How Christian is Your "Christian" School?
A few years ago, one of my girls came to me distraught and told me she was having nightmares. After some questioning she acknowledged that she had found a strange book in our homeschool room that she believed was the root cause. In her desire to learn Spanish, she had rummaged through some old books in our homeschool room and found this Spanish textbook. It was a book I had picked up on a “free books” table at the “Christian” college I attended at the time.
To my horror this book had some graphic images in it including some demonic looking creatures illustrating how to take one’s life. When I looked at the cover again (one I had seen multiple times) after she brought it to me, I noticed a demonic looking figure hidden in the design that I had been completely blind to before.
Needless to say, the book went straight into the trash, and I proceeded to examine all the books in our library. I dumped several books that looked questionable and donated several others.
We repented of allowing that evil in our home and not being more discerning in the content we exposed our children to. We also prayed for the Lord to remove the images from our daughter’s mind and give her peace. Over time we have made a conscious effort to grow our library with wholesome books written with a biblical worldview.
The devil is very sneaky and if we are not alert and discerning, he will slip things in when we let our guard down. He especially wants to get to our children who are more vulnerable. That is why God tells us to,
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8
When we look at the state of Christianity in the world today it can seem as though the devil is winning. Even many of our ”Christian” schools do not look much different than the world. I’m using the word “Christian” in quotes because sadly many of these “Christian” schools resemble little of Christianity. Now what do I mean by Christian? I mean those schools who hold to the belief that God’s Word is absolute truth, who posses a biblical worldview, whose staff and parents are born-again believers and who live to obey and honor Christ in word and deed.
We have become so desensitized to sin that we often give evil a pass without much thought. We justify it by telling ourselves, “All my friends are doing it. They call themselves Christians and they go to church, so it must be okay.” Been there, done that myself (especially as a teenager). Oh, how this must grieve God!
We compare ourselves to the people around us and conclude we’re doing pretty well, but we’re measuring by the wrong standard. When we compare ourselves to a holy God, only then do we see our true state.
The reality of where Bible-believing Christians stand today is alarming. According to George Barna’s research with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, only 4% of Americans hold a biblical worldview, and among parents of children under 13, that number drops to just 2%. Is it any wonder we’re seeing the effects of Christianity’s decline in America including in our so-called “Christian” schools and universities?
One of our biggest failures? Compromise. We compromise on God’s Word in so many areas. Here are just two examples.
We compromise in how we dress. I’m shocked by some of the prom dresses allowed at a “Christian” school. Before you write me off as judgmental, let me admit that, sadly, I dressed no better as a teenager. But as I have grown in my relationship with the Lord and become a parent myself, I have come to see the danger in allowing these. A revealing dress serves no purpose other than to invite sin.
If we want to honor God, we need to obey Him, and He tells us He wants women to dress modestly and to care more about inner beauty than outward appearance (1 Timothy 2:9–10 and 1 Peter 3:3–4). I understand that young women deeply want to attract a husband, but what kind of man do you want? One who only wants you for your body?
We teach our sons to look away when a woman is dressed immodestly. And we tell our daughters that if they want to attract a Godly man who respects women, they need to dress modestly. Otherwise, he will have to look away and therefore will never talk to them.
Another way we compromise is in what we allow our children to read and watch. Have you looked at the books in your “Christian” school library? I have reviewed the catalogs of a few “Christian” elementary and middle schools, and they look no different from a public-school library. Not only did they include several books promoting anti-biblical ideologies such as LGBTQ+ agendas, socialism, and Marxism, but there were hardly any Christian books at all. I’m talking one to four in the entire collection!
To justify all these secular books, schools appeal to the notion of “common grace”, the idea that God has given even unbelievers wisdom and insight, so their books have value. They quote verses like Matthew 5:45b,
“…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” -Matthew 5:45b
This verse shows God’s sovereignty, providence, and patience, not a so-called “common grace” we should have for everyone’s ideas. He uses this verse to tell us we are to love others, even those who persecute us. To love them is to pray for them (Matt. 5:44), speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15, 2 Timothy 2:23-26), and turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39) when they persecute us.
It is not to be influenced by them or accept whatever they believe as gospel truth just because they too are made in the image of God. For the Scriptures say, those who reject God have been given over to a depraved mind (Rom. 1:28-32). In fact, Romans 1:31 (NASB) says they are “untrustworthy”! And Psalm 14:1a (NLT) says, "Only fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'" The idea of “common grace” used to justify filling our minds with the contents of secular books and media is a slippery slope to cultural Christianity.
The litmus test for truth is God’s Word. The majority of the time we spend reading should be spent reading the Bible.
“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” – Joshua 1:8
A few months ago, I read an article that left me completely flabbergasted. It was written by someone listed as a speaker on one of my favorite Christian websites, and the entire piece argued that we can read secular books to gain a biblical worldview. I don’t mean reading them to see how they contradict a biblical worldview. I mean actually forming a biblical worldview from reading them. Here’s the problem: there is no such thing as neutral. We all carry biases shaped by our own worldviews.
