Marsha West
Christian parents must be willing to fight for the heart and soul of their children
By Marsha West
Recently I penned a piece to explain Bible believing Christian parent's responsibility in helping shape their children's worldview. I received so much feedback so I thought it would be a good idea to write a follow-up to "Christian kids must slay wolves in sheep's clothing, not pet them!"
Let me start by saying that Christian parents must be willing to fight for the heart and soul of their children. In the same way we fight the spiritual battle each of us faces daily, preparing them to win that same battle requires parents, and to a reasonable degree, their children to "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:10-12)
What believers are facing is a spiritual battle. How we are to equip ourselves to fend off the slings and arrows of the evil one and his minions comes from Sacred Writ, not from me. What does Paul tell us to do? "Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." In other words, stand your ground, brethren. Do not waiver. Stand firm! Wearing the full Armor of God is of the utmost importance if you're going to defeat the enemy, both for you and on behalf of your children.
Public Education...Indoctrination
America's kids are attending government schools and universities run by liberals who are indoctrinating them into their "value-free" culture. No one disputes that anymore. What parents must come to grips with is the far-left indoctrination that's happing right under their noses.
According to James Barrett, "a study of 8,688 tenure-track professors at 51 of the 66 top-ranked liberal arts colleges in the U.S. published by the National Association of Scholars found that the ratio of faculty members registered as Democrats compared to those registered Republican is now a stunning 10.4 to 1. If two military colleges that are technically described as "liberal arts colleges" are removed from the calculations, the ratio is 12.7 to 1. (Source)
Wake up and smell the coffee, people!
The rude awakening will come when children raised in Christian homes start spewing pure socialist propaganda and join the party of the far left – the Democrat party. Imagine your child becoming the next Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez! It could happen!
Back to my primary point. America's public schools have become hot beds of multiculturalism, political correctness, moral equivalency and sexual indoctrination. Consequently, young people's hearts and minds have been taken captive by educators that don't share your values, despise conservatism, and reject the Christian worldview.
Facts...
In an article I wrote over 12 years ago I offered the following facts:
Fact: By the time a child graduates from high school, he or she will have spent 11,000 hours in school, 2,000 hours with their parents, 800 hours in church (if they attend church regularly) and 63,000 hours consuming the Internet, computer games, occult books, TV, movies and music.
Fact: "Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual messages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who listened to little or no sexually degrading music."
Fact: On college compasses across America students are exposed to moral depravity, which includes prostitution, pornography, orgies, drunkenness, addictive drugs, raunchy movies, and music with sexually explicit lyrics.
Fact: 80% of kids raised by evangelical Christian parents leave their faith behind when they enter college.
That was 12 years ago! A recent Harvard poll reports that two-thirds of young voters picked a Democrat in the 2018 midterms. What did a third of young voters list first as their most important foreign policy concern? Protecting the environment. They're also concerned with stopping terrorists and protecting human rights. This same poll also showed that young Republicans are concerned about the moral direction of the nation. Fifty-five percent said they believe same-sex relationships are morally wrong.
If you want what's best for your children – and I know you do – don't permit our corrupt culture to mold them into "progressives." If possible, remove your kids from government schools that are turning them into mind-numbed robots. If it's financially feasible, place them in private schools. Even better, homeschool. That way you can teach them your own values and worldview.
It is no secret that most America universities promote leftist propaganda. Professors with a far left political ideology are turning out literally hundreds of thousands of anti-American, anti-Christian, Cultural Marxists (linked to political correctness and multiculturalism), moral relativists (there is no truth, no universal or absolute set of moral principles) who have no regard for parent's beliefs....even though parents pay their salaries.
Even knowing all the above, moms and dads continue sending their teenagers off to secular universities and colleges with little or no training on how to defend themselves against these forces of evil. Christian kids are thrown into a den of wolves, often without the weapons they need to fend off their attackers.
We know that many teachers are anti-American and anti-God. These people are intelligent in their own way and wily – they're on a mission to impose their secular humanist beliefs on those they teach, especially those with a Christian worldview.
