On to Defending the Academy

Well, much has occurred since a past post, “We Can’t, No We Won’t”, was published as an outdoor educator in the California redwoods. Late April, after much prayer and contemplation, it was decided that I would resign at the end of the program year in June. In May this was made known to the whole team. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” “Thereby,” I told them, “I can no longer serve in a ‘ministry’ that is unable to speak this foundational truth.” For the next month no one questioned or argued with me about it.

A peace was over me. Where was I going next after the summer? No clue. All that was set was a seasonal return to a small conference center in the Sierra Nevada. The last two weeks of the program, I affirmed that wherever God placed me next, Christ (the Logos) is my life’s foundation. I would be thankful, even if it meant long term manual labor at a more genuinely Logos centered establishment.

June comes. My car is loaded with all my possessions. I am ready to serve with my hands for the summer. Teaching applications up to this point have either been rejected or some administrators set up interviews only to not follow through. One particular gentleman from a little school in central Arizona shows the most interest, likewise, equal courtesy when declining my offer. Thank God, he was right about me soon acquiring a position. Before the end of the month, following three somewhat awkward interviews, a slightly larger classical Christian academy in Arizona recruited me for upper high school (some middle school). Apparently, choosing me was made significantly easier after receiving torrents of praise from my grateful recent employers. Certainly, these past few assignments were a part of His plan for this occasion.

Now, an unprecedented task. Indeed, something more intimidating than the last within these three years of persistent preparation. For a whole academic year, the souls/minds of youths are under my direct influence. Their intellectual and spiritual faculties will be impacted, a rippling effect on the succeeding generation. May Christ grant me the wisdom & strength to meet the daily needs of this responsibility. As I fulfill the role of teacher-mentor, may my own soul/mind be further refined in holiness and knowledge. Becoming an increasingly edifying educator is key to my secondary duty – defending the academy.

What does a school need to be vigilant of? Why so serious? I watched my own excellent private high school decline over a summer break from worldly changes in education philosophy. I have encountered countless students weighed down by “neutral” pluralistic curriculum. Aye, and the few ministries trying to get along with institutions teaching according to the policies of the State, not universal truth. When a program has more sociologists, psychologists, and education degree recipients managing operations than those experienced in teaching/researching across academic fields, you have a government-corporate enterprise instead of an academy. Yes, Lord, help me guard this house of learning from any encroachment that will remove Logos from the classroom. Let the younger generation know their God and His creation, so they may not fear the pride and wrath of man.

⁵Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

⁶Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ¹¹To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:5-11

Independence from monarch and Mob

A fair number of people today are aware a large fraction of the American colonists decided they no longer tolerated being under the reign of the British royal family and Parliament. What fewer may also keep in mind is that the founders of American independence equally desired to avoid the normality of mob rule. To be self-governing, free from the excesses of monarchy and democracy, Americans needed to be a virtuous people for the well-being of the republic.

Yes, political independence begins with families & communities, whom can prepare the younger generations to inherit a civilization that unceasingly dialogues truth and justice. Such is a well rooted drive to form interconnecting associations that discuss and debate the essentials as well as particulars of socio-economic realms, from the neighborhood to the nation. The Enlightenment elements agreed that God imparts rights to those in His image. The Christian heritage was the blueprint for universal principle. Greco-Roman tradition bestowed a set of mental tools to ponder the nature of things.

The inversion, turning upside down/inside out, of this pursuit of Logos (divine order; Christ Jesus) is defied by mortal hubris, a satanic pride that seeks unwarranted glory or at least temporal gratification, which possesses a vampire’s insatiable hunger. It is pseudo-liberty that forsakes personal, familial, and/or communal responsibility. It is the social-Darwinian hustle for material wealth. It is the lustful objectification of persons and their image, reflecting their Creator, for the sake of personal pleasure. It is the creature arrogantly exercising power as if they are Lord.

This is a historically consistent reality, mobs directly or indirectly invite the rule of tyrants. A monarch faces a fair amount of social/moral restraint. Dictators and Oligarchs redefine as they will. A mob reacts passionately to situations; they do not act in strategic unity. Hence, while attacking those who may be in the wrong, much destruction is committed against others, crimes of passion and opportunism. Acute or chronic social chaos can be the probable chance for shrewd souls to assert vice grip means of control.

