Here are a couple other articles for your reading:

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83469

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87264

Peace,

-D

I happened to stumble across your article in doing some research for my next article and I find quite troubling your “subjective” argument and conclusion. I have laid out very succinctly a Biblical argument based on reason as to why a government education” is unbliblical today.

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80738

I am looking for my Erasmus in this debate but instead only hear deafening silence. You know some say that “silence is consent.”

This is the challenge before the Church today. Can you not see it?

Peace,

David

Now for some subjective comments. While I am a strong advocate of homeschooling (our son’s 1 grade public school teacher actually encouraged us to), we must be careful not to throw rocks from glass castles. I’ve seen parents do a wonderful job of raising godly children who attended public schools. And I’ve seen parents who just didn’t get it, though they homeschooled their children. They wanted to do well and believed in what they were doing, but just didn’t have the skill. For us personally, I don’t think we knew enough to train our children in the face of the humanistic and feministic influences of public education. We pulled them out because we were scared to death of what they were picking up. And, we were told, the school they were in was the best school in the district, and the district one of the best in the city.
After a few years of home schooling my wife had some major surgury and we couldn’t keep up well with our sons’ education. We spoke with the principal of a nearby school (different than earlier) and asked him what he thought. The man professed to be a Christian, supported home schooling, and thought it might be a good idea. Within three weeks we knew it wasn’t working, and our sons knew it too. We pulled them back out, with the principal’s blessing.

For those who think parents must be educated to get their kids past “whatever” grade: As far as academics go, my wife didn’t graduate from college, and I only graduated with an AA. Today our 19 year old son works in the IT department for a fairly visible ministry and has completed his AA. Our 17 year old has completed a year of college and is desiging cutting edge car ramps for a nearby company. They both have strong walks with God, but I’m afraid I’m never quite satisfied . Both have some knowledge of Greek, and one has some ability with Hebrew. Alas, neither knows Latin though. Since we have a mediocre eduction at best, I think we can dispense with the theory that the education of the parents is so important. Frankly, my wife learned more teaching our sons than she ever learned in school.

For the arbitrary comments about social skills: An overwhelming majority of the home schooled children I’ve met have been able to carry an intelligent and respectful conversation with an adult. That is rare in any segment of our population. But the simple fact is that they aren’t influenced by the depravity of others their own age and the foolishness of youth that accompanies it. Instead they are around adults much of the time and are learning how to act as such by example.
A story to illustrate this point: Our younger son shared one of his first semester college conversations. A group was doing a project together when they found out he was just 16. A young lady in the group asked him if he had struggled with social skills because of it. He replied, “You tell me. I’m sitting here talking to all of you, aren’t I?” Then she asked him, “Well, tell me one advantage to being homeschooled.” He replied, “I’m 16 and taking college courses.” Her response was priceless. She folded her arms, sat back in her chair and with a pout said, “That’s not fair.”

Well, it’s nor prescriptive, but it’s a good story. Much of the problem we’re seeing in this discussion is based on perspectives that are driven by experience. My experience tells me that I would avoid letting my children attend public schools to the best of my ability. But I know a dear brother who walked his son through school and has, by all accounts, one of the most solid and godly young sons I’ve ever seen. I consider the maturity of his son superior to the maturity of my own. I’m not smart enough to have done what he did. Simply put, I’m pretty sure that most of us aren’t. And very few of us produce an Edwards or Spurgeon.
But we are accountable to God for the minds of our children. If they rebel when they leave home it should never be because we brought evil influences into their lives. And may it never be because we failed to train them up in godliness. Making Pharisaical robots won’t cut it either. They must think God’s thoughts after him, according to His character as revealed in Scripture.
Well, that’s my two cents.

My dh is now pastor of a church in a small town where we are only one of two families in the church that are homeschooling. All the other kids in church go to public school. This town is very proud of their public schools (I don’t know whether their pride has any foundation or not) so I am now a bit of a puzzle to many in town, including those in our church. However, if anyone has any criticism about our choice, they have not let us know. My son plays with kids that go to public school, though their availability is limited during the school year since the elementary students don’t get home until 4:00 pm.

I would say Christian education is the best choice for children. I would not go so far as to say it is a sin to send your to public school. And I am definitely opposed to educational choices causing division in the church. I would not say that Deut. 6:7 is a command to homeschool. I do believe that parents are responsible (and free) to make before the Lord to make educational choices for their own children.

However, Deut 6:7 and other verses in Scripture make it clear that parents are commanded to teach their children about the Lord and that it is to be a way of life or a lifestyle. All Christian parents, regardless of which educational option they choose, have the potential to fall short in this responsibility.

That said, there were some thoughts that led to our decision to homeschool. When my son was an infant, toddler and preschooler I worked hard at teaching him about the Lord at home, and involved him in church (Sunday School & AWANA) where he would learn more about God and the Bible. When it came time to think about his schooling it occurred to me, “Why would I now, at the tender age of 5, send him someplace that was going to try (either by default or clear intention) to undo all that I taught him so far? I didn’t want him to spend all day under the influence of others whose values are in opposition to ours. Why would I want him to be under the secular school’s influence for more hours per week than he would be under mine or other Christians’? This was before I had learned how bad the public schools had become, when I knew that there were schools in our area that other Christians considered “good”. I just knew that they were secular and not Christian in their approach. So, we knew we wanted a Christian education for our son. We looked into Christian school, but the cost was prohibitive. That led us to homeshooling.

While I am concerned about protecting my son against immoral and destructive influences our chief concern is trying to teach him all subjects from a Biblical perspective. I’m sure I fall short all the time, but what we’re doing is still better than what the public school would do.

Concerning Deut 6:7, by homeschooling our family has much more opportunity to obey that Scripture just by virtue of having more time together. Again, it is just as easy for a homeschooling parent to be lax in this as it might be for a public school parent. But by homeschooling we do have more hours with them to teach them about the Lord and to influcence them toward godly living. We also have more control over their influences, and when they are young, this is a good thing. Parents are responsible to be gatekeeper (like the Good Shepherd) over what influences their children, especialy when they are young. This idea that seems lost on many in the church and even offensive to some. Many Christians seem to think that we have no right to “control” our children or that shielding them is a wrong thing, or, that we have to prove how “cool” Christianity is. But I digress.

Another verse that influenced me regarding my son’s education, was Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” I heard a teaching on the Hebrew work for train in this verse. It means to “develop a taste for”. That just really gripped me!! I can develop a taste for godly things or worldly things in my son by what and who) I surround him with. Why would I not want to surround him with Scripture and god-honoring music and people who love the Lord? It seemed contrary to proper Christian training to surround him with worldy people and wordly culture and ideas for 30 hours a week, where he could develop a taste for worldliness.

These are my personal thoughts, yet I do not condemn other believers who think otherwise. I fellowship with “public schoolers”. My dh does not use his pulpit to promote homeschooling. In fact, I feel pressure to be silent on many schooling issues that are important to me. So be it. I pray that Lord will guide us all to make the best choices for our children.

Thank you for the articulate response. I haven’t had a chance to digest it all yet, but wanted to say “thanks” sooner rather than later.

By the way, we’ve done both (PS, HS, then PS again) for a variety of reasons.

Blessings to you and your family.

I hope I have answered you in regards to an exegesis for Deut 6-9. I would also like to provide a little more clarity.

How often do most public schooled Christian children read the Bible? To answer, most don’t spend 5 minutes a day. Notice that I didn’t say ALL. There are God fearing Christians who send their children to public school and try to teach their children properly. But our “intentions” should not be confused with “obedience” to God’s word.

God tells us His word is sufficient for all things, meaning, the Bible is able to provide us instruction for “every good work” (2tim3:16,17). God claims children are a blessings and it is the duty for every godly parent and grandparent to pass on a legacy of enduring faithfulness (Psalm78). God also tells us that you can tell a tree by it’s fruit. A good tree produces good fruit… you get the picture. So, taking a “global picture” for America- Do you think sending our children to public school has accomplished this task of raising a godly generation, multi-generational faithfullness, etc? What is the fruit of “our labors” with public education? Holiness or unholiness? The answer is obvious. Now take that same general picture of homschooling and what do you see? You see the embodiment of multigenerational faithfullness, and children following God.

We need to live our lives based on scipture- and the real question is that since we are all trying to follow God, wether we public school or homeschool- is our decision GROUNDED in scripture. Is our decision firmly set on the Word of God.

Now- I believe the public education SYSTEM to be faulty and incompatible with the Biblical principles of education. It’s not just the content of education, but also the methodology- and both are laid out in scripture.

Honestly, I have seen a lot of scripture supporting the principles homeschooling embodies. Scripture TEACHES that children should be taught about God and God is the presupposition for all areas of study, that parents need to be the primary educators of the children, that education should be done all throughout the day. Homeschooling parents (some anyway) stand firm on the positive commands of scripture.

What has not been answered is what scripture teaches us to send our children away from the parents to be educated? What scripture tells us to have an un-biblical system of education to educate our children? What scripture tells us to send our children off to non-Christians to be educated? What scripture tells us that ANY part of life can be taught without the supremecy of God being recognized in that area? Scripture condemns all of these, yet they are the embodiment of public education.

Do I condemn (judgement of condemnation) my fellow Christians for sending their children to public school? No. Only God should give the judgement of condemnation. Do I evaluate (judgement of evalutation) the choices my fellow Christians make in sending their children to public school (or any other area of life)to see if it is in compliance with scripture? Yes. God commands us to be discerning in our actions.