Granted there are some who have no ax to grind and teach with the sole purpose of educating the student and preparing them for future endeavors. As previously indicated this attitude and approach can be attributed to a very few. An early idea of what kind of teacher your son or daughter has can be determined by reviewing the accuracy of the history curriculum. For the most part revisionist history is the name of the game. Revisionism is defined by the Free Dictionary as advocating "the revision of an accepted, usually long-standing view, theory, or doctrine; especially a revision of historical events and movements." Many liberal college professors teach revisionist history so that they can tear down the truths taught at home and in the church to set the stage for the introduction of a different worldview. It's all about manipulating them into accepting changes, especially in the public policy arena. Gone are the days when an educator's principal motivation was to teach children how to think rather than what to think. A simple example of how students minds are transformed can be found by looking at a the teaching of a small period of American history where rather than emphasizing a broad range of events and achievements attributable to the Founding Fathers, they promote only that these individuals were pro-slavery racists who managed to develop a Constitution these professors and teachers methodically demean.
Speaking of history, liberal-progressives found a way to bash President Trump in a textbook:
A textbook published by Pearson Education entitled, By the People: A History of the United States, depicts President Donald J. Trump as mentally ill and paints his supporters as racists.
The book says:
Most thought that Trump was too extreme a candidate to win the nomination, but his extremism, his anti-establishment rhetoric, and, some said, his not very hidden racism connected with a significant number of primary voters. (Source)
Revisionism is one methodology for changing student's worldview. Imbedding false information into every phase of curriculum from kindergarten to college is another. In an article by Michael W. Chapman entitled 'Latina Mama' Warns Pete Buttigieg: "Don't Force Your Sexual Ideology on Me and My Children," research scholar at the Witherspoon Institute and founder of the marriage movement CanaVox, Ana Samuel warns that "policies that undermine our parental rights and duties by seeking to indoctrinate our children in progressive sexual ideology without our consent and sometimes in spite of our explicit protest."
Moreover...
These policies, she said, include reading assignments in the public schools that are explicitly designed "to normalize LGBT lifestyles"; sex education classes that promote abortion, masturbation, condom use, sex toys, and rectal intercourse; "[p]ediatricians who ask to see our teenagers alone and then push to prescribe them contraceptives or ask them about sexual behaviors that we find offensive"; "public library programming where unicorns, rainbows, gingerbread persons, drag-queen story hours, and other symbols of progressive sexual ideology make an appearance, so that we must regularly steer our toddlers clear of the propaganda"; and promotion of transgender propaganda in the schools. (Source)
Get a load of what is going on in some California schools. Not surprisingly, the campaign to legalize pedophilia is gaining momentum in the Golden State. According to Freedom Project:
Government school officials in California think it is "really important" to teach children about pedophilia and pederasty in the classroom because it is a "sexual orientation." The stunning admission came after a parent-information meeting last month for the Brea Olinda Unified School District (BOUSD). Stephanie Yates, founder of Informed Parents of California, asked school officials why they were "teaching pedophilia in school to 9th graders." But instead of a denial that such an atrocity was taking place, a top school official confirmed it was happening and acted like there was nothing wrong with it. (Source)
"Sexual orientation" is a legally protected category in many states. Defining pedophilia as a "sexual orientation" has alarming implications. Mark my words. If pedophiles simply have a different orientation, what follows is that these child rapists will become a protected class.
In public schools, your children are not going to learn that God created the world around them. What they're going to be taught is Darwinian evolution – that homo sapiens evolved from primates. They'll be exposed to sex-ed classes where they'll learn all about homosexual sex. They won't be taught that God created woman to compliment man, instead teachers will fill their minds with such nonsense as "homosexuality is normal and natural." And if your daughter dares to disagree with the radical LGBTQ+ agenda, she'll be labeled hateful, homophobe, bigot and she'll be bullied. Her teachers will never suggest that moral purity is something to aspire to. But she'll how to use a condom.
Manchurian Christians
The teachings of our covert enemies has also invaded our churches. Several years ago, blogger Paul Proctor lamented:
Many today are simply turning themselves and their kids over to the capricious care of "Manchurian Christians" who teach and encourage them to follow their feelings, follow the crowd and emulate the very culture Jesus Christ came to deliver us from – in the name of Jesus, of course. They have been so thoroughly indoctrinated into the new spirituality of Results and Relationships that they no longer know or really even care what "doctrines and ideas" are being taught at their church today or what activities their kids participate in, as long as everybody is having fun, making friends and occasionally hears that sugary, deceptive and egocentric cliché: "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That's like saying: "Love God? – Check here – Thanks for coming – Have a great time!
