The back-to-school season can be challenging for families of faith who are facing an educational establishment that is at odds with their biblical worldview. After all, ideas have consequences, and the things our children and grandchildren learn in the classroom become a part of them — education is at the core of who they will become. So how can parents who seek to raise Christ-like kids who love God and pursue truth be prepared?
Dr. Everett Piper recently sat down with The Washington Times’ Higher Ground to sound off on these issues and share some practical ways that parents and grandparents can equip students to stand boldly and confidently for their faith.
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“We’ve got to recognize that we have to give our kids, our sons and our daughters, the arrows in their quiver to fight this battle,” Dr. Piper said. “You can’t expect them to succeed in the [marketplace] of ideas if you’re not teaching them the basics of a biblical worldview, Christian apologetics, how to define the faith, [and] defend the faith that lives within.”
The best-selling author of “Not a Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth,” said that the last things parents and students should do is compromise their beliefs, but they should also never shy away from having a conversation about them. In his view, Christians are “obligated to engage in the [marketplace] of ideas” and “step into the cultural debate.” Granted, that can be difficult when the educational system as a whole is shutting down free speech and abandoning truth for whatever popular ideas rule the day.
“We’ve elevated feelings to the point where they define us rather than the objective reality of what’s really taking place around us,” Dr. Piper explained. “The first thing we should do is encourage conversation, encourage debate, encourage disagreement, encourage people to have a healthy respective argument with the goal of coming to some conclusion that something’s true and something’s not. Let truth judge the debate, rather than your feelings.”
But Dr. Piper noted that parents can’t begin to instill these essential truths in their children if they don’t know it themselves. And they can’t inspire their children to speak boldly and confidently about their faith if they’re not also willing to take a stand.
“Live boldly as a parent in [the] culture, engage the culture. Show your sons and daughters that you’re not afraid of engaging. That you can have the conversation with people that don’t believe [the same way you do],” he said. “Model this confidence. Model courage. Grow a spine as a parent, as a mom and a dad, and let your kids see it.”
“The biblical worldview is tight,” he continued. “It makes sense. And even those who haven’t bought into it yet understand the logic and the reason, the compassion, the courage, the confidence that it brings to the table.”
Watch the full interview below:
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.
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