The News Beats

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

(Joh 3:19)

The Bible is nothing if it is not provocative.  It describes not only the human condition, both cause and remedy, but it also tells of the time before the human race, and the universe after the race ends.  The Bible also reveals information about other supernatural beings, and their interactions with humans throughout time.  In fact, some things the Bible reveals about the unseen world seem so fantastic and dreadfully fearful that many down through history have chosen to interpret much of the Bible metaphorically, or otherwise spiritualize certain scriptures in order to fit them comfortably within the viewfinder of empiricism. Over the years Chuck Missler, of Koinonia House, has displayed no such temerity.

Several years ago Missler was the only other Bible student that this writer knew of who also came to the conclusion that the toes of Daniel’s Image comprised of both iron and miry clay signified the disharmony between two separate species.  Where one new spices will mingle itself with the “seed of men” at the end of the last worldly kingdom indicates the tribulation period will witness a return of the Nephilim from Genesis, chapter six (Dan 2:43).  Again, the sons of God will take wives of the daughters of men, and superhuman monstrosities will result; neither fully human, nor angelic. The Lord said that one effect of this would be: “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (Lk 21:26).¹

Alternately, and of late, Missler appears to have adopted a seemingly more liberal biblical interpretation on another subject brought into controversy.  It is this: that the prospect of finding oneself consigned to Outer Darkness is not the dreadful condition previously associated with it.  The reasoning Missler uses is to disqualify Outer Darkness as a description of hell, but this alone will not significantly recast it as more palatable, or make it any more desirable than hell itself.

If any think that Outer Darkness is anything but complete and final estrangement from Christ, the light of the world, for eternity; they have stopped paying attention where attention should be paid. The scriptures are clear, speak for themselves, and require no preconceived ideas about hell to conclude that Outer Darkness is eternity without God. In the Bible Jesus is portrayed as the antithesis to darkness and those who dwell therein:  “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Mat 4:16).   The shadows of darkness are where we find evil deeds, death, and alienation from God.  In contrast, Jesus is the light who can reconcile man to God and grant them eternal life with Him (Col 1:21; Joh 17:3), and those who have Him have light: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Mat 5:16).

The Term Outer Darkness is found only in book of Matthew where Christ used it three times.  In each of these instances there is no compelling scriptural support to interpret it as anything other than complete and final separation from God.   The scriptures need only be examined in their turn.

The first verse is found in Matthew, chapter eight:

And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 8:11-12; emphasis added)

The rightful children of the Messianic Kingdom are the Jews.  Though God always has his remnant, the history of Israel is one of idolatrous hypocrisy were most of the Jews reject God to worship other gods and idols.  They rejected the King who came in the name of His Father, who was foretold to them by Moses and the prophets, and Christ said they will accept another who will come in his own name during the tribulation: “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (Joh 5:43).   At that time, the spiritual condition in Jerusalem is compared to that of Sodom (Rev 11:8), and fully two-thirds of the children of the kingdom will be cut off just prior the Christ’s return to Jerusalem to set up the Messianic Kingdom (Zec 13:8-9).  This verse in Matthew is taken from the incident of the centurion’s request for Christ to heal his servant, and Christ marveled at the Gentile’s faith, and prophesied salvation to the Gentiles.

The second verse is found in Matthew, chapter twenty-two:

And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen. (Mat 22:11-14; emphasis added).

The Gospel of the Grace of God is gone out over the world and it calls men to repentance to receive the gift of salvation though Jesus Christ.  Many have been called, but many also reject the offer.  Nevertheless, we who are chosen by the Father and are delivered into Christ’s hand (Joh 10:27-29) will attend the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven as the Lamb of God’s bride, the Church (Rev 19:7; 21:9).  We are to be clothed in white robes signifying blood-washed purity (Rev 19:8); and none other attire except that which Christ only can provide for His Church will be permitted there. Here it is shown that mere professors of Christ who do not know Him are not part of the true Church who will spend eternity with Him.  Further, note that the man who is bound and cast out of the heavenly scene does not even remain as a friend of the Bridegroom.²

As the phrase weeping and gnashing of teeth is always associated with Outer Darkness, and is used only one other time where it does not accompany the term, it would be profitable to examine it where it is used to see if it carries any other meaning except that which supports the interpretation that Outer Darkness is complete separation from God.  Here it is used in Matthew, chapter twenty-four:

But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 24:48-51; emphasis added)

This weeping and gnashing of teeth is to be found in Outer Darkness.  It is the anguish of those whose punishment is the portion of the hypocrites.  These are part of those whom God will eventually send Antichrist against to cut them off (along with a hypocritical nation; Isa 10: 6, 12-25).  There destiny is an outer darkness as compared to the light of the world reigning in the Kingdom and later in the Regeneration (Mat 19:28; 2Pet 3:9; Rev 21:1) where His brightness precludes any requirement for other illumination; including the sun: “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev 22:5).

