“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!”

The Wall Street Journal recently reported the results of a new study, which suggested that schools shouldn’t wait until students are teenagers to teach evolutionary ideas. Rather, they should start in kindergarten.

Now, this article’s main point is that younger children are more impressionable than teenagers—so evolutionists need to start convincing children while they’re very young! The article talks about how young children typically respond to questions about how life came to be as we see it today with answers that include a designer. The article’s author writes, “Even babies understand that human actions are ‘teleological’—designed to accomplish particular goals. . . . By elementary-school age, children start to invoke an ultimate God-like designer to explain the complexity of the world around them—even children brought up as atheists.”

Of course, children believing that the universe and everything in it were designed by God isn’t acceptable to secularists. Their solution? One key way is to use picture books to teach children the evolutionary view of the universe, beginning in kindergarten.

This actually reminds me of a quote attributed to Hitler: “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future!”*

The researchers cited in this study gave picture books to children who are five to eight years old, believing “they might be able to get young children to understand the mechanism of natural selection before the alternative intentional-design theory had become too entrenched.” And you know, it worked! At the end of the reading, the children better understood natural selection and were able to explain it to the researchers.

Now, we at Answers in Genesis agree with the mechanism of what is called natural selection, as it’s part of observational science (which can be observed, tested, and repeated). Natural selection is just adaptation, involving changes using genetic material that already exists. It’s not molecules-to-man evolution—no animal kinds change into other kinds. (For more on natural selection, see our natural selection topics page.) However, the article’s author refers to “evolution by natural selection” multiple times and wonders why it is “so hard to understand and accept.”

You see, secularists know that children observe changes in animals (like different dogs). They then equate such changes with the word evolution, and use this belief to brainwash the children into believing molecules-to-man evolution.

Sadly, some Christian books and curricula aid the secularists in this regard because some of them teach children that God made the animals just as we see today. But God made the original animals—the animals today are descendants of the original ones God made.

That’s why it’s so important for Christians to teach children correctly—and help them understand that animals do change. But, none of the changes are anything like molecules-to-man evolution.

The Apostle Paul in Romans 1 tells us that God has revealed Himself through His creation, so that man is without excuse. When children point out design in creation, they’re simply acknowledging the evidence that God has given us of His hand in creation—and it all confirms God’s Word.

The results of this study reinforce what I’ve been teaching for many years: the culture is out to capture the hearts and minds of this generation—and they know how important it is to start when our children are young. As the article states,

One picture book, of course, won't solve all the problems of science education. But these results do suggest that simple story books like these could be powerful intellectual tools. The secret may be to reach children with the right theory before the wrong one is too firmly in place.

We must rescue our children from the anti-God influences of the culture before it’s too late. One way you can do this is by bringing as many children as possible to the Creation Museum. This year kids 12 and under are free (with one paying adult). Go to this link for details.

Also, please consider obtaining some of the numerous resources now available for children through the AiG website—such resources can equip kids to stand solidly on the Word of God and defend the Christian faith.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken

*Adolf Hitler, as quoted in “Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression,” vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1946), p. 320. Available online at http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/NT_Nazi_Vol-I.pdf.

Steve Golden assisted in the writing of this post.