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It seems we’ve taken a slight detour in our passionate discussion about school 🙂 This is good, though. This is my very intent for the blog…to challenge, “hash out” and sharpen our thinking.

A reader submits the following about government and education:

“…as long as the government sees fit to continue social programs for those who can’t provide for themselves, they’d be absolutely silly to allow each child to be educated in any way the parents see fit. As much as we hate to see our children’s education as a business, or to see them as products, it’s actually a pretty good comparison. Our children are the future of our country, and as that, the government has a stake in how they turn out. Not having any control over your finished product is bad business sense. … I’m not saying that all or even most parents will screw up their children’s education, but there will always be the folks who aren’t trying hard enough or are just flat out lazy. Those people are going to cost the government more money in the form of welfare and other social programs when their kids can’t find jobs to support themselves. …If the nation had no stake whatsoever in a child’s proper education, I could see that it would be inappropriate for them to “interfere,” as it were. But children are the future of our country, and I’m glad the government doesn’t take lightly the idea that all children should get a complete, standardized, and verifiable education.”

Admittedly, I am NOT politically savvy enough to do a decent job addressing this subject. So, if any of you out there have input, now would be a good time 🙂

BUT, let me say emphatically, that this is such a slippery slope…and honestly, I am so dumb, I didn’t really know there were any Christians who felt this way!

I submit an article with a great summary (said much better than I could say it) of how far we’ve strayed from the original intent of government, especially in the realm of education. I wish I could remember his whole argument, but I heard Geoffrey Botkin say, “Government education is illegal…absolutely unconstitutional”.

The following article (click on the link below) begins with a quote from the 1882 educational platform of the Democratic party:

“FREEDOM of education, being an essential of civil and religious liberty . . . must not be interfered with under any pretext whatever,” We are opposed to state interference with parental rights and rights of conscience in the education of children as an infringement of the fundamental . . . doctrine that the largest individual liberty consistent with the rights of others insures the highest type of American citizenship and the best government.”

It’s a short article and very worth the read…

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/10/17/big_brother_at_school/

To address a few of the things mentioned from the reader’s comment…

Frankly, I think our nation fared MUCH better before government regulations were imposed on education. A large percent of our (brilliant) forefathers were homeschooled, under the instruction of their parents.

We commit a grave offense by trying to separate knowledge from the truth of God and His laws. Remember, He is the Creator. And thus, He created knowledge. And so, He gives the perfect instructions for acquiring knowledge…”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom/knowledge.”

So what we get is, if parents fear the Lord, the proper education will follow. I know that seems too simple to our minds, but that is the miraculous, supernatural reality.

We don’t have to worry that if the government doesn’t control what we teach, that everyone will end up dumb and unable to function as citizens. For centuries, the earth has thrived without gov-controlled education. In some opinions, it has thrived far better.

And as far as the gov having the right to control because they provide programs..that’s another can or worms…the programs are a big problem too! When we get away from God’s way of doing things…everything snowballs, and we’re breaking one rule to cover another.

I don’t mean to be sarcastic here, but I’m afraid those of us who agree with the reader’s comment do so because we are the product of government-engineered education…that’s how they want us to think.

A fun read that is a little lighter than our previous discussions on large families 🙂

“We were surprised that having more than three children is beneficial to longevity — based on previous studies by other authors, and common sense, quite the opposite could be expected,” said study co-author Leonid Gavrilov…”

“That’s at odds with a prevailing theory in longevity research that holds that “there is a trade-off between the number of children and [parental] longevity,” noted Arnold Mitnitski, a longevity researcher and associate professor of medicine, mathematics and statistics at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.”

Read entire article HERE.

I received this article from several different people last week. Many of you have probably already read it. I hesitated to even post it because it was personally so disturbing to me. Nevertheless, perhaps it will be a good reminder of just how fast our thinking can end up in the pit of hell when we forsake the Word of God.

Read it and weep…then guard your hearts and minds from error, and encourage those around you to do the same!

“Had Toni Vernelli gone ahead with her pregnancy ten years ago, she would know at first hand what it is like to cradle her own baby, to have a pair of innocent eyes gazing up at her with unconditional love, to feel a little hand slipping into hers – and a voice calling her Mummy.

But the very thought makes her shudder with horror.

Because when Toni terminated her pregnancy, she did so in the firm belief she was helping to save the planet.”

Read entire article HERE.

In reference to Molly’s question to clarify the “type of feminism” this blog is against:

Molly,

You ask a fair question although I thought the answer was more obvious than maybe it is.

The word “feminism” used to be a fairly harmless word that simply meant that men and women have equal value. Surely we ALL agree with that and therefore, need not clarify the obvious. But over the past century, “feminism” has taken on a more sinister look because of the radical feminists who have been shaking their fists at their own femininity. Maybe this blog needs to be named “Families Against Radical Feminism”, but I thought people would understand where I was coming from, so I kept the title simple :-).

