Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

They are the men and women of tomorrow. For theirsafe keeping and for the future security of the nationit is essential that the Christian forces within America keep their fingers on the moral and spiritualpulse of the nation. This is a task which lies at thedoor of the church and at the door of those agenciesaffiliated with the church for the purpose of maintaining and strengthening the Christian principles inour national and governmental life and of our society. May we rededicate ourselves to the great taskof proclaiming the gospel not only to the individualbut to our society and nation as well so that soulsshall be eternally saved and God glorified here onthe earth, and thus do our part in bringing to fulfillment the petition He taught us to pray, 'Thykingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is inheaven,"that the world Christ came not to destroymay through Him be saved."Our Public SchoolsOr Secular"Dr. Carl F. H. HenryChristianThe American public school is caught in our daybetween two enemy forces :which wouldsecularism,rob education of all emphasis on moral and spiritualabsolutes, and Roman Catholicism, which condemnsall education free of ecclesiastical control. The American emphasis on separation of church and state isoften invoked today not merely against the RomanCatholic viewpoint, which it legitimately excludes,but in favor of the secularist viewpoint, which it wasnot intended to espouse. The Dewey hierarchy inAmerican education, which is mainly responsible forstripping super-naturalism from the public school,is attempting at the moment to "play itsmart,"andis re-emphasizing the propriety of ethical and spiritual values in the classroom without making plainthe naturalistic and relativistic sense in which itformulates these values.What are evangelical Christians to do? Doubtless they are turning in considerable numbers toprivate education, but what of their public responsibility as citizens ? To avoid a sectarian Roman Catholic dominance of public education, they are asked tosupport a secular domination of it. But is that anyreal answer? Can evangelical Protestantism conscientiously lend itself to a reactionary (anti-Catholic) line in education? Is. a secularistic educationalpolicy one it can sponsor? And can education reallybe morally and religiously neutral? Is not the newemphasis on moral and spiritual values not a confession that one scale of values or another is presupposed in education? Is not the real issue today:which values will provide the core ? Will it be Mosesand the commandments, pr Dewey and the lentativities?Into this controversy an important book was injected a few years ago by a former college president,now president of The National Reform Associationand editor of The Christian Statesman, Dr. R. H.Martin. The volume, "Our Public Schools Christian or Secular" has not had the attention it deservesfrom the evangelical camp. It bears an introductionby Dr. Luther A. Weigle, once dean of Yale DivinitySchool, who long ago warned the nation that the historic American doctrine of separation of church and294state was gradually being given an essentially sectarian interpretation (as that in Russia) whichplays into the service of the forces of irreligion. Itwould seem to me that the voice of evangelical Christianity ought to be lifted on the side of truth in education in whatever realm it is found, consistent withan avoidance of that sectarianism which the founding fathers excluded. That is the strongest point,among many others, scored in Dr. Martin's study. Hesees that a completely secular public education wouldsecularize American life as fast, if not more swiftly,than our Christian churches could Christianize it,and I not only regard this verdict as right, but do notconsider it the task of Christian forces to aid andThe Christian Statesmanabet that secularization.National Reform AssociationLiteratureThe Christian Philosophy of Civil Government :Christian Civil Government, DavidMcAllister $1.00The Bible and Religion in the Public Schools :Our Public Schools Christian or Secular,R. H. Martin 2.00God In Our Public Schools, W. S. __Fleming 1.50* Supreme Court Tragedy of Errors, R. H.Martin .25Christian Statesman, Special Issue, May, 1953 .15*Daily Readings for Public Schools, D. H.Elliott .05Liquor :Facts About Intoxicating Liquors .02*Crusade Against Liquor Advertising.10The Sabbath :-Six Studies On The Day, R. H. Martin .35*God's Day And The Soul Of Man, C. E.Macartney.10*What Is Sunday For? J. R. Sizoo andOur Civil Sabbath Laws, R. H. Martin .15Gambling :Do You Know, J. R. Patterson .92*Gambling Cheats Everyone, J. R. Patterson _ .03Mormonism :Brigham Young And His Mormon Empire,F. J. Cannon 1.00(Only a few slightly soiled copies remaining)Ten Reasons Why Christians Cannot Fellowship With Mormons .05Getting Their Eyes Open .05Mormonism Revealed By GovernmentInvestigation .05Why I Left The Mormon Churchmimeographed.05The Christian Statesman :Yearly subscription 1.00* Special rates for quantity ordersSend orders to:THE NATIONAL REFORM ASSOCIATION209 Ninth Str., Pittsburgh 22, Pa.COVENANTER WITNESS