Answering the "Salt &
Light" Argument
Brian Hazeltine
www.akcs.com
and principal@akcs.com
and 948-5100
The
following argument was the basis for Mr. Hazeltine’s
presentation on “Something to Talk About” with Kelly Turner on SHINE FM.
1)
So, what exactly is the Salt & Light Argument?
a)
Children should go to public
schools where they can act as Salt & Light to have a positive affect on
others and perhaps bring some to Christ.
b)
This is promoted more and more by Christians today as the reason for
enrolling their children in public schools.
c)
I need to be clear that this stand violates logic, and it flies in the face of experience, history and the clear teaching of the Bible.
2)
Are you saying that everyone should send their children to a
Christian school?
a)
No.
b)
First, it makes no sense for an atheist or agnostic, a Muslim, a
Hindu or a Jew to send their children where their values are going to be
systematically undermined. A Christian school is going to do everything in its
power to change the thinking of these children, and believe me,
we are very successful in influencing children.
c)
Second, there is a point in the training of young people as part of
their “final exams” if you will that they need to be given more freedom and
responsibility. Indeed, at some point they have been trained to be effective
witnesses, and should be given the opportunity to do so. They are young adults;
not completely free of their obligations to their parents, but getting ready to
head out on their own. That would be somewhere in the middle to late teens.
Many teens are ready to impact the world for Christ in high school. So, at the
high school level it does make sense for some Christian kids to be in the
public school.
d)
Third, there are some people who should provide Christian education
by using the vehicle of home schooling. This is an excellent way to fulfill a
parents’ obligation to train their children to think Biblically.
e)
Finally, I think it is vitally important that we have Christian
teachers, teaching assistants, and principals in the public system. There is
definitely a place for their witness there.
3)
What about the rest?
a)
For most of the rest, a Christian school should be the obvious
choice, the default position, and one that would only be rejected on the basis
of clear leading of God. This, however, should be the exception rather than the
rule. This can happen when there is no Christian school available, and for
whatever reason home schooling is not an option. Perhaps, the public school is
filled with Christian teachers and children, and they all have freedom to pray
and read the Bible together.
b)
In fact, this was the way that public schools use to be. Public
schools used to be Christian schools. This is why I fully support public
education, in principle, but when I think of public education, I mean that all
children should have access to a free, comprehensive education program. I don’t
think that this has to happen in a government school. Historically, the community
through the church or government provided the funds, but the education was
provided by the church or teachers hired by Christian parents. There was no
question that it was to be a Christian education.
c)
To be honest, it is very strange that we are even discussing why a
Christian should send his children to a Christian school. For all of history,
this has been accepted as the norm; only recently have parents shifted to the
opposite position. The question that needs to be defended is “Why you should
provide your child with a secular education devoid of the teachings of the
Bible?”
4)
Isn’t there a certain amount of logic in this position? Can’t
a child influence his or her classmates?
a)
Well, I do believe that children influence one another. However, if
one child among 30 is going to have a positive influence on the rest, isn’t it
just as likely and even more likely that the majority will have a negative
influence on the one?
b)
If children can influence each other, then surely a large number of
students are going to have greater influence than just one.
c)
It is possible, if the majority of students are Christians, then
perhaps they might have a greater positive affect than those who are not will
have on them.
d)
However, it is also critical that the teacher also be a Christian,
because there is no question that the greatest influence in the classroom is
the adult teacher.
e)
Finally, one must ask oneself, “What is the primary reason that I
send my child to school? Is it so that they can influence others for Christ or
is it so that they can get an education?
i)
If the primary goal is evangelism, then logic compels us to ask,
“How serious are you about training your child in evangelism?”
(1)
Do you as the parent get involved in the school on a regular basis
to help out? Are you witnessing to the staff and children while you are there?
(2)
Do you get involved in
(3)
Do host a Backyard Bible Study to assist your child in bringing
their neighbors to Christ?
(4)
Do you take your teen street witnessing or to the Mustard Seed to
teach them about witnessing?
