PASTOR JOHN COLLINS: THE DOWNFALL OF A NATION
There have been many changes that have gone on in our nation over the years. One of the most important change is not a good change...and that is the lack of God in our lives. We have stood by as Christians and allowed religion and prayer to be taken out of school. Take a look back over the last 40 or 50 years and see what has become of our nation since that has happened. If you are up for a long read, take a look at this paper written about prayer taken out of school. It is extremely interesting, true and very accurate. If you are a Christian, what you are about to read should make you want to make change.
Consequences of Taking Prayer Out of School
By Pastor John Collins, Evangelist
God has been banned from our public schools. Our Lord Jesus Christ has been expelled from our public schools. Prayer has been removed from our public schools. The Holy Bible is no longer welcome in our public schools. Is it any wonder why we are now living in a society that has forgotten to fear God? Our children now lack an education that includes the teachings of God and Our Lord Jesus Christ. By excluding the word of our Lord in school, this country has systematically destroyed the foundation of faith on which it was built. The consequences are high and will continue to mount.
As Abraham Lincoln said, "The Philosophy of the school room in one generation...will be the Philosophy of the Government in the next." This truth is a tragedy for our nation. It is apparent that the government does not have the strength or the will to ensure that our children receive the education that they need in order to live God fearing lives that are testimonies to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember what God said to Moses concerning all the people when giving the Commandments, "I the Lord God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments." We are teaching our children to become disobedient and disrespectful of God and His Son. How long will it be before the Wrath of God is unleashed on this nation?
Although this country was founded on
Christianity, we have tolerance for all religions. This religious diversity is one of the reasons that we have found ourselves in this situation of denying God's admittance to public schools. The government will never advocate one religion over another. By deliberately choosing to be a country allowing all faiths and choosing none for our own, we have become a nation without God. As
Patrick Henry wrote, "It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." This freedom that we have afforded others is what has brought this nation to its
current deplorable condition. It was the demands of the Godless that has weakened the God fearing and turned them from the path of righteousness. By secularizing the public school system, we have chosen to NOT choose God so that none are offended and Christianity is not forced on anyone. This is what is considered politically correct according to man's law. What about God's law? As Jesus said, "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Where are the works that glorify God to be found in the slap in the face that He and His Son have received from our government with their decision to exclude God, Jesus and the Bible from the schoolroom? How much are they to take? We have become a nation of conformists who bow to the demands of faithless citizens to secularize the public schools and strip the fountain of salvation from our children. At what point will enough be enough? Jesus said, "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." This nation is being
led by the blind and is falling into a ditch. Is this what we want? We have abandoned God and Our Lord Jesus Christ. Do we want God and Jesus to do the same? By secularizing our public schools, this nation is ascribing to and promoting atheism. If you will not declare that you are for God and Christ, you are declaring that you are NOT. Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven." Jesus also said, "He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters abroad." By deliberately choosing to NOT choose a religion, this nation's government is denying God and Christ. By refusing to allow public schools to study the bible, worship and pray, the students are being denied access to their God and their Savior while they are attending school. Schools were not designed to keep religion out.
When it came time to create public schools in America, most were founded on faith. Of the first 126 colleges, 123 were Christian. Harvard College was founded by John Harvard primarily as a religious school to train clergy in the
Christian faith. In 1690, Connecticut Law passed that children be taught to read so they can read Holy Scriptures. In 1690, the First New England Primer was published with Bible verses teaching the alphabet and included children's prayers, The Lords Prayer and the Ten Commandments. This book was used in schoolrooms until 1900. This was how school in America began. It was important to
put God first. The leaders of the community and those that chose to open institutions to educate the children had their priorities right. All educational material was Bible based. Bibles themselves were used as textbooks.
In a letter "To the citizens of Philadelphia: A Plan for Free Schools", March 28, 1787, Benjamin Rush wrote, "Let the children who are sent to those schools be taught to read and write above all, let both sexes be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education." This dedication to ensuring that our children be instructed on the precepts of God and the gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ has been eradicated from our society. We make the choice as people, as parents and as a nation what is significant to us. We have chosen to
disregard our faith, its importance in our lives and the impact that it will make on our children's lives. We have
chosen to forget our God.
