith but when you recognize what Jesus did in his life on earth, there is no comparison. We owe it to our faith and to our savior to spread His good news. Should we acquiesce, think of the world our children will live in, one without hope. That is a frightening thought .
ReplyDeleteI have not heard about the display of Nativity Scenes in public places going through a process of protesting. This is unbelievable...As a Catholic, I have the obligation as a follower of Jesus and God to show people the way to loving and allowing Him into their lives. I completely agree with you that many of us have lost hope because there have been so many tragedies throughout the world lately, and it is not an easy path. We need to remind the children of the future that there are and will always be hope. It's just a matter of looking in the right direction. I do believe that this applies to the topic of Evolution being taught in schools because people tend to use this as a "hope" and lack of faith in their creator. They find some way to deny the fact that we were made the way we were for a reason. I could be entirely wrong, but it's just a thought that I had just now.
DeleteIt is so interesting to note that intelligent design and any other concept other than evolution is disregarded in the academic field. Students are no longer taught that there is any other way than evolution for the beginning of the world. I had a science teacher who would often say about evolution, “This is just one theory of the many out there.” Even though I knew he was a believer, I respected him immensely for having the courage to go against the system and say that not everyone accepts these ideas. I hope for the future that intelligent design gets worked back into the system and students are able to learn different viewpoints before they decide on what they think is right.
ReplyDelete-T. Lund
Even though I came from a much different schooling experience where teachers presented intelligent design as a viable option to the question of how things came to be, I totally agree with you! The overwhelming importance for presenting all major answers to a question is key for any subject, not just for the intelligent design, evolution debate. Giving students the option after hearing all sides to an argument allows for both a complete decision and commitment to that decision thereafter. I am thankful for my background that represented that belief and allowed for me to investigate for myself the different beliefs held by people. I feel as though my choice to believe in intelligent design is much more "real" because of the search it required to get there.
Delete-S. Sidders
It brings me hope that teachers, like yours, are bringing alternative perspectives into classrooms. It is often extremely hard to confront the powers in place, like a government or body of scientists that discredit alternative points of view, but there is still room for subversive action. I admire your teachers for being willing to be subversive and present the fact that their are other well-supported views.
Delete1 Peter 2:11-12 says, "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." This verse is crucial for me as I walk through life living and thinking radically different than the world expects of me or anyone for that matter. I, along with many of my classmates, am a foreigner in this world and I have learned that there will be many times I am treated as such. The fact that intelligent design is not presented in schools does not surprise me. It is bound to happen in a world where we, as Christ followers, are considered exiles. The key for me lies both with this understanding as well as a commitment to be ready to defend my position when necessary. All this to say, I believe it necessary to recognize the fallen qualities of the world in which we live, and then respond in a way that will show grace and conviction to those who may be in disagreement with us; whether that be in the discussion of intelligent design and evolution or something else.
ReplyDelete-S. Sidders
You make a very interesting point. I think you are wise to accept the fact that being a Christian means that we will often feel out of place, exiled, etc, and not to dwell on the seeming injustice of that fact. Many of us, including myself, can tend to criticize the system and spend a lot of time wishing that Christian ideas or values were more present in different parts of society. Your post made me realize that this may not be the most effective use of our time or efforts. Instead of simply bashing the educational system for not teaching about creation-of which I myself am guilty- it would probably be better to use that energy to 1) better understand our own points of view so we can articulate them and 2) accept and serve those around us who do not feel the same way. Regardless of whether creation is ever taught in public schools, these are probably good things to strive for. Thanks for your thoughts!
DeleteC. Isaacson
Thank you for your insight, I think you make a really good point. I think being at a Christian school we are blessed to be surrounded by people with the same faith and generally same ideas about big topics. However, this can also be harmful. We are not challenged about our faith, and are not given the opportunities to engage in real conversations about life topics. I really like this verse and the reminder that we need to be a light to those around us, and also be willing to stand up for what we believe in.
Delete-T. Lund
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DeleteI really like what you said here, how it is our duty to defend what we believe and that we need to recognize the fallen world we live in. Too often, I believe that Christians fail to realize the fallen world we live in and think of this earth as their home. Not because they mean to, and I am not trying to sound judgmental, but in a prosperous country such as the United States, it is easy to fall into a sense of peace and content, where there is no reason to defend our faith or challenge the fallen world because there is nothing challenging our faith nor anyone giving us reason not to feel uncomfortable. And because of this lack of persecution, many Christians grow comfortable living in a fallen world. But rather, we need to be sober, for the devil walks around like a roaring lion. That is why it is so important to have intelligent discussion and to be prepared to defend our faith.
DeleteR Burger
I could not agree more that God has become a political pawn. I think God is also used as an endorsement stamp for celebrities. Every time I watch and award show live on television, many celebrities thank God at the end of their acceptance speech when receiving an award by saying, "I thank my Lord, Jesus Christ, who has given me this award," or something to that affect. I question whether or not that statement has truth. Is God becoming a stamp or approval and a political pawn? In Jay-Z's lyrics in his song, Moment of Clarity, he says, "Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity, This moment of honesty - the world'll feel my truths."
ReplyDeleteGod has become a pawn our government and society use to make themselves look better on the outside but strip away the moment God becomes real. Honestly, I am scared to see the downhill spiral our generation is used to and where the pawn will be moved next.
A. Pulpaneck
I agree with you, God has become an endorsement stamp for celebrities now and days, and I think that it has gone way beyond that now. I do believe that many celebrities do have faith in God though, because I work within the Film Industry currently and I have met some pretty down to earth people so far. That's not to say that there aren't people that use God as a way to make people believe that they are kind hearted because they are out there. I have always been a believer of allowing God to be known in any school system because he is an importance in our life.
DeleteI agree with both of your responses. Just last night I was watching the Academy of Country Music Awards and noticed almost every winner thanked God for getting them their award. While I was watching and listening to their speeches I never once thought about if they "truly" were thanking God or if they wanted me to feel a spiritual connection to them. I can see where country music and thanking the heavenly father could make many people think in their heads for example, "Miranda Lambert is a powerful, Christian woman, I love that about her." Does that make us like them more? Some people probably do. But, just like Andria mentioned there is honest people who really do believe in God and I appreciate that! If we can hear lyrics, speeches and other media forms about Christianity than I feel it can be taught in school working alongside other beliefs too. It is important for everyone.
