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Fight for your rights!

David's Berg's fight against a Miami Beach High School and the Florida Dade County School Board for using an illegal text book on biology that promotes Darwinistic Evolution

By David Brandt Berg, April 1980
Note from the Webmaster: This article, posted June 23, 2010 on Deep Truths, is indeed a classic oldie goldie about David Berg's character! I should have posted it long ago. David's son Aaron was born on June 21, 1947. If he took the biology course mentioned in this article when he was a high school sophomore at 15 years old, the events of this story happened circa 1962. This Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_Sciences_Curriculum_Study confirms the existence of the textbook in question and even the date of its introduction. It confirms everything the David Berg had to say in this article.
David Berg
David Berg

The problem: The County School Board introduces a High School textbook promoting Darwinism

I'll tell you, if you let people push you around you'll never get anywhere in this kind of world! You've got to fight for your rights!

Aaron (David Berg's oldest son) came home from Miami Beach High School one day and showed me this book, the so-called Blue Book, a workbook on biology supposedly, and it was a whole book on nothing in the hell but evolution from cover to cover and mostly written by God-damned atheistic, anti-Christ educationalists!

It was financed with billions of dollars by the United States government, supposedly to train scientists after WWII, because the United States was not developing enough scientists and technicians compared to the way the Russians were doing it. I mean, everybody in Russia--boys and girls both--were studying to be scientists and technicians, and the U.S. saw it was behind the times and not developing enough scientists and technicians. So they established the National Science Foundation to fund this project.

So the Devil really took advantage of that! "Ah ha! If we're going to train our young people to be scientists and technicians, we have got to teach them evolution!--And if we're going to teach them evolution, we've got to have a new evolutionary textbook.--The Septuagint of Evolution!"

And at that time they could ask the American public for anything and they would have given it to them to help them lick Russia. So the National Science Foundation had millions of dollars to just throw around and to fund the publication of textbooks to develop better technicians, scientists and engineers to help America lick the Russians.

So they developed the BSCS, the Biological Sciences Curriculum Studies, the Blue Book, which the introduction said was authored and edited and produced by the nation's 70 leading biological scientists to be used as a workbook in conjunction with biological studies in every high school in the United States and furnished to the high school and to their students individually by the millions of copies, free of charge paid for by the U.S. Government.

So Aaron said, "Dad, you ought to look at this book! Dad, please, I don't want to study this thing, it's nothing but evolution! It's ridiculous! I'm sick of it! All this biology class is about is evolution!" I said, "Oh, don't worry about it, Son. Of course, they always try to bring evolution into biology."

He said, "they're not just bringing in evolution, the biology they are teaching me in Miami Beach high school is nothing but evolution!--Only evolution! They're not teaching me anything else but evolution!" I said, "Come on, Son, they couldn't get away with it!" He said, "Dad, here's the book, you read it." So I sat up all one night till five o'clock the next morning and read that whole thing through.

And that thing made me so furious and so mad! So I said to Aaron, "I agree with you, forget it! I don't want you studying this junk. Just tell them you want to sign out, that you want to drop out of biology. Don't make any stir about it, just forget it."

David's meeting with the High School biology teacher, Vice Principal and Principal

So he went back to school the next day and told them he wanted to drop out of the class. His teacher said, "I'm sorry, but you can't. You've got to take biology as a pre-college requirement." He said, "I don't give a damn about going to college! I don't want to take it!" "Yes, but you signed up for it already, last semester before Summer, and once you've signed up, that's it! You've got to take this subject no matter what!"

So he came home and told me, "They won't let me drop out. They said I've signed up for it so I've got to take it." I said, "What are you talking about, Son? This is the U.S.A., the United States of America, a free country, free speech, free press, freedom of religion! If you don't want to take this subject you don't have to take it!" He said, "Dad, they say I have got to take it or else they'll expel me from school as a juvenile delinquent because I have disobeyed and refused to go to classes and I won't be able to earn my diploma or anything! Come and talk to them!"

So I tagged along with him to school the next day. I went to his class with him and I told the teacher that I was his father and I wanted to sign him out of biology. The teacher was very cold, "Well, I'm sorry, Sir, but you'll have to get written permission from the Principal to sign him out of this class." So I said, "OK, we'll go to the Principal's office." The secretary ushered us in and said, "Well, wait a few moments, the Vice-Principal will see you."

We waited and he came in and said, "What do you want?" "I just want to sign my son out of biology, he doesn't like it." "Well, did he sign up for it last Spring before Summer vacation?"--They have you sign up then to know who's going to take classes next Fall. "Yes, but he's been in it a few weeks now and he doesn't like it, he doesn't want to take it after all."

"Well, I'm so sorry, but according to the county rules, once a student signs up for a course he's got to stick to it through the year or take a failing grade for the course, which will count against his diploma." I said, "What are you talking about? He signed up for it because he thought he wanted to take it, and when he tried it he didn't like it so he doesn't want to take it now."

I said, "And after I've seen what he's studying, this junk you're teaching him called "biology", I don't want him to take it either!" "I'm very sorry, Sir, but you'll have to see the Principal and get his permission." So by-and-by, after a half-an-hour or so of waiting and sitting like a bunch of bumps on a log in the waiting office, the high and mighty great ruler of all deigned to have an audience with us! We went into his office and the Vice-Principal came trailing along and sat down on the other side of the desk with him, and the battle was on!

The Principal said, "Well, did he sign up for it last Spring?" I said "Yes, but he's gone to it a few weeks now and he doesn't like it." He said, "Once he's signed up, the Dade County School Board rules are that he cannot drop out without a failing grade which will count against his diploma."

I said, "What do you mean, he can't drop out of it? What are you talking about?" I said, "Is this Russia or is this the free United States of America where we've got freedom and free speech and free press and freedom of religion? This God-damn course is against his religion!" He said, "That's the County rules laid down by the School Board."

I said, "Ok, oK! We'll take a failing grade! Let it count against his diploma, he doesn't care anyway!" "Yes, but he already signed up for it so he's got to take it anyhow whether he likes it or not." I said, "You mean then that in this City and County School System it is an absolute dictatorship and there's no freedom of choice?"

I said, "Are you sure? That's the final word?--That if he drops out and refuses to come, you will not only give him a failing grade, you will accuse him of juvenile delinquency, truancy and you will count it against his diploma?" He said, "Yes, and we could even hold you responsible up to the ultimate of a jail sentence and a fine if you don't make him come and take this course!"

I said, "Well, that's very interesting to find out."

I said, "I think the press, the free press of Miami, would be very interested in this case, that an American student, a so-called free citizen of the United States of America, and his father, a so-called free citizen of the United States of America, has no right to withdraw him from a course that he doesn't like because he claims it's against his religion and his freedom of choice, and you say he cannot drop out or I am subject to legal procedures, possible fine, imprisonment, truancy and all the rest of that stuff!"

I said, "I think the newspapers would like to hear about this, that we're not living in the United States of America and a free country, but we are now living in Russia where they insist on cramming down my son's throat communistic, anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible propaganda that he is forced to swallow in the public school and cannot get out of it!"

They looked at each other and said, "Well, sir, just a moment please, we'll confer about this a moment if you don't mind," and they went out a door together. We sat there for a few minutes and pretty soon they came back in. They said, "Well, Mr. So-and-so, we're very sorry that this has happened and we are happy to let your son out of this course. There will be no penalties and you will hear no more about it and everything will be fine as long as he keeps up his other work and comes to school as he should, etc., if you'll just promise us one thing.--

"If you promise that you won't take it to the press!"--At that moment I couldn't have cared less! I said, "Fine, that's all I came here for, to get him out of the class, to quit having to study that God-damn evolution you're teaching in this book. Fine. I agree! Shake! You let him out, and I don't tell the press that we're in Russia!" And they all smiled these big phoney grins: "So happy to have you come!"--They couldn't have hated it worse!

The Lord's Word to David on the matter

So we went home and I said, "Hallelujah, Aaron, I got you out of class!" And I went to bed that night very happy that I got my boy out of that poisonous class with its sickening, diabolical, idiotic lies of evolution and all the rest.

But sometime in the night, I couldn't go to sleep, and the Lord said to me, "Ok, you got Aaron out of class, good, you saved your boy from all that poison and all those lies." And the Lord said to me as clear as I ever heard the voice of God, "So you don't care about the rest of them, all the rest of those poor Jewish kids being taught the same lies and forced into the same shit and the same stuff crammed down their throats against their will."

I said, "But Lord, I'm not responsible for them! That's their parents' problem. I'm just responsible for my son!" The Lord said, "If you knew the teacher was down there feeding those students physical poison like strychnine with which they kill rats and rodents, etc., wouldn't it be your responsibility to warn the authorities and to tell the authorities of it?" And I thought, "Well, of course, I suppose it would." And the Lord said, "Well, which is worse?--Poisoning their bodies and killing them physically, or poisoning their souls and killing them spiritually?"

David's confrontation with the Dade County School Board

I was just getting ready to leave on a business trip, so I said, "But Lord, I have to go on a business trip, I have a job, I've got to go. I can't fiddle around with this thing!" Well, I got under real conviction, I saved my boy but I didn't care if the rest of them went to Hell! I said, "All right, Lord, OK, all right, I'll write the School Board a letter of protest and tell them why I withdrew my boy and why I think it's wrong for them to teach this stuff."

I based the whole thing on freedom of religion and wrote my letter on the premise that evolution is religion. If nothing else, it's anti-religion, it's against my religion, it's against the Bible, and therefore students shouldn't have to take it if they don't want to!

Well, Aaron mailed the letter to the school board and I came back from my business trip after two weeks, and then, all of a sudden I got a letter from the School Board, probably a form letter, saying, "We have received your letter of complaint and we invite you"--good politics--"to appear before the next School Board meeting on such-and-such a date to present your protest in person if you wish."

I was going to be home for the next two weeks so I thought, "Well, Ok! Fine! I will!"--And I went to the School Board meeting. They had an agenda of business and finally there were to be heard complaints or protests or comments from the audience. Anybody who wanted to could stand up and talk for ten minutes. So I got up and I proceeded to read, and I read the six closely typewritten single-spaced pages.

For some reason it sort of seemed to run over ten minutes and the chairwoman finally tapped her gavel and said, "Well, that's enough, your ten minutes are up." And I said, "Well, I'm not quite finished, I have a few more things to say here, if you don't mind. Could I ask for a little bit more time?"--"Well, all right, five more minutes." And I kept on reading five more minutes and I still wasn't finished!

I said, "I think the public needs to hear what I've got to say!--And I think it's unfair, it's putting a squelch on freedom of speech to limit what I've got to say to 10 or 15 minutes! I've only got two more pages here, I want to read the rest of what I've got to say about this thing!"

She said, "Well, I'm very sorry, we have a lot of other things on our agenda and other people who want to speak and have their ten minutes, you've had more than your share already, that's enough!" I said, "I'm going to finish what I've got to say!"--And I kept on reading and got through with about one more page, all but the last page.

She said, "I'm warning you, if you go any further I Am going to call the Sergeant of Arms and have you forcibly ejected from this meeting!" And I read a little further and she said, "Sergeant!"--And I saw this big, husky, burly policeman coming down the aisle toward me! I said, "Thank you very much, Madam," and I sat down quietly. He came right up to my elbow, "Grrrr!" And he said to me, "Buddy, if you cause any more trouble, out you go!"

But just before I sat down, I said, "If you don't mind, I would just like to have your permission to continue this at the next Board meeting, one month from now." She said, "You can have your ten minutes like anybody else." And I said, "Fine, thank you."--And I sat down, and I smiled at the Sergeant.

Well, within the next month, before the next board meeting, I really began to research, and that's when I found out that the book was not on the accepted approved textbook list of the State of Florida, and that according to law, anyone introducing an unapproved-by-the-State book into the State School System--such as the School Board who had approved of it had done--and any teacher teaching it, was required by State Law to be fired, teacher's credentials removed, fined a minimum of $10,000 and a minimum of one year in jail!

So next meeting when my time came, they read my name off the list, "Rev. so-and-so, it's your turn." I stood up and I said, "This is a violation of human rights!--Freedom of religion, number one, and freedom of speech. They would only let my son out of the course if I promised not to give the story to the press, and that's a violation of my rights to free press!" I said, "What are we in?--The U.S.A. or Russia? I just don't think this is American!"

I said, "I have 19 ministers here with me today who agree with me." In the meantime I had gone before the Fundamentalist Ministerial Association, Full Gospel Businessmen, and recruited all the help I could get. I appealed to them for help and to come to the School Board meeting where we were going to come to a showdown where I was to have my last say. Out of 300 or more in the town, 19 of them showed up, God bless them!

So I stood up and made my protest again. She said, "We've heard all this stuff before, you told us that last time. We're not interested, we don't care, and as far as we are concerned, you're completely out of order!--Next speaker, please!"

I said, "all right, you have refused to listen to me and to my protest and heed it. According to law, you have approved of an unapproved illegal textbook in the public high schools here and we have actual documentary proof that you allowed it to be taught and encouraged it to be taught in the local schools, and it's against the law. If you won't withdraw that textbook officially within the next week after this meeting, I am going to take you to court, the law!" They said, "That's your affair, you do whatever you want to do. Next!"

David meets with his former employer, the Miami District Attorney

So when I saw that they were absolutely hard and calloused and a bunch of god-damned antichrists who weren't planning in any way to do anything about it, I went down to the office I knew so well where I used to work, the District Attorney, Prosecuting Attorney, of Metropolitan Miami in Dade County, Florida.

I said, "I want to file a formal legal criminal complaint against the Dade county school board for violating State Law in permitting and even recommending an illegal textbook to be taught and required in the public schools of Dade County which is not on the approved accepted list of textbooks approved by the State Legislature and the Educational Committee.

"I want to file a criminal complaint!--Not just civil suit, I want to file a criminal complaint! They have broken State Law and are guilty of a felony, the whole School Board and the teacher, name by name"--I had the whole list, everybody specifically named--"for using this textbook in Miami Beach High School.

"I've talked to all of them and they didn't even want to let my boy out of the class, they insisted that it was required." He looked at my complaint, all typed up, the whole legal presentation, and he said, "Now wait a minute, Dave, come on now! Don't you know that the School Board are sacrificial civic-minded citizens who serve in this capacity without salary, volunteers who serve sacrificially and give of their time! You don't want to put these poor civic citizens in jail, do you?"

He said, "I'm sorry, how do you expect me to accept a complaint like that? First of all, you're charging here in this complaint that they are compelling students to use a certain textbook." He said, "Now, if we really take this thing to court, how do you expect me to prove this? Take for example the word use. U-S-E. What does it really mean? How am I going to convince any jury that U-S-E really means that they actually use this textbook in the class? It would be very difficult to prove that this word U-S-E in the law really means what your son was doing or the teacher was doing in the class!"

I looked at him and said, "You've got to be kidding! You're going to let these people off the hook who are guilty of a felonious violation of a State Law over a little technical interpretation of the word U-S-E, a simple word like that, and claim they weren't really using this textbook?" He said, "Dave, I'm sorry, you just don't have a case. We just can't accept your complaint."

The System fights back - David's house is condemned!

So after I stayed overtime for that school meeting and to file the complaint and they refused to accept it, I left on my next business trip. While gone, I asked the Lord, "Well Lord, now what? What should I do next? What next?" And the Lord, as clearly as ever I heard His voice, said, "They're going to condemn your house to get you out of town."

So I phoned the girls, Mama Eve and Mary, and I said, "Listen, get packed! We've gotta move! They are going to come through and condemn the house, so we have to move!" They said, "No, Dave, no! We just spent $30 on the plumbing in the bathroom and we've got all these new rugs and carpeting, we've bought this furniture and we've paid so much for this and blah blah, they couldn't do that to us!" I said, "They're going to! The Lord told me so!"

The city wasn't going to take it lying down. I had them over a barrel, legally, and if I could have found one lawyer with the guts to go to bat and fight and lay his life on the line for it, we could have had one hell of a fight! We could have had another Scopes Trial, better than William Jennings Bryan and the Monkey Trial!--Because we had'm legally! We could prove they were violating the law. But I couldn't find one lawyer. And I couldn't file my complaint because the Assistant District Attorney refused to accept it.

So while I was gone on my trip, the girls got all packed up and they had these trunks and boxes all around piled up in the foyer and hallway and everything ready to go. And these investigators came through from five different County and Municipal agencies to condemn the building as a fire, health and sanitation hazard, everything they could think of! Talk about collusion and conspiracy, let me tell you, the Devil protects his own and you can't fight City Hall on their terms!

The Vice Mayor himself went there to give them the eviction notice, after all these other investigators, and he looked around in astonishment at all the boxes and trunks all packed and ready to go! He said, "Well, we're very sorry, but the City and the County both agreed that this building should be condemned and torn down within 60 days, and here's your notice to move out." The girls said, "60 days?--We'll be out in six days and let you worry about it!" We had the jump on the Devil, he didn't get any satisfaction out of it, and we were thankful to get out of that heap!

We saw that they were anti-Christ, anti-God, anti-us and it was actually dangerous for us to even stay in the area, and we never went back there again except for a brief visit six years later.

Believe it or not, even the conservative Jews and Jewish organisations of Miami Beach sided with us that evolution was against the Bible and sent contributions to our fund!--Think of that! God bless them!

David meets Supreme Count Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.

And then on my business I had to go to Washington anyhow, so I decided I wanted to go see the Supreme Court or some judge because I was determined we were going to take this thing to the Supreme Court, just about the same time they were taking the case of the Bible in the public schools to the Supreme Court.

I decided, "Well, let's take this to the Supreme Court, too!" I mean, they were trying to kick the Bible out of the public schools because it's religion, opposed to separation of Church and State, so I figured, let's kick out evolution too! It's religion, a faith, opposed to separation of Church and State. I said, "Let's get it kicked out on the basis of being religion and a violation of freedom of religion!"

So I went to the Supreme Court there in Washington and tried to see some member of the Supreme Court to discuss it with him and ask him his opinion and to complain and tell him what was happening, a violation of personal freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion in the public schools in Miami. And by some miracle of God I ran into Justice Brennen in the hall, in his robes, rushing to go into the chamber into court, and I very quickly and briefly told him my story.

He said, "Well, son, it sounds like you may have a case, but you must go through the proper legal channels." He said, "Start there and appeal your case. Go to court and appeal it, and if it gets far enough, we'll consider it." So the next time I went back to Miami before the School Board for the last time I told them, "If you don't withdraw this book, I'm going to take you to court!

"If I have to, I'm going to take you clear to the Supreme Court for violation of our freedom. I've even discussed it with members of the Supreme Court and they think we have a case!" Right away their lawyer piped up and said, "Supreme Court?--What members?" I said, "I discussed it with Justice Brennen."

He said, "Ah-ha! If this thing ever comes before the Supreme Court, we're going to accuse him of prejudice and overrule him as being out of the case!"--You talk about the deck being stacked against you as far as City Hall and the God-damn World and its System is concerned, forget it! It's impossible! But even if you know you can't win, you still have to fight!

Note: I think the very fact he discussed the case with a judge before prosecution compromises the legal power of that judge.

Moral of story

So the moral of the whole thing is: Don't let them push you around, fight! Even if you can't win, fight just the same! Show some spunk, show some fight and give them some of their own medicine! If they demand so much and so and so and thus and thus and so of you, well, you demand the same of them, fair and equal, right? And if they don't want to take things on your terms, well then forget it! God's got something better.

I think I must be a fighter! I Think I really like it!--Ha! In fact, I think I love it! I've gotten in plenty of'm! I was a little squirt and a runt and a weakling in school, but I got in a lot of fights and I don't think I ever won, but at least I gave'm a fight and they didn't so easily and quickly attack me next time, because they knew I wasn't just going to lie down and take it, I was going to fight!

If you let the Devil know you're going to let him walk all over you and push you around and have his way, why just forget it! You might as well quit and run! But if he knows he's going to have to fight for it and put up a good fight, it just might change his mind about fighting, it's not worth it, and at least maybe you'll get your rights and a fair deal!

Conclusion: Didn't win but the word was spread far and wide

I didn't succeed in getting evolution or the Blue Book out of the schools in Miami, but at least I woke up the city and especially the Church that it ought to be out! I at least let them know what ought to be done, even if they couldn't do it and refused to do it. (From the Message of Jeremiah)

I got sick and fed up with them trying to push us around. And I'll tell you, some of the newspapers went to bat for us too! Both papers sympathised with us!--The Miami News and Miami Herald really started going to bat for us and we got lotsa good publicity!

They had nothing but contempt for me. in the ministerial meeting, this big popular bigshot rich pastor with his big rich church got up and said, "Well, I'm not with you because I believe in evolution as the process of Creation!"--Baptist Fundamentalist, 4000 members! And I said, "Look! Look! Look! There is the enemy! There is the most treacherous traitor of all!--The man in your midst who denies the Truth of the Word of God!" He stomped out, the coward! He said, "I'm not going to talk to you anymore, don't talk to me!" Boom boom boom boom! Out he went!--You face the Devil down and he exposes himself! He got up and confessed he was a believer of evolution!

I said, "He's worse than the school board, he's worse than these open enemies because he's a treacherous traitor right in the midst that will betray you!" He was about twice as big as I was and looked like he wanted to jump across the table and break my neck! I thought, "Well, hallelujah, what a way to go!" Instead, the God-damn coward stomped out with his little coterie of sympathisers.

So don't be afraid of the Devil, he's afraid of you!--If you'll face him down! "Resist the Devil and he'll flee from you!" (Jam.4:7) "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will raise a standard against him!" (Isa.59:19) What have you got to be afraid of? God's on your side! You're with the Lord! He's the winner! He can't possibly lose! The God-damned Devil is a coward! You face him down and resist him and he'll run, every time! Amen?

Copyright © 1998 by The Family International

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James Arendt
James Arendt

My name is James Arendt. I was raised in the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, served in the USAF from 1970 to 1974, and became a full-time missionary for Christ living 40 years in Japan, 3.5 years in Russia, and a few months in other countries such as Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, South Korea, Taiwan and mainland China where I also served the King of Kings, Jesus, as an Ambassador for His Kingdom. My full bio.

On September 24, 2023, I had an accident and broke the bone of the tip of my left elbow. A boy ran in front of my motorbike less than 2 meters from me as I was leaving home. I stopped suddenly and my front tire slid on the sandy concrete road which caused me to fall. I did not hit the boy. On October 18th I had surgery done on my elbow. The doctor put in titanium rods to hold my bones together. The entire procedure including an entire week in the hospital was roughly $4000 USD. This was done in the Philippines where my wife and I have been living since June this year.


X-rays of bone before and after surgery that inserted titanium rods to reinforce my broken bone.

Before and after one week in the hospital.

Undergoing therapy to bend my arm again.
I'm now undergoing therapy to be able to bend my arm again.

It would be a super blessing to us if any of the visitors of this website can help us cover this expense!

You don't need a PayPay account to send me a donation! Just click on the donate button and you will see an option to send through your debit or credit card.


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