The evil servant here spoken of is an apostate.  He is the last person described by Christ in His Olivet Discourse where He explains the signs of times at end of this age. This servant characterizes the great falling away, or the Apostasy (2Th 2:3).  He is a false prophet who smites the saints by introducing damnable doctrines of demons (1Tim 4:1-2) into their congregations (this includes psychology as psychoheresy), and makes merchandise of them by marketing these heresies in the churches.  There are many of them today, and many are notorious.  Do not be fooled into thinking that their sin is only of gluttony and drunkenness.   The “drunkenness” here referred to is the same cited in Revelation where the mother of all harlots (prostitutes) is shown to John, and her sins given:  “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration” (Rev 17:6; emphasis added).  The Greek word for drunken here is used metaphorically for one who sheds blood or murders profusely.

Today’s evil servants suck the blood out of the saints in tithes and offerings, and in programs and other merchandise.  They threaten those with cursing from the law who cannot be cursed after that Christ was made a curse for us (Gal 3:13), and they compel the Gentiles to live as did the Jews (Mal 3; Gal 2; Heb 7).  Never once are they teaching the whole counsel of God; that no man is justified by the law (Gal 3:11), and that any who are of the works of the law are under the curse, as he must continue in all things of the law to do them (Gal 3:10).  These things cannot be done in practice as the old priesthood is done away with in Christ, our High Priest, and could never be completed in principal under that Levitical Priesthood, which atonements pointed towards completion in Christ.  These evil servants will join the hordes of hell after the rapture of the church in killing all who refuse to take the mark of the beast, or worship his image; drunken with their blood.

The third verse is found in Matthew, chapter twenty-four:

His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.³ And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 25:26-30; emphasis added)

Those who are Christ’s are not classified as the wicked, as this servant is, after that they are justified through Him.⁴  The parable of the Wheat and Tares further clarifies the hopeless state of Outer Darkness; the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.  “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 13:49-50; emphasis added). Here we are told that the wicked are to be cut off from the just, their actual punishment in the Lake of Fire is specified (Rev 20:15), and their eternal misery is exemplified (”weeping” increased to “wailing” for emphasis, as it is in connection with Mat 13:42).  It is true, as Koinonia House asserts, that Outer Darkness is not a description of hell, but it is not, as they suggest, just another place “within the Father’s House” where the light doesn’t shine.⁵  Remember what was said at the beginning of the Lord’s ministry on earth: “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Mat 4:16; emphasis added). The Outer Darkness, and its comparative phrase “great light” are used analogously to emphasize the complete presence or complete absence of God in Christ (Isa 9:2); especially as it pertains to the next life for those who either accept or reject Him in this life. In the three times Jesus uses the term he did so to show complete separation from God, and that the type of persons who are going to experience that separation are categorized as the wicked, and are defined by their behavior.  Outer Darkness is representative of the condemnation.  If any cannot see that, they must by needs sake move closer to the light.

Notes:

^2. Some argue that the man in this parable was not cast from the presence of the Lord for eternity for they reason he was already in the kingdom. Firstly, it should be noted that none of this has taken place yet. Secondly, it should be pointed out that this is merely a scene upon which is painted an illustration.  To see the faultiness of such reasoning one need only apply it to another such scene: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Mat 7:21-23). Could it not also be argued that the ones speaking to the Lord were in the kingdom? Certainly, but not wisely.  For then would there be workers of iniquity there whom our Lord was ignorant of.

^3. Him that “hath not” hath not Christ.  The idea here is that Christ cannot remain dead in a born-again believer anymore than He could remain dead in the tomb.  A person who sets Christ aside is one among the trees that bear no fruit, and are hewed down and cast into to the fire (Mat 7:19).  “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid (Mat5:14; emphasis added) .

^5. Koinonia House, “The Shackles of Our Presuppositions,” Personal Update: The News Journal of Koinonia House 19, no. 10 (2009) 13.

