We all want answers, or reasons or somehow to make sense of the horrific tragedy that happened in Connecticut a few weeks ago.
I don’t know why it happened and neither do you; and even knowing how infinite the evil heart is, it’s hard to understand how a human gets to that point.
But I do know this: a culture that increasingly resists the laws and authority and fear of God will be increasingly subject to lawlessness, tyranny and the fear of man.
It’s embarrassing to hear “intelligent” people suggest that stricter guns laws will curb rampant evil. They won’t. In fact, Connecticut is FIFTH in line of the strictest gun laws in the US.
And even those up in arms (pun intended) about gun laws fight to keep their guns while giving their children to the state…(hat tip to R.C. Sproul, Jr.)
If we are going to talk about reasons and try to address solutions to such crimes as these, let us get closer to the real reasons and solutions.
Real Reasons
I see two issues hardly even being addressed that, to me, have more to do with violent crimes than anything: dysfunctional families (and the subsequent impact on children), and allowing our children to be indoctrinated by the religion of humanism (which bears a large responsibility for the dysfuntionality of families).
A separate post (book?) could be written on our responsibility to build up marriage and promote healthy family dynamics, but let me say that the Church has failed miserably at its part. I can’t count how many couples I know personally who are floundering, with deep secret wounds, told by their “shepherding pastor” that he couldn’t help them–he doesn’t “do that kind of counseling”. Men sinning against their wives and children while she sits helplessly–“too messy” for the church to handle. Churches established without accountability or authority (convenient for both parties), and so the same humanism of which I address next has infected the church and rendered us our own gods. Such abdication is utterly deplorable and our judgment has come. It is time we are willing to get our hands dirty, roll up our sleeves and bear one another’s burdens, and fight for families and healthy marriages. The generation we raise is only as healthy as the family that raises it.
Humanism: Teaching Them to be Their Own Gods
I probably get persecuted more than anything for sharing my strong belief that the humanist education taught in government schools is having detrimental effects on our society, and that for Christians, especially, we can hardly reconcile “raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” while simultaneously allowing them to be indoctrinated by a false worldview. Some simply don’t believe “humanism” is being taught; others think it’s a harmless worldview with harmless outcomes. Still others think it’s a private affair, while I maintain that the way we raise our children affects us all–as we experience with every tragedy.
Just to be clear, (no matter how nice and wonderful the teachers are) where the law of God is removed as the measure of good and evil, man’s law takes its place (“humanism”). And while we can all agree on what we think is “good and evil”, realistically, and over a period of time, humanism has no benchmark for good and evil, and the “theory of randomness” that accompanies its teaching is breeding ground for human havoc.
The teaching of humanism has DISASTROUS implications, when taken to its fullest extent. Be sure, not all children who grow up with a humanistic education will go on killing sprees; but some will. More importantly, a society that advocates educating its young with an idolatrous worldview contrary to the truth of the Creator will bear the consequences, even if through the hands of the minority. Next time, it could be you and me.
My adversaries would say, “I’m a humanist, and I don’t walk into a school and murder children…I have morals and restraints without God’s law.” Ah, but maybe you do, and still, your standard is not–can not be your neighbor’s. Consider too, killing a child in the womb was once a heinous crime but has now been normalized for our society. We murder children and call it a “right”. It’s barbaric and we call it normal. Humanism doesn’t enforce moral boundaries and so standards of right and wrong constantly morph. Do you think it’s impossible for a society to get to the point of practicing post-born child sacrifice? We’re not that far. And societies in the past have been there and called it “normal”.
Humanism breeds anarchy, eventually. It allows me and you to make our own rules, decide on our own values and issues of importance. Humanism allows me to justify disobedience to God’s standards but in the end, it brings destruction…to myself and to everyone else. We see it on many levels–it results in broken homes, flippancy for the permanency of marriage, devaluing of life–be it criticism for born children (which mothers of more than three endure consistently) or mothers and fathers murdering their own babies for reasons they’ve deemed justifiable to trump another human’s right to life.
