Slightly revised from a lecture originally delivered at Chalcedon Presbyterian Church, Atlanta

20 November, 1998

Rev. Brian M. Abshire, Ph.D.

The Deplorable Condition of State Subsidized Education

We are now living with the fruit of 150 years of State supported education; a situation that should never have existed, should never have been paid for by tax money, and should never have become institutionalized (see Rushdoony’s Messianic Character of American Education). However, most Americans, with no real appreciation of history, simply accept the status quo because they know nothing different; many of us reason, “Well, that’s the way things are!” without questioning whether it is the best, or even desirable way to approach fulfilling our goals. But all one has to do is read the actual writings of the founders of American public education to realize that our present system was DESIGNED to replace Christianity as the basis of our culture. Men believed that “enlightenment” through “education” would cure all social ills-many of which they ascribed to religion. In many respects, American education philosophy was a vain attempt to have the fruit of Christian civilization, while ignoring the root. Rather than transformed hearts, the humanists in the 19th century believed man could be saved by “knowledge;” the ancient heresy of Gnosticism.

Thus the tax-financed public education establishment is, and always has been hostile to the historic Christian faith. It cannot help but be this way, because it was always intended to offer a solution to man’s social and cultural problems apart from Christ. In a time when the culture was more consistently Christian, we could avoid the worst implications, because usually, it was Christians who manned the ramparts of the educational establishment! I well remember when I began in public school in 1960; we had Bible study every morning, prayer and our teachers all held to a strong sense Christian morality which was universally accepted in the broader culture. But within just a few years, as the culture went through a convulsive religious revolution, the society changed. Prayer and Bible reading were outlawed, a new morality became accepted, and a new generation of teachers were indoctrinated into a consistent secular humanism and then let lose upon an unsuspecting public school system. In fact, it can be argued that public education itself contributed significantly to the secularization of American life; the humanists early on captured the major universities and colleges, using them to spread their view. They then taught the next generation of teachers, who adopted many aspects of humanist and socialist “religion” during their own college and university training. These teachers then brought those views into the classroom, indoctrinating our children.

At rock bottom, state education has always been immoral because we have been stealing from some men to pay for the education of other men’s children. We instituted the property tax which is blasphemy, for the land belongs to God and no man has the right to tax what belongs to Him. Thus through our own envy and greed we find ourselves captives of a militant humanism; we thought we could give our children a “free” education by having the State steal from others through taxation. Wicked men then used that greed to enslave a nation to godless beliefs and values. And what did we get for all the money we stole? We reap what we sow, an educational white elephant that consumes our resources and gives us the worst educated children in the industrialized world not to mention providing a haven for drug-abuse, drunkenness, immorality, promiscuity and anti-Christian propaganda.

Granted, millions of Christians (and concerned secularists) have pulled their kids out of the State schools and given them home-based education. This simple assumption of personal responsibility on the part of parents has been honored by God; surveys show that our children are better educated, at less cost than their state school peers; not to mention more mature, socially stable and psychologically fit. Even if Mom, who usually does most the educating, lacks the accreditation of her public educational peers, she is doing an outstanding job. Christian parents ought to be extremely pleased that their investment of time and effort in home education means that THEIR kids have a solid foundation for life.

However, what happens after High School? What kind of advanced education will our children need, and how can we provide it without bankrupting ourselves, or mortgaging their future through student loans? If we take seriously God’s promise that a large family is one of His greatest gifts and blessings, then how do we PAY for all those kids to go to college? Furthermore, what will happen to our kids if we DO send them off to college? Secular high schools are bad enough, what with the rampant immorality, drugs, and ant-Christian propaganda, but how much worse is it secular colleges and universities? Do we now compromise our convictions, and put our kids into the drug-infested, immoral secular institutions of “higher learning” to have them ridiculed for their faith, tempted by rampant immorality and attacked by the politically correct? Or are we just giving into fear? These are good questions, and deserve our best answers.

How We Got Into the Present Mess…

Every parent wants their children to be successful and prosperous in life; to have a calling compatible with their gifts and to do well at that calling and have God prosper them accordingly. And in this world, usually SOME sort of education is needed to develop the skills needed to work in that calling.

