Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The War Against Christianity in America
New American ^ | 10-03-11 | SAM BLUMENFELD

Posted on 10/03/2011 10:29:41 PM PDT by ReformationFan

The origin of the war against Christianity in the United States can be traced back to the early days of the public school movement when Unitarians, Owenite socialists and atheists, and Hegelian pantheists vehemently rejected the God-centered worldview of the Founding Fathers and sought to secularize education and substitute salvation through scientific education than by salvation through Christ .

However, it wasn’t until the turn of the last century and the rise of the progressive education movement that the war in America took on the militancy which characterizes it today. The progressives were, for the most part, members of the Protestant academic elite who no longer believed in the religion of their fathers and transferred their faith to science, evolution, and psychology.

The scientific method provided the means to acquire unlimited knowledge of the material world, evolution explained the origin of life and man, and psychology provided the scientific means of studying man’s nature and controlling his behavior. There was no need for supernatural religion in the progressive scheme of things.

Early in the 20th century, the progressives embarked on a messianic mission to change America from a capitalist, individualistic, and believing society into a socialist, collectivist, atheist or humanist society. They were motivated by the need not only to prove the nonexistence and/or irrelevance of God, but to deal with the age-old problem of evil: what caused it and how it could be eliminated.

According to the Bible, evil behavior in man is the result of his sinful nature. Man’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden resulted in his fall from grace, his loss of immortality, and his coming under the influence of Satan. The New Testament teaches us that only by obedience to God’s law and salvation through Christ can man save himself from the horrible consequences of

(Excerpt) Read more at thenewamerican.com ...


TOPICS: Current Events; History; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: atheism; christianity; humanists; publicschools; samblumenfeld; secularism
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-39 last
To: Zionist Conspirator

You are absolutely right.


21 posted on 10/05/2011 9:42:20 AM PDT by metmom (For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore & do not submit again to a yoke of slavery)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: metmom

Thank you, metmom.


22 posted on 10/05/2011 9:53:17 AM PDT by Zionist Conspirator (Ki-hagoy vehamamlakhah 'asher lo'-ya`avdukh yove'du; vehagoyim charov yecheravu.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: ReformationFan; Arlis; svcw; hfr; metmom; All
I think you may find these relevant (again) CAUSE AND EFFECTS: THE BIBLE AND EDUCATION

REVEALING STATISTICS (or, Present Costs of the War Against God)

LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION of a NATIONAL FAST DAY

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE (conservative analysis)

23 posted on 10/05/2011 11:21:30 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Our sinful deeds condemn us, but Christ's death and resurrection gains salvation. Repent +Believe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide; metmom

I differ with your causal relationship, and see the effects of the evangelical gospel of regeneration as being conducive to smaller government, by bringing souls to be controlled from within so that they need not be controlled from without*, as well as being less prone to give implicit trust in man**, or victim mentality socialism***, while promoting individual volitional charity****.

*Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or the bayonet. - Robert Winthrop (May 12, 1809 – November 16, 1894), and Speaker of the House from 1838 to 1840, and later president of the Massachusetts Bible

** “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalms 118:8-9)
Society,

***”For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (2Thes. 3:10)

****”As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10)


24 posted on 10/05/2011 11:32:39 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Our sinful deeds condemn us, but Christ's death and resurrection gains salvation. Repent +Believe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: metmom

This is true. America is an anomaly among the nations, with the effects of the gospel being the sublime but key aspect enabling stability with freedom to do much good.

Take a rich country rich with natural resources, place within is a vast multitudes of people from various countries and ethnicity, with a minimum of government and you will normally find anarchy or great oppression. This did happen to some degree, but i believe as the gospel was felt then it worked toward morality, self-control, self-reliance, virtue, charity, and liberty with necessary limits, creativity, even if not universally subscribed to.

But as we cast off the mind of Christ and the lust of the flesh, we are reaping the corruption thereof, and electing princes but not by God, who reflect a different gospel.