(5)
Is it logical to expect our children to be effective witnesses
without any support or training? I don’t think so.
ii)
If the primary goal of school is education, then doesn’t it make
sense to send them where they can get the best education possible? That
includes educating the mind to think Christianly as
well as academically. The most important book your children needs to know is
the Bible, and the hours spent in a Christian school combined with the depth
and intentionality of the program are far more powerful in equipping them than
an hour on Sunday…. And of course
iii)
So you see, when we really examine it, the logic behind this
argument doesn’t stand up.
5)
But doesn’t experience actually go against the logic? We all
know of people who went through public schools and turned out OK, or perhaps
led others to Christ while there.
a)
Several things may be said here. First, did they turn out fine? The
evidence in the Christian church today is that there are very few visible
distinctions between the behaviors, life styles, and standards of Christians
and non-Christians. It’s really quite disturbing. I wonder if we are turning
out kids who are strong in their faith and witnessing to
many of their classmates and living differently. Let me illustrate from my own
life why I raise this question: I remember teaching my first Christian school
students about the two main kingdoms in biology: plants and animals. When I
tried to explain to them that man belonged to the animal kingdom they argued
with me. After my third attempt, I realized that I was wrong, and that I had
been thinking from a secular perspective. If man is an animal, then abortion is
as acceptable as killing cattle, isn’t it? No, man is part of an entirely
different biological kingdom, but despite my Bible college training, I didn’t
get that. My mind had already been formed by my childhood in public schools.
b)
Let us assume, however, that you are correct and that many people
go through the public school and turn out OK. If we accept this argument, then
would you agree that there are many committed Christians who did not attend
church when they were growing up? Are we to say that it doesn’t matter whether
we attend church or not as we are growing up? I know many who didn’t grow up in
Christian homes. Should Christian parents not teach their children about the
Lord as they grow up? You see, just because we can point to an example of
where, despite not receiving the best education or having the best home life, a
person turned out OK, we cannot use that to defend poor education or a poor
home life.
c)
While we are on this point, let me raise the flipside to this argument.
Many people will point to a graduate of a Christian school and point out how
poorly they are doing. And, of course, we cannot deny that this happens.
However, the same argument stands. I know of many children who grew up
attending church and later turned away from God. Does that make church bad? I
know the children of pastors who are no longer living for the Lord. Does that
mean that teaching our children to love God is wrong? No! It simply means that
there are no guarantees when it comes to raising our kids.
d)
What about the verse that says “Train up
a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it?”
i)
Again, it doesn’t matter what your position is on schooling; we all
know of children from seemingly very good homes that later went astray.
ii)
This verse is not a promise, it is a proverb. A statement of what
is generally true and therefore a clear obligation of parents to do the
training, but it is not a guarantee of the results.
iii)
I can give you a great example: I know of a wonderful father with
an absolutely wonderful, positive home environment, who had two children, a boy
and a girl. Both of them turned away from their Dad. In fact, they openly
embraced a contrary lifestyle, and when confronted about the matter blamed
others and even blamed him. I am talking about Adam & Eve. You see God
Himself will not overrule the right of His children to exercise their free
will.
e)
But you said yourself, that you attended a public school?
i)
Yes, and it had some very negative effects on my thinking, But
remember, the argument is not that a child can survive a public school. The
argument is that they can actually influence others for Christ there. Does
experience (and remember we are talking about K-8 in particular) bear this out?
ii)
One can ask some fairly simple questions to see if this is indeed
working. “How many children did your son or daughter lead to Christ in grade
one? Grade two? Grade three? And so on. If they have led one child to Christ
every year for eight years, then that is fantastic, and it would be hard to
discount this. I dare say that this is the exception rather than the rule; and
that is my point.
iii)
But I still want to ask one more question. Are we really serious
about evangelism? If parents are really serious about this, then I certainly
hope that they are witnessing at their places of work, and that they are
bringing many to Christ. Moreover, if they want to help their children to be
evangelists, then I would challenge them to start a Backyard Bible study for
the children in their neighborhoods and teach and model how to lead a child to
Christ.
iv)
Beyond that, they should volunteer to help out in their church’s
f)
But isn’t public school
where these kids meet other kids to invite to DVBS?
i)
Of course, but they can just as easily invite the members of their
soccer teams and dance classes, and their friends in their neighborhoods, etc.
ii)
The reality is that over the past 50 years, we have been losing our
children to secularism. The church and Christian parents have not been very
successful in training up the next generation to stand in the midst of a
secular culture. A very high percentage of our children are turning from their
faith in high school and university because they lack adequate preparation.
