Bob Thune: A Few Thoughts About Education

H/T Monergism.com

Pastor Bob Thune has some questions for Christians to consider about their involvment in public schools after Obama's decree on transgender bathroom use, as well as the Omaha School Board's decision to teach gender identity, abortion and emergency contraception as part of their mandatory sex-ed curriculum-- a decision no doubt also made by many other school boards across America.

Check it out and read it all. Here's an excerpt:

Last week the Obama administration handed down from on high a transgender bathroom decree directing schools to allow transgendered students unrestrained access to restrooms (and locker rooms) of their choice. Last night the Omaha school board voted to approve a sweeping new sex education curriculum that adds gender identity, abortion, and emergency contraception to the list of topics students will learn about. In my opinion, these mandates place a crucial fork-in-the-road before Christian parents, Christian administrators, and Christian teachers.

Broadly speaking, education is a place where Christians have freedom of conscience. Parents are responsible before God to fulfill their God-given duty of training up a child in the way that he should go, and the Bible leaves them free to choose from various means of education. I’m thankful that within Coram Deo Church, we have families pursuing public school, private school, and homeschool options. We also have members who are educators and administrators in schools throughout the city.

However, the massive falsehoods being forced upon us in the area of human sexuality require us to ask some hard questions and to engage in some important debates about education. And that’s easier said than done. Education is an issue that many people have deep convictions about, and emotions run high. But because of the dramatic importance of the spiritual and moral formation of the next generation, I think it’s a conversation we need to wade into as graciously and courageously as possible. I have three questions I wish to put before my readers.

Personally, I believe Christians shouldn't have their kids in the public school system. It's a guaranteed corrupter. Maybe not every school is like that, but most of the time. Not just the education itself, but the other students--most of whom are utterly worldly and corrupt. It takes a mature mind to be able to overcome a bad influence. I also recognize, however, that there are millions of working-class Christians who simply can't afford to home school or, for whatever reason, can't get their kids into a private Christian school.

Pastor Thune mentions the necessity of wise financial stewardship so that Christians can have the freedom to change schools if needed. But that got me thinking: you would think that with all the money flowing into "ministries" like Benny Hinn or Todd Bentley (some of these "pastors" even have their own Heaven-Copters and Heaven-Pads to land on, and they teach in what basically consists of stadiums) that Christians would be able to fund and manage the private schooling needs for every member of their church. Imagine if the SBC, or the Reformed community of churches, got together to  raise funds for students to attend private schools or to setup their own free, or affordable private school systems in places like Texas? Maybe that's too difficult a feat, but it's often occurred to me-- reading the scripture-- that the Apostles expected Christians to be able to sustain their own communities and needs. Maybe I'm too naive about costs and other factors, though.

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