DeleteI totally agree with your thoughts about celebrities using God as a stamp of approval. I think doing so also takes away from the credibility of Christianity. While huge artists may be mentioning the impact God has had on their life in their music, are they actually living out the Gospel and following Jesus? Based on the tabloids, (which may or may not be trustworthy) I would say no. Ultimately, this takes away from the seriousness of the Gospel. Thanking God (whoever that God may be) seems to just be the thing to do these days.
Delete-Audra K.
Hey Amy,
DeleteHere is some food for thought. We hear constantly on the radio, movies, award shows that people want to thank God for all their accomplishments, yet in the next line, say how they are having sex with a bunch of girls or using drugs. Something that I thought about as I read God being a political pawn, was that he is a pawn in our lives too. We go to church on Sundays, but were drinking on Saturday night, and lying on friday. Those in the spotlight have more people watching their every move, but how are we any different?
I couldn't agree more when you said "God has become a pawn our government and society use to make themselves look better on the outside but strip away the moment God becomes real."
DeleteThis reminds me of a sermon I heard in my youth group about people only being "Christians" on Sundays. Many people say they are Christians because they go to church on Sundays, but are doing other things on Friday and Saturday nights.
A. Stoker
I grew up with a mixed education where I was in public school from K-6 and then a private Christian school from grades 7-12. In public school, I always found it confusing as a young person to hear my teachers talk about evolution as if it were all fact. It's been funny to see that some of the "facts" that I learned about evolution when I was younger have now been debunked and disproved. How can a teacher teach something as fact when it is changing from year to year? I know this is the way that the world of science is, but you don't see the Christian world changing their view year to year on what they believe the world and the universe to be. It's a simple and straightforward thought process. There is an almighty Creator. He is God. And he is in ultimate control. Of course this is my opinion and I have a bias just like everyone else on this planet, but I don't like that I have to be silent about my belief system just because it may be "offensive" to some people. I think that if I have to sit in a classroom and be fed a bunch of evolutionary theory, I at least have the right as a human with a brain to voice my opinion on how I believe we all came into existence. I think that is only fair. Only then will we all be able to come together and calmly discuss our opinions, when we are all on an even playing field with open minds.
ReplyDelete- J. Ovenell
You have an awesome point about the evolutionary theory going through changes whilst creationism has held its own as an unchanging portion of the Christian religion. I, too, have been frustrated over my experience in public schools as more and more people place their trust in the ever-changing subject that is evolution as opposed to creationism. Perhaps there are some out there who feel that believing in something that has gone through recent revision provides a better foundation for a belief system?
DeleteI also like your point about having to stay silent to prevent offending others. I feel that offending someone in the area of evolution would involve stating outright that evolution is wrong; however, there are other ways of phrasing such arguments to avoid offending others. Who was given the right to determine that teaching creationism in public schools is offensive?
-JNB
I have had similar experiences to both of you dealing with the teachings of a public education and holding a christian religion. It was difficult to go through my younger education years learning the theory of evolution as all that is known about creation. Yet, in the following days go to youth group and church to learn about my religion and the God as our creator. It was always something that I felt I just needed to let the teacher do their job and as a student learn. If I was to say my views I felt as though it would be confusing and offending for others. Isn't it sad we cannot express ALL of our views? JNB, I agree there are other ways to form other arguments and to be able to voice it respectably in a classroom should be okay. Perhaps that is where families can help at home to discuss those questions together in a non-judging place. Ovenell, I feel voicing our opinions after they have been well thought out and can be backed up will most definitely lead to even playing field.
DeleteTayz, I think you are right, and I think that maybe that is something that we will be required to keep in tension as a Christian. The balance between faith and a world of science that does not want to hear about our faith. I think that it may just be a situation in which it is almost impossible to win over the other side via a discussion or debate. People believe what they will and it is oftentimes difficult to dissuade them, just like it would probably be difficult for an atheistic evolutionist to convince me that there absolutely is no God.
Delete- J. Ovenell
Tayz, that is interesting what you pointed out. For me, I grew up in a Christian environment so I did not have that back and forth you went through. I have always been surrounded with the truth, but if we were all able to voice our opinions and give evidence to back it up, you probably would be able to change so people's mind and bring them to faith. So many people are to scared to step on people's toes, but sometimes I think we go way over the top to save feelings. I think everything should be put on the same level at first, and let other people decide for themselves, and show all of the evidence for all to find out which one is the best one.
DeleteI went to a private Christian school from Kindergarden- 8th grade, so I was taught both the creation theory and BIg Bang theory in my science classes. We were also taught how to prove the Big Bang theory wrong though. So when we learned a new concept in how the universe was created through the eyes of evolutionist, we would learn how to fight that theory with a creationist view. It was a very interesting way to learn about how everything came into existence, but I am very happy that I have such a solid foundation in my faith and in how the universe was created.
DeleteI would love to believe that there is hope but i honestly don think there is. Teaching religion in the public school system is going to cause controversy, it has become a very sensitive topic of discussion. And not only for Christianity. I think the the reason the Christian voice in the public school has become the prisoner of political correctness is because we try to universalize Christianity, try to make it our foundation, try to teach it as the correct from of religion. Religion in the public system should be silenced and individuals should fear discussing this topic. Religion should be t It is when we try to make it the foundation on which we run our school that when it become a controversy. Why should Christianity be put above other religions? Aren't their beliefs just as valid as ours? What if we tired to make Hinduism the universal/foundational laws and values we stand on? How would you feel as a Christian? We are no better than any other religion out here and don't have the right to force our beliefs on others, especially in the public system. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that beliefs are great, but when we start say "in God we trust" this phenomenon appears. When we finally put all religion on an equal playing field and understand other beliefs then we will be able to discuss different opinions with an open mind. Maybe a required comparative religion class could teach individuals different views of, various religions, evolution and history and beliefs on this country was founded on in the public school system.
