A Core Curriculum Objective: God Exists, and Jesus, His Son, Sent as Our Savior, Died and Rose From the Dead

Belief in the existence of God, as he is revealed to us in all of the scripture, is the basis of our school's educational philosophy.  The entire focus and purpose of education changes completely when this fact is left out of the curriculum objectives.  Without the existence of God, and the provision he made for humanity to be redeemed from its sinful nature by the sacrifice of his own son, whom he sent as Savior, salvation becomes a matter of humans saving themselves.

The educational philosophy that produces the curriculum of most American public education is called "Humanism."  Humanism became prevalent in the early 1920's, initially and gradually taking over the teacher education departments of colleges and universities where the vast majority of American teachers were trained.  It was a planned and deliberate movement aimed at using the public school system, which included the state funded colleges and universities, to bring about social reform and a byproduct of that was the slow elimination of religious influence from the curriculum of the public school system.  

Most of the reform of public education under humanism was accomplished during the 1950's.  It culminated with the Supreme Court's Engle v. Vitale decision, which did not remove prayer from public schools, as is often alleged, but which did remove the recitation of prayers authored by school officials representing the government.  Subsequent decisions by the court removed Bible reading from public schools and defined "state-sponsored" as an adjective applied to religious activity in public education found to be in violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment.  

The response to all of this educational philosophy and reform was that churches and Christian groups began establishing Christian schools.  MCA was founded in 1956, precisely in response to the humanist influence in public schools, which got a head start in Chicago, because it originated locally in two universities founded specifically for the purpose of promoting humanism in teacher education training.  Lack of belief in the existence of God, in the inherent sinful nature of humanity, which creates the need for some kind of redemption or salvation, makes educational curriculum objectives incomplete, since the power to bring about our own salvation does not exist within the human intellect.  If it did, then humans would have, by now, figured out how to get back on the other side of Eden, and live eternally on their own.  

The Resurrection Accounts, Providing Full Evidence of Jesus' Resurrection From the Dead, Are the Completion of the Purpose of Human Existence

The Voice is a modern translation of the Bible, in a style known as "dynamic equivalent."  The translation includes a thorough examination of the original language and the manner in which thoughts and ideas were expressed, and then tries to present them in English with a similar "dynamic" effect.  Of course, any time a modern translation is produced, there are critics who don't like what appears to be a lack of formality, though that may have actually been the original author's intention.  It's difficult to reproduce the exact nuance and tone of two thousand year old words, but this translation chooses to use the less formal terminology in incidents where it is deemed appropriate.  So the account of Jesus' appearance to his disciples after his resurrection emphasizes those things that prove he was not an apparition or a vision, but physically rose from the dead and was present in the room. 

Out of nowhere, Jesus appeared in the center of the room.

[Jesus] "May each one of you be at peace." 

As he was speaking, he revealed the wounds in his hands and side.  The disciples began to celebrate as it sank in that they were really seeing the Lord.  

[Jesus] "I give you the gift of peace.  In the same way the Father sent me, I am now sending you." 

Now he drew close enough to each of them that they could feel his breath.  He breathed on them. 

[Jesus] "Welcome the Holy Spirit of the living God.  You now have the mantle of God's forgiveness.  As you go, you are able to share the life-giving power to forgive sins, or withhold forgiveness."

All of the eleven were present, with the exception of Thomas.  He heard the accounts of each brother's interaction with the Lord.  

[The Disciples Proclaim] "We have seen the Lord!"  

This is the narrative of Jesus' appearance to his disciples, gathered together on the evening of the day when the women had found the empty tomb.  The author, John, who was an eyewitness to this event, takes care to make note of the physical evidence proving that this event took place, and that there were multiple, credible eyewitnesses who saw it, and made note of it, because each one of them experienced a touch from Jesus that provided evidence of his physical resurrection from the dead.  

One of the main points is that Jesus had spoken of this happening to this same group of people.  But once they were in the moment, what they had imagined his "resurrection" would look like was a much different experience than what they were seeing.  They lived in a culture where people often spoke of dreams and visions as if they were reality, but Jesus appeared in such a way as to make it clear they were not seeing a vision or experiencing the visit of a ghost.  He notes that "each one of the brothers" had an account of their interaction with the Lord.  

We believe in all of these things because of our faith, which is informed by the same Holy Spirit of the living God that gave the disciples their testimony of faith.  In the same way they were able to testify of their own encounter with Jesus, assuring Thomas that he had risen from the dead, they give us, through this written word, the same message.  

