Historical Education from Reformation Revelation vs. Rewritten History Advancing Social Revolution

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by Dr. Joe Renfro

Western education needs to return to the central reformed focus on educating from presuppositions of learning from the core of the revelation of Christ which was once basic in our land, and to see the error of educating toward the humanistic revolutionary development of history.  

Evangelical Christians basically believe that schools need to teach history from a bible centered basis such as was once central in American education, not to the evolving indoctrination of the new morality, which is being imposed by the progressive revolutionary indoctrination.  Gary Demar in his excellent book, American Christian History, wrote “Christian educators learned how important education was for advancing Christian civilization.  The Reformation of the sixteenth century stressed the reclamation of all of life, with the education as an essential transforming force.  Martin Luther in Germany (1483-1546) and John Calvin (1509-1564) in Geneva, Switzerland did much to advance education as they worked to apply the Bible to every area of life.”

The Christian focus is to teach history, so as to learn from the past to be able to determine the future from the teachings of Christ.  The other type, the core of leftist thinking, which is central in progressive secular education is to select material to determine an idealistic humanistic future and to seek to channel it in such a way—so that history is not so much what was, but what is to be selected along with the social sciences courses to determine social-political change toward a new world order.

It has been observed that: 

Since the Progressives have held that nature gives man little or nothing and that everything of value to human life is made by man, they concluded that there are no permanent standards of right. Dewey spoke of “historical relativity.” However, in one sense, the Progressives did believe that human beings are oriented toward freedom, not by nature   (which, as the merely primitive, contains nothing human), but by the historical process, which has the character of progressing toward increasing freedom.

So the “relativity” in question means that in all times, people have views of right and wrong that are tied to their particular times, but in our time, the views of the most enlightened are true because they are in conformity with where history is going (“The Progressive Movement and the Transformation of American Politics,” by William A. Schambra & Thomas West, Heritage Foundation, July 18, 2007).

That quote is a particularly good summary of the Progressive thinking of our day and its influence on students from the earliest years through college on to our society and culture in general. History for the Progressive is not what really was or is so much, but it is the destruction of the foundation of Judeo-Christian values, to see them as negatives so as to condemn conservative thinking, educationally, socially, politically, etc.  Terms such as “systemic racism,” “homophobia,” xenophobia,” “Islamophobia,” etc., have been created to project their vision to the creation of a new age and world order where these things supposedly are no longer.

In an article by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post, April 27, 2020, she wrote that: “Scores from what is called the ‘gold standard’ in student assessment were released last week (the week before April 27, 2020) that revealed American eighth-grade students don’t know much about U.S. history — or civics for that matter. The results came from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, seen as the most consistent, nationally representative measure of U.S. student achievement since the 1990s.

She went on to observe that: 

The newly released NAEP scores in U.S. history, civics and geography were low enough for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to call “stark and inexcusable,” though it is worth remembering that American students have never done well on NAEP history or civics exams going back several decades. Survey results of what Americans know about their country’s own history have always been depressing. For example, a statistically representative national Gallup Survey in 2003 found fifty-three percent of Americans did not know that the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States are called the Bill of Rights, thirty-three percent did not know who delivered the Gettysburg Address and forty-two percent didn’t know the title of the national anthem.

American history is on the chopping block in our public schools.  It has been observed that “ If the New York Times gets its way, American history will no longer be defined by the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, but by the slave trade and the accomplishments of black Americans…Through its ‘1619 Project,’ the paper is hoping to “re-frame the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.” The year 1619 marks the beginning of the slave trade in the United States.

This was a small factor in all that was happening, for slavery at that time was universal in most every nation, slaves not just the blacks, but slavery from all races. At first in America, how to classify the twenty or so first Africans was rather puzzling, and some of the slaves originally were classified as indentured servants as many whites had been classified.

Our nation was founded in a revolutionary reformation, not a secular revolution as was the French revolution about the same time, for underneath and developed from within it, were the quests for freedom, the realization that God was the basic source of lasting freedom. In America we need to revive continually those spiritual roots. Notice, freedom is centrally focused on the providence of God, and that God created us to be a free people. The message of the gospel is freedom,  and our Declaration of Independence states: “We ‘are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’.”  Here was revolution with spiritual roots, a reformation, that our nation needs to know through revival. It is not “granted by the state,” but “endowed by our Creator.” Our nation needs to avoid being revoltingly destroyed from within, as much of the problem is cultivated are from the Progressive thinking in our schools, culture, and society.

Historically people have searched for freedom for thousands of years, both as individuals and nations.