And while only the restraining grace of Christ can truly change a man, we read in Scripture about God’s overarching grace over a people or the absence thereof:
“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator…Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” Ps. 1:25, 28
We must face up to our inconsistencies. We can either take responsibility for the next generation, educating them with a worldview that places the Creator as authority over life, giving value and purpose and meaning to everything, establishing what is right and wrong, giving us healthy standards for making life choices, or we can continue to overlook the devastating consequences of mass-educating a generation to grow up denying a Creator, thus denying true standards of right and wrong, value and purpose.
If we teach them to be their own gods, we cannot blame them for defining their own measure of morality even if it’s different than ours. Humanism isn’t just a harmless idea; it’s Pandora’s Box, and we will not be held guiltless.
35 comments
I absolutely have been thinking these thoughts. Why can not our dear sisters and brothers not see that the place(public school) they send their children to for the bulk of their lives is part of the root problem here. It is not safe, quality, or godly. It don’t see much more reason to stop the cycle! Yet no one wants to address this face on.
You are so right. We avoid responsibility at all costs.
Nail head = HIT!
I appreciate this feedback Charity. I’ve had this post written for days “afraid” to hit publish. The thing is, I really do hate conflict or hurting people’s feelings or being ostracized for saying things. And still there is a part of me that compels me. So the encouragement is very appreciated 😉
Clearly God uses you to say things that many are too afraid to. Things that are spot on and need to be said. The truth…and I know that isn’t easy, because people don’t want to hear it, as I’m sure the comments section will make clear. May you never be ashamed! Thank you for publishing the uncomfortable truths.
Agreed! I also appreciate the fact that you do have the courage to say hard and unpopular things. 🙂
Ooops, that was directed at Miss Kelly. 🙂
Amen!
Yes, Kelly, you ole hellfire and brimstone preacher! Mostly, I think people just want to sit with their heads in the sand and wring their hands when stuff like this happens, because our hedonistic (pleasure loving) culture doesn’t want to dig in and teach Christ-like character to our kids…it’s too hard to die to self, put Christ first and serve, and take my kids along with me, so I will ignore THEIR sins and bad habits(as well as my own), put them in school (which helps me to ignore some more and make it easier to ignore, cause I’m not there watching), and hope that all my church-going, Sunday School and Awanas will brush them up enough to look Christian, so it won’t reflect badly on me…but after a few years, the gilt (meaning gold-plated) wears off and we are left in our natural, sinful element… Which is why God instructed that fathers should teach their children in a daily, plodding, work alongside-of sort of way(because the command exposes the sinfulness of the father and makes him look at himself in a realistic light)…because HE knew we would try to NOT do so, if He didn’t…(after all, He told us to and we still disobey, so what would we be like if He’d never told us to?)… After much pondering, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no purpose to anything we are or anything we see or can do without God’s existence…without Him every attempt at morality is just man’s opinion…and therefore just as valid as any other opinion…Mother Theresa’s ideas and Hitler’s have to be equal…and that is foolishness…more foolish than the idea of God…
You are right; especially the part about how walking alongside our children reveals our own sinfulness…boy is that some solid truth and all a part of God’s plan.
I’m out of breath just reading my comment…sorry for such a run on!
Adam Lanza was homeschooled for at least part of his education.
Right–pulled out of school for a short time in his mother’s desperation. May it be noted, also, that this post addresses broader crimes and problems than only Adam Lanza’s…his story is a springboard.
I tried to respond to your comment above but the computer wouldn’t let me. Just wanted to say my argument is totally wrong. It really doesn’t matter whether or not Adam Lanza was homeschooled or not. But just as my argument is totally wrong so is yours. Do you know why? They both deny a foundational truth of the Bible. They both assume that somehow educational choices made by a mother or society for that matter can overcome original sin in a person. The only person who can do that is Jesus Christ and thankfully that has already been done. Humanism is not something learned or taught, it is something we are all born believing and no educational system can overcome it. Except for the restraining grace of our Lord Jesus, we would all be Adam Lanzas, Hitler, or the woman at the abortion clinic murdering her child.
