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The Bible and The Early School Room · 5-Minutes of Good News

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, Christians.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is Dallas Beecham.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Stand by for good news.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: There was a time in America when a child learning the alphabet might learn it beside the Bible.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: A prayer or a moral lesson.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: One of the most influential school books in early America was The New England Primer.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: First appearing in the late 1600s and used widely for generations, it taught reading, spelling, the alphabet, Christian doctrine, Bible knowledge, and moral instruction.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: For many children, learning to read and learning about God were not separate worlds.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: The letters of the alphabet, the lessons of life, and the fear of the Lord were often placed side by side.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: The primer reflected the world in which it was written.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: It was not a modern textbook, and it came from a stern Puritan culture.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Some of its language would sound severe in modern years, but historically it shows something important.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Early American education was deeply concerned with the soul.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Children were being trained to read, yes, but also to remember that life had meaning under God, that sin was real, that eternity mattered, and that truth was not invented by man.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: The greatest book in many early schoolrooms was still the Bible.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because if a child could read Scripture, that child could hear the written word of God.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Romans 10 and 17 says, Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: If a child knew the commandments, that child knew there was a moral law higher than human opinion.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: If a child learned Genesis 127, that human beings are made in the image of God, that child learned that life was sacred.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: If a child learned John 316, that child learned that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: That is the one reason early American education cannot be honestly understood apart from the Christian faith.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: The purpose of schooling was not only to prepare children to count money, sign contracts, read laws, and function in society.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: It also prepared them to live rightly before God and neighbor.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Education was tied to duty.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Literacy was tied to scripture.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Knowledge was tied to conscience.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: A child might learn letters and numbers, but those lessons were meant to serve something higher than personal success.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Here is the good news.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: God's word is still a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Psalms 119 105 says exactly that.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: A society may remove the Bible from many classrooms, but no law can remove it from the hearts of faithful parents, praying grandparents, and believing churches.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: If the schoolroom forgets the Bible, the home must remember.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: If the textbook grows silent, the people of God must speak.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible has not lost its power.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord has not lost his voice.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: I hope today's message has touched your heart and causes you to have a good day.