Hidden Agendas

Compiled By Glen W. Chapman June 1996

"The major question regarding belief and creed in our generation is not whether 'religion' should be put on a shelf because its values are no longer needed, but rather which religion-theism or atheism-will dominate our choice of morals, economics, politics, and even servitude.

What is commonly called secularism is a sect of atheism. This religion, based on disbelief, has become boisterous, intolerant, and even hostile toward all other American religions. Religious freedom has suffered as a result and now finds itself second-rate and suppressed, even governed by a legally imposed 'political correctness,' making secularism the only religion that can be freely spoken, quoted, and referenced in public forum. Assertions of virtue by all God-respecting religions are explicitly met by evangelicals of atheism, whose raised eyebrows cast 'righteous scorn on believers, sending them scurrying for cover.

That which our founding fathers feared most is now a reality. Atheism, the humanistic secular religion, is favored and fostered by our federal and state governments as well as by many major institutions of the public media. " (America's State Church By Jay Liechty 1994 )

"In 1933, religious humanists issued what has become known as the Humanist Manifesto I, a statement of their religious beliefs. In 1973, adherents of the same religious movement issued the Humanist Manifesto II, which expanded the doctrinal statement of the first document; and in 1980 A Secular Humanist Declaration was published as a sequel to the manifestos. The following are quotations from these booklets which define the major precepts of what is commonly known as religious or Secular Humanism:

"Traditional theism, especially faith in a prayer hearing God, assumed to love and care for persons, to hear and understand their prayers, and the able to do something about them, is an unproved and outmoded faith. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves. We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural. There is no credible evidence that life survives the death of the body. Salvationism . . . still appears as harmful, diverting people with false hopes of heaven hereafter. Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful. Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created. Science affirms that me human species is an emergence from natural evolutionary forces. As far as we know, the total personality is a function of the biological organism transacting in a social and cultural context. Religious humanism considers the complete realization of human personality to be the end of man's life and seeks fulfillment in the here and now. We can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species.

As non-theists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity. There will be no uniquely religious emotions and attitudes of the kind hitherto associated with belief in the supernatural. The nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values. . Traditional moral codes fail to meet the pressing needs of today and tomorrow.

We reject those features of traditional religious morality that deny humans a full appreciation of their own potentialities.

We believe that . . . orthodox religions . . unduly repress sexual conduct. We [do not] wish to prohibit, by law or social sanction, sexual behavior between consenting adults. The many varieties of sexual exploration should not in themselves be considered "evil."

Individuals should be permitted to express their sexual proclivities and pursue their life-styles as they desire.

The . . . evaluation, transformation, control, and direction of . . . associations and institutions . . . is the purpose . . . of humanism. Certainly religious institutions, their ritualistic forms, ecclesiastical methods, and communal activities must be reconstituted as rapidly as experience allows, in order to function . . . in the modern world. Existing acquisitive and profit-motivated society has shown itself to be inadequate.... a socialized ... economic order must be established.

We affirm a set of common principles that can serve as a basis for united action.... They are a design for a secular society on a planetary scale

We deplore the division of humankind on nationalistic grounds. We have reached a turning point in human history where the best option is to transcend the limits of national sovereignty and to move toward the building of a world community.... Thus we look to the development of a system of world law and world order based upon trans-national federal government.(America's State Church pp. 29-32) "

Increase in Social Problems

"Analysis: While population has increased only 41 percent since 1960, the violent crimes have increased more than 500 percent and total crimes have increased over 300 percent. The rate of violent crime in the U.S. is worse than in any other industrialized country. In addition, eight out of every ten Americans will be a victim of violent crime at least once in their lives." (America's State Church pp. 148)

Letter Dated May 1996 From The Rutherford Institute Charlottesville Va.

