Transcript

Stephen McDowell: Biblical education is key to helping people live free

>> Stephen McDowell: Welcome to America's Providential History Podcast, where we talk about the real story of America and explore the hand of God in our history. Now, here's your host, Stephen McDowell. Hello. I'm glad you are joining us for this edition of America's Providential History Podcast. In the last few podcasts, we have been looking at seven ideas that have transformed the world and made America, a success. Those ideas include the Christian idea of God or theology, the Christian idea of man, the Christian idea of the family, the Christian idea of truth or law, the Christian idea of creation and history, and the Christian idea of government. Today, we're going to look at the seventh idea, that has transformed the world and made America what she is today. And that is the Christian idea of, education. You know, biblical education is the means of sanctifying men, that is, setting men apart, making us, conforming us into the image of Christ, that it's through biblical education, which is centered in the truth of the Scripture. As we guide our lives and apply our thinking and our action in accordance with the principles in God's word, we actually are becoming more like Him. We're setting ourselves apart, we're making ourselves holy, if you will, or sanctifying us. this is a major goal of education, is to make us like Him. So biblical education does that. It sanctifies man, sets him apart, and the purpose of all that is so that we might be useful instruments for God and His purposes. Useful instruments, instruments for God's kingdom. Because as we become conformed into the image of Christ in both our character and in our thinking, then we can be effective ambassadors that God can use to extend the kingdom of God in the earth. His righteousness, his truth, his peace in the earth. Biblical education is the key to equipping people to accomplish these things. See, all people must be educated so that they can know the truth themselves. Historically, the idea of education being made available to every citizen, every person, is a Christian idea. Throughout so much of history, most of history, in most nations, it was only a select few, an elite class, who would be the ones that would be taught and instructed and educated. And they then would, provide leadership or instruction for, how everyone else ought to live. But with the rise of the Christian faith and the spreading of the Christian philosophy of education, it communicated to citizens, to all people, that everyone needs to know the truth. Because each of us can know God ourselves. Each of us will give an account to God. Each of us need to know who he is and what he requires of us. And this is what Education does, it prepares us, equips us, transmits to us truth. And so everyone needs to be educated. And this biblical philosophy of education certainly was carried by the founders of America. Those who colonized and gave birth to America, gave birth to this nation. They understood this. Thomas Jefferson who one of the least Christian of our founding fathers. Future podcast we're going to take a much deeper look at Thomas Jefferson. But nonetheless he understood the importance of education and truth for a nation that wants to live free. In a letter from 1816 he wrote, if a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be. See, if a people are ignorant, they cannot live in liberty. To live free requires, knowledge of truth and the character within us, truth planted in our heart and in our mind so that we understand how to live and that we have the character to live in accordance with those principles of liberty. Benjamin Franklin, reiterated this same concept that all the founding fathers of America understood. He said, a nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins. So if a people want to live free, they need to be educated in truth. They need to, as Franklin said, know and understand and apprise the rights that God has given each one of us. We need to our God given rights. We need to understand our purpose, our mission, how we are to live and what this world is all about and how do we live free. It's in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins. Certainly when you look at the history of man nations, people have been kept in bondage, by being kept from a knowledge of the truth. And those who want to keep people in bondage will go and keep the truth, the truth from people in many different ways. It's in the region of ignorance that tyranny began. So when a people are ignorant, they will not be able to live free. And it's not just ignorance of being able to read and write that Jefferson and Franklin and our founders understood. It's ignorance of principles of liberty. If you have a pagan philosophy and if you're educational, system or institutions in part, not truth but falsehood, that you can live in bondage easily enough as well. All you have to do is look at the socialist nations now in the world today and how people are kept in bondage because they're kept ignorant. Or look at the communist nations in the 20th century. There was always an attempt by those in Charge to keep, keep citizens from a knowledge of really what's going on, a knowledge of truth and other things. GK Chesterton, said this regarding education. He said education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. Whatever the soul is like, it will have to be passed on somehow, consciously or unconsciously. It is the transfer of a way of life. And so he begins to give a deeper understanding of education. What is education? We have in past podcasts defined education in accordance with Noah Webster in his 1828 Dictionary of How education is first having a knowledge of truth. It first deals with the inward man, but also deals with thinking, with worldview. But education is important as we were talking about earlier, because it's a way to extend God's kingdom in the earth. It's the soul of a society that passes one generation to another. Now from a biblical perspective, we should be passing to the next generation biblical truth, a biblical understanding of life. but education, if it's Christian or pagan or secular, will transfer a way of life one way or another. All education does that. God centered education transfers God's kingdom, God's truth. Man centered education transmits man's kingdom. And that's what's primarily taking place today in our government schools in not just America but around the world. It's transferring a way of life, that is not rooted in the truth of God's word, but it's rooted in man, man centered ideas. Man is his own God, as we have discussed in podcast in the past. So whatever Chesterton said, whatever the soul is like, it will have to be passed on somehow, consciously or unconsciously. Of course today the passing on of a way of life, over the generations is mostly unconscious people. Most people just pass on their character, their thinking, their action in an unconscious way to their children, to what's taking place in schools or others. But some are consciously communicating a way of life. The founders of America certainly consciously started schools and colleges in order to transfer a biblical way of life. Because that's what education does. It is a transfer of, ah, a way of life, the life you transfer, the way of living you transfer obviously impacts everyone. in socialist communist nations they transfer a pagan way of life and it produces bondage, tyranny, lack and so many other problems. Just take a look at North Korea or Cuba or whatever nation, many nation examples today. So education is a transfer of a way of life. If you transfer a biblical way of life, you will transfer all the good fruit that comes with it. Benjamin Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, the father of medicine in America. He said this in contemplating the political institutions of the United States. I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them. We profess to be Republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government. That is, the universal education of our youth and the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible. For this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws, and those sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of republicanism. So here's Benjamin Rush. Of course, he was living in the age of the birth of, America in its early years. He looked around at the political institutions, and he was concerned. I'll lament that we waste a lot of time and money punishing crimes and take little pains to prevent them. Now, compared to today, they hardly had any crime at all. he would be, flabbergasted if he were transported to society today and looked around at all the crimes we have.

