An influential pastor is urging Christian parents to take their children out of public schools, especially with the increasingly atheistic and progressive ideologies being taught to students.
Shadow Mountain Church Pastor Dr. David Jeremiah said in his July 4 sermon that he believes it's time to reconsider Christian education. He said that Christians owe it to themselves and their children.
During his Independence Day address to the congregation, Pastor Jeremiah said that schools that embrace state programs are no longer a suitable place for Christian children to attend because they would be "so brainwashed by it."
The pastor, who has authored numerous books since 1983 including the 2020 "Shelter in God: Your Refuge In Times Of Trouble," said that in addition to the many professing Christians leaving the church, he has seen a "rising tide of Marxism and socialism" infiltrating schools and society.
He encouraged parents and guardians to enroll their children in Christian schools or find other alternatives to protect them from being taught the lies of socialism ideology, claiming that the governments' brainwashing begins in the first grade, not in college or high school.
"I don't know where you go with your children - where they go to school; maybe your school happens to be one of the few that doesn't teach all this stuff that's now being put into the curriculum. But you at least owe it to yourself to consider Christian education," he said.
"If not this school here, many of you are from other churches, find a Christian school where you know your children are not going to be fed the falsehoods of socialist ideology that will destroy their lives and steal their faith."
Apart from the feeling of dread for the future of children and the next generation, there are many worldwide problems and catastrophes that must be addressed. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is hopeful.
"But I tell you this, I refuse to be discouraged," he remarked. "And you should not be discouraged either. The Lord Jesus Christ has prepared us for times just like this."
"We're not helpless, and our world is not hopeless. We can say something, do something, pray something preach something, and live by the convictions of Christ," he continued.
In his sermon, he outlined some of his ideas about what Christians must do while waiting for Jesus' return.
First, he asked the audience to remember how and why they had reached that particular point in time. Aside from remembering God's work for the nation, he believes it is important to appreciate the men and women who have made significant contributions to the establishment and preservation of the country's democracy.
Now that freedom is in danger of being taken away by what Jeremiah refers to as socialist ideas, he claims that many individuals, including himself, are outraged. He did, however, advise on how to appropriately channel one's rage.
"Let's use our anger in the right way," he urged. "Let's use it to motivate us to do everything that we can do within our power to protect and preserve the freedom that was bought for us by the patriots of the past."
Second, Christians must reject to live by falsehoods. Jeremiah gave an amusing example of an athlete exaggerating his "statistics."
"You can't keep people from telling lies, but you can refuse to live in those lies. When they say things that are not true that affect you and how you do your life, don't do life in a lie. You may not be able to rush out into the street and holler, your objection to the lies, but you can refuse to be pushed into something that you know is not true," he said.
Third, Christians must do their homework own research especially on major issues.
Fourth, he advises parents to take charge of their children's education in this day and age when society is inundated with communist propaganda.
Fifth, Christian should consider running for office. He highlighted the need of having God-fearing men and women on school and municipal boards as a buffer or someone to guide the people away from the extreme left that is out to destroy them.
Finally, he urged individuals to return to corporate church settings and become more involved since Christ's Church does better together than alone.
