Posted on 09/17/2009 8:46:31 AM PDT by boxlunch
David Barton needs our prayers as he prepares and delivers a presentation on Thursday that could affect the textbooks for Texas and for many other states. Read more details below:
This is a request for prayer for David Barton, the founder of Wallbuilders (http://www.wallbuilders.com/ ) and his presentation this Thursday, that could affect the textbooks for Texas and many other states. It is hard to believe all of the things that could influence our children, if some of the proposed text books don't get exposed and turned down. Please pray for great strength, wisdom, and favor, for this man of God, who loves our nation and could have great impact on many of the text books that will be teaching our children either truth or anti-American propaganda.
Thanks for reading the message below and for praying. May the heart of this committee be in the hands of the Lord, and may He turn the hearts of these committee members, so that the truth SHALL come forth and HIS WILL WILL BE DONE.
David will testify before the State Board of Education on Thursday, September 17 about government and history standards for textbooks. He is now preparing his testimony, which will be 95 pages. Please pray for David through the writing process. The task is overwhelming because each grade uses different writers and he can't just prepare one general review.
One of the shocking things David found in the Kindergarten and First Grade textbooks are there is no mention of America . They talk about "global citizens." In later textbooks, they talk only about bad things America has done.
This is not just a Texas issue. Texas prints the textbooks and other states across the nation (with the exception of CA) order the textbooks we approve.
The reviews will be posted on the website of the Texas Education Agency. There should be no holes in the presentation. That's a tall order, but God can do it through David if we undergird him now.
RELATED info . From the Free Market Foundation
New Battle Brewing in the State Board of Education Next week, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) will meet and hear testimony from education experts and select members of curriculum review committees on the issue of proposed changes to social studies, history, and government curriculum. The proposed changes are recommendations by members of the review committees, not members of the SBOE. At stake is how Texas children are taught about the religious heritage of our country, the basic principles of civics, and the study of important and worthy individuals who have contributed in different ways to American society. For instance, the new proposed version removes Christmas from the current curriculum and replaces it with Diwali, in a section on "religious holidays and observances to be studied by students." Free Market Foundation will attend the SBOE meeting and will work to stop efforts by liberal activists to revise history and distort our religious heritage and the greatness of our country and state. Stay tuned on this important issue by visiting our Texas Legislative Update blog.
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete and found blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He Who is calling you and utterly trustworthy.
Could you ping your Texas list? Thanks!
He needs all the help he can get. I do not have high hopes.
If this article from the DMN is correct...I am not sure Barton is the best man for the job.
“Another adviser appointed by social conservatives was David Barton, president of Aledo-based WallBuilders, a group that challenges the legal separation of church and state.”
I think adhering to our founders in the ‘separation of church and state’ is essential.
There is nothing in the constitution about “separation of church and state” and this was NOT ever intended by our founders. This is a common fallacy pushed by the liberals.
Yes,there can be no “establishment of religion” at the federal level, i.e. no federally funded Prebyterian , Catholic, Baptist, Muslim, Hindu church, etc.
But, there is nothing in the constitution that says that religious principles cannot have any voice in the public policy area, and especially at the state level. (This does not mean promoting only Christianity or any other religion, but promoting the common moral principles, and also giving credit to the religious ideas of the founders.) I would encourage you to purchase some of David Barton’s materials.
Prayers up
All of these problems are avoided by homeschooling.
I agree (that’s why my kids are homeschooled) but there are many many who can’t or don’t want to homeschool. We cannot abandon90% of the children to the socialist indoctrination.
Why not, when their own parents did? What specific right to intercede on the parents' behalf, regarding how their children are educated, are "we" claiming?
We cannot narrow the truth to homeschooling. The fight needs to be fought or all the homeschoolers will have to build fortresses to continue their way of life. I get so frustrated with this attitude. The education of all Americans is important and while all may not agree, we cannot just abandon the public schools. Although I am so glad in two years I will be done with public K-12 education.
“There is nothing in the constitution about “separation of church and state” and this was NOT ever intended by our founders.”
For a thorough and comprehensive study of this issue, you may find this article, written by David Barton of Wallbuilders, to be of great interest and authority.
http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=123
It is unfortunate that many, if not most, cling to the shorthand verse of “separation of church and state” instead of actually studying the issue for themselves, primarily because that mantra has been repeated (albeit erroneously) over and over and over again.
