Has America Erred?

While reading Living Under God by Toby Mac and Michael Tait today, which I am reviewing, I found something I did not know.

Under the education article, they wrote about Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. But, what really stood out to me, as I read, was the fact that he thought that the Bible should be the central text book in our schools. Rush was not only a physician, but also helped start America's first Bible Society. And he expressed his love for God in both word and deeds.

I am one who went through my entire schooling with the Bible being read every morning, and a student giving devotions. And, I feel I was not harmed one bit by the Bible I was exposed to through those 12 years of schooling. My children and my grandchildren will never know what it is to have the Bible part of their daily schooling, since prayer was taken out of our schools in 1962, when Madalyn Murray O'Hair, an atheist who hated religion, brought the case against the government and won.

It has been thought that prayer wasn't allowed at all in schools anymore; thus, it has become almost an unknown in our schools today. People are afraid of a court case.

Statement: Children can't pray in public schools. Yes, they can. In 1962 and 1963 the Supreme Court struck down mandatory, state-sponsored programs of prayer and Bible reading in public schools. The high court has never ruled that truly voluntary, individual prayer is unconstitutional. Individual students are free to recite voluntary prayers or read from religious texts during their free time.

Benjamin Rush felt we neglected to give our youth the universal education - the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible. He felt this would teach them equality among men, respect for the law, and make them virtuous people. Checking out other articles about Rush, I found the following quote at Did You Know? - Founder's Intent, which to me, is a truth that has come to pass.

And Benjamin Rush warned if America ever removed the Bible from the classroom, all of our time will be spent fighting crime.

Today, we see more crime among the youth, both in school and out. We have had such tragedies as those 12 students and a teacher killed and many wounded at Columbine High School. This wasn't caused by some outsider, but by students that everyone knew.

Would a return to what our Forefathers intended our schools to be have an impact on our youth today? Or,is it too late? Georgia legislature seems to be getting the message with their Senate Bill 437, which proposes a Bible Study course for their schools.

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Tags| BenjaminRush, DeclarationofIndependence, Bible, Christianity, School, Columbine, Crime,