Michael Wagner – Page 10

Home Education Facilitators

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-04-04.

Facilitators are the front line workers in the home education community and have the power to direct or misdirect the parents.

Bible Reference: Titus 2:1

I have always had a simple philosophy when it came to learning: Go to someone who knows something about what you want to learn. It is important to distinguish the difference between someone who thinks they know something about a topic from someone who does. For example, I believe it is not at all unreasonable to expect a swimming instructor to be able to swim well before signing up for that class! Unfortunately, in our modern world of diminishing knowledge and skills, one need not know much about a topic to claim to be an expert!

Take home education facilitation, for example. This is a position that is unique to Alberta, where funding directed at home educating students comes with the requirement that a certificated teacher visit the family twice per year to ascertain whether or not the student is progressing in his/her studies. The very fact that these teachers are sent to “supervise” a home education program speaks loudly of the government’s belief that parents are not likely to do an adequate job without governmental oversight.

Since the only qualification needed to be a facilitator is to be certificated to practice “teaching” in the province of Alberta, there is no requirement whatsoever to know anything about faith, or to believe, understand or even sympathize with home education. As a consequence, it is not uncommon for facilitators to bring the school to the parents rather than to encourage and equip them to teach the children in keeping with their gifts and talents. One should understand that the very first thing taught to students in teacher’s college, is the importance… no, the necessity of disqualifying parents from being the natural and best possible teachers of their children, which establishes the need for “professional” teachers. Since few bother to question claims to authority that are being made by extra-familial agencies, most facilitators are more likely to represent an authority claimed by government than respecting the authority of the parents of the child.

Facilitators can be very subtle about how they exercise this authority. One way is to “conveniently” visit when the fathers are not present. They may also show up as the experts who quickly normalize the very things parents were escaping when deciding to home educate and to take advantage of their lack of understanding rather than to help them come to a knowledge of the truth.

Another way to demonstrate a false authority is the inspecting of student work and approving or disapproving of what is being accomplished, as if by some “standard”. Considering that there is no such thing as a standard child, there can be no standard by which to make comparison, other than what a facilitator subjectively determines at that moment. The most destructive example of this is in the offering of credits at the high school level. Not only is this unnecessary for post-secondary admission, but doing so can actually hamper a student’s credentials. Validating the secular ideology and “authority of man” may impress a misinformed or insecure parent who may still be questioning their own goals. However, to dishonestly advance a supposed school standard is to arrogantly claim a greater authority over children they do not know, over that of the parents who gave them birth. This completely defeats the reason for home educating in the first place.

This is becoming a major reason why the lines between secular and sacred are being blurred in the home education community. A growing number of home educators bring in a greater need for teachers, some of whom, having little understanding of home education, introduce secular ideology that is assimilated and normalized as acceptable. To be fair, there are good facilitators out there and I am happy to say that Education Unlimited is working with some of the best! Good facilitators often develop wonderful relationships with their families and do indeed encourage and equip them. However, this can only happen if facilitators respect the God given authority of the fathers and that of the mothers who help them meet the responsibilities they have for the training and teaching of children towards God’s eternal kingdom. If the facilitators honour God, they will honour this authority. If they do not honour this authority, they have no business in a home where parents desire to fulfill their roles in leading children to a future that only God knows.

Home Education Providers

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-03-28.

If there are too many registration options for home education, a competitive environment is created where survival becomes more important than function.

Bible Reference: 1 Peter 5:8

In Alberta, every child between the ages of six and sixteen must be registered for “education”, somewhere. There are really only two choices provided. Either children are registered to attend some kind of school or they are registered to be educated at home. There is presently no option for simply notifying the government of the intent to home educate without government interference, in Alberta.

Home educating parents have a choice of either registering their children with the local school board, or with some other willing non-resident school board in the province. Willing school boards can be public schools, catholic schools, or private schools which can either be providing home education programs directly or through what has come to be known as Independent Contracted Home Education Specialists (ICHES).

