I HAVE HEARD MANY REASONS why
Christian parents choose to send their
children to secular schools. Most of
these reasons are logical from a human
perspective. However, human reasoning
cannot be the basis for how parents
educate their children and youth.
be “exposed” to secular education while they still
live at home must be challenged to be consistent
with this type of reasoning. Would they send their
children to a church that doesn’t believe the Bible
to be God’s Word? Would they want their child to
“experience” an Eastern religion or “be exposed”
to Muslim teaching at the local mosque? After all,
parents can “talk to them” and “help them through
all of the issues” related to these false religions their
children would encounter.
THE MYTH OF NEUTRALITY
I received an email from a parent seeking my
advice: “I want them to experience and get exposed
to the public school while they are still at home under
my care. That way, I can talk to them and help them
through all of the issues they will face in a public
school. Once they go off to college, I won’t be there
to help them with this.”
Similar reasons for enrolling children in secular
schools include:
• I don’t want to shelter my children from the
real world.
• I am only doing this for academic reasons.
• I believe my children need to be salt and light
like Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount.
How can we respond biblically to parents who
sincerely believe it is best for their children to attend a
secular school? It is clear from Scripture that parents
have the God-given responsibility to educate their
children. God will hold parents, especially Christian
parents, accountable for how they fulfill this respon-
sibility. God expects Christians to make schooling
decisions based on biblical principles.
THE DANGER OF DUALISTIC THINKING
I believe the biggest challenge facing Christians today
when making major decisions is that we are plagued
by a dualistic worldview. By this, I mean that Chris-
tians have divided life up into two compartments:
the secular and the sacred. When this happens, life
becomes fragmented with no biblical basis behind
our decision making. The result is inconsistency.
Parents must be consistent in their theology.
Parents who want their children to “experience” or
Many parents believe the majority of the “academics”
their children will learn in secular schools are spiri-
tually neutral. They are also aware of some false ideas
their children will be confronted with, such as evolu-
tion. However, they believe they can help their chil-
dren navigate these big issues at home, and therefore,
their children can survive being in a secular school.
The truth is, there is no such thing as neutrality
when it comes to any aspect of education. All educa-
tion is presented in the context of the worldview of
the teacher and the textbook authors. That is why
Jesus made it clear in Luke 6:40 that when a person is
fully trained (educated), they will be like their teach-
ers. A student will develop a worldview that will
drive all of their attitudes and actions that will be in
line with that of their teachers.
FALSE TEACHERS
The Scriptures are clear on this point. Christians are
to avoid false teachers. As I share these verses, keep
in mind that we cannot apply them only to what
is taught at church as this would require dualistic
thinking. We must apply these Scriptures to all of
life, including the education that our children will
receive at school.
“But there were also false prophets among the people,
even as there will be false teachers among you, who
will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying
the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves
swift destruction” (2 Pet 2:1).
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the
words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make
you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart,
not from the mouth of the Lord” (Jer 23:16).
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