What Does Being Salt and Light to the World Mean?

Concerning the concepts of public schools and Christianity.

When looking at the concept of Christians being Salt and Light to the world, it is important to remember what the passage states. First, take the salt passage of Matthew 5:13. The Holman Christian Standard Bible states, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.”

This salt metaphor is powerful. First, this passage is addressed to believers only. Second, it is addressed concerning character or reputation. If there is any doubt about this being about character or reputation, then consider what else it could be. Can it be the Christian? No, God would not have one of His to be called “no longer good for anything.” Can it be the eternal destiny of a man? No, a Christian is secure in the hands of the Son and the Father. It can be none other than the character or reputation of the believer.

Now, look at the Light metaphor in Matthew 5:14 – 16. The Holman Christian Standard Bible states, “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

This light metaphor is much more developed. First and foremost, this passage is explicitly for believers only. This is not for the general public or even regular church attendees. This is for believers who are living out their Christian faith. Second, “the city situated on a hill cannot be hidden” is seen by those in the valley or even those on a plateau. Light is seen it does not confront. I want to break the following into three sections. “Let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” First, “let your light shine before men” must be a direct reference to Jesus being the Light of the world. Jesus must shine out of believers. Second, “so that they may see your good works” Biblically, what are good works? This is not a secular answer here; this is a Christian answer only. The good works of the believer is to care for the widows and orphans, to care for other believers, to demonstrate the love of Jesus. The good works are demonstrations of love. Finally, “and give glory to your Father in heaven” is not evangelism it is thankfulness to God for demonstrations of your love.

Now, I want to address Christian parents sending their children to the killing fields of the government school system in the name of their children being Salt and Light. I want to do a little math for you. First, I want you to multiply 185 Days of government school times 7 hours per day. You should come up with 1295 hours per year. Now add at least 200 additional hours for homework. Add 2.5 hours of Audio/Visual stimulation per day and that equals 912.5 hours. Add to that a total of 400 hours of daily personal appearance preparation. That is a total of 2807.5 hours a year of external influence away from the influence of parents. Now I want you to add to that number 9 hours a day for sleep times 365 days and you should have and additional 3285 hours. This is a total of 6092.5 hours under the influence of adults other than the parents.

Now I want to be generous to all Christian parents and say that they have their child in every possible activity at their church every moment the doors are open for attendance. Worship is 1 hour per week and discipleship classes are 1 hour per week and Bible study is 1 hour per week and Wednesday night services are 1 hour per week. That gives Christian parents a total of 4 hours per week times 52 weeks is 208 hours per week. In actuality most active school aged children attend 44 weeks per year. They also only attend worship and Bible study so that again limits their Christian influence. In reality Christian parents have their children under adult Christian influence for a total of 88 hours a year. They spend more time bathing and primping per year than they do under the influence of adult Christians.

I also know all Christian parents have children who spend at least 1 hour per day in personal Bible study and prayer. In reality, the average school aged student spends less than 5 minutes per day in Bible study and prayer. That means you can actually add an additional 30 hours a year to the 88 hours of Christian influence for a total of 118 hours a year.

There are 8760 hours in a year. 118 hours are directly under Christian Influence and 2807.5 hours are spent under the influence of non-Christian influences. That is 23.8 times as much time under the influence of persons who are not providing a Christian influence on students per year. Now look at the 13 years of education. Christian parents subject their children to a total of 36497.5 hours of non-Christian influence as compared to a total of 1534 hours of Christian influence.

Now, I want to ask any parent who wants to send their children into the government school system to be the Salt and Light of the world to answer a few questions. First, how long did Paul go into self imposed study before he allowed himself to teach? He was already a Biblical Scholar and already bold and brave so why did he spend three years in study before he went to be the Salt and Light to the world?

Now I want to ask some of the most important questions I can ever ask a parent. Do you want your child to become a Christian? Do you want your actions to shipwreck the faith of your children? If you knew your actions would destroy your child spiritually and condemn them to hell, would you change your actions?

Would you be surprised to know that government sponsored schools have purposed to impose relativism and secular humanism on the lives of all students as the religion of the citizens. John Dewey saw the public schools as indoctrination centers for this faith.

