I never read I Kissed Dating Goodbye. I knew the book existed but I was already married by the time it came out. I eventually learned he was considered a homeschool leader. Years later I discovered he was even a pastor.
Then I read about his admission that he needed more theological training. So he went to a seminary up north. The next thing I know, he’s separating his wife and hanging out at queer parades.
Naturally, people piled on, using him as evidence of the rottenness of conservatives and homeschooling. They did the same thing with Doug Phillips. And the Duggars. Remember them? Oh, and Gothard. And let us not forget about Sproul, Jr. I wrote about Phillips, the Duggars and then Sproul Jr. It was the #MeToo of the homeschooling movement.
A few years later, the real #MeToo explodes on the scene and it is still reverberating through the country and lawcourts. It puts to shame what was in the homeschooling circuit. It affects men and women. And it was mostly concentrated in the small elite circles of Hollywood and Big Media. Meanwhile, children are taught sodomy in schools and Drag Queen Story Hours are defended by so-called conservatives.
But homeschooling is the problem? Rather, the problem is probably the same with other parts of society: too many people are beholden to celebrities. Leadership is attractive to certain male personalities that are dangerous. But Christian naivety (and other issues) lets them past the picket line designed to protect the flock.
Meanwhile, attacks upon homeschooling have come from another corner of the internet. Known for pushing something akin to a religious equivalent of interesectionality (eg. “Woke”), this race trauma counselor forgot to modify his noun with “some”:
“Side note: Claiming the rise of homeschooling was about combating secularism and not about racism is like saying the confederate war was about “state rights” not “slavery”. The historical data doesn’t support that. Some in present day may do it for that reason, not in past.”
He followed that quote a day latter to explain, “To clarify tho I don’t think this thread really requires it; I believe there are many people who choose homeschooling for non-racist reasons. It’s likely most choose it for same reasons We did. I haven’t been apart of any *racist* homeschooling communities. Folks have been great.”
Then what’s the gripe about? Oh, that’s right, homeschooling circles have too many white people: “But, that doesn’t mean there isn’t isolation due to cultural & ethnic differences, especially for non-Anglo children in predominately white educational spaces. Also, a community can be well-meaning AND still use a curriculum that presents an Anglo-centric view of the world.”
It’s not a matter of feeling odd or out of place, it’s a stronger feeling that invokes the word “hate”: “I hate how mono-ethnic the Christian homeschool community is.”
If it’s not one thing about homeschooling, it another. The best thing is probably to ignore him for now. Meanwhile, I encourage any of my readers to homeschool while they still can! It is hard to prove how widespread the rot is in US schools (since they are run by local districts) but it is pretty deep and wide:
https://arlingtonparentcoa.wixsite.com/arlingtonparentcoa/post/not-in-favor-of-your-kids-celebrating-sex-at-school-you-might-want-to-be-aware
That’s just a partial list. At this rate, the only normal people will be homeschooling families. And everyone else will be like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Take heart, brother. Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t last long. Societies at odds with Creation and God can’t last long.
I think the race trauma counselor is just serving a market. There are a lot of guys like him and Jemar Tisby that get paid to agitate about race. There are a lot of white people who will pay to feel bad to hear a lopsided, unbalanced view of historic injustices. Only one group in human history has ever suffered, you see.
There are indeed a lot of white people in homeschooling because white people created the movement and got the laws changed to allow it in response to a collapsing public school system. This has benefited all races. If you’re a nonwhite parent in a collapsing school system (as they all are), you now have options. You may not like them and there may be too many white people in the local homeschool group, but at least you don’t have to send your kid to a day prison. Gratitude is always good.
BTW, I do not homeschool my kids, so I have no real dog in this fight other than that parents should have the right to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. For conscience’ sake, some parents choose to home school. God alone is Lord of conscience.
With that said, does the Christian church have a plan for the inevitability of the government outlawing both homeschooling and private Christian school? Broken Beto has already signaled that he will use government force against institutions that uphold Biblical morality. The Obama administration’s justice department sued a Lutheran school for firing a homosexual. Then there are the constant attacks on homeschooling. Will NAPARC churches provide guidance for members on school in light of the public school problems mentioned above which barely scratch the surface of the problems and the specter of government coercion of private and home schoolers?
Great to see you blogging again, brother.
Alas, there is no plan I am aware of. The early American Presbyterians had a plan: from about 1830 to the end of the century, they enacted Presbyterian-supported schools. From elementary (grammar) to high school, monies flowed with the General Assembly assisting, monitoring and encouraging. Today we have smaller denominations that are more divided than many want to admit. How many R2Kers, for one example, will think it OK for churches to collect tithe money to help families protect their kids? Or how many theonomists for that matter?
Soon, I fear, it will be every church, family and man for himself. Every man to his tent. And let the dead (who do not follow us) bury the dead. Come quickly Lord Jesus.
I’ve noticed that there’s often a big mismatch – to borrow an electrical engineering term – between younger laity and older leadership. For example,
Me to an elder: “All of your children moved out of state so there is no one our age with young children at these and similar NAPARC churches. Hardly anyone in church nowadays has a young family. We feel very alone and unguided.”
Elder to me: “Yeah, wow, I’m really STARTING to notice that things are NOT the same as when we grew up.”
Me to a Christian school leader: “I understand I make a lot of money but I’m taxed progressively at both the state AND federal level, the cost of living is high here, and I still want to tithe.”
Christian school leader to me: “I understand, but our software didn’t grant you any multi-child discount. You simply make too much money.”
Me: “I guess I’ll get more then to pay for Christian school. Stand by to stand by….”
Me to a pastor: “There are hardly any Christians around to fellowship with, hospitality is scarce and the evangellycals keep to themselves.”
Pastor to me: “Isn’t it wonderful! There are so many people to reach for the gospel and we mustn’t be Jonah (or Lot).”
None of the things said to me above is false, but only part of the picture. When people only look at things from their own point of view, the laity begin to conclude, “Every man for himself.”
The NAPARC churches need an ecumenical contingency plan for various things such as job losses due to corporate and governmental persecution of Christians, a Christian school fund or at least assistance, etc, so the laity don’t resort to ad hoc, individualistic solutions.
With that said, the church really must be a divine institution. How else could it survive such bad human management.
When people only look at things from their own point of view, the laity begin to conclude, “Every man for himself.”–so true.
“The NAPARC churches need an ecumenical contingency plan for various things such as job losses due to corporate and governmental persecution of Christians, a Christian school fund or at least assistance, etc, so the laity don’t resort to ad hoc, individualistic solutions.”
Agreed.
On another note, here’s more proof of the white guilt market: a page out of Kurt Cobain’s journal quoted in “The Book that Made Your World” by Vishal Mangalwadi:
This is Jemar Tisby’s market. The “Race Trauma Counselor” is just the complement of Jemar Tisby: he serves those offended by white people because of their whiteness. It seems to be a growth market.
Every time I think I’m too cynical it turns out I’m not cynical enough:
https://twitter.com/D_B_Harrison/status/1333424642753581064
I appreciated this post, but I did want to defend David French. The statement “Drag Queen Story Hours are defended by so-called conservatives” (and the associated meme) misses the context of what French said. French is against “Drag Queen Story Hours,” but he doesn’t want the government to be regulating what sort of speech is approved or not at libraries.
See, for example, this piece by French: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/viewpoint-neutrality-protects-drag-queens-and-millions-american-christians/
And, earlier in his career, French spent a vastly greater amount of time and effort in lawsuits defending the rights of Christians to assemble and speak at public venues, most notably secular colleges and universities, through the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (https://www.thefire.org/).