I was very sad to read that one of my favourite bloggers would no longer be visiting the CoH as she was tired of the 'spiritual, holier then thou tripe', some of the contributors post. She wanted a carnival about homeschooling, instead she was getting a carnival of Christianity with a side dish of homeschooling thrown in.
Then I stumbled across this in a local paper.
Spiritual parenting, according to my Women's Study Bible notes, seeks to impart to children a love for Scripture, a commitment to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus and a link to an organized body of believers in which children can serve the Lord and be edified in the faith.
This type of influence in a child's life develops "little people" who are respectful of themselves and others; who appreciate opportunities afforded them and sacrifices made for them; and who become independent, confident, God-fearing adults who make positive contributions to this world.
If I am ever afforded an opportunity to question The Creator, my one criticism would be why are we allowed to become parents without first proving our worth? Why do so many get the opportunity to mess up children's lives when there are at least an equal number of spiritual, committed persons yearning for children, to no avail?
Apparently only people who meet the letter writers criteria for being "spiritual parents" would be allowed to have children in her 'perfect' world. I know many Christian parents who are so busy serving their God, they don't have time for their families. And I know many non-Christians that are wonderful parents. And personally I don't want children who are so afraid of God they are unable to think for themselves. Those parents who demand complete unquestioning obedience from their children are doing their children a huge disservice. Thinking is not a crime and children who are taught not to think for themselves but to blindly obey their parents, their pastors and other authority figures are in danger of coming into contact with an authority figure that abuses children. As adults they are in danger of throwing their life savings away because some TV Evangelist says, "GOD WANTS YOU TO SEND YOUR MONEY TO ME". After all if an authority figure says it; it must be true, I must do it, and I should just have faith.
But Christians don't have a monopoly on presuming to tell others how to raise children, Atheist, Richard Dawkins equated teaching your children your religious beliefs with child abuse. I fail to see how his desire to force Christians to give up their beliefs is any different then Christians who want to impose their beliefs on others. Both extremes are troubling.
After reflecting I realize that the homeschool blogs I enjoy most stay on the topic of homeschooling. The bloggers may share their religious beliefs or lack thereof, but their beliefs aren't the main topic of every post and they don't feel compelled to make me believe the same thing they do. They understand that it's OK to disagree with someone as long as you do it in a respectful manner. They understand that just because they believe something everyone else doesn't have to believe the same thing. They understand that we can be friends with people who have different beliefs then we do. I hope more of these bloggers will participate in the CoH. I hope we can share homeschooling ideas and support each other in our homeschooling journey. So let's make homeschooling the main dish, and our differing beliefs side dishes or even dessert.
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13 comments:
I think the difference with Dawkins is that your talking about an opinion of his that he'll offer up for discussion if asked or if you go read his book.
He is not imposing that view on anyone or engaged in any activity to shut down discussion of people who don't agree with him.
Anyway, I've been really irritated with some of the christian posts as well. In part for the reasons Unschooler was mentioning but also for the way they use christianity as a justification for what they do. If a scripture quote can be found to support an action, discussion stops. Not to mention the christianity presented is always of a particular brand.
I think you have hit the nail on the head. My grandfather,, who was a pastor, always told me that "those who needed to shout the loudest about their faith were those with the most doubts. But those with true faith let their light shine so that others were drawn to it."
This has stuck with me through the years,and I have to say I see more and more how true it is. Constant overfocusing on religious topic in homeschooling posts makes me cringe, for I wonder who they are really trying to convince!
Angela your grandfather sounds like a very wise man. I have never understood the 'need' of some Christian posters to drag God into every discussion. One blogger even drug God into a discussion on potty training???
Dawn, I read Dawkins book The God Delusion and I agreed with a lot he had to say; but I was totally turned off when he equated teaching your religious beliefs to your children with child abuse and brain washing.
If you notice they usually take the scripture quotes out of context. Many Christians have never read the whole Bible. They read the selected verses their pastor/Sunday School Teacher tells them too.
I was thinking about this more and I'm wondering if the answer isn't retreating or speaking less about homeschooling but for the rest of us to submit posts that talk more about how our liberal christianity/atheism/paganism/leftism/homosexuality/whatever affects our homeschooling.
