Education: Does God Have an Opinion?

by Israel Wayne

we were stranded on a deserted island and had only the Bible to use to figure out what education should look like, what would we decide? Would we in any way conceive of our modern, institutionalized government school model?

This book will strongly challenge the notion that it is a proper role and function of the civil government to guide, direct and control the education of children (especially Christian children). It is not my expectation that government education will cease as a cultural institution in our lifetime.

The Christian worldview teaches that the real purpose for our existence is to know God.

The purpose of an education is to know our Creator. It is not even primarily to prepare us for Kingdom work. It is to teach us about the nature of God.

Many children in government schools are being brainwashed by militant secularists who teach that the most dangerous influence in our society is someone who takes the Bible seriously.

that their children will be exposed to demonic forces.

Will the 10,000 hours be spent on entertainment, government indoctrination, anti-Christian media, sports, video games, play, hanging out with peers, or. . . ?

We cannot expect God to bless our dysfunctionality.

He never intended nor instructed the State to teach children. They are to punish evildoers and protect the citizens from harm. Education was given to parents, and Christian parents dare not neglect their responsibility.

Other institutions, like street gangs, brothels, and opium dens should not be reformed; they should be abolished. God never had anything to do with creating socialistic government-controlled schools. Trying to reform them is a work of futility.

It is analogous to having a barrel of bad apples and throwing in your “good apple” with the intent of turning the bad apples good.

That foolish trajectory is reinforced by the influence of other foolish children.

we can trace this, in great measure, directly to the influence of the government school system.

Everything about the system of government schooling prohibits them from being a Christian witness there.

Secondly, it is my firm belief that the presence of these Christian teachers in the schools gives parents a false sense of security.

When Psalm 127 speaks of children as arrows in the hands of a mighty warrior, it has in mind releasing those arrows when they are prepared.

They did not dare release them until they were completely ready. We should follow their example.

Peer group socialization corrupts good moral character.

In many ways, your child’s sense of worth is determined by what the most important person in his life thinks of him. When you place children into school, their peers often become the most important people in their lives.

Influence is determined by two primary factors: time and acceptance/affirmation. Whoever spends the most time with your child and affirms them the most for who they are will have their allegiance and loyalty.

our Heavenly Father should become our child’s sense of security and identity. The most important human influence, however, in a child’s life, should be his parents.

Therefore, it is paramount that parents remain the primary influence in their child’s life.

Sleepovers seem to be a popular socialization activity for young girls.

Sleepovers can be dangerous because parents have virtually no control over what videos are seen, what activities are taking place, who may be at the friend’s house, etc.

Competitive sports and karate are usually organized and led by unbelievers and, often, encourage overly aggressive and violent behavior. My little league baseball coach taught us to win at any cost.

There is a time to let go and release your child out into the “real world.” But that is not the ripe old age of 11. Once your child reaches the teen years and has demonstrated responsible behavior when they were given limited freedom, you embark on a process of slowly increasing the level of trust and responsibility over time.

that is not funded by a forced redistribution of wealth,

The goal of an education, from a biblical worldview, is discipleship:

satanic heavy metal music,

There are children who have special needs and learning challenges, and they may be better served by having special attention given to them by a trained professional (although most Christian schools do not typically offer many services along that line).

perfect,

press on toward the goal

We often become too engrossed in the temporary and miss the eternal.

proof and statistics

“Train up a child in the way he should go.”

we should “train up a child” simply because God commanded it.

This is why we should homeschool. God commands parents to teach their own children God’s law, and we must be obedient.

Then the debate is over!

The chaos and dissolution we see in government schools is a result of forsaking God’s patterns.

still falls short of God’s perfect order. Institutionalized learning is never encouraged by God in Scripture.

Obedience to God is what motivates me to teach my own children at home. It doesn’t make any difference to me what the public school is doing (whether good or bad), because they are not the plumb line. God’s Word is the standard.

He is using the homeschooling environment to accomplish this goal.

He is? How do you know? He told you?

God’s primary reasons for having you teach your children at home are to (1) help your children to know God, (2) impress upon your children’s hearts the ancient truths of Scripture, which prepare them for Kingdom ministry, and (3) to purify you as you allow the fire and pressure to make you spiritually mature.

My mother wisely knew that I wasn’t going to use trigonometry, Algebra II, and advanced chemistry in my life, so she encouraged me to skip those subjects

Perhaps the most significant tool I received from home education was the ability to learn.

“Teach your children how to read, how to reason, and how to research, and they will know how to succeed in life.”

Never confuse education with schooling. Some of the best learning opportunities take place during informal moments of instruction. This is the Deuteronomy 6 model.

It’s not enough to merely teach academics to children at home. Parents need to teach their children to view the world from an objectively true, biblical perspective. They need to teach their children, by example, how to truly love God.

Christian parents should teach their children how to learn, and help them to take data and information and develop heartfelt convictions from those facts. They should help their children know what to believe, why to believe it, and how to articulate those beliefs. Being able to live out their convictions in a way that glorifies God and loves and serves other people is the essence of a true education. Anything less is humanism and a manifestation of the pride of life.

Are your children equipped to face the “real world”? When children finish their training at home and “leave the nest to try their wings” in the secular culture around them, every parent wonders if their child is truly prepared to embark on such a journey. Especially if they enter college (Christian or secular), their assumptions about life will be radically challenged.

begin dialoguing and probing them regarding the important issues of life.