The Opposition's Trumpet Call

I occasionally channel surf before bed, just to remind myself of the vacous content of today's programming. If I had a nickel for every crime show, I would retire very soon. However, last week, something struck me as different as I clicked from one crime scene to another. A commercial caused me to backpedal and watch with much greater horror than any of the murders on CSI. What could overcome such numbness to violence that our TVs produce?......

The 30 seconds of fear were words spoken in the language of human rights for children. These words to the untrained ear tweak the heartstrings like a St. Jude Children's Hospital commercial. To my ears, trained to discern the deception inherent in the words, "child rights", horror resounded as I realized the propaganda was beginning in earnest. This commercial if left unchallenged would convince millions of Americans, even parents, that we must join a false battle for children's futures. The need for the message of parental freedoms and the need for their defense echoed like a rumbling earthquake in my soul.

Trumpets are sounding for our opponents, calling others to join their fight. Will you join me in blowing our own call to arms?

To see the website procaiming the commerical's deception, go HERE. You will find the same rights that the UN CRC unabashedly promotes. They are not rights... They are definitely not freedoms... THEY ARE SLAVERY to the STATE!

Good Morning Snow!

Good morning,

As many of you look out onto snowy landscapes this morning in Tennessee, don't forget to thank God for the beauty of creation and his tender mercies. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Also, don't forget to thank God for the freedoms which we now enjoy, the freedom to pass a family heritage of faith and values to our children. Not all people across the globe enjoy this freedom nor have all our ancestors across the timeline. Finally, don't forget that we are not promised this freedom. A formidable adversary is working to ensnare our children in deceptive philosophies, if not outright destroy their faith before it even blooms.

Simultaneously, Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6 leave us no excuse for complacency. We are commanded to instruct our children with the promise of God's effective Word, expecting the bearing of fruit where we diligently sow the seed of the Word. May we never grow weary in this calling and may we never forget to be eternally vigilant in protecting this freedom. Lord, forgive us where we have forgotten, where we have neglected, where we have disobeyed, and give us renewed vision as well as strength in obeying your clear command.

The Coming Persecution!

Two lines of reasoning have so far failed in their attempts to crush the homeschooling movement. One claimed that homeschooling was far inferior academically...Ha-Ha! The other claimed that homeschooled children are not socialized...another hearty laugh. Both of these claims have been thoroughly debunked in recent years.

HSLDA's Nov./Dec. edition of the Homeschool Court Report describes "The Third Wave of homeschool persecution" with breathtaking quotes of legal experts opposed to homeschooling, particularly Christian homeschooling. Rather than my choosing from among these quotes and possibly distracting you from going to read the article yourself, I will simply urge you to go to THE ARTICLE by providing enough of an appetizer to push you over the "I'll look at it later hump".

In short, the legal community, mainly international human rights proponents, has begun to express their long held views regarding parents' rights to teach their own children Christian views of right and wrong. We are finding these opinions in the academic legal writings of many human rights advocates. Soon they will begin pressing these views in the court room and the legislatures. They state unequivocally that the teaching of views adherent to absolute truths, i.e. there is only one true religion and all others are false, should not be permitted.

Will parents and the church sit back and wait for this to happen? Better yet, will you sit back and wait while the state comes to replace your children's Christian worldview and their view of tolerance and relativism? Please take a small step forward today in this battle by either forwarding this to a friend or sharing the linked article with another parent. Your participiation in this work is vital to its success.

"A Quiet Threat to Homeschooling"

An undated article caught the attention of a friend recently. This article, as titled above, describes an intellectual trend that may catch many parents (not only homeschoolers) off guard. The article addresses a simple idea: "Children have a constitutional right to learn about beliefs and ways of life other than those of their parents, and the state has a duty to secure that right for them." Rob Reich, a political science and education professor at Stanford University, argued exactly that at the 2001 Convention of the American Political Science Association.


If you don't read the entire article, at least consider the pieces I have included here. The following quote is directed at homeschoolers, but it takes little imagination to see how all parents would be affected by the application of this philosophy in our legal system.

"In his writings, Reich proposes that homeschooling should be monitored by the state to ensure that parents teach their children beliefs and lifestyles that they may oppose - that parents may even believe to be evil."

A reviewer of Reich's book on Amazon said it well in describing the purpose of this philosophy:

“The leading goal of education is to develop autonomy in children.”

This is the worldview which confronts our parenting, our children, and the future of our families' coming generations. Will you please begin to pray and then take up your battle armor?

