To You and Your Children: Part 3

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To You and Your Children: Part 3

Written by Mr. Trev McCallum

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We are returning to the important topic of your children and their education. This is the third, of four articles on the topic. Please read part one and two for context and background.

The landscape of Australian education prior to the 1840s was largely in the hands of the Church denominations and families. Catholics and Protestants taught their children in many Church based schools and at home. However, it was found that “the wealthy alone could enjoy higher branches of knowledge.”^{^[1]} This was a time of great change in the history of Australian education. A committee commissioned by the NSW Legislative Council in 1844 recommended a government funded and centralized Board of Education to be established. The board would compile sections of Scripture to be used in the instruction of literacy and morals. Once a week a pastor, or person approved by the parents would be permitted to teach the children. This system met much opposition from the Protestants and Catholics alike. Anglican Bishop of Australia William Broughton fought tooth and nail against the introduction of such a state controlled secular education system. Bishop Broughton argued before the committee that; “education without doctrine would lead to a permissiveness in moral behaviour, and a republicanism in politics, which would bring ship-wreck to Christian civilization...he was not prepared to teach Christianity without a creed. He would rather not teach at all than be guilty of encouraging the belief that all forms of religion were equally entitled to support, because under such a system there was a danger that truth would ultimately be driven from the world.”^[2]
by Trev McCallum | 4 August 2009

Bishop Broughton recognised the dangers of allowing government to usurp authority over the realm of children’s education. He understood the importance of limiting the authority of the state to areas assigned by the Scriptures. He knew that a state based education system would provide the preaching platform for governmental/statist religion. The Australian educational battle of the mid-1800s was a showdown over sovereignty. Scripture commands parents to instruct their children, to raise them in the admonition of the Lord. On the other hand the secular humanistic state always seeks to eliminate all opposition to its sovereignty over all of life.^[3] Battle lines were drawn. Secular humanist cards were laid bare on the table, before the committee. Peter Robinson spoke for this position, asserting; “the time had come to rescue the minds of children from being tainted and poisoned with the infamous concept of the total depravity of mankind, and that men who had been liberated from the Judacio-Christian slander might become as gods and eat of the tree of knowledge.”^{^[4]} Noted historian Manning Clark stated; “[b]y 1860 the high-minded in Australia believed the most wonderful of all revolutions in the condition of mankind was about to take place. All boys and girls between the ages of six and thirteen were about to learn how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply and divide. Parents were about to have the opportunity of endowing their offspring with the most enduring and most profitable of all worldly gifts, a sound secular and moral education.” Elitism’s arrogance. Parents are removed from their familial responsibility and family authority is transferred to the saviour state. The gravy train has never stopped.

At this time, across

Australia

denominational, independent (private), public and Catholic schools were recognised.^{^[5]} But by 1885 there was “free”^[6], compulsory and secular education in the form of government controlled schools and curriculi across NSW, VIC, QLD and TAS. With the Tasmanian State Education Act of 5 December 1885 government funding was withdrawn from “denominational schools, and prescribed that four hours of each day were to be devoted exclusively to secular instruction…[o]ne hour per week was to be set apart for religious instruction of children by a minister of religion of their persuasion.”^{^[7]} Secular humanism thus ruled our schools and as some in South Australia feared, this “free education would convert the youth of the colony to the doctrines of communists,...and the playgrounds of secular schools would be the seed-beds of immorality and infidelity.”^{^[8]} Be mindful that; “a change of laws is a change of lords.”_^[9] The sovereignty battle had been won by the government. Laws were in place. These laws “express the will of the sovereign law of a social order and…express the working religion of the state and its people.”^[10]

School thus belonged to the government and its word began to be taught therein. Over time the trump card of secular humanism, evolutionary theory, became the bedrock of how and what to teach children to think. According to government funding it has also become the foundation stone upon which we are to parent. At the birth of each child the Raising Children DVD is handed out “freely” to all parents, by the Australian Federal Government. One of the Consortium Members, the Smart Population Foundation encourages parenting science, which is foundational to the DVD. They state that; “[p]arenting science is understanding the cause and effect of various influences on a child's development.”^{^[11]} Okay, fair enough. But there’s more…as the Smart Population Foundation see it, the third example of major influence on parenting is this; “[u]nderstanding evolution basics helps put things into perspective. A lot of making sense of ourselves and how we tick is based on stuff mother nature set up for us through millions of years of practice - our evolution.”^{^[12]} The philosophically sound theory of nothing turning to something, order appearing from disorder and life occurring from non life now shapes the backbone of our society. Aren’t we clever! It is important to realise that evolution is simply a tool used by the state. A tool to claim sovereignty over all of life. Rushdoony comments that “the role model given to students in the statist schools is derived from...evolution, which means man is reduced to a naked ape. For an ape, possession requires strength and force...The key to the good society in humanistic society is acts of the state, not the work of the Christian man. The future is seen as depending on what the state does rather than on what free men do.”^{^[13]} To understand the war we are in. The struggle to usurp Christ’s sovereignty and the tools used by atheists I recommend you read Dr Geoff Downes’ three articles (part one, two and three).

