THE LIFE

OF

REV. JOHN BUNYAN

The Rev. John Bunyan, the celebrated author of THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, and many other useful works, was born at Elstow, near Bedford, England, in the year 1628.

His parents were very poor, but gave him that best education in their power. Such, however, was his extreme depravity, that he addicted himself, even in childhood, to the basest practices, particularly to cursing and swearing, in which he exceeded the worst of his wicked companions, and arrived at such a sad preeminence in sin, that he became the ringleader of the profane.

Yet, amid all these enormities, God left not himself without a witness in his bosom. He had many severe checks of conscience, and terrifying thoughts of hell. After days spent in sin, his dreams were sometimes peculiarly frightful. The fears of death and judgement intruded into his gayest hours. A copious narrative of these early conflicts and crimes is to be found in his treatise entitled, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. The Lord was also pleased to grant him several remarkable deliverances from death. Once he fell into the river Ouse; at another time he fell into the sea, and narrowly escaped being drowned. When he was seventeen years of age he became a soldier; and at the siege of Leicester, being called out to stand sentinel, another desiring to take his place, he consented, and his comrade who took his place was shot through the head with a musket-ball.

But neither mercies nor judgements made any durable impression on his hardened heart. He was not only insensible of the evil and danger of sin, but an enemy to every thing serious. The thought of religion, or even the appearance of it in others, was an intolerable burden to him.

The first step towards his reformation was his marriage with a woman whose parents were accounted religious. Being extremely poor, she had brought him as her whole portion, two books, The Practice of Piety, and The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven. In these they sometimes read together, and his wife often talked to him of the godly life of her father. By these means, and especially in consequence of hearing a sermon against Sabbath-braking, he formed some resolutions of reformation, and of performing a few religious duties, which he then thought would be enough to carry him to heaven. His convictions were not, however, sufficient to keep him from his beloved sports, even in the afternoon of that Sabbath on which he had received them, when, being engaged in a game, a sentence was impressed on his mind so forcibly that he thought it like a voice from heaven, Wilt thou leave they sins and go to heaven, or have thy sins and go to hell? This excited dreadful consternation in his mind, which was instantly followed by suggestions that he was an enormous, unparalleled sinner—that it was now too late to seek after heaven, and that his transgressions were beyond the reach of mercy. Despair reached his mind, and he formed this desperate conclusion, that he must be miserable if he left his sins, and miserable if he continued in his sins; and therefore he determined to take his fill of them, as the only pleasure he was likely to have. It may justly be feared that multitudes perish by such temptations as these. There language is, “There is no hope—but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.”

Contriving how to gratify himself with sin, yet deriving no satisfaction from it, he continued about a month longer; when it pleased God to give him another severe check by means of a woman, who, though a notorious sinner herself, was so shocked at the oaths he uttered, that she told him “he was the most ungodly fellow for swearing that she had ever seen in her life, and that he was enough to spoil all the youth in the town, if they came into his company.” By this reproof from such a person he was entirely confounded; and from that moment he refrained in general from swearing, though before he scarcely ever spoke a sentence without an oath.

About this time he had several remarkable dreams,in which he thought that the earth shook and opened her mouth to receive him—that the end of the world and the day of judgement were arrived. Once he dreamed that he was just dropping into the flames among the damned, and that a person in white shining raiment suddenly plucked him as a brand out of the fire. These dreams made impressions on his mind which were never forgotten, and perhaps inclined him, many years after, to publish the masterpiece of all his works, THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, under the similitude of a dream.

Son after, he fell into the company of a poor, serious man, whose discourses of religion and of the Scriptures so affected him, that he applied himself to reading the Bible, especially the historical parts of it.

By degrees a reformation of manners took place, which became so remarkable that his neighbours were greatly surprised at it, and often complimented him upon it. By these commendations he was greatly puffed up with pride, and began to think himself a very good Christian, and, to use his own words, that “no man in England could please God better than he.” But all this was only lopping off the branches of sin, while the root of an unregenerated nature still remained. With much difficulty, and by slow degrees, he refrained from his accustomed diversions of dancing and ringing; he relinquished the latter from the apprehension that one of the bells, or even the steeple, might fall and crush him to death. But hitherto he remained ignorant of Christ, and was going about to establish his own righteousness. He was still of that generation “who are pure in their own eyes, and yet not washed from their filthiness.”