Part 8: The Role of the State in Raising Children

The Bible only permits the state to have the role of punishing wrong doers in Romans 13. The state does have a duty to protect children from criminal actions, but it does not have the jurisdiction to dictate how children are raised in a non-criminal family environment. This idea of jurisdiction is similar to the theology of Abraham Kuyper, a great Dutch theologian and politician from around 1900. He separated the spheres of authority between the family and the state, as well as other spheres of authority based on his study of the Bible. While he saw God as ruling over all of life, different spheres had their own jurisdictions and hierarchies of earthly authorities. Church, family, the state, labor, and other areas of life were mostly interdependent but separate spheres. The family sphere, thanks to our lackadaisical attitude, has allowed intrusion inch by inch over many decades. The state should not intrude into another sphere no more than the church should run the state nor the family run the church. This is even more true in our own contemporary culture as the state becomes more secular.

Raising children is a religious enterprise which if entrusted to a secular government will fail to produce religion except worship of the state. Not only will the secular state not teach any form of religion, it will teach against religion. There is not neutrality in regards to what is taught in school. Either all things are taught as relating to God as creator and father. Or they are taught to either replace God or to ignore God. An education neutral to all religion is thus atheistic by definition and practical implication. Furthermore, one of the mantras of our culture is tolerance. Feigned neutrality and tolerance go hand in hand. Teaching all religion is seen as good, all except one, Christianity. Christianity is viewed as intolerant and therefore its true form cannot be taught as children must be free to choose for themselves. Since, in their view, there is no private sphere of the family, all is public and open to their regulation. They are compelled not by neutrality, but by anti-Christian intent.

In summary, from a Biblical and Christian perspective, it should be abundantly clear that parents are Biblically commanded to raise and educate children, not the secular civil government or state. With this Biblical foundation in the forefront, I want to further clarify our parental freedoms from a legal standpoint.

Part 7: Biblical Basis For Parenting, Section Three

With all this in mind, what is the purpose of this command? The purpose is simply the glorification of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost through the salvation and sanctification of our children by the means of parents. We are the means to this end even as we work our own salvation with fear and trembling. Therefore it is Biblical that parents educate, train, and discipline their children I order to obey God and to glorify Him.

Now, consider a tangential question to stimulate though along the lines of why I writing this piece. “What if the civil authority interferes with the ability to carry out this command?” I say that we must defend the family sphere and say no to Caesar. Peter and Paul both exercised civil disobedience when told to stop preaching the gospel. We are likely reaching the point where the government will soon tell us to stop preaching the gospel to our children. Many are already advocating to prohibit parent’s religious education. What will we do then? Some will say that tomorrow has enough worries of its own, “what about now?” Should we try to stop this before it comes to requiring outright civil disobedience? Do you tell your kids to toe the line of sin or to stay three steps back. Why would we want to allow the legal situation to reach that point.

My actions are my attempt to fulfill this command of training my children. I am not claiming that my specific methods of defending my parental freedoms are explicitly Biblically commanded. However, I believe an answer from parents is demanded regarding how they raise their children. We will answer to God for our parenting. Later, I will elaborate on how we can prevent the educational climate from going too far.

Part 6: Biblical Basis For Parenting, Section Two

If that is not clear enough, read Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Obviously, being from the Old Testament, it was directed at the Israelites. Can we then just ignore it today? Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to uphold it in Matthew 5:17-20. I believe that the principle of this command is still binding on parents based on Ephesians 6 and numerous other verses in the Bible. Therefore, parents today are still bound to teach the next generation born into their family. These scripture references clearly indicate that God’s commands include religious instruction as we see in these verses. By the description given, this is more than just sending them to Sunday School or vacation Bible School, but the responsibility of parents in the midst of daily life. Sunday School and VBS are not inherently wrong, just inadequate for obedience if parents ignore actively participating in the religious education of their children.

In order to provide more New Testament scripture, read I Timothy 3:2,4,and 5 “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach … He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” Unless we are willing to read this as saying that only deacons and elders must know how to manage their own household, we are bound to strive for obedience to this command. Digging deeper into the original working is once again helpful. “Managing his own household” comes from prostEnai, or to “preside over”. The definition of “preside” is “to exercise guidance, direction, or control” (Merriam Webster Free Dictionary). There are other verses I could mention to further solidify the claim that parents are commanded to nurture, train, teach, and to preside over their children. I hope that these are enough to convince you of your Biblical duty.

