January 28, 2010 by Shane Kastler.

This week, the Tulsa Union Public School board voted 3-1 to keep a children’s book in their library that depicts a cartoon character who has lesbian parents.  Buster’s Sugartime is based on the PBS show Arthur and tells the story of Buster the Rabbit going to Vermont where he learns how to make maple syrup.  While there he also apparently goes to sensitivity training and learns how to embrace the “diversity” of homosexual marriage.  What does this message teach our kids?  Is it about making maple syrup or is it about pushing an agenda?

            When some concerned parents raised the issue with Union school officials the school chose to reject the parents’ complaints.  Undoubtedly many people might look at the story and say the parents over reacted.  Is Buster the Rabbit really going to teach kids to be gay?  If you downplay the significance of this then chances are you may be at least partially brainwashed already.  There is a radical gay agenda in this country and they have their sights set on your children.  And though I risk getting burned at the stake for saying it, the public schools are a willing pawn in the indoctrination plan.

            Make no mistake, the pro-gay, anti-God powers in our nation aren’t going to blatantly force their agenda.  I wouldn’t’ expect to see a book “Buster Comes Out of the Closet” anytime soon because that would tip their hand.  No, they’re much more subtle than that.  They slip the perversion in.  They come through the back door by having Buster have friends whose parents are gay.  And what does this do to the average unsuspecting grade school kid who reads it?  It subtly teaches him that homosexual marriage is acceptable…even normal.  Because homosexuality itself is acceptable…even normal.  And after all if Buster is OK with it…why shouldn’t you be?

            The Union school officials have said that they have several children of gay parents in their school system and they want them to feel “accepted.”  I certainly have no problem with that.  After all the children should not be punished because of their “parents” depravity.  But on the flip side, the children also should not be taught that the depravity of homosexuality is “normal” just to keep little Johnny from having his feelings hurt.  If Johnny’s dad were an axe-murderer would we write books about being accepting of axe-murderers to help Johnny feel “accepted?”  Probably not.  The fact is that homosexuality is seen for the lunacy that it is when anyone bases their morality on the teachings of the Bible, all major world religions, simple logic, or even nature itself. 

What Buster’s Sugartime failed to teach the kids was that Buster’s friend is not the natural offspring of the lesbian parents.  Indeed he cannot be because the formation of a child (or rabbit for that matter) requires both a male and a female.  And this, I think, is what sticks in the craw of homosexuals more than anything.  Basic science itself teaches that their sexual habits are abnormal, dare we use the word….perverse.  And since science, logic, morality, and basic common sense all line up against them…they must invade the schools and control the education of the children.  It’s the only way they can gain the cultural acceptance that they crave.  But I, and many others, won’t play along with their games by letting my children be their guinea pigs.

            The public school system in America is broken.  Regardless of how “good” the local school system is, or how devout school administrators or teachers may be, they are serving in a system that is radically anti-Christian and pro-gay.  Union has always been considered one of the “good” schools.  It’s suburban and has many wealthy families.  There are even a lot of conservative, evangelical churches that reside within the district…but that doesn’t matter.  The people have no voice because the government expects them to be faithful and obedient sheep.  Don’t rock the boat.  Don’t speak your mind.  And whatever you do…..don’t DARE question the government, the public schools, or the gay-agenda.  I’m sorry, but I refuse to play this game, especially with my children.  I’m not the government’s sheep…I’m the Lord’s.  And I won’t raise my kids to be good little brainwashed liberals who BAHHHHHHH they’re way to the slaughter getting a daily dose of “diversity” during the most impressionable years of their life. 

The Bible teaches that the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Did you heart that?  Not just heart, soul, and strength….but heart, soul, MIND, and strength.  We must teach our children to love God with their brains.  To see all aspects of education as relating back to the God who created the world and all things in it.  God must be paramount in all aspects of their life, including their education.  No let me ask you….how can that happen in an atheistic government school where GOD IS BANNED!  Answer?  It can’t.  I’m sorry, I know that angers a lot of people, but it’s true nonetheless.  Too many Christians today are focused on pleasing the world.  They’re focused on Johnny being a football star and Susie being a cheerleader.  And all too often they’re willing to sacrifice a God-centered education to see those vain dreams pursued.  But what happens when Johnny and Susie subtly accept the liberal dogma?  What happens when they see that their textbook is at odds with what Scripture teaches, and they’re parent’s claim to believe?  What happens when Johnny and Susie exchange their soul for the American dream, with their parent’s blessing?  What happens then?

