Part of the series Feedback
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2014-02-24.
A question was asked: As Christian men when should we fight and what does it look like, in view of the biblical reference to submit to authority?
We do not claim to have all the right answers but based on our present understanding of the scriptures, we will do our best to bring a little clarity to your queries.
Bible Reference: 2 Tim. 4:7
I attempted to answer the question to the best of my ability in the last three blogs, not near enough time or space for such a complex issue. This week I want to apply what we have learned to the topic of home education, which is what I will assume the person who asked the question was referring to.
Foundation
The real antagonist is the enemy of our souls. Our biggest handicap is ignorance. Our poorest effort is apathy. We must take up the sword and fight the real enemy with truth. Understand what the Bible has to say about the training of children, fix your eyes on this truth and use it to measure and question all educational claims.
Authority
Who has been given the authority for the training and discipline of the children? Fathers. There are no biblical directives otherwise. One should understand that those who employ fear, manipulation, intimidation and coercion are not God’s representatives. We must understand how the false claimants to educational authority can make that claim and not only get heard, but enabled and supported by the larger Christian community, as most have adopted man’s version of learning expectations.
When to fight?
Whenever we are being led to forsake our faith for any contrived reason designed to take us away from the truth or to benefit the perpetrator of the lie. In Alberta, Canada, this is accomplished through the funding of home education, which has given rise to the perpetuation by providers, of the fears and concerns raised by parents for the simple purpose of having the parents register and correspondingly direct the funding to the board making the promises. This is particularly sinister as most of the providers make claims to Christian faith but outwardly advance secular government programming or are associated with schools that do.
How to fight?
With truth. The only hope we have of surviving as a Christian home education community, is as a gathering of like-minded servants of the Lord intent on following biblical directives respecting the training of children. We need to arm ourselves with the truth so that we may stand against the wiles of the enemy. This is not accomplished by outdoing the world in its games, like demonstrations, nor is it accomplished by religious role playing, like quoting scripture to people who have no faith in God or His Word. To take something that is wrong and to try to do it better is not to make it right, only a better wrong, if there is such a thing. Many groups “advancing” home education actually do not even know they are part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
Nearly all of our beliefs regarding home education are secular in nature. That is because we have all been made to think that government has been given authority in education, which leads us back to the beginning. We need to decide who has been given the authority and who is claiming to have it. Once the correct decision has been reached, start asking why we do the things we do. You will be amazed at how many things make no biblical or common sense, which should demonstrate how simple the battle actually is.
Done! I hope this answers your question.