The Holy Bible once held a spot in every school in America. It was the chief textbook and source of truth, wisdom, and history. From the time the Pilgrims landed in New England, Americans have based their governmental structures, constitutions, laws, public standards, and expectations on God’s word. The dramatic increase in society’s manifold problems correlates directly to society’s departure from the Bible and Christian norms in both public and private. Now, and rising group of patriots is attempting to once again enshrine the Bible in schools and Christianity in society.

Several states are making significant strides to bring America back to her Christian roots. And her roots are in fact Christian. William J. Federer has done amazing work on the question of America’s Christian heritage. His books The Original 13: A Documentary History of Religion in America’s First Thirteen States and The Ten Commandments & their Influence on American Law – a study in history use primary documents and statements to shatter the myth that American law and jurisprudence were based on anything other than Biblical Christianity.

David Barton and his WallBuilders organization have also done phenomenal, perhaps unsurpassed, work in this field, bringing to life firsthand sources that show how deeply grounded in faith our forefathers were. Barton’s books Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, & Religion, The Founders’ Bible, Separation of Church & State: What the Founders Meant, and Education and the Founding Fathers are worthy additions to any patriot’s library. His research meticulously demonstrates how integral Christianity and Biblical precedent were in the lives, philosophies, policies, lawmaking, and decision of our Founding Fathers and other early Americans.

W. Cleon Skousen, whom I consider the greatest scholar and historian of modern times, has provided three texts that are of critical importance on the topic of religion in American history: The Majesty of God’s Law, The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, and The 5,000 Year Leap. These texts reveal the reality of America’s godly past in which our forefathers worshipped the Lord, used the Holy Bible in public policy, and espoused the inseparable link between religion, morality, and Freedom.

In general terms, our ancestors saw religion and morality as the indispensable supports for civil society and Liberty. President George Washington testified of this truth in his Farewell Address:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

“It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?” (George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796).

The idea that free government could be maintained without religion and morality was preposterous to the Father of our Country. This is why, another time, he called these twin agents “the essential pillars of civil society” (George Washington to the Protestant Clergy of Philadelphia, March 3, 1797). Anyone who would undermine them would also undermine society. This was the general view at the time, and I submit that it is true today.

Dr. Benjamin Rush, another Founding Father, placed particular emphasis on education and championed schooling. In his influential tract, “A Defence of the Use of the Bible in Schools,” Dr. Rush gave a sweeping overview of the benefits of using the Bible as a textbook. At eleven pages, the tract is too long to reproduce here, and it is a pity to break it into pieces. However, the good doctor spoke plainly about the “constitution of the human mind” and the fact that “the influence of early impressions are very great upon subsequent life; and in a world where false prejudices do so much mischief, it would discover great weakness not to oppose them by such as are true.” He noted that “knowledge is most durable, and religious instruction most useful, when imparted in early life.” Dr. Rush also argued that “the Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life.”

Few would debate that the information given to a child when his mind is most malleable from birth until the age of eight sticks the longest and has a guiding influence over the remainder of his life. This has been a self-evident truth for millennia. Perhaps it is for this reason that the Lord instructed ancient Israelite parents to so diligently teach their children:

“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

“And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

“And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

Unfortunately, today, many grow up without ever cracking the Bible, without ever hearing a sermon, without knowing the Ten Commandments, and with religious feeling at all. This is dangerous. It is also the deliberate design of those who would undermine and radically transform our society, removing Christ as our King, Lawgiver, and Judge. Dr. Rush foresaw this happening if the Bible was removed from schools. He predicted:

“The present fashionable practice of rejecting the Bible from our schools, I suspect, has originated with the Deists. They discover great ingenuity in this new mode of attacking Christianity. If they proceed in it, they will do more in half a century in extirpating our religion, than Bollingbroke or Voltaire could have effected in a thousand years.”