Members of a republic ought to act in accordance with law and principle, because they are of families and communities. These close ties allow them to voice their thoughts, take economic and political counter measures; and engage in defensive force. It is much more difficult to deceive a likeminded people who reason in the things of God, practicing a division of power for the liberty of their fellow members. Democracy more readily fosters mobs, since public decision making rests on mass persuasion of what is popular, not necessarily what is right. All a charismatic promiser of grand schemes need do is at least convince a minority to react, for they depend on granting power to strangers rather than sharing it in their more immediate circles.

The modern shift to an educated, instead of a virtuous people will be any nation’s downfall. Educate them in what? Oh, yes, how to be a productive employee for the technocrat economy and to empower the government bureaucracy in being the. Indeed, it is desired by wicked beings we abandon intimacy with the Logos, our families, and neighbors, so we are not active citizens of a republic independent from mortal monarchs (presidents?) and pretenders of God. For a global order, run by demonic disciples, subjects that react with wants, although passive in comfort, make ideal chattel.

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ²fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. ³Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-11

History, more than a Study

History has another dimension to it besides learning of the past. Just as important is an active role in the present. What happens now becomes then almost seamlessly. Then and now persists into later. There is a highly consequential misconception that it is the past that determines the present. Now, this is true to an extent, except a great multitude do not acknowledge being a part of the recent past, as in living history. The combination of the belief that history by nature is of random events invites a vicious cycle. History is neither random events nor sole human activity; it is the grace of God over His creation.

When people recognize that they too share in the past, there is usually more reflection about the impact made on others. On the other hand, when we observe ourselves more as products of the past, there is less attention to the influence of our character and state in life. For the former, the first priority tends to be addressing one’s own sins, no less potential evils. The latter more expect others to atone for theirs, neglecting heart and mind. In other words, those who connect in history through the present are more ready to repent (change their mind to virtue) of vice, so they can exercise the truth. Those who act in history according to the past, demand right living, while being the very oppression they supposedly hate, lies justified for their truth.

The world view of history as apparent orderly chaos is the endgame of both humanistic skepticism and optimism. Earthly utopia keeps running into speed bumps, history is random. Man and the environment are simply natural processes, things just happen in grand scheme of things. It was odd in graduate school to hear the timeline as anything goes, except we should be concerned about injustice. This was more bizarre from a self admittedly Marxist professor, whom posited that the institution of slavery did not end because of public moral shift but because industrial capitalism made it less economically feasible. Which can be argued, only she soon after expressed that capitalism helped maintain slavery before its formal abolition in the 1800s. The view of history being random allowed her to hold these confusing ideas as complementary.

I digress regarding the poor higher education. What is of important note is that hating sinners of the past more than your own sin (that is if you acknowledge it) maintains a strong lack of self awareness of being a villain. While maliciously handling the ‘issues’ of the present, one fails to recognize they are a bad guy of history, also contributing to the misery of the future. The French and Russian Revolutions, along with the succeeding tyrannies, are voluminous examples. The mainstream campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights and push for military interventions are more subtle, current measures for pseudo-liberty.

In this desperate cycle for wealth and/or pleasure, we can wholeheartedly believe history can be rewritten, at least in the present, to suit our ideal future. Such is the generational ambition to end the chaos of our heritage or figure out how to navigate the indifferent ebbs and flows of time. Well, no need to fear. The cliché of it is “His Story” rings true. God, the resurrected Christ, is in control of history. Oh, the objections to His authority! So many would rather have reality absent of Him, our destinies dependent on our best foot forward. No, thank you, I rely on the Lord’s will, not our centuries of ongoing folly. My concluding question is this: “Are you a Cain or Abel in the Story?”

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent [the body], is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation [resurrection] which is from heaven, ³if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked [only dead]. ⁴For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.⁶So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. ⁹Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. ¹¹Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.”

2 Corinthians 5:1-11

Do Atoms have Instincts?

Human existence is in itself a miracle. The presence of anything else is no less daunting of a reality when you consider that we really have no idea how the cosmos works. For atoms to come into being then form elements, eventually building into biological creatures is in itself fantasy, a mythology (mythos) beyond human understanding. As much as we try to rationalize a materialistic cause, the origin of it all eludes imagination.