            What happens then is another generation rises up and goes along with the system.  Another generation submits to the government schools so as not to be viewed as extremist.  Another generation plods along, ushering in America’s moral destruction.  But things COULD be different.

            I wonder what would happen if every Christian in the Union Public School system marched to the school, withdrew their children and said they weren’t taking it anymore.  What would happen if Union officials found themselves with ten kids at school on Monday because the rest of the parents are sick and tired of the agenda being force fed down their kid’s throats?  Would anything change?  We’ll probably never know because most people simply refuse to rock the boat.  They go along and get along.

            But America was founded by boat-rockers.  It wasn’t founded by British sheep who simply went along with the program.  America needs more boat-rockers today.  It needs more people willing to suffer some inconvenience for the sake of right and wrong and the sake of their children.  And make no mistake, if you rock the boat in this venue, you will suffer.  As a homeschooling parent I’ve heard it all.  I’ve been maligned and criticized.  I’ve been called an extremist and a fanatic.  I’ve been ridiculed, often by Christians (in fact usually by Christians), for not going along with the system.  But Jesus doesn’t call me (or you) to follow and embrace the world system.  He calls us to reach the world…by being different than the world.  He calls us to raise our children to love and fear Him.  Not to hand them over to an atheistic, secular, pro-homosexual entity to indoctrinate them to reject everything the Bible espouses.  I can’t do that.  I won’t do that.

            So what about Christian public school teachers? How should we view them?  Perhaps as missionaries, serving in a dark and Godless field.  Undoubtedly they need our prayers and support…but their mission field does not need our children to be added to the list of government sheep. You see, ultimately it’s the system that is broken.  It’s the system that is blatantly anti-Christian.  It is the system that disciples and it is the children who will pay.

            Don’t kid yourself.  If Union Public Schools is willing to stiff-arm concerned parents to further a gay agenda…you’re school will too.  In truth, they haven’t got a choice.  The deck is stacked against you and the Devil is the dealer.  He beckons you to come to his table and play a couple of hands with him.  He beckons you’re children to come and don’t rock the boat.  He teaches them that gay is good…God is bad and no one should ever question his dogma.  And if you don’t believe him, then go and read the children’s books in the school library.  Go and read Buster the Rabbit.  Surely you trust him don’t you?  He has friends that are gay.  Gay is good….God is bad.  Buster wouldn’t lie to you…….would he?

………

“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19 ESV)

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September 15, 2009 by Shane Kastler.

A recent study by Lisa J. Berlin of the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University concluded that children who are spanked are more likely to grow up aggressive than those who aren’t. The study looked at 2500 low income families and came to the conclusion that those who were spanked showed more aggressive behavior one year later, than those who were not. In their opinion the case was closed as they pompously declared that spanking is bad.

Why on earth we even do “studies” like this is beyond me. By now, hasn’t everyone figured out that you can manipulate the social factors into giving you whatever results you want? For example….why did they only choose “low income” families to do the study? Their claim was that it is more likely for “low income families” (white, black, and Mexican) to dole out corporal punishment. If you need the snotty, Duke University, liberals translated for you….what they’re saying is that only dumb, poor rednecks, blacks, and Mexicans still spank children, because rich, uppity, well-educated elites are too brilliant and kind to resort to such discipline. So how do the rich people deal with behavior problems? They drug their kids with Ritalin….problem solved. The basic premise of this study is: spank=bad, drugs=good.

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I know that in some cases, there is a chemical reason for a kid’s bad behavior. But in ALL cases there is also a spiritual reason for their bad behavior. According to the Bible, parents are to raise their children by “teaching them in the way that they should go” (Proverbs 22:6) …..and by using “the rod” as a means of discipline to reinforce the lessons learned. Make no mistake about it…. “the rod” can be used in an inappropriate fashion. For example, when it’s not used in accordance with “teaching” (I.e., communication) you’re unlikely to have a positive result. And therein lies another flaw with the Duke study.

