Dennis Prager, the well-known radio talk-show host, has produced an
enormously interesting series of five-minute online videos under the
title of “Prager University” (prageru.com) which I commend to all
homeschoolers. In each video he discusses, from a conservative point
of view, a topic of great interest to any intelligent American.
In one video, Dennis Prager asks and answers the question: “What is
the most important verse in the Bible?”
Of course, we all have our favorite verses. Mine is the 23rd Psalm.
For Paul Johnson, the British historian, it’s the book of Job. As to
importance, that required on my part a bit of thinking. But when
Prager came up with his answer, I could only agree with him one
hundred percent.
In Prager’s view, the most important verse in the Bible is the very
first verse in Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth.” That sums up an entire philosophy of life based on the
belief that there is a God and that He created all that exists. It is
the belief behind the Declaration of Independence which states:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted
among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the
Governed.
That, in essence, is the political, moral, and spiritual philosophy
behind the founding of this nation. It is the philosophical foundation
of America. It is also the foundation of our belief that life has
meaning, that human beings have souls, and that we have the God-given
freedom to seek our own destinies, our own happiness, our own
salvation.
Many people misinterpret the phrase “all men are created equal” as
meaning that we are all the same and deserve the same outcomes in
life. But it is equally self-evident that we are all different, that
no two human beings are alike, that each human being is a unique
creation, including all of those unborn human beings disposed of by
abortion.
Human individuality is the basis of the American economic system, in
which each individual is free to use his or her talent to achieve
success, happiness, wealth, artistic greatness, fame,
self-fulfillment, or godly virtue. That is the core of American
greatness, the endeavors of its millions of individual citizens to
create, invent, discover, and live life according to one’s own
desires. It is a philosophy that rejects socialist collectivism,
government control of our lives, totalitarianism, fascism,
dictatorship, and Satanic religions that deny the God of the Bible and
promote evil.
In framing the Constitution of the United States, the founding fathers
provided us with a framework, or blueprint, of a republican
representative government that would safeguard the freedoms won in the
War for Independence. It could not foresee or address all of the
problems our nation would face in the future. But it provided
guidelines for political leadership in times of crisis and rational
action to handle the crisis.
The greatest crisis our nation faced was when the Southern states
seceded from the Union. President Lincoln could have decided to either
accept the division of the nation or prevail against it. Of course, he
could not foresee a civil war that would claim over half a million
lives. And today, opinions are still divided on what could or should
have been done in the face of the secession of the South.
That the issue of slavery was central to the conflict between North
and South meant that the moral issue of individual freedom was at the
heart of the problem and had to be resolved. Did the words in the
Declaration of Independence apply to all human beings, or not? Lincoln
believed that they also applied to individuals of color. The price the
American people paid to uphold that idea was enormous.
Because we remained true to the principles in the Declaration of
Independence, the United States survived the Civil War and went on to
become the most prosperous and powerful nation on earth. Yet, today,
with the takeover of our government schools by secular humanists, and
a national movement to remove God from our public life, the question
Dennis Prager asks is as relevant today as when the founding fathers
proclaimed their adherence to Genesis One.
The political, moral, and spiritual foundation of this nation is still
the Bible. Our coins still say In God We Trust. Liberty. E Pluribus
Unum.
Homeschoolers have become an ever growing force upholding these basic
biblical principles. And that is why homeschoolers can and must play
an ever increasing role in shaping the future of America.
Born and educated in New York City, Samuel Blumenfeld has written ten
books on education, including several that are considered homeschool
classics. His phonics program, Alpha-Phonics, and How to Tutor the
Three R’s, are available from Ross House Books, ChalcedonStore.com,
209-736-4365 ext. 12.
