THE VELVET TONGUE

Lucifer may come with a velvet tongue, the perfect complement to his being disguised as an angel of light. When he comes employing the strategy of the velvet tongue he comes appearing both good and moral, so much the better to promote his deceptions. A few examples or his oratorical skills will suffice.

Homeschooling, for some, is an alternative to both private and public education. Many parents across the nation are doing so. According to the U. S. Dept. of Education (by the way, where is it in the Constitution that the Federal Government has any power whatsoever over education?) 1,773,000 students in America are homeschooled, which represents 3.4% of all students.

THE KNOCK

Amy is homeschooling her ten children when she hears a knock at the door. (Homeschooling parents dread "the knock.") When Amy answers the door, a social worker confronts her, saying that she's investigating claims that Amy and her husband are raising unsocialized children. "Unsocialized children?" Say that again.

WAIT. WHAT?

When did raising unsocialized children become a crime, something to be investigated, something in which government is to be involved? And, just what is "socialization?" Is getting a child socialized a procedure someone has to perform? Is it an injection? Is it an exercise? I don't know, so let's turn to the dictionary to help us figure out what being socialized means and then maybe can define an unsocialized child.

In the dictionary, we find the meanings: "to conform to socialist ideas and philosophies," "to adapt to the behavior patterns of the culture around them," and "to be under group or government control." Wait. What? Socialization sounds both serious and unchristian according to Romans 12:1-2.

Let's look at socialization historically: "The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing.” – HITLER, 1937.

There it is, there's socialization embedded in the words, "inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community." So, in 1938, Hitler outlawed homeschooling and it's still the law in Germany today. If  parents are going to independently educate their children in Germany today, they must do so underground. If discovered, they are subject to a fine, to imprisonment, or losing custody of their children.

BACK TO THE KNOCK

But, let's go back to the knock on Amy's door. Doesn't the "socialization of children" sound like a good thing? It sounds like a worthy goal to pursue, doesn't it? Socialized children good; unsocialized children bad.

That's the velvet tongue at work. We have to admit, it's a brilliant ploy; that's the angel of light at work.

HOW ABOUT ANOTHER EXAMPLE?

I recently received an e-mail from my accountant who does my taxes. I admit it: I'm too dumb, too mathematically challenged, and too impatient to go through the rules for filing the income tax paper work. I'd rather be hitting my fingers with a hammer than figuring out how much I owe my uncle. Besides, to let the accountant do it relieves me of all kinds of worry, "Did I do it right?"

The letter from the tax firm informed all of its clients about what's going at the moment, and I quote:

"If you purchased health insurance through the Exchange last year, you will receive a 1095-A, and we must have it to complete your taxes. 

"Most of you purchased health insurance directly from an insurance company or through your employer, so you should receive a 1095-B or 1095-C form by March 31, but we do not need it to prepare your taxes THIS YEAR.  You do need to tell us about any gaps in coverage last year for everyone on your tax return, and if this information doesn’t match the 1095 form when you get it, the IRS will express their displeasure to you.

"If anyone on your tax return didn’t have health insurance for any significant period last year, you should expect to pay a shared responsibility payment."

(I know, I know, you got a headache just reading that.)

And I know that you caught the velvet tongue--"a shared responsibility payment." In the real world, "a shared responsibility payment" is a penalty, a fine. But a shared responsibility payment sounds like a good thing because it's good to share and it's important to take on one's responsibilities. Shared responsibility payment is a good thing. A paying a fine is bad; paying a penalty, bad. So, we have the velvet tongue.

HOW ABOUT ONE MORE? 

Wheaton College (some times called, 'The Evangelical Harvard") is involved in turmoil because one of its tenured professors decided to publicly state that Christians and Muslims worship the same God and have the same book. Yes, a learned professor at a Christian college actually said that. Her belief violates both the Bible and the doctrinal statement of the school which states:

 "WE BELIEVE in one sovereign God, eternally existing in three persons: the everlasting Father, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit, the giver of life; and we believe that God created the Heavens and the earth out of nothing by His spoken word, and for His own glory. (Islam rejects the Trinity.)

"WE BELIEVE that God has revealed Himself and His truth in the created order, in the Scriptures, and supremely in Jesus Christ; and that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writing, so that they are fully trustworthy and of supreme and final authority in all they say. (Islam holds that the Koran is the supreme and final authority.)

"WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, triumphing over all evil; and that all who believe in Him are justified by His shed blood and forgiven of all their sins."  

According to Wheaton College, "Upon entering into a contractual employment agreement, each of our faculty and staff members voluntarily commits to accept and model the Statement of Faith with integrity, compassion and theological clarity." All faculty must sign the statement annually. "Professor Hawkins has been asked to affirm the college’s statement of faith four times since she started teaching at Wheaton nearly nine years ago, according to "The Chicago Tribune. She was called in over a paper on black liberation theology that the provost thought endorsed Marxism, the paper reported." ("The Washington Post")

Wheaton College placed the teacher on paid leave and is moving to dismiss her. That sounds reasonable; would we allow an admitted arsonist to be the chief of the fire department? A kleptomaniac to be a security guard in the mall? But the professor said she was "flabbergasted" at the action of the Administration. Really?

TO THE RESCUE

Students dressed in black demonstrated, marched, chanted, and conducted a sit-in in the offices of Provost Stan Jones and President Philip Ryken, showing their support of the professor. But it didn't stop there.

Many faculty members wore their academic regalia and conducted teach-ins in support of her reinstatement along demanding a public apology by the school. 

 And how did the velvet tongue come into play? Faculty and students, among others denounced the actions of the college for "violating the ideal of academic freedom and spiritual debate." One  came to her defense for "representing what Jesus stands for." (contra: John 1:1; 14:6) A professor commented that Wheaton had no right to do what they did and pursue firing her because the administration had never made a direct statement about any conflict between Islam and Christianity. (But doesn't their doctrinal statement state the school's basic disagreement with any cult or religion which rejects the Trinity, Christ's person and work, and the Bible?

And, as we would expect, there was support for the teacher on the basis of "diversity" and there was condemnation of the school's alleged racism. 

WE SEE HOW THIS WORKS

The velvet tongue comes clothed in morality, calling for "socialization," "shared responsibility," intellectual freedom, spiritual debate and "diversity." 

Clever, even brilliant. Be aware of the velvet tongue of the arch-deceiver. Eph. 6:11: "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."