There have been three Supreme Court rulings that took place in the 1960's that changed our public school system and have had detrimental results on our children and our nation. In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that children may not recite a state written prayer in school (Engel v. Vitale). Children could no longer call upon the Lord to bless their day, their school, their parents nor their teachers at the beginning of their day. In 1963, the Supreme Court also ruled to ban Bible reading in public schools (Abington Township School District v. Schempp). These rulings collectively eliminated God, Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible from our education and have denied our children access to God and their Savior throughout the day. Jesus said, "Allow the little children come to me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." By banishing God, Jesus and prayer from school, we have directly disobeyed our Lord. We are deliberately encouraging atheism and creating for ourselves a Godless nation. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that the Ten Commandments cannot be posted in classrooms (Stone v. Graham). The Supreme Court has even ruled on whether or not to continue to include the words, "One Nation under God", in our Pledge of Allegiance. The Supreme Court upheld that decision in 2004. Yet, whether or not a student is required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance is determined state to state. This recitation is a simple verse said by students at the beginning of the day that should set forth a positive and thankful outlook for that day. Those who proposed the removal of this form the daily procedures of the classroom were seeking to eradicate the presence of God within the classroom. The Pledge of Allegiance is the only remnant of God in our public classrooms today.
Our educational curriculum is focused on Math, English, History, Social Studies, Science and many electives. We have created an education for our children that will allow them to successfully gain employment. We have taken our discoveries in science and used them to disprove the history of our origins. We have willfully chosen atheism and practical knowledge over the truth. We are now attending school for longer periods than ever before in history. We are furthering our education and enabling ourselves to obtain better paying jobs so that we may consider ourselves successful in life. Yet, as a whole we are failing not only ourselves but our children as well.
As one of the Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine wrote, "The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools, in teaching natural philosophy as an accomplishment only, has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of creation to the Creator himself, they stop short, and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of his existence. They labour with studied ingenuity to ascribe every thing they behold to innate properties of matter, and jump over all the rest by saying, that matter is eternal." It has become common to
doubt the existence of God and to use science to prove that He does not exist. This nation has become populated with haters of God. The educational curriculum that is being taught is a contributor to atheism. Religion is not supposed to be a component of our public school system, yet atheism is a recognized religion it is being forced on our children. There are years that our children are required to attend school and are spent in the classroom. It is painful and depressing to think of all of the years that are lost to God and Jesus. All of these years are going by with absolutely no focus on the word of God and His Commandments. Remember Jesus' words, "It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." Our children have been hurt in the most detrimental way. The little ones have been deprived of what has always been theirs to begin with; God and Jesus Christ. They have been denied access to the salvation of their souls and have been encouraged to become disobedient to God and in danger of perishing.
Some may argue that it is right to worship God on your own time. Some may say that it is the responsibility of the family to instill faith into their own children. Some may even say that it is not the responsibility of the state nor should the state be permitted to assist in teaching about religion or influencing a child concerning religion. With the amount of time that a child spends away from home at school, there is no bigger influence on that child as the information they gather there from books, teachers and other children. There is the argument that there is no way of knowing the truth about what religion is the right one and what religion will lead you to heaven. That is nonsense. You know the truth when you read it, and
the Holy Bible is the truth. Alexander Hamilton wrote, "I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man." To believe one word of the Holy Bible is to believe them all. To deny one word is to deny them all. You cannot be a Christian at home and an atheist at school. Yet, this is what we are demanding of our children. As Moses instructed the people of Israel on obedience to God's law, he said, "And you shall teach them your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lay down, and when you rise up." They were not instructed to be conscious of God and His law only some of the time. They were told to be aware of God all of the time. They were told to teach their children of the laws of God. These laws are the Ten Commandments that were removed from the public school room in 1980.
When the people of Israel stood before God in Horeb, God said to Moses, "Gather Me the people together, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth and that they may teach their children." This is the education that Our Father wants the children to be taught. We are harming our youth with every step that has been taken to deny them a foundation of faith that coincides with the curriculum that they are learning. As Noah Webster said, "Education is useless without the Bible." Truer words have not been spoken.
With the removal of God from our public schools, there has been an increase in abhorrent behavior by our children. There has been an increase of drugs, alcohol and violence in schools. There have been numerous shootings on school grounds by children. There has been an increase in teen pregnancy, rape, and assaults. There has been an increase of bullying to the point of harassment and resulting in suicides. Foul language and disrespect flows from the mouths of children and is common not only during school but also at home with their parents. There is a lack of respect of authority and parents alike. There is a prevalence of lust and greed among our children.
There is a lack of morals among our children and most disappointing there is a complete lack of self respect among our children. They are committing crimes and harming their bodies with their choices ever day. The Bible states, "What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Our children do not know this because they have not been taught this. They do not obey the third commandment stating, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain." They do not obey the fifth commandment stating, "Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you." They do not obey the sixth commandment stating, "You shall not kill." They do not obey the tenth commandment stating, "Neither shall you covet." The children of today's society are for the most part rude and disrespectful as well as abusers of themselves and others. Their SAT scores have dropped and they are not as dedicated to their education. They have not been taught what is important and that is to fear God. Remember Jesus said, "But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: Fear Him, which after He has killed has the power to cast into hell; yea, I say to you, Fear Him." All of the violence, substance abuse, verbal filth, sexual misconduct and disrespect can be avoided. Children can be taught to behave differently, to think differently, to believe differently and to have a different destination upon death. All it takes is the Holy Bible. We must care enough to want to teach them.