The quest for freedom is a theme found throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Just three chapters into the story of God’s creation, we see the sad story that humanity gives up its freedom by choosing to rebel against God.  The story is still going on!  We still want to say what is right and wrong, not God. From that time forward, the perfect freedom God created for us as illustrated in the Garden of Eden was destroyed. “Eden” translated from Hebrew as “pleasure,” and the message was and is that pleasure in conflict with God’s ways is gone, and the long-term effects are here.

The Old Testament of the Bible records how God’s people lost their physical freedom time, and time again, that various empires overtook them and put them in bondage.  They had a cry for freedom, as it was most notably seen in the bondage to the Egyptians and to others later on. The Hebrews saw the importance of teaching history, especially the deliverance from the bondage in Egypt.  But it is true that about the study of history is that people fail to historically learn from history at all.

Look at the history of the attempts to set up historically socialistic nations, as all have lapsed into bondage and failure!

This loss of physical freedom was often tied to spiritual disobedience like worshiping false gods. But time and again, the one true God forgave His people and rescued them. When God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, we see the picture of God’s deliverance, and beyond this picture was the foreshadowing the arrival of Jesus Christ, who came to free humanity from sin—the spiritual slavery.  This was not a speculative history, but an account of what really happened. It was not a collection of minor events, but it was the central message of history.

Masses people today are living in spiritual slavery, and they need to be aware of the fact that the “wages of sin is death.”  Our educational progressive thinking seeks to start with the blank slate thinking of John Locke, that each individual is but the product of his or her environment.  So many chase false gods, such of the love of money, success, and indulgences become gods in our live. We are witnessing revolts for socialistic revolution: drug addiction, crime, vandalism, etc. all of these and others only to realize they still have an emptiness that cannot be filled by any of those things. 

Psalm 33:20 & 21 says: ” We put our hope in the Lord.  He is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice,  for we trust in his holy name.”  This is the song for freedom that God wants planted in our hearts! Central to this is to see God as the God of history, active in the events of all in sovereign will. A vital part of this to learn the spiritual discipline of knowing God as the teacher in all of life.

In the Declaration of Independence there was the birth of a new nation, an appeal to the only authority that could possibly substantiate it, an appeal to the only law that could possibly give it validity and truth, an appeal, as the Declaration itself puts it, “to the Supreme Judge of the world.”  The truths that it say they are “self-evident,” are self-evident only because Almighty God has already established them in His Word. This “self-evident” is the presupposition on which all else depends, and when you erase this presupposition the door is opened to anarchy.

On July 3, 1776, George Washington wrote a letter to his wife, Martha.  In part, these were his words: “In a few days, you will see a Declaration setting forth the causes which have impelled us to this mighty revolution and the reasons which will justify it in the sight of God.  I am fully aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration and support and defend these states; yes, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory.”  The Father of our country was no naive dreamer or empty-headed revolutionist.  He knew the cost of freedom in toil, blood and treasure.

In Luke 4:17-21 we can read how the Lord Jesus was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. When He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed…” Then He closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Here was history attached to the past and moving through on to eternity, but not following a broken path.

Basic to the teaching of history is the underlying fact it is in the context of the battle between light and darkness.  God’s answer to it all is the realization of true freedom is to be realized by Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:28 says:  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”   This is a leveling out of it all, and the real solution to all in the context of the rights issues that are so much in the quest of our day. Romans 15:4 says:  “ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”  Hebrews 11:3 says: “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Great supports in the education journey!

Over 150 years ago President, Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President, spoke at Gettysburg in what is called the Gettysburg address, saying:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember      what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain– that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The question still remained “whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, could long endure. Lincoln knew the cost of liberty, also.  He never spoke of liberty without coupling that word with responsibility. Liberty is not a destination, it is a journey.  We are still on that journey, and education and our schools are central in this, as well as the family, and our churches, all which are very much under attack by the “Woke” thinking of our day.  ‘Woke’ is increasingly used as a byword for social awareness, but it is a social awareness implanted by those who wish to implant freedom from the top down, rather than the bottom up, a socialistic freedom that does not work. 

“Woke is not going to develop freedom, Don’t get caught in it, for it is but a call to project chaos and anarchy. We need to see beyond the call for revolution and return to the revelation that creates freedom. Yes, the cost of human freedom is still high.  History teaches this.  It still takes toil and blood and treasure.  It still takes responsibility and dedication.  May God help us in this journey.  We need God awareness in education, not the so-called social awareness!

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