The following is taken from Dr. Albert Mohler’s Web Blog. (In his book, A Common Faith, Dewey advocated a radically secular vision for the public schools and the larger public culture. His concept of a humanistic faith, stripped of all supernatural claims, doctrines, and theological authorities, would replace Christianity as the dominant culture-shaping worldview. “Here are all the elements for a religious faith that shall not be confined to sect, class, or race,” he claimed. “Such a faith has always been the common faith of mankind. It remains for us to make it explicit and militant.” In his book, A Common Faith, Dewey advocated a radically secular vision for the public schools and the larger public culture. His concept of a humanistic faith, stripped of all supernatural claims, doctrines, and theological authorities, would replace Christianity as the dominant culture-shaping worldview. “Here are all the elements for a religious faith that shall not be confined to sect, class, or race,” he claimed. “Such a faith has always been the common faith of mankind. It remains for us to make it explicit and militant.”)

Christian parents who choose to send their children to government sponsored schools after knowing the facts, cannot do so in love.

Concerning Homeschool Education

Concerning Homeschool Education:

The Founding Fathers were taught by their parents and they had the best education of anyone in the world. During 18th Century Colonial America, there were no government sponsored schools. Why is this important? From a small population base, about the size of modern Philadelphia, this small country produced (not as a result of government sponsored schools): Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Henry, and myriads of others too numerous to mention. This small country during Colonial America produced such intellectual greatness that our current 300 million in population could not compare. Home schools from the 19th Century produced additional greatness including, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Edison. Home schooling is no strange phenomena, it is a tradition of excellence that the Founding Fathers exemplified and that the world still stands amazed at their genius.

The founding fathers fought for the right of freedom, freedom from a repressive government. It was not until the 1880’s that compulsory attendance laws concerning government sponsored school education were enacted. Until the 1880’s almost all children in this country were educated by their parents at home. They, the Founding Fathers, did not set up a federal educational system. No where within the Constitution of the United States do the words education or school appear. They allowed for each individual state, according to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, to determine individual state needs when addressing education.

There are many in Arkansas who, over the last few months, have begun to question the adequacy of homeschooling in this state. There are many questioning facts concerning homeschooling. What are the facts concerning homeschooling? First, let us look at national standardized test scores. Total Reading scores are 87 compared to 50 for their government sponsored school counterparts. Total Language scores are 80 compared to 50 for their government sponsored school counterparts. Total Math scores are 82 compared to 50 for their government sponsored school counterparts. Science scores are 84 compared to 50 for their government sponsored school counterparts. Social Studies scores are 85 compared to 50 for their government sponsored school counterparts. These are undisputed facts. (1997 Study by Dr. Brian Ray – National Home Education Research Institute.)

There are many who believe that state regulation has a direct impact on scores. In states with high regulation (Arkansas is included in that category) scores are 86. In states with Moderate regulation (Tennessee is included in that category) scores are 85. Then in states with Minimal regulation (Oklahoma is included in that category) scores are 86. It is apparent that state regulation has little to do with test scores for homeschool students.

Then there are those who would say that parents are not capable of teaching their own children. In a study by Lawrence Rudner, http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed435709.html for ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation in Washington DC he determined: 88% of homeschool parents have higher than high school education compared to 50% of the nation as a whole. 24% of homeschool students have parents who are trained, certified teachers. Test scores based on teacher certification of at least one parent of 4th grade homeschool students are 82 compared to 82% for parents without certification. Test scores based on teacher certification of at least one parent of 8th grade homeschool students are 83 compared to 84% for parents without certification.

There are even those who say minority students are adversely affected by homeschooling. A study concerning Virginia Government sponsored schools compared to homeschool students finds a significant reason to homeschool. National Reading Scores of homeschool students who are white is 87. National Reading Scores of homeschool students who are a minority is 87. Compare that to their government sponsored school counterparts. National Reading Scores of government sponsored school students who are white is 61. National Reading Scores of government sponsored school students who are a minority is 49. Then in math the same type of results are born out. National Math Scores of homeschool students who are white is 82. National Math Scores of homeschool students who are a minority is 77. Compare that to their government sponsored school counterparts. National Math Scores of government sponsored school students who are white is 60. National Math Scores of government sponsored school students who are a minority is 50. This shows a significant difference in levels of education taking place between the homeschool environment and the government sponsored school environment.

When measuring the difference in test scores by male and female in homeschools compared to government sponsored schools shows dramatic differences as well. National Reading Scores of homeschool students who are male are 87. National Reading Scores of homeschool students who are female are 88. Compare that to their government sponsored school counterparts. National Reading Scores of government sponsored school students who are male are 43. National Reading Scores of government sponsored school students who are female are 58. Then in math the same type of results are born out. National Math Scores of homeschool students who are male are 84. National Math Scores of homeschool students who are female are 79. Compare that to their government sponsored school counterparts. National Math Scores of government sponsored school students who are male are 52. National Math Scores of government sponsored school students who are female are 48. This shows a significant difference in levels of education taking place between the homeschool environment and the government sponsored school environment.