In the face of pushy christianity the rest of us tend to step back. I've left more christian and homeschooling message boards then I can count. What if we advanced instead?
You have a point Dawn.
And we do need to speak up. Many people mistakenly think that only Christian Fundamentalist homeschool; because they are the ones that seem to have the loudest voice. We need to chime in with our differing viewpoints.
Hmmm, interesting food for thought. I find that I also enjoy blogs that have a particular focus (even if it's just the daily life of being a parent) and no ulterior motive.
(I found your blog through the Carnival of Homeschooling)
But with us, God is the most integral part of homeschooling and of parenting. "you can't have one without the other' in my book. There is no seperation between God and homeschooling... or between God and parenting. They are interwoven.
But I rarely blog about God. I tend to stick with 'what we did today'.
it's easier to just jot down the 'what we did' then to write inpeth about how our decisions was influenced by our love and belief in God.... I think if I have to spel it out, then it must not be showing in what we do... and in that case- we aren't doing it right.
Why can't Chritsian homeschoolers and nonChristian homeschooler get along. They both have great schooling ideas to share with one another.
maybe more nonchirstian homeschoolers need to sumbit carnival posts....
Kaber, you are right more non-Christian homeschoolers need to submit post and the Christian bloggers need to include their post when they host the Carnival We can all learn from each other.
I really liked your comment
"I think if I have to spell it out, then it must not be showing in what we do... and in that case- we aren't doing it right."
That sums it up for me nicely if you have to bash me over the head with how Christian you are in every sentence something is WRONG, I should be able to tell from your actions.
I can only speak for myself on this but I totally agree with Dawkins on the child abuse/brain washing issue. Children don't need (imo) to be force fed a religious viewpoint and then let loose on the world. That's what has created the Christian America that we are living in right now. I would love to see a World Religions class as an elective for high school students. Knowledge is power.
I think Dawkins' comments are misused too often. He is an intelligent man that is passionate about his "cause." He hopes to awaken some of the people that are open to change and to inform anyone who cares about the research he has done. I've never read a book on atheism that I agree with 100%. I think it's that way with any topic...at least for me.
I'm not saying that it is cruel to bring up children with religion. I just think that everyone should have a choice and most often children don't get the chance to make one. My son certainly is not an atheist. He is aware of my strong feelings but also has a good friend that is MUCH more religious than any family that we have met. There is nothing wrong with learning about all sides of the argument. Someday he'll be able to make a choice that he can stand behind. If he chooses religion, I'll support his decision.
One more thing...I have a mixed religious family. My father and I are the only admitted atheists. It is not the average Christian/Catholic etc that gets my blood boiling. It seems to be the scripture quoting, "you're damned to Hell" folks that irk me most. You don't need to put God into every move you make and I damn sure don't need to hear about it.
I understand what you are saying unschooler, and I agree with a lot of the things you said.
I consider myself a Christian, albeit a free thinking one. But the fundies push my buttons, so I can only imagine how much more they annoy you.
What gripes me is how the fundies blame every bad thing on 'sin', one of the Fundies in my homeschool group actually said "Katrina was God's punishment on the Gulf Coast for gambling and that the people that lost everything must have been sinning somehow/needed to be taught a lesson or God would have protected their homes.
I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her I thought she was nuts.
I too would would love to see a World Religions class as an elective for high school students.
We study World Religions, my eldest actually really liked the Kabbalah.
"What does nothing look like?"
I think Dawkins' point is that people are unlikely to become religious, given the alternatives that exist today, unless somebody introduces them to the idea of a deity pretty early in life. Obviously, it's possible to disagree, but it does seem that some of the fundies believe this idea. At least, I can't think of another explanation for their overprotective and intensive religious training of their young.
What amuses me about Dawkins is how he claims not to be trying to annoy or upset people, then homes in on the most controversial language he can find.
He actually admitted that some of his atheist colleagues had asked him why he was stirring the pot so to speak.
Wow! I feel as if you have taken my thoughts on this issue directly from my mind and typed them all onto your blog.
Needless to say, I agree.
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