The Reformation Superhighway - Christian Homeschooling

	Last active: Never
	Not logged in [Login - Register]

FAQ

Member List

Today's Posts Forum Stats

Stats

The Bible Lighthouse

Back to:

The Reformation Superhighway » Family Forum » Christian Homeschooling » Reply

Post Reply

Who Can Post?

All users can post new topics and all users can reply.

Username

Need to register?

Password:

Forgot password?

Subject:

(optional)

Icon:

Formatting Mode:
Normal
Advanced
Help

Message:
HTML is Off
Smilies are On
BB Code is On
[img] Code is On

[quote][i]Originally posted by biblelighthouse[/i]
[quote][i]Originally posted by t.rob[/i]

1.  I don't fundamentally disagree w/Joseph, to the contrary.  
[/quote]

:handshake:

[quote][i]Originally posted by t.rob[/i]

2.  I do think we have to consider the whole of Christendom in this discussion (thinking of underdeveloped countries where our brothers live).
[/quote]

:goodpost:  
I am glad you brought this up.  Truly, my earlier post was narrowly focused on homeschooling within the USA.  At that particular time, I wasn't considering poorer countries.  Thank you for drawing my attention outward.

[quote][i]Originally posted by t.rob[/i]

3.  Which means we have to maybe lower our standards a bit for the time being (without losing our glorious vision, and without excusing sin).
[/quote]

To some extent, yes.  But I don't think that means there necessarily reaches a point in which we could say, "[i]We are so poor that we must send our kids to government schools.[/i]"  That would be similar to saying, "[i]Our children are so far away from any godly marriage prospects that we must send them to the brothel.[/i]"  On the contrary, I think for a kid to stay with his parents, work with them, and learn what he can from them, is *better* than for him to go to government schools.  (And I am not suggesting that you are arguing otherwise.)

[quote][i]Originally posted by t.rob[/i]

4.  But with the hope that even countries like Mexico (which is rich in comparison with many countries) might eventually be discipled, including the ability for poor/uneducated people to move forward in Christian education one day...one day.
[/quote]

I certainly agree that families in such poverty can barely afford their day-to-day sustenance, and probably cannot even afford to purchase used books.  But if we therefore say that Christian education is impossible under such circumstances, I think we would be missing the point.

How rich/poor do you think families were in Israel about 2000-3000 years ago?  Do you think they were wealthier than Mexican families?

You see, the Bible never says that we must teach our children reading, writing, and arithmetic!  Of course, I am in favor of teaching them all that and more . . . when possible.  But the Bible doesn't *require* that.  What the Bible *does* require is thorough training in godliness.  And that is precisely what the kids will *not* get in any government school.

[quote][i]Originally posted by t.rob[/i]

5.  Until then, we're to be slow to condemn our Christian brethren who really and truly CANNOT homeschool, wherever they live in this world (and I suspect there are many more of those kinds of folks in the U.S. than we know).
[/quote]

Who "cannot" homeschool?  I think that suggestion only makes sense if we define "school" the same way our government schools do.  Sure . . . if "homeschooling" means that your kids have to sit at home all day at a desk studying reading, writing, math, and history, then I would agree that many people in poverty may not be able to provide that for their children.  But where does the Bible ever tell us we need to "school" our children in this way?  That particular type of "schooling" is a very modern invention which is not mandated by Scripture.

Suppose there is an extremely poor family who works on a farm.  They raise their kids from infancy, until they are old enough to start working side by side with mom and dad.  The kids never learn to read.  They never learn to write.  They never learn much math.  But the parents consistently teach them to trust Jesus, love God, and obey His commandments.

I would say that this poor family has succeeded in providing their children with a solid, godly, Christian education.  They would have successfully "homeschooled" their children.

Now, for those of us in more well-to-do areas of the world (such as the USA), I certainly think we ought to go the extra mile and teach our kids reading, writing, arithmetic, and perhaps some Greek and Latin too.  But the lack of ability to do these extras are not an excuse to neglect the Christian education of our children.

:2cents: [/quote]