“We are alive against the stupendous odds of genetics, infinitely outnumbered by all the alternates who might, except for luck, be in our places. . . We violate probability by our nature. To be able to do this systematically, and in such wild varieties of form, from viruses to whales, is extremely unlikely; to have sustained the effort for successfully for the several billion years of our existence, without drifting back into randomness, was nearly a mathematical impossibility.”

from: “The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher” by Lewis Thomas (1974)

Despite the acknowledgement that existence is technically impossible, the ability for atoms to apparently self-direct into DNA/RNA, the informational molecules of cells, is accepted with little pondering. Thomas may be writing from almost fifty years ago, though the contemporary terms have not really changed. He is more honestly candid about a materialistic view, which gives off mild superstition if not mythos. In the same essay, he states:

“There is, if it goes well, quite a lot to look forward to. Already, by luck, we have seen the assembly of particles of exchanged thought into today’s structure of art and science. It is done by simply passing the bits around from mind to mind, until something like natural selection makes the final selection, all on grounds of fitness.”

Some would argue he used such casual and dogmatic language due to the influence of society and/or him trying to communicate to a wider audience. I think this only plays a small part. Our natural world is so mysteriously magnificent in how it came to be, you cannot help but describe it in metaphysical and religious language. Such is an example from the concluding page:

“The word “chance” does not serve to account well for structures of such magnificence. There may have been elements of luck in the emergence of chloroplasts, but once these things were on the scene, the evolution of the sky became absolutely ordained. Chance suggests alternatives, other possibilities, different solutions. This may be true for gills and swim-bladders and forebrains, matters of detail, but not for the sky. There was simply no other way to go.”

Atoms on their very own do not possess instincts, unless given prime directives from something greater than the universe itself. The natural apparently impossible phenomena of becoming DNA/RNA, countless microscopic libraries of information, attests to higher intelligence. Think I am blowing smoke? Attached is a thought provoking presentation on the nature of atomic particles. https://youtu.be/zU7Lww-sBPg

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 1:1-5; 10-13

Christian Men & College

There have been a number of articles by Christian women explaining why females of the faith should avoid going to college, though may still obtain a post-secondary education/degree. Examples: https://thetransformedwife.com/godly-men-prefer-debt-free-virgins-without-tattoos/ & https://mrspriceisrighthomeschooling.blogspot.com/2010/05/should-young-women-go-to-college.html

I am going to voice my opinion on why Christian men should likewise be cautious if not opposed to attending college. As a disclaimer, I do not consider this Gospel. It is more so advice to consider like Paul’s preference for celibacy over marriage (1 Corinthians 7:6-7). After all, we are to be in the world but not of it. Often that means refusing to partake in certain matters, this case being how our intellect is formed.

Now, it is apparent to most that higher education is anti-Christ. Worldview, philosophy, and practices are in enmity with the things of God. As fruits of this rebellion, corruption infests the academics, organization, and finances of college institutions. What benefit do the majority of even non-Christian men have “learning” from these proud decadent halls? The primary reason advocated to acquire a degree is economics, not a way to a more intellectually/spiritually prosperous culture.

Get a degree, get a job. In other words, become more able to sell yourself in the market place. Tell me men of God, were you called by your Creator to be a source of goods and services for the wants of our fallen world? I find it vile to be viewed as a resource for the state or a company. We are meant for the glory of the Lord. Our minds are to be endowed with knowledge for His will, not the vain ambitions of men.

Truth in the lecture hall and seminar is a mere product of whatever fancy people have. Competing ideals jockey for influence more than actual instruction in substance. Virtues advocated are inversions of holiness. Social justice is praised, although it requires students to practice diverse types of shallow prejudice revolving around the like of ethnicity/race, sex/gender, age, politics, religion, etc. Good and evil are relative to popular consensus, hence the anarchy of pure democracy warned of by ancient thinkers. Repeated results of math and science are likewise discredited when they intervene with radical agendas regarding the triviality of human life, sodomy, transgenderism, fornication, divorce, environmentalism, profiteering, usury, centralized power, elimination of checks & balances, etc. What is a man to do in the presence of such reckless hate?