Jesus says twice that, “The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.” – Matt. 12:30 and Luke 11:23
Does that mean our children should never read a secular book? No. However, we shouldn’t simply hand them secular books to read on their own. Instead, we can use some of them as teaching opportunities, reading portions aloud together to help our children recognize the anti-biblical worldviews they may, oftentimes subtly, promote. Still, we should want the majority of the books our children read to build up their faith and help them establish a firm foundation in Christ. Of course, the best and most effective way to shape a biblical worldview is to read and study the Bible!
So, my question is this: why do “Christian” school libraries look no different from public school libraries? If I were paying thousands of dollars to send my child to a Christian school, I would be very upset to discover it looked no different from the public school down the road.
Grandparents, do you know what’s on the shelves of your grandchildren’s “Christian” school library? Please do not donate another dime until you’ve investigated it. Some of these schools are literally teaching children to reject their faith and training them to become socialists. No one ever thinks it’s happening at their school, but sadly it’s happening at many schools today. Many of the true believers are silently leaving after the schools do not take these concerns seriously.
Other parents are justifying it by saying, “Oh those parents must have overreacted” or “Well the school did remove one of the books and after review they found it wasn’t nearly as bad as what those parents claimed” Guys! “Not that bad?” “They reviewed one book or a handful of books?” Do you really believe that is satisfactory? If even one book filled with that garbage has found its way into your “Christian” library, it should warrant some serious evaluating.
Here are my suggestions:
1. Find out how it happened in the first place and deal with the root cause.
2. Repent of allowing it to happen and set up safeguards so that it never happens again.
3. Re-evaluate everything – remove the junk and restock your library with solid Christian books from a biblical worldview (see my list below to get you started).
4. Confess to the students your failure, pray over them, and bring in speakers to train teachers, parents, and students on the importance of shaping a biblical worldview and honoring God with our minds.
I believe a big part of the root problem is that many of our “Christian” universities have drifted far to the left. They pick and choose which parts of the Bible to believe (and teach), and they’ve indoctrinated many of the teachers who are now in our children’s classrooms.
How do I know? Because I attended one of them, Calvin College (now Calvin University), to become a teacher myself, and this was already happening there 20 years ago. We were taught evolution and millions of years as a fact, feminism, socialism, Marxism, and more. I was told I was racist because of my “white privilege”, and I was graded down for not agreeing. It still floors me that a “Christian” college would allow this evil mockery of God - by their logic they are calling God a racist because He gives people their skin color that supposedly makes them a racist – how ludicrous!
I also sell teaching resources on one of the largest teaching websites, and I’ve heard firsthand what many teachers believe and are pushing on their students. Any true Christ follower would be alarmed and horrified by some of the things these teachers are exposing children to.
Parents and grandparents, are you willing to take a stand for your children and grandchildren? Will you ban together with other parents to demand accountability? Are you willing to leave if nothing is done about it? What will
you do if the school is “nice” about it and pretends to take your concern seriously by reviewing one or two books or claims the ”common grace” justification? Don’t be surprised if the school uses delay-tactics hoping time will calm your concerns! Are you willing to leave friends and walk away from the school to protect your children and honor God?
“And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.” – Matthew 19:29
My goal in writing this article is not to rip on the Christian schools (I’m a former Christian school teacher myself) or the parents who send their children to them or even to advocate for homeschooling (although I’m more than happy to help you get started if you choose that option).
My goal is to awaken parents to the realities of the world we are living in and the desperate state of Christianity even in our “Christian” institutions. Just like I had to wake up to what I had allowed into my library and take action, I would love to see the ”Christian” schools take these concerns seriously and do something about them. I would love to see board members and parents working together to proactively investigate what is in their libraries and what is being taught in their schools and recommit to teaching and shaping a biblical worldview.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” – Philippians 4:8
We all need to repent for the things we have overlooked, myself included. God is merciful and He will help us when we come to Him in humility and ask for His help.
And if you are a part of one of the very few truly Christian schools still in existence today, pray for your school, its teachers, librarians, administrators, board members, and students to continue to stand strong. Then work hard to set up checks and balances so these evils do not creep into your school as well.
The 2% of us parents of children 13 and younger who still hold to a biblical worldview are going to have to work that much harder, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to ensure Christianity is not completely wiped out in America. We must start in our own homes, schools, churches, and communities where we can make a difference. Will you stand with me?
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Read more about how to help your children develop a biblical worldview in my book, "Training Godly Warriors".
Onward Christian Soldiers!
For more resources on training Godly warriors, explore our articles on faith-filled parenting, family discipleship, and spiritual warfare at TrainingGodlyWarriors.com.
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