The Real World

Often homeschooling parents hear from well-meaning family or friends that sooner or later they’ll have to release their children into the real world. The presupposition of such a statement is that what goes on in the homeschool is something other than the real world. I often counter statements like this with something like, “The world of God’s law-word is the only real world. The world after the fall of man is a fantasy world where men attempt to mimic God, determining for themselves right and wrong.” In that fantasy world, the only payment they can expect is death. That said, there does come a time within the homeschool setting where parents need to launch their children into circumstances and situations where they will be tried and tested to determine how well they will hold up when their faith is countered and/or ridiculed. Having a home base to return to and work through the experience, with the help and guidance of godly parents, is valuable indeed.

My youngest is engaging in such activity at present. This is her third semester taking a few classes at the local junior college. All the years of training in doctrine, apologetics, history, and more are being tested as she sits through classes which posit rebellion in the name of relativism and pluralism. She comes home from her classes with much fodder for conversation and discussion. Years ago I chronicled some of her older brother’s experiences when he first encountered the anti-Christian biases of secular colleges, and shared them in my book Lessons Learned from Years of Homeschooling.

Now twelve years later, my youngest has many more tools in her arsenal to respond to the relativism and statism of the college scene. How glad I am she had the benefit of a full week this summer of pertinent lectures and discussion at the West Coast Worldview Conference jointly sponsored by Reformed Heritage Church and the Chalcedon Foundation. Her ability to discern the lies and deceptions presented in her college class lectures and textbooks has been greatly aided by learning from men like Mark Rushdoony, Joseph Morecraft, Gary DeMar, John Eidsmoe, and Ben Miller. I’ve had the chance to listen to many of the lectures in MP3 format while I do my regular workouts. I believe many will benefit from hearing the lectures that were presented at this conference. You can get MP3s of the lectures presented and find out more about next summer’s conference.

Additionally, the two classes she’s taking through Cornerstone Christian School Online are providing “real time” assistance as she wades through her Administration of Justice class. It seems that Greg Uttinger’s lectures address the very concepts that arise in class discussions. You can find out more about the school’s current offerings at the Cornerstone website.

If you would like to share other resources that would benefit homeschooling families, email me at lessons.learned@yahoo.com.

Auto University

When the time came to get a new car, I told my husband that the vehicle had to have a CD player and a cassette player. Why? because both are vital components of being able to redeem the many hours I spend in the car. I joke that this my auto university.

Here's a wonderful product that combines, theology, history, and quality entertainment all in one bundle. Max McLean is a gifted storyteller with a wonderful voice, and provides a very satisfying rendition of these Classics of the Christian Faith.

Enjoy!

Learning from an Expert

RJ Rushdoony earned his affectionate nickname of the Father of the Christian School and Homeschool Movement as a result of his numerous writings and books on the subject of Christian education. Additionally, his making himself available for expert testimony at homeschooling cases around the country helped secure the right to homeschool so many of us continue to benefit from today.

Recently I had occasion to read the transcript of a January 1987 proceedings held in a Texas homeschooling challenge. It reads like a novel. Here are some excerpts from his cross examination by a Mr. Ball:

Q. Mr. Rushdoony, as I understand what you have said here by way of history that the colonial or frontier homeschool was one that was based on necessity, distances, transportation problems, that kind of thing.

A. No, because it goes back to the Biblical premise that the father is the instructor, the parents are; and the Book of Deuteronomy is addressed to parents in order to enable them to teach their children, and the Book of Proverbs is addressed to children in order to instruct them as to their duties towards their parents and society in general. The Biblical premise which has governed western civilization has always stressed the priority of the parental control of education.

Q. Were you giving us this history in order to show that there is some connection between the home schooling of the frontier and colonial days based on the circumstances that existed at that time on the one hand and the home schooling of 1987 which appears to be based on a preference of some people on the other?

A. Home schooling has always had a Christian motivation, but there has been a difference since World War II in that with World War II two things happened. There was a decline in the quality of public education which alarmed parents.

Then second, during World War II we had a tremendous number of missionaries who were abroad, who had to return home because of the war. Those who failed to make it were, of course, interned in prisoner of war camps.

Now these families came home by the thousands, and they had been home schooling their children.

One of the things that made an impact, and I recall them vividly, those days, was the fact that these children who had been homeschooled under the Calvert system and other systems, when they entered a grade in high school in this country found things almost childishly easy. They were so far advanced as far as their grade was concerned. They entered universities with a great deal of advantage because of their superior training.