Well, according to the general left-right wing perspectives, just accept much as progress, while objecting to some through the power of the ballot and dollar. Or simply try to survive the changing tides, staying above the storm. There is some truth to each, except it falls far short of the courage God expects of us. College more often than not encourages us to be weak, divided by our fears and sinful passions. Yes, pressured to put down the Word, that sword that can behead giants of wickedness, pierce dragons of deception, cast holy light in the demonic darkness. What do I propose as an alternative?

Colleges are not based on truth, marring the perspective of reality of the student body. Public and private funding impair administrative judgement, along with affiliated organizations, hence contributing to the underlying prioritization of money. The majority of advocacy groups support things anti-Christ (Logos) in nature, playing a hand in facilitating a degenerate campus (& contemporary) culture. In and outside the classroom, abstract/esoteric theories tend to supersede facts whether it be literature or the more concrete material of biology. Ah, pride in tandem with love of mammon.

Essentially, this is what Christian men can do: 1. Be very selective attending a still devoutly Christian college, including Catholic and Orthodox. 2. Find an online program to obtain a degree or at least minimize campus attendance. 3. Discernment in choosing liberal arts major, tech program, and/or trade school/apprenticeship (not everyone should go to college). 4. Have an intimate community wherever you go via family, church, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. 5. Live a life in accordance with the two greatest commandments, loving God with all your strength and your neighbor as yourself.

Grow as a man of God, pursuing how He wants His sons to live according to Scripture, supplemented by sound tradition. Neither be steered by mortal ambition nor the anxious uncertainty of your future. Fear Christ, knowing the truth, for it will set you free from false promises and looming insecurities. Raise a home – beloved family, fruitful labor, and nurturing food. If you are going to submit to something, let it be the Cross, not pointless human desire. If you end up choosing to attend any institution, do so in the Holy Spirit, with wisdom and strength. Godspeed, my brethren.

⁹What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

¹²I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
¹⁵That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. ³Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

⁴But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

⁷Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

⁸Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

¹¹Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Matthew 4:1-11

And God said: Language and Nature

The study of the natural world has been in decline, like many areas of intellectual activity. A contemporary response is the advocacy of “scientific literacy,” the ability to apply scientific methods. Among the strategies is the inculcation of terminology and basic facts. This would be more fruitful if the targeted students are personal cultivators of their language – reading, writing, and speech. Most of the time the efforts of ‘scientific literacy’ is like pouring new wine into old wine skins, as in the students possess not the mental/emotional substance (maybe even spiritual) to engraft the information. Language is a primary way we interact with everything under the sun. It is how we understand.

Simply memorizing facts and figures does not shape one’s internal use of language. In the long run, it is what someone values, practices each day. If a student does not actively try to expand their vocabulary to better understand the world around them, any terms someone embarks to teach them will not take root. If the general focus is trending not structural, words do not grow into fields of thinking. They are more as consumer goods to be used then disposed of when obsolete. The minimization or replacement of grammar and phonics during elementary education attests to a culture lacking a foundational stone of language.

No building blocks, no development. Even during the 1100s of the Middle Ages, scholars & clergy belittle language instruction, since words could supposedly mean anything in the grand scheme of things. A church leader reminded his peers of its necessity:

“Reason would remain utterly barren, or at least would fail to yield a plenteous harvest, if the faculty of speech did not bring to light its feeble conceptions, and communicate the perceptions of the prudent exercise of the human mind. . . . Deprived of their gift of speech, men would degenerate to the condition of brute animals, and cities would seem like corrals for livestock, rather than communities composed of human beings united by a common bond for the purpose of living in society, serving one another, and cooperating as friends.”

from: Book 1 – chapter 1 of The Metalogicon by John of Salisbury (1159)

It is quite something to have encountered numerous educators who softly scoff at prioritizing language and arithmetic over ‘science literacy.’ Apparently, it is foolish to focus on the building blocks of thought and calculation before delving into rigorous scientific activity. This is like failing to practice diet and conditioning prior competitive sports. Sure, one could still learn something, except they grow a sapling instead of a forest of understanding over time. Who is to say they even are able to maintain the young tree after the official activity is done? Going back to John of Salisbury, the students’ neglect of language will not promote any social/intellectual endeavor. They go about their days more as animals, concerned with what they currently desire.