Message from my newsletter....

COPIED from my newsletter, (no time to edit)

Good morning,
I just sent out a newsletter in the last few days, but I am writing this because today is election day. I could endorse specific candidates, but instead I want to focus only on principles in this newsletter. Candidates will come and go, but principles, which guide our lives and which should guide our votes, should remain steadfast and based on truth. Therefore, this election is no different than any other election. Each opportunity that God affords us to cast our vote, is an opportunity to influence not only our future, but the future of generations to come. Each election is an opportunity, or maybe better yet, a DUTY to vote on the principles which guide our lives all other days of the year. Here is my advice for you today:
First, consider your principles and the basis for them. For my family, the basis is the Word of God. Therefore, one of the principles that will guide my vote is how the result of the election will affect my freedom to follow Ephesians 6:4. Will the elected official protect my freedom to raise my children by Biblical truth or will the official restrict it?
Second, study the candidates by not only what they say, but what they have done. Their character is just as important as what they say, if not more so. Without a trustworthy character, their words ring a hollow tone of false hopes, if not outright deception. Ask yourself if you will continue to have freedom of directing your children's upbringing under their authority. Your vote has consequences.
Finally, only after you consider this, should you leave your home in order to vote. Don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that this is the only rule by which to measure a candidate. I am just stating my firm conviction that in the long run, this standard is one of the most important criteria to consider.

Part 4 of Many: Nothing New Under the Sun

A little research will quickly reveal how this trend has been growing for decades, even centuries. However, after years of incrementally slow changes, political forces are now moving faster and attempting to solidify a legal foundation for their philosophy of parenting. This is done in the name of “we’re from the government and we are here to help”. They claim to be championing the cause of abused and oppressed children across the globe. Many are even brazen enough to champion protection from parents by claiming exaggerated statistics about child abuse.
In order to combat this intrusion and thus defend our children, you must understand each of the following aspects of this issue. First, you must understand the Biblical basis of your parental calling and duty. This is not simply a “be a parent because it benefits you” situation. You have a command from God to bear direct responsibility for your children throughout their formative years. Next, you must understand your constitutional rights and the legal history of our country’s family law. This provides confidence in your legal standing and weapons for the battle at hand. From there, a necessary ingredient is a clear vision of the worldview behind this push to remove parental influence. You must know your adversary, their motives, their methods, their logic, their fears, and their weaknesses. Along with this understanding, you must read and know the details of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This treaty, in all its proclaimed good will, is the tangible manifestation of the worldview above. It is one of their most dangerous weapons. With all this information in your head, you must then press a little further into the issue to understand the political situation which makes this worldview potentially implementable. Finally, with such wisdom of the adversary, you must do more than respond with a reflexive cry of frustration or anger. Parental Rights.Org has formulated a response that requires mass participation by parents through both a concerted voice of opposition and individual behaviors that will synergize to stop this attack on our children in its tracks. You must understand the logic of the response and your necessary involvement. Then you must fulfill your calling as a parent with these weapons of knowledge and wisdom in an epic battle for the hearts, souls, and minds of your children

Part 3 of Many: Introduction to the issues facing American Parents

The simple, cold, hard truth is that the traditional view of parenting is under frontal assault. What is this traditional view in danger of passing away with the hula hoop? The American tradition of parenting has long viewed parents as free, within the bounds of the law, to raise their own children according to their values and beliefs. Only clearly proven criminal behavior, proven by due process, terminated a parent’s right to direct their children’s education and upbringing. This traditional view clearly finds its roots in the Bible and is evident across even other cultures and throughout history.
Contrasting this view, which most of you probably hold, is the view held by many in positions of governmental power or by so called child experts. As the quiz in Part 2 of this series and even an hour of research into this issue proves, these leaders and experts believe that they have a right and a duty to intrude into your family’s parenting practices. Many want to dictate increasingly intrusive regulations for how parents raise their children and what parents teach their children. In the realm of education, the National Education Association and the US Dept. of Education currently decide what children must learn in public schools. Through their overpowering financial influence on textbook publishers, they also indirectly guide the curriculum of many private schools. These decisions involve not only subjects like math or reading, but morals like tolerance and sexual values. Together with doctors, bureaucrats, and vaccine producers, schools press parents into vaccine administration through campaigns of fear. (Disclaimer: some vaccines are good, some I question. Do the research yourself. I am not advocating for or against any vaccine and will not answer any specific questions on vaccines). Child Protective Services and Department of Health and Human Services want to tell you how you discipline your children or at least fear their actions. Certain leaders proclaim that a village is needed to raise your child. Against this notion, consider the idea of children being raised by a “tribe”? A tribe would simply be a group of individuals which the parents choose to relate with their children, rather than a bureaucrat or group only related by proximity instead of shared values? Finally, the United Nations refuses to be left out of this big government intrusion. They want to force our federal government to teach the values of tolerance of immoral behaviors through their Convention on the Rights of the Child and their UNESCO Sex Education guide.