Rush Limbaugh says we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating republican government

But there was crime in early America, but hardly any compared to what we see, today. But nonetheless, he still said, look, we're. We're taking a lot of time and money to punish those who commit crime, but what are we doing to prevent them? So we profess to be Republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government. So he's saying, how is it that we're going to go about transmitting, this unique American, Christian, constitutional federal republic to future generations? How are we going to make sure that posterity becomes benefits from this new government? By the way, this year, it's the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our founding covenant. So we're 250 years old, today. But as Rush was saying, if we want to perpetuate that to future generations, he said the only way to really do that is that the universal education of our youth and the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible. So he was saying, if we want to survive, we must and flourish, survive and flourish in advance. Then wherever education occurs, Christianity and the truth of the Bible must be central, because if Christianity is separated from the Christian faith and the Bible, it will be separated from true what is right, what works, what produces good fruit. So he summarizes, really, the, the reason for our decline in the United States and the rise of moral and academic, decline in those areas is because we have gradually extirpated the Bible from our educational process, at least in our public schools, which is where 85 to 90% of all Americans are educated today. Because he said this divine book, the Bible above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws and those sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of republicanism. You see, the Bible is the source of the character and worldview necessary to build a free society. That's what he's saying. And so for generations, I mean for 170 years from the first colonists up until our independence, the Bible was the central text of education. Talked about that in previous podcasts. The reason the first schools started in America were started by the church. Education for really the first few centuries was centered in the home. But the church, as a way to supplement home education, did start, schools, because they had a Christian philosophy recognizing everybody needs to be educated if we're going to live in liberty and, security and truth and flourishing. So they said we need to make sure we provide a way. If for whatever reason, families can't provide it, maybe their widows, widows couldn't provide for their children or orphans or others. So they started, schools. Now these were started early on with the first settlers in Jamestown, and then also the, the Puritans there in NewSong England started a school early on. But by the time we get to the 1640s, the legislature of Massachusetts recognized this is so important. We need to encourage all the communities to make sure there's a way for everyone to be educated. So they passed some laws in the 1640s, and the preamble to the Massachusetts school all of 1647 reveals why they did this. It begins it being one chief project of that old deluder Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures. See, they understood that that old deluder Satan, Satan wants to keep people ignorant because if he can keep them ignorant. And they're talking about ignorance of the truth of the Bible because if you're ignorant of the Bible, you are ignorant. No matter how many PhDs you may have or facts stored up in your brain, if you don't know the truth of the Scripture, then you are ignorant. And Satan wants to keep people ignorant because if he can keep them ignorant, he can keep them in bondage. And God came to liberate man. Jesus said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring liberty to mankind. And so we m need to educate people in truth in order to liberate them. Early Americans, the whole reason for their starting schools was to transmit a biblical way of life. Colleges and the foundational principles on all the early colleges reveal the same thing, because they colleges were started, one to train ministers in the knowledge of the Bible. The Puritans in NewSong England considered the greatest curse that could come upon the land. Would there be an ignorant, impotent clergy raise its head in the land? A clergy who's ignorant of how to apply scripture to all of life said, if we have that, we're going to have the blind leading the blind and we the ditch. And we can't live in a free society if this is the condition. And so they said, well, we need to provide a way to train godly ministers because one role of the church, they're keepers of truth, and that truth must be, passed on to the families that, are part of these churches. So that's why these, Puritans up in NewSong England started Harvard College in 1636. One of its original rules said, let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider. Well, the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. So Harvard was typical of all the early colleges. There were maybe a dozen colleges at the time of our independence. All, all these were founded on a similar foundation, a biblical Christian foundation. Most were started by a particular denomination, but all were Christian. 