Christian Education Resolution

Published May 27, 2004

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION RESOLUTION
Submitted Jointly by T.C. Pinckney and Bruce N. Shortt
To the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention

April 26, 2004

Whereas, the Bible commands that fathers are to bring up their children in the training and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4), and all parents have an obligation to strive by all means to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and

Whereas, all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus, and He has commanded us to make disciples of our children and teach them to observe everything He has commanded (Mt. 28:19-20), and

Whereas, teaching our children everything that Jesus commanded involves their learning to think biblically about all the spheres of human thought, activity, and life (Dt. 6:4-9) so that they take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), and

Whereas, our thinking is not to be conformed to this world's way of thinking, but our minds are to be renewed and sanctified by the truth of God's Word (Rom. 12:2; Jn. 17:17), and

Whereas, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Pr. 1:7) and in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3), any instruction that does not begin with the fear of the Lord, teaching the centrality of Jesus Christ for understanding all of life cannot properly be said to impart wisdom or knowledge to children, and

Whereas, Jesus said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters" (Lk. 11:23), the government school system that claims to be "neutral" with regard to Christ is actually anti-Christian, so that children taught in the government schools are receiving an anti-Christian education, and

Whereas, the government schools are by their own confession humanistic and secular in their instruction, the education offered by the government schools is officially Godless, and

Whereas, the government schools are adopting curricula and policies teaching that the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable, and

Whereas, homosexual organizations are present as approved student "clubs" in thousands of government schools and are spreading rapidly, and

Whereas, the Bible says, children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior (Ps. 127:3-5), we must understand that children are weapons (arrows) to be aimed for the greatest impact in the kingdom of God. Just as it would be foolish for the warrior to give his arrows to his enemies, it is foolish for Christians to give their children to be trained in schools run by the enemies of God, and

Whereas, training to be a faithful witness should be a vital part of a Christian child's education, and Whereas, hundreds of thousands of parents who are members of churches associated with the Southern Baptist Convention send their children to the government schools, and

Whereas, the children of those parents are receiving a Godless, anti-Christian education, and

Whereas, the millions of children in government schools spend 7 hours a day, 180 days a year being taught that God is irrelevant to every area of life, and

Whereas, many Christian children in government schools are converted to an anti-Christian worldview rather than evangelizing their schoolmates, and

Whereas, the Nehemiah Institute has discovered through its extensive surveys of student attitudes and beliefs that acceptance of a secular humanist worldview by Christian children attending government schools has increased dramatically over the last fifteen years, and

Whereas, the Southern Baptist Council on Family Life reported to the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention that 88 percent of the children raised in evangelical homes leave church at the age of 18, never to return; and

Whereas, it is anti-intellectual to artificially divorce God from his creation, and many excellent curricula are available that demonstrate the beauty and working of God throughout His creation, and experience has proven the superior intellectual accomplishments of children educated in such curricula, and

Whereas, the Bible teaches that the companion of fools will be destroyed (Pr. 13:20), and that people are prone to be deceived into thinking that evil company will not corrupt them (1Cor. 15:33), it is incumbent upon ministers of the gospel to warn God's people that their children are being corrupted by spending half of their waking hours instructed by teachers who are required by law to inculcate a Godless education, and

Whereas, many adult members of our congregations teach in government schools, this resolution should not be construed to discourage adult believers who labor as missionaries to unbelieving colleagues and students; rather, they should be commended and encouraged to be salt and light in a dark and decaying government school system:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention encourages all officers and members of the Southern Baptist Convention and the churches associated with it to remove their children from the government schools and see to it that they receive a thoroughly Christian education, for the glory of God, the good of Christ's church, and the strength of their own commitment to Jesus, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention encourages all churches associated with the Southern Baptist Convention to work energetically to counsel parents regarding their obligation to provide their children with a Christian education, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention encourages all churches associated with the Southern Baptist Convention to provide all of their children with Christian alternatives to government school education, either through home schooling or thoroughly Christian private schools.

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