Dr. Mohler’s Thoughts:
The controversy over President Barack Obama’s speech to America’s school children scheduled for Tuesday morning continues to incite controversy. On the surface, this seems incredible. Why would a speech calling for students to remain in school and set personal goals for themselves incite any controversy at all? Is this just another eruption of the Culture War?
At first glance, that seems to be exactly what this fracas is all about. Much of the controversy is reckless, baseless, and plainly irrational. Some have called the speech an effort to recruit America’s children into socialism. Others have argued that any presidential speech piped into classrooms is illegitimate. But a presidential speech to students is hardly unprecedented. This speech by this president has led to an unprecedented uproar.
At this level, the controversy is a national embarrassment. Conservatives must avoid jumping on every conspiracy theory and labeling every action by the Obama administration as sinister or socialist. Our civic culture is debased when opposing parties and political alignments read every proposal by the other side as suspect on its face.
Instead of gushing over Obama’s words why can’t Mohler say something like,
The problem with Obama’s speech to America’s school students is not so much in the content as in the presuppositions behind the speech. There was a time when Parents understood it was their responsibility to raise, educate and motivate their children. Now, not only have we turned to the state to educate and raise our children, but we find it perfectly acceptable for the President to play the role of “Parent in Chief.”
The great Dr. J. Gresham Machen understood this. Machen, speaking of education could say,
“The most important Christian Education institution is not the pulpit or the school, important as those institutions are; but it is the Christian family. And that institution has to a very large extent ceased to do its work.
~ J. Gresham Machen, in Education, Christianity, and the State.
But instead of taking the opportunity to once again emphasize to his natural constituency the necessity to get their children out of government schools, Mohler takes the opportunity to lament over cultural war resistance to a man who desires to implement his Marxist ideology on America.
Certainly Obama’s speech is not the most sinister thing he has yet done but Obama, unlike many Christian spokesmen, doesn’t compartmentalize his belief system. All that Obama does, including speaking to America’s children is done with a view towards the cultural Marxist end he desires to achieve. As such, any resistance to Obama in anything that he does is a necessary resistance.
The fact that Mohler can warn people against finding something sinister or socialist in every deed Obama is a warning that reveals a great amount of naivete.
John Piper’s take:
This is the speech I expected the President to give to our children—excellent.
Given that he is not directing them to Christ, which would be the best counsel, his advice is a wonderful gift of common grace from God to the students of our land.
If you settle for the news headlines that say the president tells the kids to wash their hands and take care of the environment, you will miss the wisdom and courage in this speech. Within its spiritual limitations it is simply amazing.”
Like Mohler, Piper doesn’t seem to realize what is going on in government schools. Why would Piper refer to this as common grace? Given the worldview that America’s children are learning in government schools, the encouragement to children to do well in government schools would seem more like the doctrine of common damnation.
Would Piper have spoken this way if Joe Stalin had given the speech? Would Piper have gushed about Stalin’s speech being simply amazing? No, Piper wouldn’t say that because he would realize how hypocritical it would be for the Murderer of millions to be blathering on about the necessity to do well in school. Yet Piper speaks in glowing terms about a man who has voted repeatedly to deny babies born from botched abortions medical care. Piper speaks in glowing terms about a man who shares the same exact ideology and faith system as Joe Stalin.
If one realizes the stakes there is nothing irrational about opposing Obama at every turn. I don’t want America’s children admiring Obama any more than I wanted them admiring Bush or any number of other leftist politicians.