ReplyDelete-Jazmine Alexander
I think you mention some truth in your post. As I had mentioned, people have the tendency to automatically relate creationism with Christianity and the problem in that comes in expressing this "majority" held view, versus that of the often unmentioned minority group (which might be,as you mentioned the Hindus, Buddhists, etc.) The fact that you propose a comparative religion class that portrays different evolution beliefs is interesting, and in my opinion, a possible good way to expose students to more than the singular view of evolution. And as a society I feel that to a certain extent we do get caught up in emphasizing the Christian religion more so than others (attributing again to the majority vs. minority phenomenon). Overall, the key here becomes exposing our students to more than just this one dimensional perspective and really challenging them to make their own conclusion. The beauty in exposing them to another perspective, like evolution is that one is being asked to exercise their own knowledge and thought process to entertain, debate, and challenge various thoughts and ideas.
Delete-C. Alonso
Your post was very insightful. I think the proposition of a comparative religion class could be very beneficial for individuals to at least understand the differences between different belief systems represented by people all around the world. I do feel like presenting intelligent design in public schools is just the same as presenting evolution. Evolution is a belief just like intelligent design is. Both points of view are held by many people and therefore should be presented to students at least for them to have the opportunity to make a decision for themselves. Like the other person who has responded said, there is beauty in allowing a person to exercise their own knowledge as they work through different points of view. If any person is not given that opportunity, they end up with an incomplete and untested fundamental belief. Thanks for your post!
Delete-S. Sidders
I would agree with Jazmine that there is no hope. This is a very unfortunate situation that is going on in public schools today, but I do not think that there is a big enough effort to teach creationism in the classroom, that the issue of not teaching it would even be considered.
DeleteAnd I was definitely intrigued by your comments about different religions being in the public system. It is not right to teach other religions in a public setting, but it is also not right to teach against them.
*shouldn't *shouldn't *taught
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do think religion is really great, I do not think it needs to be in school. You can pray to yourself if you really want to or with a group of friends, so that should be enough. Having a moment of silence is a compromise so that everyone can feel equal, and I would rather everyone get along instead of having conflicts in school.
ReplyDeleteEvolution should be taught in school because that is the leading belief in science. Parent are certainly welcome to teach their children about creation at home and explain how the Bible can work with evolution, as God could have created everything by setting it into evolutionary motion. I'd like to live in a world where science and religion coexist rather than work against each other. People who usually only believe in one or the other tend to be close minded, hindering their learning ability. Many people who read the Bible take verses for literal meaning rather than symbolically. The seven days of creation could have been a vast amount of time, allowing some form of evolutionary process to take place. Though this could easily be wrong as well, I would love some more information on the topic so that my viewpoint can be as well rounded as possible.
K. Rodricks
I'm not sure what your name is.. but great points! I really liked what you said. I believe the separation of Church and State is completely fine. Kids in school should learn about science and it's theories, whether it is right or wrong. Children can learn about God in so many other places, but as soon as we start teaching God's creation in church, there is no reason to have public and private schools, or even schools in general, because we could then send our children to church for school. It would be selfish to not learn both sides of this so-called argument and really get an understanding. Thanks for your words!
DeleteWhile I value your opinion, I believe that if evolution is going to be taught that schools also make a point to reference intelligent design. Intelligent design is not necessarily a religious inference because it has substancial scientific evidence. While creationism has too strong of a religious bias, intelligent design simply points back to scientific evidence the same way evolution has.
DeleteI agree with you in the hope that we can one day become a world where science and religion coexist rather than work against each other. It is a profound thought and goal for society as a whole.
After going back and reading through some things on Intelligent Design, I am more inclined to think there could be a possibility of teaching that rather than an all out creation story. If they can come up with a textbook that made legitimate scientific evidence supporting each Evolution and Intelligent design (without specifying a God creation story) than I think that would be a good compromise. But honestly if it did not want to receive a terrible backlash from the scientific community than it will have to make some great points!
DeleteK. Rodricks
You had some good points, K. Rodricks. I agree that evolution should be taught in education, but under the disclaimer that it is not absolute truth, but is a viable and popular understanding amongst many scientists. I also agree that there needs to be a better bridge built between science and religion. So many people frequently think of science as anti-Christianity and vice verse, yet if Christians believe in a Creator God, it seems pretty obvious that science can even be some form of worship to this God we know as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I would like to see public education propose evolution as an option and not as the option, giving an extremely basic account that there are other views that call evolution into question and even others that call into question that evolution is anti-religious. (See Alvin Plantiga's works for more information on Christian support for the evolutionary theory.)
DeleteNicholas, if evolution should be taught in education under the disclaimer that it is not absolute truth, so does literally every other bit of scientific information,because for every scientific theory and observation that is made, there is an inference made. That means this evidence leads us to believe that this is true. There are no absolute truths in this world.
DeleteI agree that science can be used as a form of worship to whatever force created the world. However, if we are going to be teaching world views in schools, then every single world view should be made available.
While I believe that public schools do have a reason to prohibit religion from being combined in any way, I would agree that the “Christian voice” has become silenced. As a product of public schooling myself, the idea of a “publicly” ran school is to attempt to endorse its educative services to anyone, with no specific background. This further supports the notion that people are given the freedom to come to a school with whatever beliefs they might have. The problem with endorsing a certain religious viewpoint comes in that there will always be a “majority” and “minority” religious view. For many, Christianity acts as the “majority” view, and therefore, the “problematic” view because the majority of people are expected to have come from a similar background. And this is also why creationism gets dismissed from science classes so often is because it stems from a specifically Christian religious perspective. This becomes unfair to the “minority” people that come from other beliefs because their views are easily dismissed, ignored, forgotten and pushed aside and to a certain extent is one of the reasons why the “Christian voice” has been dismissed. For the most part, I would say that it’s this very dismissal and silencing of it that has created this one dimensional view on science and that in itself is also unfair. It is an oxymoron to state that creationism is avoided to prevent the sharing of religious beliefs when it would in fact also benefit students to expand their minds on two different perspectives and learn to draw their own conclusions. And because creationism specifically is so tied to Christian belief, it would be fair to share other lesser known beliefs from other world perspectives as well. As stated in the blog, “silencing” this Christian view (and any other view for that matter) really only makes room for it being even more misunderstood. All in all, I would agree and say that “an open dialogue about irreducible complexity or intelligent design” is really all that is needed to get students to think outside of this one dimensional evolutionary perspective that is so often proposed in classrooms, given how it really does help them to critically evaluate what makes more sense to them, and gives them a wider perspective to base their choice off of (and eventually even debate about it). When this Christian voice is approached from this perspective, I think people can come to find it find less “scary.”
