> Some more thoughts on the issue.
> The issue is not whether Christian eduction has been tried and found
> wanting,
Sorry for the late reply - just back from holidays. Since Potter very
clearly implied that it would be a good thing if theistic Sunday Schools
could stem the tide of humanistic teaching, then it is very much an
issue whether these theistic Sunday Schools, and Christian education
specifically, can demonstrate a superior capability over humanistic
teaching.
Potter asked "What can theistic Sunday Schools do .....". Let us first
be convinced that they should do anything at all, or that they serve any
useful purpose beyond the teaching of ethics/morals!
> but the fundamental religious nature of humanism. Leo Pfeffer
> argued sucessfuly in front of the supreme court in torcaso v. Watkins
> that indeed humanism is a religion. The AHA has a 501 c3 religious tax
> exemption. I heard what you said about ecoism but I have no time to
> respond now. Education can never take place in a philosophical vacuum.
I absolutely agree with you. But school education is only a significant
portion of a total education, not all of it.
> I submitt to you that humanism is a religion.
Secular humanism is a religion. The watered-down, "let's not offend
anyone" humanism likely to be found in schools does not qualify as
either religion or philosophy. It barely qualifies as ethics.
> Why is it in the schools?
I would suggest that such "humanism" as finds its way into schools is
not specifically secular humanism. I would suggest that it is a
pseudo-humanism that is no more than a combination of the
non-controversial pro-human ethical teachings common to all major
religions, theistic and atheistic.
If a majority of teachers were actually teaching the non-existence of a
god or gods, theists might have a reason for complaint, just as atheists
would have a reason for complaint if a majority of teachers were
teaching the existence of a god or gods. So teachers generally take the
path of least resistance and simply don't mention gods at all. This also
saves them the embarassment of having to justify, or provide objective
evidence for, any claims they might make about a deity or belief system.
> ___________________________________
> Education is the most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American
> public
> school is a school of Humanism. What can the theistic Sunday Schools,
> meeting for an hour once a week,and teaching only a fraction of the
> children do to stem the tide of a five-day program of Humanistic
> teaching?
> Charles Francis
> Potter
> ___________________________________________________________________
>
--RegardsDerek
-----------------------------------------------------| Derek McLarnen | dmclarne@pcug.org.au || Melba ACT | dmclarne@nccdcfsg.telecom.com.au || Australia | | -----------------------------------------------------