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. (1Ki 18:21)

In the search for intermediate life forms to support the theory of evolution none have been discovered. New developments out of the science community, however, reveal that some scientists appear poised to identify an intermediate life form by creating it themselves. In what has become a long and protracted campaign to do just that, a new effort by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine (NAS/IMO) has resulted in a 70-page book titled Science, Evolution, and Creationism. In the text they attempt to bolster the theory of evolution, and persuade religious people that they sacrifice nothing in joining their ranks. The effort is aimed not only at convincing religious people that science and religion are compatible, but that religious people can also embrace the theory of evolution without contradicting the biblical account of creation. The evidence already suggests similar efforts on their part have met with significant success, and that there is, in fact, a means to classify an emerging intermediate life form. To treat this new, emerging species, religious people will hereafter be referred to in this piece as religious-man.

According to NAS/IMO, their book “shows that science and religion should be viewed as different ways of understanding the world rather than as frameworks that are in conflict with each other and that the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith.”¹ The catch for this compatibility is that religious-man needs to make a few adjustments, or concessions, in the way they interpret the Bible. The reward to be gained from the science community is the vaulted mantle of co-existence. The compromise to be granted by the religious-man is: everything.

Naturalists, those who put their faith in the theory of evolution for the genesis of life, flatly reject God’s explanation for the creation of mankind, and that does not mean that they co-exist as on equal planes with respective merit. It means that, between the two of them, at best, one of them is wrong, and at worst one of them is a liar. Because God is not a liar, the task of assigning error and uncovering deceit is made easier. While Naturalists in general are only wrong when they put their faith in spontaneous generation of life by some chance environmental conditions and unintelligent forces that, through a blind natural selection process, eventually produced mankind, the scientists at NAS/IMO are liars for at least false representation. They are representing religion as one of the two methods of human understanding that are of equal value. This, they do not genuinely mean.

The reality is that religious-man is held to be inferior to the naturalist, or scientific-man, and the actual offer being extended by the latter is for the former to submit to the authority of science. Practically, they are to submissively enter the box naturalists have prepared for them so that they may be placed on a shelf and marked as exhibits of intermediate life forms; not fully evolved to the extent that the naturalists are (representing no small victory in that it would be the first intermediate life form yet produced for their theory). Then, the naturalists will accept religious-man as their ignorant wards, and make all the pertinent decisions on their behalf, and at their expense.

Honest members of the evolutionary-faithful do not dispute this. Except for the way a few of these points are herein stated in so unsavory a fashion, this is what, by the mechanics of their theory, they’ve come to believe. It is only when the high priests of science go trolling for religious converts, and more advantageous footing, are the terms of surrender euphemistically referred to as co-existence. They continue to invest in this strategy because its tactics, exemplified in this new book, continue to pay huge dividends.

There are growing numbers of religious-man who have embraced the theory of evolution as an explanation for the biblical account of creation. Naturalists have approvingly thumbed the starched lapels of their lab coats at the obsequious fawning of converts who bring forth such offerings to their altar of faith as Theistic Evolution.

The methods approved by the scientists at NAS/IOM which produce these sorts of heresies were put on record by Alan Leshner, CEO of American Association for the Advancement of Science, in an interview on the book Science, Evolution, and Creationism, where he said:

Over and over, religions that see the Bible as an allegory, as a description of an overall process that isn’t tied to literal day by day, those religions seem to understand better how science can co-exist with a religious belief or even a biblical belief. It’s the literalist point that has tremendous problems.²

Notice what is advanced to tender this co-existence: a detailed list of the demands for surrender that are at issue; and the scientists at NAS/IMO and AAAS might be acknowledged for their honesty in that, but it is made more from the strength of their disdain than their cool resolve for objectivity.³

Certainly, the naturalists will accept, on limited terms, any who will recant that the Bible is the literal word of God. Surely, they will welcome, to a certain extent, those who will confess the Bible is nothing more than an allegory; a feeble attempt of primitive men to explain things that only scientists can be trusted to divulge, that only naturalists have evolved enough wisdom to understand, that only the result of blind chance and unintelligent forces could comprehend. Tremendous problems indeed.

Contrary to what NAS/IMO claim, this is by any definition conflict. Opposed are two narratives for the explanation of life and its purpose. At odds are two distinct groups of people; those who have a faith grounded in a theory, and those who have a faith grounded in theology, those who deny the existence of God,⁴ and those who take him at His word. Literally.