106 of the first 108 colleges were founded on the Christian faith in 1860. There's about 257 colleges in America. All but 17 were started by or for the Christian faith. And Those certainly other 17 were by no means secular as we know it today. So education in early America, as we've explored in more detail in previous podcasts, was thoroughly Christian with a biblical motivation, and understanding that we need to be educated in a proper character, biblical character and biblical worldview if we're ever going to live free in this nation. So you have to understand that all education is religious. Some people today would try to say, well, you got to keep religion out of education. Well, that's an impossibility of keeping religion or keeping God out of education because God is sovereign over all spheres of life. And education above all things, is religious because it communicates a way of life, it communicates principles, it communicates what people consider to be true and right and godly and right behavior and right thinking. All education imparts a concept of who a people consider to be supreme right and the source of what's lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral. All education is, religious. This is an unescapable fact. State education, which is what predominates today, and not just America, but all the nations around the world, it compels everyone to be educated. and hence, really it compels in religion. In early America we had a statute for religious freedom that, due to works of Jefferson and Madison and people like that, they pushed to say, hey, we need to make sure that we're not compelling in the area of faith. Because that's what man had known throughout all of history. They had state compelled religion in Europe for the most part up until that time. And one unique thing about the American republic is that we put aside this concept of compulsion in the areas of worship. But about the same time, America, and later on, as some of the Western world had also put aside compulsion in religious affairs. But about the time some of these nations were putting aside compulsion and religion, they were taking up the idea of compelling an education. They were saying, every child's got to go to school. And today that's basically what most nations say, you got to go to school. And so many of the different countries, former Christian countries of Western Europe, you got to go to these state schools that, we control in every way. So they are compelling in the area of belief because education is religious and communicates fundamental beliefs about life and what is ultimate. And so the Western man is using compulsion today because they're really propagating their own religion. Secular humanism, or even worse, Marxist, ideology is, what is predominant in our government schools today. And there's, all kinds of ways where force is used to transmit, this view of life, this educational philosophy, which is really a religious, philosophy. You know, whoever controls the children controls the future. Again, education is a transfer of a way of life you're transferring to the next generations. How are you going to live? What do you consider to be, principles of life and living? And so if you control the children, you're going to control what happens in the future. God has given that responsibility primarily to the family, not civil government. If you study scripture, civil government is not to be involved in education at all. It's firstly the responsibility of the family and secondarily the responsibility of the church, basically to support the family in their responsibility to educate. But the church has a role in teaching truth as well. Someone once said that the philosophy of the schools in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. So having some knowledge of the philosophy of what was taught in our schools beginning 100 years ago or so, especially gradually, this secular philosophy, Marxist philosophy, even began to captivate our government schools. Those ideas began to be sown in teachers colleges to the teachers who went out and then taught it to the students, found its way in so many textbooks. especially in the last 50 plus years, we see this secular philosophy dominate. And so because of teaching these ideas in our schools, you know, it affects how these children live as they grow up. And therefore it's going to affect government, economics, business, it's going to affect every area of life. Because education is like a seed. You know, today Americans need a liberal arts education. Now what I mean by that is the classical understanding of liberal, or the founders understanding of liberal. Not today the way we use the word liberal, we identify that with leftist political ideology.

