Good News
August 1960
Vol. IX, Number 8

                    What Is MODERN EDUCATION?
 
Here is the Basic Philosophy underlying modern education!  Where,when, by whom did it originate?  Here is the answer from theEnglish Department at Ambassador.
 
                        by Lynn Torrance

 
 
   DO YOU KNOW what modern educators teach?  Most people assume they teach your children the way to a happy abundant life.  Most assume they build the right character in the EAGER minds of your children. That they teach your children to know God.

   But NONE of these assumptions are true!
 
What MODERN Educators Believe
 
   Leading American educators believe in a type of "FREE ACTIVITY" in which the child is allowed to develop by doing as HE pleases.  They teach your children to believe that the child can CREATE his own TRUTH by determining -- through his own EXPERIENCE -- what he wants to accept as truth.  The child is taught to evaluate human experience solely by its "pragmatic value," that is -- WHAT USE IS IT TO THE SELF?

   In PLAIN ENGLISH -- YOUR CHILD is TAUGHT to ask, "WHAT'S in it for ME?"  This training turns his thoughts inward upon the SELF, and upon what the SELF desires.

   Here is one of the root causes of juvenile delinquency.

   These misguided public educators teach YOUR CHILDREN THAT THERE IS NO ETERNAL TRUTH.  They CLAIM that truth is changing and evolving as MAN is growing better and better and discovering more knowledge.

   The false idea that there is no Eternal TRUTH purposely attempts to abolish the Bible as an authority. God's Law cannot be a changing standard.  God cannot be a changing God.

   If God were ever to change, where does that leave us?  God has made us many promises in His Bible.  If He is a changing God, we have no hope that He will ever keep them; we have no hope of Eternal Salvation. The FALSE doctrine of no eternal truth would eliminate all hope and trust in the TRUE God and His Word!

   Take away the FIXED standard of right and wrong -- take away God's Law and there is nothing to keep a child from turning to the self, to what the self desires.

   Bluntly, MODERN EDUCATORS do not know God.  They do not know His WAYS (Rom. 1:25).  But where did they get their false principles of education?
 
Education Before the Flood
 
   The Basic Philosophy underlying MODERN EDUCATION is as OLD as the FIRST LIE!  In FACT IT IS the FIRST LIE.

   The FANTASTIC philosophy of the modern educators began when SATAN taught Adam and Eve that they could decide FOR THEMSELVES what was good and what was Evil, and that they could be as God (Gen. 3:4,5).

   He led them to believe that they could live forever by replacing their source of knowledge and POWER -- their CREATOR -- with HUMAN REASON!

   Let us UNDERSTAND!  Satan attempted to REPLACE God with REASON, and TRUTH with self-will (Rom. 6:16).

   TRUTH became TO MAN a matter of HIS OWN opinion and the need for Christ was obviated.  A RELIGION of education was established, with its substitute savior -- HUMAN REASON.

   God tells us plainly that before the "flood" the "wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that EVERY IMAGINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5).

   This "imagination of the thoughts of his heart" was the result of substituting reason for God, and self-will for truth.  What was God's judgment against them?  "This is the Eternal's word: A CURSE on him who RELIES on man, and LEANS upon mere human aid, turning his thoughts from the Eternal" (Jer. 17:5, Moffatt trans.).
 
Education After the Flood
 
   Ever since the FLOOD, this world's educators have been deceiving man into believing this same atrocious lie -- that truth is left to the determination of man.  This philosophy of Satan was reestablished in ancient Babylon.  From there it was carried to the Greeks by the Egyptians.  The Greeks used this false philosophy as the foundation of their own Hellenistic Educational Culture.

   They turned to the philosophers -- men who KNEW NOT God -- to find out about God.  These pagan philosophers taught that there is no ETERNAL truth, that truth is a matter of choice -- thereby eliminating the true God from their educational system.

   Could ANYTHING be clearer?  When men turn away from God by looking WITHIN THEMSELVES for the answers of life -- all they are going to find is themselves -- their own human reason, and whatever answers they want to believe in.
 