Psmama,
“Except for the restraining grace of our Lord Jesus, we would all be Adam Lanzas…”
I completely agree with you. And yet the restraining grace of our God is more prevalent in a society that recognizes Him and honors Him as the Creator of life and teaches its children to do the same. Scripture says it:
I agree with all that you are saying, but there will always be mothers who have to work outside their homes and many cannot afford private school. Unfortunately, that is just the world in which we live. How they protect their little ones?
PS, Word Warrior, you should not be afraid to publish your posts!
I think it’s true, Beverly, that there will always be rare and unfortunate circumstances where this is the case. I do think it’s more rare than we like to admit though. For one, we have seen personally, both in our own lives and many around us, that “where there’s a will there’s a way” when something becomes important enough. I quit my job to come home when my husband was making about 20,000/yr–maybe less. We were expecting our third child. I’ve known working mothers who were able to homeschool at night and I’ve known families who became a part of a church that considered it important enough to help single mothers be able to stay home and homeschool. There are many factors, of course, and every situation is different. But my encouragement has always been to leave no stone unturned. There are all types of ways to earn money from home, etc., and I believe where a couple is singularly devoted to bringing their children up in the admonition to the Lord, He will make a way. I’ve seen it first hand.
my mother knew a single mother who homeschooled her two kids. They key is to get your kids independent so they can school themselves without being spoon fed by the parent. Also, I think about ways I can serve others when my children are older, and I think teaching children their phonics would be a great way to help out, and I hope my older girls will take what they’ve learned and volunteer to help others like single mothers.
Thank you for this!! My husband and I have been discussing this exact thing since the events in Connecticut. We have one little girl who is 18 months and another due in February…and even now we are preparing for a life of home education. I think one of my favorite things you said is that it is embarrassing that intelligent people continue to say that the answer to tragedies like this is stricter gun laws. That’s a technological/legislative solution to a moral problem. It’s like picking rotten apples off of a dying tree and thinking that you’ve solved the problem, when in reality the entire root system needs to be gutted and addressed.
I think in many ways, we’ve been lulled into a sense of “this is just the way it’s done.” I grew up in public school (small town), and it could be argued that I turned out just fine. But two things are important to recognize: First, schools are MUCH different than they were even ten years ago. And second, the ideas of humanism and amorality were still present. Not as obviously as they are now, but they definitely underpinned my entire education. My husband went to private school (a very good one), and even now, nine years after graduation, well over half of his class has abandoned the faith. This thinking has permeated even our “Christian” schools. As “good” as our public and private experiences were, you hit the nail on the head. I do not believe that Christian parents can reconcile the command to train up their children while simultaneously sending them away for seven hours a day, if they have a choice. Blessings on you as you continue to write the truth!!
Yes and Amen. The cognitive dissonance in our society is so pervasive – we (proudly) stand on our rights to cannibalize and murder our own young while demanding that those who survive our cultural ghoulishness “respect their elders”. Children aren’t stupid, they can connect the dots when it’s clear they are only valued for their parents self-actualization and have escaped our grim narcissism by a narrow hair of “choice”. We have the nerve to act surprised that one might give as good as he’s gotten, when it’s only luck and the grace of God that keeps it from happening more. The young man in Connecticut, and those like him, need not be in the news, and it is a shame upon his community, starting with his own parents – he is in Hell, separated from God forever, because he was abandoned by those who were to care for him. Forget handing him over to the State, they delivered him postage paid to Satan himself.
To your point about the State being our substitute God – agreed, again – we no longer know the meanings of evangelisation or charity – they’re big “global” concepts, even within our churches,no longer the hand to hand exchange that is parenthood, community, noticing one another for what matters, and yes, guarding our brothers and sisters, as much as possible, from occasion to sin – we have failed to love our neighbors in our zeal to serve ourselves. “Organizations” now are assigned to do what people were created to do – another link in the chain of “other people’s problems”. /depressing monologue
Praying your sweet family is well this coming New Year – so happy to know of your newest blessing! Love in Christ, Rachael
You’re back! It made my day to have your brilliant input once again. Thank you!
