A Largely-Forgotten History of the Civil Rights Movement

Whether you are a parent, a teacher, a pastor, or a Sunday school teacher, you should include teaching your children/students a mostly-forgotten part of the Rev. King's civil rights actions.

Below is an excerpt from a U.S. State Department website that reminds us of a largely-forgotten part of the non-violent protests for civil rights. I've linked the complete article, at our website. Click on the link below.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: You are not proselytizing for merely teaching your students about Dr. King's passionate insistence that his fellow protesters base their actions on Christian principles.

Excerpt from "The Martin Luther King We Remember" by Adam Wolfson and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan

The Christian springs of King's statesmanship are abundantly evident. With the successful end of the Montgomery bus boycott, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in order to take the civil rights struggle and his nonviolent message throughout the South. One of his most trusted aides urged him to drop the word Christian from the new organization. It was argued that such an explicit religious reference would alienate white Northern liberals, whose support would be crucial in the years ahead. King was adamant, however, and the word Christian remained. He also insisted that civil rights participants be guided by Christian principles. For example, volunteers in the Birmingham campaign were required to sign a "Commitment Card" that read in part:

I HEREBY PLEDGE MYSELF--MY PERSON AND MY BODY--TO THE NONVIOLENT MOVEMENT. THEREFORE I WILL KEEP THE FOLLOWING TEN COMMANDMENTS:

1. MEDITATE daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.

2. REMEMBER always that the nonviolent movement in Birmingham seeks justice and reconciliation-not victory.

3. WALK and TALK in the manner of love, for God is love.

4. PRAY daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.

5. SACRIFICE personal wishes in order that all men might be free.

6. OBSERVE with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.

7. SEEK to perform regular service for others and for the world.

8. REFRAIN from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.

9. STRIVE to be in good spiritual and bodily health.

10. FOLLOW the directions of the movement and of the captain on a demonstration.

To read the full article CLICK HERE.

Luther Ray Abel writes “How Biblical Illiteracy is Ruining the Humanities”

Writing for National Review, Luther Ray Abel explains how the increasing unfamiliarity with the Bible threatens the study of the Great Books.

“I attend a well-to-do liberal-arts school in the Midwest. The professors are wonderful and the classmates impressive. However, I find myself consistently pained by one thing: Many have little to no familiarity with even the most widely known Bible stories.” [Read more…]

Understanding the Pursuit of Happiness this Independence Day

By Eric Buehrer

With Independence Day coming, it would be good to discuss with your family and students an often-misunderstood term in the Declaration of Independence.

The “pursuit of happiness” today in popular culture is not the kind of happiness America’s founders declared as an inalienable right. If we are to have a flourishing society in the twenty-first century, we must raise a generation that knows what it truly means to pursue happiness.

When the Founders referred to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence, they were not advocating a license to simply pursue pleasure. It was understood to be the pursuit of a virtuous (morally upright) life under the authority of God. In that context, Liberty means the right to do as you ought, instead of the right to do whatever you feel like doing.

Imagine what America would be like if everyone was motivated by “love thy neighbor.” Love is not a feeling. It is a willing. It is a willingness to act for the good of someone. In today’s culture we have reduced love to mere passion, desire, feeling. However, true love, agape love, is an act of the will to do what is right for the good of another. That is a virtuous life.

The Pursuit of Virtue

The Founders understood true happiness was the result of living a virtuous life. Therefore, in order to pursue happiness one must pursue virtue. Thomas Jefferson, who penned the Declaration of Independence, later wrote, “Virtue [is] the foundation of happiness.”

Benjamin Franklin, who assisted Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence wrote:

“I believe [God] is pleased and delights in the Happiness of those he created; and since without Virtue Man can have no Happiness in this World, I firmly believe he delights to see me Virtuous, because he is pleas’d when he sees me Happy.”

The Founders were also greatly influenced by Christian philosopher John Locke. He wrote of “the necessity of pursing happiness [as] the foundation of liberty” and explained that God “joined virtue and public happiness together, and made the practice thereof necessary to the preservation of society.”

To act on the Founders wisdom, we must return to the formula they outlined in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787:

“Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

While public schools cannot establish any particular religion, they need to educate students in the important principles that religion brings to society in helping its citizens live virtuous and fulfilling lives.

When the Founders wrote about “religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind,” they were referring to the three key elements for a virtuous and flourishing society — thus, a happy society. To be a self-governing people, each one of us must govern ourselves to love our neighbor as ourselves. This Independence Day is a great opportunity to remind ourselves that to pursue happiness we must pursue virtue.

 * * * * * * *

Eric Buehrer is the president of Gateways to Better Education and author of the professional development seminar, Faith, Freedom & Public Schools: Addressing the Bible and Christianity without Mixing Church and State. To bring the seminar to your community, call (800) 929-1163 or email kim@gtbe.org

St. Patrick's Day Commemorates a Christian Missionary

St. Patrick's Day is coming up and I'm sure your schools are going to be recognizing it with green and shamrocks and leprechauns. That's always fun. But I would encourage you to also teach your children and your students the real story of who Patrick was.

As a young boy he was captured and became a slave for the Irish. He then escaped after six years, became a priest, and went back to share the Gospel with his captors. The consequence of his life was 120,000 Irish converted to Christianity and 300 churches and monasteries were started. It's a fascinating story. St. Patrick's Day is the commemoration of the impact of a Christian missionary not only on the Irish, but on European and Western civilization. As Thomas Cahill writes in his book, How the Irish Saved Civilization:

"[A]s the Roman Empire fell, as all through Europe matted, unwashed barbarians descended on the Roman cities, looting artifacts and burning books, the Irish, who were just learning to read and write, took up the great labor of copying all of western literature-everything they could lay their hands on." 