Early liberal arts education meant you're equipping people to live in liberty

We don't need that at all. We've got that, and it's producing a lot of bad fruit. What we need is, an understanding, a classical understanding of liberal arts education. See, early liberal arts education meant you're equipping people to live in liberty. You know, to live free is difficult. If you leave fallen man to himself, he's not going to progress toward more liberty, more flourishing. He's going to spiral downward into more bondage, more corruption. All we have to do is look at, the last 50 years, especially 70 years or more in America. We don't see an advancing flourishing in the same degree that we had in early America advancing in liberty. But we have seen more and more youth embracing socialism, socialistic philosophy, rejecting biblical truth, rejecting biblical morality. And we've consequently been losing the great liberty that our founders paid, such a great price to give to us 250 years ago. So early colleges, early schools did educate people how to live in liberty. So we were equipped to live in liberty. Unfortunately, we're now being educated to live socialistically.

Parents have the right and responsibility to govern the education of their children

And that brings me to just a new project that we have just completed. We've been working the last couple of years on a film called Educated for Liberty. And some of the main ideas that we present in this film, are one, parents have the right and responsibility to govern the education of their children. God has given that right to parents, not civil government. And if the right of parents to govern the education of their child is limited, then your liberty is limited. That's probably the greatest way that we could define how free a people are. Well, how free are you to govern the education of your children? And, in supposedly free nations of Western Europe, there's very Limited liberty that parents have to educate. Even here in America for different reasons, there's a great limit placed upon people to educate their children, directly or even because of our shying away from a biblical economic system. We don't have the material ability, to do that. but in this film, parents have that responsibility. And two, the church is to assist parents in fulfilling the mission of educating their children. But then, as the title of the film communicates, Educated for Liberty, we explain how if we want to live in liberty, if, a people want to live in liberty, they have to receive an education rooted in the scripture that gives them the character and worldview that's necessary for them to live free. It's difficult. To live in liberty requires a lot of work, a lot of effort, a lot of knowledge. And so you can see, view this film for free. Go to educatedforliberty.com you can watch the whole film 100 minutes for free. We also have it divided into six different, segments right there on the website so that you can go through it, in a group, in a class with your people, in your home, educational group or whatever. Go through each segment, listen to it, discuss what's going on. Those segments include education is discipleship. Bad ideas produce bad fruit. Early American education, which is good ideas produce good fruit. A fourth, segment is parents are to control the education of their children's education, with the church, assisting them in this. And then finally we look at ideas of how to restore biblical education. What are some ways, as a parent see that I have a responsibility to govern my children. How can I do that? And there are many ways that we can fulfill that. So I would encourage you to go take a look, to use the film to your benefit, Share, it with others. I believe it'll be a great resource to help do what we're talking about here, the Christian idea of education and understanding that we need to transfer a biblical way of life if we hope to live in a flourishing society. And so take a look, at the film Educated for [email protected] you can also access, the film through our website, providencefoundation.com on the panel on the front page. will take you to the site where you can, watch, the film. So please take a look, share it with your friends. I think it will be a great tool to help preserve and restore America as the land of liberty.

