"FREETHINKER"
Last night as I stood in the kitchen, I opened up "The Official SAT Study Guide" put out by College Board (c. 2009, ISBN-13: 978-0-87447-852-5). I had picked it up from the thrift store earlier that day because it said that it had ten sample tests in it. It did not look too marked up, so I purchased it for $1.90 (which I thought was too much, but purchased it anyway). I came to a section in the book on the essay portion of the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). Page 119 of the book has what they call an "excerpt" for the essay "assignment" which follows it. The leading "excerpt" reads as follows (emphases ours)--
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.Some people believe that there is only one foolproof plan, perfect solution, or correct interpretation. But nothing is ever that simple. For better or for worse, for every so-called final answer there is another way of seeing things. There is always a "however."Assignment:...
The "Assignment" which follows the excerpt asks, "Is there always another explanation or another point of view?" and gives instructions for planning an essay in which the test taker develops his point of view, etc.
Looking at this, there are some points that come to mind--
- In answering this question, where is there room to say, "Number one, your 'excerpt' is ridiculous; many things have a perfect answer and correct solution--in the mathematics portion of the SAT test you fully expect one right answer for each of those mathematics problems--and you will insist on one correct answer. As a child, I was taught to read the English alphabet, the ABCs. They are the final answer to my being able to read English. There is no other viable way outside of the English alphabet for reading the English language as it has been written for hundreds of years."
- In answering this question, where is there room to say, "Number two, your 'excerpt' is subversive and, to those with eyes to see, obviously consists of the words of a rebel. In stating that nothing is so simple as to be a perfect plan or solution (or to be a sole correct interpretation) your 'excerpt' impiously seeks to get my mind to rise up against every single established truth and answer on earth so that I have to spend my whole life bumbling around in the dark making mistakes and damaging myself (and others) because I will not listen to the truth as I reject what I am told so that I can look for other answers for every last sphere of life. I am told to step over the established truth and, as an ignorant individual, to go out on a hunt. There are plenty of lies, seducers, and deceivers out there awaiting somebody like that. Your reckless advice can cause me to make a shipwreck of my life. And exactly why would my life be so destroyed, absurd, and useless? because I've listened to a rebel that rebels against the absolute truth of God's word by saying there is no absolute truth. Fortunately, I have not been left in the hands of rebels. The God that made man has left his word on record in the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible--and the scriptures cannot be broken (ref. John 10:35) regardless of what rebels say. The word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth (Psalm 33:4). That fact will never be overthrown; what is (and will be) overthrown is the words of rebels. Let God be true, and every man a liar (Romans 3:4)."
- Why, in this question, is the test taker's mental focus brought to philosophy and vain deceit instead of allowing him to demonstrate true basic academic skills found in basic useful facts and reality? Why not an essay where the student summarizes/abstracts/redacts a sound useful excerpt like on how to achieve the goal of buying a house, starting a business, etc.? As I understand it, "SAT" stands for "Scholastic Aptitude Test", not "Socrates Aristotle Test".
- The excerpt author seems to sneer at the "final answer." He says that there is more than one way of seeing things; yes, there is more than one way of seeing things--there is a right way of seeing things and a wrong way of seeing things.
- The last sentence of the excerpt reads, "There is always a 'however.'" With a few changes and additions, that sentence could actually become a useful sentence to the test taker, e.g.,
"There can always be a 'however' from the gainsayers, contradictors, and opposers of the truth of the Authorized Version of God's word, the holy scriptures. Beware of such persons and their writings. Beware of what you have just read in this excerpt; we do not know who wrote it (no name is mentioned), we only read a subversive message. 'Subversive' means to entirely overthrow something at its foundation and ruin it--evil counsel and advice can ruin your life and cause you to lose your soul in hell and the lake of fire if you decide to ignore God's word and do things the way that you choose to do them.God made you and he wants your soul to prosper. He gives us a few basic, holy commands that keep us safe. He also gives us his Spirit to guide us into all truth. When we have been saved by the blood of Jesus and obey his word, our desires can unexpectedly and surprisingly change, and we find that we desire righteousness. We become whole and understanding and holy and we have a sound mind and a satisfied spirit; we are satisfied with the Lord and his word. When someone does not speak according to the word of God, it is because there is no light in them (ref. Isaiah 8:20). Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge (Proverbs 14:7)."
How many high schoolers know how to respond to craft and subtilty? How many have enough time and composure to do this in the midst of a test? After noting some initial thoughts about this excerpt, I looked through some of the student responses to the excerpt and found one student answer that noted that there is not always another explanation or point of view and gave two examples of this. THE WRITER MADE ROOM TO GIVE A REASONABLE ANSWER. The writer's essay received a score of "3" and was judged "inadequate" in the book, but in reality, the writer exercised much thought, commonsense, and "critical thinking" skills to give a sound answer along with his or her supporting points.
Reading the corruptive excerpt made me think of "thought leaders" luring and deceiving the masses into using "logic" to determine what is right and wrong--so I went and obtained a copy of "Deception 73: Logic". As I read, I came across a section on the freethinker--
*** "FREETHINKERS" ***
There is a group of people who call themselves "freethinkers." I don't know where this term originated, but I submit that the people who call themselves freethinkers are not free thinkers. They've listened to somebody in life and think according to what they have been taught. That is why they know English, somebody taught it to them. English did not come from them, they did not think it up. They listened to somebody and accepted what they were told. This has happened many times in their lives and that is why they know the ABCs and the colors, etc.
Freethinkers may think that they think on their own two feet based only on their own thoughts, but they don't. I think that closer to the truth is that they actually base their thinking on anything except the Bible. As long as they remain that type of "freethinker," they are
- free from the scriptures,
- free from the truth,
- free from righteousness; and,
- free from eternal life.
This can change if they turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and his word, but at present, they are at the mercy of their own (and others') corrupted reasoning, they are sinful, and they are on their way to hell and the lake of fire. They are
- free from the benevolent God of the scriptures; and,
- free from the protections of the scriptures.
A cursory look at the statistics of the plagues of modernized western nations shows the results of freedom from the scriptures. Look at the suicide rates, rates for divorce, murder, etc. Look at abortion rates, drug abuse, drunks (alcoholics), mental disorders, ADD, pedophilia, obesity, etc.
When under the freedom of the holy scriptures, on the other hand, there is life. Instead of abortion, there is clean marriage and children which are a blessing. Instead of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), there is an absence of such diseases. Instead of divorce it is "until death do us part." Instead of theft, there is helping those who are downtrodden. Instead of murder, there is kindness. Instead of drunkeness, there is fruitfulness and labor and productivity. Instead of ADD (attention deficit disorder), children are helpful and courteous. Instead of mental disorders, there is a sound mind. Instead of obesity, there is temperance.
*** FROM MY NOTES ***
ADVICE FROM A FREETHINKER"You need to think for yourself. You need to be a freethinker. You don't have to go with those old-fashioned ways; the religions of man are outdated. With the scientific advances that man has achieved, we no longer need stories to explain the material world. Religion is the opium of the masses. Christianity is outdated and worn. The Bible was just written by men...
"You do well to agree with me. Now that you are a freethinker, come into the classroom and let me teach you sex education, guided imagination, and all that a freethinker needs to know. And then after I have brainwashed you with lies and stuffed your head full of tales, tell me what you think about Christianity and Christians.
"Never forget your daily dose of tv. Watch the History channel and get their interpretations of history. Receive it all in your head and then, as a freethinker, you can feel good about it, because you figured it out all by yourself and you can stand up tall and tell everybody how you freethink. Every little thing in life is unbounded for you. You have nothing to stop you from experiencing everything that the world has to offer (not to mention the things from the past through books and things yet future). You can do whatever you want to do. You can do whatever you feel like doing and you can try new things without the constraints of the old ways and old laws.
"This is a new day, a new age. You can even explore the idea of a new world. A world where all people are one...What do you mean, 'What will happen to the United States Constitution?' Are you a terrorist to the new world order? [And what do you mean, 'What if there is something in the old age that I need to know so that I can make an informed decision and learn from past successes and errors?' And what do you mean, 'Who is heading up this new age?'] (I will excuse your ignorance because you are new at thinking for yourself.) There is no room for that stuffy old Constitution [or the old ways]. We freethinkers come up with our own rules as we go. Actually, our rules are no rules because we can each do what we please so we don't need a piece of paper protecting our freedom. We are already freethinkers. Isn't that grand? No paternalistic ruler abiding over us and protecting us by a set of outdated laws and morals. We need abortion rights and gay rights and the old rules are hindering us. Muslims, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, witch doctors, theosophists, vooduns, etc. will all live in harmony with no conflicts whatsoever. And all will be governed by consesus. Yes, I know that we never reach consensus at our meetings, but we do meet and we all rule. Ah, to be a freethinker.
"In freethinking, women are liberated into working forty hours a week. And they can spend half of their money on designer clothes and perfume and makeup so that they can tempt the men at work everyday. And, oh yes, to complete the ensemble, they can "buy" (or rather make payments on) the most expensive vehicle that their credit report and pay ration will allow. Meanwhile, they will live in an apartment. No, not alone--they don't have enough money for that--they'll be packed in with two or three other liberated women who also bring their temporary lovers in over the weekend--lovers that don't pay their bills and who have other women on the side. Ah, to be a freethinker.
"Men don't have to marry nowadays, they have options. Why buy the cow when you can have the milk for free? Ah, the licentious man. He deceives woman after woman making him completely unfit to be anybody's husband. He's done too much and seen too much and by the time he's dead, he has already sired 15 children that never saw the light of day (they were dismembered under the abortionist's knife). Isn't it interesting how these men sometimes decide to settle down with a nice girl? Those girls should have done a little more freethinking and background checking before saying 'I do,' but then again Zoloft and therapy should do the trick.
"In freethinking, children make their own decisions about religion. They'll figure it out on their own and make their own choices from the hundreds of alternatives out there. In school, they can learn about Native American legends, shamanism, Islam, Hinduism, agnosticism, wicca witchcraft, Harry Potter, atheism, Buddhism, literature of all sorts (excepting the [Authorized Version of the] Bible of course), and anything else that the tv-watching teachers can think up. The children can also have access to the previously forbidden with no guidance. And when they get ADD from overstimulation from tv, sweets, etc., simply put them on drugs like Ritalin--some call it "kiddie cocaine"--freethinkers know that science has all the answers.
"Ah, to be a freethinker and not brainwashed like others. The joys of children being able to sit in school thirty hours a week (plus homework at night) learning to be socialized. And then being able to sit in front of the tv for another 30 hours a week learning to release those old, outdated ways in order to embrace the new freedom. They can watch murder, sodomy, lying, bank robbery, adultery, and all the previously forbidden. They can watch cartoons and foolishness for multiplied hours every week at a time when they are still trying to gain perception on what reality is. Ah, to be a freethinker. For the mind to be founded upon the philosophy of textbook authors and the vain imaginations of screenwriters and programmers of electronic video games.
"You know, curiously enough, some people stubbornly hold on to the old beliefs and insist that the Bible has meaning today. Obviously unbalanced, these people need re-education, don't you agree? Of course you do because you are a freethinker."
*** DEPRAVITY AND SUBTILTY ***
I have some workbooks written for young people--including at least one "Test Prep" book that shows the depravity and subtilty of those who are writing the texts for children. American children are being trained to use logic and to accept foreign gods and to despise and ridicule the Bible. These things are sickening so I don't know if I'll pull out some examples or not before I destroy them. They were purchased for our use, but upon closer examination, it did not take much reading to see where the writers were coming from--even down to immigration, communism, free trade, the Constitution, ridicule of the Bible, etc.-- the book that I'm glancing at at this moment is for 8th graders.
2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
[12-31-12]