Indeed, speech in the mainstream is more for knowing information to meet the whims of politics and economics. The political games of left/right, Democrat/Republican has a major part in forming language. Heck, the main purpose of obtaining a college education is to be of higher value in the job market! Our culture’s speech essentially hinges on a simulated “Game of Thrones” and Monopoly. This has been an ongoing battle for generations, the struggle to speak according to Godly rather than mortal things.

“The heralds of the truth, it is written, “have proclaimed the works of God, and have understood His doing.” Scientific knowledge, by the nature of things, must precede the practice and cultivation of virtue, which does not “run without knowing where it is going,” and does not merely “beat the air” in its battle against vice. Rather “it sees its goal, and the target at which it aims.” It does not haphazardly chase ravens with a piece of pottery and a bit of mud. But scientific knowledge is the product of reading, learning, and meditation. It is accordingly evident that grammar, which is the basis and root of scientific knowledge, implants, as it were, the seed of virtue in nature’s furrow after grace has readied the ground.”

from: Book 1 – chapter 23

The general culture neither teaches speech/grammar nor the pursuit of virtue. We therefore are of no mind or heart for genuine understanding. Our sinful ambitions are seen to be more real than the natural world itself. Learning ones language requires discipline, a self motivation that is truly beyond what we feel is a need/want. Only when we deny our selves to seek after the things of God do we address the truth, good, and beauty in nature. In doing so, vice is not our master, with lustful ignorance not dictating how we learn to speak, as social beings that need to interact with our natural world. Christ’s natural law in our hearts and minds lifts us beyond the cravings of beasts, as well as the warped passions of demons. After all, He is the Word before the beginning.

³His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. ⁴Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. ⁵For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, ⁶knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, ⁷devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love. ⁸If these are yours and increase in abundance, they will keep you from being idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹Anyone who lacks them is blind and shortsighted, forgetful of the cleansing of his past sins.

2 Peter 1:3-9

Public Education: Mandatory Mediocrity

How can I have even remote respect for something that as a result of rejecting the Creator/Christ, it lacks the substance to grow a person? Based on the grand assumption all just came into existence, young minds are instructed to know simply for the sake of knowing, that is whatever the government (public) wants them to value. Mix in democracy and opportunism, then you get a mutating alphabet soup of concepts that students are tested on without reason. Instead of gazing into the infinite mind of God, inspired to expand our mental abilities for His glory, most of us are taught to randomly learn for a vain and vague common good.

Fortunately, I was spared this institution very early on. It did not take my parents too long to decide that daycare itself was a poor option for their children’s well being. Now, I am well aware of the objections to homeschooling, as well as private school. The key counterpoint is why worry about the quality of these forms of education, more so the former, when the public system itself is a decrepit failure? Sure, not every child receives an edifying non-public upbringing. Whereas the public school system is a sub par factory. On top of it all, the government decides what values to interweave during the average seven hours at their institutions.

“Moreover, the society of which the child is to be a member is, in the United States, a democratic and progressive society. The child must be educated for leadership as well as for obedience. He must have power of self-direction and power of directing others, power of administration, ability to assume positions of responsibility. This necessity of educating for leadership is as great on the industrial as on the political side. . . . Apart from participation in social life, the school has no moral end nor aim. As long as we confine ourselves to the school as an isolated institution, we have no directing principles, because we have no object.”

from: chapter 2 of Moral Principles in Education by John Dewey (1909)

Public instruction is anti-God and average by nature. It is a supposedly neutral space that is intended as an education for all. How do you stay neutral teaching youth for at least thirteen years of their childhood? How do you employ a universal standard that meets the needs of every student? Why trust politicians and bureaucrats, let us not forget the random administrators and instructors, such utter strangers to have a critical impact in forming what children think and value? It is said we should not trust many perhaps most parents because they are ignorant themselves. Well, it is only fair to make sure everyone shares in the universal mediocre indoctrination.

The number of times I have encountered educators admitting the system is broken but is the best way for children is surreal. No faith in God, though there is plenty for the eventual fruition of the ideal education for all. Amid the fractured reading, writing, and arithmetic, wicked teachings on race, sex, and human life pervade. People and events of history/government are taught according to general racial profiles. Sexuality and gender are treated as casual pleasures. Humans are of primal animal origin and valued according to popular opinion. And who decides all this? State/Federal authorities, along with anyone directly involved politically and/or economically, dictate the information/ideas the youth of a nation are to master.

