Telling the Truth Is Newsworthy

“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17 NASB).

Whenever propaganda parades as journalism, the people suffer; but its harmful effects are not limited just to people in the United States, for hundreds of millions of international households are watching American news.

While some stories are corrected when exposed, how much damage is done to our country through the intentional dissemination of false information simply to further politically-charged narratives?  If self-proclaimed journalists insist on professing personal political opinions under the guise of reporting news stories, they should openly announce themselves as political commentators, or go to work for political campaigns or PACs. (Maybe that’s what they are doing by working for today’s so-called “news media.”)

Claiming to tell the truth and actually telling the truth can be polar opposites.  But as George Washington affirmed, genuine truth will eventually win out: “Truth will ultimately prevail where pains is taken to bring it to light.”

The Bible warns strongly against those who speak lies disguised as truth (1 Timothy 4:2). Hypocrisy of any kind is to be abhorred, and Jesus called out the Pharisees (or was it today’s news media?) for such deception: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:27-28 NASB).

As people of faith, we need to be “shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16), wary of “the father of lies” (John 8:44), who deploys wolves “in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15).  But at the same time, we should also ask ourselves, “What would the world find out about me if every conversation of mine was secretly taped and later exposed?”

“He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out” (Proverbs 10:9 NASB).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Navigating War-Talk with Children

For over a year, our children have heard about and seen in the media of war in Ukraine.  And now, they witness it in Israel.  How Christian parents navigate their family will determine the ongoing values, mental health, and worldview that their children will perpetuate in years to come.  Now is the time to offer a road map as questions arise at the family dinner table.

No longer a “just turn off the TV” fix, children have more communication sources than ever starting at very young ages.  They will be exposed to wars one way or the other.  It is being talked about in school, on social media, and at church.  One grandmother reported her 10-year-old grandson demonstrated his access to Google Earth as he zoomed in on the countries surrounding Ukraine and quoted which countries were part of NATO.  Christians who support missionaries or have friends in the affected areas are posting on social media.  The world is small, our children no longer focus on the neighborhood around them but the global neighborhood of humanity, as well.  That’s a lot for a child.

War has always been part of human existence.  Sin is present in the world.  Greed is prolific. Power drives evil to unimaginable lengths.  The Bible is rife with stories of war, both righteous and not.  How, then do we begin to navigate the map of understanding war with our children without further fear and unnecessary anxiety?

A Focus on the Family article, “How to Talk With Your Kids About War,” gives parents some helpful suggestions.  Christian parents can remind children:

·         God is in control.

·         God loves everyone, promotes peace, and hates evil.

·         We are not designed to know everything about God or His plans.  And that’s okay.

The important thing is to keep communication open with your children.  Ask questions. When there is a quiet time, such as tucking your child in bed, ask how does hearing about war make you feel?  There is a balance between too little and too much information.  Your child’s age is also a consideration.  Avoiding labels such as “the bad people” and “the good people” recognizing that not all people who live in the affected areas are responsible for what is happening.

Children have eyes and ears for everything.  Guide your tongue and heart.  Keep your emotions in check and your attitude Christ-like.  Action speaks volumes.  Help your children pray for Christians in the war zones and those who are helping refugees. Investigate where you can put action into play with raising financial support, helping with care packages, or adopting a child or family to pray for and assist.  Fear and anxiety can be replaced with hope by putting your love for others into action.  Place a map on the wall and pinpoint countries you want to pray for and study their lifestyle there.  Help your children imagine children from those countries in their everyday life.  If you have a known missionary, pastor, or church in that area, note them on the map and pray for them specifically.  Though the world is small, we sometimes fail to see the individual lives that make it up.  Jesus loves all the little children of the world.  “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (I Peter 4:8).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Families Are the Foundation of Society

The Godly plan of a man and a woman as the founding partners of a family is exemplified in Ephesians 5:21-27 where it says: “Submitting to one another in the fear of God.  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy…”  If we look to the beginning of the Bible, we see in Genesis 1:28 where God blesses the marriage of Adam and Eve, saying, “…Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Sadly, this institution of marriage and family is falling out of favor with our culture.  Just between 2007 and 2016, the number of individuals cohabitating instead of tying the knot rose by 29 percent in the United States.  In addition, the number of married Americans has declined by eight percent since 1990.