Part 2 of Many, A Little Parental Rights Quiz

PART 2
We often need a significant jolt of fear, a rather sour taste of anxiety to recognize danger which has stealthily approached us in our blind spots. Parents across America are now sporadically receiving such jolts and developing such anxiety as they are personally faced with governmental attempts to intrude into family decisions. Our national office has pieced together a little quiz for those needing their own jolt of reality.

1. True or False: A mother in Minnesota was told that she could not access the medical records of any of her children 11 years old or older, or discuss her child's health with the physician, without obtaining her child's permission.

2. True or False: A mother in Illinois was twice refused her request to opt her daughter out of sexual education lectures that she found objectionable.

3. True or False: A mother was refused her 13-year-old daughter's grades when she enrolled her in an algebra class.

4. True or False: In most states, you will be denied access to library information about your children, including the titles of books which are accumulating late fees.
For the answers to this quiz and even more questions that will rattle your false sense of security, go HERE.

(Return soon for part 3....)

Silent, but Urgent Threat to Parental Rights

Very few recognize the slow, yet continual erosion of parent’s rights by many forces in our government at local, state, and federal levels. The erosion has occurred without fanfare and, what little media attention it garners, usually casts the parents in a negative light or takes only the most egregious examples of bad parents to make the point against all parents. Even when parental rights were restored in some cases, the media often still accused the parents of wrongdoing. Often the media would lament that the child protective workers just couldn’t get enough evidence to prove the parent’s guilt. The media never assumes that maybe the “protective” workers were not so innocent and the accused parents were not so “guilty”. Besides such individual cases and the overgeneralizations, dangerous court precedents are being set one case at a time, usually disregarded by the media as unimportant. If that is not enough, bills are working their way into laws which erode parental control over education, healthcare, religion, and other important areas. Slowly the heat is being turned up on parents wading in the waters of our nation’s culture. Those simmering parents must realize the urgency of the next few degrees of heat that will bring the legal waters to a boiling point and will mean the end of parenting in America as we know it.

Why do the supporters of government-controlled parenting enjoy the silence and stealth? In the quiet, they can slowly turn up the heat one degree at a time without anyone taking much notice. American parents just learn to accept the warmer water as being natural since they trust the government to do what is best. The supporters set up law after law, one court precedent after another, until, with a simple tweak of one more degree, everything boils and American parents are stunned to find themselves in boiling water, unable to escape. If parents saw the final goal held by these forces or read the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) with open eyes of understanding, they would protest with outrage. The UN CRC aids our understanding because it is the most tangible manifestation of the philosophy that government knows what is best for children and should overrule parents in their decisions for their own children. As it is now, if no parent reads the recipe in that treaty, we will all suffer a common demise of our parental rights in this legal environment.

Why is it urgent? The US State Department is processing this treaty as fast as Senator Barbara Boxer can push them. She wanted to present it to the US Senate for a 2/3’s ratification vote in April of this year. The State Department thankfully wanted time to process it properly. Senator Boxer and others such as our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, believe that their long awaited dream of ratifying this treaty by 67 Senate “yes” votes is ripe for the picking. Furthermore, our president and many in his chosen administration believe that it is a disgrace that America has not yet signed this treaty. Even though this treaty hands over state and national sovereignty unconstitutionally, they will do so and act “as if” it is constitutionally allowed. Meanwhile, outside Washington D.C., many groups are building momentum to help push this through the Senate. They have held conferences, raised funding, and started grassroots campaigns. No punches are being pulled in this battle for who controls the future of our children.

In summary, supporters enjoy the relative silence compared to the roar surrounding other government issues facing Americans and their fading liberties right now. They benefit from American parent’s deafness and ignorance towards this crucial issue. Yet the situation is growing more and more urgent as each day passes without American parents awakening to this threat, a threat that is ready to boil over at any minute.

(Return soon for part 3 of the series which discusses the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child itself.)