Alberta is one of very few jurisdictions that provides funding for home education. Therefore, aside from a legal obligation a local school board has for the education of all of its resident students, there is only one reason a non-resident board could have for wanting to provide home education services for students outside of its geographical area and that would have to be…money. The funding of home educated students has created a rather peculiar situation that involves competition for students as well as a few variations on the theme of home-based education that is truly unique to Alberta. Besides the age old debate among home-based educators as to whether one should school, home school, home educate or un-school, Alberta also provides mixes of these involving blending, aligning or partially complying to public programming. All these options are not actually offered to meet every family’s needs, but are specifically designed marketing techniques for attracting clients and/or increasing the provider’s income.

In addition to confusing the question of what a home education is, the desire to attract students because they represent money has also created opportunity for questionable behaviours. A board making no claim to religious affiliation could be expected to behave in ways that could be considered contrary to what would be expected of a board claiming to be Christian, which would naturally be held to a higher standard. When considering that the vast majority of home educating parents are coming from a Christian perspective, home education providers know that in order to attract these people, they also have to be “Christian”, however this talk is often disassociated from the walk, so to speak. I don’t suppose this is the time, nor the place to list the questionable practices that I have witnessed coming from home education providers claiming to be of a Christian persuasion, but let me assure you that not everything could be considered moral, ethical or even decent.

Aside from the potential for giving Christianity an even worse reputation than what it already has in the western world, the most unfortunate consequence of this focus on money is that it has divided the home education community. Consider this: when the survival of providers becomes of bigger concern than that of home education itself; when one provider is willing to destroy another to gain a larger market share; or when providers are willing to risk having all home educators suspected of their own misconducts; are we not becoming increasingly more vulnerable to being destroyed from within? Few parents are actually aware of what is going on as providers make self-centred, short-sighted decisions seemingly without regard for the potential casualties or for the future welfare of home education in this province.

I cannot help but wonder how many of these organizations would suddenly lose their “love for home educators” and promptly disappear should the funding of such be ended. Could it be time to seriously reconsider participating in funded home education? While parents may indeed be benefiting in the short term, could it be that the providers are actually benefiting more?

Private Christian Schools (Part 2)

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-03-21.

Why are many Private Christian Schools believing that government controls education?

Bible Reference: Matt 15:14

Today, nearly every Private Christian School in Alberta either uses the government’s approved curriculum or a combination of things that meet the directives of government programming, including not only Christian, but non-Christian resources as well. In fact, it is not uncommon to see Christian schools advertising their adherence to public programming as incentive to have the children attend them. I believe this is largely the result of two things. There is a deeply seated belief that government sets the standard for education and most people have bought into the idea that government accreditation is required to successfully progress to the post-secondary level. Both reasons are in error! Government has no God given authority in education and there are much easier approaches to post-secondary pathways.

Here is an important question. Does scripture not direct us to avoid being conformed to this world? If this is the advice we get from the Bible, would it not be expected of a Christian school to avoid using the government’s worldly curriculum? Why would or should any “Christian” school, ostensibly created to direct students to God even be tempted to follow what is designed to lead us away from Him? While we may hear believers talk about the need to defend the Christian faith against worldly influence, we present a Christianized version of this worldly wisdom! Why not just use Christian programming and never mind aligning or lining up with the secular government program at all? Are we so lacking internal direction that we need outside intervention? Really, if one thinks about it, offering parents a Christianized version of worldly programming while offering to “clean it up” of its secular-socialist messages is like promising fresh water from sewage. Why bother to even pretend to meet it? The answer… ultimately, is money! It is really disgraceful how many former good Christian organizations have compromised their way into eventually becoming part of the problem by joining the local public system through the pursuit of it!

I am sure there must be Christian schools using Christian curriculum, taught by Christian teachers under the leadership of Christian folks who wholeheartedly desire to prepare students belonging to Christian parents to function in what used to be a more Christian world, without having to resort to “Christianizing” a secular program, but our experience of last year indicates that they are few and far between, if they even exist. My concern goes beyond the failure of Christian schools to those who, through extension, are connected to them. Because most home educators share a Christian world view, most find it desirable to register through a Christian school, either directly or through a third party “provider”. Does it really matter which school parents are registered with? Actually, it does.