If we look at the number of children born to married parents in the United States, this, too, has shifted dramatically.  Nowadays, one in four parents is unmarried in the United States.  This is a stark increase from what it was just a half-century ago at less than ten percent.

Clearly, the numbers demonstrate a cultural trend that is shifting away from marriage and family as the bedrock of society.  As families have declined in the United States, so have our moral foundations.  This is not surprising given the Godly wisdom of Proverbs 22:6, which says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

How can a family train them when a family is not a family?  Worse yet, it is in the family that children glean their first lessons in civics.  This means that those lessons are also being lost. As Princeton University Professor Jan-Werner Müller noted, people derive their sense of patriotism and identity based on their “historical self,” their shared history. If they have a strong patriotic family to identify with, the children will become more patriotic.

In 1 Timothy 5:8, Paul reminds us that “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Surely, this refers to more than material things!  It means we have an obligation to provide for the well-being of our loved ones— which includes the creation of a stable familial environment.

As Christians, it is our solemn duty to provide the foundation of moral understanding that creates a better society and community.  We cannot allow the degradation of families to continue.  As we go forth in our lives, if we wish to do what is best for our nation and country, we ought to start by doing right by our families and children.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Show Children the Way They Should Go!

Proverbs 22:6 advises parents: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”  Christian parents should take this advice seriously in the hope that their children will become Christians as well.

Unfortunately, an article from Pew Research indicated that, within the last decade, there has been a large decline in American adults who would describe themselves as Christian. Furthermore, it appears that the number of millennials who describe religion as important to their lives has fallen to 38%.

The fact is that young people are leaving the church.  This is alarming because, according to reports from Barna Research Group, most individuals who become Christian do so when they are very young— before 13 years of age.  The window in which parents can effectively impart their faith is very small!  While it would be tempting to blame secular culture for this decline, to do so would sidestep the responsibility of Christian parents to care for their children’s spiritual needs.  According to another study, 43% of Christian parents admit that they “seldom/never” participate in prayer, scripture study, or religious education groups.  If they are neglecting their own spiritual life, how much more neglected must be the lives of their children?

An article on Cold Case Christianity’s website includes this convicting quotation regarding Christianity among teenagers from author Kenda Dean: “If teenagers lack an articulate faith, it may be because the faith we show them is too spineless to merit much in the way of conversation.”

As many teenagers from Christian families can tell you, there is a large portion of youth who are raised “Christian” but react with rebellion in their teenage years to hypocritical dogmatism and hostility from Christian adults.  A survey conducted among young people who had left the church reached a similar conclusion.  Aside from moving to college, most of them left because church members seemed “judgmental or hypocritical.”

Ephesians 6:4 furthers the advice of Proverbs saying: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  If Christians are to answer the question of why young people leave the church, they should look at themselves. The early Church survived greater persecution than what is faced in modern America.  If the American church is dying it is because it is killing itself.  Children are not being brought up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord because their parents rarely improve upon their own spiritual life and because the example children see is one of hypocrisy.

One commentator offers a definitive solution: “Parents who prioritize church as a central part of their family life, who teach their children to take Christianity seriously, and who encourage them to marry fellow believers, have the best chance of seeing not only their children but also their grandchildren in the pews beside them.”

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Why Those Who Conspire Against Israel Do So Against God Himself

The Bible pointedly instructs:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.  May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces…’  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good” (Psalm 122:6-7, 9 NASB).

Since our founding, America has sought the good of Jerusalem and recognized Israel’s numerous contributions to our own faith and freedom.  For example, John Adams declared:

“I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation....If I were an atheist of the other sect who believe (or pretend to believe) that all is ordered by chance, I should believe that chance had ordered the Jews to preserve and propagate to all mankind the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise, almighty Sovereign of the Universe, which I believe to be the great essential principle of all morality and consequently of all civilization.”

