In 1642 and 1647 laws were enacted in America for the establishment of schools so that young people would learn how to read the Bible. The 1647 law was titled “The Old Deluder Satan Law.” However, both laws had the same declared intent:

It being one chief project of that old deluder (deceiver) Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the scriptures … grammar schools shall be set up to instruct the youth, using the Bible as a textbook to teach them how to read and write … so that they may be fitted for the university. (paraphrase)

Many respected and well-known founding fathers knew the importance of teaching Bible precepts and principles to the youth of our nation. Fisher Ames stressed that the Bible was the true source of sound morality and behavior, not to be replaced by other textbooks. Benjamin Rush warned if the Bible was ever removed from the school curriculum we would experience an explosion of crime and violence across our land.

The founders knew that following the Bible principles was important to public life and highly beneficial to society. However, many decades later in 1962, a liberal U.S. Supreme Court banned prayer from our public schools and in 1963 Bible reading was prohibited. We had taken a public stand against the living God and told him we no longer wanted his wisdom, guidance and protection.

Now after years of “going it alone” and “doing it our way” we can see many negative changes that have taken place in our society.

Illiteracy has become a serious national problem, premarital sexual activities, teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, alcohol and drug use, unmarried couples living together, adultery and divorce rates, child abuse cases and school violences have all seen huge increases.

Should we wonder why?

 

Bob Nesbit
Owatonna