And let's not forget those every
popular tombstone exercises where children are asked to fill in their
o
date of birth and
o
date of death
o
then some classes hang them around the classroom so our children can
be surrounded with reminders of death all day.
The reason given
for these instructions in death?
To prevent suicide.
Yet the National Institute Of Mental Health says:
New research
suggests that such programs may actually increase distress in the young people
who are most vulnerable
All suicide prevention programs need to
be scientifically evaluated to demonstrate whether or not they work.
We have a major problem in education
today – but unfortunately, far too many parents, including Christian
parents – have opted out of the decision making process.
What do I mean by that?
They either trust the system to educate
their children like they were educated – or
They know we have problems but rather
than get involved in the process to change the current trend, they choose
instead to stay huddled in their homes or behind church walls and say,
"I'll ignore it and it won't affect me or my family."
As Christians we can no longer afford
to opt-out of the system. Our
children, our families, our churches, our religion and our nation are suffering
because we have ignored God's command to be participants in the political
process.
Ex. 18:21 ...choose able men from
all the people, such as fear God, men who are trustworthy and who hate a bribe;
and place such men over the people as rulers...
And yet, it is estimated that fewer
than 20% of all Christians vote.
There are legislators here today who are men of God and who work under tremendous pressures
— to ignore their faith, to go along with the crowd. It takes courage to stand up for what
they believe. Those here today
– and others – fight for our values but they can't do it alone.
If we want to change the direction of
this country, we must help them do their jobs. We must follow God's directive and elect
other godly men and women to positions of leadership.
THAT'S OUR responsibility.
The enemy isn't wrenching our country
away from us – we are handing it to them by
o
our lack of involvement
The following speech was given by Karen Holgate
at the Trinity Law School in California. Trinity Law School Speech March 3, 2000 o
My favorite erogenous zones are
__________ o
I feel comfortable touching persons of
my own sex. Yes, these are actual classroom
questions. When I was in school, I didn't know
what an erogenous zone was, but today this is normal classroom curriculum. ... But that's not all. o
If your mother promised to be home at
2:00 in the afternoon to take you to the movies but didn't show up until
suppertime and didn't even phone, what would be a good punishment for her? Would punishing her be likely to make
her on time in the future? o
If you woke up tomorrow and by magic
were already grown-up and had kids of your own, how would you treat them
differently from the way your parents treat you? Or what about? o
List the members of your family
(include name, age, occupation, and grade/level of education) o
How much money does each family member
earn/month? o
What is each family members most valued
possession? o
What types of religious objects are
around the house? o
Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. Are they available and what family
members use them? o
My parents fight a lot. o
My parents are headed for divorce o
My parents treat other children in my
family better than they treat me. 7TH GRADER— "Mom, what's
sperm?" Told that day he would
be a good sperm donor. Garbage? Yes – but this
IS education today. It permeates
core curriculum – Like math... Actual math questions: o
Write a love story about a romance
between a circle and a trapezoid o
an autobiography of a right triangle o
Draw a picture of a mathematician Doesn't say to be one – just draw
a picture of one. And then, of course, we have that all
important Death education hiding under the guise of suicide prevention. Suggested exercises: o
When will I die? o
How did I cause the death of ________? o
If you were going to commit suicide
what method would you choose? And let's not forget those every
popular tombstone exercises where children are asked to fill in their o
date of birth and o
date of death o
then some classes hang them around the classroom so our children can
be surrounded with reminders of death all day. The reason given
for these instructions in death? To prevent suicide. Yet the National Institute Of Mental Health says: New research
suggests that such programs may actually increase distress in the young people
who are most vulnerable All suicide prevention programs need to
be scientifically evaluated to demonstrate whether or not they work. We have a major problem in education
today – but unfortunately, far too many parents, including Christian
parents – have opted out of the decision making process. What do I mean by that? They either trust the system to educate
their children like they were educated – or They know we have problems but rather
than get involved in the process to change the current trend, they choose
instead to stay huddled in their homes or behind church walls and say,
"I'll ignore it and it won't affect me or my family." As Christians we can no longer afford
to opt-out of the system. Our
children, our families, our churches, our religion and our nation are suffering
because we have ignored God's command to be participants in the political
process. Ex. 18:21 ...choose able men from
all the people, such as fear God, men who are trustworthy and who hate a bribe;
and place such men over the people as rulers... And yet, it is estimated that fewer
than 20% of all Christians vote. There are legislators here today who are men of God and who work under tremendous pressures
— to ignore their faith, to go along with the crowd. It takes courage to stand up for what
they believe. Those here today
– and others – fight for our values but they can't do it alone. If we want to change the direction of
this country, we must help them do their jobs. We must follow God's directive and elect
other godly men and women to positions of leadership. THAT'S OUR responsibility. The enemy isn't wrenching our country
away from us – we are handing it to them by o
our lack of involvement o
by our lack of interest o
by our lack of support for those men
and women who are standing for those things we believe in; and o
by our lack of prayer... I Tim. 2:1-4 says: First of all, then,
I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for
all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet
and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. If we do our duty, if we take our responsibility seriously, God
will honor our prayers. O. Hallesby once said in speaking about
the church... ...if it would stay
together on its knees, it would dominate world politics – from the prayer
room I'm reminded of the cartoon that shows an old man in a row boat
out on the ocean in the middle of a raging storm. The caption reads:
Pray but keep on rowing. That's what we need to do:
Pray but keep on rowing. At CRI we are encouraging churches to o
re-engage Christians in the process; o
to jar them out of their apathy; o
to inform them about legislation so
they can help support or oppose bills that affect families; AND OF COURSE o
to encourage them to get registered to vote and then to ACTUALLY
VOTE. If you'd like to be part of CRI's
legislative action alert list – especially if you have an email address
for instant notification when necessary – please fill out one of these
forms and we'll try to make it as painless as possible for you to be informed
and involved so you can take action. The kind of heritage we leave for our children depend on the
actions we take today. Together
– with God – we CAN and we WILL make a difference. Remember the old adage: If not now, then
when? If not you, then who? Thank you. ╪
by Karen Holgate