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Does The Bible Allow Public Education?

By Glenn Davis

Does the Bible allow public education is not a complicated question for those who take the Bible seriously.  We really only have to consider two major points: 

1.  To whom does God, the Creator and Owner, delegate the responsibility for training children?  In line with this, we also need to consider how much the primary responsibility holder can sub-delegate to others.

2.  How can the education of children be financed in Biblically appropriate ways?  Education will cost someone something. Who pays?

Since we want to please God by aligning our lives with His Word, we need to search for the answers in Scripture.

Does The Bible Allow Public Education:
Whose Responsibility is Education?

What does the Bible say about who is responsible for the education of children?

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" [Deut. 6:6-7, NKJV].

"...The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge… My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be graceful ornaments on your head, and chains about your neck" [Pr. 1:7-9, NKJV].

"...and teach them to your children and your grandchildren..that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children" [Deut. 4:9-10, NKJV].

"For I [the Lord] have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice..." [Gen. 19:19, NKJV].

From these and other Scriptures, we can see that God places the responsibility for training children squarely on the shoulders of the family, specifically the parents, at least until the child reaches adulthood. At that time, the responsibility for further schooling would fall on the child's own shoulders. Nowhere in the Bible is the prime responsibility transferred to anyone else.

"You make it sound as if homeschooling were the only Christian option! But I'm not trained to teach my children many things; how could I possibly teach them everything at home?”

While homeschooling is an attractive option for many parents, it is not the only one.  Lack of education should not prevent any parent from homeschooling.  There are many high-quality materials available to parents. However, the success of homeschooling depends largely on the relationship parents build with their children and, for older children, their desire to homeschool.

Does The Bible Allow Public Education:
Who Trains The Child?

A child is being trained either toward God or away from Him every moment of his waking life. Formal schooling is not all there is to education. And while homeschooling is one way of fulfilling the Bible commands [notice: commands, not suggestions], it is not the only way. There is nothing wrong with parents arranging for someone else to do the formal teaching of their children as long as the following Biblical principles are recognized and followed:

1.  The parents are responsible for education; therefore, when they contract out part of that training, they remain responsible for ensuring their children receive quality, Godly instruction. God will not turn a blind eye when parents allow their children to be taught by anti-God teachers/systems.

Some parents naively quote Proverbs 22:6:

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

First, this is a proverb - a general observation about how things normally work in God’s world, not an absolute promise. Second, allowing children to spend many hours a day under a system that actively promotes evil and indoctrinates them in the religion of humanism is not training a child in the way they should go.

2. There must be no fraud, theft, or corruption involved.

So much for part one of Does the Bible Allow Public Education.  The responsibility for overseeing and protecting a child’s education rests solely with the parents, who will answer to God for their decisions.  For public education to be considered an option, it must be firmly grounded in the Word of God.  Currently, no such public elementary or high school exists, at least in North America.  But even if one did, we would need to consider the second point.

Does The Bible Allow Public Education:
Education By Theft

When asked whether stealing is right, most people would answer, "NO." Even many thieves would admit that what they are doing is wrong. But what is theft? When is something stealing, and when is it not? Know the answer? Don't be too sure! The majority of people in the world, including in Canada and the US, 'benefit' from the proceeds of theft and would object strongly if those perceived 'benefits' were taken away.

Let's have a quick illustration. Let's suppose we are neighbours. One night, I knock on your door, asking for food for my family. You know it is my responsibility to feed my family, not yours, but out of compassion, you give me some of your food. The next night, I am back again. You see that I have no real intention of fulfilling my responsibilities to my family, so you refuse. Helping someone in need is fine, but taking over my duties for the rest of your life is something else! So what do I do? I pull out a gun and force you to empty your cupboards for me. How do you feel? Have you been robbed? Of course you have. I have taken groceries from you by force. They are yours, yet I have stolen them.

In Exodus 20:15, we find the blunt command: "Thou shalt not steal." This is expanded in Leviticus 19:13: "You shall not defraud or oppress your neighbour or rob him..." [Amp.]. We can see that theft in Biblical law not only includes taking things that don't belong to us, but also includes oppressing or cheating people. Deuteronomy 22:1-4 goes even further. It teaches that even if an item is lost and we know where it is, we must protect it and return it to its rightful owner. Also, if someone needs help protecting their property, we must assist them. If we refuse to be actively involved in either of these cases, we have stolen from him.

Many times in the Old Testament, God's judgment came upon people because they were actively involved in oppressing others, especially the poor, or because they were closing their eyes while others robbed and plundered.

"Woe to those who devise iniquity, and work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks; nor shall you walk haughtily, for this is an evil time [Micah 2:1-3, NKJV].

Many people today, as in the days of the prophets, accept theft as a way of life. It has become so entrenched in our everyday lives that we fail to recognize it when it occurs. People would love to rewrite the Eighth Commandment as: Thou shalt not steal except for my benefit, or Thou shalt not steal except for the good of society, or Thou shalt not steal except by majority vote [after all, we live in a democracy!]. Let's take any compromise we can get away with. But we couldn't possibly take God at His word! He couldn't have meant no stealing… period!!! Could He?

