The Next Great Awakening

Read carefully the following words of David Gelernter of the Shalom Center in Jerusalem: "America is fertile ground for Great Awakenings -- mass movements in which large chunks of the population return to their religious roots. We haven't had one for awhile; we are overdue. Great Awakenings are big, dramatic events that take off like rockets and burn out like rockets, after brief but spectacular careers. Even so, many people find in the aftermath that their life- trajectories have been changed forever." Yesterday I talked about Gelernter's remarkable article "Bible Illiteracy in America" in the May 23 issue of the Weekly Standard. In the article, he examined how the Bible helped to form our culture, and he warned that we're in danger of forgetting our own heritage and undermining our culture. For this reason, he says, the Bible must be taught in our nation's schools. And a number of America's best English teachers agree with him. Gelernter makes a convincing argument for "Bible-as-literature electives in every public high school." Without at least a basic knowledge of the Bible and its pivotal role in world history, art, and literature -- including the founding of our country -- students' understanding of these subjects is severely crippled. Gelernter states that "high school history and English curricula ought to be rebuilt from scratch right now, on an emergency basis." And he points readers to the Bible Literacy Project's curricula as a great example. The Bible Literacy Project -- which is run by Chuck Stetson, a member of our Wilberforce Advisory Council and a 2005 Centurion -- is leading the effort to make sure we don't lose this priceless part of our cultural legacy. Yet something more is still needed, and that's where the idea of a new "Great Awakening" comes in. You see, as Gelernter explains, the Bible is best taught by people who know the subject inside and out, and who care deeply about it. That's why Christians must be the ones to lead the way, teaching a love for the Bible in our homes, our churches, and anywhere else we can, including classrooms, when we provide these kinds of resources to the teachers. Gelernter especially recommends teaching it to college students. He says: "Mostly no one ever speaks to them about truth and beauty, or nobility or honor or greatness. They are empty -- spiritually bone dry -- because no one has ever bothered to give them anything spiritual that is worth having. Platitudes about diversity and tolerance and multiculturalism are thin gruel for intellectually growing young people. Let the right person speak to them, and they will turn back to the Bible with an excitement and exhilaration that will shake the country. In reading the Bible they will feel as if they are going home -- which," Gelernter writes, "is just what they will be doing." This challenge is one we dare not ignore, unless we want to see future generations in this country completely cut off from their own heritage and unable to find their way back. I strongly encourage you to go to our website or call us here at BreakPoint (1-877-322-5527) for a copy of Gelernter's excellent piece, an extraordinary survey of the Bible's impact on history. And then visit www.BibleLiteracy.org to learn how you can help in the effort to restore the foundation of our culture to its rightful place, in our schools and our society -- good resources that you can give to teachers and school boards.

06/2/15