Throughout our history, America has never wavered in support of the Jews and Israel. Yet today, certain members of Congress are vocalizing anti-Semitic slurs and even actions.  One of the most prominent examples is Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who introduced a measure calling for America to punish Israel (through the Palestinian-led “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” movement) just as we punished Nazi Germany in WWII:

“Whereas Americans of conscience have a proud history of participating in boycotts to advocate for human rights abroad, including … boycotting Nazi Germany from March 1933 to October 1941 in response to the dehumanization of the Jewish people in the lead-up to the Holocaust.”

Thankfully, the House voted down her measure.

As Christians, we support Israel because of God’s promise that He will bless those who bless the nation formed from Abraham and Isaac, and also because the Bible makes clear that Christians are grafted by God into Jewish roots (Romans 11:11-24), with salvation being promised “to the Jew first and [then] also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 NASB).

As Americans, we owe our founding principles to the Judeo-Christian Biblical values that shaped the constitutional rights and freedoms we enjoy to this day.

We can therefore echo the words of Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu:

“Israel has no better friend than America.  And America has no better friend than Israel.  We stand together to defend democracy.  We stand together to advance peace.”

Under God’s providence and as a result of His direct intervention, Israel and the Jews have survived millennia of persecution from many civilizations.  Because the Bible promises that such efforts will continue to the end of time, we should join with the Biblical psalmist and pray:

“God, do not remain quiet;

Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.

For behold, Your enemies make an uproar,

And those who hate You have exalted themselves.

They make shrewd plans against Your people,

And conspire together against Your treasured ones.

They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,

That the name of Israel be remembered no more.’

For they have conspired together with one mind;

Against You they make a covenant” (Psalm 83:1-5 NASB, emphasis added).

May God Bless Israel— and thereby may God also Bless America!  As God promised Abraham about Israel and the Jewish people: “And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3 NASB).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Peace in the Middle East

The Bible instructs people to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” promising:

“May they be secure who love you.

Peace be within your walls

And security within your towers” (Psalm 122:6-7).

Given current conditions in the Middle East, there is no better time to pray this prayer.  In trying to help bring some stability to a very tumultuous region.

On the day after the 75th anniversary of Auschwitz (the Allied liberation of a prominent Nazi death camp where a brutal genocide against Jews was being carried out by Adolph Hitler in World War II), President Trump, standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced his plan for peace in the Middle East:

“The Palestinians have been the primary pawn in this regional adventurism, and it’s time for this sad chapter in history to end...It’s never too late for courageous leaders to set a new course, to pursue what is right, to change the future only for the better.  America is prepared to work with all parties on our vision...There are many Muslims who never visited Al Aqsa, and many Christians and Jews who never visited the holy sites in the West Bank described so vividly in the Bible. My vision will change that.  Our majestic Biblical heritage will be able to live, breathe, and flourish in modern times.”

Ironically, before many in the media even had time to review this 80-page “Peace to Prosperity” plan, news stories broke calling the proposal “controversial,” “a deal for the US and Israel...and not Palestinians,” and even concluding minutes after the announcement, “Palestinians will likely reject it.”

Still others derided the Trump Administration as, “the most fervently Christian Zionist government the United States has ever had.” (A Zionist is someone who believes that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, and to defend itself if attacked.)  They even mocked Evangelical Christians for their support of Israel as attempting to “bring about the Rapture and Second Coming

And contrary to what some would have us believe, America has a long and firm record of standing with the nation of Israel— a support that goes all the way back to the Founding Fathers.  For example, John Quincy Adams once wrote: “[I believe in the] rebuilding of Judea as an independent nation.”

In fact, when America became the first nation to officially recognize Israel as a state in 1948, President Truman voiced what many Americans believed when he proclaimed: “I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have faith in it now.”

Israel became the Promised Land of the Jews centuries ago when God promised Abraham, “to your descendants I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7).  And even while Israel was scattered for two millennia, they had faith in what God had promised:

“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24 NASB).

And so, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem and work to achieve that end.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Hate Evil, Love Good!

In the Psalms, King David writes:

“For evildoers will be cut off…the wicked will perish;

And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures,

They vanish— like smoke they vanish away” (Psalm 37:9, 20-21 NASB).

For almost fifteen hundred years, radical Islamic leaders and terrorists have murdered, maimed, and terrorized both their own nations and the world— often getting away with murder and even pallets of cash. 

