March 18, 1994
Dear Editor,
I had occasion the other day to be in an art class in one of Utah's
public high schools. The walls were covered mostly with student's art work. What I found
disturbing was the nature of the art. Virtually all of it had one theme in common:
rebellion, often portraying blatantly satanic themes, including up-side-down crucifixes,
bloody skulls, luciferian references, mayhem, and other occultic symbols. These paintings
appeared to be renditions of various heavy metal album covers. Had a student drawn a
picture portraying the resurrection, he or she would have been reprimanded, and the
picture would not have been displayed on the wall.
What's the deal here? It seems to me that the so-called
"separation of church and state" precept is being used for the purpose of
eliminating any Judeo/Christian influence from education and embraces with no apologies
atheistic or even blatantly satanic themes. Aren't atheism and anti-Christianity a form of
religion? A state-sponsored art teacher, who happens to be an avid rock-N-roll fan, can
peddle his influence on his students with impunity while the pious teacher cannot even
have a bible sitting on the desk.
There is no such thing as an absence of religion. Religion will be
taught in school. The question we must ask ourselves is, what religious principles are we
going to allow to prevail? Looking at the current trend, is it any wonder that the family
is falling apart and society with it? The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
The scriptures admonish: "Trust no one to be your teacher...except
he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments."
Sincerely,