No long after, the providence of God so ordered it that he went to work at Bedford, and happening to hear some women, who were sitting at a door, talk about the things of God, his curiosity induced him to listen t them, but he soon found their conversation above his reach. They were speaking of the new birth, and the work of God in their hearts—how they were convinced of their miserable state by nature—how God had visited their souls with his love in Christ Jesus—with what promises they had been refreshed, comforted, and supported under affliction and temptations. They also talked of the wretchedness of their own hearts, and of their unbelief—of renouncing their own works and righteousness, as insufficient to justify them before God. All this appeared to be spoken in such spiritual language, in such a serous manner, and with such an air of Christian joy and cheerfulness, that he seemed like one who had found a new world.

This conversation was of great service to him. He now saw that his case was not so good as he had fondly imagined; that among all his thoughts of religion, the grand essential of it, the NEW BIRTH, had never entered his mind—that he had never derived comfort from the promises of God—that he had never known the plague of his own heart, having never taken notice of his secret thoughts—and that he was entirely unacquainted with Satan's temptations, and the way to resist them. He therefore frequented the company of those persons to obtain information; his mind became constantly intent upon gaining spiritual  knowledge, and his whole soul was so fixed on eternal things, that it was difficult to draw his mind from heaven to earth. He now began to read his Bible as it were with new eyes; it became inexpressibly sweet and pleasant to him, because it held forth a Saviour whom he now felt the want of. Reading, meditation, and prayer to understand the Scriptures, were the employments in which he delighted.

Now the enemy of souls assaulted him with his temptations. One of the principal was, whether he was elected or not. But it pleased God to relieve him by the application of that Scripture, “Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in God and were confounded?” This gave him much encouragement, as if it had been said, “Begin at Genesis, and read to the end of the Revelation, and try if you can find any that ever trusted in God and were confounded; and if none that trusted in God ever miscarried, then your duty is to trust in God, and not to concern yourself about election, which is a secret thing.”

Another temptation that violently assaulted him was, “How if the day of grace should be past and gone?” But after many days spent in bitterness of spirit, he was relieved by that blessed word, “Compel them to come in, that my house may be filled;” and “yet there is room.”

Many more were his temptations, of which the reader may find a large account in his Grace Abounding, above referred to. But the Lord, who knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, was pleased to deliver him out of all his spiritual distresses, and to fill his soul with joy and peace in believing.

To this happy event, under the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the conversation he had with experienced Christians, and the valuable labors of Mr. Gifford, then minister of the gospel at Bedford, were chiefly conducive. When twenty-seven years of age, Mr. Bunyan joined a congregation of pious Christians at Bedford. His natural abilities, eminent grace, and the remarkable temptations he had experienced, soon pointed him out as a proper person for the ministry. Curiosity naturally excited multitudes to attend his preaching, and he soon found that his labors were not in vain in the Lord.

Such were his diffidence and modesty that at first he thought it incredible that God should speak to the hearts of sinners by his means. But he was encouraged by many seals of his ministry. His views of the work, and his method in it, deserve notice and imitation. The Lord gave him mich compassion for perishing sinners. He studied with great diligence to find out such words as might awaken the conscience, exhibit Christ in all his infinite fulness, and show the sinner that except in His precious atonement there is no salvation.

“In my preaching,” says he, “the Lord did lead me to begin where his word begins, with sinners; to condemn all flesh, and to open and allege that the curse of God doth lay hold on all men, as they come into the world, because of sin. This part of my work I fulfilled with the terrors of the law and guilt for my own transgressions lying heavy on my conscience. I went myself in chains, to preach to them in chains; and carried that fire in my own conscience, of which I persuaded them to beware. I have gone full of a sense of guilt and terror even to the pulpit door, and there it hath been taken off, and I have been at liberty in my mind until I have done my work, and then immediately it has returned as heavily as before; yet God carried me on, and surely with a strong hand, for neither guilt nor hell could take me off my work.

“Thus I went on for the space of two years, after which the Lord came in upon my soul with some sure peace and comfort through Christ, giving me many sweet discoveries of his blessed grace. And I did much labor to hold forth Jesus Christ in all his offices, relations, and benefits, unto the world; and did strive also to discover, to condemn, and to remove those false supports on which the world lean, and by depending on them, fall and perish.