The feminism I fight against is the kind that says women NEED to be in the work force making a difference in the world, because to do otherwise would be a waste of her person. It’s the kind that has crept into almost every church in America and can be heard in the innocent question to the teenaged girl…”so what are you going to DO when you graduate?” (Yes, I know this statement gets me into trouble every time! But, there…it needs to be said.)

The kind that says women and men need to perform the same roles…i.e. submission is a bad word, and a marriage should be an equal partnership with no protective head.

The kind that says “I am woman, hear me roar”.

The kind that says, “I’ve got more important things to do than nurture and train the souls of my children.”

The kind that says, “I should have control over my own body, and therefore deserve to end the life of a child within it.”

The kind that kicks against femininity, beauty and grace; hates to have doors opened for her, and “can do it herself, thank you very much”. (Even though she’s perfectly capable, mind you!)

The kind that has forgotten her precious worth as a woman, slapping the face of God as she scorns her role as keeper of the home and the multi-facted opportunities that role would afford her.

This blog is against the kind of feminism that is missing the greatest opportunity on the planet to be treated like a queen…which is all she ever really wanted anyway.

I was so encouraged to receive this letter from a reader named Sally…we have all been here, haven’t we? (Or maybe some of us are here now, or will be!) What words of encouragement do you have in regard to her concerns and questions?

Hi Kelly,

I have been reading your blog for over a month or two now, and it has really challenged me and the deeply ingrained (feminist influenced) beliefs I’ve held without really ever knowing it….

I have been really wrestling with this issue of really believing that children are a blessing from God, and frankly, am feeling convicted by the whole mindset of planning our own families instead of letting God plan them. I am scared to death. If we just “let it happen,” I would expect that we’ll be having lots more kids because so far I am super fertile, and just 28 years old. It just took once with both my boys, and even though the second one wasn’t planned by me, I could tell you the date of conception. But of course we know Who really plans these things!

So my husband and I have been talking this issue over through the last couple days. He is starting to understand this mindset more, and that having more kids is a blessing (we both come from families of 4 kids, and are glad for it). I think having more than 4 kids, though, is hard for him to imagine. We are both kind of freaking out and scared if we decide to walk this path.

Does parenting get easier down the road than with the initial couple kids? Have you talked with other women or families who are convinced that no birth control is the right thing to do, but are scared to death to “obey” and follow this path? Are there any good arguments to not just “let it happen?” Our culture seems to think it is irresponsible to have more than a few kids… like it’s depriving the oldest children of your time at the very least! We are definitely not in financial trouble, have a home large enough to house multiple children comfortably (with some creative bedroom arrangements down the road). If anyone is “responsible” enough to have many kids, it would be us. We are just scared. Will I be patient enough? Will I be able to handle all them? Will I go crazy trying to maintain order? Will my house be chaos?

I know I don’t have to rely on my own strength, but how can I be sure this is the right path for us? Is it the right path for every Christian? Our culture is yelling NO! So it’s hard to find any support or look for advice even in our church. Most people don’t have more than 2-3 kids, although I might be able to find a couple of families that have more.

I also feel untrained for this job of household manager and mother. This adds to the fear of trying to manage a large household without the support or training women of the past probably had. My husband and I are also strongly considering homeschooling, which would be compatible with a large family.

The following comment, made regarding a previous post, breaks my heart. But unfortunately, it echoes the misconstrued ideas of many, many women. This is PRECISELY the thing I fight against, especially through this blog. I fight against the lie that the feminist movement has perpetuated throughout our culture, wrecking homes and making women miserable.

“I hate to see a woman who has the ability to invent, create or start their own business be sentenced to the kitchen and husband slavery. God gave us a brain with limitless potential and I do not believe a great God would tell us to only use part of our talent. Enjoy your family if that is your thing but don’t judge the people who do not have a house full of needy children and a tired
husband.”

Oh, do you hear the heresy? The notion that a home is a place where only brainless people stay? People really do believe this! They believe that a “woman who has the ability to invent, create or start their own business” should not “reduce” herself to being a homemaker.

Furthermore, the idea that a homemaker can indeed invent, create or start their own business is foreign! Let me just say from experience, if nothing else stopped me from returning to the work force, the sheer freedom I have to utilize my gifts from home would be enough. I could never do the inventing, creating and business I do now when I worked. I was enslaved to my job, and to all the limits it created. The feminist lie is such an irony!

(As a side note: every person has a specific job, regardless of all his or her many gifts. Is a doctor limited in his profession if he happens to be a great musician too? If an accountant also loves to paint, should he refuse to be “reduced” to the confines of his accountant’s office? Homemaking is simply my profession…it doesn’t nullify my other abilities. I hope you get my point.)

