First, though, I want to make it clear that I am unashamedly Christ's. I sometimes hesitate to mark the "Christian" box, not out of uncertainty or embarrassment, but because that word is so commonly used that it seems to have lost some of its meaning. When I say that I am Christ's, I mean that at my best, I cling to Christ, and at my worst, I cannot deny His hold on me. He is that imperishable seed by which I have been born again, redeemed from the empty ways of life (1 Peter 1:18-25), and I am eternally grateful, literally, that He will not let me go.
Having said that, I now confess that I am a bit disturbed by suggestions I've read lately concerning homeschooling and Christianity. In short, there's this idea that the two are inseparable - or should be inseparable. Some days I am better than others, but I believe in guiding my children toward Truth, in teaching them the Scriptures and encouraging them to look at the world through the eyes of Christ. Sometimes, as has often been the case in our studies of history, that requires us to acknowledge that man often operates outside of God's law either through willful disobedience or through ignorance. In the case of willful disobedience, it is certainly appropriate to disdain, even condemn, erroneous beliefs or evil behavior. Ignorance is not as easy. I consider our study of Greek mythology, a subject my children and I have enjoyed and that has enriched us spiritually as we have considered man's views on God and the differences between gods created by man and God the Creator of Man, but which some Christian homeschoolers would avoid like the plague for fear of their children praying to Zeus or something. The thing is, Christian missionaries just weren't going to Greece back then. I'm not an expert, but it looks to me like the ancient Greeks were doing the best they could - (and no, I don't mean to suggest that "doing the best they could" by any means saved them. That's a different subject, and one I'm frankly not prepared to delve into!) By natural revelation, the Greeks understood there was "something" bigger than man, and so we have Olympus. It's easy to laugh at the Greek gods and goddesses, wondering how on earth anyone could possibly have believed that foolishness, but the reality is - people did. Human beings, created and loved by God, believed stuff that we ridicule, shun, or ignore. Actually, they still do. And that, I think is the crux of my problem this week. Ridicule. Shun. Ignore. These are the things I sense happening when Christian homeschoolers say, "We need to keep the homeschool movement Christian," and "Oh, no! We need a new curriculum! This history book discusses Buddhism!" There are issues we must deal with, errors to correct, and truth to be promoted, hopefully in grace and with love. I'm not sure that keeping the homeschool movement and all of our materials explicitly Christian is the best answer.
A quote whose author I cannot verify, but I believe came from C.S. Lewis, seems to fit in this situation. It went something like, "I am not a Christian author, but an author who is Christian." The idea was that the light of Christ would shine through his work, regardless of that work's nature. Being Christian is not something that can be forced, but something that permeates all we do. In the home schooling arena, it means that I can teach Christianly from ANY book, in any situation. I don't need to fear books containing references to, even entire chapters on evolution, Greek mythology, or Buddhism. Instead, I can tackle these subjects, trusting that my children will be challenged and ultimately strengthened in their faith and that they will gain a deeper understanding of and respect for people who hold beliefs different from their own. I'm not saying those ideas are right, just that the people who hold them, as people for whom Christ died, warrant a little respect and that I would rather my children know that difficult issues exist and help them figure them out now, than leave them to be blindsided by them at a later date.
I could teach Christianly from any book, but I do carefully select our books. I wouldn't want something that out and out opposes my faith, but the majority of curriculum I've come across is workable. I was thinking about this, too: Teachable moments. In passing our faith on to our children, teachable moments are especially important, which is why I look very carefully even at Christian curricula, which can be very spiritually scripted. A scene has been playing in my mind all day. Billy is sitting at the table with Mom. She hands him his spelling book and instructs him to do page such and such. He objects. She reminds him to work diligently, as working for the Lord. He objects more adamantly. She reminds him to watch his tone and to honor his father and mother. Maybe he grumbles, maybe he scowls, but Billy decides not to argue any longer and turns his attention to his spelling book. Mom sips her coffee, glad that a storm was averted and trusting God to work in Billy's heart to shape him into a young man who gladly works as for the Lord and effortlessly honors his father and mother. And then Billy reads the first fill in the blank sentence. "Children, ______ your father and mother." It's possible that this will serve to reinforce what he is slowly and reluctantly learning through his interactions with Mom. It's also possible that there's a flickering ember of disobedience that will be fanned into flames when his spelling book chimes in to correct him. It's kind of like when you're working on an issue with your kid, and have it just about settled, when someone comes along and reprimands him. It's just not the time. I don't want my children's school books to teach them about God. That's my job, and I think I have a better grasp of what they need to hear and when than any spelling or grammar or math book does.
So, to sum up... Or maybe just to put down a few random, more succinct thoughts:
1. I want my children to grow to be devoted followers of Christ.
2. I also want my children to understand that, even among fellow Christians, not everyone believes exactly as they do.
3. I want my children to be able to engage in meaningful, respectful, understanding conversations - not just condescending chit chat - with people of all faiths and all walks of life.
4. Books are a tool I use to teach my children, and I hope I am competent enough to point out error and address the tough issues, because it's nigh unto impossible to accomplish the objectives listed above by surrounding myself with ONLY books that teach EXACTLY what I believe - if it's even possible to find more than one or two of those.
Ugh. C.S. Lewis also said something about writing not to be understood, but to understand. Whatever anyone else may think, I hope that I have at least cleared up my own thoughts enough to leave this subject for awhile. I certainly don't want to have to blog about it again anytime soon!
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