“When i have been preaching, my heart hath often, all the time of this and other exercises, with great earnestness, cried to God that he would make the word effectual to salvation; wherefore I did labor so to speak as that thereby, if possible, the sin and the person guilty might be particularized. And when I have done the exercise, it hath gone to my heart to think the word should now fall as rain on stony places; still wishing, O that they who have heard me did but see as I do, what sin, and death, and hell, and the curse of God are! and what the grace, and love, and mercy of God are, through Christ, to men who are yet estranged from him! And indeed I did often say in my heart before the Lord, that if to be hanged up presently before their eyes would be a means of awakening them and confirming them in the truth, I could gladly consent to it.

“I never cared to meddle with unimportant points which were in dispute among the saints, yet it pleased me much to contend with great earnestness for the word of faith, and the remission of sins by the sufferings and death of Jesus. I saw my work before me did run in another channel, even to carry the awakening word; to that, therefore, I did adhere.

“If any of those who were awakened by my ministry fell back, I can truly say, that their loss hath been more to me than if my own child had been going to its grave. My heart hath been so wrapped up in the glory of this excellent work, that I counted myself more blessed and honored by it, than if God had made me emperor of the Christian world, or the lord of all the glory of the earth, without it. Oh, these words, ‘He that converteth a sinner from the error of his way, doth save a soul from death. They that be wise shall shine as brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars, for ever and ever.’ James 5:20; Dan. 12:3. These, with many others of a like nature, have been refreshments to me.

“My great desire, in fulfilling my ministry, was to get into the darkest places of the country, because I found my spirit leaned most after awakening and converting work; and the word that I carried did lean itself most that way also: ‘Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation.’” Rom. 15:20.

This fidelity excited many enemies; and the time in which he lived being a time of persecution for conscience' sake, he was thrown into prison, and there continued, in the whole, for twelve years.

He was enabled to bear this tedious imprisonment patiently. The Lord was very gracious to him. “I never had,” he said while in prison, “in all my life, so great an insight into the word of God as now. Those scriptures which I saw nothing in before, are made, in this place and state, to shine upon me. I have had sweet sights of the forgiveness of my sins, and of my being with Jesus in another world. Oh the mount Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the innumerable company of angels, and God the Judge of all, and the spirits of just men made perfect, and Jesus, have been sweet unto me in this place! I have seen that here which I am persuaded I shall never while in this world be able to express. I have seen a truth in the words, ‘Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.’”

The thoughts of his afflicted family would sometimes press upon his mind, especially the case of one of his four children who was blind. Mr. Bunyan was a man of strong affections, a tender husband, and a very indulgent parent. But he was supported under this affliction by these two scriptures: “Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.” The Lord hath said, “Verily, it shall be well with thy remnant; verily, I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil.”

He was not idle during his long and severe confinement, but diligently studied his Bible, which, with the Book of Martyrs, composed his whole library. His own hands also ministered to the necessity of his indigent family; but he was still more usefully employed in preaching to all who could gain access to the jail, and with a spirit and power that surprised his hearers.

It was here also that he composed several useful treatises, especially THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, a book which has done as much good, perhaps, as any other, except the Bible; and by writing which he has probably been more useful, that if he had enjoyed the unrestrained exercise of his public ministry. In composing it, he was evidently favored with a peculiar measure of the divine assistance. Within the confines of a jail he was able so to delineate the Christian's course, with its various difficulties, perils, and conflicts, that scarcely and thing seems to have escaped his notice. The most accurate observer will hardly find one character, either good or bad, or one fatal delusion, or injurious mistake, which is not essentially pointed out in the PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. The book suits all the various descriptions of persons who profess godliness, and relates the experience, temptations, conflicts, supports, and consolations of Christians in our own times, as exactly as if it had been penned for their own immediate benefit. Cowper has spoken of this book and its author in the following manner:

O thou, whom, borne on fancy's eager wing
Back to the season of life's happy spring,
I pleased remember, and while memory yet
Holds fast her office here, can ne'er forget:
Ingenious dreamer, in whose well-told tale
Sweet fiction and sweet truth alike prevail;
Whose humorous vein, strong sense, and simple style,
May teach the gayest, make the gravest smile;
Witty, and well employed, and like thy Lord,
Speaking in parables his slighted word,
I name thee not, lest so despised a name
Should move a sneer at thy deserved fame;
Yet e'en in transitory life's late day,
That mingles all my brown with sober gray,
Revere the man whose Pilgrim marks the road,
And guides the Progress of the soul to God.