ReplyDeleteC. Alonso
I think you bring up a good point about Christian ideas being "scary" to some people. Actually, it might not be the ideas themselves that scare people but rather the way they are delivered, which can often be forceful or threatening. Due to this unfortunate reflection on the whole body of Christ, the world is (somewhat understandably) averse to bringing these ideas into public schools. However, I believe that if there was a better method of delivery for ideas such as creationism, they might be more favorably received. This responsibility would largely falls on teachers, a group which I will soon be a part of, to present debatable curriculum content in a manner that allows for discussion, questions, even friendly disagreement. I hope that one day this can happen in public schools not just so that creationism will be talked about in schools, but also so that students are prompted and encouraged to think critically, talk intelligently, and learn meaningfully.
DeleteC. Isaacson
There are only parties that follow hard communalism while there are others that follow soft communalism in the guise of secularism. The blurred concept of Indian secularism has actually made all parties except the BJP to play the communal card in a convenient fashion and yet proclaim themselves to be secular. They have made the BJP a common target and constructed the 2002 riots in Gujarat as the benchmark for their own political profit.
ReplyDeleteKiKi Ye
some commentators are calling for the silencing of the Christian voice. In a piece published in the NZ Herald on 1 March one Sam Clements claimed that advances in scientific knowledge have now limited the ability of the church to “brainwash the masses,” that “religious adherence, at least in the developed world, is in free-fall,” with the result that we can debate issues such as this “based on evidence, reason, and progressive outlook, not hysterical and irrational fear-mongering and melodrama.”
ReplyDeleteKiKi Ye
While this debate has been raging I have been thinking about the book of Revelation. This book is a mix of apocalyptic and Christian prophecy in the form of a letter to seven beleaguered churches in what is now Western Turkey. They were marginalised by the Empire and facing persecution. One contribution that apocalyptic literature makes to marginalised believers to assure them that in the heavenly world, God's side of reality, all is well, for God is enthroned in heaven, and will ultimately vindicate his people. Reading Revelation also reminds God's people that it may get worse before it gets better, and it tells them how they should live in such circumstances.
ReplyDeleteTianzhu Qin
In Revelation 5, John hears a voice from God's throne announcing that “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered” (Rev 5:5). He turns to look at the lion, and sees instead “a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered.” Christ’s victory was won by his execution at the hands of Rome. Later in the book those who conquer do so “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They are described as those who do “not cling to life even in the face of death" (12:11). There is no room for triumphalism; there is no room for shouting. We are simply called to be faithful followers of Jesus, and to live and proclaim the good news. Our, enlightened and come-of-age western civilisation may ultimately go the way of Ancient Rome. But God is still enthroned and will ultimately vindicate his people who remain faithful.
ReplyDeleteKiKi Ye
Thank you, KiKi for this post. This is perhaps what is most important when we face these types of discussions. God is ALWAYS and FOREVER in control. Despite what this world does or claims as God, we have hope and faith in a living God that will not desert us. If we stay focused on Him, we claim His victory. Sometimes we can get too caught up in achieving victories on this earth and not moving with heavenly goals. Great point!
DeleteHas God Become a Political Pawn? I believe that God has become a political pawn in some situations. I feel there are times in which some popular artists or actors use God as a stepping-stone to get ahead and connect with religious people as a secular group. I do not want to limit anyone though by saying “some” because I believe there are people who hold God close to their heart too.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though evolution and God as the creator would both be beneficial for people to learn in school. Either way the more education on both theories can lead to individuals creating their own opinions and leading to a more even playing field. I went to public schools and had to learn the theory of evolution but have kept God as my creator in mind. It was never my spot I felt to speak up about what I really believe and that was okay because I understood it is just what teachers must teach. I have teachers in my family and steering away from curriculum can cause more issues than not. I wish it was something that could be freely taught and hopefully one day it could be. Teachers could learn the best ways to go about teaching new beliefs and children could be able to speak up. There could be hope but it seems to be getting worst before better unfortunately.
Being raised in a Christian home my entire life, I understand where the Christian community is coming from with its fear that God has been silenced in public schools. However, I don't think Christians should be surprised by this. It's not that God is being "outlawed," it's just that the first amendment is being enforced, which prohibits the establishment of religion. If government funded public schools taught Christianity, they would be showing partiality to this religion and giving off the image of pushing an establishment of religion. When Christianity was allowed, other religions were not. Islam or Judaism or Buddhism or any other religion were not being promoted in schools, so it should not be surprising that Christianity is not allowed. I don't think it would be fair to allow one religion if we do not allow any of them. America is not a Christian nation so I don't think that Christianity should have partiality in government institutions.
ReplyDeleteJulie,
DeleteI agree with most of your post. I personally don't believe that schools should be Christian because our government isn't Christian. I remember trying to read my Bible in class when I was little and trying to tell the story to one of my classmates. My teacher noticed and asked me to put it away. If I was a parent I probably wouldn't want my elementary-school aged kid being told stories about other religions either.
However, when you stated that schools aren't allowing other religions either I have to disagree. I grew up in public school until college and when I was in 6th or 7th grade we learned about Islam in social studies class. We learned about the origin of the religion and I had to memorize the five pillars of Islam for the upcoming test. As an adult I value that information, I just wonder why they only chose Islam.
G. Santos
I think you bring up a good point. I believe it would be very beneficial for us to learn about other religions. As a Christian, I have found it is always better to more well-rounded. If you are going to talk to others about Christianity, you must also know how to compare and bring up different points about other religions. This is not possible if we do not take the time to research other religions to truly know what they believe.
DeleteInterestingly enough, when the Constitution was written and the first amendment was enacted it was assumed that Christianity was excluded. I do believe Christian values should be taught in schools, but in general, these values follow with common sense. Do not kill, love your neighbor, love your mother and father, etc. The only problem is that they cannot be taught as Christian values, because other religions hold the same ideas. Unfortunately, because these common sense values have been labeled as Christian, many people cause a commotion over teaching them in school, leaving children without common characteristic building tools.