Well, okay. Granted. But I sure don’t want the gov’t making any laws which favor any particular religion. The interesting thing about the history of this nation is that not all colonies granted toleration of all faiths. Maryland (colony established by Catholics) was one that granted toleration of all Christian faiths
However, later on, that rule was overthrown and the Church of England was proclaimed. Much to the dismay of my colonial Catholic ancestors who moved westward for religious freedom.
I want our Judeo-Christian heritage protected but I want no formal imposition of any particular faith imposed by the government.
My 4 kids went to christian schools. If I had kids today they would be home schooled or in christian schools. The situation is untenable...but a fanantic sets himself up for ridicule not persuasion.
Thanks for your reply.
Actually what you want from our government is exactly what Jefferson was espousing when coining the phrase “separation of church and state”. But that phrase has been manipulated ad nauseum by folks wanting a completely secular government to mean that the church should have absolutely no influence over the state. If we are to have a secular government, then our judeo-christian heritage will NOT be protected. One is the antithesis of the other.
I “followed” your response up to your very last sentence which stated “The situation is untenable...but a fanantic sets himself up for ridicule not persuasion.” I assume this is a quote from someone else, although I do not instantly recognize it. Having said that, Jesus was the ultimate fanatic. I am pleased to be so likewise categorized.
It never crossed my mind that I was addressing a fanatic in my response to you. It is just that there are those out there espousing something I believe in but loose ‘reason’ in their advocating and presentation of the concept.
I don’t think Jesus was ever a fanatic. He gave the world a totally new concept, historically NEVER before practiced in regard to fellow man and God. The Old Testament presented a more vengeful, (lawful but vengeful) God, whereas Jesus came forth with LOVE for and from God and LOVE for fellow man. The world had trouble understanding such love.
Jesus was phenomenal...but never fanatic.
By the way....that I said a “fanatic sets himself up for ridicule, not persuasion”, was mine alone! I would think, however, that it is so obviously true that others have no doubt said the same thing.
You are ideologically correct in a way. We really have no more right to impose our beliefs than the atheist do to impose theirs on us. That is why we are not saying we want to teach the 4 spiritual laws or the Catholic catechism or the Jewish Talmud in school. The most ideologically pure solution would be to totally abandon the public school system and let every parent decide for themselves how to school their kids. I personally think that would be a wonderful thing and that the taxes saved and the competition created would actually mean most parents could privately educate their kids however they wished and it would be surprisingly affordable.
That being said, it is highly, highly unlikely that is ever going to happen, so it is mandatory that we insist that our children are at least taught the correct, historic foundations so they can properly understand American history, government, politics and economics, and the philosophical/religious foundational beliefs that shaped those events and documents. In other words, teach them the truth, not the liberal fantasy politically correct version of it. Therefore, go back to the original writings, the original historic accounts of events and teach what really happened, follow the train of thought from English Common law, natural Law, Blackstone’s law, the Bible (as far as where it intersected with the founding ideas of our government,history of the Pilgrim’s and Puritans, etc.) As someone mentioned, there is a ton of good stuff at David Barton’s site, go to the National Center for Constitutional Studies, Foundation for American Christian Education (5000 Year Leap), etc
Nice to see that someone agrees with me, even if it's only in principle!
That being said, it is highly, highly unlikely that is ever going to happen....
Probably not in our lifetime, but I have hope for our grandchildren if we start laying the philosophical groundwork now...
I think that trying to stop socialism in government schools is like trying to stop up the Mississippi River, but we still have to try, meanwhile, I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how in the world you could ever convince more than a tiny minority that it’s the right way to go. (Please believe you don’t have to convince me,,, I just wouldn’t know how to begin to get the idea out in the mainstream).
The biggest thing giving me hope right now is all the courses available on the internet now, and they are starting to be used not only by homeschoolers & private schoolers, but by public school kids doing dual credit for graduation, or getting certain basic core courses out of the way in first couple of years of college. The more that whole idea expands, the more there is the potential to break the government school monopoly. But somehow you have to change the thinking that if you don’t have a degree from an “accredited” high school (or college) that your learning is worthless...because that thinking is a big part of how they keep their control of the monopoly.
I’m a fan. Prayers up.
I just thought I would let you know that there is another article in the DMN this morning and I am VERY impressed w/ Barton and his tenets. I am now a fan of the guy....hope he can achieve his goals!
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