There is, however, a growing middle; an intermediate life form of religious-man, not fully Bible-believing, not fully naturalist. This foray into the realm of creationism by the NAS/IMO that includes overtures to this religious-man is not expected to topple Bible-believing men. That would be too much for them to hope for. On that score, they would gladly settle for intimidation. This is a continued effort, in part, to create more of these useful intermediates. By another part, the campaign is designed to mollify the already converted religious-man. It is a calculated effort to sooth him so he will pay no attention to rising chorus of challenge to the exclusivity of one failed theory barring all other discussions on the subject of origins; to the extent that naturalists will not even discuss the scientific evidence that disproves the theory of evolution, or confront the fraudulent portrayal of supporting fabrications still published in school textbooks.

This new book from NAS/IMO exemplifies a polished and well funded campaign being run against the Bible. In its face, it is hoped that some Bible-believing men might pause, and religious-man ought to be kept quiet while his children are stolen away from him and turned unto fables. What needs to be reiterated by Bible-believing man, as he presses the play, and learned by religious-man, is, again, there are no intermediate life forms. There are none to support the theory of evolution, and none to support an intermediate state of salvation. Nothing can save religious-man but complete faith in God, as is revealed in the Bible, and the same is true for naturalists. Literally.

Notes:

^1. Institute of Medicine, Reports, “Science, Evolution, and Creationism,” January 3, 2008 (emphasis added).

http://www.iom.edu/CMS/28312/50460.aspx

^2. Katherine T. Phan, “Pro-Evolution Book Says Science and God Compatible,” Christian Post, January 09, 2008 (emphasis added).

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080109/30782

_Pro-Evolution_Book_Says_Science_and_God_Compatible.htm

^3. The radio interview may be heard WAMU 88.5 FM. I do not imply that there was any choler in Leshner’s voice. He was interviewed by Diane Rehm on WAMU 88.5FM, which is listener supported public radio station. I am indebted to Katherine T. Phan of The Christian Post for her reporting (see n. 2) that alerted me to this interview and made it possible for me to hear it.

^4.. If His claims are invalid, He fails the test for the definition of “God”.

The Time cover story “The Case for Teaching the Bible,” favoring Bible-literacy classes taught in public schools, is being positively received by many Christians, and some have been prompted to proclaim by it “God is alive and well.”[i]The phenomenon is not that a secular magazine would endorse on its cover that Bible-literacy, of all books, be taught in public school, but that so many Christians would misinterpret the news to imply that the actual Bible itself would be taught. That is not the focus of the article, and teaching the Bible is not the objective of the school districts that have implemented curriculum to cover the Bible. There is something far more sinister afoot, and Christians need to take note: what is taking place is a church-state government takeover of the Bible on a scale that hasn’t been seen for four hundred years.

The establishing of State Ordained Bible Teachers will inevitably lead to reenactments of the Oath of Supremacy and Test Act of seventeenth century England. In order to hold public or civil office back then, such as that of preacher, persons must have first professed allegiance to, the state established, Church of England. Originally designed to check the Pope, and so Roman Catholics, the Act was enforced against Nonconformists too. In essence, state ordinations were required in order for a person to obtain a pastorate, or to publicly preach the gospel.

Dissenters eschewed ordination on at lest two points. While the Anglican Church was a breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church, it was established by HenryVIII in response to the Pope’s refusal to sanction his divorce and remarriage; it retained, with the exception of its stand of transubstantiation, the formers corruption. (Always a condition that presents when ever state and church are subservient to each other so they may benefit of themselves.)

The second point emits from the sharp edge of that twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and capable of revealing to a man the thoughts and intents of his wicked heart; the word of God. That is, if the Lord is merciful to allow the scales to fall away from his eyes so he may see his need for salvation and the way thereof, and so become ordained by God in the new royal priesthood (1Pet. 2:9), he is called to preach to set the captives free.

The penalties for obeying God’s call, and thus refusing the ordination of the state, were unemployment, arrest, and imprisonment. Nevertheless:

They wished no ordination but the ‘call,’ and they could dispense with learning because they abounded in inspiration, inner light, and the gifts conferred by the Holy Spirit. In 1660, the Anglican Church began to persecute and silence the dissenting sects. Jails filled with unlicensed Nonconformist preachers, and Bunyan was one of the prisoners.[ii]

This was John Bunyan, the “eloquent and fearless Baptist preacher” and famous author of Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come (1678).[iii] Bunyan was imprisoned twice, once for twelve years, and in his second prison term he wrote Pilgrim’s Progress which remains the “most popular allegory in English.”[iv] Here also is an existing literary work among many that could be taken up in English classes to foster Biblical liertacy and cover literay devices too (i.e. allegory), and without the eventual conscription of students into state religion classes; under the authority of state credentialed Bible teachers using erroneous and derogatory curricula such as The Bible and Its Influence .

