The only way that Satan can ever rule over men is by deceiving them into setting up his system. Only when he has secured his power base and the nations are too enmeshed to extract themselves will Satan show his hand.

We know that Satan’s strategy is to deceive the world, but it is not enough to know this. God expects us to do something to oppose Satan’s plan. Since we have been given minds with which to think, we need to look around at the world in which we live and ask the question, “How does Satan deceive the masses of the people of the world?”

It seems to me that for Satan to deceive the world, he must gain control of the news media and the educational institutions. Of the two, the educational institutions are by far the more important. People who are well educated in truth can not be easily misled nor fooled over a long period of time. For example, people who know the true history of what has happened to the economy of nations ruled by communists cannot be fooled by learned professors who extol the virtues of the prosperity of the communist worker’s paradise. Only those who do not know the true history of the endless economic disasters would believe these platitudes and lies. The ignorant cannot long remain free.

Freedom’s Requirements

There are two indispensable requirements for a free society. There must be a large enough segment of society to stabilize and direct the society in the ways of freedom, and this controlling segment must be (1) moral and (2) educated. It must be moral in its values and actions. It must be educated in truth and wisdom. Immorality and ignorance are always destructive to a free society.

What does this have to do with America’s freedom and future?

President Reagan, at the beginning of his term in office, asked a group of qualified people to evaluate the status of education in America. In their report they stated that the level of education was so bad that if an enemy nation had done this to us, it would have called for a declaration of war.

Starting in 1963, when the federal government began spending billions of dollars on education, the Scholastic Aptitude Test scores for high school seniors began a steady decline that by 1980 had gone down 74 points. At the present the decline in scores has stopped, but there has been no substantial recovery in spite of spending over $300 billion per year on education.

Adult illiteracy is increasing at a rate of 1.5 million per year. A nationwide math test of 17- year-olds asked the question, “How much would it take to repay a $850 loan for one year at 12% simple interest.” Only 6 percent could solve the problem. Fourteen percent of adults could not identify the United States on a world map. Almost half could not find the state of New York or Illinois. Twenty-five percent could not identify the Pacific Ocean or the Soviet Union.

But the greatest tragedy of all is the appalling ignorance of history. The vast majority of Americans have not been taught meaningful history of Western civilization and therefore do not understand why it has been the predominant civilization and what the principles, values and morals were that created it.

It has been in the Western civilization where the common man has gained relative freedom and the United States has gained the highest pinnacle of liberty for its people. FromWestern civilization has come the great advances in science, industry and government. The printing press, automobile, airplane, radio, electric light, and nearly the total array of power and scientific tools of the modern world are the products of Western culture.

And the major distinctive factor of Western culture from the other cultures of the world has been its Christian religious foundation. Freedom and scientific knowledge have emerged from a Christian heritage. No one can understand Europe, and more particularly America, unless they have some knowledge of the Bible and its influence on men and governments. A man may reject God, but he cannot understand the modern world and be ignorant of the Scripture.

Could You Pass The Test?

On a plane trip I interviewed eight adults, all of whom had graduated from high school and two of whom were college graduates, and asked them 14 questions to test their general knowledge of the Bible and history. I asked them if they had ever heard the expression and could explain: “Manna from heaven,” “being a good Samaritan,” “as old as Methuselah,” and “the patience of Job.” I asked if they could identify and tell me anything about John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley.

Five scored zero, and the highest score was 22 percent correct. These were intelligent people, but the educational system had failed to educate them about the scripture and some of the most important men who shaped western civilization.

The dominant figure of all history is the Lord Jesus Christ. There have been more songs and books written about Him than about all other people. He has been a major influence on art. He has had more influence on more people within the Western civilization than all other men. Today, after 2000 years, there are buildings in nearly every city and village in Europe which honor His name, and in North and South America which are still being used to teach His truth. Can any man call himself educated who does not have some basic knowledge of Jesus Christ? Yet, our public education totally ignores Him and His influence on history.

The result is that our country is rapidly declining. Government has influence on both public morals and public education. Great changes for good could be wrought if our leaders in government were brought under the awesome power of prayer. This is our task.

Used by permission of Call to Action, P.O. Box 180788, Dallas, TX 75218-0788.