Samuel Adams says we bring transformation by educating the next generations

Now, Samuel Adams was the father of the American Revolution. He wrote in a letter this. He said, let divines and philosophers now when he uses divines, he's talking about preachers, ministers. Let preachers, ministers, divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots unite their endeavors to renovate the age. So he's talking about, all right, how can we transform our age? We should ask that same question today. How can we transform America today? How can we renovate the age, the culture that we live in, not just America, but any nation? So he's proposing, let the preachers, the philosophers, statesmen, patriots unite their endeavors. Here's how he said you should do it. By impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls. Okay, so we bring transformation by educating the next generations. And then he gives insight and how, what does that education look like? He says of inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the deity and universal philanthropy. So he says, okay, if we want to renovate America, renovate the age, we educate the next generations. Well, how do we educate them? We instill in their minds the fear and love of God and the love of your fellow man. Universal philanthropy. Of course, this is how Jesus and the Bible summarizes the ten Commandments. What's the greatest commandment? Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourselves. Okay, so education must begin with instilling in, our youth. Loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor, as yourself or as Christ loved us. And then he goes on to add to these fundamental principles and in subordination to these great principles, the love of their country. He said, we need to love our country. We need to recognize America has a providential purpose. God is the one who raises up nations and puts down nations, as we've explored in previous podcasts, that he has a plan for nations and that we need to love God's plan for our nation and love how God is working in our nation. Of course, we don't love our country more than we love God, but God's the creator of nations. So we it's practical way we can love God is to love the nation. And we want to preserve the nation. We've had 250 years of living in liberty, living and flourishing in prosperity unlike any the world has seen. But if we want to have 250 more years, we must begin to apply these principles, these seven ideas that we, that we've been talking about in these podcasts. And it certainly includes passing on these principles through a biblical view of education. And so here's what he said. How do we educate them? Love God, Love your Neighbor, love your country. And then there's other things, he says, of instructing them in the art of self government. Now, in previous podcasts we talked about the importance of self government. We need to instill in all the citizens an understanding of how to direct and manage their own affairs from the inside. And of course, to do that, Jesus needs to be our Lord, us to be truly self governed. And then he says, he closes by saying, without which they never can act a wise part in the government of societies, great or small. So if we're not self governed, then we're not going to be an effective instrument for God to help provide the proper type of governance within our society. And then he says, in short, of leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system. So Samuel Adams points out, if we're going to renovate the age, it's going to come about by preparing citizens with a biblical character and worldview, is what he's saying. With, preparing them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system. And to the extent that our educational institutions and homes and whatever schools it exists and in our churches and wherever education takes place, that to the extent that we communicate Christian truth, Christian faith, Christian virtues in those educational institutions is the extent to which we can turn the nation around, renovate the age. See, great liberty, great flourishing, within the nation. This is why education is a central component of building free societies. One generation may live in liberty, but if we don't have a conscious understanding that it's our duty and responsibility to pass on to posterity what we've received from those who've gone before us, then we have not fulfilled our duties that God has given to us because we have to have a vision. Not just for this generation, not just for us. We have to have a vision for future generations. After all, the Bible says God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God always deals with generations. We have to recognize that we are linked from the generation before and we're to, pass on to the following generation. All the good things we've learned are from generations before, things that God has revealed to us as we've lived, and pass that on to next, generation. This is what God requires of us.

To transform the nations, we must plant the seeds of liberty

And so over these last few podcasts, we've looked at seven ideas that have transformed the world and made America a success. See, these ideas that we've looked at are like seeds. And you plant these seeds, you plant these principles, you plant these ideas, they will produce Good fruit. Because these are biblical ideas. They're good ideas. They're good seed. Of course, we have a part to play in preparing the soil and tilling it and breaking up the fallow ground so that there will be a good place to plant these seeds. Now, I can't cause seeds to grow. To grow. It's a mystery how seeds grow really. It's God who brings about the increase the growth. He will do that. But he does require us to. Okay, I want you to plant seeds and pull up the weeds and till the ground. Maybe I'll use you to water the seed. And so these seven ideas are just a, framework by which we can understand, well, what are some of the things that I need to be, be planting and acting upon and thinking and living and passing on to the next, generation. To transform the nations, we must plant the seeds of liberty. The Christian ideas that formed the foundation of Western civilization and made America the most free, just and prosperous nation in history. We have lasted for 250 years under the same constitution. This is unique. It hasn't been done before. Of course, when we, gave to the world a, our constitution, it was really the first thing like it, that existed. But the reason it's lasted 250 years is because it is a good seed. It embraces these seven ideas that we've been, talking about. And we have in many ways early generations have passed on aspects of this truth. But it's vital that we recover these seeds today. We have an understanding of them and then we consciously take effort to fulfill our duty. Plant the seeds to those that we know, our families, our friends around us and, and others that God brings into our path. Plant these seeds, water these seeds, pray, Lord, bring about an abundant increase, in this, so that the generations that follow us, might live in more liberty, more flourishing than we have today. Well, again, I want to invite you to one take a look at our movie. Educated for Liberty. Go to educatedforliberty.com begin to see the importance of biblical education. We've touched on it in this podcast. We go into more detail in the film, but we also give practical ways. How can I assume my responsibility to provide education for those that I influence in my Life? Educated for liberty.com watch the film. We also have different resources, listed there. As always, I would invite you to Visit our website, providencefoundation.com where you can read lots of articles and look at different videos and lots of materials available for you to help, equip you there as well. So let us know if we, can help in any way. If you have any subjects that you would like for me to address on future podcasts, email [email protected]. we've got a lot more exciting things that we'll be looking at here in 2026, especially to remind us of our 250th anniversary as we remember the uniqueness of the American, republic, and to learn these things so that we might secure this for future generations. Well, thanks for listening today. Look forward to having you join us next week. God bless you.