Posted on 07/28/2002 3:29:38 PM PDT by ppaul
My recent RazorMouth article on the Pledge of Allegiance was republished in two other venues, and I received a lot of angry email. One Christian mother from Florida wrote to tell me that, because her sister home-schooled her children, she had prayerfully re-evaluated whether she should do the same. Both she and her husband felt that God was clearly leading them to leave their children in the government schools. In her words:
one of the paragraphs in your article really angered and offended me. You stated, "and those Christian parents who insist on deluding themselves about the wonders of public education will remain where they are." Mr. Babka, if I am being "deluded" about the education of my children, then it is God who is doing the deluding, because it is His voice to which we are listening. She “shuddered to think of what our public school system, and the children in it, would be if ALL Christian parents pulled their children out.” She went on to point out the wonderful impact Christian kids have in government schools. Then she asked me, “How can my children be salt and light if they are doing their studies at the dining room table and not in a classroom full of kids who may have never heard the gospel?”
I understand her point, and appreciate her feeling that God is leading her, but we must remember that other parents likewise feel that God is also leading them to abandon the government schools. I would urge her to more prayer, because there are other issues to consider, and more than one way to provide salt and light to the world.
Young children are impressionable. They lack the experience for discernment. And it's a well-established fact that you only get back what you put in. The state has her children for more waking hours than she does. She can’t control whom they associate with, or what they hear, see, and read. Perhaps, because her children are teenagers, they’re already prepared to prosper in an atmosphere antagonistic to her values. But it seems risky to expect the same from an elementary school child.
More importantly, we must consider what would happen if all Christian parents removed their children from the government schools. I believe the system would fold for lack of business. Would this increase or decrease the salt and light we provide to the world? And what would be the state of our nation’s children?
Education would still continue, but now it would thrive—as it did before public schools were created 120 years ago (when having an 8th grade education meant that someone was ready for college). It would also cost far less and teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and other social ills would almost certainly plummet. I believe this would add a great deal of salt and light to the world.
We also need to remember that schools teach according to their own institutional interests.
Catholic schools teach that the Pope, bishops, and priests, and their moral teachings, hold the answers, and that a sacramental life is pretty important.
Evangelical Christian schools teach that the Bible holds the answers, and that personal salvation and godly behavior are necessary.
Prep schools teach that the elites of science, business, and government hold the answers, and that hard work and academic success are necessary to join that elite.
So, what should we expect government schools to teach?
My thoughtful correspondent from Florida believes she is able to control what goes on at her local government school, because she is heavily involved in it. But she is just one person, and the stories of school districts thumbing their nose at parents are legion. Just because it's never happened to her doesn't mean it won’t. And given the power of teachers unions, does she believe she could force the school board to change its mind (especially in a major city)?
Now I'm not disputing that her children can be a godly example in their government school, but I do believe that the costs and the benefits don’t add up to a net increase for salt and light in the world. Quite simply, I don’t believe children are qualified to be missionaries, and they are therefore more likely to be corrupted by the godless environment of the government schools than to effectively change that environment.
Missionaries must meet certain qualifications before they're sent into a mission field. Children do not meet those qualifications. I would like my Florida correspondent, and other concerned parents like her, to seriously consider whether their children will be able to detect when they’re being brainwashed by environmentalism, drug-war propaganda, relative value systems, sex-ed, and diversity training.
Government schools naturally teach children to trust government, and learning to trust government means learning to question parental authority, worship Mother Earth, worship the state (hence the Pledge of Allegiance), and accept as normal that Heather Has Two Mommies.
It seems clear to me that home-schooled and Christian-schooled children can provide more salt and light to the world than government-schooled Christian kids for the simple reason that they are being trained all day, every day, to do exactly that.
Finally, we need to recognize that government schools are based on compulsion. They confiscate the wealth of people without children, and even worse, those who have kids but who are not using the system. In other words, Christian parents who feel God is leading them to teach their children elsewhere are forced to pay twice! The compulsion and confiscation of the government schools violates everything we Christians are supposed to believe in.
How can we end this immoral system?
If all Christian parents would remove their children then the system would collapse, and the money confiscated by the government schools would instead flow toward private, and godlier alternatives. This sea-change would be a sign that Christians have truly accepted their calling to be salt and light, and that God has jurisdiction over both the rearing of our children and our pocketbooks.
Link to article HERE.
Obviously you were doing something right! Assuming they continue to grow intellectually in the faith, it is highly unlikely that they'll send their kids to public school ...
And as an additional point, our third child, a son, is right now in Army boot camp, boldly sharing the Gospel with others there. Part of the reason he is so strong is because of his public school experience.
God doesn't lead everyone the same direction in every circumstance, even when it comes to what education is best for your kids. We respect others' choices, based on what God leads them to do. It would be nice if others (who claim to be Christians) would do the same for us.
How courageous of this woman to send her children into the pits of slime, filth, degeneration, paganism, and downright evil, to carry some vague message to hostile non-recipients. Turning your children over to government schools would be comparable to sending your Jewish grandmother on vacation to the Rhine in 1942.
Children are mostly good people before government mis-education turns them into monsters.
