THE REASONS FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION- J. GRESHAM MACHEN

J. Gresham Machen would'nt fare very well in todays world of cool hip Bible teachers- He probably would'nt wear a brightly colored Hawaiin shirt in the pulpit- heck- he probably would'nt be able to "put on" that sparkly white TV preacher grin for more than a second... much less for an entire church service-and todays sermons that show us "How to Be a 5 star personality for God's Glory " would never come from his lecturn or pulpit.. he was'nt a cool hip dude... Machen was a SCHOLAR.. a visionary, and a defender of the TRUTH of God's Word.He was a Professor of New Testament at New Testament at Princeton Seminary until 1929. Machen left that seminary in obedience to the Biblical command to seperate from unbelief, and he founded another. He helped launch a new Presbyterian denomination after being expelled from the mainline Presbyterian Church because he took a stand for inerrancy, infallibility, Virgin Birth, Sola Scriptura,and the importance of Christian education- In a previous post, we saw that Machen encouraged Christian schools for two reasons: Maintenence of American Liberty- and the Propagation of the Faith. Many Christians do not realize that in the19 20s and 30s, attacks upon Christian education were occuring at an alarming rate-Laws were enacted in some states that prevented Parents from educating their children at Home or in Church affiliated schools- Machen did not sit on the side-lines. He encouraged Christian parents to become involved in the POLITICAL/ JUDICIAL ARENA. These Christian families answered the call.. what did they do??? They contacted their representatives, the hired Lawyers, they worked together to make sure that their CONSTITUTIONAL rights were not being violated. They wanted to make sure that future generations would not be denied the right to HOMESCHOOL and/or start Christian Schools. Are'nt you glad that the Christian parents in the past sacrificed so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today?? They did'nt sit around waiting for the RAPTURE- They did'nt try to "shirk" their responsibility of being salt and light by saying ," are'nt things going to get worse before Jesus comes back??? .. You do'nt polish the brass on a sinking ship-Is'nt Jesus' kingdom a SPIRITUAL KINGDOM- we are'nt supposed to get involved in "political stuff" are we????" NO- THEY DID"NT SAY THESE THINGS... The Christian parents of yesterday knew that JESUS IS LORD of EVERY AREA OF LIFE.. The WORD of GOD IS THE STARTING POINT FOR EVERYTHING WE DO!!! Many Christians today subscribe to an eschatology of DEFEAT-" we ca'nt change the world, we are'nt supposed to change the world, besides I am really busy reading the "LEFT BEHIND" SERIES...and oh yeah.. I do'nt have time to get involved, I am doing a study on "10 Reasons Jesus is coming in 2010".. BLAH, BLAH... it goes on and on- and the really sad thing is that this week- BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVISM OF CHRISTIANS OF THE EARLY 1900s - hundred's of thousands of Christian young people get back to their studies in CHRISTIAN schools and Homeschools, they will have a BIBLE lesson, and their BIBLE lesson will be seasoned with a smattering of neoplatonism, a dash of Manicheanism( google it.. spelling might be wrong- sorry- I'm only a High School graduate) , and they will wash it all down with a huge glass of pre-trib defeatism.ALL MEANT TO TEACH THEM THAT TRYING TO CHANGE THE CULTURE IS FUTILE.. they will be taught that things are supposed to get worse, there is nothing you can do to change the culture, The Rapture is happening soon!! DEAR READER... do you see the IRONY in this??? I am glad that the Christians of the 1920s and 30s did'nt believe in this "gospel" of Defeat... if they had believed it, we would'nt have our Christian school and home schools where we have these enlightening Bible lessons that tell us that we should'nt try to change the culture.. hey wait a minute........ ok , sorry yall.. I can tell by the old clock on the wall that it is time for me to sign off now... MORE ABOUT MACHEN and Education later.... besides.. the new LEFT BEHIND movie is on.. I gotta watch..