Ancient "Modernists"
 
   After the DEATH of the APOSTLES "the mystery of iniquity" began openly to permeate the true Church. Those that remained faithful to God were gradually excommunicated, leaving the forefathers of the Catholic Church in control (II Thess. 2:1-10). Now they were FREE to begin to teach in the Church that a Christian SHOULD HAVE THE EDUCATION AND "CULTURE" OF THE GREEK WORLD.

   Tertullian, one of the early Catholic Fathers, told parents to send their children to Greek schools.  He explained that they should accept the "good" and reject the evil (Smith, "Dictionary of Christian Antiquities," article "Schools").  The ABSURDITY of such thinking is SHOCKING!  It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for the young uneducated child to discern what is the "good" and what is the evil in the subtitles of Greek philosophy!  How many of you profess to have such a discerning mind?  Then -- do your children?  Of course not!
 
The "Good" in Greek Philosophy
 
   The early Catholic Church fathers found much "good" in Greek philosophy.  Clement said that Greek philosophy came from God to man (The "Ante-Nicene Fathers," Vol. 2, p. 308).  He wrote, "PHILOSOPHY was given to the Greeks as a schoolmaster to bring the Hellenic mind ... to Christ" and that it is now a kind of "preparatory training to those who attain the faith through demonstration" (p. 305).  (By "demonstration" he meant REASONING).

   Such teaching is directly CONTRARY to the WORD of God.  God reveals that: "... the holy scriptures [not human reasoning] are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 3:15).

   Where in your Bible can you find that Greek philosophy is able to make you wise unto salvation?

   Clement of Alexandria and modern day psychologists HAVE much in common.  Clement believed that Adam had a perfect ability to determine what was "good" and what was evil.  He reasoned that God expects us to find happiness and Eternal Life through our own efforts (Hagenbach, "History of Doctrines," p. 158).

   Origin also would have made a good "PROGRESSIVE EDUCATOR."  He taught that man was good and that this "inherent goodness" is only to be developed by instruction.  He reasoned that if God had given man an evil nature, then God would appear as an unjust judge of His own creation ("History of Doctrines," Vol. 1, p. 150).

   Origin DECIDED to believe that God could not have given man an evil human nature which he could not overcome.  He THOUGHT that a loving God would not condemn a man for failing to overcome these strong human tendencies.  It pleased Origin to call man "good."

   Origin, just like the MODERN DAY EDUCATORS, COMPLETELY ignored the truth of God: that for a VERY GREAT purpose, God decreed that before man can "OVERCOME," he MUST accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, he MUST REPENT, and he must be baptized to receive the POWER of the Holy Spirit -- the POWER that overcomes our filthy, rotten human nature.  He COMPLETELY ignored the fact that God gave us this humanly unconquerable carnal nature as a POSITIVE GUARANTEE that CHARACTER can never be developed by turning to the god of human reason. "For to be carnally minded is death ..." (Rom. 8:6).

   Now you can understand what happened.  The early Catholic Church fathers followed "the way that seemeth right to a man." They accepted so much "good" from PAGAN Greek philosophy that they soon had little, if any, truth left.  As an example: They wanted to believe that it was "good" to do away with God's Holy Days -- they sneeringly called them "Jewish."  As a result they lost the Plan of God, the Plan of Salvation, the PURPOSE for LIFE.  They decided that it would be "good" to substitute the worship of Satan's "fool days," Hallowe'en, Christmas, and Easter -- for God's Holy Days.  They REASONED that the holidays upon which the PAGANS WORSHIPPED SATAN would be "good" if they but changed their names, and called them Christian -- instead of PAGAN.  They also reasoned that to gain salvation one should study the PAGAN Greek philosophers (WHO NEVER as much as heard of the TRUE God).  They accepted the idea that they had the right to call whatever THEY wanted to believe -- the "truth of Jesus Christ."

   Satan's ministers of today are an exact image of their self-willed forefathers.  Rather than obey God, they study what MEN HAVE SAID about the Bible -- never reading the Bible to see for themselves what God has said.
 
