So with a title like this, I was originally going to write a long essay about how I become wary of fundamentalist attitudes toward homescholing and how I think they often impose their theology on God's Word and blahblahblah but decided it was self-righteous. Thus, I will just tell you what I think minus the junk:
(1) How parents instruct their children in the fear of the Lord has much more bearing on the children's faith than which school system they choose, whether it be public, private, or home. The Scriptures (Deut.6:6-9, Prov.22:6, Eph.6:4, Ps.111:10) confirm this. And so does a recent study at the University of Texas.
(2) "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain" (Ps.127:1). Whatever schooling choice we make for our children, it is good and humbling to remember that God has their lives in His hands, not us. God is the sovereign of thier lives, and He will save and protect whom He wills.
That is all.
I'll never forget once in Sunday school when the teacher said "homeschooling could be like a return to medieval monasticism" in response to a seminary professor who said that the Sunday school teacher was using his children as "bait" in the public school to evangelize.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the link needs the blogger.com stuff taken out to work. :o)
What? That is so bizarre... of both of them. @_@ What does using children as a "bait" to evangelize look like?
ReplyDeleteOh, and the link is fixed now. :)
I don't know what the evidence was for how the teacher was supposedly using his children as bait. I think it was solely from the fact that he put his kids in public schools that the seminary professor made the accusation.
ReplyDeleteI think the homeschool = medieval monasticism comes from the thought that homeschooling keeps kids at home and out of the "worldly" public schools.
After reading the article, I thought 'What an interesting topic for a thesis!'
As always(well mostly always), I agree wholeheartedly with your points! And I can say from experience that indeed we can often impose our own "beliefs" onto the Word and censure those who do not share the same beliefs. In our old church back in Maryland, those people who put their kids in public school were looked down upon by those parents who homeschooled - obviously a holier thing to do!
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing the simplicity of the Word of God back into a subject that some people complicate far too much.
Deanna: I think both of them need to read some Steve Brown and chill out. The thesis does sound very interesting.
ReplyDeleteJames: It's good to be of the same mind in the Spirit. Miss you!
The public school advocate was kidding (I think he was totally chill about all schooling options), but the seminary professor was serious.
ReplyDeleteShort and sweet, I like it!
ReplyDelete