The narrative is so entertaining, that the heart becomes interested in the event of every transaction: ministers may draw from it the most valuable instruction as a text-book to be used in their private meetings; and parents may with great advantage select portions of it to be read and explained to their children.

After the Lord had accomplished what he had designed in the works written by this man of God in his dreary solitude, he at length disposed Dr. Barlow, then Bishop of Lincoln, and others, to pity his undeserved sufferings, and to interest themselves in procuring his enlargement.

His active spirit soon improved the liberty afforded him : he visited the people of God in several places, especially the afflicted, tempted, and persecuted, to whom he was now well qualified to speak a word in season. He took this opportunity of paying his grateful acknowledgments to his friends whose kind assistance he had experienced in prison; and as occasion offered, he preached the gospel with great boldness and acceptance, particularly to the congregation at Bedford, of whom he was now chosen minister.

Amidst all his popularity and success, he was kept humble, and was seldom or never known to speak of himself. His whole behaviour was exemplary, so that malice herself has not been able to find, even on the closest inspection, a single stain on his reputation and moral character.

His valuable life, worn out with sufferings, age, and ministerial labors, was closed with a memorable act of Christian charity. He was well known under the blessed character of a peacemaker. He was therefore desired by a young gentleman in the neighborhood of Bedford, to interpose as a mediator between him and his offended father, who lived at Reading, in Berkshire : this friendly business he cheerfully undertook, and happily effected. But in his return to London, being overtaken with excessive rain, he came to a friend's on Snow Hill very wet, and was seized with a violent fever, the pains of which he bore with great patience, resigning himself to the will of God, desiring to be called away that he might be with Christ, looking upon life as a delay of that blessedness to which his soul was aspiring, and after which it was thirsting. In this holy, longing frame of spirit, after a sickness of ten days, he breathed out his soul into the hands of his blessed Redeemer, August 12, 1668, aged 60.

His natural abilities were remarkably great; his fancy and invention uncommonly fertile. His wit was sharp and quick; his memory very good, it being customary with him to commit his sermons to writing after he had preached them. His works are collected in two volumes, folio, and contain  as many treatises as he lived years. His judgement was sound and deep in the essential principles of the gospel, as his writings sufficiently evince. His piety and sincerity towards God were apparent to all who conversed with him. He constantly maintained the godlike principle of love, often bewailing that there should be so much division among Christians. He was a man of heroic courage, resolute for Christ and the gospel, and bold in reproving sin both in public and private; yet mild, condescending, and affable to all. Thus lived and died a man in whose character, conduct, and usefulness that scripture was remarkably verified: “Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, that no flesh should glory in his presence.”

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

By Laurie Higgins, IFI Cultural Analyst  - 

Illinois Family Institute

Part I of this two-part article about Illinois' new "enumerated" school anti-bulling law and its attendant Task Force exposed the bias and lack of diversity of the Task Force as well as the troubling recommendations made by it.

Embedded in these recommendations are typical "social justice" ideas and rhetoric that reveal the fact that this law is designed to use public schools--including elementary schools--to undermine the belief that homosexual acts are immoral and unsafe. The 106-page Task Force recommendations refer to" broader cultural systemic issues of power, privilege and oppression," "homophobia," and "underlying power imbalances." For the uninitiated, this language may sound benign or even positive, but those familiar with the jargon of the "teaching for social justice" movement will recognize the troubling ideas concealed beneath the deceitfully reassuring rhetoric.

The goals of the Task Force are consistent with the mission of the organization that created the law: the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance (ISSA). ISSA is a homosexual activist organization that was originally an affiliate of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). ISSA's anti-bullying law was created specifically to add the terms "sexual orientation," "gender identity," and "gender expression" to existing law, which in turn would provide liberal assumptions about homosexuality and Gender Identity Disorder an even greater foothold in Illinois schools.