From a Christian perspective, a school or provider’s motivation for offering a home education program is vital. If motivated by anything other than pleasing God, the directive will always be towards man’s system, which has always desired to replace God. Rather than informing parents of God’s expectations and provision, most Christian schools will do what is most expedient for their own success by advancing what could easily be a false promise of parental and student well-being. Since these schools know little of what a true Christian education should look like, ministry often becomes overshadowed with marketing where providers outbid each other for clients. Could this be a classic case of the blind leading the blind?

As a consequence of being directed to man rather than God, many home educators end up trying to outperform the school rather than focussing on God’s directives. Think about this. If the private Christian school through which a home educator is registered is either compromising the faith or seriously challenging it, are the parents being well served? If the Christian schools through which most home educators are registered are increasingly becoming secularized, is God-centred home education in trouble? Should private schools go down, the only choice home educators will have will be public institutions, which may show an interest in the potential income, but are unlikely to support Christian education. But then again, could this motivation also be what drives Christian schools to register home educators?

Private Christian Schools (Part 1)

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-03-14.

If these schools are “private” and “Christian” why are they insisting on “public” and “secular” programing?

Bible Reference: 1 John 4:1-6

It is hard to imagine how any thinking parent could ever believe that government, displaying no allegiance to God or his word, but rather openly hostile towards biblical teaching, could possibly have their children’s best interest in mind. However, it happens all the time. For some reason, the fact that government cannot give birth to children escapes their notice and through a lack of knowledge regarding scriptural directives, parents not only validate and empower the government’s claim to authority in education, but try to emulate its leadership by creating Christian versions of the same thing, something called Private Christian Schools.

Now to be fair, schools do have their place. In countries where illiteracy is high, they have a very important part to play in enabling children to function in the modern world. In our country, where most parents have at least some level of literacy, parents could and should do as directed by God and educate their own children at home. Even so, there is no doubting the fact that not everyone can do so. In a perfect “Christian” world, those that could, would be there to help those that couldn’t or shouldn’t. However, as you may have already noticed, this is anything but a perfect world!

So why have Christian schools? In my opinion, the biggest reason for the creation of Christian schools is the unquestioned normalization of what we have all come to believe as “education happens in schools”. Christian parents who think this way simply carry forward the idea, but within an assumed Christian context and environment. Since we are in an imperfect world where everyone is left to fend for themselves, Christian schools can be a real asset and a positive alternative to public schools, if indeed the leadership, staff and program are…well,… Christian!

Unfortunately, when unfunded, private schools struggle with the high cost of running a school and the need to properly recompense teachers and staff. Few parents can afford high tuition, therefore private schools usually end up seeking help from government. However, this help comes with “strings” attached. Knowing that increasing the amount of government programming used makes things not only easier, but potentially more profitable, it is easy to see how the secularization of “Christian” schools can be accelerated with increased government funding. Once on this path, the private school leadership starts to become increasingly focussed on survival, consequently developing a willingness to do anything demanded of them by bureaucrats, in exchange for continuing existence and support. Attempting to meet the government program with a collection of Christian resources often leads to completely adopting the public program and all of its directives. Private schools can become so much like public schools, they need only apply to become a part of the public system and disappear completely as “Christian” alternatives. Sadly, a true story.

I have always wondered why any Christian school would want to meet this government mandated secular programming at all, never mind trying to Christianize it! If God had given government authority in education, I would understand. However, the prevalent idea that government has something important to say about the training of children is more of an unquestioned cultural “habit” than of reasoned Christian thinking. I suspect this is likely due to a similar misunderstanding of the authority of government within the Church, since it too seems to have placed government ahead of God for it’s existence and survival.