How can we forget ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.  Among his many crimes against humanity (aside from being responsible for targeting thousands of Yazidi’s and ordering the death of Western captives) was the murder of American Kayla Mueller, a 21st Century Christian martyr who refused to recant her faith.

Yet instead of America supporting victory over evil, members of the media chose to mourn the loss of the dead ISIS leader, characterizing him as an “austere religious scholar w/ wire-frame glasses.” Even adding:

“Acquaintances would remember him as a shy, nearsighted youth who liked soccer but preferred to spend his free time at the local mosque.”

Only after public outrage over this defense of a mass murderer did the Washington Post later admit him to be the, “extremist leader of Islamic State.”  Mourning the death of the wicked is becoming a recurring theme in the media.

Still worse, some in Hollywood even decided to publicly apologize to Iran with one actress tweeting:

“Dear #Iran, The USA has disrespected your country, your flag, your people.  52% of us humbly apologize.  We want peace with your nation.  We are being held hostage by a terrorist regime.  We do not know how to escape. Please do not kill us. #Soleimani”

Similarly, U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, completely disrespecting of the thousands of innocents slaughtered by Soleimani, even classified the strike as a political diversion tactic to divert the conversation away from the impeachment of President Trump.

The media and some Democrats seem to prefer terrorists instead of America— choosing to defend a murderous tyrant instead of supporting freedom and justice.  The Bible, however, is unwavering:

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;

Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;

Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20 NASB).

As people of faith, we are called to a higher standard:

“For thus says the Lord…

Hate evil, love good,

And establish justice in the gate!” (Amos 5:4, 15 NASB).

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Wisdom is from God

There has been a steady rise in the popularity of New Age practices since the 1980s. Meditation, mindfulness, reiki healing, and yoga are commonplace.  Are the practices merely benign habits for health and wellness or are they, in actuality, the practice of pagan religion? Is there a place for any of the common New Age rituals in the life of a believer?

The New Age Movement consists of an eclectic range of beliefs and practices based on Buddhism and Taoism, psychology, psychotherapy, paganism, clairvoyance, tarot, and magic.  Included in the movement is belief in the power of healing through spiritual energy, nature, and astrology.  Mindfulness, self-awareness, and seeking psychic power are thought to elevate man affording him more control over his decisions.

Earl E. Bakken, Center for Spirituality and Healing, speaks to the components of mindfulness. He describes, “Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”  To the Christian, this sounds like a practice that could not harm.  It’s a “hyperfocus” on our mental state.

The Bible says in Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  If then, by becoming mindful, are we seeking personal wisdom or wisdom from God?  Is mindfulness an opportunity to correct the lies our thoughts may contain?  Can a Christian be mindful and call on God for wisdom within the mindfulness, perhaps by meditation? Meditation may also be construed as New Age, however, the Bible has much to say on this subject.

• Psalm 119:15 ESV – “I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways.”
• Psalm 104:34 – “May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord.”
• Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Meditation on scripture is a directive from the Bible.  

Have the New Age teachings surreptitiously invaded the church?

In her article on “dailyshepursues.com” Chelsey Paredes lists common New Age beliefs to be wary of in the church.  These are:

• “law of attraction” in which you may ask for and be awarded what you desire;
• “following your heart” whereby Christians can be guided through emotions and feelings to make their decisions;
• “oneness,” the act of becoming one with God by our sinlessness and not by our faith; and
• the belief that we are “mini gods” because with Christ in us we are also God, not children of God.

These trappings of New Age practices often leave God in the backseat and man in driving his destiny.

In Proverbs 28:26 it says, “Those who trust in themselves are fools.”  We should not trust our minds but seek the mind of God.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Christian Problem of Politics

Christians in the United States celebrated when one of a transgender activist’s complaints against Christian baker Jack Phillips was thrown out.  Of course, those with sincerely held Christian convictions have a right to rejoice at this small win for religious freedom.  Nonetheless, a risk that is run when Christianity becomes involved in such politically charged events is that Christians can feel as though they must win every political battle to advance the Kingdom of Heaven.