"These scribes then served as conduits through which the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian cultures were transmitted to the tribes of Europe, newly settled amid the rubble and ruined vineyards of the civilization they had overwhelmed. Without this Service of the Scribes, everything that happened subsequently would have been unthinkable." 

"Without the Mission of the Irish Monks, who single-handedly re-founded European civilization throughout the continent in the bays and valleys of their exile, the world that came after them would have been an entirely different one--a world without books. And our own world would never have come to be."

Below are some resources for you to use in your home or in your classroom.

Resources:

• Here’s a 2-minute video from the History Channel you can show in class.

• St. Patrick – Catholic Online

• How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill

Teaching without Fear, Part 7: Easter in Your Classroom

How can public school educators teach about Easter's religious aspects? Well, as I've written about Christmas, you can teach all about the religious nature of a holiday as long as it's done academically and objectively-not devotionally. Besides its religious value for Christians, the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus has historical and cultural relevance for non-Christians. Teaching students the New Testament story has academic value.

Academically Expected

Some states provide educators with detailed standards for what students should learn about the Bible and Christianity. For example, in California, sixth-grade students are expected to:

"Note the origins of Christianity in the Jewish Messianic prophecies, the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament, and the contribution of St. Paul the Apostle to the definition and spread of Christian beliefs (e.g., belief in the Trinity, resurrection, salvation)."

The new California History-Social Science framework (adopted in July 2016) also adds that students should learn that "Jesus shared the Jewish belief in one God, but he added the promise of eternal salvation to those who believe in him as their savior." (See 189)

In Massachusetts, seventh-grade students are expected to:

"Describe the origins of Christianity and its central features. A. Monotheism; B. the belief in Jesus as the Messiah and God's son who redeemed humans from sin; C. the concept of salvation; D. belief in the Old and New Testament; E. the lives and teachings of Jesus and Saint Paul."

As part of World History, states across the country expect students to learn about the teachings and beliefs of Christianity. Of course, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the central teaching of Christianity.

The Easter Story and Commonly Used Terms

Several terms we use in literature and conversation come from the Easter story. We talk about somebody being a Judas - that is, a traitor. To suffer under something is referred to as "your cross to bear." To be criticized unfairly and persistently is sometimes referred to as being "crucified." An action or relationship that ruins someone is referred to as "the kiss of death." To disassociate from someone or something can be referred to as "washing my hands of this." A person who refuses to believe something until shown proof can be referred to as "a doubting Thomas."

Cultural & Historical Connections

Teachers can help students make cultural connections, whether it's history, literature, art, or social movements.

Leonardo da Vinci painted his idea of The Last Supper. The legends of King Arthur refer to the quest for the "Holy Grail" -- the cup or plate used by Jesus during the Last Supper which supposedly holds magical powers.

William Shakespeare assumed that those who attended his plays knew the stories in the Bible. He made hundreds of references to the Bible. For example, in his play King Richard the Second, the king says: "So Judas did to Christ: but he, in twelve, found truth in all but one; I, in twelve thousand, none. God save the king! Will no man say, amen?"

During the Civil War, a popular song was entitled "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It is still well known across the country today. You may recognize its stirring chorus, "Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on." It reflects a spiritually-motivated desire to end slavery and references the sacrifice of Jesus as an example to live by. For example, one verse reads: "In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me: As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on." A later version changed the words to "let us live to make men free."

In 1963, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was jailed for his civil rights actions. Some people called him an extremist-being too bold and going too far in his activities. He wrote a response, entitled "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." He used the Bible to explain the importance of being extreme for goodness. He used the death of Jesus as an example:

"In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime-the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."

J.R.R. Tolkien was an English author who wrote The Lord of the Rings. He was a Christian and used biblical allusions in his writing. For example, Gandolf's dramatic fight against the giant demonic figure Balrog of Moria illustrates the battle between good and evil. Gandolf sacrifices himself to save his friends, but later is "resurrected" in robes of white and appears to Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas in a forest.

Ben Myers lists twenty-five of his favorite pieces of literature that use Christ imagery. These include Don Quixote, Jim in Huckleberry Finn, Billy Bud, Jim Casey in The Grapes of Wrath, Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, and Simon in Lord of the Flies.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Terminology It may be helpful to use the term "recognizing Easter" rather than "celebrating Easter." Using the word "celebrate" may cause some people to feel that you are promoting religious participation in the holiday. There is a difference between "participating" in the holiday in a devotional manner and "recognizing" the holiday in an engaging academic manner.

It is also best to teach about Easter using words of attribution such as: "Christians believe...;" "The Bible says...;" "Martin Luther King, Jr., referenced the crucifixion when he wrote...;" and so forth.

Reading the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus to students is permissible to help students gain a basic academic familiarity with a person who has influenced so many people throughout history in government, art, literature, music, and social movements.

Presented with an eye toward education, not endorsement or devotion, recognizing the religious aspects of Easter is a legitimate academic activity.

CLICK HERE to download the textbook-style Easter lesson.

RESOURCES:

Click here to order our Easter Card for teachers.

Alliance Defending Freedom - What Can Be Done in Public Schools Regarding Religious Holidays

Literary Christ Figures (Power Point used in South Plantation High School - Plantation, FL)

How to Identify a Christ Figure in Literature (from Mill Valley School District - Mill Valley, CA)