In a democracy, the government is governed by the people, and unwise decisions in the polling booth are soon reflected in unwise policy, And the devil has his disciples, and understands that the principal, “raise up a child in the way he should go..,” also works if they are raised up in a way they should not go. See http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/CauseEffect.html and http://conservapedia.com/Moral_decline


25 posted on 10/05/2011 11:53:50 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Our sinful deeds condemn us, but Christ's death and resurrection gains salvation. Repent +Believe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: Dumb_Ox

While Carnegie may have done that, even the Unitarian (a religion that effectively denies Christ and the Divine authority of the Bible, but, unlike its immoral form today, at that time it at least overall upheld general Biblical morality) “Father of the Common School,” Horace Mann (May 4, 1796 — August 02, 1859), who became Massachusetts Secretary of Education in 1837, not only understood the impossibility of separating education from religious moral beliefs, but held that it was lawful to teach the truths of the general Christian faith, asserting that the “laws of Massachusetts required the teaching of the basic moral doctrines of Christianity.” Mann, who supported prohibition of alcohol and intemperance, slavery and lotteries, (http://www.famousamericans.net/horacemann) dreaded “intellectual eminence when separated from virtue”, that education, if taught without moral responsibilities, would produce more evil than it inherited. (William Jeynes, “American educational history: school, society, and the common good,” p. 149, 150)

To critics who were alarmed at the concept of secular schools, he assured that his system “inculcates all Christian morals; it founds its morals on the basis of religion; it welcomes the religion of the Bible...,” but he did exhort that Bible reading be without comment to discourage sectarian bickering. (Mann, Twelfth Annual Report for 1848 of the Secretary of the Board of Education of Massachusetts. Reprinted in Blau 183-84.


26 posted on 10/05/2011 12:00:24 PM PDT by daniel1212 (Our sinful deeds condemn us, but Christ's death and resurrection gains salvation. Repent +Believe)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: ReformationFan
, it is obvious that the public schools have become not religion-neutral but militantly anti-Christian.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Government schooling has** never** been religiously neutral. Why? Answer: Because a religiously neutral education is impossible.

Our earliest government schools offered up a lukewarm and generic Protestantism. We know what Christ does with the lukewarm. He spits them out of His mouth.

By my grandmother's day ( born 1894) her Philadelphia government schools were godlessly secular with occasional nods to God in the morning prayer and other events.

By the mid-1960s they were utterly godless. Children who attend godless schools **must** learn to think and reason godless merely to cooperate with classroom and home assignments.

27 posted on 10/05/2011 1:30:46 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: daniel1212
but held that it was lawful to teach the truths of the general Christian faith,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Translation: Mann wanted education that was lukewarm, generic, with Bible reading without comment.

So?...What do the students in this environment learn? Answer: They learn to be generic, lukewarm, and noncommittal regarding their faith.

What does Christ do with the lukewarm? Answer: He spits them out of His mouth!

28 posted on 10/05/2011 1:54:25 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Arlis
Actually, the real origin/source of the problem is.....Christians! The church has failed to be ‘salt & light’ to the world,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yes, the origin is Christians. They, and their churches, have failed to be salt and light to their most important and **urgent** mission field: Their children!

A Christian's **most** important and urgent mission is his own children! His next most important mission is the children of his own congregation.

By sending children into government schools that in the beginning were lukewarm and generic, then secular ( with a nod to God), and now utterly godless, Christians are failing at their most important task as Christians.

29 posted on 10/05/2011 2:06:59 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Arlis
you still have teachers being brainwashed getting their degrees.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Very good point.

I attended a well-known Catholic college and graduated in 1974. Even then the liberal arts departments ( and some of the sciences) were stuffed full to the brim with Liberation Theologists who worshiped Marx before genuflecting and bowing their heads to God. The men ( and a few women) in these faculty positions were **not** hippies they were the ages of my father and grandmother, so it's been a problem since the early 20th century.

30 posted on 10/05/2011 2:17:47 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Arlis
Ping. For later discussion.
31 posted on 10/05/2011 2:18:52 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]




Click the Pic               Thank you, JoeProBono

Follow the Exciting Adventures of Gary the Snail!

Abolish FReepathons
Go Monthly

Planning to donate $10 or more?
YOU can sponsor a New Monthly Donor
FReepmail TheOldLady

32 posted on 10/05/2011 2:43:35 PM PDT by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Arlis
THE SOURCE AND ORIGIN of our nation’s problems.

And until we can deal with the source of the brainwashing of our youth - the education system controlled by Marxist/atheists - all we do is only putting a band-aid on our problems.

The source of the education system is actually higher education, where all the “lower education” teachers are taught and brainwashed themselves......