And, all inventing, creating, etc. aside, those are just by-products–fringe benefits of being a homemaker. They aren’t even the issue…listen closely to the comment above…”enjoy your family if that is your thing…”

This isn’t about what I want to do, or what “my thing” is…it is about God’s perfect design, about serving others, about giving my family my best. It just so happens, that when I give myself to that design, the joy and desire follows. That’s the beauty of trusting an Omniscient Creator!

Oh dear women out there who believe that being home is “enslavement” and drudgery, there is another picture I hope you get the chance to see….and possibly paint yourself!

I received this comment from an anonymous reader regarding our discussion on pants vs. dresses. I considered it worthy of addressing in a separate post:

Anon.,

Here’s the thing…I don’t think anyone is “worried” about this issue, and whether we are discussing pants and dresses, birth control, or breast feeding methods, this is a discussion blog. The above comment would insinuate that nothing is worthy of discussion unless it is of utmost importance. I am wondering, do you ever discuss “trivial” things?

I also want to point out that while dress preference may not rank in importance to other issues, protecting the heart of your neighbor (one way we do that is through our attire), fulfills the command of “loving others as yourself”. That’s not such a trivial thing.

As always, provoking you to thought…

This is a post from an earlier archive that I think will be very encouraging to this topic we’re currently discussing. I thought I’d re-post it for you! (Don’t worry, we’ll get back to the next debate soon!)

One of the things that most profoundly affects me about the idea of letting God be sovereign in the area of children, is the idea of who I may be preventing from being born, and how God has used the people of history to so powerfully impact the world. It’s just another area where we can’t see the future; and because of that, it seems scary to interfere with the population.

I love to ponder the lives of great men and women of history who probably would never have been born if their parents were living in our day. If one or two children was all those parents needed, or all they could handle, or afford, or deal with, etc., our world would be an entirely different place. Consider the following and rejoice that birth control was not a popular concept of the day:

Presidents:

• George Washington——-5th child of ten.
• William Henry Harrison–7th of seven.
• Franklin Pierce————-7th of eight.
• Benjamin Harrison———5th of thirteen.
• William Howard Taft——-7th of ten.

(There are many more–I just skipped them for time. By the way, I could list about 18 more presidents who came from large families which refutes the crazy idea that being from a large family hinders your education. Some of the most brilliant men of history were from large, often very poor families.)

Musicians

• Johann Sebastian Bach–8th child
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart–7th of seven
• Ludwig Van Beethoven–5th child of five (Note: Beethoven would have most definitely never been born in this day. His father had syphilis and his mother had tuberculosis. Their 1st child was blind, baby #2 died, 3rd born was deaf, and the 4th child had tuberculosis like his mother! Then came Beethoven!)
• Czech Bedrich Smetana–11th of 18
• Many many, more, but one of my current favorites: Celine Dion is the baby of 14!

Christian Saints:

• David Brainerd–from a family of nine children
• Oswald Chambers–4th of nine
• Jonathan Edwards–11th of eleven
• Sylvanus Crosby (grandfather of Fanny Crosby)–19th of 19! (Chew on that one for a minute…)
• Dwight L. Moody–6th of eight
• Nate Saint–7th of eight
• Corrie ten Boom–5th

And I could list dozens more in every category. We didn’t even touch scientists, doctors, and just godly men and women who have given birth to other godly men and women! Let us not forget the infamous Suzanna Wesley. Her sons Charles and John Wesley had and continue to have a tremendous impact on the church and our music. John was number 14, and Charles was number 17 of 19 children. And what makes that even more amazing, is that Suzanna herself was number 24!!! And lest we ever use “hardship” as an excuse to stop having children, she had more than a thousand of us put together!

Could it be, that parents of that day simply were not as selfish as we are, willing to give themselves over to the raising up of strong, godly men and women, no matter the cost?

It is so exciting to see how God so infinitely uses the arrows of godly people to impact history. We can’t know how he is going to use one of our children. More than likely, He’ll just use them to raise up more children and impact more people for His Kingdom–what great honor! Imagine what our world might be like right now, if the people of God understood this full quiver thing!

I wanted to post a special tribute to some very dear friends of ours, who will be leaving Novemeber 13th for Africa to bring home their adopted little boy. He has suffered many heart problems, and his loving parents, knowing that there is no life for him in their deprived part of the country, chose to give him up for adoption. Click HERE to track their journey…

So to my dear friends, may the Lord bless your journey to Africa, keep you safe in His care, bring healing to little Joseph, and bless your family for your selfless love.

This is one of my VERY favorite groups…Selah. Todd Smith and his sister Nicole (the last two that sing), grew up in Africa as the children of missionary parents.