Now, this made an impact on people. Why were these children so much better in their learning? And that created a favorable attitude towards home schooling, so that as the decline of public education set in after World War II parents were ready to turn to home schools, and especially in the 70s the movement took off at a dramatic rate of speed.

Then later on, this redirect examination by Mr. Sharpe:

Q. With respect to orthodox Christian beliefs, based on your educational background, your bachelor’s degree in Divinity, plus your years of service as a missionary, are you familiar with the orthodox Christian teachings as they relate to the responsibility of the parents to the children concerning education.

A. I am.

Q. Would you tell the court what those responsibilities are?

A. The parent is responsible to God to rear his child in the fear and admonition of the Lord, to cite the precept of Proverbs. According to the summary of the Old Testament made by the rabbis, a father who did not teach his children to read the Torah, in other words the basic skills, and a trade with his hands, taught his child to be a thief. As a result, going back to pre-Christian eras, Israel was the only nation in the world with literacy among the ordinary people.

At the time of Christ the synagogue schools covered the land of Judea, Galilee and the diaspora. Wherever Jews were, the synagogue schools prevailed. This was the pattern in the early church which was first known as a Christian synagogue, and according to patristic literature they began immediately to imitate the pattern even to the offices, the office of elder, the office teacher, and so on.

This was revived very strongly by the Puritans especially in this country and set the pattern of parental responsibility, to teach the child the basic skills so that they could become fully literate and to teach them how to work.

This is why we were unequaled among the nations of the world in the high rate of literacy long before there was a compulsory education law.

The Federalist Papers were written for the most ignorant people in the United States, the upstate farmers of New York State who were predominantly Dutch speaking, and yet today college students have problems with the Federalist Papers. That’s the level of literacy that then prevailed.

Now, this literacy combined with the Puritan work ethic made possible the development of this country…

So this perspective of literacy plus a work ethic was the basic educational drive from the early years of this republic, and the main rebellion against this has come since World War II…

This public domain court transcript is available. If you would like to read it, email lessons.learned@yahoo.com

Looking Well to the Ways of Our Households

The year was 1988. I was a stay-at-home mom homeschooling my two children ages nine and three, assisting my husband with his regular follow-up mailings to his customers, working as a volunteer typist for Chalcedon, caring for my 87-year-old mother-in-law who lived with us, and actively running a specialized pro-life ministry in our locale. In addition, I chauffeured the children to music and karate lessons. With this busy schedule, I still found time to read and learn as much as I could about applying the Christian faith to all of life. My schedule was tightly organized, but I managed to have time to pursue interests and outside activities of my own. How did I do it? Because I was the manager of my own schedule, I could organize and administer to my family’s needs and my personal needs, while holding down my most important jobs as wife and mother.

A man in our area was considering making a bid for city council. Someone recommended me to him as a person who was articulate, well-organized, and potentially a huge asset to his campaign. I remember getting ready for the meeting where I was certain to be offered the job of campaign manager. I got my most professional looking outfit and made sure it was pressed and ready to go. Because my son was only nine, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him to watch his sister and have the responsibility of dealing with his grandmother, should she have an emergency. So, I hired a babysitter. The kids had been fed, Grandma was happy and content in her room, the babysitter arrived, and I was off.

During the meeting I was given the details of what my job would entail and was guaranteed that if the candidate won the election, I would be in charge of his district office. Needless to say, this often harried housewife was flattered and sincerely tempted to answer “yes.” I told them I’d get back to them.

On the way home, I pictured how I could pull this off. I could give my son his homeschooling assignments in the morning, hire a babysitter for the times I couldn’t be at home, and make the whole thing work. After all, wasn’t this a marvelous way for a Christian (and an orthodox, dominion oriented one at that) to make significant inroads into the political system? I was jazzed that I was going to make a difference for the Lord!

When I arrived at home, the house was in a tizzy. The babysitter had gotten into a tiff with my son and my mother-in-law was less than happy about how the evening had gone. My daughter was crying and my son was irritated. I piled the kids into the car with me as I took the babysitter home. On the way I realized the empty light (which I had been ignoring) needed to be dealt with. I stopped at a gas station, filled the tank, and drove the babysitter home. When she got out of the car, she informed me that I had not replaced the gas cap. I dashed back to the gas station only to find the cap missing. When I got home, I was irritated with the kids and sent them off to bed. I sat down, realizing I never had eaten dinner myself, when my husband called and asked me how my meeting had gone.