Dear Friend,

You see, a menacing trend is affecting our nation's children. And unless we stop it now, our precious children will be robbed of their innocence

-and we will be stripped of our right to decide what our children learn about sex and how they learn it. "What's wrong with a little 'health education'?" you might ask. Well, you wouldn't believe how explicit some of these so-called "sex ed" or "health ed" programs forced on our nation's children are. I guarantee you'll be shocked by the disgusting elements of one program that children in Massachusetts were forced to attend-without their parents' prior knowledge or parental consent. When I heard about this particular program, I felt so strongly about it that after our attorneys filed a lawsuit-and lost-I made sure we appealed the case at every level-all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

And-unbelievably-the Supreme Court refused to hear this case! This means that public schools can continue to force this lewd, sexually explicit program on innocent public school children. American parents who care what their sons and daughters are learning in school should be deeply concerned. As you read the grotesque details below, ask yourself whether you would want your children to attend this kind of program.

The facts are these:

School officials at Chelmsford High School in Massachusetts used school funds to pay Suzanne Landolphi to put on her "Hot, Sexy and Safer" program for students at the school. No notice was given to parents, and no parental consents were requested.

The school officials knew what the program would be like-they had previewed it-but they didn't care what the parents. or even the students. wanted. They wanted to force Landolphi's message on the students-and they weren't going to let anyone interfere.

-In fact, Landolphi told the students at the beginning of the program: "[Y]our school had the balls to bring me here, so you thank them."

-But neither the school nor Landolphi cared that children would be exposed to sexually explicit, indecent, lewd information.

Landolphi-with the approval of the school-simulated masturbation and explicitly talked ahout masturbation, ejaculation, breast size, penis size, sexual intercourse, nudity, urination, oral-genital contact, erections, sodomy, testicles, the homosexual lifestyle, and premarital heterosexual conduct by minors. Worse yet-Suzanne Landolphi forced some of the students to join her on the stage and made them participate in her obnoxious and degrading antics. Landolphi also made some of the students participate in a skit she called a "group sexual experience."

But she did much more than this! Suzanne Landolphi used four-letter words throughout her program and lewd language for body parts and excretory functions. She also:-advocated and approved of oral sex, masturbation, mutual masturbation, homosexual sexual activity, and condom use during promiscuous premarital sex. -simulated masturbation, made references to "erection wear" (loose pants worn by a male student), and referred to being in "deep sh--" after anal sex. -had a male minor lick an oversized condom with her, after which she had a female minor pull it over the male student's head and blow it up

-had a minor display an "orgasm face" with her for the camera and told a minor he was not having enough orgasms. -closely inspected and commented about a minor's nice "butt."

How would you feel if your child had been part of this presentation? More importantly, how would your child have felt?

I know how I felt-shocked, outraged, and embarrassed! However, there is a much bigger issue here

Exactly who has the right to decide what-and how-your children will be told about sex?

Chelmsford High School officials not only planned this program without the knowledge or consent of the parents...they wouldn't even excuse any students from the program. One child who did ask to be excused was threatened with a three-day detention!

-Worse yet, Chelmsford High School authorities stood at all the exits from the auditorium during the 90-minute programs so students could not leave. And, perhaps, so parents could not enter? I cannot think of a more shocking violation of the rights of parents-or students-than I have seen in this case. And the school did it with taxpayer money! But this isn't just happening in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Your child's school might be next. In New Jersey, an AIDS activist performed a graphic demonstration about "safe sex" to teenagers at a high school.

Yet what this HIV positive speaker did and said goes beyond a simple demonstration! Not only did she use a dildo to talk about oral sex-

-she also proceeded to read a "f--k" poem and encourage the students and teachers to repeatedly chant the word with her.

This is the reality of what is happening in our schools, and we must take a stand against it and protect our children and our rights as parents….

Sincerely

John W. Whitehead

Second Letter From Ken Ham Founder and president of Answers in Genesis. He has been trying to build a small creation Museum in Florence Kentucky on farm land that some one donated. This is his recent experience.:

Answers in Genesis P.O. Box 6330 Florence, KY 41022 Fax: (606) 371­4448

Dear Friend:

A Christ­centered, evangelistic ministry dedicated to defending Scripture from the very first verse

Why would a pastor receive enthusiastic applause from a group of anti­Christian humanists?

