July 28, 1999
Minister wants to remove all Christian
students from public schools
___By Jeff Huett
___Associated Baptist Press
___COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP)--As Moses led the children of Israel out of Pharaoh's bondage in the book of Exodus, a South Carolina minister is hoping to lead Christians out of America's public schools.
___Ray Moore Jr. of Columbia, S.C., and his home-based Exodus 2000 ministry say America's "government" schools are unsafe "spiritually, academically and physically." Moore says any hope of redeeming public schools is lost, and the only alternative is to remove Christian children into private and home schools.
___Public schools are "unconstitutional, unbiblical and un-American," Moore said in an interview. They "cannot be reformed, and no effort should be made any longer."
___The goal of Exodus 2000 is to have all 12 million evangelical children currently in American's public schools in either a private Christian school or in a home-school situation where Christianity is taught.
___"It's my hope and prayer that a fresh obedience by Christian families to the biblical mandate concerning the education of their own children will be the key to the revival of our families, our church and our nation," Moore said.
___Currently, about 52 million children attend public schools in the United States; more than 1 million are schooled at home.
___Since announcing his plans at a Promise Keepers rally in Washington in 1997, Moore has been lobbying for support from the evangelical community.
___In a letter to an official with Focus on the Family, Moore predicted a movement to purge the public schools of Christian children "would literally electrify and invigorate the church as nothing has done in modern times."
___"It might trigger the revival we are all awaiting so expectantly," he maintained.
___While he has nothing against revival, Lee Berg, a former minister who now works for the National Education Association, says Moore's ideas about public schools are nonsense.
___"For 28 years, Rev. Moore has been claiming that the public schools are hostile to religion and to Christians," said Berg, who was a Southern Baptist minister for 23 years. "However, we believe that when parents look closely at their children's schools, they will see a lot of the same teachers actively involved in the church as Sunday school teachers or deacons."
___Pointing to equal-access legislation passed in the 1980s, Berg said there is probably a greater amount of voluntary religious expression in public schools than ever before.
___"We see the public schools as the foundation of democracy--a place where a very diverse society learns to cherish freedom, respect each other, share with each other and work together for the common good," Berg said.
___Jim Foster, spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Education, said Moore's attempt to discredit the American public schools is "ludicrous."
___"Christianity is the major religion in South Carolina, and most of the people who run the South Carolina public schools are Christian," Foster said. "The United States is a melting pot of people and, more than anything else, the public schools have been responsible for melding the cultures together into a strong nation."
___Nevertheless, Moore said he has received endorsements from prominent individuals including syndicated columnist Cal Thomas, conservative radio talk show host Michael Reagan and TV preacher James Kennedy.
___ Although the Exodus 2000 founder is a part of the Bible church movement, he insists that reaching large numbers of Southern Baptist churches is the most important step his ministry can take. But are Southern Baptists listening?
___Moore first sought attention from SBC leaders. He said he has spoken with current SBC President Paige Patterson twice about Exodus 2000. Patterson was "kind and warm" and heard him out, he said, but did not issue an endorsement.
___Patterson told Knight-Tribune news service the issue could cause division in the nation's largest non-Catholic faith group. "You have a lot of sympathy there, but you also have an enormous number of Southern Baptists who would say, 'Let's not abandon the public schools,'" he said.
___Messengers to this year's SBC annual meeting passed one resolution urging churches to support Christian schools and home schooling and another affirming Christians who teach and work in public schools.
___
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