The War On Children: Providing Refuge for Your Children in a Modern World

by John F. MacArthur Jr.

This world has declared war on our children. Every day, on a multitude of battlefronts, Satan is deploying weapons of mass corruption against our children. Modern culture has been systematically designed with an agenda that is aggressively anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Scripture, intended to corrupt and consume young, impressionable hearts and minds. We are in the middle of a dangerous ideological conflict with eternity at stake. Christian parents cannot simply float passively along with the drift of our culture. We need to be aware of the threats this world poses to our children. We need to understand the enemy's battle plan and be ready for the next assault. We need to prepare our children for the attacks they will face from a culture intent on their destruction. And as God's people, we need to teach our children God's Word; train them in righteousness; participate in every aspect of their lives; give them wise and biblically based guidance; and above all, give them our extravagant love.

Genres: Parenting, Christian, Faith, Nonfiction, Theology, Family, Christian Non Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

John F. MacArthur, Jr. was a United States Calvinistic evangelical writer and minister, noted for his radio program entitled Grace to You and as the editor of the Gold Medallion Book Award-winning MacArthur Study Bible. MacArthur was a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker, and served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California beginning in 1969, as well as President of The Master’s College (and the related Master’s Seminary) in Santa Clarita, California.

Reviews

[Michael Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this much-needed collection of teachings on children and the family, John MacArthur delivers an engaging challenge to Christian parents. This book is a well-researched survey on how the world is attempting capture the hearts of our children, and it also gives us the Biblical alternative to such false teachings. Very highly recommended for all Christians, especially parents (and those desiring to be), as well as grandparents.

[Erin Seeders · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succinct overview of the spiritual war we see unleashed on God’s designed roles and definitions of family, women, men, and the children He forms in the wombs of their mother- give to mothers and fathers to raise, protect, nurture, teach, and mold in these short but definitive years of their childhood. I come away encouraged and also convicted in many areas that I know I need to be more obedient and vigilant in my role as my children’s mother and teacher. Our children are worth the work we are called to put into, and they are worth fighting for.

[Will Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content wise, this book is great! There is much biblical wisdom to be gleaned from MacArthur’s teachings here as he exegetes various biblical passages.

Organization wise, this book could really use an editor. Or its editor could use an editor. It wouldn’t hurt to add subheadings. And it wouldn’t hurt to add an overall coherence to the book, sometimes within individual chapters, and sometimes between subsequent chapters.

I think much of this content was taken and repackaged from MacArthur’s earlier work, “The Family.” So it will be quite redundant if you’ve already read that work.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a heavy read. Especially in the later chapters. But I have been eagerly waiting for this book to be published for some years now and I am not disappointed. The scary thing is it is startlingly real and echoed a lot of what I have experienced and witnessed unfolding over the past decades.

[Owen Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! This is an excellent and important read. I listened to the audiobook version, and was happy John MacArthur narrated it himself.

[Heath Cockrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young people have been force-fed a value system that deliberately undermines the God-ordained role of parents and family, while magnifying the importance of government and community in shaping a young person’s moral convictions and behavioral boundaries.

Abortion has become the principle sacrament of today’s secular generation.

[Blue Morse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, especially important read for Christian parents in our post Judeo-Christian culture.

Thesis: “As a Christian parent, you cannot sit back and passively watch this world take your child’s heart captive and enslave him or her to a godless ideology… the only hope is to fulfill the role that God has designed for each father and mother, and to raise you child in the Word of God.”

While I agreed with MacArthur throughout, this read a lot like the transcript of a sermon or podcast, and was weak on the scholarly research or data (at times it felt more like a rant with sweeping over-generalizations and conservative talking points). Enjoyed the book nonetheless.

Some quotes:

-“Our children ultimately belong to God, and parenting is a stewardship - a sacred responsibility… the bedrock foundation of successful parenting lies in understanding that marriage, children, and parenting are all God-given, and we as parents are accountable to God for how we fulfill the task.”

-“Teach your children to fear God, speak the truth, guard their minds, choose their companions wisely, and exercise control over their desires.”