Not every Private Christian School has sold its soul to the devil, but there are few, if any, which do not acknowledge government as in control of all things educational. If we think about it, what is supposed to set private Christian schools apart is that they look to God as the provider and director of all things, including the training and teaching of children. To say that Jesus is Lord on the one hand, then look to government for provision and direction makes a mockery of what a Christian education should entail. Why are Private Christian Schools looking to government for direction and support? Could it be because our culture has developed a greater fear of government than faith in God, when it comes to education?

Schools (Part 3 – More On Dishonesty)

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-03-07.

Advancing government programming as the only option for education is dishonest.

Bible Reference: Prov. 1:19

Last week I shared a bit more of my universal observation of schools. Not that I have been to every school in the universe, but what I have observed of nearly all schools I have experienced is that they are often dishonest. I observed dishonesty in the rhetoric about the deep concern for the educational welfare of the children and all the associated meaningless platitudes and promises so often displayed on the school marquees. It may not be the case for every school but I also frequently observed dishonesty with the handling of money. Most schools quickly took advantage of any potential loophole, knowing full well that the chances of getting caught were slim. I am not convinced that anything has changed, even though the electronic age makes it a little harder to do.

This week I want to talk about another form of dishonesty, so universally accepted that it is not even recognized as dishonest. The idea that government sets the expectations, the programming, delivery and accreditation for education is so rarely questioned that even home educating parents who had to escape the system very often bring the system home with them. Home education providers often see this as a marketing opportunity and not only make this government program available, but may even try to simulate it, often employing dishonesty as their primary tool. There are two ways this can be accomplished, but first let’s briefly consider that by collectively acquiescing to government claims to jurisdiction in areas reserved for parents, Christians are in danger of committing a serious offence before God. By recognizing the government’s claimed lordship over children and education, are we not actually behaving in a “treasonous” fashion respecting Jesus’ Lordship? Since God never gave government authority in the training and teaching of children and since we cannot serve two masters, should Christians be succumbing to this error?

Another consideration before discussing the two ways to mislead home educating parents, is that if the government is in “competition” for lordship with Jesus, then we can certainly assume it will not be advancing the truth. Parents make a grievous mistake when they think that it really does not matter what the children are exposed to as long as they are “educated”. Perplexingly, parents often make a bigger issue about junk food being offered to students in school while saying nothing about the junk being fed to their minds. Should we not pay more attention to the fact that junk food goes through and is eliminated while junk thoughts and ideas are not? This oversight has serious implications for world view development. But then again, could it be that this is actually the objective of government programming in the first place?

When government programming is accepted by home educators through either selective courses, blended or fully aligned programming, it there really any good way to ascertain that the rules are being followed? How could even the most astute bureaucrat be able to determine if the blended program, for instance, is using the Alberta Program of Studies and not a facsimile; that the approved resources are being used; and that it is being delivered by a certificated teacher and not a parent representative? Indeed, this kind of situation is perfect for cheating. Just offer the parents a bit more money and they will not tell the government that the school is not doing what it is supposed to be doing while the school will not report the student’s failure to meet the requirements! Even if rules are followed it is trying to fit a child into a program rather than a program to the child.

The second way that we can cloak dishonesty is to take advantage of the fact that there is no good way to assess if high school credit requirements are met. There is an assumption of honesty, but there is lots of room for “professional” interpretations. Consequently, as a certificated teacher, I can award credits to anyone for anything without really having to defend my decision. Even though credits can be awarded without accessing the associated funding, high school level funding is completely tied to the awarding of credits. Unscrupulous home education providers taking advantage of parental ignorance and fear, promising government “approval” through credits and diplomas are likely more motivated by money than service.

Schools (Part 2 – Dishonesty)

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-02-29.

School is a giant, multibillion dollar industry that works well for everyone involved, except perhaps, students and good teachers.

