Journal: Central Bible Quarterly
Volume: CENQ 21:4 (Winter 1978)
Article: Secularism In The Sunday School
Author: Roger L. Peterson

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CenQ 21:4 (Winter 1978) p. 1

Secularism In The Sunday School

Roger L. Peterson

Central Baptist Theological Seminary

Minneapolis, Minnesota

[The following material was delivered at the twenty-first annual Spring Bible Workshop of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, March 28-29,1977.]

Introduction

There is nothing worthwhile that exists that does not have its enemies, and the biblicist Sunday School is no exception. The Sunday School has plenty of enemies that oppose its success, and they are the same ones that oppose God. One of the greatest enemies of the Sunday School in America is secularism. Therefore, it is the aim of this paper to expose this enemy as clearly as possible that it might be defeated and that the Sunday School be victorious.

Secularism is expressed in four basic areas of thought: evolution, humanism, materialism and paganism. Each of these areas of secularism is felt by the Sunday School in one way or another, sometimes directly and at other times indirectly, but all times it is felt negatively. Secularism never helps the Sunday School prosper spiritually. Secularism may help the Sunday School gain in popularity, to gain numerically and even to gain materially, but secularism will never help the Sunday School to gain spiritually.

Why does secularism have such a strong influence on the Sunday School? Here is why. Most of the leaders and students that attend the Sunday School are products of the public school.

CenQ 21:4 (Winter 1978) p. 2

And what is the public school teaching and training its students? It is teaching and training them in secularism. It is teaching them evolution, humanism, materialism and paganism. These systems of thought are all atheistic, because they are all against God. And because they are against God, they are also against the Sunday School.

This judgment on the public school should come as no surprise to anyone. Evidence abounds in support of this conclusion as one reads the textbooks, visits the classrooms, speaks to the teachers and examines the curricula. The more surprising fact is the prediction of A.A. Hodge, a famous theologian, who forecast the danger of atheism in the public schools in 1880. His prophecy is being fulfilled to the letter today. Here is his prediction:

The tendency is to hold that this system must be altogether secular. The atheistic doctrine is gaining currency, even among professed Christians and even among some bewildered Christian ministers, that an education provided by the common government should be entirely emptied of all religious character. The Protestants object to the government schools being used for the purpose of inculcating the doctrines of...

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