Kelly- you are the only person I know preaching this, please never stop. When I feel like I can’t homeschool, I remember your posts and know that there is no other option. It’s so scary starting out homeschooling, trying to teach my kids how to read makes me a nervous wreck. We have a great program, and it’s going well but I’m still nervous! If I didn’t read your blog, I would probably have chickened out by now and put them in private catholic schools.
Natasha,
You are so kind…and don’t forget, you are THE best one qualified to give her children everything they need.
YES, YES, YES, YES, YES! Continue to speak the truth! And yes, what you wrote IS TRUTH! Thank You, God, for my sister’s boldness. Amen!
Children of believers should not spend so much time in a place where even the mention of the name of God is not allowed.
I know some children of believers who go to public school and are doing very well spiritually, so far, but they are the exception, really. I wish more churches would encourage parents to practice homeschooling.
A very good book in the matter is The Why and How of homeschooling, by Ray E. Ballmann
Your post is interesting (first time reader and fellow homeschooling mom), but I think it’s important to point out that factually you are not correct with respect to violent crime. The reality is that we live in a society with a much (MUCH) lower rate of violent crime per capita than 20, 30, 50, 100+ years ago. And the church itself through history has perpetrated a significant amount of crime on many levels. These are complicated times we live in with complicated causes for such…
The reality is that we live in a society with a much (MUCH) lower rate of violent crime per capita than 20, 30, 50, 100+ years ago.
It depends on your definition of violence, I suppose. When as many people are killed in some urban centers in a day, routinely, as were harmed at Newtown, without ever making much beyond the local news, I think our callousness is showing. While the murder of innocents in a school commands a visceral response one day, the murder of many times that in State (capital S to include all government entities) funded abortion clinics elicits silence on any other. Our society is significantly more violent than at any time in history, if body count matters, and we include those we would rather not have to think about in our numbers. That we’ve institutionalized or chosen to ignore it has not, will not, obfuscate our blood thirst in the present day. God is not fooled by our mask of civility.
And the church itself through history has perpetrated a significant amount of crime on many levels.
And it’s prevented many, and seeks to prevent many more. I’ve never understood that particular argument as we know full well that fallen men make up the Body. Many bad things have been done in the name of God, but that doesn’t mean they were perpetrated with God’s authority. Those actions don’t excuse us from pursuing good in His name in our time, it demands our refocused efforts.
Gloria: These are complicated times we live in with complicated causes for such…
Ecclesiastes 1:9: …there is no new thing under the sun.
It’s not the “times we live in” that complicates matters. Sin complicates matters. Always has and always will.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
God bless you for this post, Kelly. My confidence is slowly building in speaking face to face with various people about hot-button topics such as this one. I appreciate, more than you’ll ever know, your willingness to provide a forum for addressing tough issues that elicit strong responses. It is hard for me to speak my convictions verbally if I sense or know that there will be opposition, but having a place online where I can debate important subjects through the written word helps me be less afraid to discuss them through the spoken word, which I need to do more of. Your bravery is an inspiration to me, and an encouragement to overcome my timidity that I struggle with in certain circumstances.
You are a blessing. May God richly bless you in the New Year.
Thank you 6 arrows…I don’t that it’s “bravery”. I’ve heard that courage is doing something even though you’re afraid. That would be a better description 😉
Courage…good word. And it’s inside the word “encourage”, which is definitely what you do for me 🙂
Thank you for writing about this topic!! You have spoken truth, praise God for giving you that boldness. We homeschool 4 children so far and are so glad we can bring them up in the nurture of The Lord.
Wonderful article!!! Thank you for listening to the Lord when He puts these issues on your heart.
Wow! Excellent, Kelly! I too am thankful for your “cries in the desert”.
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