In order to achieve its goal of a perfect society, human-
ism believes that it must remove Christian thought and
instill a man-centered worldview through education. The
curriculum of secular schools is purposefully attempting
to shift a child’s Christian worldview (which may be taught
at home and in church) towards a humanistic worldview.
When I was working on my Ph.D., I was required to take
a course on curriculum development. The starting point
in writing any curriculum is to determine what the desired
outcome should be—it is rarely to learn math, grammar, or
science. It normally begins with a worldview. Most secular
curriculums are written with the goal to make pluralistic,
“tolerant,” democratic citizens who obey the government.
Dan Smithwick, President of the Nehemiah Institute, stated
that “Christianity doesn’t have to be rejected outright in
the public school classroom nor does humanism have
to be taught explicitly for this change in thinking to take
place. It is simply the man-centered view of life presented
in the child-centered classroom in preparation for the state-
centered society that gradually shapes the anti-Christian
mind.” 3 C.F. Potter, an original signer of the Humanist
Manifesto, stated, “Education is thus a most powerful ally of
humanism, and every American public school is a school of
humanism. What can the theistic Sunday Schools, meeting
for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of
the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of
humanistic teaching?” 4
Proverbs is the capstone and summation of what educa-
tion is supposed to be: to teach our children wisdom. Prov-
erbs 4:7 states, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get
wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” This
is what we should be seeking for our children, not getting
knowledge, which is worthless without the fear of God.
Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is for us to
love the Lord our God with all our hearts and with all our
souls and with all our minds and with all our strength. The
second is for us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can
accomplish this through the Great Commission in which
Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of the nations. The
“go” is often misunderstood. The meaning of “go” should
be translated “as we walk through life’s journey.” As we go
through life, we are to evangelize and disciple those we
encounter.
The Bible tells us what the purpose of education is, but we
don’t recognize it. We have been taught the secular human-
istic philosophy of education that believes education is the
gathering of knowledge, and with enough education, we can
be “successful,” our jails and prisons will become obsolete,
and we can achieve a perfect society. Our underlying beliefs
or presuppositions on the purpose of education are defined
by our worldview. When teaching our children, we must
begin with the fear of God because that is the beginning of
wisdom—something only Christian education can offer.
“What can the theistic
Sunday Schools, meeting
for an hour once a week,
and teaching only a
fraction of the children,
do to stem the tide of
a five-day program of
humanistic teaching?”
Dr. Donald Larson is a retired USAF special ops pilot and Chris-
tian school administrator. He has served as Head of School at
three different schools and is currently serving as the Elementary
Principal and Associate Head of School at Northside Christian
Academy. He is also a part of Renewanation’s School Revital-
ization Team. He is married to Marielle and has three daughters
and three grandchildren.
FOOTNOTES
1. David Boulton, “Evidence Based Education Science and the Challenge of
Learning to Read,” Children of the Code, September 10, 2003, http://www.
childrenofthecode.org/interviews/whitehurst.htm.
2. Glen Schultz, Kingdom Education, p. 39.
3. Dan Smithwick, “Teachers, Curriculum, Control: A “World” of Difference,”
Chalcedon, April 30, 1999, https://chalcedon.edu/magazine/teachers-curricu-
lum-control-a-world-of-difference.
4. C.F. Potter, Humanism: A New Religion, 1930.
21