Well, they had just expressed their vehement opposition to AIG's rezoning request for our Creation Museum project at a public hearing. The Answer; Because this pastor, who believes in evolution, spoke against the museum project and asked the commission not to grant our request!

Two humanist groups found out about the public hearing, and they orchestrated a campaign to influence the commission not to allow this venture. The day of the zoning meeting, we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a media blitz, resulting in front­page newspaper headlines, radio and TV news coverage (two Cincinnati stations led off their newscasts with this story!) of our proposed zone change!

We were called a "cult" by another evolutionary biology professor who said that "no reputable biologists are creationists." An attorney shouted that AIG is a "center for nonsense." And so the evening went on. What an emotional time!

This intimidation of Christians has to stop! We need to stand up and be counted! Thankfully, there were a number of individuals and Christian leaders who spoke in support of the project. We also have secured a LONG list of churches' businesses and Christian organizations that have allowed us to use their names as supportive of our project. Unfortunately, the humanist speakers outnumbered these advocates in their deliberate attempt to stack the meeting. It was sad that most of the opposition had nothing to do with what a public hearing for rezoning is all about, but was a time to mock and attack God's Word, and anyone who would stand up for it!

At the end of the meeting, many supporters expressed their shock at the hatred that was displayed and how organized the opposition was. It was an eye­opener for many who normally don't see this type of spiritual warfare. One pastor commented that it was important for him to have observed all of this because it reconfirmed what the real world is like in its opposition to Christianity.

Why are these humanists so emotional in their resistance to Christianity? It's because their hope and belief in a Godless universe is under attack by the truth of His Word. This is where the spiritual war is raging in America. Answers in Genesis is in the trenches on the front lines of the battle. These humanists know that if God is Creator, and Genesis is true, they have NO FOUNDATION whatsoever for their humanist religion, and they are then accountable to Him!

Where do we go from here? After this event, many, many Christians realized they needed to pray even more fervently and become actively involved in this debate. The planning commission and elected county officials have been receiving numerous calls expressing support for the museum. Local Christian radio stations have rallied behind the museum. As one announcer said to me: "Most Christians are too complacent. They don't realize how a minority of anti­Christian activists can get the media's attention and undermine Christianity in this nation."

As believers, we can no longer sit back. We need to realize that we're in a spiritual battle that affects us and our families. Yes, we are under attack and we need to respond.

Ken Ham

Ken Ham

From October 96 Newsletter

by AIG Executive Director, Ken Ham

"We wouldn't mind if they wanted to build a church...hut they want to build a creation museum to change our minds!" This was one of the classic quotes of the evening made by a minister of a local church, allied with humanist groups, discussing ways of stopping AIG's creation museum project ("Genesis Park") in Boone County, Kentucky. You know, this quote says something significant about the reputation of many churches! What a sad indictment that people don't see the Church as an institution that can actively change people's minds! But sadly, this is representative of much of the Church today. Well, what is all this fuss about? Some of you already know about the tremendous battle we're facing in Northern Kentucky because Answers in Genesis has applied for rezoning of a piece of property for our museum, nature park, and offices. This was front-page news in our local Cincinnati/N. Kentucky newspapers for many days, as well as being on the AP and UPI wire services. Even USA Today!

The "Free Inquiry" group, together with other humanists, have led a very active campaign to try to stop the county from granting us permission to build this creation museum. (So much for the name "Free Inquiry!") They contacted newspapers and television stations to make this a big media event.

We were inundated with calls for media interviews! The secular media, though, seemed rather perplexed! They really couldn't understand why the humanists were kicking up such a fuss-after all, why can't a non-profit organization, with private funding on privately owned land, build a museum from a Christian perspective? What an eye-opening experience this has been for Christians who have made comments such as "We didn't realize how far this nation has fallen -- we had no idea the opposition to Christianity was so aggressive. This has opened our eyes."

Ken Ham