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6.17.04 Fundamentalist Education

We ring our hands that the only schooling in many Islamic countries are madrassas -- schools run by clerics who teach a religious world view instead of the subjects that would bring modernity and economic progress. We ponder this as one cause for all the hatred poor Muslims direct toward the wealthy West -- they see comfort and convenience but have no means to access it.

And yet here we are in a very odd place in American history -- aghast at the fundamentalism of others while we promote the fundamentalism of Christians. Aside from the "Is John Kerry Catholic Enough?" issue, we have nationally syndicated columnist Cal Thomas cheering on the Southern Baptist Convention for their consideration of a resolution that is summarized as follows:

... all officers and members of the Southern Baptist Convention and the churches associated with it to remove their children from the government schools and see to it that they receive a thoroughly Christian education, for the glory of God, the good of Christ's church, and the strength of their own commitment to Jesus.

Government schools are by their own confession humanistic and secular in their instruction, and the education offered by the government schools is officially Godless.

... the millions of children in government schools spend seven hours a day, 180 days a year being taught that God is irrelevant to every area of life

Many Christian children in government schools are converted to an anti-Christian worldview rather than evangelizing their schoolmates.

Just as it would be foolish for the warrior to give his arrows to his enemies, it is foolish for Christians to give their children to be trained in schools run by the enemies of God.

... government schools are "adopting curricula and policies teaching that the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable."

Call me wacky, but doesn't this point the Southern Baptists toward Waco and the Branch Davidians?

Luckily, the Baptists rejected the resolution (sorry, Cal) in favor of the gentler warning against "the cultural drift in our nation toward secularism."

The Baptists backed off. If only Cal Thomas would...

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