“Secular humanism is a humanist philosophy that upholds reason, ethics and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as the basis of moral reflection and decision-making. Like other types of humanism, secular humanism is a life stance focusing on the way human beings can lead good and happy lives.”^{^[14]} This life philosophy has born much fruit. From Church based schools and family education we have become a society whose education is built upon secular humanism. And the fruits thereof are evident. Between 70,000 & 90,000 abortions are performed in Australia each year^{^[15]}, that meant in 1990 23% of all pregnancies were aborted^{^[16]}. Annually our taxes pay for around 75,000 Medicare funded murders within the womb. “Teenagers are the most frequent users of emergency contraception at Australian family planning clinics.” “[A]pproximately 25 per cent of 15-year-olds and 50 per cent of 17-year-olds have had sex.”^{^[17]} Drug overdose deaths have increased from six in 1964 to 958 in 1999.^{^[18]} 2007 statistics show that 23% of young Australians (between 15 & 24 years) use illicit drugs. Suicide accounts for 21.6% of deaths in the same age group; road accidents being the only greater bringer of death to these young people.^{^[19]} The list goes on and on.

Bishop Broughton was correct, removing doctrine from the curriculum has “lead to a permissiveness in moral behaviour...which would bring ship-wreck to Christian civilization.”

So what has this to do with the education of our children? Everything. Fathers have abdicated their responsibilities as the head of the household for too long. The Biblical family-centric model for training a child so that “when he is old he will not depart from it” ( Prov. 22:6) has been delegated. To whom? The government in general. And the curriculum, school teachers and peers in particular.

The father, as a model of the Lord Jesus Christ to his family, is:

A prophet - he is to instruct his wife and children in the Word of God according to Eph. 5 & 6, 1 Thess. 2:11 & Ps. 34:11.

A priest - who prays and leads his family in daily family worship. He is to be like Job, sacrificed for his children every day ( Job 1:5).

A king - he is the leader, provider and protector of those under his care. He must declare the allegiance of his family unto the Lord as Joshua did in Josh. 24:15.

The father is the one who is 100% responsible before God for whatever goes on in the home, everything. Why? According to Genesis 3, Adam was responsible for the sin of Eve. He was punished for it, for rejecting the council of God and obeying his wife. God came looking for Adam and addressed him first. Does this mean that the husband is always the one at fault? Absolutely not. As the head of the household he is always responsible. Does this mean the husband does not take the council of his wife? This would be foolish and unscriptural, for she is his helper. What good is it to have a helper that is not allowed to help? Does this mean a wife will never be held accountable for her sin? May it never be! However, the husband is responsible for that which occurs in his household. Our household structures are to model that of Christ and His Church.

The father’s responsibility in the area of education translates to this. Dad, you are the one who must take the initiative in the education of your children. You are the one who must determine your family’s vision for the future and how to get there. Dads it is your responsibility to determine how to educate your children. Again, this does not mean leave your wife out in the cold. No, you must include her in the process. But you must take the initiative and determine the path your family will take. It is not up to mum to decide on the curriculum and how things will be run.

End Notes

^[1] C.M.H. Clark, “A History of Australia IV, The Earth Abideth Forever, 1851-1888,” 1999, Melbourne University Press, Victoria, p. 271.^[2] C.M.H. Clark, “A History of Australia III, The Beginnings of an Australian Civilization, 1824-1851,” 1999, Melbourne University Press, Victoria, p. 311.^[3] RJ Rushdoony, “Sovereignty,” 2007, Ross House Books, California, p.16.^[4] C.M.H. Clark, “A History of Australia III, The Beginnings of an Australian Civilization, 1824-1851,” 1999, Melbourne University Press, Victoria, p. 312.

^[5] Op cit., Clark, “A History of Australia IV, The Earth Abideth Forever, 1851-1888,” pp. 279-283.

^[6] I would like to remind the reader that whenever the government makes something free it really means that you will pay for it through direct and indirect taxation. There are no free lunches. Someone pays for it.

^[7] Op cit., Clark, “A History of Australia IV, The Earth Abideth Forever, 1851-1888,” p. 283

^[8] Ibid., p. 283

^[9] Op. cit., Rushdoony, p.12

^[10] Op. cit., Rushdoony, p.8.

^[11] Smart Population Foundation, “What is parenting science,” http://www.smartpopulation.org/parenting/what.html.

^[12] Smart Population Foundation, “What is parenting science,” http://www.smartpopulation.org/parenting/what.html.^[13] Op. cit., Rushdoony, p. 10.

^[14] Wikipedia, “Secular humanism,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism.

^[15] Parliament of Australia, Parliament Library, Research Brief no. 9 2004-05, “How many abortions are there in Australia?” http://www.aph.gov.au/library/Pubs/RB/2004-05/05rb09.htm.

^[16] Better Health Channel, “Abortion in Australia,” http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/BHCV2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Abortion_in_Australia?OpenDocument.

^[17] Online Opinion, “Sex education, teenage pregnancy and the abortion debate,” http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=2844&page=2.

^[18] Online Opinion, “The failed war on drugs,” http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7906. ^[19] Australian Bureau of Statistics, “4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 2008,” http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter5002008.

Published in : Worldviews, Education

Users' Comments (1)

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Posted by alastair C mccallum, on 08-08-2009 09:29, IP 124.189.65.48, Guest

1. mr

I really enoyed the three papers, Trev. So true - and so tragic. It is so ironic how the wealthy still enjoy higher branches of knowlege". Being in the teaching "game", however, it is only too clear to me that the major concern is that this "knowledge" is humanistic, unbiblical and all-too-lcking in true wisdom.Fathers have more than abdicated their biblical responsibilities to educate their children - they have thrown the lambs out of the pen, to be devoured by the wolves that are secalarist Darwinism to the core. Today's education doctrine has therefore resulted in permisiveness personified - the (bad) news on televiion and radio confirm this. It is a sad fact that the maxim "anything goes" pervades our sociey to the extent that truth has been all but driven from the world. God's disciples have an immense task to keep spreading the Word of truth. Anselm is a leading light in this respect. Keep up the good fight.

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