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CHILD SOLDIERS



Every so often a new documentary is released reminding us of the atrocities happening around our world. A particularly heinous act that has drawn much attention is the recruitment of children as soldiers in third world countries. Fierce war lords capture children, train them, and exploit them for their nefarious purposes. Generally, people are dismayed by these kinds of atrocities. Even if we understand that war is sometimes inevitable in a broken world, we instinctively want to protect the vulnerable. Children should not be fighting wars. Instead children need nurture, care, and guidance as they grow into adulthood. Only when they are thoroughly trained, only when they have reached this stage of adulthood can they be considered prepared for war.


As far as I am aware of, there are only two groups of people that consider sending children into war, a good idea, dangerous warlords and oblivious Evangelicals. We often hear well intentioned Christian parents make the argument that sending children into the public schools is a good idea because they want their children to be a light in the darkness. Although the intentions may be noble, the strategy is foolish. A developing child is exceptionally malleable and therefore will be naturally influenced when placed under the authority of an institution. This is particularly dangerous if the institution not only refuses to espouse the Christian worldview, but at its core hates this worldview.


As parents we often forget that our greatest enemy is not physical but spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). We send our children to some of the darkest spiritual places in our society with a desire for them to be the light, while they are being indoctrinated by wickedness. The long held rationale of sending children as warriors to a spiritually dark

battlefield must be abandoned by Evangelicals.


Although there may still be several outlying reasons as to why it would be acceptable for Christians to send their children to public schools, these reasons are becoming few and far between. Why not choose a school that shares your family's values? Why not choose a school that stands firmly on the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why not choose a school that is committed to Christian excellence in academics? Why not choose a school where your children will feel safe and cared for? Why not choose a school that will teach your children to pursue the true, the good, and the beautiful? Why not choose a Classical Christian School?

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