The Modern Selling of Indulgences

The college admissions scandal reveals the emptiness of higher education in America. It does not matter what you know, it matters who you know and how much you can pay. In many ways, the whole scheme is very much like the indulgences the Roman Catholic Church sold in order to build their basilicas. Luther’s 95 Theses exposed the heresy and hypocrisy of the established church of his day. 

I hope that this scandal will reveal that money spent on institutions that separate students from the Christian faith would be better spent in helping students get the godly training they need to be useful to society. It is wrong to feed the godless propaganda machine that the university has become. 

Education is a Christian necessity, but when it is divorced from God’s Word and the sovereignty of God, it becomes a weapon and a scourge. Recently I completed a nine-part series entitled Curriculum Foundations that discusses the basic doctrines that must be the bedrock of Christian education: 

1. Our Concept of God
2. The Doctrine of Creation throughout the Curriculum
3. The Doctrine of Providence throughout the Curriculum
4. The Doctrine of Predestination throughout the Curriculum
5. Prayer as an Essential Component in the Curriculum
6. Establishing a Vision of Victory
7. The Doctrine of Redemption: The Basis of True Education
8. Where the Spirit of the Law Is, There is Liberty
9. Establishing Your Identity

I hope that when parents make choices about education after the homeschool years, all concerned will weigh the benefits of “humanistic credentials” at the price of being taught by the enemies of God.

In Luther’s day, people were ready to receive the truth about man’s relationship to God and the Reformation began a truly important era for the church. Today’s Reconstructionist movement with its emphasis of applying God’s Word over every area of life and thought can have the same impact. We must take the valuable asset of our children and, along with ourselves, stand on the Rock of Jesus Christ throughout all disciplines and endeavors.