Spiritual counterfeits are rampant in the visible Church. Therefore, Bible believing Christians must be equipped to recognize aberrant and heretical teaching if they're going to avoid being taken in by false teachers and cultists. The Bible admonishes believers to become apologists for their faith. "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have," admonishes Peter. "But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15) It's imperative that Christian parents have solid answers when their kids ask questions about the Bible.
Many Christians are serving two masters – God and the World. "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Who will you serve, God or the World?
Slaying The Dreaded Dragon
We are witnessing societies downhill slide into the secular humanist abyss. So how can Christian parents slay the dreaded dragon? One way is to stop being friends with your kids and get your house in order! Dads and moms have got to become proactive in raising their children. God expects parents to be responsible. His desire is for children to have moral character. "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right" (Proverbs 20:11). Youngsters must understand what the Bible teaches about right and wrong, the value of human life, respect for others, and respect for our laws and our lawmakers.
The loss of parents as the primary guidance counselors and teachers of children has had dreadful consequences.
What are some things parents can do to give our young ones a fighting chance to overcome the world? Immerse them in a biblical worldview. Parents who have the opportunity and are up to the challenge, homeschool your kids. If you're unable to homeschool and your kids attend a government school, pay attention to what they're learning in the classroom.
Read your child's textbooks.
Attend parent teacher conferences and ask teachers probing questions.
Talk to your kids.
Take advantage of teachable moments, especially with teens.
Monitor what youngsters are being exposed to on social media, TV, books, movies, music, the Internet. Talk about it!
Teach them what the Bible says about immorality. Are the behaviors they're witnessing right or wrong? Explain the reasons that sexual immorality cannot produce a healthy society.
No one said it would be easy and it isn't in today's world. Success isn't guaranteed, but strongly promoting a Godly worldview enhances the chances for a positive outcome.
© Marsha West
May 1, 2019
Recently I penned a piece to explain Bible believing Christian parent's responsibility in helping shape their children's worldview. I received so much feedback so I thought it would be a good idea to write a follow-up to "Christian kids must slay wolves in sheep's clothing, not pet them!"
Let me start by saying that Christian parents must be willing to fight for the heart and soul of their children. In the same way we fight the spiritual battle each of us faces daily, preparing them to win that same battle requires parents, and to a reasonable degree, their children to "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:10-12)
What believers are facing is a spiritual battle. How we are to equip ourselves to fend off the slings and arrows of the evil one and his minions comes from Sacred Writ, not from me. What does Paul tell us to do? "Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." In other words, stand your ground, brethren. Do not waiver. Stand firm! Wearing the full Armor of God is of the utmost importance if you're going to defeat the enemy, both for you and on behalf of your children.
Public Education...Indoctrination
America's kids are attending government schools and universities run by liberals who are indoctrinating them into their "value-free" culture. No one disputes that anymore. What parents must come to grips with is the far-left indoctrination that's happing right under their noses.
According to James Barrett, "a study of 8,688 tenure-track professors at 51 of the 66 top-ranked liberal arts colleges in the U.S. published by the National Association of Scholars found that the ratio of faculty members registered as Democrats compared to those registered Republican is now a stunning 10.4 to 1. If two military colleges that are technically described as "liberal arts colleges" are removed from the calculations, the ratio is 12.7 to 1. (Source)
Wake up and smell the coffee, people!
The rude awakening will come when children raised in Christian homes start spewing pure socialist propaganda and join the party of the far left – the Democrat party. Imagine your child becoming the next Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez! It could happen!
Back to my primary point. America's public schools have become hot beds of multiculturalism, political correctness, moral equivalency and sexual indoctrination. Consequently, young people's hearts and minds have been taken captive by educators that don't share your values, despise conservatism, and reject the Christian worldview.
Facts...