“In so far as the school represents, in its own spirit, a genuine community life; in so far as what are called school discipline, government, order, etc., are the expressions of this inherent social spirit; in so far as the methods used are those that appeal to the active and constructive powers, permitting the child to give out and thus to serve; in so far as the curriculum is so selected and organized as to provide the material for affording the child a consciousness of the world in which he has to play a part, and the demands he has to meet; so far as these ends are met, the school is organized on an ethical basis. So far as general principles are concerned, all the basic ethical requirements are met. The rest remains between the individual teacher and the individual child.”

from: chapter 4 of Moral Principles in Education

Advanced pupils are still vulnerable to this mortal system. It was a fair number of students that really helped me understand the deficiency. They explained their AP/honors courses, especially the former, are customized for the standardized tests. This means substantial content is absent. A number of them, along with post-secondary students, acknowledge or at least eventually discover their inability to immediately transition into higher levels after graduation. The standard is thereby not excellence.

Perhaps, I am too stupid to understand the grandeur in learning according to the hopes of political/corporate powers. Indeed, forsaking the whims of Christ’s cross to be a consumer of false promises and products is not that appealing. So many of us, including the founders of communities if not nations, did not need the hand of government schooling to pursue knowledge in what God has wrought. Language, history, math, science, the arts and world view are fruit of His obeyed in accordance with holy Scripture. Christ – the Logos – is the incarnation of Creation/Order whom walked among unholy ambitions of men. Fearing God is the beginning of timeless knowledge. To fear anything or anyone else is learning to be an intellectual slave of self, men, and the Devil.

Need for Fidelity.¹⁸Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them on your arm as a sign, and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. ¹⁹Teach them to your children, speaking of them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up, ²⁰and write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, ²¹so that, as long as the heavens are above the earth, you and your children may live on in the land which the Lord swore to your ancestors he would give them.

Deuteronomy 11:18-21

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! ⁵Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. ⁷Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

Can’t – No, We Won’t

When you agree to be a part of a certain establishment or receive a particular audience, one of the key conditions can be the prohibition of expressing the faith. In this case, signing on to have public/secular school students as guests means a curriculum and theme approved by a Godless state. This practice of keeping religious convictions private, as in out of the public sphere, is thus a choice of willing to do so.

When are we believers going to stop deceiving ourselves about this matter? To salve our own conscience, or perhaps it is a reflection of week spirituality, we declare with a mournful tone, “We cannot share Christ.” Oh no, my dear brethren. We know the conditions of our positions. We decided to do this. In my case, our Christian organization decides to do this. Yes, invite young minds to learn and be physically challenged with no reference to their Creator.

Now, the defense to this ‘strategy’, or whatever it may be called, is supposedly reliance on the Holy Spirit to speak to our visitors. By all means, the Spirit has surely done His work, though is this what God has called the faithful to do? A secondary defense is that this provides revenue to fund the facilitation of Christ-centered groups. Plus, it is an economic benefit to the community. I did not know the Body of Christ negotiated with the world to make His ministry happen. Besides, two consistent trends in feedback reinforce this is not a sound alternative to direct glory of the Lord, the King of kings.

First off, virtually all the spiritual testimonies that are propounded as proof are from groups that come to this place with the purpose of knowing God. Second, because we can be privately Christian but not publicly during secular programs, many if (I hope not) most, view our ministry as a part of the pluralistic social mold. So if anything, are we suggesting to students that faith in Christ is merely a preferred outlook rather than devotion to the Way, Truth, and Life?

“Impatient Christians today explain away the simple beliefs of the saints of other days and smile off their serious-minded approach to God and sacred things. They were victims of their own limited religious outlook, but great and sturdy souls withal who managed to achieve a satisfying spiritual experience and do a lot of good in the world in spite of their handicaps. So we’ll imitate their fruit without accepting their theology or inconveniencing ourselves too greatly by adopting their all-or-nothing attitude toward religion. So we say (or more likely think without saying), and every voice of wisdom, every datum of religious experience, every law of nature tells us how wrong we are.”

from: The Root of the Righteous by A.W. Tozer (1955)

There are those in this organization who were by all means called to be here for longer than others. With that said, we have to reflect honestly with our Lord. As far as His will goes, we can no longer in good conscience claim, “We can’t share Christ.” Instead, we must make prayerful decisions with the knowledge that each of us chose to be in a place where we will not. On top of this, we are being paid by institutions whom do not revere God, to fulfill their expectations on what constitutes education.

