Ryan Dobson praises Salem school for teaching truth

By JOHN FORTMEYER
CNNW publisher
    KEIZER — In a society that has clearly turned the wrong way, the dedicated people behind Christian schools are doing all they can to steer kids the right way, author and youth culture expert Ryan Dobson said here last month.
    He specifically commended Salem Academy Christian Schools, which featured Dobson at a promotional dinner Oct. 19 at the Keizer Renaissance Inn.
   “You’re supporting a school that does teach absolute truth,” he told friends of the school.
    That is critical today, because the concept of absolute truth is being largely tossed out the window by secular educators — and it is folly, he said.
   “It feels like as a nation we’re on the edge, hanging on for dear life,” he said. “It feels like we’re falling off a cliff.”
    The result of such relativistic and politically correct thinking that seeks to avoid offending anyone is a world without any secure foundations, he said.    For example, he noted that in some California schools, teachers can no longer outright say that “2 plus 2 equals 5 is incorrect.” He also cited a Little League baseball program in California that stopped keeping score or calling players “out” at bat, thus rendering the game meaningless.
    Even children know eliminating standards and basic beliefs is ridiculous, he said. “Deep inside kids know that you can’t just believe everything, because if you believe everything, essentially you believe nothing,” he said.
    Dobson said it is tough today for young people because moral relativism is so pervasive in media and education. He said Christian parents need to stand strong for the solid truths of the Gospel and for righteousness.
    The son of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson and his wife Shirley, Dobson speaks with the same intensity of conviction for which his famed father is known. Outspoken author of such books as Be Intolerant, the younger Dobson said Christians all too often fail to stand strong for traditional moral standards such as the sanctity of life and marriage for fear of offending.
   “There’s a lot of ‘nice’ Christians,” he said. “I’m just not one of them.”
    Dobson also heaped praise on the academy’s teachers and staff for being so clearly motivated by love for God and for children.
   “I am amazed by you! Thank you so much for what you do!” he said.