Education & Christianity

Thoughts from the Middle

Robert James Fischer

I have been struggling with how to approach my next two topics.  The first is a continuation of my discussion on education.  The second is a follow-up to much earlier pieces on religion.  I have been reading, analyzing, and processing, but I am still having a problem addressing these two issues through research.  Thus, the following two articles are not based on research, but instead, on my own opinion.

Education:  What are Americans doing right and what have we missed?

American education has been, and should continue to be, the greatest asset to our nation.  Our founding fathers recognized this and over the decades, American education eventually grew so that most children would complete high school.  Experts in education (and those in positions to do so—i.e., school boards or state government) have added subjects, deleted subjects, increased school hours, started education at an earlier age, and expanded education beyond the classroom to include all type of extracurricular activities.   For the most part, this has been good. 

However, given the increased emphasis on individuality and recognition for all, we have created an environment where many young people fail to understand that we cannot all be great scientists, doctors, or recording artists. We have failed to teach students that we all have strengths and weaknesses.  For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, it was important to give everyone a trophy for just showing up.  That was a mistake!

We also made a mistake by telling our children that they had unlimited rights.  A right to their own individual experiences would have been enough.  However, in teaching them about their rights, we have often failed to teach them about their obligations to society and respect for others.  Subjects like civics, social studies, and history were minimized; and thus their importance in shaping minds and establishing respect for our society were not considered.  In fact, I highly doubt that most Americans have read the Constitution.  And sadly, many individuals pick and choose parts of the Constitution that meet their immediate concerns for self.  For example,

1. The Constitution guarantees  “the right to bear arms.”  True!  However, it also allows the government to establish certain limits.  For example under the “well-regulated militia” clause the government can regulate the types of weapons, etc.
2. Freedom of Speech:  Protection from government censure is a fact.  However, it does not extend to statements that create panic.  For example, yelling “Fire, fire!” Freedom of speech does not apply to restrictions on speech which private organizations might establish. 
3. It is also apparent that many Americans fail to understand that “We the People” are responsible for our government.  When we fail to elect good people to office, we fail ourselves and other citizens.  A look at many of our legislators makes it clear that voters fail to consider the quality of the person that they elect.  At the federal level, we now have established liers, narcissists, and “political hacks” representing their interests, NOT ours!

Still, there are very few places that I would rather live.  Our general standard of living, even for the poorest, is better than that of many other nations.  Our freedom to express our opinions openly without fear of government reprisal is to be cherished.  The importance of understanding that the majority rules doesn’t mean that you can’t have a differing opinion and work to change the status quo to reflect your views.  For example, consider the marijuana issue.  For years, marijuana was not a problem.  Then came the “reefer madness” craze where marijuana was considered to be a great evil.  But, today, marijuana is known to be a drug that possess moderate risk (similar to Valium), and is a possible medical treatment for a number of illnesses. 

Our schools are one means to improve our level of understanding of society and evaluate information that is now abundant through the internet and social media.  Students need to understand their responsibilities to other Americans.  In other words, students need to:

• understand how great this nation is, given all its accomplishments and missteps. 
• know how legislation is shaped, how to protest peacefully,  and how to lobby for change.
• understand the social and cultural changes that have and will continue to occur.

Let us not continue to bury our minds in past and current paradigms.  It is time to consider the subjects that address our nation’s growing divides.  We also need to teach our children to question what they see, hear, and read, but to do it through proper research.

Saving Our Christian Heritage

Our founding fathers were well aware of the need to keep religion and government separate. And while most of our nation’s citizens were Christians some of our founding fathers were critics of religion.  It is also important to note that historically religious, preference was a major social issue, often resulting in discrimination.  Catholics were not welcomed in Lutheran churches and vice versa.  Still, the basic tenants of Christianity across various denominations were essentially the same.  Mary was the Mother of God.   Jesus was God’s son.  Jesus died for our sins.  If you led a good life, you would go to heaven.  If you were not baptized, you were not saved.  Of course there were also other beliefs particular to various denominations, but the central issues were not to be questioned. 

I grew up Catholic.  Perhaps my downfall was a great education.  When I started studying geology in college, I realized that the Biblical timetable did not correlate with the geologic evidence.  Even earlier, I had questioned how heaven could exist. But I did love the idea of Jesus as a Jewish rebel.  I loved the New Testament passages relating to how we should live.  There was much good in what I learned about our responsibilities to humanity.

So, what happened over the past several decades? Church attendance has dropped.  There are fewer people who claim to be Christian, but do believe that they are spiritual.  What happened? 

Perhaps it was education. Mystical beliefs become hard to “swallow.”  For example, while most of us likely believed in Santa Claus when we were children, we outgrew the belief.  In his place, many have come to believe in the spirit of giving.  The same might be said of virgin births, risen bodies, and the Trinity—God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  As an historian, I can support the fact that there was a Jesus.  But I cannot support the premise that he was somehow God’s son, who died for our sins so that we could get to heaven. But I can believe that Jesus was a social activist.  Roman historians indicate that he was a problem for the Romans in Israel, as well as the Jewish leadership, which prospered under Roman rule.  I can also believe (without direct proof) that there is likely more to our lives than the years that we spend in our physical bodies.

If Christianity is to survive as an important part of the social fabric, it must change its focus from the mystical world of the New Testament stories to the reality of Jesus as a revolutionary, fighting for social justice.  The wonderful stories of Jesus’ birth, youth, miracles, and sermons should not be discarded.  However, as young Christians grow up, they must learn that the stories represent a philosophy, not an historical reality.  Just as most of us understand that George Washington probably didn’t chop down that cherry tree, we must understand that Jesus was not born of a virgin and did not physically rise from the dead.

When church leaders can focus on the wonderful moral lessons taught by a loving Jesus, the place for modern religion will be made solid.  We need moral heroes, and Jesus is certainly a fine example of a person who dedicated his life to helping the oppressed, loving everyone, and living a simple life rather than accumulating material possessions.