Published by Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group (nlpg.com), the title IndoctriNation immediately intrigued me. Not long ago, I was personally told by a lady just younger than me that Christian parents teaching their children about God is morally wrong. For a parent to “indoctrinate” their children with the idea of God is a horrible, unimaginable atrocity. The same person thinks it’s okay for a mother to end the life of her child while it’s in the womb, but if that mother chooses to let her child live, teaches him/her that there is a God who loves them, that their life is valuable, that they have a purpose, and that they are accountable to their Creator, well, then she is a “bad person.” I thought this an odd belief and wondered where someone could get such an idea while living in this beautiful, grand, religiously free country.
So, of course, when I saw a book dedicated to the indoctrination taking place in our public schools, I was immediately drawn.
The book is unique in that it is written by many different contributors. The chapters are authored by different people, having their own distinct perspectives derived from their personal involvement with and in the public school system. In addition, the book was actually based on the documentary film, instead of the other way around.
Near the beginning, the filmmaker’s notes struck me. Joaquin Fernandez writes about delivering this message with the right heart. He elaborates on the love Jesus has for His bride, the Church, and the very serious matter of rebuking her. Much time was spent in praying with shaky knees about this fearful task.
Convinced of the sincerity of love the authors had toward me as the bride of Christ, I bravely continued forward, not sure what I would encounter. Since my husband and I decided long ago that if we ever have children, we will homeschool them, I was not sure I would learn much of anything I didn’t already know. Public schools were bad, yeah, but necessary, surely. After all, homeschooling isn’t for everyone, right?
The following pages opened my eyes in a way I had never expected. The history of public schools, their original purpose, and the philosophies of the leading educational authorities who helped instigate them astonished me.
The nature and goals of education itself was a novel idea to me. I had no idea just how affected I was by my own public school experience. Education is inherently religious. Every fact, axiom, or tenant that is taught has an overarching worldview philosophy from which it is being presented. You cannot separate facts from the deeper realm of truth.
Chapter One addresses that the information being taught in government schools is being taught in the religious atmosphere of Secular Humanism, an ideology that the U.S. Supreme court deems protected by the First Amendment. It is a religion that teaches that man is his own god. He determines what is right and wrong. Morals are relative, truth is relative, and life holds no real answers; there are only the answers you decide. The book goes into great detail to establish the evidence which supports the reality that our nation’s children are being tutored in the ways of self-worship, and are being manipulated into dependency on the state. Have you noticed lately the attitude of entitlement possessed by these upcoming generations, the expectancy for the government to provide all their needs, the pervasive trend toward socialism over capitalism? Would you be as surprised as I to find out this was all by design?
One whole chapter is dedicated to the practice of drugging young children to make them more manageable in the classroom, especially little boys . . . giving them legal drugs that have the same effect on their brains as cocaine. Some of the statistics were so astounding, they bordered on sensationalism. I was a little bit skeptical at this point, but after taking in the entire body of evidence, this chapter became just one peg of many on which the argument securely hangs.
In contrast to the reasons presented against state education, there is a multitude of scriptures set forth which expound the biblical design for educating our children. The one that impacted me most is Psalm 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” How had I never connected this scripture to education before? Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We have been sending our children into a pagan system to be fed knowledge apart from the acknowledgment of God, let alone the fear of God, and have allowed them to sit under the tutelage of the ungodly and the scornful. Even those children who are lucky and blessed enough to be taught by a follower of Jesus, cannot receive any instruction based on the truth of Jesus. Many more scriptures specifically talk about teaching and educating our children, and the unquestionable conclusion is that God mandates parents to be the primary educators of the precious lives entrusted to their care.
The vast benefits of homeschooling are discussed in Chapter Twenty including individual attention to learning styles, delight-directed learning, learning in the context of life, and freedom from confinement. Homeschooling is tailor fit to each individual child’s strengths and learning needs. Lessons can be taught in fun and creative ways while the family unit is strengthened and mutual respect is developed. But most importantly, every lesson in every circumstance in life can bring glory to God, teaching our children to be heavenly minded, walking in peace, joy, confidence, and truth.
In Chapter Twenty-One, Israel Wayne addresses the common excuses not to homeschool your children. Among them are: it costs too much; I’m not qualified to teach my children; it would take too much time; my kids drive me crazy, I can’t stand to be around them; and I want my children to be “salt and light” in the public schools. If you’ve ever found yourself relying on one of these to ease your conscience, you’ll find each one knocked out from under you as Israel Wayne brings you face to face with the Word of God.
This book is so packed with information, I can only begin to barely touch on it in this review. I found it to be powerfully persuasive. Whereas I believed public schools to be a “necessary evil,” I now believe they have no place in a free nation. Whereas I believed they were not the best education system to use but it was still “okay” to send your kids there, I now know that with the knowledge I have gained it would be exceedingly sinful to place our children there. I have had a total paradigm shift in the area of education and feel like my world has been enlightened with a delightful truth I never knew existed. It is hard to describe the joy and hope I have experienced during the reading of this book.
I cannot stress enough or more highly recommend that every Christian parent, or future parent prayerfully read this book, digest the information presented, and immediately take action. The life of your child may hang in the balance, but even graver is the possibility that it may be his/her soul on the line.