I will conclude speaking for myself, though I am convinced at least a few of my co-workers possess the same heart pang. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Thus, these youth are receiving an education without foundation, along with quite possibly a poor witness to what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Indeed, may the Holy Spirit work some good of this in spite of our failures as believers. Still, I can not tolerate having my tongue restrained in what is formally the Lord’s domain, considering the organization would have to enforce these policies. How satirical is that, children of God preventing other siblings from openly sharing about their heavenly Father to little children of the world. My time here draws to a close in due season. Where will I go next? I am not sure. Among my prayers are an open door to any place in any position, where the only person who can be guilty of my silence about the things of Christ our Lord is me. I am reluctant, blessed by place and peers. Nonetheless, not my will but His be done.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

John 15:1-8 (Jesus Christ)

Of Father and Mother

The two that become one flesh create another one, whom shares not just DNA from each parent but an immediate likeness as image bearers of God. This biological & spiritual creation of a person is beyond the wonder of the animal kingdom. It is something of the finest beauty, meant for universal good, founded on the immortal truth of Christ. Indeed, how the Lord set mankind to reproduce itself reflects an intimately loving destiny, a divine will for us to work for higher things, which included collective fellowship/worship of His glory in the earthly dominions bestowed.

The days as a toddler was uncertainty navigated through an inquisitive faith. My memories in Sunday school go back to the second year of life outside my mother’s womb. While she was at work for the postal service in the morning, my father was present until the late morning. As per usual, I wandered into their bedroom after waking up, remembering the digital clock displaying a time around 8:00 am. One day I had slept on my mother’s side of the bed, looking at the clock a few feet away on the nightstand, then inspecting my father to find him still sound asleep. Gazing out the window, the neighborhood was at peace. The sun was out with animals doing their early calls, the occasional resident or city employee going about their day. Directly in the sky the sun was partially hidden by bulbous clouds. Yes, we were not alone. I reached out my hand for the God of Creation. He was mindful of me, placing an already extended hand further, so a mere mortal could be touched by the Sustainer of all things.

I remember at about the age of seven my parents had me watch a video presenting the development of a baby within the womb. The down to earth narration, subtle music expressing mysterious wonder, and colored imagery showed me a process that set me reflecting the shear depth of human life. If anything, this permanently impacted my mind, acting as a cornerstone for my view of people. The chief cornerstone had already been established; I would not remove Him any time in the future, less I forfeit the inheritance of what it meant to be human, under the care of a fatherly and majestic God.

My history textbooks were not the best written. Each year they pretty much repeated the same sequence without diving deeper into any topic. Well, that is what the home encyclopedia set and public library were for. What the Abeka text did offer was a grand layout to understand the heritage of man – good, bad, and ugly. The peoples of the earth are made in the image of God. Our destiny revolves around the will of our Maker. Knowing our ancestors affirms what Scripture confirms about us in relation with God. Thus mankind is not just a part of a mere piece of time. We are involved in God’s eternal holiness, judgement, and redemption. Our parents’ legacies reach beyond death, much more than just figuratively speaking.

“O LORD, our Lord, How a excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained. What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen – Even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”
Psalm 8

It is no hidden reality that fathers and mothers can fail throughout the rearing of their children. I admit experiencing countless moments of exposure to spiritual attack, emotional neglect, and mental anguish from things said and done (or not). Yet according to our dear Lord, we as a family are corrupted by sin, in need of His restoration. Did not my parents and theirs have to suffer this pain of the human condition? Through it all, anything my parents or I killed, Christ resurrected. Such is through prayer and choosing forgiveness, advancing into His life out of the darkness that strives to bind us. If the family of image bearers is reconciled to stand united on the garden rather than divided on the grave, what a joyous harvest they will bring forth to their table, with excess for their neighbors and relatives. Woe to us who choose pride and pleasure, the streets filled with all forms of poverty.