Needless to say, I didn’t take the job. Why? Because I already had a job, and to take the offered job as campaign manager meant I would have had to abandon my role as mother and wife or give it to someone else. As enticing as the prospect of being a professional, political woman was, I believe I chose the better way. Who knows, twenty years later I might have been able to wow the country with my articulate, well-organized achievements in public service at a national convention. But I’m not sure I would have passed the Proverbs 31 test for the virtuous woman who looks well to the ways of her household. Instead of having the praise of men, I find that the praise that comes from my husband and children exceeds the cheers from a roaring crowd or an adoring fan base.

The blessings of the Christian wife and mother involve serving in the background, helping her husband, rearing her children, and fearing the Lord so that the ultimate vote of Well done good and faithful servant will be the winning slogan of her life.

Only God Can Make A Tree

In my reading of RJ Rushdoony's commentary on Deuteronomy today, I came across this gem of a passage. He was commenting on the "forty years of schooling in the wilderness" that Israel experienced and quoted from Joseph Parker:

Time has a good deal to do with testimony; time enters very subtly into all things human and mundane. Men may make a ladder in a very short time, but who can make a tree? – and how constantly we are mistaking a tree for a ladder, or a ladder for a tree! Time makes the tree; time makes character; time makes practical theology.*

Rushdoony goes on to comment, "We sometimes forget this factor of time, of history, as we work with our children."**

To all Christian parents, and to those homeschooling particularly, we must view our endeavor from heaven's eyes, patiently laboring as our saplings mature into the trees God intends.

*Joseph Parker, The People’s Bible, vol. 4, Numbers 27 – Deuteronomy (New York. NY: Funk & Wagnealls, n.d.), 85.
**RJ Rushdoony, Deuteronomy (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 2008), 24.

Contagious as the Flu

During the past couple of months, I have begun formal mentoring of a number of mothers of young children eager to be prepared to fulfill their callings in the lives of their families. I’ve outlined some reading for them to do, assigned some brief summary papers for them to write, along with conducting internet chats for comments, questions, and discussion as to how to apply the material to their everyday life. Contrary to the negative perspectives of modern culture, women who stay at home to manage their households, support their husbands in their callings, and oversee the education of their children are godly, living examples of the Proverbs 31 wife and mother. The purpose of the mentoring I am providing is to help them excel in their callings.

The more that Christian women embrace the Proverbs 31 model, the more their light will shine as a living witness to the high calling of wife and mother. Their faithfulness will serve to demonstrate to those who have bought into the lie that only a professional career validates women, that the really important work is the preparation and rearing of the next generation, thereby building the Kingdom of God.

Those of us who have travelled this road for decades and those who are just starting out can continue to challenge the distorted views of women in our culture and provide inspiration to the many young ladies who are making choices for their future. In short, we need to be as contagious as the flu, entering into the lives of those around us, not for harm, but to demonstrate that obedience regarding looking well to the ways of our households has benefits that supersede our individual lives.

If you’d like to explore this mentoring program write me at lessons.learned@yahoo.com.

When the Righteous Are in Authority

Proverbs 29:2 states, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn."

Understanding this verse depends on a correct understanding of the word righteous. Clearly it is used contrasted with the word wicked. If we trivialize the meaning of either word, we lose the sense of the passage entirely.

Righteousness is not niceness, friendliness, politeness, optimism, or other congenial traits. Righteousness is synonymous with the word justice. So from the biblical definition, righteousness encompasses the perfect justice of God's law and grace.

Wickedness is not meanness, grumpiness, rudeness, pessimism or other Scrooge-like traits. Wickedness is that which is contrary to God's holy order, rule, and law.

Thus, teaching one's children to love and serve the Lord is righteous, and obliterating a life in the womb is wicked.

Since we can never escape being under authority, it is vitally important for parents to carefully select those whom they place in authority over their children. I used a rule of thumb when my children were very little. I would never place them in the care of someone unless I was comfortable with that person caring for them long-term, if I for some reason I did not return. Because in my absence, I was delegating authority, I wanted to ensure that my children would have true cause to rejoice over righteous authority, rather than to mourn because of wicked authority.

In the long run, ensuring that children are trained and educated by those who fit the biblical definition of righteousness will be profitable in producing adults who will reason and rule from a biblical mindset. Then, rather than lament the condition of our society and culture, we will rejoice when God's law-word is the accepted standard by which good and bad are defined.

Who is in authority over your children?