DeleteI find it so interesting that schools find Christian teachings to be so controversial in the current society. If a class were to discuss other beliefs it might just appear to be offering historical ideas, but as soon as a historical account or idea such as the Creation story is introduced into public education, so many people become passionately opposed. While I agree that we are not strictly a Christian nation I also believe that our society has become vehemently opposed to religious ideologies in the school system and thus has forced our students to remain ignorant about the many theories and alternate options that have been scientifically developed.
DeleteJulia, I definitely agree with you! I grew up in a Christian home as well and went to public schools growing up. I think the reason that we don't teach Christianity in schools is simply that if we were to teach one religion, we would have to teach them all.
DeleteA. Stoker
We can actually teach religion in schools, but it has to be specifically from an academic view point! We can't teach what we believe and what we practice, but we can teach about christianity and other religions.
DeleteThere are many opportunities to teach about religion in the public school system, I just think that the teachers are too scared to step on anyones toes or break the fine lines of the rules. Which I would be as well if I were a teacher.
Hailey M. Heikkinen
I am actually shocked that evolution has been considered "scientific fact". It seems to be as much of a religion as Christianity is, so why is it okay to teach in public schools? The fact of the matter is that no one truly knows how the world came into existence. We can make predictions, we can live by faith, but at the end of the day, no individual can actually prove anything. If there is not significant proof in a subject area, it should be labeled a theory. Evolution should be labeled a theory, just as creationism is.
ReplyDelete-Audra K.
I think that both evolution and creationism should be taught in schools and students should be able to decide which theory they want to believe. I think so many have automatically written off creationism as a nonsense theory, but we do learn a lot of other nonsense theories in other subjects that may no longer be believed, but once were. It is important to teach creationism to communicate the fact that most of the country believed it when our country was young and it is still a widely held view. I think Christians must fight and educate themselves to keep the conversation about creationism current.
I absolutely agree with you that evolution should not be accepted as scientific fact. It should be categorized as one of many options for how the world came to be and that students should be exposed to the numerous other options (including Creationism). We should hold to our convictions and faith regardless of the ways science may try to sway them.
DeleteI think it is true that God has become a political pawn, and something that people fall back on when trying to save face. We say in God's name in public prayers, yet so many people don't even believe that the power of God's name can change anything. I do like that this country still swears an oath on the Bible, but I think that too may soon be done away with unfortunately. I think the US is founded on Christian principles, but might be turning away from them.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point. We as a culture seem to have become so accustomed to using God as a source of hope or understanding only when we need Him to be. In doing so, we don't see the importance of a walk with Christ and are quick to eliminate all connections with Him, when it comes down to it. Perhaps, this is why we eliminate God from discussions in school... because we are too afraid to delve into what this explanation can mean in our understanding of the world. God is too difficult for us to wrap our heads around, so why deal with it? It offends people right? It's not worth the time or energy right? Interesting. Good point!
DeleteI think that school should have both creation as well as evolution to be taught in school. When you only teach one theory on a topic that there is really no way to prove, it forces ideas on to people and limits them to having their own belief on the topic. Growing up in Christian schools, I was never taught the theory and evolution and watching the debate in class and seeing the same biology books used in my schools have little to no scientific evidence was really interesting. If both ideas were taught in school, students would be able to create their own beliefs and help them to think about big questions such as these. Even in debates, the debaters fully study both sides of the argument before discussing their point. Besides the idea of Christianity, students need to be taught all ideas in order to be well informed and then be able to make a decision on their own.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point that Jessica, and many others here, have made. Students would be able to make a much more sound, well-rounded decision on what to believe if they were given multiple options. They're taught evolution as if it's fact, but since it isn't, they should be given other opinions as well.
DeleteI fully agree with you Jessica. I think if we want Christians to be a strong witness within the world we need to be knowledgeable about different ideas. We should try to "become all things to all men" so that we can love others and give greater glory to the one who knows all.
Delete-Emmy
I think in schools we should be learning something about all religions. It is only just for someone to be able to pick a religion for themselves, but only after being given sufficient material to come to a conclusion on their own. God has now become a topic that is controversial to talk about. We can't talk about him or Jesus in fear of stepping on someone's toes. But I believe there must be a better way to go about it than that. As a Christian, I believe we are called to love, but we are called to much more than that. We are called to make disciples of all nations, and we cannot do that if we are not learning and researching what other religions/nations believe. We were once a Christian nation, and during those times, it would have been more acceptable to teach Christian ways in class, but we have began to turn our back on those beliefs and we must know find a way to continue to share the gospel of Christ.
ReplyDeleteJackie,
DeleteI agree with this perspective. Besides the science, creationism, evolution approach, you are right in saying that all religions should be taught as well. Many times, in schools, children are taught evolution, which usually also comes with a non-god believing view. They take these theories as truth even though is has never actually been proven. This is a bit frustrating because they are teaching things as fact that no one on earth can actually prove. I think that religion is a class that is offered as an elective in some schools, but the content really depends on the teacher teaching it. There will always be bias one way or another, it just stinks that it has to be one way or another. People should have the opportunity to learn about different points of view whether it is religion or theories of how the world came to be so that they can make an informed decision on something that they can talk about themselves.
Personal Response:
ReplyDeleteI think it would be very easy to say that the teachers need to teach both sides of the argument when it comes to Godly creation vs big bang and evolution. As a Christian, we know we are right and everyone else that believes in evolution is really missing out on the real truth. However, there is a separation between church and state and that is something we must respect. Titus 3:1 "Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work." We follow the law that the government lays out and it must be honored. If your child attends a private, religious school, then it is fair to teach them about the real truth of creation. With all this said, I would say that schools should teach all religions to students in public schools, giving them idea of understanding to those around them who believe in a God. This is very similar to the gay marriage debate. The definition of marriage is defined as a man and a woman in the BIBLE, not in the constitution. The government has no reason to deny gay marriage because it is not defined in the constitution anywhere. We need to have a separation between church and state and I believe that is completely fair in any matter.
