Public Schools Versus Christian Education
By I. C. Suetz
BEFORE beginning our study I wish to assure you that it is not my aim to make an attack upon the public schools; for they have done a work for our country that nothing else, outside of true Christianity, could have done. Though this system of education comes far short of God's plan, God has used it as a means of promulgating the cause of truth in the world. For this reason I have always been a friend of the public-school system. But the time has come, and the conditions in the world are such, that if Christians wish to save their children to the cause of God, they must give them a purely Christian education. In a late book on education, I read this definition: “The object of education is to make good citizens.” That is good as far as it goes. And the writer well knew that a secular school has no right to, and can not, give a Christian education. A Christian school will do this, and more—it will prepare students to be good citizens of the heavenly country. To begin our study, I read from the twenty-ninth chapter of Deuteronomy: “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” God has seen fit to set a boundary to the human mind, and to reserve a great amount of his dignity. Could men learn fully all the things of God, then there would be no chance for development; men would become equal with God, and respect for his great majesty would be lost. Therefore the admonition to David: “Be still, and know that I am God.” “True education is the harmonious development of the physical, mental, and spiritual powers of the child.” “The object of true education is the restoration of the image of God in the soul.” Its development is as the growth of a tree with three branches and a great trunk, the trunk representing the Bible, the foundation of all educational effort. A non-Christian system of education can not base its work upon the great foundation. Therefore it can not possibly develop the spiritual powers, and must be lacking in its development of the mental, and the proper directing of the physical. In such a system of education the tree has no trunk, and, as a rule, no physical branch, no spiritual branch, and at the very best, only a dwarfed mental branch; for I read in “Education,” page 124: “As a means of intellectual development, the Bible is more effective than any other book, or all other books combined. . . . No other study can impart such mental power as does the effort to grasp the stupendous truths of revelation. The mind thus brought in contact with the thoughts of the Infinite can not but expand and strengthen.” This being true, we can plainly see that the worldly system of education has taken away the trunk, the spiritual branch, and, at the best, has only dwarfed physical and mental branches. This is certainly enough to show to any thinking person the great lack of such a system. Will parents who have the great light of the third angel's message, continue to send their children to be educated and trained by a system of education so badly crippled that it is able only to give a little mental development? God intended that parents should train their own children for all common duties of life, the mother being the chief teacher. After this, in ancient Israel those who wished to make further advancement were sent to the schools of the prophets, established to prepare students for special lines of work. God's instruction to parents with reference to training their children reads as follows: “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Were mothers and fathers to heed this admonition, we should see many times more children rejoicing in present truth. It was the word of God the psalmist hid in his heart that kept him from sinning. Ps. 119: 11. Is not the Word of God as powerful today as it was in David's time? A departure from the true principles of education always led to apostasy and idolatry. It was the false principles of education that caused a union of church and state, and brought about the long night of the Dark Ages; and, at the present rate of decline, should the world stand many years, these same results would inevitably be brought about. “In these schools the laws of heaven are not only ignored, but defied. The boy and the girl are left to their own resources to find out those truths which are of the utmost importance to them in their future life. They pass through school and return to the dead level of their parents without a conception to sustain or elevate them, except what may be gained from such elevating things as arithmetical cube root, algebraic equations, the boundaries of States, causes of volcanic eruptions. They return home with the idea firmly implanted in their minds that a knowledge of these26things is education, and the ability to display that, wisdom.” They believe that the world owes them a living with very little exertion on their part. Instead of being taught that the law of life is work and activity, and the successful man is the one who knows the common things, they are taught that the man who toils in the shop or on the farm is not wise; but the man who makes his living by his wit is the man to pattern after. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” Can we then expect the youth to maintain Christian principles and to develop Christian character while their education is largely influenced by the teachings of pagans, atheists, and infidels? . . . In the education of children and youth, fairy tales, myths, and fictitious stories are now given a large place. . . . How can Christian parents permit their children to use books so filled with falsehood? . . . The widespread use of such books at this time is one of the cunning devices of Satan. . . . He means that our children and youth shall be swept away by the soul-destroying deceptions with which he is flooding the world. . . . Never should books containing a perversion of truth be placed before children or youth.”—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. VIII, pages 306, 308. Disobedience to parents is one of the sins of the last days, and if we save our children from this sin, we must withdraw them as far as possible from the influence of the world, and give them a Christian training. The finger of scorn is often pointed at Seventh-day Adventist children. And I wish to tell you that this is the most piercing, the most humiliating experience that a child can pass through. Because of this I have known the lives of some children to prove an utter failure. Summed up, the effects of the worldly system of education upon the Christian child are these:—- Seeds of doubt and unbelief are sown in the heart.
- Sin loses its exceeding sinfulness.
- Lessons of disobedience are learned.
- Respect for the Word of God is lost.
- Spiritual powers are dwarfed.
- They are cowed by the finger of scorn.
- Ambition is aroused to engage in worldly pursuits.
- It unfits the student to receive the message for this time.
- Ultimately it will result in the sacrifice of sons and daughters to idols.
Concerning the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, I read in Vol. VII, page 195, the following: “The blood upon the lintel of the door symbolized the blood of Christ, who alone saved the first-born of the Hebrews from the curse. Any one of the children of the Hebrews who was found in an Egyptian habitation was destroyed. “This experience of the Israelites was written for the instruction of those who should live in the last days. Before the overflowing scourge shall come upon the dwellers of the earth, the Lord calls upon all who are Israelites indeed to prepare for that event. To parents he sends the warning cry, Gather your children into your own houses; gather them away from those who are disregarding the commandments of God, who are teaching and practising evil. Get out of the large cities as fast as possible. Establish church-schools. . . . “The word of God comes to us at this time: ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God. . . . Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.’ . . . Where are your children? Are you educating them to discern and to escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust? Are you seeking to save their souls, or are you by your neglect aiding in their destruction?” Sad indeed to think that we may be aiding in the destruction of our children! In view of these facts, and the great possibilities that lie before our children and youth, it is my prayer that the Spirit of God may impress upon the mind of every Seventh-day Adventist parent the importance of giving his children a Christian education, and thus fitting them to have a part in carrying this last message of warning to the world.