What follows is a recent review of The Failure of Sex Education in the Church: Mistaken Identity, Compromised Purity by a Christian middle school teacher.  Perhaps it will be helpful to parents and teachers who want to challenge boys and girls to contrast secular with biblical thinking.

Linda Bartlett’s book, “The Failure of Sex Education in the Church…” is indeed a “catechism” for all concerned about the sexualization of children, but it is also a wonderful foundation for Christian educators who want to teach their students a reasoned defense of their faith and actions. As a literacy teacher of Christian middle school students the book offered evidence, from historical documents and Bible references, to help me formulate a better understanding of why I must show students a distinctively different worldview.

As more and more of the adolescent literature contains sexual innuendo, alternate lifestyles and portrays a generally desensitized culture, I saw it as imperative to give students the information to be discerning, especially after they left the Christian sphere of influence. The new Core Curriculum/Standards have suggested literature selections with questionable content, as well as asking students to analyze that content to find the author’s meaning. They are to make logical inferences as they evaluate diverse stories and cultures. While that sounds good, Christian teachers need to understand the agendas and the deception behind Utopian thinking.

In her book Linda Bartlett discusses those who were the architects of social change in the United States. She explains
how they knew that weakening the Christian faith and family and removing the rights of parents would allow a different form of government to assume control. In class discussions, my students cite examples (from their personal reading) where parental control is nonexistent, the focus of youth is on any kind of pleasure, violence is glorified and where they are asked to accept alternate lifestyles as normal.

“The Failure of Sex Education…” is clear on the origin of Utopian thinking, explaining how “humans set free of social constraints weaken the foundations of a society”. As one student interjected, “We will never be able to make enough laws to stop people who think they can do whatever they feel like!” My students also realized that current literature and movies try to manipulate or make them feel inferior, when they don’t see the wisdom of political correctness or embrace the sexual revolution. They were ready for the discussions this book encourages.

Bartlett’s book was my study guide, as I exposed the students to the underlying deceit of the culture ( that labeled them as sexual beings) and encouraged them to embrace life as God’s children. The book researches the root causes for the dangerous cultural decay, yet offers Christians the tools needed to engage in the battle for our children’s hearts and minds. As I teach writing, I speak often of “the power of the story”; I think this book can help Christian teachers tell, not only the story of the battle, but plot out the blueprint to victory in our identity as children of God.

Mary Zimmermann,
Christian middle school teacher