Evangelical Christians care a lot about politics.  This is hardly surprising given that politics have a direct and material effect on the lives of every person under the authority of a government.  While Christians should certainly advocate for their faith, we must keep in mind that God will fulfill His will no matter what petty dictators on earth decide.

Even if some in power abuse their position, governments are ordained by God for good, not for evil.  The main purpose of government Paul outlines in Romans 13:4 is that government is there to protect the citizenry from the everyday problems of crime and invasion: “For the one in authority is God's servant for your good.  But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason.  They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

Though governments can become oppressive of religion, Christians should not despair. They should defend their faith as best they can, but they do not need to control the government to evangelize.

Christian apologists like Peter Kreeft have spent years writing and speaking on the dire crisis of faith demonstrated in the “culture war” within the United States.  While Kreeft’s analysis of the dangers posed to Christians through this culture war is poignant, the fear of this dystopian outcome should not overcome our hope as Christians.

Even if Christianity is successfully driven out of the United States’ mainstream culture, God will see to it that His ends are achieved.  Even amid his sufferings, Job was able to cry out to God and declare to Him in Job 42:2: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”  Similarly, Christians who are persecuted should recognize that God’s will can overcome any governmental barrier.

Even in Communist China, where Christians are physically threatened and abused on a daily basis, Christianity is still the fastest-growing religion in the nation.

Although Christians have every right to fight for and defend their freedom of expression and religion, they ought to remember that God is still in control, no matter what happens. The Lord will use whatever comes to accomplish His purposes.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

A Plea to Avoid Self-Righteousness

The world is broken.  Mankind broke it.  Somehow, it seems like this fact is often forgotten. Many Christians seem to react with disbelief when confronted with the ways in which mankind has butchered this world.  This simple fact should act as a warning to all of us to avoid being self-righteous.

In Luke 18:10-14 we read these words of Christ Jesus:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’  “But the tax collector stood at a distance.  He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.  For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

In our lifetime we have rarely seen such a time of polarization in American history. Roughly 90% of voters on both sides of the 2020 Presidential Election said that they would “be very concerned about the country’s direction and that [the opposing candidate’s election] would lead to lasting harm to the U.S.”

Not only have Americans of different political persuasions come to fear and distrust each other, but they have also done so over racial lines.

Across the board, hate crimes based on race reached a decade high in the year 2020. The kind of self-justifying attitude that makes someone feel entitled to abuse another human being based on their skin color is deeply dangerous.  Concerns about this attitude go both ways.

There is an inevitable tendency to mischaracterize people whom most of us have never met as being wholly innocent or wholly guilty when the Bible tells us this is simply not true.

Romans 13:10-12 says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

At this point in American history, the last thing we need is to arrogantly assume our opinions are infallible and to recognize that our fallen world is broken because of our sins in the Garden of Eden. If our country is to survive, the right and the left need to drop the polarizing dichotomy of “us vs. them.”  We are all human, we are all broken, and, frankly, none have all the answers.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Newsom Signs Bill to Fine School Districts for Dissenting from Left-wing Curriculum

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently signed a bill that enables him to slap fines on local school districts that refuse to obey state edits on curriculum involving controversial subjects like race, gender, and sexuality.

As Breitbart News reported in July, Newsom sought the power to punish dissenting school districts in conservative communities and backed a bill, AB 1078, that would let him do that regarding LGBTQ+ issues and “ethnic” studies.

The bill was failing in the California state legislature, where Democrats hold supermajorities in both houses, until Newsom, seeking a tool against local school districts, jumped into the debate and backed the legislation, saving it.  Newsom hoped to punish one school district in particular, in Temecula, California, where a new conservative majority won school board elections and rejected LGBTQ+ materials, including on the late Harvey Milk.  While Newsom claims the law “bans book bans and censorship,” it effectively enforces left-wing censorship in schools, since state-mandated curricula do not include conservative or traditional perspectives on these issues.  Newsom also claimed that his new law gave families the “freedom” to “decide what’s right for them,” when in fact the law strips that freedom from families to decide, via their own school districts, what their children must learn.

When Democrats are forced to hear some of the material they say should not be “banned” for children — as Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) recently did by reading it aloud in a Senate hearing — they admit that it is “very disturbing.”