The Bible is the manual on which we should base our lives. Within its covers lie a very simple and complete set of instructions that have been given to us from God on how he wants us to live our lives. The word of God is eternal.
Time cannot diminish the value of the word, it cannot take away the truth of the gospel, nor can it justify our intentional disobedience. As Jesus said, " You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." It is easy to observe that this nation is not comprised of God fearing people nor God fearing children. The fault lies with the parents and the government. As a parent, it is your responsibility to teach your children how to have eternal life. For the salvation of their souls, children need to be taught early to love God and Our Lord Jesus Christ. If you are ambiguous in your beliefs, your child will not have a solid foundation on which to build their own. As a governing body, if you cannot stand for your Lord, you can stand for nothing. All things are done through the blessings of God and Jesus Christ. It is apparent that this nation has become a Godless nation. As one of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Rush wrote, "I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them...we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible; for this Divine Book, above all others, constitutes the soul of republicanism." The Bible is the one true source of the requirements needed to be admitted to heaven. It should be the goal of each of us to work towards meeting the requirements and teaching our children to do the same. Remember Jesus' words, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receives Me." It is necessary to remember to care for the little ones and teach them of their Savior. And as an adult it is necessary to remember that Jesus said, "Verily I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdome of heaven." We need to take more care of the education our children and their development into moral beings.
The
Holy Bible is filled with historical references of tragedies befalling nations when they turn from God. There have been many wars, enslavement, chaos in their societies and all manner of famines and diseases. Our nation is at war not only with other countries but also with itself. Our communities are plagued with gangs and violence. We are bombarded with
crimes against children in the news. We are fighting a losing battle to drugs and alcohol. The people are suffering. The communities are filled with adults who had an education that was without God, Jesus and the Bible taught to them as children.
We have systematically created a society of immoral adults raising immoral children. We have lost our way as a nation. The sad truth is we have become a nation of hypocrites. We claim to be God fearing Christians, yet there is not any action taken to uphold the commandments of God. We have grown bold in our arrogance and obsessed with our own power.
Our government has thrown Jesus Christ from the cross and placed themselves in His place. We have decided that we do not need to adhere to the sacred truths contained within the Bible nor teach our children to fear God. It is written in the bible, "But the LORD is the true God, He is the living God and an everlasting King: at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation." We have grown lazy in our faith and disbelieving as a nation of the Wrath of God. Let us not forget that Jesus said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." There shall come a time when each one of us has to answer for our own words and actions upon this earth. It may be upon death or it may be within our lifetimes. The time of judgment is only known by God. Yet, all things will be accounted for by each person. This is taught in the Bible and should be taught to our children. It should be the priority of our lives to educate our youth on their obligations to their God.
As James McHenry, a signer of the Constitution, wrote, "Public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. The doctrine they preach, the obligations they impose, the punishment they threaten, the rewards they promise, the stamp and image of divinity they bear, which produces a conviction of their truths, can alone secure to society, order and peace, and to our courts of justice and constitutions of government, purity, stability and usefulness. In vain, without the Bible, We increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions. Bibles are strong entrenchments. Where they abound, men cannot pursue wicked courses, and at the same time enjoy quiet conscience." The Bible is not available today in public schools to help educate and enlighten the minds of the children. The harm that is caused by this will continue to grow and the costs will continue to make themselves known.
The reality is that although the children that attend public schools are being denied access to their Savior and their salvation, nothing will change. The government has grown confident in its ability to manage this country by imposing man's laws on its citizens. It has altered the course of this nation that was set upon its conception. It has forgotten that it was founded on the gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The government has grown weak in its conviction of the truth. It has conformed to the desires of the faithless and has compromised its strength. Without God and Our Lord Jesus Christ as a foundation, this nation will eventually fall. Without our children believing in and obeying the word of the Lord, our future will be dismal at best. The governing body that chose to remove God from our schools has committed the ultimate folly. They have removed our saving grace from our children's education. Remember the words of Jesus, "Did you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
It is awful to contemplate the future of this nation without God and Jesus being returned to our children's curriculum. It is awful to observe the downfall of a people happen before your eyes. It is terrible to witness the cost being paid by our children when it all could have been avoided. It is my prayer and my hope that this country awakens from its sleep to the reality of the destruction that is imminent and makes the changes that are necessary for the mercy of God to fall on us. When the children of Israel promised to hear God speak to Moses, hear what was said and obey the words of God, He replied, "I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!"
Repost of original 1/2013 with corrections and additions.
LOVE THAT CROSS! Pastor John Collins
