This weekend, bloggers will be participating in a “Blog Against Theocracy” blogswarm in support of our Constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state. Post at least once from Friday to Sunday, April 6-8, against theocracy, or one of many related issues.
My Entry
When I first started this blog, I planned to use it as a private sounding board of sorts in reflecting on the “daily minutia of life.” But, recently, someone commented that it has, instead, become “pretty anti-God.” Although my posts are not anti-God (because there’s, uh, no such thing as God), I do tend to keep coming back to the same themes. Religious bigotry, fundamentalism, church/state. I suppose I could just link my entire blog as an entry in this effort – especially as I’m sorely lacking any profound ideas to add to the discussion!
Do I Have Anything Unique to Say?
I suppose what may make me a little different from other participating bloggers is that I’m a homeschooler – and a former christian homeschooler. While I would credit my time among the christian homeschooling population (and its obsession with, ahem, apologetics education in particular) with my religious de-conversion, I also give it due credit for waking me to the growing threat of religious extremism.
I wonder if most people would be surprised at what is taught in many fundamentalist christian homeschools. Now, I hesitate to continue as homeschoolers have fought long and hard for the freedoms that we have today and I don’t want to betray the practice which is, on the whole of it, positive; but, I have also grown increasingly concerned about those who are exploiting these freedoms, instead “training up” a generation of religious bigots, primed for political combat and holy culture war. These children, aka Generation Joshua by some, are being taught Science by Ken Ham, American History by D. James Kennedy, critical thinking by Rick Warren, and citizenship by James Dobson. The Earth is 6,000 years old; The Grand Canyon was formed during Noah’s Flood; and Adam, Eve and the Talking Snake was an actual historical event.
The problem is made worse when homeschoolers rely upon social networks that add yet another layer of insulation to their already nearly-closed communities. In addition to commitments to sectarian homeschooling support groups, they attend churches that gobble up any spare time they may have with bible studies, small groups, mission trips, recreational ministries… Further, they’re taught to mistrust and fear “the world” – and to “think on (all) things” christian. So, in this way, homeschooling’s greatest promise, which is to broaden the minds of children, is instead betrayed and turned on its head.
Umm… now, is my entry supposed to include solutions? I hope not, as I haven’t a clue. Though I can see that children raised in the fashion I’ve described is not good for them – or any of us – I’m not in favor of laws restricting homeschools. And, to be fair, I know (having blogged here and here) that this nonsense regularly finds its way into public schools as well. A shift in thinking is critical. I’m encouraged by the growing awareness of “new atheist” arguments – and hopeful that finding critics like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Michelle Goldberg, and Chris Hedges (authors of books I’ve read recently) on best-seller lists is, in some way, meaningful. Maybe even efforts like this blogswarm signal a new direction.
Thanks for reading.
Very interesting. I totally agree with you but it is rare to hear something like this from former Christian homeschoolers.
To be honest, I don’t understand why there aren’t more of us.
Thanks for stopping by.
Wow! I too am surprised. It is something that had turned me off to homeschooling for years until I realized there were many other types of homeschooling families as well; I just feel terribly for the children in the families you mention.
by the way,
Sometimes I read Ex-Christian.net deconversion “testimonies” and am encouraged that some of the most poignant and powerful are written by the those raised in the homeschools described here.
Hi Shawna,
I followed the link to your(?) book, Intimate Reflections:Thoughts on Marriage, Motherhood & Life. (Is the S in S. S. Patterson for Shawna?) I thought the quote (in the Xlibis excerpt) taken from The Bridges of Madison County was interesting.
I think that, in some sense, becoming the type of Christian that I’m describing here is similar. There’s so much emphasis on “becoming a new creation” and replacing your own reason (“the foolishness of man”) with God’s “ways” (which make sense even when they don’t because they’re God’s ways). It’s easy to lose your way. You become so immersed and vested in the details of your new life and so insulated in these communities that you forget who you are. Choosing to leave “the fold” can be an unsettling transition. It’s time to
Thanks for your thoughts.