Bible Reference: Matt 6:24

Last week, I shared a greatly summarized story of my experience within the school system. Bear in mind that the story involves nearly every kind of school available in Saskatchewan and Alberta. There are likely not many people who have been “privileged” to have seen the inside of as many schools as I have. One can say that I got to see quite a few schools because I was substituting for some time in both provinces, but I prefer to say that God orchestrated things as per the aforementioned prayer. You see, I did not want to teach, in spite of being gifted as a teacher. Most would understand that the last thing the enemy wants from anyone is to have them working in keeping with their God-given strengths, gifts and talents and so he discouraged my being a teacher. In any case, I wanted to be sure that I did not want to be a teacher, so I asked to experience everything in education before I quit. Nuts! Like many a prayer request, I had not really thought this one through. Even though I have indeed experienced a great many things in education, it appears as though I am still a bit short of “everything” and so I am still here! Oh well? What else could I do but serve God here after all this “training”!? Back to our topic.

Even though I cannot say I have clear evidence of such from every school I attended, for some were only for a day or two, I can say that as soon as I “cracked” the political structure of any school, the most prevalent characteristic that surfaced was usually dishonesty. Even schools purporting to be “religious” seemed to be very “resourceful” when it came to rhetoric and the collecting and distribution of money. I came to the conclusion that since government is not usually seen as a model of integrity, schools, generally must have believed it was acceptable to follow the example. Time and space prohibits me from getting into great detail so let’s look at something that generally applies to most schools. Before I begin, I want to say that what I am saying are generalities and cannot be universally applied to every school, although I can not really think of an exception from my experience.

The dishonesty begins when schools promise all kinds of things to parents, and on marquees or billboards. These are nothing more than marketing ploys to attract as much money, er… students as possible. Funding is based on the number of students, so the more students registered with the school, the more money it gets. In spite of all the rhetoric on this and that regarding students, students are really just $tudents!

This means two things. The first, is that everything possible must be done to make sure that school is viewed as the normal thing to do and to discourage, at all cost, any deviation from this mindset. The further one’s education is from public school, the greater the threat to the system. Therefore, home education should be discouraged as much as possible with misleading and/or ridiculous statements.

The second thing to observe is that it really doesn’t matter how the program is delivered, the funding follows the student. As a consequence, schools, be they public, separate or private, are offering variations of public programming to “help” er… appeal to as many $tudents as possible. We have online, distance learning, blended programming, fully aligned and seemingly no end of counterfeit varieties of these things, all with the goal of attracting as many $tudents as possible. Little thought is given to whether or not these offerings are of any benefit to the student, as long as they are “cashable”. No doubt the majority of schools providing such “opportunities” for “education” are public or separate schools, but private schools, taking their example from the “big boys” find some of these offerings just as lucrative in attracting $tudents.

So there you have it. As a student, so long ago, I found myself without value other than the fact that I had a number. I may not have realized it then, but having that number had value for someone else. I really wanted to change all that as a teacher, but the system was too well entrenched. The fact that even schools purporting to be “Christian”, $ee $tudents as a $ubstantial a$$et to their being, doesn’t make them any less guilty. What a crying shame. Tick them all off and bring those children home where they belong.

Schools (Part 1 – It Can’t be Fixed)

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-02-22.

Complaining has never changed a thing, especially when the thing you are trying to change won’t be changed.

Bible Reference: Psalm 127:1

Can something be so commonplace that it is never challenged? Is it possible to have something that is seen to be so “normal” that no one questions its workings or products? Even if occasionally seen as out of sync with truth, right, good, common sense or anything else, is there any use in complaining about something when there is simply no alternative? Such is the case with modern day compulsory education.

In spite of having “choice” in education, when the only options available are different forms of a single thing, namely a school, school becomes the accepted, standard way of educating children. However, what if “school” is not actually what it is being presented as? While some folks may have seen school for what it really is (and likely started home educating), most simply “go with the flow” without considering that whatever flows, goes down hill! Let me give you a bit of an “insider” view of what has come to be the commonly accepted standard in education.

