Submitted to the Defiance Crescent-News
Dear Editor,
Lifewise Academy has now infiltrated half of Ohio’s public schools. Most local schools release students so they can be indoctrinated and conditioned to believe that the teachings and stories of the Bible are not only true, but written by God himself. Lifewise, an explicitly Evangelical organization, officially believes that the Bible is inerrant and infallible — an absurd statement, if there ever was one. The Bible may offer wisdom to those inclined to read it (and I have read the Bible from cover to cover numerous times), but it is intellectually dishonest to claim that there are no errors, contradictions, or mistakes in the Bible. Granted, Evangelicals can and do explain away these things, but I do not find their explanations compelling.
I recently followed a discussion about Lifewise on a local Facebook group. The amount of misinformation about Lifewise suggests that locals are long on opinion and short on facts. For example, Lifewise supporters hide the fact that it is an explicitly Evangelical organization. Suggesting that Lifewise is non-denominational is a smokescreen. I was an Evangelical Christian for fifty years, a pastor for twenty-five years. I know, as other preachers know, that “non-denominational” is code for “Evangelical.” It is used to distance churches from the increasing hostility towards Evangelicalism. This is akin to Burger King changing its name to McDonald’s. A Whopper is a Whopper, and no amount of subterfuge will turn it into a Big Mac.
I have even read of local Catholics defending Lifewise, as if it is no different from Catholicism. It is, and the goal is to evangelize every child with the Evangelical gospel. According to Evangelical dogma, Catholics preach a false, works-based gospel. This is why many Catholic priests oppose Lifewise.
If you want your children taught young-earth creationism, which directly contradicts what science tells us about the world, then Lifewise is for you. If you want your children taught that the mythical stories of the Bible are factually, historically true, then Lifewise is for you. If you want your children to be taught that premarital sex is a sin (as is masturbation), LGBTQ people are an affront to God, and divorce is wrong, then Lifewise is for you. If you want your children to be taught patriarchal and complementarian beliefs, then Lifewise is for you.
Why did Lifewise sue a local man over the release of internal documents? What are they trying to hide?
Bruce Gerencser
Ney, Ohio
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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I’m sorry for our schools. When I grew up, I was told we don’t have religion in school. Madalyn Murray O’Hair was the reason prayer was kicked out in the last century.