I see what you are saying, Chris, but I disagree that any religion should be trusted to be taught by any public school teacher. There are at least 20 different religions that I can think of off the top of my head, and if researched there has to be that number ten-fold just in the United States. Sure, there are major world religions that could be narrowed down to 8 or so, but even to trust those taught in school makes me nervous, especially understanding that Christianity requires the component of faith, which cannot be articulated by a non-Christian. It is hard enough to articulate it as a Christian! With that said, I think the separation of church and state is necessary and a good thing for Christianity, because Christianity calls into question the practices of violence that our government functions on and maintains power with. I would like to see evolution be taught as one of many options and not as absolute truth, as well as not equating evolution with being anti-God. There are a number of very influential Christian philosophers, scientists, and theologians who argue that Christianity is compatible with evolution, some even arguing that Christianity is the only way evolution could be possible. My opinion on their opinions is irrelevant. All I am trying to say is that I believe evolution should not be treated as the only absolute truth that is anti-God, god, or gods.
DeleteWhile I agree with aspects of what you're saying Chris, I think intelligent design can be taught purely on a scientific basis and be completely fair in the educational system. I think what we are forgetting is that there are legitimate scientific findings within the creationism and intelligent design theories. In this sense, it is not only something based in scripture, but rather seems to hold weight in our tangible universe as well. A teacher does not necessarily then have the right to say this proves all of Christianity to be true, but can point out how this data leads to a greater picture or 'design' that we will never fully understand.
Delete-Emmy
It is so interesting that in politics it is okay to reference God because this is announced and addressed to the entire country, yet teachers must walk on egg shells when it comes to sharing their faith in the classroom. It seems very skewed to me. Christianity is usually overlooked and under-taught because it is a popular faith and they do not want to seem one sided. As Americans we have the right to freedom of religion, and that is true to all Americans. But sometimes Christianity is frowned upon in public schools.
ReplyDeleteTeachers are actually allowed to mention that they are religious, and even name a specific religion, but they are not allowed to preach to students. I was under the impression that they were not allowed to mention anything at all, but I just found this out in my Intro to teaching course. Regardless, I agree that it is interesting that teachers must walk on egg shells when it comes to this subject when politicians have free reign to mention religion and prayer. In fact, it is encouraged that they take a religious stance in order to create a well rounded view of themselves. It's a tough call to make because teachers should create a safe environment, which includes fostering all students and their individual religions.
DeleteI understand where you are coming from. While I looked at the religious aspect I have found out that teachers do have to walk on these egg shells. It seems that there seems to be such a seperation of church and state when in fact, our country was founded on the thought of Christianity. Therefore, I think the fact we can not talk about Christianity because it is an infringement on people. But is that not freedom of speech? I think it is ridiculous we cannot talk about religion in school. Politicians seem to be above the law making it just a totally different world.
DeleteUnfortunately it seems as though God has become taboo in school. I find this interesting, especially in light of recent events at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Many times when such tragedies happen people ask, "Where was God then?" The irony is that God was pushed out of schools. Christian morals and values were no longer allowed to be taught in schools once legislation decided that religion should be separate. While it is good to keep schools as a safe zone, especially when it comes to freedom of religion, it is not good that God has become taboo. His teaching of love, mercy, and kindness seem to be absent in situations like the shooting at Sandy Hook when one person's pain caused many others to suffer. God never leaves our side, but when He is pushed out as He was in the school system, the very people that wanted him separate from education are the people crying out asking where He was. The fact of the matter is that no matter how hard people push, God will reveal Himself in these situations. He was there in the teachers that stood up for their classrooms, He was there when the teachers told their students that they loved them, even though it went against protocol, and He was there in the law enforcement that rushed into the scene, not knowing what they were up against, but knowing they had lives to save. With all this being said, yes, God has become taboo and a type of political pawn, but only in the sight of those who need to open their eyes to His ability and love. Just an interesting thought.
ReplyDelete-Tahnee R.
I believe that it is a shame that educators are not allowed to educate students on the entirety of the options concerning the origin of the world. If evolution is being taught, its opposing view should also be reviewed. For students to grow in awareness and understanding they should have a more whole picture of all the scientific ideologies. While Creationism and Evolution may be too contentious, it would be incredibly valuable for students to be taught about the ideas of intelligent design - not as a push for religiosity, but because there is scientific evidence referencing its validity.
ReplyDeleteIt is important that educators - Christian and non Christian - are aware of the research and views that have been supported by science, and should present an unbiased (but complete) picture to their students.
-Bethany Weatherill
I like Bethany's approach for intelligent design instead of just the exactly Christian response. This simply indicates a higher being in general, without professing the Christian religion. I think this would be the ideal way of teaching, but it is doubtful to think that it will ever really be this way.
DeleteThe difficulty of saying that the opposing viewpoints of evolution should be taught is that I feel many have there own way of thinking about how the universe began. There are many different theories such as Intelligent Design, Big Bang, Bouncing Theory, and so on. There are even people who say the universe simply always was. So maybe teaching a bit of each theory would be best, but with limited time parameters it could be very difficult.
Deleteoops, Forgot to include my name on the above post. ^^^
DeleteK. Rodricks
Unfortunately, I do not think there is quite hope for this. I think the way the United States has gone, has left it to be doomed in this area. I do not think it is right because for freedom of speech, we should be able to say whatever we want. Second, I do not understand why people would care so much if you had that view, and why would we be limited to tell people the truth? Is this a problem just because people are to scared of there actually being a God? Is it the reality they know there is a God but refuse to take that stance? Unfortunately I think that Christianity will be in prison through this for the rest of our lives and for the rest of America's future. I hope not, but I believe this is what it is.
ReplyDeleteBrett,
DeleteI see what you’re saying. However, I do not agree that our country has “gone” a certain way where Christianity is concerned. You seem to imply that the U.S. has continually been departing from some previous state of Christian existence, yet the U.S. is not and never was a Christian nation. The notion of “the good old days of the past” often masks the injustice and oppression that this country was built on (like with Colonialism, slavery, etc.).
I also don’t think that not being able to teach Christian creationism is an infringement on the Freedom of Speech right because there are still limitations within rights that are supposed to protect people. For example, Freedom of Speech does not cover hate speech. Teachers in government-funded schools should not be able to impart whatever religious ideology they personally choose to accept on students because students could basically be told anything. Because we’re dealing with government-funded schools, there needs to be some governmental regulation on curriculum. How loose or tight that regulation is is another matter.