I have yet to see/hear ANY CONSERVATIVE address this and provide a solution........EVER!

I'm not sure that Salmon Khan is a conservative, but he has blazed an educational pathway by generating a curriculum delivery system, and is building a curriculum. Khan Acadamy provides the curriculum for free, on its web site. It appears to be a new paradigm in education, in that the student can absorb the lecture at his own pace at home, and the classroom time can dispense with lecture and be fully dedicated to what is conventionally "homework." I'm fascinated by the approach, and while I'm certain that it is susceptible of some improvement, I also sense that it is a disruptive technology in education.

I see no reason why conservatives couldn't apply the Khan approach, and possibly improve on his implementation. It could make effective and efficient homeschooling practical for children whose parents have weak academic backgrounds.


33 posted on 10/05/2011 4:57:57 PM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (DRAFT PALIN)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: wintertime

True. Wife and I, both former public school teachers, home-schooled our 8; eldest was first home-schooled student admitted to major university, got 5 year full ride, graduated summa cum laude with 2 dual major degrees (=4): B.S. in Computer Science & Math, B.A. in Physics & Greek. Another is civil engineer...


34 posted on 10/05/2011 5:15:47 PM PDT by Arlis (- Virginia loghome/woods-dweller/Jesus lovin'/Bible-totin'/"gun-clinger")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Arlis
Congratulations to you and your children. Good Job!
35 posted on 10/05/2011 5:23:14 PM PDT by wintertime (I am a Constitutional Restorationist!!! Yes!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: wintertime

Congrats appreciated, but not due. All credit goes to the Lord - it was all His grace, strength, and mercy. Kids aren’t perfect.....wife & I see our many failures in raising them (tho we were determined before we had them to be perfect parents) as we see the weaknesses in their lives. All great in the eyes of the world and true believers, but far from perfect.

Our trust is not in anything we did, but that He will redeem all of our failures as parents.....Rom. 8:28, 29


36 posted on 10/05/2011 5:38:36 PM PDT by Arlis (- Virginia loghome/woods-dweller/Jesus lovin'/Bible-totin'/"gun-clinger")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Dumb_Ox

I’ll have to dig through my bookmarks and figure it out. It’s one of those things I got to while looking at one thing, came across another, then one that commented about Nast and his artwork on political topics, etc. I’ll try and find it for you and send you an email. I’m pretty sure it was a site that has artwork for sale rather than a University collection but I do recall them saying they were reprints from a collection that had been donated to a University. I guess the question would be whether the recipient kept some in storage for historical reasons and didn’t display them or displays all of them, right?

Regards


37 posted on 10/05/2011 9:57:28 PM PDT by Rashputin (Obama is insane and kept well medicated so people don't notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: metmom

Thanks for the ping!


38 posted on 10/05/2011 10:07:05 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: ReformationFan

“The tendency is to hold that this system must be altogether secular. The atheistic doctrine is gaining currency, even among professed Christians and even among some bewildered Christian ministers, that an education provided by the common government for the children of diverse religious parties should be entirely emptied of all religious character. The Protestants object to the government schools being used for the purpose of inculcating the doctrines of the Catholic church, and Romanists object to the use of the Protestant version of the Bible and to the inculcation of the peculiar doctrines of the Protestant churches. The Jews protest against the schools being used to inculcate Christianity in any form, and the atheists and agnostics protest against any teaching that implies the existence and moral government of God. It is capable of exact demonstration that if every party in the State has the right of excluding from the public schools whatever he does not believe to be true, then he that believes most must give way to him that believes least, and then he that believes least must give way to him the believes absolutely nothing, no matter in how small a minority the atheists and the agnostics may be. It is self-evident that on this scheme, if it is consistently and persistently carried out in all parts of the country, the United States system of national popular education will be the most efficient and wide instrument for the propagation of atheism which the world has ever seen.” Puritan Father Dr. A.A. Hodge 1890

“I am as sure as I am of the fact of Christ’s reign that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed,will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and of anti-social, nihilistic 4. ethics, individual, social, and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen.” Puritan Father Dr. A.A. Hodge 1890

Good read:
http://hisways.org/about/others-AtheismEngine.htm


39 posted on 10/06/2011 10:03:18 AM PDT by uptoolate (For the record: I have complete assurance that nothing can pluck me from His hand)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-39 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson