Is mankind essentially good, or bad?

From Home Education Magazine Online:

* More holistic approaches to reading instruction (whole language being the primary one mentioned) are more child-centered and seem to assert the inherent goodness of the child which is opposed to the basic Christian doctrine of a sin nature derived from the fall of Adam.

* Related to the above is the belief that any approach other than intensive phonics is somehow rooted in humanism. Many Christian educators associated current basal textbook programs and the whole language philosophy used in public schools with the New Age movement (a quasi-religious belief system that incorporates many Eastern notions of reality). Perhaps this is a logical conclusion reached by educators who generally believe that public schools operate from a humanistic agenda.

* A phonics approach to reading instruction, with its usual dependence on drill and rote memorization, is more compatible with the rigidly disciplined environment of most Christian schools. It is also more compatible with the "back-to-basics" movement that has characterized educators who lean toward more conservative beliefs.

Read the whole article here.

Does this mean there has never been morality outside Christianity, and never want of it within Christianity?