If Dr. Rush could see our society today, he would no doubt be appalled at the immorality, hedonism, and anti-Christian mockery in every corner of society, from schools to entertainment to courts. Generations are growing up without any fear of God, knowledge of His attributes, or understanding of His teachings. Instead, the values of crass materialism and me-centered hedonism rule the modern mind. To reverse this course, we must again educate children from a young age in God’s word. The home is the best place to do this, but school is a failsafe. What is taught to one generation becomes the policy of the next. If we want a brighter future, we must teach a brighter doctrine – the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

In my high school, I recently concluded teaching a unit on the Reformation, Renaissance, and Medieval Europe. I taught my students Catholic ideas like works and purgatory, the five solas of Martin Luther and his ideas on grace vs. works, the concept of predestination as taught by John Calvin, the Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate promulgated at Magdeburg and beyond, and more. It is utterly impossible to discuss Medieval European history without speaking of religion and the Roman Catholic Church. It is impossible to talk about Europe from the 1500s to the present without discussing Protestantism, the wars of religion, and the revolutionary impact of groups like the Lutherans, Anabaptists, and Calvinists. It is also impossible to properly discuss the Scientific Revolution, Renaissance, the birth of modern society, the Pilgrim and Puritan voyages to America, or the establishment of the United States, without also discussing God, the Bible, and Christianity. Anyone who attempts it is a fraud and teaches insufficient and lopsided history.

Even the sciences cannot be taught effectively without religion. Most of the major thinkers in science were men of God who compared their findings to God’s word. On this point, Dr. Rush noted:

“The sciences have been compared to a circle, of which religion composes a part. To understand any one of them perfectly, it is necessary to have some knowledge of them all. Bacon, Boyle, and Newton included the Scriptures in the inquiries to which their universal geniuses disposed them, and their philosophy was aided by their knowledge in them.”

To deprive students of the knowledge that the great thinkers of the past often attributed their discoveries to God and relied upon the Bible as a source of knowledge is to deprive them of truth and to hurt them in the long run. So, too, by stripping them of the ability to learn directly from the world’s most printed and read book, the book upon which our society is inarguably founded, is to strip them of true educational opportunities and chances for growth, reflection, and understanding. Indeed, it is to destroy the field of history entirely, converting it into secular state-sanctioned talking points.

As a teacher, I see the delinquency that is rife in schools. Much of this could be corrected by universal instruction in the Bible and its doctrines and by teaching Christian standards. Something as simple as exposure to the Ten Commandments and God’s basic expectations for righteous conduct would contribute greatly to improving behavior. Boyd K. Packer, late leader in the Church which I attend, gave this poignant observation back in 1986:

“True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior.

“The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel” (Elder Boyd K. Packer, “Little Children,” General Conference, October, 1986).

An interesting correlation exists between our nation’s decline in religious observance and the proliferation of self-help books, therapy, crime, and sexual immorality. We have taken away from generations of Americans the greatest self-help book of them all – the Bible. We have severed – even criminalized – this important link to divine wisdom, leaving people to grapple with man-made philosophies that so often contradict each other, lead to detrimental behavior and thought patterns, and erode Freedom.

An easy solution is to simply introduce children to scripture from a young age. Yes, they ought to learn it at home; their parents are primarily responsible for teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and inculcating in them good morals and worthy habits. However, that is not happening. An alternative check, therefore, must be the reintroduction of the Holy Bible in schools.

Several states are making great efforts to resurrect religion in schools. Oklahoma as just ordered 500 copies of the Bible be issued for use in AP American Government courses. An additional 55,000 Bibles are being ordered to be placed in every classroom alongside the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights. The Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters, issued an official statement on November 14, calling the move “the first in the nation Bible purchase explicitly for use in schools as an academic and literary resource and is the first step toward providing Bibles for every classroom in the state.” He further explained:

“We are focused on ensuring we get Bibles available in every classroom in our state as quickly as we can. I will take every step possible to ensure Oklahoma students have the resources they need to fully understand American history. By acting now, Oklahoma is leading the country on a path toward greater focus on academic excellence by providing critical historical, cultural, and literary context for our students. We are not going to change our history, and the Bible is a major part of that.”

Of course, the anti-religionists have filed lawsuits and complaints to counter this action, with some school districts outright refusing to comply. Powerful forces like the ACLU and lobby organizations that hate God are trying to overturn Walters’ decision. Let us pray that their attempts fail and that God has at least one state that honors Him in its schools.

Louisiana has also mandated that the Ten Commandments be displayed in their public schools. However, one activist federal judge, John W. DeGravelles, has attempted to block the move, calling it “discriminatory and coercive” and “unconstitutional,” despite the long history of displaying the Ten Commandments in schools for most of U.S. history, using the Ten Commandments in court cases, and using them as a basis for crafting laws. The state, however, is pushing forward. May they succeed.