Experience tells us that this has not been a very effective tool for
evangelism.
6)
Let’s move on to something else you mentioned, History: You
have said that the modern trend of Christian parents to send their young
children to a secular school flies in the face of church history. How is that?
a)
I will suggest to you that for two thousand years the church has
maintained the absolute necessity for children to be taught Christian values by
Christian instructors and that this was considered the very core of what
education was all about. It is only in the last 50 to 100 years that the church
has departed from its historical stance.
b)
The Jews were the first to establish a religiously based compulsory
school system. These schools were established in the local synagogue about 75
years before the birth of Christ. It is likely that is where Jesus got his
education.
c)
Early Christian parents living in
d)
Tertullian, one of the early church fathers said,
“What has
e)
Once the
f)
With the eventual collapse of the
g)
With the Reformation in the 1500’s we again see an emphasis on the
importance of education of the young. Martin Luther felt very keenly the need
for Christian schools. He said, “When schools prosper, the Church remains
righteous and her doctrine pure. Young pupils and students are the seed and
source of the Church. For the sake of the Church we must have and maintain
Christian schools.”
i)
It is ironic that so many pastors fail to see the need for
Christian schools while Luther felt that they were crucial.
ii)
Luther based many of his appeals solidly in Scripture: He quoted
from Psalm 78 and Deut. 32 where he found Moses clearly commanding parents to
train up their children in right living.
iii)
He viewed the Bible to be the central part of any proper education
and said that “where the Holy Scriptures are not the rule, I advise no one to
send his child. Everything must perish where God’s work is not studied
unceasingly.”
iv)
He said that if he had to give up preaching, there was nothing he
would prefer to be than a school teacher. He said, “Let it be considered one of
the highest virtues on earth faithfully to train the children of others.”
h)
John Calvin started a city-wide system of Christian schools in
i)
John Knox set up a country wide system throughout
j)
This pattern of the state requiring attendance of all citizens and
church run schools continued up until the last 100 years. All of the Protestant
Reformers believed passionately in the need for compulsory education of all
citizens and that this should be enforced and paid for by the state. However,
they also clearly understood that the role of the state was to support the work
of the church. The church was the institution that was responsible to actually
provide the education.
k)
In more recent times, J. Gresham Machen
one of the 20th century’s leading theologians put it this way, “The
Christian life cannot be lived on the basis of anti-Christian thought. Hence
the necessity of Christian schools.”
l)
One final historical reference would be to note that right here in
7)
So, we’ve looked at the logic of the argument, some practical
experience with schools in our culture, and what church leaders have said about Christian schools. But what does the Bible
say about it?
a)
The Bible says nothing about Christian schools, but it does say a
lot about children and Christian education.
b)
There are two main points that the Bible makes about children, and
it makes them again and again.
i)
The role of children is to listen, learn, respect, honor, and obey
their parents.
ii)
And parents are to teach, train, nurture, admonish and provide for
their children. That’s it. Nowhere are children instructed to evangelize.
c)
Well, what about the Salt & Light argument?
i)
First, when Jesus was referring to Salt & Light, some would say
that He is probably not referring to primarily to individuals but rather the
church as a whole. For example, He specifically refers to a city set on a hill
that is visible to all. Salt is only effective when many grains work together,
but be that as it may He was not speaking to children, but adults. Nowhere in
Scripture are children sent out to evangelize or urged to evangelize. This is a
parental obligation.
ii)
More importantly in this passage, Jesus is not referring to where
one goes, but who one is. He is talking about the kind of people Christians
should be, not where they live and work or go to school. He is saying that salt is
no good without its flavor, and a light is no good if it isn’t visible, but He
is specifically talking about good deeds. This is why the church has always
taken the lead in establishing schools and hospitals throughout history.
iii)
Furthermore, in Matthew 18 He specifically reminds His listeners
that children are vulnerable and innocent; willing to accept what they are
taught in simple faith. He encourages us not to hinder them from coming to Him.