Bottom line- God says “If you love me, you will obey my commands”. If you believe God is silent on education, then you are saying that God has no opinion or that he allows us to decide what is right and wrong. I cannot reconcile either with the soverignty of God. God has an opinion on everything and only God decides if something is right or wrong. I agree, that sometimes there might be more than one right answer- but God still makes that opinion. Homschooling families (some anyway) are home educating their children because they are following the commands of God. To those who send their children to public school, has God commanded you to send them there? Show me where in scripture you get this from. Or have you made that decision because of wordly pressure?

To answer your question- the principles of those verses also apply, the same as v.6.

V.8-9 say “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Like many passages from scripture, and like many things we say- I don’t think we need to take this literally. But I, as a homeschooling father of 3 (and 1/2) children, I don’t take verse 6 literally either. I try to understand the principles laid in scripture.

To clarify, V. 6 & 7 says we only talk about them if we are sitting at home, or walking on the road, or when we are lying down or getting up. We homeschooling parents don’t follow this literally and only educate our children when we go to take a walk on the highway. We embrace the principles of educating them “all throughout the day”.

V. 8 and 9 show us that the commands of God must be on our hands and foreheads and written all over our houses. Similarly, I believe those principles can be summed up in part as follows: Our obedience to God’s commands should be evident in the work/tasks we perform (hands) and in our thinking (foreheads) and evident throughout the embodiment of our home. I think having scripture up throughout the house is a GREAT idea and one my family does. It helps us to continually be reminded of God and his commands.

So to answer your question of “In all seriousness, who of you out there who HS based on Deut. 6:7 also fulfill these commands along with your Christian education?” I would have to say I sure do try… and so do most Christian homeschooling families I know of.

I have to say that many homeschooling parents are unable to clearly articulate the Biblical principles of education. And I think is some of trouble in understanding why most Christians send their children to public school. We have, by far, become lazy in our thinking and understanding God’s commands.

I have not yet seen an answer. I’m not intending to be mean or facetious with this question. It is relevant.

As it has been explained here and other places, the crux of the “for” argument/defense is that Deut. 6:7 is a clear command for full-time Christian education for children. Shouldn’t vv. 8 & 9 be equally compelling to the Christian parent? In all seriousness, who of you out there who HS based on Deut. 6:7 also fulfill these commands along with your Christian education? If not, why?

I’ve very interested in a serious, thoughtful response to these questions.

The Bible speaks to every topic, including education. The question isn’t “Is home school or public school right?” The question should be “What are the Biblical principles of education God has given us?” What does God say?

We all know families or have heard of them who have excelled or fallen in public, private, or home school. If you want statistics- all statistics support homeschooling. That much is irrefutable. But our answer must not be based on statistics or worldly wisdom. What does scripture say about education? What are the Biblical principles of education?

I have to admit that I home educate my children. Not because I think I am sinning if I do not homeschool (though I do believe this- it is not WHY I do it). I homeschool because I understand this to most closely fit the Biblical principles of education. I will list some of those principles as found in scripture.

1)Scripture teaches a parent is responsible for the education of the children. (This does not necessitate homeschooling- it only shows a responsibility for the education of the children)

2)Scripture teaches that we must educate our children in the training and admonition of the Lord.

3) Scripture teaches us to abstain from all wickedness. To be innocent as doves.

4) Scripture teaches that teaching children and discipling, should be done all throughout the day- not just a few minutes at a time or an hour on Sunday. I refer specifically to Deut 6 and the 3 years Jesus lived with the Disciples.

5) Scripture teaches that Wisdom begins with God.

These are some of the principles I derrive from scripture on dealing with education. I see no other method of fulfilling God’s command to educate our children then to embrace what is commonly called “home schooling”.

What I find most interesting in this topic is that many have defended their viewpoint with scripture and a scriptural basis. Many have said “I feel… I think…” To be blunt- I don’t care what you think. I care what God says.

Many homeschool parents have listed scripture to show why they educate their children at home, let alone the mountains of statistical evidence (God’s methods of education work… go figure!)

Is it hard to homeschool, YES. In some situations might it seem impossible? YES. We Christian have allowed ourselves to slink into sin by our education methods, our allowance for common debt, and our neglect for understand how scripture applies to every area of life. As we sink lower into our sinful ways- it will become harder to live a Godly lifestyle.

Some brought up the idea of a single mother and the possibility of home education seeming impossible. I Agree. It seems so- but it is not so. We understand that because of the sin (divorce- which God HATES) which happens, it makes it more difficult for her to live a godly lifestyle. The sin might not even be her fault! But it is the pervasiveness of sin that causes this trouble. God makes the allowance, as some have mentioned, for help from family and church members.

All who believe public education is “right” for many reasons, and showing the difficulties otherwise, only point out the ramifications of sin.

Many have pointed out a vast number of scriptures for homeschooling- but I have seen few scripture, all of which are out of context, to support public education. If we christians want to support public education, then we must clearly show how it fulfills the scriptural commands.