And, I have Intimate Reflections in my Amazon shopping cart, by the way! ;)
Your honesty is refreshing. I am a Christian homeschooler, and, no, we’re not all insular, young-earth creationists that plug our ears and go “nyah, nyah, I can’t HEAR you!” when something comes our way that we have trouble grappling with. Some of us like grappling!
By all means, plow face-first into controversy and dig for truth with fists and fingernails. Just don’t settle for what you have left the Christian camp for – a comfortable set of pre-selected and pre-approved beliefs.
Have a good life journey!
Ramona
Hi Ramona,
I am a Christian homeschooler, and, no, we’re not all insular, young-earth creationists.
I know. Fundamentalist YECs have a disproportionate amount of influence both in homeschooling and generally which is why I pay a disproportionate amount of attention to them here.
Some of us like grappling
For me, grappling can be fun *if* the questions are insignificant enough that it doesn’t matter that satisfying answers don’t exist. “Guess I’ll have to wait till I get to heaven…” never really worked for me. “Lean not on your own understanding…” The wise are foolish, the foolish are wise, up is down and down is up.
Just don’t settle for what you have left the Christian camp for – a comfortable set of pre-selected and pre-approved beliefs
Actually, that’s a common misconception that I remember from my church-going days. We don’t have a camp.
(Added: Welcome to Camp!)
There are no pre-selected and pre-approved beliefs. The only thing atheists have in common is that they don’t accept supernatural explanations for what is not yet explainable. Or, at least that’s my definition. There are many others.
Most of what popular Christian authors/speakers say about atheists is not true. Check actual sources; compare and contrast. The truth will set you free ;)
Have a good life journey!
You, too. Thanks for visiting :)
Aha! See, I told you I was reading earlier blogs ;-)
It really does get depressing (well for me anyhow) how few non-christian home schoolers there are. And I don’t mean necessarily non-religious…just not christian…if they exist here in WV, I don’t know of them :(
I am a former christian myself, but never homeschooled as one. While I did (though not very intensely) raise my son for a while with all the god stories and such, I’m really glad that I snapped out of it before he got too attached :)
Second to the lack of others like me, I guess my next complaint would be that when people hear “home school” they automatically think of fundamentalists in long dresses who incorporate the bible into every subject. I can understand that…but I sometimes feel like maybe I should follow “we home school” with “AND WE’RE NOT CHRISTIAN”.
Whew. Thanks for letting me let that out. If you approve this that is. :-p
Cory :)
Hi! I came across you over @ Fiery’s. I’m an atheist homeschooler, too. I look forward to reading the rest of your blog and hopefully seeing you round some of the others. :)
Thanks for visiting. I just stopped by your blog very briefly and am looking forward to getting to know “a former stepford wife hacking a new path.” :)
i’ve been bloging on your site a little. you are very interesting. i felt stifled in my christian life until my husband, a pastor, told me to stop reading the fluffy books in the christian book stores and read some good commentaries instead. i started reading his preacher’s commentaries, not layman’s commentaries. they are not hard to read. i like The Pulpit Commentary. it really helped me. i finally had answers to some hard questions.
i ran out of room, so here i am again. i am repelled and attracted at the same time to sites like lydia of purple and other sites like hers. don’t really know why. i don’t really want to live like that, but something about them attracts me. i have been going on a lot of fundamentalist baptist sites and have been blessed by them. they probably would not fellowship with me, though, since i did not home school. i don’t like the lock-step mentality. but, i am christian.
I’ve never heard of The Pulpit Commentary. As a Christian, I mostly read fluff (in the beginning) :) and apologetics stuff later. It’s when I began examining the Christian/atheist debate more closely and objectively that I left Christianity.