Here's the difference between the Christian gospel and humanism.  Humans are unable to rise above the "ceiling" that separates them from salvation, because of death.  They cannot transcend, with human intellect alone, the spiritual realm where God's redemption exists.  The only vehicle, if you will, that can make that transition is the one that Jesus introduces here as the power which raised him from the dead, the power that transcended death, and that was the Holy Spirit.  That is the necessary element in human salvation.  And it is this belief that makes our educational philosophy and our curriculum objectives complete.  

The Difference in Educational Philosophy is This Core Belief

There was never a time in American history when public education has acknowledged or incorporated belief in an eternal, all-powerful and sovereign God as a part of its educational philosophy.  It has always operated in a manner separate from the church, as required of all public institutions by the first amendment's establishment clause.  What was occurring, during an era of overwhelming Protestant influence in public education, was the permission given to students, teachers and parents, to conduct various religious activities, mainly prayer and Bible reading, in the school's classrooms.  

As the humanist philosophy advanced, taking over universities during the post Civil War era, and began to turn education into a means of bringing about social reform, its agenda, which is completely secular, changed religious activities done for convenience into what amounted to religious coercion, leading to court decisions to enforce the first amendment, and eliminate them from the school's previously open public forum.  The development and growth of Christian schools is just one response among many from those who felt that over-reach and over-regulation were interfering with their freedom of conscience.

We teach this as historical fact.  In concluding the narrative on this gathering of disciples and the evidence they bring establishing the resurrection of Jesus as a fact, John writes, "The accounts are recorded so that you too might believe that Jesus, the Liberating King, is the Son of God, because believing grants you the life he came to share."  

We do not have the power to save ourselves, but we have a liberating King whose resurrection breaks the ceiling of death, and by acknowledging our own sin and accepting his forgiveness, we can follow where he leads.

We hope you find your way to worship and celebrate the resurrection this Easter.  If you do not have a home church where you can join in and celebrate, you are welcome to join the celebration at 10:45 a.m. at Midwest Bible Church.

Choosing Christian School is a Matter of Conviction

Every now and then, God has a way of reminding us that the mission and purpose of a Christian school is found in the revelation of God to his human creation by sending his son, Jesus.  It's really pretty simple.  Jesus came to reveal not only the existence and person of God, but also to bring salvation by grace, through faith in the sacrifice he would make on the cross.  This is the way that humans are reconciled to God, and it is the only means by which the problems of human existence, caused by sin, can be resolved.  

Public education exists because Americans realized, early in the history of the nation, that an education which provided basic skills leading to multiple ends, including the ability to function in a society that depends on a certain level of literacy and comprehension, to have a basis from which skills can be developed in order for individuals to be productive, support themselves financially, and contribute to the well being of the nation.  

Compulsory education started in the United States as early as 1852, when the state of Massachusetts mandated primary schools for all students in every town.  But it would not be until 1918, just after World War 1, that all states had compulsory attendance laws, and had established enough public schools to accommodate all students.  

Oh, and here's a link to today's reminder:  Midwest Bible Church, March 2, 2025

Basic Philosophy of Education

The need for Christian schools, which teach biblical truth as the means of viewing and living in the world, came about as a result of a philosophical shift in American culture that led to the control of public school curriculum coming under the control of a secular, humanist philosophy.  The first amendment establishes religious liberty, a free conscience, and separates the church from state control, and the state from required church influence.  A secular, humanist philosophy of education slipped in and filled a growing vacuum as specific sectarian teaching in schools was slowly eliminated from the curriculum.  

This is a subject on which books have been written, and I would strongly suggest that parents get a copy of Kingdom Education: God's Plan for Educating Future Generations by Glenn Schultz.  Dr. Schultz does an excellent job of distinguishing the difference in educational philosophy between a Christian school and a public school.  It will provide you with a biblical foundation from your own faith and commitment to Jesus Christ as savior, for the reason you make a sacrifice to send your children to a Christian school.  

The primary, basic difference between the educational philosophy of Christian school education and the public education system in the United States is theological.  Jesus himself makes a statement of belief in revealing the person of God himself that is at the very core of our educational philosophy.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And the second is like it.  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.  Matthew 22:37-40 ESV 

The first point of our educational philosophy is that God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present.  Therefore, God's revelation of himself to humans, and the salvation that is offered as a result, is the only resolution to all of the problems of humanity, which are rooted in sin.  