The Task Force recommends "all schools in Illinois immediately embark on a journey of complete school transformation," which means all public and private schools in Illinois. Current law applies only to public schools and non-sectarian, that is, non-religious private schools, but the Task Force calls for an amendment to the existing law so that it would apply to religious private schools as well.

The Task Force recommendations include indoctrination plans for students, teachers, administrators, all school employees (e.g. maintenance workers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers), and future teachers enrolled in college and university teacher-preparation programs.

The Task Force asserts that "complete school transformation cannot be accomplished without adequate commitment, time, and resources," stating that "nothing less than the complete overhaul of the education system in Illinois" will suffice, and that "the state of Illinois fully fund pilot projects to collect and evaluate data on the efficacy of the proposed school transformation model."

Their recommendations include this troubling suggestion: "Many changes will need to be made to state laws, ISBE regulations and school policies."

Many community members feel helpless to stop the usurpation of public education by liberal ideologues hell-bent on using taxpayer resources to advance their moral and political beliefs, but there are things taxpayers can and should do:

1. Email your local school administrators and request the following information:

a. Ask for detailed information about any "bullying prevention" activities that are planned for students.

b. Ask for detailed information about any "bullying-prevention" training (i.e. professional development) that is planned for administrators, teachers, and staff.

c. Ask if any of the "bullying-prevention" activities that are planned for any of these groups specifically mention "sexual orientation," "gender-identity" (i.e. Gender Identity Disorder), or "gender-expression" (i.e. cross-dressing).

d. Request copies of any resources that will be used in "bullying-prevention" training for students, teachers, administrators, and staff.

2. If your administration is uncooperative, file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to access the information. FOIA requests are easy to file and cost-free for the first fifty pages of documents. Every Illinois school district has a FOIA officer who by law must be identified on the district's website. Your district's FOIA officer can provide instructions on how to file a FOIA. Click

here

and go to page 56 for a sample FOIA request. Taxpayers should be making use of FOIA requests. They provide invaluable (and often surprising) information about what takes place behind the scenes in schools.

3. Finally, tell your children's teachers that under no circumstance is your child to be exposed to any resources or activities that mention "sexual orientation," "gender identity," or "gender expression." Tell them that you will provide "bullying-prevention" instruction at home. And ask them to notify you prior to any activities or presentations that address "sexual orientation," "gender identity," or "gender expression," so that you can opt your child out.

IFI is urging our readers to research how your school districts are implementing the Illinois Prevent School Violence Act (PSVA). Please do this if you're a taxpayer. You don't have to have students enrolled in school. All taxpayers are subsidizing what takes place in our public schools; and today's students are tomorrow's culture-makers. We all have a stake in public education.

We cannot afford to sit around fretting and whining about the corruption of public education by liberal ideologues who have transformed education into indoctrination. Please email your schools, and if anything troubling turns up, send the information and documentation to IFI. We would love to share with IFI readers what's taking place in particular school districts around the state.

Illinois parents may soon begin to taste the diseased fruit of the Illinois "enumerated" anti-bullying act that Governor Quinn signed into law a year ago on the Sunday morning of the Chicago "gay pride" parade at a ceremony at Nettelhorst School, Chicago's first public elementary school to march in the debauchery-affirmation parade, which is located in the city's premier homosexual neighborhood "Boystown." (And there are still gullible people who buy the deceit that this law is centrally about bullying.) 

The term "enumerated" is an obfuscatory euphemism that means the law specifically includes homosexuality, Gender Identity Disorder, and cross-dressing. Of course our lawmakers wouldn't dare use those terms out of fear that Illinoisans would see the pernicious truth lurking behind the civil rights argot. No, our lawmakers use the equally obfuscatory euphemisms of "sexual orientation," "gender identity," and "gender expression."

This law required our State Superintendent of Education, Christopher Koch, to appoint a task force to make recommendations about the implementation of the anti-bullying law. Here are just a few of the "unbiased" task force members:

Christopher Koch: Illinois State Superintendent of Education, who according to the Chicago Tribune, lives with his "partner." Other public sources (here and here) reveal that partner to be Kyle A. Lentz. 

In 2009, Koch was honored by the homosexual activist organization, Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, as "advocate of the year." 

Rocco Claps: openly homosexual Director of the Department of Human Rights (Read more HERE).

