I liked your article and thought it did exactly what you intended. I came away with the knowledge that J.E. was well schooled at home, and his parents carefully chose a school that he would attend outside the home.

No animosity. No antagonism. Just some facts that any parent would do well to consider.

Thank you!
Susan

I believe Deuteronomy 6 (thank you Col. Moore for your explanation!) and other scriptures which admonish parents to raise their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” are clear that we must give our children a Christian education in every area of life. But one thing that has not been addressed is the question of who pays for public education? In most areas of the country, the funds come from property taxes. You may think you are just getting back a little of what you have paid (and helping others who can’t afford a private education for their children). In my state of California, it costs over $10,000 a year for each child in the public schools. I have 10 children. If you can multiply, you can see that if all my children were in grades K-12 (I have graduated four homeschoolers so far), that would be $100,000 a year, much of it taken from my neighbors. In our rural county, many of our neighbors are older retired folks on fixed incomes. Our property taxes don’t come close to covering the cost of educating all our children in public schools. “Thou shalt not steal,” comes to mind.

In case anyone wants to argue that the 10 Commandments are no longer binding upon us, let me say that my children know them by heart and have learned to use them (along with some creative tracts) to help nonbelievers understand their sin and need of a Savior. The UPS man, who makes regular stops at our house delivering books (I wish I had $100,000 per year to spend on books!), and who knows us all by name, has been one of many on the receiving end of this ministry. My children also know who Jonathan Edwards is and because of their training (and love of learning), they are able to read and understand his writings.

Jonathan Edwards’s parents used different means to provide their son with a Christian education (steeped in the study of the Bible and theology, according to Yale’s website), but that is far removed from placing him in an anti-Christian environment where homosexuals are a protected class and young girls can be secretly taken away for abortions without parents’ knowledge or permission. And I doubt they expected that anyone else should be forced to pay for his education.

I do beleive that public education is overtly religious anti-Christian environment. I do understand that some people in the HS movement do label anyone not anti-public education as anti-homeschool. You can support both.

David,

You are exactly right. A religion is not defined by a belief in a god. I honestly believe that a mainstream Western Islamic school (not extremist) would provide a better more compatible education to Christian beliefs than a public school would. That sounds crazy to most because they think of atheism as neutral. That is why the real argument is a Christian education versus an anti-Christian education. There is no such thing as a neutral education. Anyone who believes that public education is values free, is in error. I hope all who read this will do in depth research. Not relying only on anecdotal evidence. The debate does need to shift. The way it is framed in most discussions turns to grid lock fast.

http://store.summit.org/product.php?productid=16&cat=100&page=1

I mean the following in no disrespect, but I think some in this discussion and the other HS vs PS posts may be somewhat in the dark about where we are today as far as how well entrenched the religion of secular-humanism is being taught in PS today. Please read the document, it has 63 different exhibits to back up their compelling argument. Once folks start realizing Secular-humanism is a religion and it is being taught in PS then we can move forward in our discussion.

Peace,

David

Absurd logic. Of course not! To equate public education to education in an overtly religious anti-Christian environment is not a fair comparison.

I understand the framework of your question, since secular humanism is an anti-Christian world view. No one, though, is forced to comply with the world view of the school system. It is a very healthy thing when students and their parents stand up for truth in that setting.

Not all Christian parents are prepared or willing to deal with the messed-up condition of our public schools, and public schools are not the best environment for every child of Christian parents. I understand that, and I support those parents who opt out.

The point of my post here is to challenge an ever-growing attitude that unless you categorically denounce public education as sinful for every child of Christian parents, you are (by some) labeled as “anti home school.”

In the early years of the home school movement I devoted a lot of time and energy to battle in my state for the rights of people to home school. Now, some of the people I defended are attacking me as if I’m an enemy. It’s that kind of un-Christian behavior that needs to be quelched, just like the behavior of those who ridicule or marginalize home school families needs to be stopped.

Would you stand behind a parent who sent a 9 year old child to be educated 7 hours/day at a Mosque? I have always said that a parent has the God given authority and right to mess up their children as they please. Yet, that does not mean I or any other Christian has to support and encourage every decision a parent makes.

I am not against education outside the home. I am against public education as it is in the US.

Would you stand behind a parent who sent a 9 year old child to be educated 7 hours/day at a Mosque? I have always said that a parent has the God given authority and right to mess up their children as they please. Yet, that does not mean I or any other Christian has to support and encourage every decision a parent makes.

I am not against education outside the home. I am against public education as it is in the US.

>I don’t think its just you, because I thought the same thing.

Jesse himself seems to be on both sides of the question. He opens by saying this:

>A post about schooling that has nothing to do with the home schooling debate.

But in the article itself, he acknowledges this:

>this puts a little wrinkle in the home school debate