These are the two things a parent ought give a child, even if it means forsaking so many advantages to them in the world. Firstly, introduction to the God whom made them through word and action – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Secondly, that they are aware of what they are – sinful mortal, divine creation, and human heritage. These things so the two greatest commandments can be fulfilled: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Thus they fear and honor the Risen Christ in the face of the evils from the world, dark spirits, and their own fallen desires. The Truth sets us free.

Students of the Savage Spirit

This past week I encountered two groups of students (5th/6th grade) of contrasting culture, though possessing a raw impulsiveness. One (Expeditionary Learning model) is well versed in the concrete facts of their physical world. The other (Montessori method) is more imaginative in their outlook. Still, in a unique way they expressed a deliberate self-will. There actions, planned or immediate, were deemed as only natural without thought of moral consequence. Now, what happens when they become discontent perhaps come to despair with the sinful world they inherit?

This is not to say that these children were terrors. Actually, there were a number of redemptive qualities for each group. What I am really getting at is the world view these young ones held. If continued in thought/practice as they grow older, there will surely be disastrous outcomes. Like I said, a raw impulsiveness. In other words, will anybody be able to control them when they come of age? Someone who can direct these headstrong beings shall very likely be of the same mind, just only more cunning.

The first of the two are definitely textbook learners, with the ability to comprehend technical ideas. Displaying excellent communication and motivation, they seem well on their way adapting to the modern world. What may bite this world a decade or so from now is their self-awareness in their role of the evolutionary process. For you see, they spoke indirectly of a view on morals that combines the necessity of animal survival and contemporary social rules. Believing they are animals on close terms with all members of this kingdom, their bodily needs are practically as important as what is right. After all, the first core value of their education model is “The Primacy of Self-Discovery.”

The second is of a more tactile drive, learning according to their individual abilities. They can be intensely engaged and focused on what interests them. Likewise they possess a genuine innocence, a dreamy sense of wonder for the world around them. Behavior often hinges on childishness, not child likeness, for most of them. They are trained to adhere more to their wants than what is outside their concern. Self-control being of secondary value, they are not reliable to adapt to social environments or work together in ongoing tasks. The world is pretty much extensions to their personally customized class rooms.

The inspiration/founder of both educational systems were ‘reformers’ discontent with contemporary society of the early 1900s. They were advocates for science by their own distinction, sharing the attitude that the approach needed to be more man-centered on the individual student. Kurt Hahn, whom Expeditionary is based on, believed that youth were innately good, needing to grow in self-development, less they be corrupted by society at large. Maria Montessori, physician & psychologist, desired children to be influenced in their self-direction towards the “spirit” of science, with the intended goal of curiosity for imaginative mastery of the “mechanics.”

C.S. Lewis, lead Christian author of the 20th century, wrote a lesser known character of a rather forgotten book, which illustrates an ideological force lying in wait to engulf civilization. In “The Pilgrim’s Regress,” the newly converted Lewis depicts the nihilistic ‘Savage’ as a sophisticated conqueror in barbarian dress. He represents a mindset/spirit not of a unique personality but an apathy to modern society due to disillusion from all the ideals and promises unmet. Casually under his elaborate orders are social movements akin to fascism and communism.

The beings for these ideologies in Lewis’ allegory are sub-human trolls, meant to be a parody of the grand ideal humanity is supposed to become under these social systems. Savage was raised in the world below his “honey-combed” mountain fortress. Leaving it behind, seeing it as vain talk, he desires to destroy it, for according to him, “The excellent deed is eternal. The hero alone has this privilege, that death for him is not defeat, and the lamenting over him and the memory is part of the good he aimed for; and the moment of battle fears nothing from the future because it has already cast security away [italics added] (“Furthest North” of book 6).”

This mode of thought is the extreme product of a world view/morality based on the individual will. Being social beings, we assemble ourselves with those of a likeminded will. This applies to a desire to carve out a world for the ‘truly’ fit or one forcefully levelled for all to be equal in social standing. The expeditionary students seemed ready to decide who/what would thrive after the culling of survival. The Montessori pupils only care to strive for what catches their immediate fancy. Those who can manipulate such raw yet refined impulsiveness, can acquire a self-driven horde for self-justified amoral acts, as well as systems of savagery. Lord Jesus Christ, may your Spirit be with us disciples of your Word, to speak and live the Truth before the deceived younger generations, while encouraging those who know You to allow your will be done.

“In the beginning a was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that m Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1:1-13