Lastly, teaching evolution isn’t synonymous with teaching that there isn’t a God because many people who believe in the Christian God as well as others gods still accept the theory of evolution. I guess I just don’t think that there always has to be such a tension. I agree that keeping religion altogether out of education may not be best, so what are the alternatives?
-Sarah Moody
I think there is hope, but I do not believe hope has ever been found or will ever be found in relying on the nation-state to instill any sort of Christian truth into the public education system. We live in the midst of too many opinions and too many "truths" for the Christian Truth of the death and resurrection of Christ to be taken seriously by teachers in public education. The world we know today is a world of pluralism that has overloaded words with too many definitions. Take the word "God" for example. The assumption for most is that this word necessitates that the speaker is referring to the trinitarian God who has manifested Godself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not the case, however, yet this vague language permeates its way throughout the American life. People complain that the words, "In God We Trust" are trying to be removed from our currency, yet putting that on our currency among other things has no specific reference to the God we Christians worship despite what we tell ourselves. Not only that, but this vague language of "God" that people want to remain and grow in our political and education systems do not represent the God of the Bible. This god that many American "Christians" profess loyalty to and desire to keep in American life is really the god of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the god who is manifest in red, white, and blue. Any hope that we are to have cannot be taught in the public education system, but must be lived out faithfully by the church's truthful proclamation of the trinitarian God who is with us and for us.
ReplyDeleteThough it seems ridiculous, I choose to hope for the future of our education system. Without hope, our faith in the power of God is rendered useless. The United States is a culture deeply embedded in empirical tyranny which is dominated by 'factual truths' and this is perpetuated in schools. Teachers are bound to a script and standards that reflect the agendas of the state, regardless of their personal views. Science has fallen victim to this censorship, but it is evident in history as well; 'manifest destiny' is glorified as the triumph of the early United States pioneers, rather than a murderous journey to take land that had been inhabited by natives for hundreds of years. Though educators are tied by legalities and fear of job loss, I will still choose to hope that God will restore our classrooms as well as this nation. Without hope, what separates us from those who do not claim faith?
ReplyDeleteThat's the point, from a governmental perspective, there shouldn't be and is not any difference between you and a everyone else, believer or not. We are all born equal in this country, therefor, when we attend a public school, funded by the government (everyones' taxes), it is against the law for a good reason that we are not exposed to unproven religiously biased ideologies like Christian creationism. We are introduced to evidence based science. We can express and explore our own beliefs on our own time and money.
DeleteIn my opinion, the non-religious world has reduced God down to a cell phone or internet blog or website, but I believe that the religious world has tried to keep God at the center of its focus because there is more to life than technology and the newest items on the market.
ReplyDeleteWe are meant to have a relationship with God and know him in a personal way. I do not believe that we can find meaning in life without God in our life. We can find other things of the world to substitute for God in our life, but we will never be fully satisfied until we have God give our life meaning and live according to the purpose He has for us.
Michelle, it is so crazy that you would bring up technology in that way, because I just recently wrote my senior seminar paper about how technology is getting out of control, in some respects. I have been noticing my human skills going down and my fellowships aren't as strong because we are all focused on posting something online and or checking our phones every 2 minutes to make sure we didn't miss a text from someone. And it's just sad. Our purpose in this life is to serve God and we can't necessarily do that with our noses buried in Social Networking. We can receive all the "likes" in the world and never be happy until we realize our identity is found in Christ and not on Facebook or in our blogs.
DeleteI agree with the majority of responders in that the Christian argument for creation cannot be the only alternative to secular evolution taught. Christianity is not the national religion (we do not have one), therefore Christian theology should not be taught alongside evolution as the only religious comparison, which would give off the idea that those two theories are the most worthy of study.
ReplyDeleteI would propose that this matter not be limited to the science departments, but rather that there be a comparative religions class of some sort that is mandatory for all students who attend public schools. A major world religions course should be institutionalized in public school curriculums as part of the general education requirements. Students should learn about different religions and be exposed to different worldviews—where human/earth origins are concerned and beyond. There is so much more to religion than the “how did we get here” question that is typically brought up in science. Let’s have classes that focus on studying world religions in general. That question would still be accounted for, but students would be able to delve deeper into different theologies and traditions, which would be more beneficial for general knowledge and personal development.
-Sarah Moody
This is all very interesting. I agree with the previous posts that in our education, especially, the presence of God is being reduced or eliminated as a means of understanding. In a nation that was founded on Christian principles and beliefs, it is startling to see how the development of the same country includes minimizing Christianity to a hobby or a sport. I'm afraid that in our education, the acceptance of other ideas and theories will take more weight than Christianity, when, instead, they should be treated equally. I'm not sure that I agree that the elimination of evolution from all educational sources is the best move. However, I do think that when it comes to teaching about the beginning of time or biological development, creationism should be included in the discussion. If we really believe in higher education and understanding, than we should not reduce a complex topic, such as the creation of the world, to a single explanation. We as Christians should be able to express our views alongside those of evolution, and have an intellectual conversation. To only teach students evolution is a disservice to their education.
ReplyDelete- Scott Arnold
Scott, I completely agree. This is basically what I said in my post, just with different wording. I agree that all religions and theories should be equally taught in a school setting. I liked when you said that this country is "minimizing Christianity to a hobby or a sport." Christianity should not be seen as extracurricular. It should be taught in schools and not limit the students' education on these matters of church and state.
DeleteWhat seems to be ironic in all of this is that the people who supposedly advocate for free speech are the very ones that are quick to silence opinions that differ from their own. I believe it is incredibly wrong to not allow teachers to teach a legitimate theory in regard to how the earth came to exist. It is unethical to silence this viewpoint and unfortunate that students get robbed of the opportunity to decide for themselves what they believe to be true. Every teacher should have the right to teach valid scientific findings and if those match scriptural writings than they should also be able to point out the similarities. The day that we no longer allow an opposing view to speak is the day that this country goes against everything it was founded on.
ReplyDelete-Emmy Rose
Many in America yearn for a fuller, deeper, and richer conversation about religion in public life and especially about the role of faith in politics. The major political parties, however have failed to articulate "the prophetic voice of religion."
