day no. 16,484: classwombs and consternation camps

Ephesians 6:4

Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Christian fathers can incur the wrath of their children by pawning them off to godless authorities. Fathers are commanded by God to nurture and admonish their own children. If they delegate the mental/spiritual well-being of their children to government education eight hours a day, five days a week, nine months of the year, they will find their windows for nurture and admonition relatively small by comparison. 

Christians must do everything in their power to get their kids out of government schools. State education is openly hostile to Christianity and to the government of the family as established by God. Civil government is jealous of every other form of government: self, family, and church.

Government schools are, in some respects, voluntary concentration camps. Instead of having your children wrenched from your hands by the gestapo, parents play the vichy and voluntarily send beloved little ones into the hands of harm's way.

Government education is like a consternation camp for Christian kids. A Christian child is confounded by the combination of (1) looking to obey and (2) the looks of those overseeing their classrooms. This elixir can only produce frustration. To have your beliefs ignored or mocked all day while having views you adamantly oppose enforced under examination is a recipe for disaster. It sounds like a bad summer camp where instead of going away for a week in the summer, you go away for eight hours a day for nine to ten months. Christian kids, if they survive as Christians, can say that they've served their nickels and dimes in the government clink, but they can't thank their parents for imprisoning there or the scars their stint in the State pen produced. The end goal of a Christian kid in that kind of schooling is nothing short of liberation. Good grades are nothing compared to getting out. That is, unless the kid is converted to Caesarism and goes in for what they call good and striving to receive a 4.0 in heathenism.

The public school calendar is like a secular pregnancy. Since they can’t or won't have kids of their own, they co-opt yours and nourish them in their classwombs for nine months before releasing them to a lifetime of State-provided breastfeeding and co-dependence.

day no. 16,431: the logophile's lexicon

Inspired by my ongoing maiden voyage through Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary (3/8/22), I dreamed last night of a definition for the word, "tuition."

Tuition, n. 1. the price one pays to acquire the inability to pay back an even greater debt.

That thought experiment led me to concoct the following, related definition for, "intuition."

Intuition, n. the price one pays for a mistake prior to making it.

I've previously spent most of my wordsmithing efforts on puns, but these could be fun too. I created the tag "the logophile's lexicon" should I chase any more down or should any more come to visit me in dreamland.

Here are a few more definitions for "tuition" concocted in the course of crafting this post:

2. the sum one pays for a summary of someone else's sums.

3. the amount one must acquire and count out in order to be taught how to count your acquired tastes

day no. 16,380: not so stupid

Proverbs 12:1

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

Stupid is a word children should not be allowed to say. Not because it is a "bad" word per se, but because it is a good one. It is the right word where well applied, but the wrong one where wrongly applied since it can do more damage than other words. That is because it is a strong word. It belongs to a class of words that carry their own weight with them wherever they go. For that reason, "stupid" is a dangerous word. Not so dangerous as to be banned, but dangerous enough as to be reserved for the mature.

Stupid is no more bad than swords are, but just as dangerous. A sword is a good thing in the hands of a gentleman, but a bad thing in the hands of a child. So, children should not say "stupid" for the same reason they shouldn't be given matches -- that is to say, they don't know how to use it yet and can't be trusted to remember.

Beyond the matter of danger, there is also the matter of propriety. You can use a gun to dig a hole in your front yard, but it will take a while and the cops will be called before you're done. That's because it is the wrong tool for the job. It CAN make a dent in your yard, but it cannot do so without raising a fuss in your neighborhood. You CAN use a machete to cut your carrots, but you cannot do it without making your dinner guests uneasy. Stupid is a word that is perfect where it fits the occasion and a mess wherever it doesn't. In other words, it causes more trouble than it solves when it is misapplied or misused. 

day no. 16,373: our children are not to be given unto Caesar

“To commit our children to the core of irreligious persons is to commit lambs to the superintendency of wolves." — Timothy Dwight

Rest assured, wolves need Jesus, but what they don't need is easier access to lambs. The blood of the Lamb will never be accepted by those getting fat and sassy on the blood of lambs. 

If a wolf is going to meet Jesus, it should be in the form of a Shepherd's staff. If shepherds are concerned about converting wolves, they should begin by confronting them, not by feeding them.

State schools are often seen by Christians as mission fields for their children when they are, in fact, the mission field of State. Secular education is the outreach program of the world, but they make the savages foot the bill for the mission trip and then demand a “Thank you” to boot.

