Educators have always struggled with this subject of “being human” — defining, describing, expressing meaning and applying the conclusions as to what it means to be human. The discussion of humanness is not new, and it has from earliest times engaged humanity. A good part of education has traditionally been identified as “the humanities,” embracing various studies to aid success in expressing ourselves individually and socially as human beings.
At all levels of education, the humanities have come under scrutiny, attack and rejection. Opponents of the humanities advance their agenda usually and effectively through legislative and governing bodies reshaping educational philosophies and strategies. Casualties from these attacks have been enormous and costly. This assault has addressed the basics in teaching and learning as money, resources and rules have shifted from humanities to practical, technical and employable subjects. Education has shifted from acquiring the necessary elements and essentials to think, express, explain, communicate orally and in writing, and making good decisions mathematically and financially.
The goal of education has come to prepare students for specific jobs to provide them a liveable income and an appropriate lifestyle. This is identified as “vocational education.” Anything that doesn’t directly support this new educational paradigm is opposed and dismissed. Much of the present chaos and conflict in education can be traced to a series of decisions in the past to remove God from education — the Bible and prayer from the public schools and higher education. This has not only affected public schools, but also families, churches and other social relationships. This is not a new crisis we are facing. It can be traced all the way back to the fall of Adam and Eve and the tragic consequences of their rejection of and rebellion against God and His rule. It also includes how we define ourselves and our relationships.
Defining what it means to be human is very important. At this point we dare not ignore God and what He has done and said. We are witnessing the result of man’s rejection of God, His creative genius, His form of creation and human associations. God created all things earthly and heavenly, every living thing visible and invisible, living and non-living, big and small, human and non-human, animal and plant, male and female. Genesis says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them. God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiple, fill the earth, subdue it, have dominion over fish and over birds and over every living thing moving on the earth.’ God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:26-30).
We dare not ignore or deny two extreme errors. We are reaping the confusion and failure of a society rent and ruined by millions who demand compliance and adherence to these extremes. Both of these refuse to acknowledge God, the order He has established and the Word that He has given to us. The foundational error is that God does not exist! The second error is that God has not established an earthly order or given a truthful revelation, a Word we can believe is really truthful. So man is the measure and meaning of all things. Humanity has become the Sovereign Authority, dethroning God. We have removed humanities from education and we have even rewritten history. We are in the process of watching foolish, ignorant people intolerantly and maliciously remove monuments in order to correct what they perceive as intolerant and inaccurate sins of the past. Most of these opponents are driven by the advocates of “higher education” in our colleges and universities as they promote the social theories of Karl Marx and the man-centered thinking.
What has happened? Christians have allowed God to be removed and silenced in public forums. Churches have gone along with the political and governmental decisions. Our government has moved to destroy any role God and His people might have in making decisions at any level of life. We can no longer debate even the most basic fundamentals regarding human life. For many years we tolerated the killing of babies so that now we can easily let the government determine whether or not we get access to a doctor, medicine or medical treatment. With the Affordable Health Care Act being allowed, the government is well on its way to putting in place “death panels” to determine whether or not we can live beyond a certain age.
We are witnessing in our day the destruction of human life on an unprecedented scale. In 1971, Carl F. H. Henry pleaded for Christians and churches to awaken and understand the need to speak out and work out what they had long ignored and misunderstood. Henry said, “Evangelical Christianity insists that the long run of history discloses man’s own inability to eliminate historical evil. But it emphasizes that there is an actual redemptive working of God in history, and that God achieves his redemptive purpose in part in the concrete historical situation.” Even though society, institutions and governments forget or deny God, it doesn’t lessen God’s reality or what He permits to happen. We need to read Romans chapter 1. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:18-19). Humanity is without excuse, even though they promote themselves as educated, humane and socially just. Paul spoke of those in his day, saying, “Professing to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).
Charlottesville, Virginia was a clear example of the radical intolerance of people who supposedly defend tolerance and deny God. We saw intellectual bankruptcy, moral depravity, social confusion both right and left, Republican and Democrat, libertarian and socialist. What Paul said of Romans could be said of us, “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting: unrighteous, sexually immoral, wicked, covetous, malicious, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-minded; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32).
— You can send your thoughts to drjerryhopkins@yahoo.com, or by snail mail to Dr. Jerry Hopkins, P. O. Box 1363, Marshall, Texas 75671. Dr. Jerry Hopkins is a historian and retired professor.
