You already know that the culture war is only heating up. And that it is really a war between two worldviews: Christianity versus secular humanism. At a foundational level, the debate is between these two factions: those who accept God as the Creator of life versus those who believe that natural processes are responsible for life. Either man is created in the image of God—and accountable to his Creator, or man is an animal—and answerable to no one but himself.
In a November 11 edition of the influential British secular magazine New Scientist, there was a scathing attack on the homeschooling movement. For example:
These students are part of a large, well-organised movement that is empowering parents to teach their children creationist biology and other unorthodox versions of science at home, all centred on the idea that God created Earth in six days about 6000 years ago.
So, the major argument presented against homeschooling in the US and Britain is that most of the parents teach their children the biblical account of creation. The secularists recognize that if the account of creation in the Bible is true, then Christian doctrine and morality are also true—and that humans are accountable to their Creator God (who is the absolute authority in all things). Therefore, people who deny they are responsible to a Creator—and who demand that morality be relative and lobby for the legalization of abortion, “gay” marriage, etc.—are often intolerant of those (i.e., biblical Christians) who oppose them.
As if this is a shocking state of affairs, the secular magazine continued:
For these parents, religious instruction and science are often intertwined. This bothers Brian Alters of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, who studies the changing face of science education in the US.
He is appalled by some home-schooling textbooks, especially those on biology that claim they have scientific reasons for rejecting evolution. “They have gross scientific inaccuracies in them,” he says. “They would not be allowed in any public school in the US, and yet these are the books primarily featured in home-schooling bookstores.”
By the way, I debated him at Harvard several years ago. The article continued:
One such textbook argues: “Evolution is a concept that attempts to free man from God and his responsibility to his Creator.” Alters worries for the students who learn from such texts.
Yes, the secularists are worried. They are concerned because a minority of our young people—many of whom have shown they excel in their studies—are being taught that they are responsible to a Creator … and that evolution isn’t true.
As Dr. Alters stated in the quote above, public schools won’t allow such material. In fact, I would say that public schools have by and large become churches of atheism. And as this New Scientist article makes so clear, the creation/evolution debate is at the core of the battle between Christianity and secular humanism.
The article ominously hints at the need to give special tests to homeschool students (and notice the “hit” at Christian colleges as you read):
Until recently, most home-schoolers who were learning the evangelical version of science chose to go on to secular universities because such institutions tend to be more academically rigorous than Christian colleges. Many such universities today accept home-schooled students …
To judge home-school applicants, they rely mostly on standardised tests of factual knowledge. Such tests cannot, however, reveal whether or not a student understands scientific method [Note: by this, the magazine means believing in evolution, as it equates the scientific method with evolution], a compulsory subject in public schools but not for home-schoolers [Note: homeschoolers do learn the scientific method; just check out their textbooks].
And what tests do secular universities need to carry out? Well, they are to determine if students believe in creation and have a Christian worldview! And if this is so, they would be denied access to secular universities.
Now, you might say that this is far-fetched. It wouldn’t happen. Well, it is happening. There’s a court case right now over this very situation. Some students from Christian schools are being denied entrance to state-run universities in California.
The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), in its fall issue of “Legal Legislative Update, reported that:
The University of California (UC) represents 10 university campuses such as UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego. It has apparently decided that it will not accept new private-school course submissions for core curriculum subjects if they are based on the science textbooks [Note: the texts were pictured in the ACSI update—some of the same kinds of Christian school textbooks that were referred to in the New Scientist article] …
The ACSI update continued:
For this reason, ACSI and the other plaintiffs have filed a court case against the University of California system. The goal of the case is to secure both religious and academic freedom in California by enjoining UC from engaging in viewpoint discrimination ….
… UC did not have any objective evidence that students from religious schools are deficient in science when they arrive for their freshman year of college. The UC representatives indicated that there was no problem with the material facts in the [Christian] textbook—that if the Scripture verses that begin each chapter were removed the textbook would likely be approved for the science lab course requirement .…
It became obvious to those present representing Christian schools that the textbook decisions were highly subjective and appeared to be made because of discrimination against Christianity.
Well, the Christian school and homeschool movements continue to be embattled as the secular world comes against them. The secular humanists will not shy away from attacking Christian schools and homeschools over the creation/evolution issue. Their attacks will likely intensify.
The Bible-upholding ministry of Answers in Genesis is playing a major part in helping in all these battles—especially as we disseminate a tremendous amount of resources to help Christians stand on the authority of God’s Word.
Through our award-winning website, several publications, the Creation Museum (to open this year), curricula, radio programs, a DVD ministry, a translations outreach, etc., AiG is ministering at a core, foundational level in today’s culture wars. And lives are being impacted, praise God:
When I started attending college, I was a person of firm faith in the word of God. But I was not prepared for the incredible deluge of information that directly challenged my beliefs. From evolution to relativism (a form of perpetual doubt), then to a general rejection of the Bible as a reliable source of truth, I was almost converted from Christianity to Humanism—a “crisis of faith” if you will.
After reading through AiG articles, though, I am able to make a stand for my faith. I seek to know exactly what I believe and present a reasonable defense for it.
– M. P., N. Carolina
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/02/05/evolution-required-admission