Separately, Newsom’s administration is suing a local school board in Chino Valley, California, for adopting a policy requiring schools to notify parents if children want to change their gender — a policy backed by 84% of Californians.

Newsom has sought to portray himself as a national leader against Republican-run states like Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has barred the use of Critical Race Theory from schools, and sexual materials for early grades.  

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

The Texas Exodus - Students Leaving Public Schools

Tens of thousands of parents in the state of Texas are choosing to homeschool their children following the COVID-19 pandemic.  Recent data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) showed almost 29,765 students switched to homeschooling after withdrawing from public or private schools during the 2021-22 school year.  The information was part of an open records request by the Texas Home School Coalition (THSC).

“This high has previously only been matched during the COVID-19 peak in the 2020–2021 school year when the number was 29,845,” THSC said.  THSC Vice President of Policy and Engagement Jeremy Newman told KBTX-TV that the TEA numbers for the 2022-23 school year will be released in 2024.  Although the TEA only tracks student withdrawals from the 7th to the 12th grade, Newman thinks a very large number of younger students are also switching to homeschooling.  “This is certainly anecdotal because we don’t have the hard numbers from the TEA, but in our experience, the lower grade levels are the most prominent grade levels where families choose to withdraw,” Newman said.  “So, if the total number were north of 40,000 or higher, that would not surprise me at all.”

The THSC has cited the following three main reasons for parents withdrawing their children from public schools: “concern about safety, parental involvement, and the school environment.”  According to a THSC study, “Since 1998, a total of 379,815 students between grades 7-12 have withdrawn from public schools in Texas to homeschool.  This number has increased at an average of 6.5% per year.”

Newman told The Federalist homeschooling is attractive to parents in the Lone Star State partly because the transition process is easy.  “In Texas, it’s easy to homeschool because there is a lot of flexibility and little regulation,” he said.  “In Texas, you have to teach reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship.  So other than a few other paperwork things, this gives parents an enormous amount of flexibility, and a lot of other states are more onerous than the homeschooling community in Texas.  It’s more developed than in other states so it’s comparatively easier.”

And the homeschooling trend also continues across the country.  The National Home Education Research Institute’s data shows that from late March to early May of 2022, 5.22% of all school-age children were homeschooled.  So far, homeschooling has had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1% between 2016-2021.

As CBN News has reported, although the home-schooling move may have started before the COVID-19 pandemic, the exodus from public schools certainly sped up during the health crisis.  Many parents pulled their kids out of the public school systems after educators and administrators flip-flopped repeatedly on virtual versus in-person learning and mask mandates from 2020 into 2021.  The mishandling of the government-sanctioned education system saw many parents enrolling their children in private and charter schools.  In addition, about five million children are now homeschooled.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel

Biden Admin Deports German Homeschool Family

It appears the Biden Administration thinks homeschooled families pose a threat to democracy.

The Biden Administration has ordered a German homeschool family, who came to America legally, to leave the country.  The move comes as the White House has turned a blind eye to millions of illegals invading the southern border.

The Romeike family was forced to flee Germany in 2008 after they were persecuted by the government for homeschooling their children.  The Germans levied fines against the family and threatened to take away their children.  Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their five children eventually settled in eastern Tennessee and were granted indefinite deferred action status.  The evangelical Christians were allowed to live, work, and remain safely in the United States without fear of deportation.

In the 10 years they’ve been in the United States, they had two children (who are American citizens) and two of their grown children have married Americans.  They also have an American grandchild.

But a few weeks ago, during a routine check-in with the American government, the family was ordered to pack their bags and head back to Germany.  They were being kicked out of the country.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) says the Romeikes were given four weeks to apply for German passports so they could be deported.  “The family had no prior warning, and was offered no explanation, other than that there had been a “change of orders,” the HSLDA said.  “Deportation to Germany will fracture these families, while exposing the Romeikes to renewed persecution in Germany, where homeschooling is still illegal in almost every case.”

So, the Biden Administration is allowing thousands of rapists, drug cartels, murderers, and men of military age to breach our borders, but they’re going to kick an evangelical Christian German family out of the country?

I guess [Biden] considers Christian homeschoolers to be untrustworthy persons.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel