This post will discuss the dangers of being gullible and naive as it pertains to philosophies and agendas. This post is meant for Christian educators and parents.
Definition of Gullible and Naive
Webster defines gullible as being easily deceived or duped. The Urban Dictionary defines naive as "unsophisticated, susceptible to influence, trusting unsubstantiated sources at times. Generally speaking, to be naive means you do not think enough. People who are "naive" tend to believe in whatever they are told, without questioning whether it is right or wrong." I believe the Bible would define both of these words in the following verse from Collosians: See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy or empty deceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ (NASB). I like that the Bible uses the word "captive" because it denotes the agendas of men. Most of the narratives of our modern era are meant to take people captive and give other people power. When you begin to understand that, you begin to see through the deception.
Our World of Agendas
Everyone has an agenda. The sooner you learn that the wiser you will be. Most people believe that scientific research comes without any bias and can be taken as gospel. Most people follow this research without once stepping back and looking to see if the researchers had an agenda. Some agendas are obvious. When a research project has been funded by a certain entity or corporation the agenda is not hard to discern. However, most researchers have an agenda of some sort. They go into the research project looking for a certain outcome. No matter how careful these researchers try to be, this will skew the results in the direction of their preconceived notions. Other agendas can be deeply hidden and come from sources outside the researchers themselves. These biases and agendas come from the underlying knowledge base. In any study, scientists build their hypotheses on what is called "given" information. This is supposed to represent knowledge that has been proven over time, but this does not make it infallible. We have all witnessed knowledge that has turned out to be completely wrong based on new information. What if the debunked information is never purged from the knowledge base? That happens much more than you think. Sometimes knowledge is protected for purely political or philosophical reasons without truly having any basis in reality. This skews the research before it even starts.
How Can You Detect Agendas?
I will go back to my statement that everyone has an agenda. You must look at information and especially information with the title "the latest research" with suspicion right off the bat. Does it have an obvious bias? If so, chunk it immediately. The next place you look with suspicion is the authors of the information. Do they have an agenda? If so, chunk it immediately. Once you have chunked the obvious biased information, it becomes a little more tricky. Now you are reaching the deep underlying biases and agendas. Here you need a good working knowledge of the Word of God. Our Father, as the Creator of this universe, just might know a thing or two about how this world works. If the new information contradicts the Word of God, chunk it. I will also say that if the new information makes you feel uneasy and uncomfortable, many times this is the Holy Spirit trying to warn you. I can remember being deeply disturbed in school when certain subjects would come up. I did not know it then, but those topics came with deep relativistic agendas. My tender heart picked up on the falseness without realizing why. Now as an adult, I understand why those topics disturbed me. They were not built on the right foundation. Trust your instincts and learn to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Will This Not Make Me Cynical?
If you read the Word of God, you will actually realize that God wants you to be cynical of worldly knowledge. We are supposed to look at the knowledge of man with skepticism. Modern man has lost that entirely. We look at God with skepticism and trust everything that science teaches us. However, true science that simply describes the wonders of God's creation will never contradict the Bible. If science contradicts the Bible, you have man's wisdom and not God's wisdom. As children of God we must relearn the fact that all the depths of knowledge and wisdom are hidden in Him. He made us. He knows the reality of the situation. We must learn to trust Him.
Conclusion
Now let us take this into the early childhood realm. I will tell you outright that most if not all of what you have been taught as early childhood professionals either outright contradicts the Word of God or partially contradicts the Word of God. The theorists that make up the foundation of early childhood study were all relativists. They did not believe in God and they did not build their knowledge on the Word of God. That should disqualify most if not all of their knowledge for Christian educators. However, you have been taught to compartmentalize your religious beliefs and your education whether you realize that or not. God NEVER intended for you to do that. To divorce His knowledge and His wisdom from your base of study is to be the victim of agendas. Worldly people are forcing you to do the opposite of what should be done to make this world a place without God. They will never succeed in that, but they can do irreparable damage to you and the children in your care. Do not be gullible and naive.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!!
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