Shannon Sullivan: openly homosexual Director of the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, who seeks to exploit all public schools -- including elementary schools -- to normalize her own sexual proclivities.

Jennifer Nielsen: Associate Director of the Anti-Defamation League (pictured here in the homosexual newspaper Windy City Times, promoting the pro-homosexual film It's STILL Elementary. Trailers of this film can be viewed HERE).

Lonnie Nasatir: Regional Director of the Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest area with pro-homosexual Anti-Defamation League. Nasatir had this to say about the civil union law: "In our eyes this is an issue of pure and simple fairness and equality; we knew representative[Greg] Harris would need a lot of help and we thought it would be a great opportunity to inform the community about what the bill means and other issues about the LGBT community to be informed and educated citizens." 

And this: "Today we celebrate the hard work of advocates and legislators, and specifically Representative Greg Harris, who worked tirelessly on this bill for several years to ensure all citizens are afforded the rights and privileges of married couples.... This is a proud day for the state of Illinois as we have recognized a fundamental inequality and taken steps to remedy it."

Dr. Stacey Horn: assistant professor in the College of Education, University of IL at Chicago (former academic home of Bill Ayers). Clickhere, here, and here for more on Horn.

Dorothy Espelage: Professor of Educational Psychology, College of Education, University of IL at Urbana-Champaign. HERE are some words of wisdom from Espelage: "Kids are bombarded by homophobic messages....The kids' attitudes in this state are homophobic in nature. They marginalize boys who don't act like boys and girls who don't act like girls....This is very controversial....It's tied to religion, it's tied to values, and we're a very sexually repressed nation as it is, anyway." 

Ann Rangos: self-identified lesbian high school student who is described by David Fischer of the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance as "an incredible activist."

Sukari Stone: self-identified lesbian high school student who writes the following on her blog:

I'm extremely passionate about human rights. More specifically gay rights. I work with an orginization that helps make schools safer and more welcoming to LGBTQA students. Equal rights are very important to me. Probably one of the most important things in my life at the moment (and hopefully for awhile). I have serious pride in who I am and honestly don't care whether others accept me or not. And because of my ridiculous pride I'll let you in on a little secret of mine...I'm a rainbow kid. Get it? I like girls. Cool right? (Source)

I was thinking gay thoughts as usual)....I promise to try to cut down on the ridiculous about of gay things in my posts. I really can't help it. Most people have 2 parts of their brain, a logical side and an artistic side. I actually have 3 parts; an artistic side, a logical side and a gay side. (Source) 

After reading ["Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards], I honestly laughed. Seriously, this guy needs to be put away. I could just imagine a red-faced fat man screaming this sermon at the top of his lungs. "What's his deal?" I asked myself.

What surprised me even more was the fact that people were so quick to believe this idiot. If they even read the Bible they'd know that the God portrayed in it was a good one. A loving caring and accepting one.

Personally, I am not religious. I don't believe in God but I have read the Bible and studied religion a little bit. It's just not my cup of tea. I could rant on and on about religion in general but I don't want to ridiculously offend someone (for once in my life).

I think that Johnathan Edwards was trying to get his listeners to live a life of fear of paranoia. After all, if I believed that God was holding me by a string over a flaming pit I'd be pretty damn scared too. He's using fear to force people to live their lives perfectly and not to make any mistakes. The God portrayed in the Bible was a forgiving guy so I'm not exactly sure what edition Edwards was reading. Maybe he knew that this wasn't happening. That God was a hateful being that wanted to kill everyone. It could've been a pretty smart way to brainwash people into believing what you had to say.

Basically, Johnathan Edwards was either a ridiculously smart manipulator or a guy that was coming down from a serious acid trip while delivering his sermon. (Source)

Here are some of the recommendations made by the Koch-appointed task force (comments and questions in brackets are mine; all emphases are mine):

• "education stakeholders in Illinois [should] commit to engaging in overall school transformation....To accomplish transformation, schools must:
  
  
• Recognize the impacts of systemic cultural issues such as racism, sexism, classism, adultism, disability discrimination and homophobiathat contribute to negative and hostile environments for youth and adults
  
  
• Provide effective youth programming with:

  • Strong ties to theoretical constructs related to bullying...and behavioral change [Will any of the "theoretical constructs" used in "youth programming" dissent from liberal dogma regarding homosexuality and Gender Identity Disorder?]
    