Teachers of the Middle Ages
 
   The thinkers of the Middle Ages weren't to be outdone by their forefathers.  They took special pains to revive the study of the EVIL philosophy of the Pagan Greeks.

   You will find these REVEALING statements in the "Catholic Encyclopedia" (p. 303, Vol. 5): "Men of faith and learning like Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas taught Christians to make the Greek philosophy the ... basis of belief." ... "Having used the SUBTITLES of Greek thought to sharpen the student's mind, the Church thereupon presented to him her dogmas without the least fear of contradiction."

   Now we begin to understand why the Catholic Church leaders did not FEAR that the scholar would REJECT the MOTHER Church, after having studied Greek philosophy!  The teaching of the Pagan Greeks was so similar to the teaching of the Catholic Church -- that to ACCEPT one was to ACCEPT the other!

   EVEN to this very day -- Satan inspires the leaders of many famous well-known colleges of religion to require that their students study Greek philosophy before they ever study theology. SATAN KNOWS that the student who has had his mind corrupted by PHILOSOPHY cannot UNDERSTAND truth.
 
What Is Modern Education?
 
   The "Schoolmen" of the Reformation accepted as "good" the belief in the worth of the individual, as taught by the Greek philosophers -- especially Socrates and Plato.  They accepted and taught that each man could achieve the beautiful and happy life through SELF-development -- just exactly the OPPOSITE to the TRUTH that Jesus Christ revealed.  You are to CRUCIFY the self -- not develop it!

   Modern education, even though it may claim to be divorced from organized religion, teaches the same atrocious lie that Satan's SLAVES have always taught -- that man can decide for himself what is good and what is evil.  The early Catholic Church fathers called this philosophy "Christian," the SCHOLARS of today call it "progressive education;" nevertheless, it is still the same old lie Satan taught Adam and Eve.

   The god of modern education is human reason; and its high priest, Satan.  Its founding fathers are those of the Catholic Church and the Greek philosophers who taught that man came to truth through REASON.

   Modern education is a religion, the same religion Satan has been teaching man since the days of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:4,5), the religion of rebellion against the LAWS of God Almighty -- the religion of believing whatever seems good to you -- just as long as you label it Christian!

   The Churches of this world have utterly failed to find the answer to "The Plan of Salvation," and "Why we were born!" Similarly their GODLESS, confused, atheistic cohorts -- the modern educators -- have chosen to believe that it is "good" to GUESS that out of NOTHING came great quantities of matter, and that by ACCIDENT precise LAWS, governing this matter, came into being!  They believe it is logical to guess that heat, light, and energy just HAPPENED into existence.

   They have decided it is also "good" to guess that the amoeba evolved from dead, lifeless matter -- into all the forms of life we know today.  Upon such a preposterous foundation of GUESSES modern educators build their belief that MAN is all the god there is.

   These great SCHOLARS are so proud of their GUESSES that they ASSUME a wise and dignified look and INFORM the world that these great guesses were discovered through painstaking, scientific research.

   This nation's FOREMOST educator, Lawrence G. Derthick, recently said, "Modern EDUCATION is the ONE GREAT FORCE to lift mankind HIGHER!"  And: "MODERN EDUCATION is a seed which can provide UNLIMITED GROWTH, from which when planted, fertilized, plowed, and nurtured, we reap a MYSTIC yield -- a power of understanding resourcefulness, ability, integrity, culture and development -- the product of which creates markets, MAGNIFIES industry and multiplies the fruits of freedom in terms of IMPROVED HEALTH, BETTER GOVERNMENT, HIGHER STANDARDS of LIVING and GREATER UNDERSTANDING of MORAL and SPIRITUAL VALUES."

   Prominent educators loudly proclaim their glowing tributes to the marvelous benefits of modern progressive education -- when the newspapers of this nation blare out in BANNER HEADLINES the PROOF that juvenile crime is mounting at an alarming rate, and is growing into a FRANKENSTEIN monster that THREATENS THE VERY LIFE of this nation.  We are being destroyed from within by this moral breakdown resulting from modern education.

