Albert Mohler: Is the Child the Mere Creature of the State?

Many of you have no doubt tracked closely the recent statement from Terry McAuliffe, former governor and now candidate for governor of Virginia.  McAuliffe said in a debate, “I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” His statement of course raises the huge question: Who should determine the education of children? The parents or the professional elite? Our own nation has wrestled with this question and has—through the Supreme Court—answered the question very clearly. It was answered clearly in 1925. It was answered again in 1972. In that decision known as the Yoder decision,  the court—in a unanimous decision—said this, with clarity: “The child is not the mere creature of the state. Those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right coupled with the high duty to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”  Let me repeat that key line: “The child is not the mere creature of the state.”  The child was not created by the state. The child belongs to parents as those lives are given to us by God. Keep that in mind: The child is not the mere creature of the state. Thanks be to God.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.