In the humanist philosophy that governs public education curriculum and objectives, God's existence is not acknowledged.  There's no specific declaration that he does not exist, but leaving out any mention of the power that created humanity, including human free will, from curriculum objectives, leaves out everything that comes with acknowledging the existence of God, including the moral principles that are part of the practice of the Christian faith.  What that means, is that students are taught that human beings have the ability to save themselves from their problems, which we call by the old fashioned term, sin.  

If there is no statement that acknowledges the existence of God, then that completely changes the way we teach children about human origins.  And that's where teaching the theory of evolution as fact comes in.  If there is no creator God, then the door is open to scientific theory when it comes to explaining human origins.  When God's existence is not assured, then human origins are left up to chance. 

This has become a standard objective in American public education because humanism, the educational philosophy that governs the education of students in the United States, and evolution, the scientific theory behind human origins, are not violations of the establishment clause of the first amendment because they are not considered or classified as "religious" in nature.  So, in our secular public education system, students are taught that human wisdom and reason are the highest known power in the universe, and that whatever human problems exist, such as war and violence, poverty, economic inequality, can be resolved by human intellect, properly trained and educated.  

For believers in the Christian gospel, only God has the power to save, and salvation comes by spiritual conviction, repentance from sin and restoration to God by confessing Jesus as the Christ.  Therefore, human problems are only resolved by the power of God.  That means that public education takes place in a spiritual vacuum. 

We Teach That God Exists, He Created Us, He Redeems Us, He Empowers Us

We don't just "integrate" Biblical principles into the other subject areas we teach.  Biblical truth forms the basis for our curriculum.  When Christian faith is approached as a lifestyle and a philosophy of both education, and of life, and not simply the academic assertion to a list of doctrine or theological principles, it becomes something that transforms us, and to which we respond, first to being convicted of our sin, then of understanding that we must confess Jesus as the Christ to be forgiven, then to receive the Holy Spirit in order to live a transformed, redeemed life.  

It would be impossible for me to count the number of times those things are taught to students in our classrooms, and how many times they will hear this, as it relates to everything they are learning, over the course of the time they spend at MCA.  God has given us all a free will, so there are no guarantees.  But what we do know is that it is far more likely your child will come to accept this truth, and respond to it, in our classrooms and in the environment that we provide, where all of our teachers are born-again believers in Christ, and where we openly worship God as a school, together.  

Be careful about placing expectations on Christian schools that are unrealistic, or that are simply not consistent with the theology of the Christian gospel.  Students do graduate from Christian schools without ever making a profession of faith in Christ.  And there's no specific situation we can point to that explains why.  If we look at the culture at large, what we are seeing transpire now, and which has pretty much been the case since the late 1980's, is that more than two thirds of the children and youth who are raised by families who are actively engaged in the ministry of their local church will not make a profession of faith, and will drop out of church before they are 25 years of age, earlier if they go to college.  

Going to a Christian school changes those figures somewhat.  From the research that has been done by one of several Christian school organizations, about 6 out of 10 children and youth who are active in their local church in high school, will remain active and engaged with a local body of Christ into adulthood.  That's really a good track record, considering that 25% of the students in any given Christian school are not actively involved in a local, Bible-believing church.  So Christian schools do indeed help undergird and support the work of the local church.  

I've been working in Christian schools for over 35 years, and I've had literally hundreds of students.  That also means I have had multiple conversations with parents who wound up disappointed because the school experience didn't change their child's spiritual condition.  But, I've also seen students who, when they were in school, were hard hearted and resistant to any talk of conversion or living a godly, spiritual life, who did experience conviction, in some cases years later, and who have given their lives to serve the Lord.  There is no question that the school was an influence, but sometimes, we don't get to know.  

In order to experience Christian conversion, or salvation as we commonly call it, the first step is understanding and interpreting the spiritual conviction of sin that opens the door to repentance.  This requires an acknowledgement that we are sinful, by nature, and being led to a point of repentance by the Holy Spirit where we understand that confessing Jesus as Christ [I John 1:9-10, I John 4:1-3] leads to our justification and sanctification as a Christian.  In eight years of biblical studies at MCA, students are certainly exposed to this process.  Of course, it is our of their own will that they must understand it, experience it, and respond to it.  At MCA, that is an opportunity open every day, for ten years if they're here that long.

And that's why our school is here, and why it has been here for 69 years.  It's an option, and a choice, that Christian parents should consider, as a means of providing them with spiritual support in an educational partnership as they raise their children, "In the nurture and admonition of the Lord."  It is a gift you can give to them that far exceeds the monetary cost of providing it.