If you have ever talked with one of the (many) Christian teachers in public schools, you know what a joy it is for them to have Christians students who will support them in classroom discussions, and elevate the attitude and behavior of the other kids.
It is not that children are being forced to be 'missionaries,' it is the LOVE and POWER of God, through Jesus Christ that makes the difference, and it would be tragic should that influence be removed.
Read your Bible, instead of whatever nasty propaganda you've been reading.
We are all born in sin. There's only been one good child ever born, and it is only through HIS blood and HIS sacrifice that any of us are redeemed.
That said, without supplementation, I don't know that any person can come out of a public school with more that socialist brainwashing and that doesn't fit anyone for their highest purpose in life.
And even with supplementation, they still are subject to all the subtle brainwashing and the artificial regimentation that is part of the "program" in government schooling.
I *never* argue with a successful parent. :-)
:o) Thanks!
No argument that there are serious problems with most public schools, but your key word is "supplementation." Give the kids a strong foundation before they start school. Talk about what they're learning every day. Be actively involved in the schools, and get to know the teachers and administrators.
Our school system has a large number of strong Christian teachers, and an overall attitude of support of Christian thought. Our health teachers use Dobson abstinence films, and stress sexual purity. Some of the science teachers believe in creation, and the ones who lean towards evolution allow healthy discussion on the subject. No condoms. No brainwashing. There are schools like that out here. Just not many.
bump
A rare blessing, ohio.
For a Christian who is truly seeking God's will, nothing in life is a 'crapshoot,' especially the spiritual health of your children.
As to whether those other families were called by God to send them to public schools or not, it is impossible to tell whether they misread the message, never really asked, or that the final outcome is yet unknown. Kids from solid Christian homes have free will, and some make bad choices, from which they later repent.
I guarantee you, however, that Christian schools are loaded with rebellious kids too. In fact the stats on pregnacy, drug and alcohol use are pretty much the same there as they are in public schools.
There was no 'crapshoot' involved in our decision........just faith, and thanksgiving that our children have so far in life made good choices.
Sighhhh... I really hate to "beat up" on fellow Calvinists (even an "incomplete" Four-Pointer like yourself, ohioWfan), but Jerry_M says that this thread demands my tender mercies, so, here goes....
GWB and I will be going over to Jerry's house Friday and stealing all his property at gunpoint. But we're not selfish!! This is not for us, it's "for the children". We're going to be pawning Jerry's stuff and giving away the proceeds to the neighborhood kids. You're invited to send your kids over for a cut of the swag "if the Lord leads you" to do so.
It's Free to the Public, come one, come all. "If the Lord leads", of course.
We figure we can cut you in for thirty pieces of silver.
When the odds are four to one against my success, and when there is no other area wherein success matters more to me, then I'll look for other corners to brighten! Call me a coward if you want to, but the stakes are too high and I'm not playing. The game is rigged in favor of the House, and I will not bet that I've got enough under the hood to deprogram my kids day after day for 13 years.
Quick example: ever attend one of those time-share presentations in order to collect the "free" breakfast and/or give-away? You go not intending to buy. The compromise of your conscience, however, is the leverage the presenter uses against you.
Another quick example: people who rely upon government "unemployment insurance" usually find jobs a week or two after the "insurance" runs out. Meanwhile, the party disbursing the money has the whip hand, and you pay for that money with your sense of self-respect, and your confidence that God, not the State, is your provider.
At any rate, I haven't got a clue as to what you're really trying to say, so do you mind breaking it down into normal conversational style and explain what you mean?
Oh, and before you do, read all my posts, find out a little bit about how our kids have turned out, and then respectfully respond.......even if you do consider me 'incomplete.'
Okay. Is it Moral for Christians to seek to share in the division of Stolen Property?
Oh, and before you do, read all my posts, find out a little bit about how our kids have turned out, and then respectfully respond.......even if you do consider me 'incomplete.'
I have read all your posts. I'm glad your kids turned out so well.
That does not mean that you made a Moral choice by enrolling them in Public School, it only means that God "worked it for good". But if we said that everything God works for good must be a Morally-correct choice, then we would end up saying that David was Morally-correct to commit Adultery with Bathsheba because God "worked it for good" in the birth of Solomon!!
That's a logical absurdity. An action is either Morally Right or it is Morally Wrong, reagardless of how God "works out" the end result.
Is it Moral for Christians to seek to share in the division of Stolen Property??
Why can't it be you and me going over to GWB's house to steal his stuff? In other words, why am I the victim? (Oh, never mind, I am the victim everytime the government steals from me "for the children".)
Um... I suspect that GWB is a pretty good shot. So, the choice of example was purely pragmatic on my part. Heh heh. ;-/
Kind of a funny statement!
I mean, why does a Calvinist care what kind of education his kid gets? The kid is either "in" or "out," and according to Calvinist teaching there ain't a durn thing you can do to change it one way or t'other!
Also, why do you imply that only "hard-core Calvinists" "catechize" their children (sounds drastic!) and see that they get a "Christian education"?
All in all, a very, very funny statement. Very entertaining.
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