Daniel Craig: One of the things that probably a lot of families in our circles talk about is the whole issue of education, and it can be again tempting to try to answer this question with just wisdom from our current generation. But, man, going through this, you'll be surprised and overwhelmed by what people have said about these issues in the past and the way that they can, with seeming prophetic ability, pinpoint the issue in ways that we have.
Kevin Swanson: It's incredible. It's incredible.
Daniel Craig: Yeah, it's difficult for us to do. A. Hodge in 1870 was...
Kevin Swanson: This was the president of Princeton University in the 1870's and 1880's. So this is a big guy, important guy.
Daniel Craig: And here's what he says on education.
Kevin Swanson: On education, okay.
Daniel Craig: Particularly with reference to the government's involvement. He says, "I am sure as I am of Christ's reign that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief and of anti-social nihilistic ethics, individual, social, and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen." Too bad he was wrong.
Kevin Swanson: He nailed it. He nailed it. Atheistic education, nihilistic ethics, that's pretty much what we've worked out in the present day through our schools and universities. I'm sure he'd be shocked at Yale Sex Week and the recommendation towards incest, polygamy, and other things are coming out of Princeton University today. Radical changes happening in education, and he nailed it in the 1870s, and he said, "If you pull Christ out of it, if you take the word of God out of education, you will see an implosion of your education systems." This was the president of Princeton University in the 1870s pretty much nailing what was gonna happen over the success of 130 years at Princeton, and of course throughout the entire government education system.
Daniel Craig: Well, I think these resources are gonna be particularly helpful for us in the future generations and for my young family, it's gonna be easy for us to become even more detached from the wisdom of old, so thank you for putting these resources together so that we can in summary fashion be reminded of what the godliest men have been saying for centuries.
Kevin Swanson: Well, and I think we need to find our way as well and you need to find your way in your generation. Just assuming that everything, that private schools, Christian schools, home schools are doing in terms of curriculum may not be a good assumption, because remember, there's much synthesis that happens between Christianity and humanism, especially within the context of the schools. So let's redesign our curriculum, let's redesign our schools generation by generation, coming all the way back to the foundational statements in scripture and what the wisest leaders of the Christian faith have told us over 2,000 years. Use this as a blueprint for rediscovering Christian education and being sure you pass the faith on to the next generation and the next. Can you agree to that?
Daniel Craig: I can agree with that. And also on the family and sexuality, that's the second volume.
Kevin Swanson: That is, and sexuality, huge battleground today. Obergefell, the recent Supreme Court decision decided that homosexual marriage was appropriate for the first time in human history. That's pretty brave, and yet what does the word of God say? And what does the history of the church say about these things? We've gotta be sure that we're rooted and grounded rightly on these issues. And I think you'll be shocked to see what the church has said, what the church fathers have said about these issues over 2,000 years. Remember, it's not just homosexuality, today we're gonna be debating the issues of divorce, we're gonna be talking polygamy, incest, these things are gonna be coming back. Well, what does the word of God say about these things? What does church history say about these things? It's important for families, for parents, for church leaders, to know what the Christian faith has said about the hot button issues of the day and that's why we're doing this series of books.