   What can you do to protect your children from these diabolical DOCTRINES?

   The ANSWER is SIMPLE: OBEY God's instructions.

   "Hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 11:13).  "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them (vs. 16).

   But this is not all!

   NOTICE: "And ye shall TEACH [the Commandments] them [to] your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
 
Come Out of Sin
 
   Before you can begin to train your children -- you must CAST out of your mind the LIE that the human nature your child has is so good that he will develop best if you will turn him loose and let nature take its course.  Cast out of your mind the lie that you must not force your child to obey, lest you warp his character (Deut. 21:18-21).

   Cast out of your mind the false teaching of PROGRESSIVE EDUCATORS who teach that you must not obey the COMMAND of the CREATOR God to train your children in the WAY that they should go.  They tell you to rely on "trained teachers" -- who teach your children that they have the RIGHT to decide for themselves that the lies of Christmas and Easter are truth, and that the TRUTH of God is a lie.

   Instead, teach your children the Commandments of the Almighty God.  Teach them that the LIES they learn in SCHOOL are LIES. FIND OUT what they are being taught.
 
The Cult Of High-Sounding Phrases
 
   Furthermore, STOP worshipping IMPORTANT people who can spout fancy sounding phrases.

   For example: You parents who have been teachers -- have heard the modern day philosophy of education expressed this way by your college instructors: "We believe in a type of FREE ACTIVITY in which the child is allowed to develop by doing.  The child is thus allowed to discover his OWN TRUTH and DETERMINE its validity, UNAIDED by the teacher and independent of all TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY.  [By traditional authority, they mean to include the Laws of God].  The child is stimulated to self-activity while 'learning by doing,' in an environment that is 'NOT A PREPARATION FOR LIFE,' but is 'LIFE ITSELF.'"  Then your instructor would tell you that character "is built by doing, by FREE PRACTICE in moral actions and FREE MORAL EXPERIENCE."

   What did you college professor mean by FREE MORAL EXPERIENCE? He meant that character in your children is built by sowing wild oats.  That is another way of saying -- character is built by BREAKING GOD'S LAW!

   Such trash is called philosophy.  Are you guilty in standing in AWE of DECEIVERS who spout such educated phrases?  God says, "You are relying on false phrases, to no profit ... " (Jer. 7:8, Moffatt trans.).

   Yes, that is exactly the reason many of you are having trouble with your children -- you are relying on MAN, you are relying on human reason, instead of God.

   Do you YIELD to believing these lies?  Be honest!  Before you answer, ask yourself, "Did I yield to letting my child do what he wanted to do today -- against my better judgment -- JUST TO KEEP HIM HAPPY?" "Did my child do everything that I told him to do, IMMEDIATELY, the first time I told him?" "Does my child ever talk back to me when I tell him to do something?"  Examine yourself!
 
What Can You Do?
 
   MAKE your children do what you tell them to do, without question, immediately.

   Don't let your children talk back to you.  If you want their opinion, ask for it.  If you don't, teach them to RESPECT your AUTHORITY making them keep still.

   Be diligent in this and your children will have security. They will always know what you are going to do. They will learn to LOVE and RESPECT you.  They will be HAPPY.  They will learn to love and obey God. "Happy is that people ... whose God is the LORD" (Ps. 144:15).

   Teach your children to know what they should do; how to obey. And if they will not obey, punish them until they will CHOOSE to obey rather than take any more punishment.  With some children -- just a word will suffice, while other children may require a few swats with a paddle before they will choose to obey your commands -- rather than to receive any more swats.  But it will work.  Ask God for WISDOM (James 1:5) and He will freely give.

   Finally, it has been suggested that we can teach our children to respect us and to obey us by having a morning worship time with the whole family for at least 15 to 20 minutes a morning. (See "The Good News," April, 1960, Article -- "Worship God -- TOGETHER!")

   "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6).  If you "apply your hearts unto instruction, and your ears to the words of knowledge" (Prov. 23:12), God will lead you and your children into the WAY everlasting (Ps. 139:24).