Did they take into account parents who used spanking as one aspect of their disciplinary measures in a broad system of child-raising? No. They seem to have done everything in their power to find parents (low income) who simply scream and spank, with no training aspect involved. Let’s be honest….how many good, godly parents….who spank their children….are going to allow the high-brow liberals from Duke to “study” them? Not very many. Duke rounded up the group of people who would give them the results they wanted.

Another flaw with this study seems so obvious that one wonders if the Duke Professors honestly thought no one would notice it. The kids spanked at age one were more aggressive at age two. Perhaps they’re getting the cart before the horse. Maybe the REASON they were spanked more is because they’re more aggressive TO BEGIN WITH. In other words….maybe the spanks didn’t cause the aggression…..maybe the aggression was what caused the spanks.

I hope everyone can see this study for what it is…..yet another attempt for academic, intellectual, “experts” (many of whom don’t have children of their own) to tell parents that they know better than them how to raise their children. To liberal scientists, children are nothing more than lab rats which they “study” to make a profit. And often times it’s the “profit” that they have in mind when they cook up garbage such as this. The study was endorsed by the American Association of Pediatricians who have “other discipline techniques” they would like to share. Furthermore, the study’s findings were published in Child Development magazine. Do any of these organizations have anything to gain by parents lovingly disciplining their children? No. Do they anything to gain by having parents put their children on Ritalin? Absolutely. As the pharmaceutical sales increase….so do the goodies that the pharmaceutical companies provide to pediatricians. Not to mention the advertisements they’ll purchase in magazines like Child Development.  This study was driven by two things:  money and a false understanding of man’s sinful nature.  People (kids included) are no inherently good….they’re inherently evil, and must be made good. (Romans 3:10; 23)  The left-leaning academic and scientific community believe the opposite…and consequently their findings on human behavior will always be faulty as a result.

I know that the Bible is the last thing the Duke “experts” want to talk about….but let’s pretend for a moment that God may know more than they do about raising kids. After all, God did “invent” people, so maybe he knows something about it. The Bible teaches “He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” (Proverbs 13:24 NASB) and “Do not hold back discipline from the child, although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol.” (Proverbs 23:13-14 NASB) God’s Word couldn’t be more clear…or blunt. You can talk all day about how much you “love” your kids….but if you don’t use spanking as apart of their discipline….You aren’t SHOWING THEM LOVE. “Love” doesn’t let a child get away with unruly behavior. “Love” disciplines them. And Godly “love” disciplines them God’s way….with a spank and a word of loving correction.

The second verse is even more sobering. They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. While a parent may withhold spanking out of “love” they may be ushering their child down the road to eternal damnation. If a child isn’t taught early on that there is right and wrong. And rewards and punishment. Then the gospel isn’t going to make much sense to them. You may consider yourself “too nice” to punish them, but God doesn’t. Teach them now. Teach them well. Discipline them God’s way. Ignore the “experts” way. And see how God may bless it.

In conclusion, this study is the biggest joke I’ve seen in some time on the detrimental effects of spanking. When done the right way, spanking is very effective. Yes, there comes a time when kids are too old to spank…but when they’re young, they need “the rod” to reinforce the teaching from mom and dad. Self-proclaimed child genius, Elizabeth Gershoff of the University of Texas states that spanking, “creates a model for using aggression, because spanking is just hitting." Gershoff doesn’t have the foggiest idea what she’s talking about. There’s a big difference between walking up to someone and hitting them…..and sitting a child down, explaining that their defiant behavior is unacceptable, giving them a swat on the rear-end as a reminder, then explaining that you love them too much to let them act like devils. And devils they are, unless taught otherwise. And if they’re not taught otherwise, then they’ll GROW UP to be devils as well. Maybe even “blue devils” from Duke, who waste their life, their time, and your money coming up with hare-brained schemes for raising children….that only lead to their ruin.

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