Supreme Court and Bible in schools Published Monday, July 10, 2023 A note from OCPAC FOUNDATION PRESIDENT BOB LINN ONLY THE BIBLE IN THE CLASSROOM WILL SAVE OUR REPUBLIC The profound transformation of the American mind is best illustrated by the fact that, from the origins of public education in the mid-17th century, to its progression to the mid-20th century, prayer and Bible reading were classroom essentials. Ideas like these are sparking controversy in today's news. The Bible in public schools was a necessity in the minds of the American founders. When the state of Massachusetts specified classroom content in the General School Law of 1647, it noted the importance of Bible reading in the classroom because it was known that the absence of the Bible in school was: “One chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures.” It was not long before our founders were challenged. When the French atheist, Stephen Girard, became a naturalized citizen in 1778, the wheels were set in motion for the first cultural assault upon the soul of the young nation. He sought to bring the cultural suicide of France’s Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire to the shores of America by leaving two-million-dollars, a portion of his vast wealth, to a school in Philadelphia in which no Bible reading would be allowed. Because it was well known that atheism rendered the U.S. Constitution inadequate as a governing document, the specification of the founding of a secular school entailed a legal battle which ascended to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1844, in the case of Vidal v. Girard’s Executors, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the proposed anti-Christian curriculum. The vote was unanimous. Justice Joseph Story wrote the opinion: Why may not the Bible, and especially the New Testament, without note or comment, be read and taught as divine revelation in the college – its general precepts expounded, its evidences explained, and its glorious principles of morality inculcated? Where can the purest principles of morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as from the New Testament? Where are benevolence, the love of truth, sobriety, and industry, so powerfully and irresistibly inculcated as in the sacred volume? With the court’s support, the city of Philadelphia rejected the proposal for a non-Bible-reading school. The city’s legal team wrote: The plan of education proposed is anti-Christian, and therefore repugnant to the law. The purest principles of morality are to be taught. Where are they found? Whoever searches for them must go to the source from which a Christian man derives his faith – the Bible. Both in the Old and New Testaments [religious instruction’s] importance is recognized. In the Old it is said, “Thou shalt diligently teach them to thy children,” and the New, “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not.” No fault can be found with Girard for wishing a marble college to bear his name for ever, but it is not valuable unless is has a fragrance of Christianity about it. Aggressive atheism had proven devastating to Girard’s France. With the intent to eradicate Christianity from France, the Jacobins, in June, 1793, established a calendar based on the “autumnal equinox” rather than the traditional designation of AD, Anno Domini, “in the year of our Lord,” the Christian calendar referenced in the U.S. Constitution. There is no better symbol of the French atheistic revolution than the guillotine of Robespierre. It is a tribute to the secular mind. The American Revolution stood in stark contrast with its pastors leading the way to establish the rule of law through a government grounded in Christendom. It was a concept of liberty based on morality rather than the untethered vice of the French and their atheism. Our Republic was birthed on the shoulders of devout Christian men whose writings are replete with statements of the nation's dependence upon Divine Providence. And, with those ideals, came their insistence on Bible reading as a requirement for every American child. FOR THE FOUNDERS, BIBLE READING IN ALL AMERICA'S SCHOOLS WAS THE ONLY PATH TO PRESERVE THE REPUBLIC Among the most prominent of all the founders is Dr. Benjamin Rush. He is remembered as the Father of American Medicine, the Father of Public Schools under the Constitution, and one of the first organizers of America’s first anti-slavery society. Perhaps as significant as anything, he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a member of the Continental Congress, and led the effort in Pennsylvania’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. In 1791, Dr. Rush wrote A Defense of the Use of the Bible as a Schoolbook. Fourteen times, he speaks of the importance of using the Bible as a schoolbook. He stated: We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is the universal education of youth in the principles of Christianity, by means of the Bible; for this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws, and all those frugal virtues, which constitute the soul of republicanism.” DIAGNOSING AMERICA'S CULTURAL DECLINE When we look for the reasons for the radical decline in American culture, we have to look at the ledge from which we have fallen. The image below illustrates America's long-lost foundation. Our founders were neither Deists nor secularists, but men steeped in Christian thought. More than a third of all the documents quoted by our founders were Bible quotes. The Bible is referenced four times more than either Montesquieu and Blackstone, the two individual men most quoted. John Locke was the third most referenced individual author, but Biblical passages are noted ten times for every one of Locke's. OUR CHILDREN MUST BE EXPOSED TO THE BIBLICAL TEXT IN SCHOOL IF OUR REPUBLIC IS TO SURVIVE Confirming the clarity of understanding our founders had regarding the inability of a society founded in atheism to be governed by the U.S. Constitution, John Adams wrote: Religion and morality alone can establish the principles upon which freedom can stand. Religion and virtue are the only Foundations not only of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all governments and in all combinations of human society. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. ~ Founder and U.S. President, John Adams Manhattan Institute’s Dr. Eric Kaufmann published his own research regarding the crisis of secularism in 2010 in his analysis of 21st century demography and politics, Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? As he nears the end, he notes the vacuous nature of atheism, secularism’s inability to inspire a people, and the more impoverished emotional state of those who have abandoned religious zeal. In closing, he states simply that: The religious shall inherit the earth. Oklahoma’s path to prosperity is found only in a return to the Biblical foundations of freedom bequeathed by America’s founders. The work being done by Oklahoma statesmen to remove the pornography, the atheism, and the anti-Americanism from our classrooms would be applauded by every one of those founders who stood on the protection of Divine providence as they pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in their stand for Christian liberty. Walters and the Board of Education, along with tens of thousands of fellow Oklahomans, are taking to heart the words of Ronald Reagan’s January 5, 1967 inaugural address as Governor of California when he said: Perhaps you and I have lived too long with this miracle to properly be appreciative. Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again. CONTENTS LAST WEEK AT OCPAC FOUNDATION July 5, 2023 Pastor John Stitt Red River Media STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION New Rules on pornography LAST WEDNESDAY'S LUNCHEON PASTOR JOHN STITT RED RIVER MEDIA Multiple national experts have been flown into Oklahoma to investigate the false allegations by the Wagoner County Sheriff Office. Each have verified the charges of murder and sexual abuse are without any foundation. Pastor John Stitt, the Governor's father, presented the investigative trail which has cleared the Woolley family beyond the slightest shadow of doubt. Watch Pastor John Stitt here Watch the entire program here Red River Media presented about 20 minutes of the documentary they have done regarding the miscarriage of justice by the Department of Human Services (DHS), and the county offices. Watch the official trailer here Senator Dana Prieto is working on legislation to provide the Woolleys the opportunity to recover their family and to be sure abusive and unqualified local officials are not able to wreak such havok on Oklahoma families. Watch Senator Prieto here Watch the entire program here OCPAC Foundation Chairman, Wade Burleson, Senator Shane Jett, and Pastor John Stitt led in a closing time of prayer that God would restore the Woolley family intact. REVIEW OF THE ACTIVITY of the STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOUNDING PRINCIPLES The United States of America is a harbor of hope for all, a nation blessed with liberty, justice, and opportunity for all people. Adherence to the principles of our nation’s founding civic documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, secures these blessings for future generations. Our nation’s founding principles are built on dependence on Nature’s God and His Laws (see the Declaration of Independence). As stated on America’s currency: IN GOD WE TRUST The Oklahoma Advisory Committee on Founding Principles encourages the Oklahoma State Department of Education to keep its public instruction grounded in what it means to be a citizen of Oklahoma and the United States of America. Our Founding Fathers believed morality and virtue are required for this nation’s citizenry to be capable of self-rule and the promotion of the common good. We agree. The formation of morality and virtue in students is integral to the work of public education. Maintaining this nation’s founding principles is a gift to students in aiding their intellectual growth and development of civic identity. A few years ago, an outdoor marquee at an Oklahoma City public school proclaimed: Do what is right, not what is easy. We agree. The Oklahoma Advisory Committee on Founding Principles recommends that the Oklahoma Department of Education: 1. Enforces the existing state statute, Oklahoma Statutes Title 70, Section 11-101.2, whereby each school in each Oklahoma school district shall begin every school day with a minute of silence. This shall be a full minute and not only the commonly referred to “moment.” Prior to each day’s minute of silence, each school in each district must announce over the school’s public address system the following purpose for the minute of silence: We now pause for a minute of silence in which students and teachers may use this minute to reflect, meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity. This pattern may be followed for significant school functions throughout the academic schoolyear. 2. Requires that each classroom of each school in Oklahoma school districts displays a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in a prominent location. 3. Requires a Western Civilization course for graduation as part of the curriculum in each school in each Oklahoma school district to strengthen the heritage which was integral to the nation’s founding and western culture, as well as to foster gratitude and informed citizenship. Implementing these recommendations will help maintain a society of free, virtuous, and flourishing citizens. SBE BOARD AGENDA HERE NEA/OEA EXPOSED Video of 2022 National Convention in Chicago The State Department of Education (SDE) meeting, on May 25th, 2023, premiered a shocking video of the NEA/OEA agenda. It was presented as a part of Ryan Walter's State Superintendent of Public Instruction report. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE OCPAC FOUNDATION RYAN WALTERS JUNE 7, 2023 Hear the presentation of Ryan Walters here Video on the NEA/OEA and porn in Oklahoma classrooms here OCPAC FOUNDATION FUND RAISING OCPAC | P.O. 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