That’s interesting what you’ve said about Lydia of Purple. I still haven’t gotten back to you about the subjugation question. 1. I’ve been sick and 2. I thought about answering the question in a post, but have mixed feelings about using her name again (and drawing attention to an individual) when it’s the teachings that I have a problem with. Sorry for the delay :(
That is very gracious of you not to want to use people’s names or malign them. See…that is why I like your site. Yes…the subjugation thing. The Bible says that wives are to be subject to their husbands “as unto the Lord.” This means that if the Lord would not tell you to do something (submit to physical abuse, or withhold medicine from a sick family member or yourself), then you don’t have to do it. “as unto the Lord” is the key to this verse. This is why men and women have to THINK. Men are also told to honor their wives as the weaker vessel (hey — a crystal goblet is weaker than a clunky pottery coffee mug — which one do we display in a place of honor?) and husbands and wives are also told to submit to each other in love. Abraham was told in once instance to listen to his wife, because she had greater wisdom about a certain thing. I can provide scripture verses, but I don’t feel like doing it here. Some Christians really blow this submission thing up to something dangerous and ungodly. I attended a class once where wives were told to submit to their husbands even if they were telling them to do wrong. I don’t approve of that. My husband didn’t, either. We were told that if our husbands tell us not to go to church, we shouldn’t go. (I can understand that maybe you wouldn’t go if your husband would beat you up — but if that is the case, you need to get out of there and go to a women’s shelter!!!) My husband said that was dumb and didn’t want me to go to the class any more, a desire that to which I was more than happy to submit. By the way (long blog again, sorry…) there is a lot more “lip service” out there among Christian women than actual action when it comes to submitting to their husbands. They say the words, but then make all the decisions and the husbands have nothing to say about it. See it all the time. That is wrong. The right thing to do is (if you are a Christian wife) make all the important decisions and somehow convince your husband that it was his idea. (I was making a joke.)
(Angela has a new comment over at my former blogspot location. I have moved it here as I plan to close that site soon.)
I am so excited to have come across your blog. I’m Atheist, former Catholic, but up until I decided to homeschool, thought I could live blissfully ignorant. My eyes opened when I discovered that there are some people that really think the earth was formed just a few thousand years ago and other impossibilities. I’ve been trying so hard to find secular, non-religious homeschool materials. My interest in my non-belief has spiked and I’m learning all I can now. :) I look forward to visiting your blog often.
Well, on the bright side, in my experience, those who are so sheltered that they’re never really exposed to the reasonable portions of the opposition, tend to lose their faith quickly when they finally are. And luckily, they are bound to be in a society as open as the US. I think this applies as much to political opinions as to religion.
I say this as a former “newage” radical left homeschooler, and my fiancee a former fundamentalist christian one. But then, maybe I’m basing my experience off only college educated homeschooled students, who therefore have the option to be exposed to real “critical thought”.
I any case, I don’t see an imminent crisis of theocracy looming.
Lyra,
I just noticed that I never responded to your comment. I’m sorry :(
I agree that shielding people from the reasonable arguments of the opposition becomes a house of cards. It’s really where I was going with,
Hmm. In likening apologetics arguments to playing cards balancing precariously on one end, I may have accidentally stumbled upon a pretty decent metaphor, as it oftens falls apart the way you suggest :)
Thanks for visiting.
Having studied Christian origins, I have a historical context, however, apologies and excuses offer explanations, that those who want to believe, hang onto like a life-line. They ignore the fact that much of their evidence is smoke and mirrors, dependent upon other evidence, the Bible, interpreted to support their position, but with no proof of its integrity.
The historic origins of Christianity, reads like a who-done-it. It is a great story of intrigue, politics, bribery, ambition and deceit.
Rome had a successful strategy for occupation. Welcome the religions of conquered countries into their own mythology. Worked well until they encountered monotheism, then the Jews fought as Muslims fight Israel today.
A man, a citizen of Rome with some Jewish background, was sent to make occupation and paying taxes acceptable. He tried to modify the Jewish religion using tales of one of their own. The Jews rejected Saul and then Paul but his creation grew with the gentiles. Then it was adapted to make church hierarchy and control possible, thus, Christianity.
The Gospel of the Hebrews was said to resemble Matthew and was used by the pillars. Matthew is likely a rewrite with Rome portrayed in a positive light.
Hope I didn’t bore you to tears!