Atheists In Praise Of Christianity?

Jonathon Van Maren, author of The Culture War, recently posted an article entitled, Atheists in Praise of Christianity? In this piece, Van Maren reviews a new book by the respected British historian, Tom Holland. This new book is titled, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World.

Van Maren calls Holland’s work “one of the most ambitious historical defenses of Christianity in a very long time.” This in itself would not be so remarkable, except for the fact that Tom Holland is an atheist.

An atheist defending Christianity? . 

“While many [atheists] — including Holland — cannot quite bring themselves to believe Christianity is true,” writes Van Maren, “they are starting to believe that Christianity might be necessary.”

Necessary for what? Things like human rights, evenhanded justice and moral goodness in society.

Van Maren says Holland’s passionate defense of Christianity appears to be part of a trend. He cites Douglas Murray, also an atheist, who in recent years has warned of the dangers of a declining Christianity. “Society now faces three options. First, Murray says, is to reject the idea that all human life is precious. ‘Another is to work furiously to nail down an atheist version of the sanctity of the individual.’ And if that doesn’t work? ‘Then there is only one other place to go. Which is back to faith, whether we like it or not.’”

Murray lauds the “revolutionary moral insights” of Christianity, and occasionally refers to himself as a “Christian atheist.”

Van Maren continues: “Even Richard Dawkins has now admitted that Christianity might be preferable to the alternatives. He once called for Christianity to be destroyed. Now he begrudgingly says it has good effects on society.”

Van Maren also cites Charles Murray, the American agnostic sociologist, who “believes the American republic will not survive without a resurgence of Christianity.”

Say what?

“Without Christianity,” Van Maren concludes, “we are heading into a thick and impenetrable darkness. Christianity gave us human rights. It gave us protection for the weak. Compassion rooted in commands to love. Forgiveness for enemies. It revolutionized the world. We are now in the process of undoing that revolution."

"We should look at what we are destroying before we carry on...We should listen to the atheists nervously telling us that Christianity is necessary.”

For Van Maren’s full article, click here.

When atheists express concern about the undoing of Christianity, you know we’ve entered "The Twilight Zone." An unusual space indeed.

Note: We are taking the summer off from posting, and will resume in September.


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The War Against Christianity (Part 2)

And the serpent said, "...you will be like God..." 
(No, it wasn't an apple.)

Today we conclude Dr. Glen Schultz’s article, The War Against Christianity. 

I have been pounding the drum for years that education is never neutral. All education is driven by the desire of one group of people to instill certain beliefs and values into the next generation. Education isn’t about academics, athletics or fine arts. It is about worldview formation.

Elizabeth Bartholet, the anti-homeschool professor at Harvard Univeristy, agrees that education is about instilling one’s beliefs and values in young hearts and minds (emphasis mine):

“From the beginning of compulsory education in this country, we have thought of the government as having some right to educate children so that they become active, productive participants in the larger society. This involves in part giving children the knowledge to eventually get jobs and support themselves. But it’s also important that children grow up exposed to community values, social values, democratic values, ideas about nondiscrimination and tolerance of other people’s viewpoints.”

The problem with many Christians is that they have not gone through the process of renewing their minds. Therefore, they do not think and act from a biblical worldview. The devastating result of this is that parents, church leaders and educators are not equipped to instill a biblical worldview in the next generation’s hearts and minds.

I am fully aware of the challenges we are currently facing due to the restrictions that have been placed on our lives because of this [Covid-19] pandemic. However, parents, church leaders and educators must be trained to know and embrace a biblical philosophy of education by developing a biblical worldview.

We cannot afford to lose this battle! The future of our children and grandchildren hangs in the balance!

Read Dr. Schultz's full article here.



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The War Against Christianity (Part I)

Dr. Glen Schultz is the founder and director of Kingdom Education Ministries, and author of Kingdom Education: God’s Plan for Educating Future Generations, a classic in the field of education. With his permission, we are posting an abbreviated version of his recent post, The War Against Christianity.

The most recent issue of Harvard Magazine [May/June] contained an article in which the author presented the views of Elizabeth Bartholet, a law professor at Harvard.  Bartholet views homeschooling as a threat and suggests that it be banned. 