I am now thankful for having had a very different career from most educators, who simply get the training, find a job and stay with that school until retirement. True, some may change schools once or twice, but usually within the same system. Not I! No sir! I have always had a very healthy disrespect for schools! I have always seen school, any school, as squelching individual thought and freedom. I am a bit too cynical to believe that perfect strangers, who know nothing about an individual student can determine what, when and how something should be learned, even if presented within a Christian context, so I searched for truth.

How I ended up being a teacher is testimony to God’s sense of humour! After having “trained” (another story for some other time), I became a soon-to-be-disillusioned teacher. Like many new to the profession, I thought I could come in and change the system from the horrible one I had attended to one in which each student becomes more than just a number. Boy, did I fail! My first principal told me that the overarching “philosophy of education” was to protect one’s “ass” (I don’t believe he meant donkey!)! Great start! That first year was so traumatic that I found my faith in Jesus! It was after sincerely making this most important decision of my life with every intention of fully serving Him forevermore, that I prayed a prayer that would redirect my life and career.

I stayed a teacher (not without protesting!), but in keeping with my prayer request, I got to see the insides of many different schools, in two provinces; public, separate, private, rural, urban; K to Post-Secondary; in English and French. I helped train 22 student teachers; marked diploma exams in two languages; did everything I could to positively influence the bureaucracy, administration and fellow teachers towards improving the system, but found myself completely powerless to do any more politically than be a thorn in the flesh. Since I could do nothing about the school, I eventually came to the conclusion that I could only affect the direction of my students. As for my own children’s education, I exercised my right, no…, my responsibility as a parent to teach and train them myself (Faye, my help meet, helped me meet that goal) by bringing them back home, the safest, most caring and “sensitive” environment possible for any child.

Why this story? I happen to know school in ways that few do. I have many good reasons for keeping children out of any institutional school, too many to list in a blog. In fact, this story began forty years ago, and by the time we were done training our children at home, a new millennium had begun. A lot of things have changed since then and I am ever so thankful not to have to be teaching in what has become the most dysfunctional system ever invented by man! A minority ruled system that disenfranchises parents, puts the “inmates” in charge of the asylum so to speak and offers limitless opportunity to demonstrate the normalization of deviation and the madness of relativity under the guise of being “neutral” and “progressive”. I am not a do-nothing wimp. If I have not been able to make a dent in that system over forty years, how can Christian parents think they can change it by sending innocent children to “salt” it?

The “Church”

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-02-15.

He who is not for us is against us. Jesus said so.

We are generally all ignorant of what is actually happening around us. This ignorance can either be perpetuated and capitalized upon or fixed to empower the masses. It is time to enlighten home educators who have generally been kept in the dark respecting what is occurring within their community. Please understand that while it is our responsibility to tell the truth, we must never lose sight of the fact that our enemy is not made of flesh and blood and that we ultimately have the choice to conform and compromise or to stand on principle. (Ephesians 4: 11-16)

Bible Reference: John 19:15

I heard a sad story the other day. A particular church group had been through a gruelling year of personal failures and calamities that truly questioned the soundness and effectiveness of its supposed “Christian” teachings. Incredibly, at that church’s AGM that year, the treasurer got up and announced that in spite of having had to wade through some rather difficult waters, aside from seeing leaders go down in shame along with people left injured along the way, the “church” had had its best year ever! I assume this to be the normal expectation of a church treasurer, but is this perhaps indicative of how many “churches” are measuring success? If this is their focus, how does the modern institutional church view education?

In times past, when government acknowledged the Christian heritage of the country, bureaucracies were smaller, decentralized and not nearly so autocratic. Churches were free to do what they were supposed to do and were more likely to influence the government than the other way around. Schools were also free to recite the Lord’s prayer, to recite the Bible and to expect Christian behaviour. Often, the local church and school were so intertwined that it was hard to delineate the end of one and the beginning of the other. Everything seemed to work to the benefit of the citizens. Such was certainly my experience from, oh, so long ago!

