James Booker

More on education. Almost everyone has heard or read the statistics on education in the public schools. It is staggering. The rapid decline over several decades have produced students who cannot do basic math, basic grammar, and have low reading skills. Although more people can read, many have no critical thinking skills. I will spare you the alarming stat numbers, but it has been researched many times and published. Common core, communism, LGBTQ curriculum, and few others are the reason for this decline. We will delve deeper into each of these as this series develop. Suffice it to say, each of these mentioned are either directly or indirectly connected to my thesis: Why Americans hate America.

The Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) shook the West. It brought about a clear break from the Roman Catholic church. No longer did people need to go to priests for confessions. The Holy Bible taught them that Christ Jesus is the only true advocate between God and man. And the Pope no longer controlled many governments and countries. The focus of the reformation was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. But there was another focus, to teach people how to read so that they can read scripture for themselves and not rely on the church’s interpretations or distortions. Education became key.

As other protestant churches grew, so did reading skills for the common individual and Bibles were translated into the vernacular of the people. Under the Roman Catholic Church, Bibles were only written in Latin and only in the hands of the church. In-fact, the Roman Catholic Church burned reformers at the stack for translating the bible into the vernacular (the common language of the people). For example, William Tyndale, graduated from the university of Oxford and became a translator of the Bible into English. He believed the Bible ought to be accessible to everyone and that the Bible should determine church practices and doctrines. Subsequently, the Roman Catholic Church had him strangled and burned at the stake in 1536.

Another significant movement emerged between 1685-1815, the Enlightenment. Also called the age of reason. It emphasized reason, science, and individualism. It made inroads in science, politics, and philosophy. Rene Descartes, Francis Bacon, John Locke, and many others were considered part of the age of reason. Historians have divided the enlightenment into two spheres: the good side and the dark side.

The founders of America were influenced by the protestant reformation, with its emphases on scripture, religion, and the idea everyone, including the king, is under the law. Most of them were influenced also by the good side of the enlightenment. Most of the founders believed in reason and science. But above all, both movements stressed education. The founders were influenced by both. All in all, every one of the founders looked through the Lense of a Christian-worldview, even Deists, such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjain Franklin. They could not imagine a world with the creature.

In colonial period, before the United States was formed, each colony had private schools. Most of the schools were ran by churches. In addition to these private schools, Latin schools were established. In 1636, about 15 years after the Pilgrams landed at Plymouth Rock, Puritans founded Harvad college for the purpose to be educated men to be ministers to spread the Gospel of Christ. But Harvard also produced attorneys, such as John Adams. In fact, education was so important in the colonies, all the ivy league colleges were founded during this period. As mentioned above, many people went to private schools for a basic education and those who wanted to become a minister, etc., went on to higher institutions of education. President James Madison attended the college of New Jersey, now named Princton University. He sat under John Witherspoon, a signer of the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration of Independence and a supporter of the US Constitution. He was the only active minister and president of a college to sign the Declaration of Independence.

More on part III, my next post. These are foundational facts; it will help us understand where we were and how we got to so many American hates America.

James T. Booker

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