It's Not Fair!

Written by Anthony Douglas | 26 November 2009

Once again the provision of Scripture is in the news, following the Premier's announcement that he would authorise a trial of a secular ethics course as an alternative to Scripture classes. The usual argument was provided - that it's unfair that children whose parents have removed them from Scripture should have to sit around wasting their time in 'non-Scripture' when they could be learning something useful. Furthermore, it was seen as an injustice that they should miss out on being taught ethics and morality.

There are, of course, all sorts of reasons why these arguments are absurd, and I guess it's sad that the general public might think that Scripture teachers are trying to teach kids how to be good, rather than about the good God. But this week, as I spoke briefly to the mums and dads who are sending their children to kindergarten at our local school in 2010, I was struck by another angle on this.

Imagine you are watching a game of soccer, being played at the highest level. Your view is good - you can see all the players moving back and forth, the referee stopping play and blowing his whistle to restart, even the crowds cheering and groaning as the two teams battle it out. You can see the whole thing...except for the soccer ball. Not only can't you see it, but you're unaware that it exists. It means that it is impossible to accurately understand what's going on in the game. The actions of the players seem random. It's hard to see what holds the attention of the fans. And the referee is like some kind of gremlin, lobbing little moments of chaos into the match. As an observer, you'd be totally confused.

This, unfortunately, is the educational fate of those kids who are barred from ever learning about Christianity. It's impossible to understand Western history without some awareness of the gospel and how it affected the actions of kings and countries. The classics of art, literature, music ... so many could no longer be understood, let alone appreciated. Even the progress of science depends upon the Christian assumptions of the earliest experimenters.

So, indeed, it's not fair. It's not fair that parents should stunt their kids' education and put obstacles in the way of their studies. It's not fair that kids should miss out on Scripture because their parents haven't taken the time to think through the consequences of their philosophical stance. 'I want my children to decide for themselves' ... but I'm going to make sure it's hard for them to make an informed choice. It strikes me that those involved in such unfair activity are hardly qualified to teach a course in ethics, of all things - you might call it an own goal!