In an article I wrote over 12 years ago I offered the following facts:
Fact: By the time a child graduates from high school, he or she will have spent 11,000 hours in school, 2,000 hours with their parents, 800 hours in church (if they attend church regularly) and 63,000 hours consuming the Internet, computer games, occult books, TV, movies and music.
Fact: "Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual messages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who listened to little or no sexually degrading music."
Fact: On college compasses across America students are exposed to moral depravity, which includes prostitution, pornography, orgies, drunkenness, addictive drugs, raunchy movies, and music with sexually explicit lyrics.
Fact: 80% of kids raised by evangelical Christian parents leave their faith behind when they enter college.
That was 12 years ago! A recent Harvard poll reports that two-thirds of young voters picked a Democrat in the 2018 midterms. What did a third of young voters list first as their most important foreign policy concern? Protecting the environment. They're also concerned with stopping terrorists and protecting human rights. This same poll also showed that young Republicans are concerned about the moral direction of the nation. Fifty-five percent said they believe same-sex relationships are morally wrong.
If you want what's best for your children – and I know you do – don't permit our corrupt culture to mold them into "progressives." If possible, remove your kids from government schools that are turning them into mind-numbed robots. If it's financially feasible, place them in private schools. Even better, homeschool. That way you can teach them your own values and worldview.
It is no secret that most America universities promote leftist propaganda. Professors with a far left political ideology are turning out literally hundreds of thousands of anti-American, anti-Christian, Cultural Marxists (linked to political correctness and multiculturalism), moral relativists (there is no truth, no universal or absolute set of moral principles) who have no regard for parent's beliefs....even though parents pay their salaries.
Even knowing all the above, moms and dads continue sending their teenagers off to secular universities and colleges with little or no training on how to defend themselves against these forces of evil. Christian kids are thrown into a den of wolves, often without the weapons they need to fend off their attackers.
We know that many teachers are anti-American and anti-God. These people are intelligent in their own way and wily – they're on a mission to impose their secular humanist beliefs on those they teach, especially those with a Christian worldview.
Granted there are some who have no ax to grind and teach with the sole purpose of educating the student and preparing them for future endeavors. As previously indicated this attitude and approach can be attributed to a very few. An early idea of what kind of teacher your son or daughter has can be determined by reviewing the accuracy of the history curriculum. For the most part revisionist history is the name of the game. Revisionism is defined by the Free Dictionary as advocating "the revision of an accepted, usually long-standing view, theory, or doctrine; especially a revision of historical events and movements." Many liberal college professors teach revisionist history so that they can tear down the truths taught at home and in the church to set the stage for the introduction of a different worldview. It's all about manipulating them into accepting changes, especially in the public policy arena. Gone are the days when an educator's principal motivation was to teach children how to think rather than what to think. A simple example of how students minds are transformed can be found by looking at a the teaching of a small period of American history where rather than emphasizing a broad range of events and achievements attributable to the Founding Fathers, they promote only that these individuals were pro-slavery racists who managed to develop a Constitution these professors and teachers methodically demean.
Speaking of history, liberal-progressives found a way to bash President Trump in a textbook:
A textbook published by Pearson Education entitled, By the People: A History of the United States, depicts President Donald J. Trump as mentally ill and paints his supporters as racists.
The book says:
Most thought that Trump was too extreme a candidate to win the nomination, but his extremism, his anti-establishment rhetoric, and, some said, his not very hidden racism connected with a significant number of primary voters. (Source)
Revisionism is one methodology for changing student's worldview. Imbedding false information into every phase of curriculum from kindergarten to college is another. In an article by Michael W. Chapman entitled 'Latina Mama' Warns Pete Buttigieg: "Don't Force Your Sexual Ideology on Me and My Children," research scholar at the Witherspoon Institute and founder of the marriage movement CanaVox, Ana Samuel warns that "policies that undermine our parental rights and duties by seeking to indoctrinate our children in progressive sexual ideology without our consent and sometimes in spite of our explicit protest."
Moreover...