We can, I hope, agree that any theft is wrong. It doesn't matter what its purpose is, who supports it, or who 'benefits' from it. Theft is anti-God. Therefore, anyone who supports theft will find themselves fighting God. Most of us unknowingly support theft in many areas of life, including education.

Education is the responsibility of parents [or the individual in the case of higher education], so any school system [public or private] that forces someone to pay for someone else's children's education is stealing. It is no different from the illustration at the beginning of this section. We have to remember there is no such thing as a 'free' education. Someone is paying for it. If that someone isn't the parents, the individual themselves, or doing it completely voluntarily, then it is theft. And it will be judged as such by God.

Does The Bible Allow Public Education?

The government has no Biblical right to be in the education business. It is the parents’ responsibility, and they may contract out aspects of their children's training as they see fit. They will answer to God [not the government] for their decisions. Since the government has no Biblical mandate for schooling, it also has no right to tax or collect money for education. The government does not have to use a gun to steal our money. It simply makes corrupt laws [any law that violates the Word of God is corrupt] and enforces them with violence if necessary.

As we can see, public schools are the biggest violators of this. Millions of people are being robbed to pay for 'free' education. The only difference from the illustration above is that individual parents aren't doing the stealing directly: they have voted the government the power to steal. The Bible does NOT say, "You shall not steal except by majority vote." No matter how you slice the pie, it is a system built on theft and oppression. Any support for government educational spending agrees with the government's method of obtaining such money - theft.

God sees and takes note.

"Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice...according to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies..."[Is. 59:14-15, 18, NKJV].

The entire public education system is built on theft. Therefore, it must, by nature, be opposed to God. It unrepentantly violates the Law of God. Christians must stand for truth and justice. God demands it. They must not be found supporting an ungodly, theft-supported system. They must not support the public school system by defending it or allowing the government to increase spending. Above all, they must not participate in that theft by sending their children to be educated by such a system.

That is not to say there cannot or should not be Christian teachers in the public schools. It is a mission field like any other. The more Christian teachers, the better. But they are there to be a light and to rescue lives headed for hell, not to defend or promote an anti-Christ system.

Does The Bible Allow Public Education:
What About Christian Schools?

What about church schools? In most church schools, parents pay tuition [on top of being robbed to support 'free' education], but financial support from the main church is often necessary to keep the school operating. If the church uses money from its general fund to support the school, is it stealing from its members who may not wish to support the school?

This can be a fine line; however, the concept of education by theft involves forcing someone to pay for the education of someone else's children. As long as such funds are not taken secretly or deceptively, it is not theft, because a person is not forced to support the church. God does require a tithe, but it is God, not man, who enforces it. Therefore, someone who does not wish to support the school could withhold his money or attend a different church. The point is that he is not compelled to support the school: it is voluntary.

Since the money the government takes for its education purposes is theft, should private schools apply for government assistance? There are two ways to look at this. Each person must decide in their own heart before God which is correct.

1. Take government assistance. Since the money was stolen from the parents to begin with, they are only getting back part of what was wrongfully taken. It is like the thief offering to return part of the stolen loot [how generous!]. This view is tempting, especially for parents who opt to send their children to private schools and are paying twice for education.

2. Refuse government assistance. The government thief does not return the money freely. There are hidden, dangerous costs and conditions.

When a school applies to the government or accepts government funding, it implies that the government has a legitimate role in education. This is a serious compromise with Scriptural standards, placing responsibility on parents. It undermines parents' authority and instead turns to 'Caesar' for help. According to Biblical principles, the government has no role in education. Christians should avoid even implying that the government has the authority to train children who were given by God to parents.

There is a true saying that goes, "He who pays the piper calls the tune." Schools that accept government funds have, to some extent, placed themselves under the government’s authority and control. They are no longer completely free before God to follow the Word of God. Instead, they must also consider the demands of the other master. They are in a position where compromise is not only tempting but may also become necessary for the school to survive. It is not a place where God wants His people to be.

Does The Bible Allow Public Education:
Conclusion

All school systems built on immoral principles - such as theft - must one day collapse, as all anti-Christ systems will. It is the Christian mission to rescue the perishing and to establish Godly systems, not to support anti-Christ systems. Christian parents should not rob their neighbours so they can sacrifice their children on the altars of 'free' public education. Christians must oppose every form of theft, including theft in the field of education.

If we do not stand up for justice and for the oppressed, we are partakers of evil. God will judge us. I do not want to imply that we would lose our eternal salvation [eternal IS eternal], but there will be fearful consequences we will have to face.

Let us stand for truth, righteousness, and the Word of God.

"When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him...Arise, shine! for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen around you... For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant" [Is. 59:19; 60:1-2; 61:8].

Western Civilization is now built on murder and theft, and most people would not have it any other way.

Also see the e-mail course: What The Bible Teaches About Christian Education.

To discover how modern education arose and the twisted motivation behind it, read The Leipzig Connection.

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