crhoades
Puritan Board Graduate
Family/Church/State "“ Education
Trying to precise the issues involved. I think in principle everyone agrees that the family is delegated the responsibility by God to fulfill the education of their children.
With that being said. Some/many Christians are fine with the act of delegating the teaching of their children to church/Christian schools. However when it comes to the act of delegating the teaching of their children to public/government schools some/many Christians do not approve.
Why?
Is it the fact that the public/government schools are currently godless? Probably. What about the situation where a country is Christian/coveanted/theonomic/(however you want to say or define it) and the public/government schools are teaching from a Christian worldview?
If a person says NO to the situation of a Christian Government school system then they would be inconsistent if they agreed to a church based or other Christian school because they are willing to delegate to them.
But if the argument is made that the state (especially in a Christian society) has no jurisdiction to educate children because it is operating out of its delegated sphere "“ then that cuts both ways and negates the idea of parochial schools. We are then left with homeschooling only.
Other arguments against state schools is the tax. For the government to provide education it has to pay for it by taking money from other people in the form of a tax. People (myself included but that is irrelevant) disagree with that. Likewise for the church to provide education it will have to pay for it via the tithe as it does not generate revenue by producing widgets/services per se. Is education the proper domain of the church? I thought we all agreed it was the family.
So, what are we left with? Family responsibility #1 ergo homeshooling is always an option. I don´t think I´ve seen anyone argue against homeschooling "“ only against homeschooling as the only Christian option. From there what delegation is possible? I could see a privately run Christian based school that operates by the funding of the parents "“ ie. Profit based. I could see the school, if it wanted to be, put itself under the authority of a session of a church or appoint elders on the board so that it has some tie in yet still a separate sphere. I would also see a group of parents elect representatives to be on the board as well to represent the delegated authority of the parents"¦
So I guess what it comes down to is volunteerism. If the parents volunteerily pay for their kids to be schooled outside of their home (or receive assistance some other way "“ another post altogether) and the educational institution is Christian then would we all agree to that idea? As far as Gov. schools are concerned"¦what if they were voluntary "“ not requiring tax money and operated on a successful profit motive? Would we allow that? Or would we use the regulative principle and say not in their sphere?
Hopefully these meanderings make some sense of the situation if not then I will definitely profit from other´s critiques and additions!
(added for clarity's sake: what I'm wanting to see is the normative or ideal situation. I'm not getting into the discussions of individuals, current situations, or processes to evoke change. How can we discuss those if we don't all agree what it is we're working toward?)
[Edited on 6-21-2005 by crhoades]
[Edited on 6-21-2005 by crhoades]
Trying to precise the issues involved. I think in principle everyone agrees that the family is delegated the responsibility by God to fulfill the education of their children.
With that being said. Some/many Christians are fine with the act of delegating the teaching of their children to church/Christian schools. However when it comes to the act of delegating the teaching of their children to public/government schools some/many Christians do not approve.
Why?
Is it the fact that the public/government schools are currently godless? Probably. What about the situation where a country is Christian/coveanted/theonomic/(however you want to say or define it) and the public/government schools are teaching from a Christian worldview?
If a person says NO to the situation of a Christian Government school system then they would be inconsistent if they agreed to a church based or other Christian school because they are willing to delegate to them.
But if the argument is made that the state (especially in a Christian society) has no jurisdiction to educate children because it is operating out of its delegated sphere "“ then that cuts both ways and negates the idea of parochial schools. We are then left with homeschooling only.
Other arguments against state schools is the tax. For the government to provide education it has to pay for it by taking money from other people in the form of a tax. People (myself included but that is irrelevant) disagree with that. Likewise for the church to provide education it will have to pay for it via the tithe as it does not generate revenue by producing widgets/services per se. Is education the proper domain of the church? I thought we all agreed it was the family.
So, what are we left with? Family responsibility #1 ergo homeshooling is always an option. I don´t think I´ve seen anyone argue against homeschooling "“ only against homeschooling as the only Christian option. From there what delegation is possible? I could see a privately run Christian based school that operates by the funding of the parents "“ ie. Profit based. I could see the school, if it wanted to be, put itself under the authority of a session of a church or appoint elders on the board so that it has some tie in yet still a separate sphere. I would also see a group of parents elect representatives to be on the board as well to represent the delegated authority of the parents"¦
So I guess what it comes down to is volunteerism. If the parents volunteerily pay for their kids to be schooled outside of their home (or receive assistance some other way "“ another post altogether) and the educational institution is Christian then would we all agree to that idea? As far as Gov. schools are concerned"¦what if they were voluntary "“ not requiring tax money and operated on a successful profit motive? Would we allow that? Or would we use the regulative principle and say not in their sphere?
Hopefully these meanderings make some sense of the situation if not then I will definitely profit from other´s critiques and additions!
(added for clarity's sake: what I'm wanting to see is the normative or ideal situation. I'm not getting into the discussions of individuals, current situations, or processes to evoke change. How can we discuss those if we don't all agree what it is we're working toward?)
[Edited on 6-21-2005 by crhoades]
[Edited on 6-21-2005 by crhoades]