Americans can choose where they want to send their children to school. They can even educate them at home, something that is not allowed in some countries.[1] When Jerusalem was plundered by Nebuchadnezzar and his army, certain young men were brought to Babylon “to enter the king’s personal service,” that is, to further the kingdom of Babylon (Dan. 1:5). This was partly accomplished through education. Keep in mind that religion was at the foundation of it all. First, the plundering of the old religion, second, the introduction of the new sovereign, and third, indoctrination into the new religion in the name of the new sovereign (1:1). The prevailing religion of a nation determines the educational curriculum. Those who were carted off to Babylon did not have an educational choice.
To symbolize the change in sovereignty, new names were given to the sons of Judah. The names of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah reflected the majesty and sovereignty of the God of Israel. The suffixes to these names either use the general name for God (el) or God’s personal name (yah). Daniel means God is my judge. Hananiah means Jehovah has favored. Mishael can be translated Who is what God is? Azariah means Jehovah has helped. In each case, Babylonian names were substituted that reflected the attributes of the Babylonian gods, Marduk and Nebo. Babylonian religion remains a potent force in American public education as secular humanist John Dunphy makes clear:
I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level—preschool day care or large state university. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new—the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of “love thy neighbor” will be finally achieved.[2]
The goals of the humanists are clear and forthright. They hide nothing and demand everything. The humanist agenda has been relentless in its efforts to remake man and the world in the image of autonomous man, and Christians voluntarily send their children to these Babylonian institutions. There is no compromise or lack of vision. The humanist worldview is comprehensive. A concerted and planned effort has been made by humanist thinkers to “capture the robes”[3] of society by working for an ideological monopoly in the areas of education, law, and religion. Christians believed that an arena of neutrality existed where humanists and Christians could discuss issues based on an “objective” study of the facts.
Beware of the man who tells you that he will explain—fully explain—any complex human action or event by resort to “coldly objective,” “empirically verifiable,” “statistical data.” He is deceiving himself, and perhaps seeking to deceive you.
For in the first place we do not all see the same event in exactly the same way, let alone interpret it the same way—not even events which do not involve the complicating factor of human purpose. If I ask three men, “How fast was the car going?” I shall more than likely get three different kinds of answers. The poet will say, “swiftly as a bird,” or, maybe, “like a shot.” The physicist will say, “so many miles per hour,” or, “so many meters per second.” The man less sharply tuned to the incident will say, “I don’t know,” or, maybe, “fast,” or, “slowly,” if he is a grammarian.
“Objective” a man may be, if only he be capable of keeping his prejudices and predilections under control—which means, first, that he must be aware of their existence, and, second, that he has disciplined himself.[4]
Unfortunately, there are many Christians who still believe that neutrality is possible and that humanists strive to pursue objectivity in education. Nothing could be further from the truth. All facts are interpreted facts.
Endnotes:
[1] http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Germany/200501100.asp**
[2]** Quoted in John W. Whitehead, Stealing of America (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1983), 95.**
[3]** Robes are a symbol of authority in the West. Three groups wear robes to identify their profession and as an indication that each profession has been invested with a degree of formal authority: judges, university professors, and ordained ministers.**
[4]** Sylvestor Petro, The Kingsport Strike (New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1967), 27–28