Even the amount of money spent by parents on Homeschool expenses has little to do with variants in scores as well. For 4th graders: they score a 79 with $0 – $199 spent on their education for the year. They score a 76 with $200 – $399 spent on their education for the year. They score a 79 with $400 – $599 spent on their education for the year. They score an 84 with $600 or more spent on their education for the year. Then for 8th graders: they score an 80 with $0 – $199 spent on their education for the year. They score a 76 with $200 – $399 spent on their education for the year. They score an 80 with $400 – $599 spent on their education for the year. They score an 83 with $600 or more spent on their education for the year.

Finally there are those who say homeschool students are not socialized. Here are the breakdowns by activity of homeschool students: 8% Scouts, 10% Dance/Ballet, 14% 4-H, 33% Volunteer Work, 34% Ministry, 35% Bible Classes, 42% Classes Outside Home, 47% Music Classes, 48% Group Sports, 74% Sunday School, 84% Field Trips, 87% Play with People Outside Family, 25% Other, 98% Involved in Two Or More Activities. To say that homeschool students are not socialized is a stretch of the truth. Homeschool students have wide and varying opportunities for socialization.

Homeschooling is a right and privilege for those who choose to take advantage of providing a superior education for their children. Homeschooling for whatever reason a parent chooses is still the right of the parent. The state has a constitutionally mandated obligation to make sure the children of the state are educated. When facts are presented, homeschooling is the most cost effective and least intrusive manner in which a child may be educated. Of the 1,065,138 seniors who took the ACT in the 1999-00 school year 4,593 were homeschool students. Government sponsored school students averaged a 21 on their test while homeschool students scored a 22.8. In 1998 homeschool students scored a 22.8 and in 1999 they scored a 22.7. During the same time private school students and government sponsored school students scored a 21. It is imperative that those who make law regarding those who homeschool have facts that pertain to homeschooling. Homeschooling provides a more in depth and better education than private schools (according to test scores) and government sponsored schools (according to test scores). It is self evident when considering the research with is now available that homeschool students overall are the best educated students in the country.

Essentials of the Faith

I believe that God the Father, Son and Spirit exist as three in one.

I believe Jesus is the only Son of God; He lived a sinless life, was crucified, dead, buried and on the third day rose to life.

I believe all humans sin and will be eternally separated from God because of their sin.

I believe there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus.

Jesus Is Risen

HE IS RISEN INDEED

The Passion of the Passover

How does a bloodied lifeless body demonstrate unfathomable love? Carotid, larynx, carotid – how does this barbaristic act justify the acts of the barbaristic? Head, hands feet and side – how does this barbaristic act that justify the acts of the barbaristic? How does the brutal slaughter of innocent lambs every spring bring about healing?

Why can blood painted on the threshold be satisfying? How can the annihilation of a body bring forth life while life without annihilation brings froth death? Why is beauty found in a lifeless, bloodless carcass?

The innocent lamb brought into the life of the family to give its lifeblood for the family. Why must the lifeblood of the lamb be drunk and its flesh be eaten? The animal that came to live with the family must be slaughtered. The father must kill the lamb so the firstborn may live.

How does the most merciless act bring about mercy? How can innocent beauty be so brutally destroyed in the name of love? The Passover lamb is the Lamb of God’s Passion.

How can I bear my guilt and shame to see His lifeless form on a tree?
God took great pleasure annihilating His Son for the likes of me.
To follow the plan to the very end took determination and might.
How can I focus the eye of my imagination on such a horrific sight?

He cried, “Not my will but your’s alone,” He drank the cup and all it implied.
The thorns that pierced his royal priestly brow the spear that pierced his side.
The rusty spikes hammered through His flesh to hang Him on a tree.
The blood that flowed from this Passover Lamb was spilt to set us free.

He was the Lamb that was slain for the sin of man before He fashioned time.
The sinless Lamb, the Spotless Lamb, God placed on Him my every crime.
My sins drove the hammer, the spear and the thorns on Him God placed my blame.
His eyes fixed firmly on pleasing His father He took on suffering and shame.

Eternal or Immortal

Have you ever thought about the difference between immortal and eternal?

God is eternal, from before existence and past existence. God is not bound to the time and space dimensions that humans are bound by.

Immortal is nothing more than being born and living forever after being born. Humans did not pre-exist before being born. That is what makes us immortal in the grand scheme of things.

Just a stray thought I thought I would share.