-“One of the most common refrains from those trying to justify the carnage of abortion is, ‘If I hadn’t had an abortion, I couldn’t have -.” … “and how is that supposed to be any different from hurling babies into the flames in the hopes of obtaining a plentiful crop, much-needed rain, or good fortune from the gods? The worship of Molech is still alive today, and thriving.”

-“The greatest terror attacks against the United States didn’t come from any foreign entity or homegrown enemy… the two greatest acts of terror was … the legalization of abortion and legalization of same-sex marriage … the Supreme Court has said murder is not murder, and marriage is not marriage.”

-“A mature man,” Paul says, is someone who seeks to attain “the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13). Christlikeness is real manhood. It includes several of the very qualities that have been labeled ‘toxic’ by postmodern feminists- features like strength, courage, steadfastness, authority, and leadership - all expressed both firmly and lovingly.”

-“How a man’s children behave is a strong indicator of his priorities and how he spends his time.”

[Malachi Liberda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This read surprised me, and I enjoyed it throughly. MacArthur hits on some topics that are often ignored/avoided by baptists, and does well articulating a solid position.
I have some disagreements on certain topics (for example he gives a pretty classic teetotaler pitch in his chapter on how men are being attacked), but none I wasn’t expecting to disagree on so I won’t let it hit the rating itself.
Overall, I think his age and wisdom allows him to properly understand where the culture battle lies, and it’s summed up well in this book. He provides almost no institutional strategy or vision, which again isn’t surprising given his eschatological stance, but he does have lots of great advice for the individual husband/father and wife/mother.
A good read.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, John MacArthur spoke diligently and strongly about the truth of how our society and culture are waging war against our children. He rightly lays out God’s Word for us fathers (and mothers), calling us to protect and train our children. “How a man’s children behave is a strong indicator of his priorities and how he spends his time. Do his children bring honor to their parents, or has he failed to raise them with a sense of respect and discipline?” p. 206

Every parent and grandparent should read this book.

[Kelsey Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to preface this review by saying that I do not agree with the calvinist views expressed in this book.

Nothing in this book was new to me, but it was full of things I needed to be reminded of. The author takes the social issues of the day head on and does a wonderful job addressing them through Scripture. I came away with several things I want to do differently or take more seriously in our home.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an important book to read for today’s issues concerning our children whether young or older children. It’s also a look at parents and how our teaching and example have affected the world we are living in and exposing our children too. But there is hope and a cure. Educational book

[Sarah Roberts Lundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to read but swallowed these topics Glad I got through it, it’s so valid.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Mark McElreath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read that clearly marks out the landscape children face in today's world. Key sections include teaching on parenting and biblical masculinity and womanhood

[Ashley Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content wise it’s 5 stars but it just didn’t read as smoothly or strongly as other books I’ve read by Dr. MacArthur, that said, I would recommend this book as a way to think critically of our culture and raising children in it.

I think this book would excel if each chapter were split up in a format such as:

The problem
The history
The current
Biblical exhortations
Practical application

These are all in there just a bit jumbled.

Thankful for content that is unwavering on the truth of scripture. It would pair well if you listened to a series on “critical thinking” from Grace Immanuel Bible Church, in Jupiter, Florida.

[Audrey Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars, actually. The content of this book provides critical insight to the current family dynamic issues that are troubling America. MacArthur provides a plethora of research and scripture to prove his arguments.

However, the content could definitely use some organization. There needed to be some solid transitioning sentences (in order to connect his arguments together), the chapters needed to be reorganized, and the book could’ve been shortened due to the issue of repetition. Overall, it’s not a terrible book but it is not the best book out there.

[Tina Pearson · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a Christian and a public school teacher, this one was hard to read. Multiple times, MacArthur refers to public educators as "wicked" and "evil" and even likens sending your child to public school to sacrificing them on the altar of Moloch.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several years ago, investigative reporter, Julie Royce, began an onslaught of attacks on John MacArthur. I'm not totally sure what burr got under her proverbial saddle, but one such attack was related to a situation involving a church leader, a wife who was divorcing the leader, under accusations of abuse of the children, and the decisions that the church made in relation to this case. This review is not so much about who was right and wrong in that particular situation, given that there is so much in that case that neither Royce (regardless of what she claims), nor I, have any clue about. But Royce's ongoing attacks have spilled over into attacks on MacArthur for writing a book titled, "The War on Children." The attacks are nonsensical as MacArthur is rightly addressing an ongoing, intense war that has been taking place on the children in society.