"We often overlook one important implication of Christ's teaching: We not only should render to Caesar what is Caesar's, but we also must not render to Caesar what is God's. What should we use to determine 'what is God's' in this context? Who bears God's image -- the imago Dei? The answer certainly includes our children. This means that our children may not be rendered to Caesar. But the history of the world teaches us that this is one of the first things Caesar demands... Christian parents who send Christian children to government schools when those children are uneducated and unprepared are rendering to Caesar what is God's." — Douglas Wilson, Excuse Absence

We should give Caesar what is his. But of all the things that are his, the authority to decide what belongs to him, is NOT given. In other words, Caesar is not in charge of what belongs to Caesar. He doesn't get to determine his own jurisdiction. He does not set the scope his own sphere.  He can only insist on getting what God has said is his, but our children are not included in that. They do not in any way belong to him. Christians need to stop the insane habit of handing off to Caesar what belongs to God.

“We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.” — Voddie Baucham

day no. 16,215: a whole lot of shakin' goin' on

Haggai 2:6-7

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

God shakes in order to reveal what is unshakable. The unflappable are found by all that flaps away. The best of what mankind accomplishes will be redeemed, refined by fire, and kept for the house of the Lord. Like the gold of Egypt, the best was destined for the household of faith.

Haggai 2:21-22

Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

When God shakes, the shaky fall. That which had only an appearance of stability and longevity evaporate in an instant and disappear like a bad dream a moment after waking. God shakes in order to sift. That which falls off is the fray and that which remains is the fruit. The chaff gets caught in the wind and the wheat gets gathered together and God is gracious to protect His elect from slipping through the cracks.

Luke 22:31-32

And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

day no. 16,211: ownership

Galatians 6:6

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

We are called to be somewhere. And in that place, we will receive. And in that place, we ought to give back. We need to take ownership of our place. This includes being associated as a member of part of it and being or assuming the roles and responsibilities of a member in that place.

Ownership is picking up clutter because it's your home, not your job.

You know you have taken ownership of something when you do the little things without being asked. If you pick up the tissue next to the bin and toss it in the trash, you are expressing ownership. If you grab the lint from the carpet on the stairs, you live there. The difference between occupying a space and owning it is taking responsibility for it. You want it to be clean because its yours. You don't need a chore chart to make you tidy up. It's where you live, so you take it upon yourself.

Ownership is giving to where you get from, serving at the table from which you are served, and doing the dishes where your plate is filled. Those who do so get all the benefits of belonging. One of those often overlooked is the privilege of giving back to and pitching in where you get.

day no. 16,194: gov't schools are secular boot camps

Government schools are secular boot camps.

Ephesians 6:4

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

If you want to provoke your kids, give them two, competing standards to adhere to. Enforce them both and watch them smolder. Nothing provokes frustration like trying to obey conflicting orders.

Government schools are antithetical to Christian education. They are dogmatically opposed to a Christian understanding of who we are, where we're from, where we're going, and how to get there. When you willfully subject your kids to forty hours of weekly instruction that contradicts what you teach them at home, you are provoking them to wrath.

Your children are being trained by someone to something. If you preach pacifism at home, but send them off to military boot camp forty hours each week, you cannot be shocked when your child returns a warmonger. Government schools are secular boot camps. Your children are spending eight hours a day, five days a week learning to fight their battles. They are being trained with their weapons and focused on their objectives. 

Government schools are the church of the state. It shouldn't shock you if they come home converted. Classes are secular church services. They practice catechism, say their prayers, confess their sins, and listen to sermons all day, every day. One hour of worship at your local church with your family each week cannot keep up with forty hours of worship at another church with all their friends each week. You can tell your kids that the one is more important than the other, but you cannot keep them from seeing that one is less than forty.

day no. 15,523 continued... defenestration

Yesterday during Latin class, we learned a new word: fenestra. It is Latin for "window." One of the English derivatives listed was "defenestration." I had look that one up. Turns out it means "the action of throwing someone out the window."

I love that we have a word for that. It seems like it would be so rare of an occurrence that it wouldn't warrant it's own word, but nevertheless, there it is.

It reminded me immediately of Jezebel. I guess we could say she got defenestrated. 

2 Kings 9:30-37

Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?”

And he looked up at the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Here lies Jezebel.” ’ ”

day no. 14,855: education is indoctrination

"If you believe that education is fundamentally about preparing your child to get a job, you are believing the lie that's at the center of why the church loses all her children."
- Ben Merkle

The chief aim of education is not vocation, but indoctrination. That sounds harsh since we've been trained to associate indoctrination with unfair, one-sided propaganda peddling. We've also been trained to assume that only religious wingnuts do this sort of thing and that the public school system is the last bastion of neutrality, simply teaching the facts and letting the hearer decide. But there is no such thing as morally, intellectually neutral education. All education seeks to raise up certain doctrines and strike down others. Education is intellectual warfare. And one of the best maneuvers the public schoolmasters have accomplished is convincing most people that what they are doing is void of doctrine and that indoctrinating anyone is a cardinal sin.

The word "education" has its etymology in the the words ex (out) + ducere (to lead). In other words, "education" means to lead out. It therefore assumes that the student's greatest need is to be moved from where they began to where the teacher believes they ought to be. There is no education without indoctrination. It is not a question of will the students be indoctrinated, but rather into which doctrine they will be led.

So education is meant to lead someone out of somewhere by some means in order to get them to some other place.

Education is leading its students somewhere, and sooner or later they're going to get there. But from where are they being led out and by what means? And to where are you trying to lead them? However you answer those questions is your doctrine of education.

Christians are not called to sit idly by living their faith out in the corners of their homes hoping that their children catch a whiff of it at some point. They are called to teach their children the faith, to raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, or in other words, to teach them the doctrines of God in the hope of them making their way into their heads, hearts and out of their fingertips -- or what the old-fashioneds would merely have called, "indoctrination." 

For more on the matter, read HERE.

day no. 14,716: momentary man

I read the following paragraph on Doug Wilson's blog the other day:

So yours is not a modern education—you are being educated in a tradition, the confessional Reformed tradition. We know that we cannot prepare ourselves for learning in the future by forgetting the past. In the memorable words of Andrew Lytle, although contemporary man preens himself on being a modern man, he is really a momentary man. All these mayflies are nothing if not up-to-date. But their lifespan is also just one day, and so perhaps we should not care how modern they are. Tomorrow we will have to deal with the postmodern mayflies.

Being modern sounds nice for a moment, but a moment later you find yourself outdated.

men without chests‏

“In a short of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” ~C.S. Lewis

If there is not a real foundation upon which we can build, it is foolish to discuss in fanatical passion the forms and frameworks we should employ.

We obsess over pragmatic matters while neglecting the essence of the ends at which we aim. I dare to venture that there are more books regarding the best methodologies and machineries available to learn to read than there are books regarding the reason why we should read.

What are we trying to produce?
Who are we trying to honor?
What kind of children do we want to produce?

All that to say...

If my children can blitz through multiplication tables, but do not worship the God of all order, we will have done nothing more than to have created yet another generation of what Lewis calls “men without chests.”

HERE are some great RESOURCES to avoid this error.

With Love & Logic (and Latin for good measure)

I was speaking with my wife about homeschooling curriculum and ideologies as we prepare to begin teaching our children and shaping their ever-growing young minds to absorb, appreciate, articulate, and apprehend that which God has done, is doing, and will ever do for us in His creation, Cross, and coming again.

We were discussing the merits of learning Latin (see HERE) when my mind gravitated towards this thought: The difference between music and noise is logic.

I know, I know: I just made your fantastical, over-romanticized idea about art and beauty more concrete and tangible than you are comfortable.  It stings a little, doesn't it? To see music as you see math.  We don't like math.  We like music.  It is fun to pick up a guitar and strum some chords (and who among us can resist an available piano bench seat and the opportunity to stab out a melody with our untrained fingers?).

The truth is that the order established by God makes art and beauty possible.  Without order, there is chaos.  Some wrongly believe that order is the enemy of beauty and that the closer to chaos you get the closer to genuine expressions of beauty you will find.  The contrary is unalterably true.  God created the world in such a way that cold, hard facts rule the roost.  The grace of God is that these indefatigable, systematic rules produce beauty and artistry beyond what we wrongly call freedom and expression (largely often only excuses to be "one's self" without regulation).

I love logic.  I love beauty.  I love a good song.  I love a undeniable truth.

In Christ these are not placed at war, but rather He is the only place in which they find repose.

As long as we try to create beauty by chaotic methodology, we are damned to the ugly fruits of our aimless efforts.  If we embrace and rely on the order and immutable facts of the universe into which we have been created and placed, we are capable of breathing life into cold, hard facts and pleasure and joy into rote memorization.