Times have certainly changed. Today, nearly every church, school and society has been incorporated as an entity that answers to the government which dispenses permission to exist and directives on how to behave. Government has been empowered such that all things must be approved through an ever growing secular bureaucracy. When the state takes on the nature and responsibility of the God it desires to replace, it becomes all powerful. When it becomes all powerful, even things that belong to God, like the church, come under new management, as directed by the king. When this happens, those institutions which should be vigilantly defending the things of God seem to develop a new focus while losing sight of their true purpose. As a consequence, the “church” seems to have, unfortunately, evolved from the body of Christianity to the building of churchianity, from equipping the saints to filling the coffers, from going about God’s business to becoming a business about God.

Whereas the training and teaching of children has always been the responsibility of parents as per the authority given them by God, education, (as in government mandated compulsory attendance to some form of government approved school) has usurped this freedom, in much the same fashion as what has happened to the church. This has had the negative effect of forcing both churches and Christian schools to look to government for approval and support rather than to God. There exists a sense of dread that, should either do anything to displease this new “lord”, the authority to exist and/or the ability to either access funds directly or issue tax receipts for donations will be lost. This replacement of faith with fear has resulted in these new “government agencies” not only sanctioning and advancing, but defending things approved by government as though they were ordained of God, including the public education programming and processes that makes no mention of God, Bible or Christianity.

As a consequence of the church’s desire to accommodate government demands, home educators often find it difficult to receive encouragement, support and direction through the local church. In fact, there is a greater likelihood of being persecuted than encouraged for determining to do what God has directed parents to do. This is not to say that all church organizations are like this. However, one must remember that if it is not wise to bite the hand that feeds you and if the church is going to look to government for its “existence”, it had better not challenge assumed government ”authority” or risk corporate death. Even though taken out of context, “Render unto Caesar” is often used to justify this activity of self-preservation. Did this natural instinct for institutional preservation before Caesar not also motivate the Pharisees when they resisted Jesus during his earthy ministry?

The Government (Part 3) – The Ministry of Education

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-02-08.

Are we aware of why the government insists on compulsory education?

Bible Reference: 1 Kings 12:28-30

In the last two installments of the blog, it was suggested that from our Christian world view, government was initially established as a result of the rejection of God and that God has allowed government jurisdiction over some things, but not all things. Furthermore, it was shown that although rulers do have power, it is only when they follow the directives that are given by God that they are operating in the authority of God. It is therefore important, if we are to follow what has happened in the world of education, that we understand that the initial creation of government was not God’s desire as much as the desire of men; that government often expands beyond the established boundaries that are clearly off limits as “God’s things”; and that the government is only representing God’s authority when it rewards the good and punishes the bad, as determined by God and not by man.

So, there most certainly is a place for government and we are to honour it when it is abiding according to God’s rules. But, what if it is not abiding by God’s rules? What if the ruler has determined to rewrite the rules to suit him? What if the king simply does not acknowledge God? Do you think that such a government will lead you in the right direction or… somewhere else?

Historically, there have always been both good and bad governments, determined largely by how it respected God’s parameters for governance. I am hardly a historian, but I suspect things started going in the wrong direction once it was suggested that science could explain everything without need for a “God”. Many things changed with this new development and with it came compulsory education. Schools had been around for a long time and parents welcomed the opportunity for assistance in the training and teaching of their children, but making it compulsory was not met with enthusiasm, for it was seen as an encroachment, undermining and replacing the authority of parents. In fact when compulsory education was first introduced in the USA, some children had to be forced to attend at gunpoint! Parents clearly saw that being coerced against their will was actually to claim a jurisdiction that did not belong to the king.

Time has a way of making yesterday’s error or omission today’s normal. Not only is compulsory education accepted today, it is expected. In fact, the very agencies that should be questioning whether children should be educated under the control of government or family are more likely to attempt to fix the problem by creating another version of the same problem! The normalization of deviation from the truth has always been a gradual process, usually cloaked in seemingly good motives. After all, who could argue against providing opportunity for a good education? The question is, good for who or good for what?