MacArthur addresses the blessings of children, the role that parents play in stewarding well children that belong to God (not the parents), the challenges of sin in parenting, and the reality of spiritual warfare in the destruction of God's design for the family. To demonstrate the intensity of the war on children, MacArthur takes five chapters and writes on: The Attack on Conception, Life, the Family, Women, and Men. Each of these chapters highlights the specific ways that Satan and the world system have carried out and are carrying out war on children. The truths are there for all to see, if one would just look. MacArthur, in his normal polemical way demonstrates in each of the chapters, the horrific assault being carried out on each of these entities. And he is correct. Sadly, those who need to read the book probably won't, but MacArthur is accurate in his assessment.

As a whole, I think it's a fairly good book and one that rightly challenges believers to provide refuge for children in a hostile world.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good topic for John MacArthur to address. However there was nothing too special about this book. I expected more information about children themselves, but instead, the book was about aspects of popular culture that do not follow the Bible's standards. Topics included were abortion, LGBTQ+, feminism, and toxic masculinity. In my opinion, his writing style was too intense and exaggerated. THIS IS FULL SCALE WAR ON YOUR CHILDREN. HATEFUL TEACHERS ARE INDOCTRINATING THE YOUTH! I appreciate his passion to stand for truth though. Sadly, the statistics and evidence he shared are not exaggerated and reflect the sorrowful state of our world today. I loved his detailed exposition of Bible passages about parenting. He also thoroughly explained the roles of husbands and wives. Overall, I think he did an excellent job in this book of demonstrating passion, but there could be some more compassion. This is definitely a book written for Christian audiences as opposed to nonbelievers, and I think some believers may have a hard time accepting some of these truths because of what they've been lead to believe from the culture and possibly their churches. I think a more detailed analysis of the world's issues would reach more people. But, of course, the Holy Spirit changes hearts as long as the truth is preached.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

John MacArthur tackles one of the most important topics in our current culture, the battle over the hearts and minds of our children. His book takes on this topic in two parts, the direct assault on children themselves and the key battlefronts that are necessary to protect our kids.

This is no mere sociopolitical diatribe. MacArthur not only identifies the issues at play in our society (as well as the powers and motivations behind this attack) but he equips his readers to respond biblically. He encourages Christians, the church, and parents in particular to know and understand God’s purpose and plan for children and the part we must play in their lives. He addresses our desperate need to raise our children according to God’s Word and to model godly living for them.

Christians should read this text because this matter is one of the most important battles currently being waged in the world today. The battle for our children is a battle for the future of the church and our culture at large.

[Bobby Bonser · Rating 5 out of 5]

MacArthur has a knack for putting his finger on societal issues and framing them in light of scripture. This books helps parents think rightly about how to think and act in the face of surging pressures from the world. Far from a recommendation to "overprotect" MacArthur calls for the gospel to prevail as he issues warnings about the trajectory of American society as a whole.

I especially appreciated his chapters on abortion, though they were hard to stomach (hearing about the heinous killings that take place every day in what should be the safest place for a baby). His analogy to abortion being the new"child sacrifice" repackaged was stark and true. They sacrificed their children to the mystical "gods" for selfish reasons (more rain, physical blessings, etc). Society today is sacrificing children through abortion for the "God" of self(easier life, career, money, etc.).

I liked the quote about fathers and the responsibility we have for the family.

"That doesn't mean he won't sin; it means that he keeps short accounts when he does. He confesses his sins and makes restitution where it's needed so that he doesn't develop a bad reputation or seem indifferent to God's righteous standard. The godly man is constantly weeding out the sin in his life because he does not want to blight the testimony of the Savior or His truth."

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

After listening to this audio book for the last week or so, I was able to obtain a fuller grasp of the evils that the world is exposing our children to. I loved MacArthur’s exposition of each issue (e.g. abortion, lgbq, pornography, etc) however, I found that there was no solution or gratifying end to the book. These issues will certainly persist for our whole lifetimes, but the lack of guidance or comment on how exactly we *counteract* these problems was a little unfortunate. I found the first half of the book was rather repetitive also, though the points that were repeated certainly were excellent, after the second or third time hearing them I lost some focus. Overall, the book does an excellent job of laying out the evils of the world in detail, but perhaps you can find other supplementary reading for the best ways to counteract these difficulties. 3/5 stars.

[hannah cottrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

|| 4 ⭐️ ||

This is a broad overview of Satan’s favourite ways of obliterating God’s principles in society: by dismantling the family unit apart through things like feminism (the erasure of women, and simultaneously the marginalization of masculinity), abortion, separating children from the influence of their parents, and in general, sacrificing everything God designed as good to please and worship the self. Specifically looking at how our society targets children with these ideologies. A rather sobering book, but also encouraging in the sense that God empowers us even today to submit to His design in the midst of a godless culture and find fulfilment and blessing in honouring Him in the way we approach and protect marriage, family and childhood innocence.

[Patrick Lacson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic MacArthur. It is hard to argue with John MacArthur when he places you under arrest with Scripture. This book outlines the battle that is taking place that no one is talking about - the war on our children. He walks through the contemporary issues of our day in the Western world that attack our children: government-schools (aka public schools), progressive ideas (aka anti-God, anti-Christ, unbiblical), modern "healthcare" (aka murder by the name of abortion), the unseen enemy which is bad parenting. This is where MacArthur wields the Word of God like a knife because the responsibility for raising our children does not belong to government, the church, schools, but to us - the parents entrusted by God to raise them.

As much as our society has an influence on our children, MacArthur shows that the one area that has the most influence are fathers and mothers. Parents hold a great responsibility and so he charges parents to be "stewards of their [our children’s] welfare."

MacArthur then exposes the 5 main attacks upon our children:
- the attack on conception - lie of pursuing personal happiness and materialism before having children.
- the attack on life - lie of modern “healthcare” disguised as the massacre of children.
- the attack on the family - lie of redefining family as God designed it
- the attack on women - lie of feminist movement and transgenderism, destroyed the very meaning of what is a woman.
- the attack on men - lie of toxic masculinity

My heart was both convicted and strongly encouraged to raise my children well from reading this book. Get this book if you care about the welfare of our children.

[Austin Poling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. MacArthur gives a very sobering and challenging look at the world’s war on children. The attack on the womb, the family, masculinity, femininity, gender roles, etc. reveals how this is exactly what Paul writes in Ephesians when he says “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12)

We need to stand guard and stand firm.

[Jennifer Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ranking this 4 stars purely based on the book club discussion that followed after. This was my first experience reading/listening to John MacArthur. Each chapter is like a sermon—lots of biblical references. I think the reality is that the Bible is offensive to our culture, and MacArthur does not sugarcoat it whatsoever. Now that I’ve read it and discussed it, I want to re-read it/take a deeper dive into all of these topics. Would recommend to other believers for sure!

[Tom Findysz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Good. This book is a good account of what we are seeing in the world today regarding how culture attacks out children. The reason for the 3.5 is simply because as a teacher in this society, I felt as though I already knew everything this book offered. This book is good for documentation. It simply felt to me like it offers an intro into the tragedies for people that are removed from our culture.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent summary of the current war to capture the minds and hearts of our children. MacArthur defines clearly what is happening in this culture to indoctrinate children. He gives biblically centered guidance to help Christian parents battle these evil forces and “train up a child in the way he should go” Proverbs 22:6

I highly recommend the book.

[Wescott Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is much to learn from here, both insight into our current culture and the timeless wisdom and truth of Scripture. Key takeaway is not to lose heart. Parents, raise your children faithfully in the Lord and in the church. Do not entrust the raising of children or instilling values to educational or cultural systems.

[Peter J Goeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairly basic explanation of why the world tries to indoctrinate and go after children. MacArthur gives a good synopsis of feminism and the gender ideologies that have rocked the younger generations. He talks about the importance of children and how the Bible talks about raising them and godliness.