    
  • An evaluation component [Will students be evaluated? If so, on what will they be evaluated? Will they be evaluated on the degree to which they have embraced the moral assumptions of liberal demagogues?]
    
    
  • Methods and strategies for adapting programs to unique school contexts (e.g., race, age, gender) and ecological domains (e.g., peer relationships, family relationships)

• Provide professional development to all school personnel (including not only administrators and teachers, but bus drivers, maintenance workers, security, cafeteria workers, etc.) on issues of:

  • School-wide expectations, as well as reporting and monitoring requirements when expectations are not met
    
    
  • Impacts of systemic cultural issues such as racism, sexism, classism, adultism, ableism and homophobia that contribute to bullying and school violence, as well as hostile environments for youth and adults that inhibit learning and development

• In order to support schools in the school transformation process, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and other governmental agencies, where possible, should:

  • Support amendment of the PSVA (the Illinois "enumerated" anti-bullying law) and implementing regulations to...cover allpublic and non-public schools, require more detail in mandated anti-bullying policies, and more effectively support school transformation efforts
    
    
  • Develop two to four common indicators (e.g., incidence rates, discipline referrals related to bullying, overall school climate) that address bullying and school violence and require all schools and districts to report annually
    
    
  • Establish an administrators' academy to teach all school administrators ways to establish and maintain a positive school climate
    
    
  • Make available quality technical assistance and professional development to schools engaged in the school transformation process
    
    
  • Ensure all pre-professional education for school personnel prepare them to engage in and lead school transformation processes ["Pre-professional education" refers to students preparing to become teachers. In other words, the task force is recommending that all future teachers be indoctrinated with their subversive ideas about homosexuality.]
    
    
  • Fully fund pilot projects to collect and evaluate data on the efficacy of the proposed school transformation model to comprehensively prevent and address bullying and school violence
    
    

Some random thoughts about this legislative debacle:

-- It's odd or ironic or hypocritical that an educational group that purports to embrace diversity and tolerance would apparently make no effort to create a diverse task force. It's clear that the task force excluded anyone who opposes bullying but believes that affirming volitional homosexual acts harms children.

-- It's also odd that despite the fact that lesbians constitute less than 2% of the population, they comprise 100 percent of the student representation on the task force. 

-- According to research, the kids who are most frequently bullied are obese kids, and not one was included on the task force. In addition, I've never heard a single expert advocate the celebration and affirmation of obesity as a means to eradicating the bullying of obese students. 

-- I am loathe to refer, even indirectly, to particular students, but our state's educational leaders have foolishly decided to make students public figures by including them on the task force. This reminds me of the equally foolish practice in District 113 of including students on committees that interview teacher candidates. Teacher candidates should be insulted by such a practice. However did we arrive at a cultural place where immature students who lack both knowledge and wisdom and who hold disordered moral beliefs serve on committees that make critical educational decisions for Illinois students? Clearly, Koch's allegiance to homosexual kids is greater than his allegiance to conservative adults, sound pedagogy, or philosophical diversity. Perhaps he fears being accused of "adultism" if he doesn't include students and "homophobia" if he doesn't include homosexual students on the task force. 

--Many conservatives fearfully, ignorantly, and, in some cases, self-righteously proclaim--at least publicly--that the homosexuality of educators and lawmakers doesn't matter to them. Well, it better matter to them because when an educator or lawmaker affirms and embraces a homosexual identity, they are announcing precisely what they hold to be true about the nature and morality of volitional homosexual acts. And these non-factual assumptions about homosexuality will shape their decisions on a whole host of issues including laws, school policies, curricula, their own classroom comments, and professional development opportunities provided to school employees at public expense. 

--How much will these complete "transformations" of all schools cost individual districts and the state?

It should be obvious that this anti-bullying law, like virtually all contemporary anti-bullying laws, policies, and activities, is centrally concerned with exploiting legitimate anti-bullying sentiment and public education to transform the moral beliefs of Illinois students. Part II of this article on Illinois' "enumerated" anti-bullying law will focus on what community members can do in the hope of mitigating the law's moral and pedagogical damage.