He then warns everyone about the penalties for causing one of these little ones
to stumble in their faith. When we put all of these passages together, it is
clear that using the Salt & Light argument to justify sending children to a
secular school simply is not tenable.
d)
What else does the Bible say along this line?
i)
Well, as I have said, anyone who studies the Bible will come away
with two very strong messages: children learn from your parents; parents train
your children.
ii)
One obvious verse that relates to this discussion is 1Cor.
iii)
There are others in Ephesians that speak of raising children in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord, but there are two really important
scriptures that people often don’t even think of in this context. I want to
conclude with them:
(1)
First, there is the Great Commandment from Deuteronomy 6. It says
that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength. But if you look
at the context, it immediately goes on to say that we are to impress God’s
commandments upon our children and talk about them morning, noon, and night.
This is really clear in a literal translation like the New American Standard
where they put in all the “Ands” at the beginning of each verse. There is one
continuous thought through the next twelve or so verses. When we look at the
context it is clear that the Greatest of all Commandments is to Love God and
Teach Your Children to do the same. It’s all one thought.
(2)
Finally there is the Great Commission. Often, this is used to
bolster the Salt & Light Argument. Most people think that the Great
Commission commands us to Go into all the world.
Actually, this is not so. This is a poor translation. It really says that as we
are going, and as we are preaching, and as we are teaching, we are to make
disciples. The first three words are participles. Only one is an imperative:
and that is “Make Disciples.” Making disciples is actually what a Christian
school does; that is our whole reason for existence. Our entire focus is on
fulfilling the Great Commission. It is ironic but sad that some of those who
are most concerned with fulfilling the Great Commission,
don’t actually ensure that they are doing it with their own children. As an
aside, we are sending 45 students and staff down to
8)
Why is it then that so many pastors do not support Christian
schools?
a)
Well, historically of course the overwhelming majority have been
deeply supportive of Christian schools. And today, virtually every denomination
has churches that sponsor specific schools. It’s interesting to note,
ironically, that the Christian school movement is so big in the States where
they get such little support from the government. Here in
b)
However, as to why some don’t support Christian schooling, I would
say that most have not had any training in this area. Most pastors have not
studied Christian education outside of the context of Sunday School
and camping. Our theological schools are behind the times in this regard. Many
of course draw conclusions from their own personal experience, having gone to a
public school and survived, but very few have actually studied the issue from a
biblical perspective.
c)
Remember, up until the last 50 years or so, the public schools were
thoroughly Christian, so it wasn’t an issue. That has changed, and it is time
that the church took another look at the schools and the Scriptures. When
pastors and lay people alike go to the Scriptures and ask, “What do they say
about educating children?” they find the overwhelming evidence supports
training them morning,
9)
So you really take issue with the position a lot of Christians
hold to, don’t you?
a)
Yes. It appears that I am currently in a minority, but historically
my position was unquestioned. I am certainly in good company theologically on
this.
b)
I think parents and pastors need to take the time to re-examine
their views on this. If I am wrong, then make your case. I would love to dialog
with people about this to see where I have missed something. But after years of
studying it, I felt I needed to bring this forward to get the issue debated
more thoroughly. Examine the logic, study the experience of the church in the
last 50 years, examine the teaching of the great theologians, and examine my
interpretation of the Bible. If you do this, I suspect that you will come to
the same conclusions, but if not, then at least you will have a firmer
foundation for the choices you make.
c)
What I hope will happen as a result of this study is that
Christians will begin to make Christian schools their first choice again, as
they did in the past. I would hope that 90% of Christian children will receive
the training that parents, I believe, are obligated to provide, especially at
the K-8 level. Obviously, many people will not be persuaded by what we have
said today, but some will. I believe that an honest study of these issues will
lead many people to re-evaluate how they have been raising their children. If I
can help just a few parents to be more effective in raising their children to
love the Lord then it is worth it.
d)
Remember, we said that there are no guarantees when it comes to
raising our children, but I want to be able to stand before the Lord and know
that I did absolutely everything I could to ensure that I had raised them in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
e)
For anyone who is interested, we will be posting the transcripts of
this show on our website. They can read over it, develop their counter
arguments and email me. I look forward to hearing from them.