VOODOO HOMEWORK

2 Timothy 3:10-17 10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I was shocked and appalled by a local news story. The headline read, "Voodoo Homework Upsets Parents." Apparently an English comprehension exercise on voodoo (a form of black magic) was given out as an assignment by a public school to 8-year-old students. The school has since ordered the homework assignment to be withdrawn. Teachers have also been instructed to hold discussions on the topicand to find out the students' views and correct them if necessary.

The assignment was meant to supplement a chapter about witches andmagic spells found in an English textbook for 8-year-olds. The controversial English comprehension passage is presented in factual prose and endorses the practice of voodoo. As a result, the school received complaints from concerned parents. The parents were afraid that subliminal messages were being sent to their young children who wouldn't be able to distinguish the values and morality of such information.

The article also quoted the opinions of a child psychiatrist, whosaid, "The conclusion in the passage is that voodoo can do wonders. This is very controversial especially in a multi-religious country like Singapore, where we have to be careful about promoting religious beliefs that are not mainstream. Eight-year-olds can't form judgments about ethical issues like these."

As I read this article, I realized that the education system is continually conforming to the standards of the world. Anything goes--there are no set standards as to what is truth. There is no black and white but rather many gray areas.

As Christians, however, we should not live in such a manner. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul exhorted Timothy to use the Word as the guide to truth and warned him that impostors of the truth will continue to grow and deceive many. To be able to stand and live for Jesus in our world today, we need to know the truth and practice it. - JoannaLim

DESTINATION POINTS

* Have the spiritual values I learned when I first became aChristian been eroded by the values of this world?
* In the light ofGod's Word, how do I interpret what I'm learning from the media?
*According to 2 Timothy 3:16, what is the Word of God used for? Howoften do I take the time to study the Scriptures for myself?

bottom line: Don't compromise the truth!

soul journey