Twenty years ago a state senator from Nebraska made an alarming statement. Thankfully, his prediction of a one-world global society has not come true (yet), but his opinion about parents’ rights is a belief that many people involved in public education hold dear. Here is what former Senator Peter Hoagland said in 1983:

"Fundamental, Bible-believing people do not have the right to indoctrinate their children in their religious beliefs because we, the state, are preparing them for the year 2000, when America will be part of a one-world global society, and their children will not fit in."

That statement was made during an Omaha, Nebraska radio and television interview in April of 1983. Hoagland was joined on the show by a Nebraska minister who had been jailed and his church doors padlocked by the government in an attempt to shut down his Christian school.

Of the minister, Hoagland said, "I don’t think any of us in the legislature have any quarrel with the right of the reverend or members of his flock to practice their religion, but we don’t think they should be entitled to impose decisions or religious philosophies on their children."

Hmmm. Communist countries promote that kind of reasoning. Children belong to the state, and parents are merely the caretakers. The leaders see children as property that will one day yield benefits for the governing body, much as a farmer views seeds that will one day produce a bountiful harvest. Furthermore, a child’s blind obedience to government control as an adult may be hindered by his or her faith in a higher power. Individuals who aren’t exposed to religious teachings until they become adults are less likely to develop an interest. Therefore, they are more likely to bow to government authority.

However, as Christians we know that we weren’t created to worship and serve men. We exist for the glory of God! Our children are an inheritance from the Lord. They belong to us, not some faceless government. There is something within me that rebels at being told I cannot exercise my God-given rights to instruct my children in all things biblical.

What became of Hoagland and the persecuted minister? Nebraska law was eventually changed, the minister released, and the church and school reopened. Hoagland, whose political career took him to the United States Congress, was eventually defeated after serving as a U.S. representative for three terms by a 29-year-old Republican, Jon Christensen in 1995. America survived the coming and going of the year 2000 intact, although the battle for our children’s minds rages on in the political arena.

Whenever our education system comes under fire, the blame always falls on parents or lack of funds. We’re told that all problems can be resolved with more money and more government control. Because we care about education, we continue to support a system that is increasingly hostile to Christians and their beliefs. But, is the problem really that there is not enough government control? Or is that the excuse being used to gain more and more control over the minds of impressionable children? Victor Gollancz, a famous socialist publisher, believed that socialism would eventually take over America. He said, "Christians are not exactly bright, so it will be easy for socialism to lead them down the garden path through their ideals of brotherly love and ‘social justice’."