I have been asserting that the historic America, the shining city on a hill is not found in the prophecies of the Book of Revelation, but that we can easily identify the America that has developed since the removal of prayer and Bible reading from our public schools. I mentioned that on that day my father-in-law, who was a pastor, wrote a tract entitled, “The Day America Died.” This raises the question of whether that pronouncement was hyperbole. Could the removal of Bible reading and prayer at the beginning of school days could have made that much difference in American culture? After all, these exercises took only about 10 minutes or so. Often it may have amounted to reading a short Psalm and then reciting the Lord’s prayer. One might wonder how such a small ritual could produce the major outcomes recorded by David Barton, cited in a pervious article.
As already noted in earlier articles, the negative impact of these Supreme Court decisions may not have resulted only from the withdrawal of the influence of these practices on students but also from God’s judgment on our nation. However, a number of factors related to America’s decline point to the removal of exposure of students to daily Bible reading and prayer as a cause.
A first consideration resides in the audience. We are dealing with young minds in their most influential stages of life. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the messages being sent to them through Bible reading and prayer were molding their worldviews, attitudes, and behaviors. The fact that students received this spiritual input at the beginning of every school day for 12 years would make it reasonable to conclude that it made a profound and indelible impact. In many states, the school year consists of about 175 days. That amounts to 2,100 school days in a student’s education. Think of the impact of the minds and heart of a student hearing God’s Word read and prayers being made 2,100 times. Think of the influence exerted by the consistency of this practice.
That leads us to consider the nature of the messages conveyed by Bible reading and prayer. Both activities communicated to the student that there is a God in heaven, specifically the God of the Bible. That truth would impress them with the reality that an authority existed that transcended all earthly powers, one that had a right to tell them how to live, that had in fact conveyed to them instructions on how to live found in His Word. They were further reminded that this God was observing their behaviors and ultimately would hold them responsible for their behaviors. The reading of Scripture would have explained to them the nature of that authority, that He was a loving but also a holy God. This reading of Scripture in public schools would have also conveyed to these students that our nation believed in the veracity and importance of Scripture, further supporting the authority of its content.
One might wonder how much a five-minute Scripture reading could influence the mind of a child or teen. I can give a personal response to that question. One day during my adult years I somehow came to realize that I could recite Psalm 24 verbatim. That made me wonder what enabled me to do that since I did not recall ever trying to memorize it. Then it dawned on me that Ps 24 was a favorite of my sixth-grade teacher, and therefore she frequently chose that Psalm for Bible reading. She did not read it every day but only occasionally. Nonetheless, that repetition left such an indelible impression on my young mind that I could recite that Psalm verbatim decades later. The point is that what appears to have been rather scant exposure to Scripture possessed the capability to make a profound impact, especially on young minds. What I learn today, I must relearn tomorrow. That is what age does to our minds. But what we learn as children sticks with us.
As we think of Scripture being embedded in young minds, we are reminded of the assertion of Jesus in John 6:63, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Jesus here is making the point that Scripture contains not only information but also life, and as each young generation of Americans was exposed to that life through the daily reading of Scripture, even though it may not have led to a personal relationship with the Lord, it no doubt transmitted a quality of spiritual energy that produced an impact on their lives.
The teaching of the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 also indicates the capacity of Scripture to mold the lives of young people. That passages teaches: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” No doubt often working at an unconscious level, the Scriptures nonetheless possessed the power to exercise substantial influence as they penetrated the hearts and minds of students daily over a 12 year period. Beyond that, the guidance of Scripture on how God expected these students to live provided them with foundational principles for morality and guiding their lives.
Daily prayer conveyed to students that they could have a relationship with God, that they could talk with Him, bring their needs and difficulties to Him, and that He could help them in time of trouble. The fact that He extended the privilege of prayer to them revealed that He cared about them and wanted a relationship with them.
These opening exercises of the school day impressed on these young minds and hearts the reality that they were not free to live as they chose but were under the authority of a God who left them instructions for life that would bring success when followed and lead to trouble when disregarded.
Therefore. we see how these opening exercises across the span of the 12 most formative years of the lives of American youth since early in our nation’s history would have had a profound impact in shaping not only every dimension of the lives of students but also on the culture of our nation as a whole as those students became adults and leaders in our society. In light of that level of influence, we recognize the depth of the impact that the removal of that influence would have produced, resulting in the trends recorded by David Barton.
What long-term imprint has the withdrawal of Scripture reading and prayer made an America culture? That is the topic of the article to come.