In the past fifty years: other than blue collar jobs, the primary means of preparing for one’s calling usually meant finishing high school, going to college and getting a general degree. In the past, it did not really matter what a degree was in, as long as one had SOME sort of diploma. In the past, the percentage of people attending college was very small and therefore college graduates could demand a high price for their labor. Furthermore, American industry needed an “army” of mid-level managers and someone with a college degree had an “inside” track for getting a good job with great potential. Therefore, it was widely been assumed for more than a generation that most children NEEDED a college education if they were going to be more than “hewers of wood and drawers of water…”

When Christianity was disenfranchised from the state universities, Christian colleges grew up to meet the demand of providing both a Christian education and preparation for life and work. Many Christians rightly rejected the humanism of modern secular universities, as well as the immorality. Christian colleges seemed like a good alternative to traditional education.

Sadly, Christian colleges are no longer (if they ever were) safe havens for our kids. Most Christian campuses sold out to humanism right at the beginning by accepting state accreditation. They wanted the approval and acceptance of humanists and therefore voluntarily submitted themselves to the humanist’s standards. But in order to be accredited, their professors had to attend accredited graduate programs from secular universities. It was almost inevitable that these future professors had to compromise with humanism to obtain those fancy degrees from the prestigious schools we are all so in awe of (see our other essays in this issue). I am not for a moment calling either the sincerity or motivations of Christian college professors into question; they often WANT to offer a Christian worldview; but where did they ever have the opportunity to LEARN a Christian worldview? They can teach, only what they have been taught. Therefore, our children do NOT learn a consistent Christian worldview in the average Christian college, but leftist, socialist humanism; granted it is humanism that has been watered down, sanctified with the occasional Bible verse and sweetened with prayer- but it is still the same old humanist rubbish that is being taught in the secular schools.

Furthermore, Christian colleges were financed by Christians as opposed to state universities which are heavily subsidized by taxes. Thus Christian colleges simply cannot compete economically; they have to charge more because they are not allowed to steal tax payer’s money as the State does. Hence there is a two fold argument AGAINST Christian colleges; they cost far more than state institutions AND often teach the very same humanist nonsense as their secular peers. Ok, granted, the BEST Christian schools will make some concession to popular “Christian” morality; no drinking, no smoking, no mixed dorms, etc., but does that no say something itself about the superficiality of their commitment to a consistently Biblical worldview?

Let me make a prediction, based no on prophecy, but rather on extrapolating from current social trends; the current university and college system is a dinosaur, waiting for an extinction order. Does this seem radical? Well, let us explore this for a moment.

First, public universities are heavily subsidized by government money, money that is fast running out. Politicians are caught in a squeeze play; on the one hand they KNOW that people want cheap education for their children, but are also outraged by oppressive taxation. As socialist policies continue to permeate American culture, businesses are creating less and less wealth. Less wealth means less tax money. Already, America has lost most of its industrialized jobs to overseas competitors. Today we are a nation much like a profligate heir living off Daddy’s inheritance; unless we get off our backsides and start bringing in more than we are spending every month, eventually, we are going to be living in a cardboard box and eating at soup kitchens. Politicians KNOW this, but they cannot admit it to the public or they won’t get elected. But the days of “cheap” education are waning.

Secondly, a college degree is no longer the guaranteed ticket into the middle-class that it once was. The working world does not need more kids with liberal arts education and no real skills, that market is already saturated. When only a few people have “something,” it increases in value. When EVERYONE has something, then its value goes down (just think about the difference between a beach full of sand and a handful of diamonds; which is worth more?). Thus in ONE sense, public universities are victims of their own success. As more Americans grew wealthy through hard work, diligent savings and frugal living, they had more assets they could use to give their kids an even better life. A college education seemed to provide that better life so more and so more Americans invested in buying that education for their kids.

But very quickly, the market became saturated; college grads today are finding it increasingly difficult to find a good paying job. There are just too many people with the similar academic backgrounds competing for the same positions; positions which are already drying up because America no longer needs that army of middle managers we mentioned earlier. Furthermore, since 1968, American women have entered the workforce in large numbers, also increasing the pool of laborers and therefore undercutting the wages of all workers.

For example, in the old days, a Ph.D. was the union card to academic advancement; since colleges were expanding to take advantage of all the new students, there was a crunch of qualified instructors. At the same time, more kids had more money to invest in even more education, and for a while there appeared to be a critical demand for professors. However, even more quickly, a legion of Ph.D.’s entered the workforce.

Today, Ph.D.’s in History, English, Philosophy, Social Sciences etc., are flipping burgers because the market is saturated. There are more people with degrees than there are jobs for them to fill. Being old and cynical it is hard to shock me these days but every so often even I have to shake my head when I meet some very bright young person telling me about their wonderful advanced studies in Medieval Chamber Music! When I ask them “What are you going to DO with that degree” they look at me as if I am some uncultured barbarian or something! They do not seem to understand that education, as wonderful as it may be, is an investment both of time and money. Now if you have wealthy parents who plan on taking care of you for the rest of your life, you can pretty much do as you please; and studying some esoteric aspect of human civilization is infinitely preferable to becoming a lazy profligate. But if you don’t have those kinds of resources, then the question must be asked, “How are you going to make a living?” Many bright college students (especially those working for advanced degrees) never really ask that question.

Now let me be really cynical; some of them never ask those questions because their instructors take great pains never to bring the subject up! You see, those professors KNOW that their job is on the line. If they do not have students taking THEIR classes, THEIR jobs are in danger. So they will do whatever it takes to convince kids to choose majors just so they can have some students. It does not matter that the student will end up with an academic degree that is useless- you will be ridiculed for even asking the question! Never underestimate the power of human depravity or self-justification.

Is There a “Better Way?”

Now having said all the above about the present deplorable state of education in America, you can still get a good education, IF you know what you are doing, plan wisely and invest carefully. But it must be remembered that the humanists ARE consistent with their worldview and will lose no opportunity to indoctrinate your children into their religious presuppositions. They truly see it as a “holy mission” to destroy your child’s faith and to welcome them into the ranks of the cynical, worldly-wise clique of the “enlightened.”

Therefore, today, a traditional college education (whether secular or “Christian”) may not NECESSARILY be the best investment of your money or your child’s time. Christians ought to recognize that a “traditional” education may NOT pay off either in terms of helping a child develop a Christian worldview (which is necessary if all of live it is to be lived to the glory of God), OR in terms of producing future financial prosperity. I am not saying it cannot be done, only that we have to be as “wise as serpents and gentle as doves” when it comes to helping our kids plan their future.

Allow me to suggest that many Christian parents may want to consider alternative methods of preparing their children for their future vocation; education is expensive, and therefore ought to be evaluated just as any other expense, as a potential investment. If you could pay $100 dollars a month for a telephone service, or $20 a month, which would you choose? Sure, the hundred dollar service might come with some nifty bells and whistles-it might even impress your friends; but if money is limited, and you can get by with the cheaper plan with no loss of service, which is the better investment?

There is a famous illustration used in every Business 101 class about a company at the end of the 19th century that made the best buggy whips in the world. They were flush with cash, competent in management, had a highly motivated workforce and dominated the market. Yet, of course, they went bankrupt in just a few years. Simply because something worked well in the past, does not mean that it will continue to work well in the future, especially if there are changes coming on the horizon. If Christians want to give their children a good education that will really prepare them for life, they may have to reconsider the wisdom of investing in even the most prestigious “buggy-whip” companies in the nation.

In light of that, let me make three, radical statements that will be shocking to the average Christian parent: Radical statement #1: most Christian kids probably do NOT need an expensive formal, academic education, but rather training in a specific skill that they can then develop over a lifetime.

Radical statement #2: Christians ought to consider opting out of the traditional labor force, and develop, when possible, self-owned businesses; the entrepreneur is the wave of the future.

Radical statement #3: therefore, a traditional college education may well be neither desirable nor necessary for MOST covenant children.

Now did THOSE statements get your attention? If this was a book, rather than an essay, I would develop each of these precepts from current research and illustrate them from various “real-life” people I know and have worked with over the past decade. But all of us recognize that the shape of the American economy is changing. We can lament the loss of our industrialized base to foreign nations, but the reality is that you and I cannot stop it; we have to plan how our children are going to survive in the new economy. My parent’s generation could pretty much count on getting a job out of high school, with minimal formal education and staying with that job, and that company until retirement. That option became rare in my generation and will be almost a myth for our children. If they want to provide for their families and prosper in life, they are going to have to work throughout their lives to develop their “skill set” to meet the new needs that ever changing technology will bring.

Granted, some professions, such as Law, Medicine, Engineering, etc., will always require certain formal academic education, and hence, some of our kids will have to run aspects of the humanist gamut because the humanists hold monopolies in these areas. If you want to play in their field, then you will have to play by their rules; and therefore SOME of our children will have to go this route; but the majority may want to consider another way.

For example; since MOST college education today does not actually prepare your child for a vocation, then it is a waste of their time and your money to invest in an expensive Liberal Arts degree. Sure, such majors are a lot of fun for the intellectually inclined. Sitting in a class room discussing literature, philosophy, history, etc., is intellectually stimulating and interesting. But really, unless a child is absolutely brilliant, he is unlikely to be able to make a living in these areas. So unless you are rich, and can afford to let him live in your basement for the rest of his life, shouldn’t he be studying something useful?

What you REALY want is for your child to be rooted in a consistent, Christian worldview (even if you may not always understand all that worldview entails yourself). Parents who send their kids to a Christian college often assume that the professors are smarter, holier and more consistent than they are and therefore better equipped to teach their children about the glorious gospel they so dearly love. Sadly, that “faith” is often misplaced; Christian schools go to a great deal of effort to make sure that Mommy and Daddy never find out what is REALLY being taught in their classrooms else little “Johnnie” would be whisked off to some place more orthodox. However, the underlying desire of the parents is legitimate; they want their children to be smarter, better educated and more consistently Christian in their thinking than they are.

Secondly, a godly parent wants an education for his children that will develop specific skills that the child can use to make a living in the real world. As mentioned above, because of the changing nature of the workplace, the BEST future for MOST Christian kids is to start their own business. The clever man who can see a need, and find a more efficient way to meet that need is ALWAYS going to find work, AND make a lot of money at the same time. But this kind of man needs a certain orientation, a way of thinking, that traditional educational establishments jut cannot provide. There is a real difference between the “scholarly” mindset which emphasizes study, evaluation, and reflection, and the skills needed to survive in the real world. Just think about this; how many business professors have run successful businesses” Or how many “creative” literature professors have ever written a best selling book?

Now, whenever I make this next statement, howls of outrage come from every corner and people start warming the tar and gathering feathers. But I think it is important, and so I am going to say it anyway; FORMAL academic education for your daughters may not be a good financial investment. OK, settle down and let me explain. In all honesty, what is your highest ambition for your little girl? You want her to be godly woman, who meets a godly man who will love her, provide for her and give you lots of godly grandchildren, right? And to be honest, that is exactly what your daughter really wants as well. College has been seen for years as the best way for girls to meet the “right” kind of guys and hopefully that special “magic” will occur and both your and her dreams will come true.

Sadly, as the culture changed, public universities became deathtraps for Christian women. First they are indoctrinated into the idea that to be REALLY important, they had to have a “career.” Secondly, they were enticed into an immoral lifestyle while they were working on preparing for that career. But if a girl managed to fend off the little deviants who wanted to add her to their list of “conquests” not to mention her humanist professors (figuratively AND literally) what does she have to show for her four years of hard academic work?

Well, unless her parents were rich, she probably has a lot of school debt. If she did not meet someone she wanted to marry in college, then she enters the work force for a few years, and hopefully makes a little dent in that debt. Then, before too long she does meet “Mr. Wonderful” who sweeps her off her feet. And of course, because at heart, she really IS a godly young woman, she wants to start a family. So then she leaves the work force and becomes a full time Mom. But those pesky school debts are still there; all that has to show for all that time and money she spent is DEBT! Granted, there are emotional and psychological benefits to having a college education; it does help her “self-esteem.” But if that is the only real benefit, are there not better, more cost effective ways of achieving it?

Am I saying that women ought to be uneducated, barefoot, pregnancy machines? No, not at all; remember the qualifier I used above was “formal” academic education. Every godly woman ought to be well educated; if nothing else just to be able to educate her own children. Education, especially a Christian one is highly desirable just because the more we know about art, history, science, literature, philosophy, etc., the more we can glorify our Father in Heaven! Every godly person, male or female ought to be as well educated as their own gifts and abilities allows. No, the issue is not having an education, but GETTING that education; but there are many ways to achieve this end- and not all of the best ways involve sending your daughter off to a four year college.

Granted, in today’s wicked world, your daughter may have to face the real possibility that she could marry a cad who will run off and leave her with a houseful of children. Therefore she needs SOME sort of skill that she can use to provide for her family (consider it a sort of “life insurance” policy; nobody ever wants to use their life insurance, but it sure helps in a disaster). But college is not necessarily the best way to give her those skills.

If your children want technical skills, they can obtain the requisite education at State schools. However, to take advantage of that education, they will have to run the humanist gamut for at least two years; therefore they need to have a sound foundation BEFORE they tackle the humanists.

Thus here is the dilemma; State schools are cheap but humanistic. Christian colleges are expensive but still humanistic (though with the worst moral aspects inhibited). Yet, in some ways Christian colleges are even more dangerous than secular universities because if your children attend the local State college, they know up front that their secular professor is a God-hating reprobate; forewarned is forearmed. Yet even these comparatively “cheaper” secular schools will still cost you a small fortune (if you have a large family), and your children will face ungodly temptations and influences.

Yet you still want to give them the best education possible, to fit them for living in this new century, and by God’s grace, to prosper in it. What do you do?

Home Schooling through College

Instead of your children leaving home and being thrown into an ungodly mix and subjected to four years of humanist indoctrination, perhaps there is a better way. What if I told you that I know how you can protect your children from the pervasive influence of humanism, provide them with a sound grounding in a consistent and comprehensive Christian worldview, and yet STILL prepare them for their calling? Oh, yes, and did I mention you can accomplish all the above without grants, student loans, or second mortgages? Does this sound too good to be true? Well, let us see…

Whitefield College in Florida has been working on developing a college education to help your children develop a consistent Christian worldview. These courses are available on CD-ROM or old fashioned audio-tape. Students rent the lectures, listen to them at their leisure, read the assignments, write essays and research papers and take proctored examinations to demonstrate proficiency over the material. And they can do all of this while living at home! If you home-schooled your children through high school, you can now continue the process right through a Bachelor’s degree for a fraction of the cost of a regular residential education.

However, one might rightly ask, “well how does this actually prepare my children for their vocation? Can you REALLY study medicine, law, engineering, etc. through a home study course? Besides, what if my child needs a graduate degree? If he needs to go for a Master’s what will they think about a degree earned at an institution that is purely distance learning?”

Well, there are several factors to consider. First, the undergraduate degree today is the equivalent of a high school diploma of forty years ago; it is simply a sign that a person has achieved a bare minimum of formal education. Where one goes to college (apart from certain, prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Yale, etc.) is really not so important for the average student as much as how well he does on certain standardized tests such as his SAT’s and GRE’s (Graduate Record Exams). Score high on your GRE and advanced programs are almost universally available to him. Remember, education is a business and the more “companies” competing for business means that they are desperate for you to patronize THEIR goods and services. There are now a great many educational “businesses” competing for students. If your child can show competence by standardized testing, then he can pretty much pick the advanced program that best fits his needs.

However, please also remember that the educational establishment is a union, and before admitting people into the HIGHEST levels of their union, they will require you to pass their initiation rites. For some fields such as Law and Medicine, these rites can be pretty daunting; they have a vested interest in controlling who practices law or medicine. If I were a cynic I might suggest that this is a clever way of decreasing the number of workers available so that they can increase their pay. Bar Exams and Medical Boards (and the very selection process for medical school) are there not just to make sure that only the “best and brightest” can practice medicine or serve as attorneys; they are also there to make sure that only the “right” kind of people work in these areas. If your child has a calling here, they must be able to convince the “powers that be” that they fit the criteria. It can be done without compromising Biblical principles; it just takes the “right” preparation.

And of course, if a child believes he has a calling in Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, etc., he needs the best possible grounding in mathematics, and science he can get. These are not the easiest subjects to master without skilled tutors to help.

However, there is a “dirty” little secret that no one in the traditional educational establishment wants you to know; the first two years of college are essentially a recapitulation of high school! Today, the average four year institution needs to spend two of those years making sure their students are basically literate because the high schools have not been doing their job for a generation. Incoming freshmen at even prestigious colleges are often not as literate as people with a sixth grade education a hundred years ago! (Many are functionally illiterate being unable to express themselves in the English language). Therefore, because the level of public education is so bad, colleges need to essentially teach freshmen and sophomores what they should have already learned in high school.

However, if you home-schooled your children, it is very likely that THEY are already two years ahead of their public schooled peers! Therefore, why spend all that time and money just to have them go over the exact same material, all over again-albeit this time from a humanist perspective? Sure for certain callings, a recognized degree from an accredited institution might be necessary, but who says you have to pay for the first two years!

Therefore, there are two options. First, find a school that will accept CLEP tests. The College Level Examination Program is a series of standardized tests that a freshman can take that will give him advanced standing. Essentially, he can test out of the first two years of college! I did this and basically was able to complete a fully accredited four year degree in two years (graduating magna cum laude in the process).

However, there is a second way that your children can shorten their educational process, saving them time, and you money. Perhaps you want them to study some things in more detail before they begin their academic work in a secular institution. Simply have them take the first two years of college courses from Whitefield; general courses that apply in any school, but ones taught from a comprehensive Biblical worldview. When finished, your child can then transfer the credits into a secular college. Students can then take whatever major courses they want at local technical colleges and universities, but they can do so with a Biblical worldview protecting their faith.

Advanced education is now so common in the United States that almost every American is within relatively easy driving distance of SOME sort of college. Hence, Whitefield does not have to offer advanced courses in astronomy, physics, calculus, engineering, biology, etc. Instead, they arm your children with a consistent worldview developed in their core courses, which equips them to analyze unbiblical ideas in every area of study and reject them. Thus, when they are ready, they can go wherever they need to go to learn the practical skills needed for their calling. Believe it or not, the greatest threats to your children’s faith do not come from the “hard” sciences but from the social “sciences.” Whitefield allows you to by-pass all those courses.

Meanwhile, the student lives at home, works at a job, saves money for his future, all the while getting the best possible education at the cheapest prices. Parents then can monitor their children’s education, still be involved in their lives, and the family is not broken up at the very time a child needs his parent’s input in making crucial life decisions.

Granted, this “alternative” to the traditional practice does not give your children the “expected” experience of college. For many in American culture, college has become a ritual, a transition period between childhood and maturity. It is largely seen as a time to escape from the restrictions of home, blow off some steam, sow some wild oats, make new friends and have a good time; all while hopefully learning something that will help them make a living. Often, in more affluent times, college was seen as a way of giving your kids a positive experience-in making them smarter, wiser and better equipped to appreciate the world than their parents.

But times have changed. First of all, Christians rightly reject the very idea of their children using college as an excuse for moral rebellion. Furthermore, kids now need real education and training just to survive, let alone prosper. Furthermore, there are some very bright, highly motivated people out there who see THEIR calling as winning your children out of your “ignorant, narrow-minded, bigoted” religious views.

So before you just assume that a traditional college education is the ONLY way to go; consider the alternatives. Give your child a sound intellectual grounding in the faith in schools such as Whitefield. Work with them to help then discover their calling BEFORE committing to an expensive investment in education. Discourage them from spending four years of their time (and tens of thousands of your dollars) in obtaining a degree in some interesting, but useless field where they can never hope to make a living. Prepare them to do as well as they can on standardized testing so that if they do need advanced education, the scores are there to open the necessary doors.

But most of all, take personal responsibility for your children’s education. Start with family worship and catechism so that at your knee they are learning about God and His Word. Make sure that they are thinking practically about their future and that their education is related to living a life pleasing to God. If at all possible, teach them how to think like an entrepreneur, able to see possibilities and make a living outside of the “main-stream.” But most important of all, do what you can to make them see that loving God, obeying God and bringing every area of their lives in submission to King Jesus is their greatest and highest calling.

For more information about Whitefield College and its programs, visit to http://www.whitefieldcollege.org/