The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Always Ready

I am reading Greg Bahsen's book 'Always Ready' for the second time.
This time I noticed in the first chapter something I did not notice before.
He makes the claim that Christians should not allow their children to be educated by anyone but Christians who realize every facet of children's education must involve Jesus Christ. To do otherwise, is to try to take the position of neutrality and that is something Satan loves.
My children are grown now, but my wife and I sent our children to a secular school.
In this day and age, I am not sure we would do the same; because of how anti-Christian the public school system has become.
However, the question remains, seeing our children were taught in a secular school according to Bahsen's logic; we were irresponsible parents; regardless of how well meaning we were.
That also brings up another point. Does this rational, carry over to colleges and universities, seeing most of them are also secular?

Tom

As I was thinking about this; it crossed my mind that this line of reasoning could be why Greg Bahsen was a Theonomist.
I agree with Bahnsen that in the realm of apologetics neutrality is a myth. However, can that also be taken as far as Theonomy?
On presuppositional apologetic boards, it would seem that the majority answer yes.
If that is the case, how is this even possible in our society?
Tom

1. Just a reminder that you have 6 hours to edit or append to a new post or reply.

2. Oh dear.... another can of worms! Home schooling is one of the major options if one cannot afford to send your child(ren) to a private Christian school. And as you wisely noted, "in our society" finding a truly Christian school that is grounded in Reformed theology is more than a difficult task. Some would go so far as to insist that you relocate to where there is such a school.

3. I do like home schooling but my view which has been strongly rejected is that it is not always possible to home school children for 2 major reasons:
a. If both parents are working,
b. some parents are not able/qualified to home school due to a lack of their own education and/or they might not have the intellectual ability to do so.

4. Yes, Bahsen's Theonomic Reconstructionism definitely is at least part of his reasoning. God's perfect providence is actually the deciding factor in this matter. The "ideal" may not be possible realistically. And I think it is a shame that someone would shame parents for not educating their own children or send them to a private Christian school. This is no different than someone wanting to find a truly biblical and theological sound church near where they live. In today's world, it is too often the case that one doesn't exist near them. I know of several OPC ministers/elders who insist that it doesn't matter what kind of church is available. It is your responsibility to attend some church regardless of what it is, e.g., Methodist, Pentecostal, Seventh Day Adventist, or even Roman Catholic. Scripture is perspicuous on this matter and forbids a Christian to put himself/herself under the ministry of a false teacher.

FYI, Dr. Paul Elliott has an excellent series on false teachings and apologetics which you can access here:

Part 1: Confronting Counterfeit Revelation: 1 - Understanding the Nature of False Teaching

Part 2: Confronting Counterfeit Revelation: 2 - A Wrong Emphasis in Apologetics

Part 3: Confronting Counterfeit Revelation: 3 - Why Today's Epidemic of Spiritual Counterfeits?

Pilgrim
I know a German family that moved to Canada for 3 reasons. 1.They did not like what the public school system taught. 2. In Germany it is illegal to home School. 3. In Germany, parents are considered caretakers of their children; the government owns them. The 3rd one is one I am trying to find out if it is true.

Thank you for the 3 articles, they emphasize how important sola-scriptura is.

Tom