Throughout history, men and women of God have opposed religious tyranny, and by doing so have won liberty and preserved opportunity to preach the gospel. By the fire of their persecution a great spiritual refinement produced a witness to a dying world. For this reason, we must oppose State Ordained Bible Teachers and preachers. This campaign is one of the sluiceways leading into the same funnel of apostasy, and today it includes faith-based government co-opting of churches, with the help of the ordained pastors, to conscript church members into the ranks of a social-service army exercising the political will of atheist governments. In fact, it is the ignorance now perpetrated in the churches that emboldens the state to act. We have entered an age of Biblical illiteracy that may be, on a per-capita basis, an even greater pandemic that existed prior to the Reformation. Indeed, this is the age of the falling away (2Thess. 2:3).

We do not, by opposition, expect to stop it; indeed, the Apostasia must come. Our opposing its establishment is not the product of our effort, but the result of our steadfastness in the faith; and the compassion we have to make a difference, saving others with fear, “pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 1:23). And this we can do if we redeem the time, and remember the admonishment: “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:21). What we may have to endure, we do not know, but if we are to look to our fellow man for positive reports, let us look to the likes of John Bunyan; and let us look to the author and finisher of our faith for the same strength.

Notes:

---

[i] Doug Huntington, “Christians Pleasantly Surprised by Time’s Pro-Bible Article,”Christian Post, March 30, 2007.
[ii] Editors, “John Bunyan.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams, et al. 2 Vols. 7^th ed. New York: Norton, 2000. Vol I. 2132.[iii] Norton, “John Bunyan.”
[iv] Ibid.

The April issue of Time magazine carries a controversial cover story entitled “Why We Should Teach The Bible in Public School: The Case for Teaching the Bible,” by David Van Biema. The basic premise is that the teaching of Bible-literacy classes in public school is compelling on the basis of the Bible’s cultural and literary value.[i] It is a sound argument, and Biema brings up good points. For the prominent role that the Bible played in U.S. History, Biema cites political rhetoric in phrases “The shinning city on the hill” attributed to John Winthrop who was in fact quoting Matthew, and Martin Luther King Jr. using the phrase “Justice rolling down like waters” which is from Amos.[ii] Biema might have added that Patrick Henry’s famous speech referred to from its famous ending “Give me liberty, or give me death!” is inspired by several books in the Bible including Paul’s epistle to the Galatians. Students would fare far better acquiring Biblical literacy by exposing them to extant literature that not only relies on the use of scripture itself, but also provides context which can assist them in developing their acquaintance with understanding. The real issue is, as it always will be, the religious one.

As might be expected, prominent secularists would entertain the notion if the Bible-literacy course were curtailed until it resembled a balanced world religion study equally covering half a dozen or so religious views, and high profile Christians are themselves sharply divided on the subject. Chuck Colson, of Prison Fellowship fame, is in favor of teaching Bible-literacy classes in public school. While he acknowledges it would be limited, he is confident in their potential for evangelism: “What you can do is introduce the Bible so that people are aware of its impact on people and in history and then let God speak through it as he will.”[iii] Although his sentiments are noble enough, Colson has been outside public school for too long to realize that he is overly optimistic. Author and attorney Wendy Kaminer is described in the article as a First Amendment sentinel who would only approve of Bible classes “taught in close conjunction with other religions” so as to not to become “a kind of promotion of the majority faith.”[iv] Kaminer’s concerns may be unfounded for two reasons.

