I am a father now. My wife and I are discussing how we ought to raise our children. We are thinking about Home Schooling them for a number of reasons and one of the challenges we will face is how to properly educate them while also caring for their spiritual needs. There is a Christian Home School movement in the States that emphasizes study of The Bible and domestic skills to the exclusion of 'secular' studies (English, Math, Science). I realized rather quickly that I found the idea of this approach disgusting... perhaps even abhorrent. A half second later I became aware of the irony of my feelings... I went to Bible College and Seminary for 10 years, got a masters degree in systematic theology, and now find the idea of teaching my children from the Bible disgusting. If someone took this thought out of context they would think I was an apostate!
I don't think I am an apostate, my soul just cringes when I see or hear about how some people misuse The Bible and set themselves and their children up for ridicule and failure. There is a time and a place where being ridiculed for Christ and appearing to be a failure in the worlds' eyes is necessary and will be rewarded by Christ in the end, but I am convinced that the fundamentalist attempt at substituting a proper understanding of creation for the Revelation of Christ is not one of those times or places. To this end I believe that Christ is surely present in more than just The Scriptures. Now I have surely made fundamentalist souls cringe.
We need to get our proper understanding of God through The Scriptures. For this there is no substitute. God has revealed himself in Jesus. The Holy Bible is the inspired recording of The Word of God. The Holy Spirit leads and guides Christians forward in agreement and accordance with what is already written. Godly preaching and godly teaching will have their foundation in the Revelation of God through Jesus in The Bible by the power of The Holy Spirit. I am not suggesting for an instant that we can learn about God through some other means. What I am advocating for is that knowledge of the world is also God ordained and valuable in its own right even if it can not be used as a substitute for / addition to God's self revelation.
For this reason I want my children to grow up understanding how God has created the world and how it all fits together. Science for the physical how. Theology for the intangible why. Mathematics and Philosophy for the abstract how. Theology for the abstract why. Psychology and Literature to understand the mind. Theology to direct, guide, and sometimes limit them for proper formation of both mind and soul. Fiction and Fantasy to dream and inspire. Theology to fuel the fire. History for what has happened and when. Theology for why it happened and what will happen in the end.
I want my children to love God, to love others, and to love God's creation. I want them to look into the starlit sky and be amazed at God's power and majesty inspiring worship while also being able to name the planets and understand how they orbit the sun. I want them to read good books and be reminded of God's goodness and inspired to practice their faith anew while also distinguishing fiction from reality. I want them to understand logic and use it with courage and compassion. I want to create a safe environment where they can explore and learn more than just The Bible. The Bible was never intended to be used as an instruction manual for feelings, art, science, psychology, mathematics, food, how to build an engine, or many of the other experiences, questions, and ideas that we have in the world. The Bible should inspire and direct us in how we pursue these things, but it is not a substitute for the pursuit. I will ensure that my children know their Bibles and that the knowledge of God is the foundation but I am going to enjoy teaching them about everything else too.
How will we do this? I'm not sure. There are lots of curriculum out there for Home Schooling and I have been told by various sources that most of them are miles ahead of what is taught in public school, so it sounds like we have some good options to choose from right from the start. We are already teaching our children about God by living our faith, praying with them before bed time, reading Bible Stories, and participating in Church. We both have our theological educations from Briercrest and, between the two of us, we shouldn't have a problem teaching any of the subject matter. Bit by bit, day by day, with the leading of The Spirit and the help of family and friends we work with our sons to teach them what is right and what is good.
Greg Out
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