Seeking Salvation : Christianity, Faith, Methodism

       There was a day when the world consisted of small villages subsisting on agriculture. Tiny places where everyone knew and were probably related to each other. Education was a rare commodity in such places that even the elite found it difficult to attain. During this period, the most educated within society were the clergy. The church needed clerics to be able to read scripture, translate the Bible, and educate the landed elite and future clergy and monks. At the advent of the Industrial Revolution, there was an increasing need for basic elementary education and universal elementary and eventually, high school became an expected rite of passage for children. College education became increasingly critical as the post-war economy shifted from factory-based work to a knowledge, technology, and financial services-based economy.        Fewer Americans are going to college now. In fact, fewer parents support their children attending high...

 According to CNN, an “Oklahoma lawsuit seeks to block opening of first publicly funded religious charter school in the US”. [1] This false narrative is that religion and public schools should not be separate but interwoven. The question is which religion, even if we assume Christianity, there are hundreds of variations within the US alone!  The truth is that God is present and doesn’t need human endorsement or funding. God was there before the staff and kids arrived. God is there through how our children and staff treat each other. As kids seek to love their neighbors as themselves, and teacher and staff seek to show patience, perseverance, and excellence, in all of this, God is present.  God doesn’t need human approval to act, so what is really driving this push? Let me argue that families desire to get a parochial education at taxpayer expense. The Constitution, though, is clear in the First Amendment “Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or pro...