The backlash from the article has been swift and strong. However, most of the responses to this anti-homeschool article have merely defended homeschooling. Please know that I also believe that homeschooling is a parent’s God-given right and should be protected.

What has alarmed me, however, is the fact that the article and Bartholet are attacking something much more important than the practice of homeschooling. This article is attacking Christianity. 

This is evident when Bartholet is quoted, (all emphases mine):

“Surveys of homeschoolers show that a majority of such families (by some estimates, up to 90 percent) are driven by conservative Christian beliefs, and seek to remove their children from mainstream culture…some of these parents are ‘extreme religious ideologues’ who question science and promote female subservience and white supremacy.”

This is the crux of the worldview battle that is intensifying throughout today’s culture. Christianity or a biblical worldview is the real focus of the article’s attack.

Bartholet and a professor from the College of William and Mary are holding a summit at Harvard, called, The Homeschooling Summit: Problems, Politics, and Prospects for Reform. The co-sponsor of this summit, Dr. James Dwyer, has made the following statements in interviews and written reviews:

“The state needs to be the ultimate guarantor of a child’s wellbeing. There is no alternative to that. The reason why parent child relationships exist is because the state confers legal parenthood on people through its paternal and maternity laws.  It is the state that is empowering parents to do anything with children – to take them home, have custody and to make any kind of decisions about that.”

“…the claim that parents should have child-rearing rights—rather than simply being permitted to perform parental duties and to make certain decisions on a child’s behalf in accordance with the child’s rights—is inconsistent with principles deeply embedded in our law and morality.”

I have been pounding the drum for years that education is never neutral. All education is driven by the desire of one group of people to instill certain beliefs and values into the next generation. 

Education isn’t about academics, athletics or fine arts. It is about worldview formation.

Next week, Part II.

   
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Watch This Film FREE Through May 10

If you have high school children at home, we recommend watching a film together that will really make you (and them) think deeply. It's FREE on-line through May 10.

Over the past 9 months, we have devoted numerous posts to exposing the roots of today's "political correctness" movement, and the relentless efforts of "Critical Theorists" to eliminate Christianity from American thought and practice. 

These efforts began in the mind of a man born in 1813, who had less than a dozen people attending his funeral in 1883: Karl Marx.

Many people are under the false impression that Marxism died with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, 30 years ago. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Curtis Bowers was a member of the Idaho State House of Representatives in 2007. He wrote an article in a local newspaper that caused a firestorm, clearly touching a nerve. Three years later, in 2010, he released a film digging much deeper into that nerve. 

This film, called, Agenda: Grinding America Down, is the best "connect-the-dots" piece you'll find, exposing the links between Karl Marx and the current divisions our nation is experiencing, with the relentless efforts to replace our Judeo-Christian foundations of law and culture with "something other." 

Bowers' documentary lays out the "something other" with great clarity. 

The current Coronavirus shutdown provides a wonderful opportunity for watching, and re-watching, good films and videos! Bowers' 93-minute documentary fits perfectly into this scenario. 

If you have high school children, we highly recommend you watch it together, and discuss it. 

Start with this question: This film was produced 10 years ago. Have things gotten better or worse since then? Support your answer with facts.

This film is worth viewing multiple times.

Watch this film FREE through May 10, using this link:  

https://link.zixcentral.com/u/586c46ef/WJIuGXWK6hGqDqKA5F7kRg?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5eLRrR5UUWE

   
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What Are The Alternatives?

When it comes to education, what road is your child on?

As ideologies opposed to God are given not only a welcome mat in state schools, but a mandate, an increasing number of Christian parents are asking, "What are the alternatives?"

The majority of America’s children spend seven hours a day, five days a week, for thirteen years in schools that are not teaching them the truth about American history, economics, origins, human sexuality, gender, and the ultimate purpose for living.

Many parents are saying enough is enough. 

If you are a parent wondering what your options are for your child's education, register for a free, 45-minute webinar on Thursday, May 7, at 2pm Eastern, hosted by Renewanation.

The speakers are Jeff Keaton, the Founder & President of Renewanation, along with Dr. Josh Mulvihill, Executive Director of Church & Family Ministry for Renewanation. If you are a parent considering educational alternatives to the state schools, we urge you to participate in this webinar.

Click here to register.

Contact RenewaNation at www.renewanation.org