Grammar supplies the foundation from which to apply and explore logic.   A student well versed in logic can then exercise freedom and creativity in the realm of rhetoric.  We all desire to converse and be taken seriously in the realm of rhetoric.  We desire to be justified by words when defending our causes, decisions, child-rearing, politics, religion, television show synopses, movie reviews, food critiques, car preferences, and blog rolls.  But we are playing at it if we are not well versed in grammar first and then logic.  We are actors playing the role of a rhetorician.  We are parrots speaking words we do not understand in order to profess and persuade others to ideas we do not ourselves yet fully absorb.

The freedom to make music is exemplified in the person well-seasoned in chord progressions and the grammar of music.  This provides the foundation from which to learn the logic of music.  The misconception of our culture is that the rote memorization of the notes somehow deadens the vitality of musical expression.  It is untrue, a lie, and prohibitor of creativity, not a wellspring of it.  Hoping for a muse to resurrect your lazy mind is not the best strategy for glorifying God or making the world swoon at the stroke of your pen or strum of your guitar.  Hard work and initiative in learning and understanding the fundamentals of music and language make possible the creativity observed in the best music and lyrics we have to offer the world going forward.

I pray my children are given the grace of grammer, logic, and rhetoric in a way that enables to them to understand, absorb, apprehed, appreciate, and articulate back to culture the beauty of God and His glorious Gospel fulfilled in Christ.

The best poets, musicians, writers, preachers, politicians, lawyers, speakers, artists, comedians, teachers, etc... are often those best equipped to observe that in reality which we all have access to and fail to take notice.  Think about it.  The comedian tells a joke composed of his or her observance of a normative situation in which certain details are hashed out in a way that makes you chuckle.  It is often a joke you knew, but had never taken notice.  It is almost as if the joke makes you utter the words, "of course."  It is not a new take on reality, but an observation about that which we all observed, but the creativity in presenting it made it come to life.

"I think Bigfoot is blurry, that's the problem. It's not the photographer's fault. Bigfoot is blurry, and that's extra scary to me. There's a large, out-of-focus monster roaming the countryside. Run, he's fuzzy, get out of here."

or

"On a traffic light green means 'go' and yellow means 'yield', but on a banana it's just the opposite. Green means 'hold on,' yellow means 'go ahead,' and red means, 'where the hell did you get that banana at?'"

See more HERE.
The world is often changed not by revisions of past truths, but by the creative vision granted by grace in God to those whose minds are saturated in the normative observance and understanding of the way things are by design.  The world is not made more beautiful by rebellion per se.  It is beautiful because those who understand the rules and ponder them are given creativity in which they can display and articulate back to a dull world the vibrance of life available in the immutable truths of God's creative order. 

Creativity is rebellious in a world where the standard is laziness.  Merely accepting the way it has always been done is not a faithful adherence to tradition, but a lazy ignorance of it.  Ironically, we all seem to love rebels (at least the ones who agree with us).  My suggestion is to rebel against the world by siding with Christ.  The only other alternative is rebelling against Christ by siding with the world.

Ecclesiastes (and other Bible studies that either make or break a new relationship)

I absolutely adore this book. Ask my wife (ask your mom kids). When we were first dating, I decided (the good Christian guy that I was in my first dating experience as a follower of Jesus) we should do a Bible study together. So we went through Ecclesiastes!

Chipper, eh? 

Better than going through Song of Songs I suppose.  For all the difficulties in dealing with the depression of Ecclesiastes, they pale in comparison, I imagine, to starting a new relationship with a beautiful girl by studying the pleasures of martial intimacies (probably not in wisdom's best interest and I believe Paul would back me on this).

I love the paradox of this book: A God-inspired vision of a world without God.  It should be dire.  What else would expect God to say?  "Life without Me isn't so bad.  I guess. *sigh*"

Only God can really pull back the curtain to reveal what it all would mean if the Meaning was absent.

"Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!"

This is echoed throughout the book and is it's general theme.

I read a fantastic book that covered this called: "Three Philosophies of Life: Ecclesiastes--Life as Vanity, Job--Life as Suffering, Song of Songs--Life as Love" by Peter Kreeft.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Bible and philosophy. I hope to make this part of our home school curriculum for my kids someday (or at the very least a book they read with their dad to entertain his him while they go about their other business of education).

Buy it HERE.