Encouraging Family Reformation

The biblical institutions of church and family in America are in need of reformation. Some say that we are in the period of greatest apostasy in 500 years. Less than one-half of one percent of adults ages 18 to 23 years have a biblical worldview. Only one-third of Christian parents say their religious faith is one of the most important influences on their parenting and only 27% of Protestant parents are very familiar with what the Bible has to say about parenting. It is clear that many Christian parents are no longer discipling their children in the faith. The result---SBC’s Council on Family Life reported that roughly 88 percent of evangelical children are leaving the church shortly after they graduate from high school. The problem is not only with the church and its program-oriented, marketing-driven growth philosophy, but also with parents, who have abdicated their role and responsibility in teaching, discipling, and nurturing their children in multigenerational faithfulness. The result is that the secular post-Christian culture has claimed the children and youth of America. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3). We are encouraged by the fact that God is sovereign, Jesus Christ is Lord and His kingdom is forever. As we believe God's covenantal promise, our opportunity is great in working toward reformation of the family, the church, and the nations.

This blog links to a wide variety of writings on biblical issues regarding the family, biblical roles and relationships in the family, the church, education, and biblical worldview including ethics, apologetics, history, politics, and culture. The blog was created to encourage biblical family reformation through development of a clear family vision of multigenerational faithfulness. Our duties as parents include sharing the gospel with our children, discipling them in the faith (Deut 6:7), raising them in the fear, nuture, and admonition of the Lord (Prov 9:10; Eph 6:4), cultivating in them a biblical worldview (2 Cor 10:5), and providing them with the necessary tools to recognize and engage an increasingly humanistic, post-Christian culture while glorifying God.

June 30, 2009

Has Evolution become a State Religion?

by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

The Church of England had been established as the official state church of that country for a long time, but in the nineteenth century an effort was launched to "dis-establish" it, and remove its favored status. Yet some wanted to retain the designation, and launched the anti-disestablish movement. Their movement became known as antidisestablish-mentarianism, a beloved word of all school children who brag they can spell the longest word in the English language. There are longer words, but we can learn a lesson from this historical episode.

America's founding fathers rejected all ideas of a national church, even though numerous voices clamored for one and several of the individual states had already selected one or the other. The very first amendment to the constitution codified this commitment, that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . ." Nowhere did they insist on "the separation of church and state" in the sense that religious concepts had no place in government, indeed quotes abound affirming their personal and national dependence on God. They insisted on freedom of religion, not the favoring of one denomination over the other. The modern day removal of all vestiges of Christianity from the public arena would greatly displease the founders. Many were devout Christians, of varying denominations, but of deep personal convictions. They wanted to keep the state out of religion, not eliminate a Christian influence on affairs of the state.

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