Surveys often result in data which give Christianity overwhelmingly high numbers when respondents are asked to declare their religion. These are, however, confessions that are made in unmolested comfort, and without qualifying religious tenets to determine whether this is a faith in the Easter Bunny and the practice of searching for chocolate eggs. The other reason that should serve to alleviate Kaminer’s fears is the one given by pastor John Hagee who is also against the classes. Hagee cited the compromised curriculum of the The Bible and It’s Influence, used in 85 schools districts in 30 states,[v] and an inability of young students to assess the errors presented and sort them out .[vi] It is this last view that is the most accurate of the three, and it can be expounded on to note that absent using the King James Bible, the literary value of a Bible-literacy course would be moot. No other version compares to the majesty of its language, the scope of its influence, and the shear volume of its verses incorporated in English literature. However, the current hostile environment of public schools towards Christianity precludes the use of an accurate text, and this leads to question what kind of teachers are available and willing to teach Bible-literacy in public school, and what other motives could they have?

There is already an ongoing warfare being waged against Christians and Jews at the college and university level in Philosophy and World Religion classes. Many of the upcoming college professors are already cutting their teeth on high school students in the social sciences such as English and History, and honing their attack arguments with what they purport to be inconsistencies and contradictions in the Bible. A mild form of misinterpreting scripture as contradictory, and positing unscriptural reconciliations, is provided in the Time article. When a question was asked in a Bible class about the meek inheriting the earth it was framed in the presupposition that it has finally been accomplished, but instead by force. Responding, the teacher said: “When [Jesus] was giving the sermon, people took it not just as a physical award but an emotional or spiritual kind of award. Later on, when they became more powerful, say, in the Crusades or something, they weren’t trying to inherit the earth. They were trying to take it over.”[vii] This only appears to be a case of ignorance: attributing to Christians what were the Roman Catholic Crusades, and so the blame; and allegorizing, or spiritualizing, doctrine meant to be taken literally by ascribing a false fulfillment to it. The meek will indeed physically inherit the earth when Christ returns to set up His Kingdom for a thousand years, and it will be partially restored to Edenic splendor. After that period, their inheritance will be greatly increased in value after the Lord surrenders the Kingdom to His Father, and the earth is completely renovated to perfection (Rev.20:4, Jo. 3:18, Isa. 65:20; Rev. 21:1, 2Pet. 3:7-13, Isa. 66:22, Mat 19:28, Isa. 11:6-9). If small points can send classes careening off course into error when intentions are innocent, imagine he harm that can be inflicted by careful design. It can be long lasting, or even permanent.

Damage of the long lasting kind includes what happens to Christian teens who are worked over vicariously by teachers using their spin on a Biblical characters. The emotional abuse they are exposed to over a semester can produce a kind of Stockholm Syndrome where students actually form attachments to their captors and renounce their walk of faith for a time. Parents and pastors of these students will begin experiencing sharp increases in rebellious attitudes and resentment from these students who will hold them partially responsible for the beating they are taking in class, and may even despise them for a religion that can’t be defended and is so easily ridiculed, or at least for failing to prepare them for the task. Inevitably, some will also hold God responsible. The reason this effect often goes undetected is that teens don’t like to share their defeats, and parents assign the causes for their behavior to difficulties as are typical for teens such as hormone changes, or they may search for the causes in some murky deficit disorder. Keep in mind these antics are taking place in classes that are not yet Bible-literacy classes.

Every year in this fashion Christian students in public school have their faith attacked, and many have it short circuited and in turn sustain scars. The duration of their tumbling depends in part on their proximity to reserves. With youth groups that are little more than activity-based teen romps, and most pastors regularly preaching on a sophomore level, there are few forts for rearming, and reforming, and reconnoitering. Many don’t seem aware that the battle is being waged. There is, however, one formidable weapon, albeit a passive one, that the students do still have where Bible-literacy classes are not taught, and the attacks are only coming at them through social sciences.

Once a student enrolls in a class, they are required to attend and remain under the tutelage and authority of the teacher. They constitute a captive audience subject to the withholding of grades and accolades. If these same High School teachers are armed by the state schools with the mantle of Bible Teacher, the last vestige of defense will be demolished for students who can, to their own consolation, identify the fact that these teachers have no real expertise to venture into the subject they so loath and love to rail against.

While some may hold the hope that these classes, no matter what, will contribute to the furtherance of the gospel, this is not the same as the circumstance the Apostle Paul describes in his epistle to the Philippians. His imprisonment and confinement in chains prompted two opposing motives for the preaching that took place because of his persecution. Some Christian brethren were emboldened by Paul’s faith and the extent to which he was willing to suffer and remain steadfast, and they became more zealous in preaching the gospel. Others seized on the occasion to preach Paul’s message as a means of adding to his affliction, and the more accurately they retold it the surer it was to contrast his circumstances to, what they thought, would be his shame. Paul summarized it this way:

The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. (Phi. 1:16-18)

The significant differences between that circumstance and the one in which Bible-literacy classes are taught in public school make the analogy inapplicable. The people that were preached to then would have lent their ear only as much as they desired, would have been primarily adults or under parental supervision, and they would not have had any material considerations subject to the benevolence of the preachers. Furthermore, the preaching would have been far more accurate than public school curriculums which must pass muster for tolerance and inclusiveness.