ReplyDeleteHopefully we will be able to use Him and His word in a life changing/shaping way because God challenges everything about our politics. God's politics reminds us of the people our politics always neglects — the poor, the vulnerable, the left behind. God's politics challenges narrow national, ethnic, economic, or cultural self-interest, reminding us of a much wider world and the creative human diversity of all those made in the image of the creator. God's politics reminds us of the creation itself, a rich environment in which we are to be good stewards, not mere users, consumers, and exploiters. And God's politics pleads with us to resolve the inevitable conflicts among us, as much as is possible, without the terrible cost and consequences of war. God's politics always reminds us of the ancient prophetic prescription to 'choose life, so that you and your children may live,' and challenges all the selective moralities that would choose one set of lives and issues over another.
-Jazmine Alexander
Kent Hovind had a good point in the video of the debate. He found it ironic that public schools are not allowed to teach religions, when in reality evolutionists follow the Evolutionary theory as if it were a religion itself. So shouldn't evolution be baned from schools as well? It is absolutely ridiculous to think that schools should not teach all types of religion. Students in public schools are becoming more and more ignorant because the school systems are so touchy on what can and can not be said in a classroom. I also don't see why the students can't be given the chance to decide for themselves what they would like to be taught. They should be given an equal assessment of each religion or theory and then they can choose for themselves which path seems best for them. Though, of course I would prefer them to be fully devoted Christ followers, it should not be forced upon them any more so than the other subjects.
ReplyDeleteC. Trotter
Restoring the Christian Voice in the Public Square
ReplyDeleteI personally will be dealing with this when I become a school teacher. This is a sad fate that I have had to accept that we are not allowed to talk about religion at school because of the separation of church and state. Our state curriculum will only allow teachers to talk briefly about religion when it comes to history and we can don’t support one certain religion over another. I know this is especially hard when it comes to the holiday season. Teachers cannot do only Christmas crafts and they should most likely give all the winter holidays equal attention in order not to get in trouble. This is all due to parents getting offended because children really don’t always get offend like parents do because parents have more say to complain or protest. And children get these opinions from their family members because family most influences children. The public school system is a very humanism worldview that God doesn’t need to be brought up and that things can be solved with reason and rationale. Now this whole problem isn’t right, but what can really be done. I want a job and I want to keep my job. We are taught at APU that we can express the love of Jesus and our faith by showing acts of kindness to our students. Through these actions we are able to show our faith and love our students like Jesus would. So we really aren’t silenced, but we are limited. This is my hope and this is the only solution we have been taught so far.
Although I am not entering the teaching system as a career, I understand the dilemma of living as a Christian in a broken world and a society that forces us to be "politically correct." I am an actor entering an industry that is very liberal and postmodern in perspective where there is no absolute truth and Christians are viewed as hypocritical and judgmental. Both situations seem dim, but I see hope in the power we have through the Holy Spirit. As you said, we are able to share Christ's love through our actions, and cliche as it may be, actions really can speak louder than words.
DeleteIt is sad to me that in places like public schools, political-correctness has placed a fear in Christians to share what they believe. There is so much pressure to keep everyone happy that the fear of offending someone has become more important than sharing what we as Christians know to be truth. The dilemma, especially in the context of the public school system, becomes how do Christians be true to what they believe about God, Creation, and faith, when there are stifling "politically correct rules" that must be complied with? The only hope here is trusting the Holy Spirit to met us in our brokenness and difficult situations to illuminate the truth when it cannot be taught or shared openly. This is a hinderance, but not a hopeless situation.
ReplyDelete"Is there any hope?"
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I do not believe there is any in America for a long time. Public schools have become so secular that even the mention of religion is a forbidden topic. It is very sad. America was a country founded in Religion. Anyone can see that based on "In God we Trust" on our currency, under god in our pledge of alegiance to our flag, and finally presidents for years have been saying "God bless America". Also going back as far as the pilgrims. Many came over for the purpose of spreading the news of God to the Indians. Somewhere in the last few hundred years God has gotten lost and replaced with science. People started to believe that Religion and God do not go hand in hand so they decided to keep the science loose the God. I really do not have any first hand experience with this. I have gone to a private school my entire life so I have always been able to speak freely about God. I feel like it would be very strange to go to a school where I was required to keep ideas about God to myself. I believe a school is a place where all ideas should be shared. I know that in Texas they are especially strict about what is taught. A teacher could lose their job for teaching about what a bad guy Columbus actually was. It is ridicules. I am glad I have been lucky enough to have been able to always go to a school where I can learn and enhance my faith. I believe that America is beggining to feel like they do not need God. Americans believe they can become rich and accomplish the American dream on their own without the help of a God. This is very sad and something needs to be done. It requires a strong man rooted in faith as president to make these changes and unfortunately this is something that our country does not currently have.
“Is there any hope?”
ReplyDeleteI would say that there is always hope, at least for believers. It us understandable that a nonbeliever could see the negatives of the world and not see any hope, but as believers we have to see hope. If we can’t see hope, do we really know God? God is our strength, refuge, and hope! If we know Christ, we always have hope. Even though this world is full of sin and evil, we know that God is looking out for us and has a plan for our lives. There has always been, is, and always will be evil in the world. Knowing that, we need to rely on God’s hope and promises in order to get through this life because if not, we could be consumed with fear or sadness. If God remains the center of our lives, we will always have hope. One way to spread hope to others is simply by being kind or performing random acts of kindness. This means paying for someone’s coffee, or leaving happy notes to others to brighten their day. A little kindness can go a very long way, and it is a great way to give others hope for their days, weeks, or years!
-Bryley De Ghetto
I completely agree with the points you are illustrating in this post. Our country has changed it’s founding values to accommodate other values and are selective of where they practice these values. I remember when my school transitioned from prayer time to moment of silence. I thought it was weird. I remember seeing everyone praying at one point, to not doing anything and sitting in silence. It’s a very hard thing living as a Christian in world that is increasing in secularism. I too feel the same way about feeling the fear of losing a job and feeling uneducated about science. I am scared to go against people who are knowledgeable about evolution. It’s also unfair to have school standards diminish the idea of creation when that’s how most people think the world was created. Creation is wrong but evolution is right. Why can’t they both go hand in hand?
ReplyDelete