These policies, she said, include reading assignments in the public schools that are explicitly designed "to normalize LGBT lifestyles"; sex education classes that promote abortion, masturbation, condom use, sex toys, and rectal intercourse; "[p]ediatricians who ask to see our teenagers alone and then push to prescribe them contraceptives or ask them about sexual behaviors that we find offensive"; "public library programming where unicorns, rainbows, gingerbread persons, drag-queen story hours, and other symbols of progressive sexual ideology make an appearance, so that we must regularly steer our toddlers clear of the propaganda"; and promotion of transgender propaganda in the schools. (Source)
Get a load of what is going on in some California schools. Not surprisingly, the campaign to legalize pedophilia is gaining momentum in the Golden State. According to Freedom Project:
Government school officials in California think it is "really important" to teach children about pedophilia and pederasty in the classroom because it is a "sexual orientation." The stunning admission came after a parent-information meeting last month for the Brea Olinda Unified School District (BOUSD). Stephanie Yates, founder of Informed Parents of California, asked school officials why they were "teaching pedophilia in school to 9th graders." But instead of a denial that such an atrocity was taking place, a top school official confirmed it was happening and acted like there was nothing wrong with it. (Source)
"Sexual orientation" is a legally protected category in many states. Defining pedophilia as a "sexual orientation" has alarming implications. Mark my words. If pedophiles simply have a different orientation, what follows is that these child rapists will become a protected class.
In public schools, your children are not going to learn that God created the world around them. What they're going to be taught is Darwinian evolution – that homo sapiens evolved from primates. They'll be exposed to sex-ed classes where they'll learn all about homosexual sex. They won't be taught that God created woman to compliment man, instead teachers will fill their minds with such nonsense as "homosexuality is normal and natural." And if your daughter dares to disagree with the radical LGBTQ+ agenda, she'll be labeled hateful, homophobe, bigot and she'll be bullied. Her teachers will never suggest that moral purity is something to aspire to. But she'll how to use a condom.
Manchurian Christians
The teachings of our covert enemies has also invaded our churches. Several years ago, blogger Paul Proctor lamented:
Many today are simply turning themselves and their kids over to the capricious care of "Manchurian Christians" who teach and encourage them to follow their feelings, follow the crowd and emulate the very culture Jesus Christ came to deliver us from – in the name of Jesus, of course. They have been so thoroughly indoctrinated into the new spirituality of Results and Relationships that they no longer know or really even care what "doctrines and ideas" are being taught at their church today or what activities their kids participate in, as long as everybody is having fun, making friends and occasionally hears that sugary, deceptive and egocentric cliché: "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That's like saying: "Love God? – Check here – Thanks for coming – Have a great time!
Spiritual counterfeits are rampant in the visible Church. Therefore, Bible believing Christians must be equipped to recognize aberrant and heretical teaching if they're going to avoid being taken in by false teachers and cultists. The Bible admonishes believers to become apologists for their faith. "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have," admonishes Peter. "But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15) It's imperative that Christian parents have solid answers when their kids ask questions about the Bible.
Many Christians are serving two masters – God and the World. "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Who will you serve, God or the World?
Slaying The Dreaded Dragon
We are witnessing societies downhill slide into the secular humanist abyss. So how can Christian parents slay the dreaded dragon? One way is to stop being friends with your kids and get your house in order! Dads and moms have got to become proactive in raising their children. God expects parents to be responsible. His desire is for children to have moral character. "Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right" (Proverbs 20:11). Youngsters must understand what the Bible teaches about right and wrong, the value of human life, respect for others, and respect for our laws and our lawmakers.
The loss of parents as the primary guidance counselors and teachers of children has had dreadful consequences.
What are some things parents can do to give our young ones a fighting chance to overcome the world? Immerse them in a biblical worldview. Parents who have the opportunity and are up to the challenge, homeschool your kids. If you're unable to homeschool and your kids attend a government school, pay attention to what they're learning in the classroom.
Read your child's textbooks.
Attend parent teacher conferences and ask teachers probing questions.
Talk to your kids.
Take advantage of teachable moments, especially with teens.
Monitor what youngsters are being exposed to on social media, TV, books, movies, music, the Internet. Talk about it!
Teach them what the Bible says about immorality. Are the behaviors they're witnessing right or wrong? Explain the reasons that sexual immorality cannot produce a healthy society.
No one said it would be easy and it isn't in today's world. Success isn't guaranteed, but strongly promoting a Godly worldview enhances the chances for a positive outcome.
© Marsha West
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