We have had nearly two thousand years of tampering and perverting of the scriptures, and which tampering had begun in earnest before Paul’s death. Paul had to warn the Thessalonians about letters that had been circulating with his name on them that were forgeries (2 Thess. 2:2). The Apostle Peter also mentions that men who were unlearned in the scriptures were taking the complicated teachings from Paul’s letters and torturing them out of context and meaning (2 Pet. 3:16). While the principals themselves have varied over the years, their motives have remained constant. They have strived to apprehend spiritual elements from the text and fabricate an esoteric religion of enlightenment and privilege (e.g., Gnostics); to confiscate the word, reedit it and become sole arbiters of interpreting the text to garner for themselves special positions of power (e. g., papists); and to pervert the gospel of grace so as to establish the excommunicatory power of a new earthy high priest (i.e. these, et al). To day these principals include large Protestant denominations, and the plethora of perverted texts in use by liberal churches and by liberal university professors include The Message, the TNIV, the NIV, the NRSV, the NASB, the ESV, and the NLT.

These corrupt texts are what next years sincere high school teachers are ingesting. How will they be able to recognize, much less correct, the factual errors and outright contradictions in The Bible and its Influence like this: “Jesus taught with parables to put his message about God’s reign into language that all his hearers would grasp immediately.”[viii] Notice by referencing the Bible how patently false this is:

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Mat 13:10-15).

It is hard enough to excuse such blatant error in a text written in part by Cullen Schippe, former vice president at giant education publisher Macmillan/McGraw-Hill,[ix] but the claim that the text was reviewed by 40 scholars with backgrounds including Evangelical, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish scholars seems completely incredible.[x] A thorough critique of the text by Berit Kjos reveals students are prompted to questions God’s wisdom, pagan images are blended with Biblical references, the authority of scripture is undermined, Bible prophecy is ridiculed, provision is made for more endorsement of public schools’ litany in Communitarian indoctrination, and the account of judgment falling on Sodom and Gomorrah redacts the sin of homosexuality as the cause.[xi] And this is as good as it gets. To expect God’s word to be presented without bias and with objectivity in the public school districts that are openly hostile to the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity; and not to realize that it would be used as an occasion to set upon Christian students to cause them to stumble, distancing sincere inquiries by gauzing the Bible with political mysticism, and twisting scriptures in order to bolster the state’s continual endorsement of sin, is to be utterly and completely naïve. As for the ridiculous presumption that public school Bible-literacy will offer significant evangelism, Christian students living their faith unmolested by the state would be a far more effective means of evangelizing other students who were likewise unencumbered by political/religious indoctrinating, erroneous presentation of Bible doctrine, and outright lies perpetrated in classrooms by State Credentialed Bible Teachers.

Notes:

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[i] David Van Biema, “The Case for Teaching The Bible,” Time.com, March 22, 2007.

(aritlce title noted herein is from Time magazine cover; all quotes used taken from this online publication)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845,00.html. 3

 

[ii] Van Biema, “The Case for Teaching The Bible” 2.

 

[iii] Ibid. 2.

 

[iv] Ibid. 2.

 

[v] Ibid. 3.

 

[vi] Ibid. 2.

 

[vii] Ibid. 3.

 

[viii] Qt: Berit Kjos, “A More Adaptable Bible?“: A Critique of The Bible and Its Influence,

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/bible-textbook.htm.

 

[ix] Doug Huntington, “Christians Pleasantly Surprised by Time’s Pro-Bible Article,”

Christian Post Reporter (Correction), March 30, 2007.

http://www.christianpost.com/article

/20070330/26610_Christians_Pleasantly_Surprised_by_Time%27s_Pro-Bible_Article.htm

 

[x] Bible Literacy Project, “Breakthrough public school Bible textbook

receives wide acclaim from scholars,” April 2007.

http://www.bibleliteracy.org/Site/News/bibl_newsOpEd060414.htm

 

[xi] Berit Kjos, “A More Adaptable Bible?”