Parents, as the only possible instruments for the creation of children, have been directed to lead their children to God so He could lead them in their lives. Since the need for God is built into each person, if we do not acknowledge the real God we will follow anything masquerading as Him. With this in mind, and considering the potential for unlimited power, it is easy to understand how a king who does not acknowledge God could easily be tempted to fill a godless vacuum by attempting to replace God with himself.

A compulsory education system created by an agency desiring the role of God, would never point to the true God, but rather to a counterfeit. In other words, if the king is not following God’s rules, the only rules left to follow are his and since he is not eternal, his rules will not only be constantly changing, but directing his subjects away from the one true God. Such is the Ministry of Education. Exposing children to this type of program not only fails to meet God’s expectation of parents for children, but encourages the perpetuation of this system. Why would any believer want to encourage a program that is directing away from God? Why would we even want to emulate or reproduce such a process? Yet, most will and do willingly participate without even questioning why they are doing so, or whose side they are working on. Few realize how destructive this is to our Christian faith.

The Government (Part 2) – Render Unto Caesar

Part of the series The Problem
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-02-01.

Government expects us to simply do what they say. Do they have that authority?

Bible Reference: Rom. 13:1-7

Last week, I showed that our world view of modern government can be traced back to when the children of Israel demanded of Samuel, a king like the other (non-believing) nations, which was essentially a rejection of God’s kingship. As a consequence, the rule of government has traditionally been away from God, something that seems to have been expedited of late!

Modern day government is seen as all powerful and in possession of all authority by most people, including the majority of professing Christians. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…” is very often recited as instruction to honour government in all things, but on closer inspection, the context of this passage of scripture is not related to all things, but specifically to the paying of taxes! What is often neglected when quoting this passage is the second part which reads “…and to God the things that are God’s”. Obviously, some things do belong to the government, but not everything, as some things clearly must belong to God. To give what is God’s to government is condemned by this passage. We would, therefore, be wise to understand what belongs to Caesar (the king or government) and what belongs to God or we may be in danger of violating God’s directives.

To further provide enlightenment respecting the place of government, a study of another passage of scripture, which is also often quoted as instructing us to accept all things from government as God ordained, is in order. In Romans Chapter 13 we are directed to obey civil government. However, we are given the specific qualifications required of a ruler to legitimize his authority. Rulers are to be ministers of God who reward good and punish evil. Obviously, what is good or evil is not left up to the discretion of the ruler or government but what is clearly delineated in scripture. Simply being in power does not automatically make a ruler a minister of God, but he who abides by what God has commanded or forbidden. Therefore when a ruler commands what God has forbidden or forbids what God has commanded, leadership qualifications as outlined in this passage are being violated and disqualifies the government’s directives. Can you think of any modern day examples of this?

In determining the legitimacy of government action, we can therefore use two main measures. Firstly, we ask whether what is being enforced truly belongs to “Caesar” or to God. Secondly, we can ask whether or not the government’s actions are in keeping with what God has declared as good or evil. Government (rule) has a legitimate place when it enforces laws (power) in areas ordained by God (authority) and only if it abides by what God has outlined as good or evil. Otherwise, it is encroaching in areas that are not ordained by God and/or blurring the lines between right and wrong.

How is this related to education? If God has established government and the parameters by which it can operate, what is government doing in the business of education when children clearly do not belong to government, but to God? If the government was a minister of God, would it offer Godless, anti-Christian, unbiblical programming that normalizes a secular, socialist agenda to God’s children? Or would it be encouraging parents to take the responsibility that they have been given to train and teach their children in keeping with the authority given by God and what He has demonstrated through His Word as right or wrong?

How have we arrived at this present situation? Likely a slow but deliberate taking over of “what is God’s” along with a gradual perversion of right and wrong. What is most discouraging is that those who knew better, allowed the ruler to do so, and as a consequence, the ruler’s false claims to authority have been validated, empowering him to force us to accept his version of right and wrong.