In my home state, the Idaho Family Policy Center is readying a bill that would bring back a former statute requiring Bible readings in the classroom. Read this recent editorial by IFPC head Blaine Conzatti making the case that history and tradition, both in Idaho and throughout the United States, supports bringing the Bible back to schools. Conzatti reasoned:

“Even the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the practice [of using the Bible as a textbook] in Vidal v. Girard’s Executors (1844): “Why may not the Bible, and especially the New Testament, without note or comment, be read and taught as a divine revelation in the [schools] — its general precepts expounded, its evidences explained, and its glorious principles of morality inculcated?”

“Likewise, our Idaho founding fathers wanted the Bible to be read in public schools — and they intentionally crafted our state constitution to allow the practice.

“James W. Reid, D-Nez Perce, vice president of the Idaho Constitutional Convention, aptly captured the sentiments of Idaho’s founders when he said, “It is because the Bible is read, preached, and taught in the schools that this country is great and glorious.””

If we truly wish to make America great again, we must bring the Bible back to schools and repent in humility before the Lord Jesus.

The final example of a state-wide effort to bring the Bible back to school occurred last week in Texas when the State Board of Education approved a Bible-based curriculum for students K-5 called the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Bluebonnet Learning program. Governor Greg Abbott praised the program, stating:

“The passage of Bluebonnet Learning is a critical step forward to bring students back to the basics of education and provide the best education in the nation. These transformative educational materials are voluntary and free for schools and teachers to use. And with parents also able to access these materials online, we will ensure young Texans have access to high-quality, grade-level appropriate curricula that will provide the necessary fundamentals in math, reading, science, and other core subjects and boost student outcomes across Texas.”

It says a lot about the unions and lobbies that they would attack a voluntary program that does not even mandate, but merely allows, the Bible to be taught as one option among many. They love to use the word “choice,” yet vehemently oppose choice whenever it involves something with which they disagree. The true agenda, of course, is to convince students that God is dead and snatch souls away from Christ. And they will burn at the stake every modern William Tyndale they must to achieve this nefarious purpose because they know that their agenda withers and dies when the word of God gets into the hands, minds, and hearts of the People.

Those in favor of broader educational opportunities and school choice applaud Texas’ move. Christians who see the Bible as fundamental to proper education, and morality and religion as the indispensable pillars of free and civil society, see it as a first step in the right direction. But it is only one step; more work must be done.

However, those in favor of broader educational opportunities applaud Texas’ move. And Christians who see the Bible as fundamental to proper education, and morality and religion as the indispensable pillars of free and civil society, see it as a first step in the right direction.

I was privileged to be raised by a history teacher who also happened to be a real Christian. We read the holy scriptures in our home every day. We prayed together. We gave service together. We went to Church each Sunday. Religious imagery, quotes, and Bible verses abounded in the house – in the kitchen, in the living room, in our bedrooms, in the bathroom. One of the first books I ever remember opening was a gigantic illustrated copy of the Bible. The colorful image of Jonah being swallowed by the fish has always stayed with me. I served a two-year mission to Russia to spread the Gospel and have held callings in several congregations precisely because of my witness of Christ which was kindled in my early years at home and later confirmed by the Holy Spirit.

I can therefore testify from personal experience of the positive influence having the symbols of Christ and His teachings constantly around you. It is necessary in every Christian home. It is equally necessary in the public square. As a teacher, I can’t think of anything that would improve behavior, principles, motivation, and academic output better than using the Bible in the classroom. Our eminently literate and wise Founding Fathers studied from the Bible, quoted it more than any other source in their writings and speeches, and sought to base American society on scripture.

American history supports placing the Bible back in the classroom, using it as a textbook, and teaching God’s law to the youth. This is our past and it will be our future. It will be an uphill battle, though, because systematic evil exists and has a stranglehold over the current Marxian iteration of the education system. Patriotic Christians throughout the country, however, are rising up and exercising their power and pushing hard to make Christ King once more in America. Join the fight. Pray for our success. Use the sword of the Spirit to slash falsehoods and repel our enemies. And may the Lord grant us repentance and wisdom that we might turn to Him once more.

Zack Strong,
November 29, 2024