False shepherds of *Comparative Religion
God said: "Take heed that you inquire not of other nations and how they serve their gods." (see more)
How is it that Dr. Dan Elliott, Vice Chairman of "Christian Educators Association International" (CEAI) wrote: "We promote the inclusion of all information ABOUT religions so that the Spirit of God can act meaningfully within the hearts of learners when they hear the one true truth among the other artificial truths."
That is NOT what God said.
Shepherds do not feed poisoned food to innocent trusting young lambs so that they can distinguish good food from bad, especially when they never even receive the good.
In public school, under the protection of Christian Educators and all who promote comparative religion, a mutated form of Christianity is taught which resembles an Islamic version of Christ more than Christian beliefs. (see detailed review) We are told that in order to present this fractured version, we must allow our children to learn ABOUT other religions. Even though this is a slippery slope and children are taught to appreciate and PARTICIPATE in practices of Islam, Hinduism and every other religion.
The claim that we must accept the lessons of other religions in order to present the Bible simply isn't true. In 1963, the Supreme Court made a ruling, not against the study of the bible, but against the devotional, religious use of the Bible. Supreme Court Justice Clark stated,
It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literacy and historic qualities. Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.
School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203,225 (1963)
There is recognized Biblical worth with or without comparative religion. There is nothing here, or in President Clinton's "Religious Expression in Public School" that suggests comparative religion is mandatory (though it certainly opened the door for Islam to pour money into a mass marketing program in American schools!).
The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public School offers a course without indoctrination endorsed by many prestigious organizations, but with Christian leaders such as Christian Educators Association International promoting comparative religion, promotion of such curriculum becomes difficult.
Some of these religious leaders that endorse CEAI and comparative religion claim there are verses in the Bible that show we should teach about other cultures, for instance, Paul's travels.
When Paul preached to the philosophers in Athens he said, "for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an alter with this inscription: 'To the Unknown God.' " (Acts 17:23, emphasis mine)
Paul went on to proclaim God as the "unknown god" and gave one of his most eloquent dissertations recorded. The interesting thing is, he had few converts, which the Bible records as only "some men."
Paul immediately went on to Corinth and his approach was radically changed. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Cor 2 emphasis mine)
Paul had determined not to know anything among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Some would point at Paul's eloquent speech in Athens and make the argument that we are to "know the world" in order to share the Gospel, when the opposite is true. Paul recognized his mistake and determined to focus only on Christ. He no longer tried to make the Gospel fit in with the world, and many in Corinth were saved and baptized.
Even if Paul's speech in Athens had been successful, that would NOT indicate that children, who are less discerning than adults and trust their teachers, should be taught to appreciate other gods of other nations. How would Jesus have responded if He saw Israeli children forced to study Roman gods? The Roman government wouldn't dare try, the Jews put their lives on the line just to keep the Roman emblem out of their temple, what would have happened if the Romans tried to force their gods on Jewish children? Apparently religious leaders who crucified Jesus had more faith than our Christian leaders today. How quickly these Christian leaders have betrayed God's word! Some of our Christian leaders would have to step up to the level of those who crucified Christ!
God said, "I am a jealous God." How is it that these religious leaders have betrayed both God and our children, and even now remain as endorsements to CEAI who openly promotes comparative religion?
Houghton Mifflin's 6th and 7th grade Christian sections are an excuse to attribute blame on Christians for the woes of Rome and introduce Christians to children as intolerant and hateful persecutors. For instance, in Across the Centuries, Christianity is the ONLY faith named as persecutors on page 316 in a highlighted block about religious persecution. In the Islam section, children are asked why others would be attracted to Islam while in the Crusades section, children are asked how others felt when Christians called them infidels. In A Message of Ancient Days, the Christian section is actually titled, "Christians and the Fall of Rome" in which they directly attribute the fall to Christians.
Where are these Christian leaders that promoted comparative religion and the fruit of it? Are they working to reverse this transgression? No, they continue to defend comparative religion. After CEAI defended the textbook Across the Centuries (which they never even reviewed) they were given the information. Instead of admitting their error, they minimized the issue claiming over and over the problem is parents don't care, that media attention to this issue was only a "wimper" anyway, and change the subject by touting the work of Charles Haynes of the Freedom Forum, an organization very much in league with the Council on Islamic Education (CIE).
The truth is many parents DO care but feel helpless to do anything about it. We wait for a Christian leader or church to organize us but they don't. We look to organizations that parade under titles like "Christian Educators" and find they actually PROMOTE programs teaching of other nations and how they serve their gods. So we seek media attention and once attained, "Christian Educators" shuts it down by publicly claiming Islam was not "slipped" in, and that "the state of California has been a leader in requiring a balance of teaching about who we are and what has empowered us as a civilization."
How many Christians unknowingly donate funds and purchase membership to this organization?
Dan Elliott of CEAI has also stated that we cannot truly teach Christianity. On May 5th, Dan wrote:
"You and I are faithful believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, that He is God, was God at the creation and came as a man to be the redeemer of mankind. For us that is both a devotional truth and an historical one. But to the non Christian member of the public square, say the Muslim or the Jew, or the Seik, or the Bhuddist, there could be only agreement that humans exist and somehow came about; that Jesus, the man lived and died and was purported to have been resurrected, spawning a world religion."
Well that certainly sounds like Houghton Mifflin's description of the Gospel, stripped of all faith and omitting that Christian's believe Jesus died for our sins. If CEAI believes Christianity should be so restricted, why do they give a pass to the blatant proselytizing of Islam filled with statements of faith?
Christian Educators claim they had no control over what the textbook publishers did with their "suggestions" for the Christian section. But they had every control over their defense of Houghton Mifflin and their textbook, Across the Centuries. Even now they could renounce comparative religion, ask TruthorFiction for a rewrite, post a renouncement of Across the Centuries on their own website, but they don't. Even now, our mainstream religious leaders could have their endorsement of CEAI removed, but they don't. And our children are left in the classroom reading about hateful Christians and how to appreciate Muhammad and Allah.
– therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.” -Ezekiel 34
Rome fell because of the lethargy of its people. They became so arrogant because of confidence in knowledge that they didn't see it coming.
America, we are on our knees and we don't even know it. When our own "Christian leaders" do works such as this or endorse them, then what was once a great nation of faith in Christ has become nothing but a mockery, in line with the Episcopalian church ordaining a gay priest, leaving his family for his lover. In fact, spiritually, the analogy is very similar.
Before we receive that swift strike to our neck, I propose we bow our heads, humble ourselves and pray, especially for our children.
But take heart. God has also said: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day….I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick, but I will destroy the lusty and the strong, and feed them in judgment.” -Ezekiel 34
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
~JenT
see also:
Hidden agenda of Comparative Religion
Who is endorsing Christian Educators
*To avoid confusion, the title of this post has been changed (see multiculturalism explained)