Lifting Education Out of the Pit
As I’ve shared on numerous occasions, we Christians are “people of the Book.” Our faith is founded on and inspired by the Bible. Since the Bible is so essential to the life of faith, literacy is a priority! Literacy and other forms of knowledge were fundamental to developing one’s faith in our Triune God—denominations and groups of like-minded churches created and supported educational institutions. Historically, Christians viewed educational support as an act of evangelism because literacy and education enhanced and inspired their faith.
In our contemporary society, when we devalue education, Christians must stand and reclaim our nation’s commitment to education. “The Atlantic” addresses the current educational malaise in its October 14, 2025, article by Idrees Kahloon, entitled “America Is Sliding Toward Illiteracy.” Kahloon begins by clearly stating the concern, “The past decade may rank as one of the worst in the history of American education.” Our educational decline began before COVID-19, with diminished progress beginning in 2013. Kahloon provides proof by stating test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which showed that 33% of 8th graders were “below basic” in reading. Worse, 4th graders scored 40% “below basic” in reading. College preparatory scores were the worst since they were redesigned in 1990.” Yet, according to Kahloon, “School spending did not decline from 2012 to 2022.”
There are several reasons for the decline. Smartphones are an easy and accurate culprit. “In 2011, just 23 percent of teenagers had smartphones.” “By 2018, that figure was 95 percent, where it remains today.” Yet, smartphones are not the only problem. It wasn’t Middle and High Schoolers whose academic performance faltered as much as the drop in elementary school, before smartphones were a destructive problem. The deeper issue, according to “The Atlantic” article, is that “schools have demanded less and less from students-who have responded, predictably, by giving less and less.” Schools are not holding students and parents accountable for attendance. “One in four students today is chronically absent, meaning that they miss more than a tenth of instructional days, a substantial increase from pre-pandemic averages.” A significant portion of parents and our educational institutions are letting our children down.
We can name the problem until the rapture, and nothing will improve until we name, own, and passionately address the issue. If we, educated Christians, do not address the issue of education soon, we will slide into an intellectual depression that will impact every area of our lives, from medicine to religion. The decline of literacy and the nurture of the philosophical thought process have led the Christian faith to lean substantially toward ignorant, charismatic religious expressions, where feelings are all that is experienced, and intelligent Biblical study and reflection are ignored or shunned.
Feelings without intelligent evaluation are easily manipulated. We must question our faith, reflect on it, and challenge it, so we know we are guided by our Triune God, not the whims of charlatans. In my first month as pastor in my first congregation, a woman stood up in the middle of my sermon and called me a sinner, saying I needed to turn instead to Jim Baker, who really knew the way to salvation. She gave Jim and Tammi Fae Baker all her money, after they promised her all sorts of blessings in this world and the next, and a few months later, our deacons paid her rent and helped her get on food stamps. The Apostle Paul spoke of “false teachers” and not being fooled. One meaningful way to avoid being scammed by false prophets is to nurture sound critical thinking. Today, recommit your life to cultivating your own intellectual curiosity and to supporting your community, fulfilling our commitment to future generations so that all might have a proper education.