LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY swisscelt)

x-posted to my journal.

Many of you have read my rants about the Christian homeschooling movement. Some of you may have been wondering why I rant about them so.

The Christian homeschooling movement disguises itself as a group of people interested in providing a valid alternative to the public schools, much like the thousands of people who have already decided to educate their children at home. Don't be confused on this point! I've known several people of good faith, with beliefs from a variety of religions including Christianity, to make the conscientious decision to homeschool. I applaud them. In fact, depending upon how this new school year progresses, I may or may not be among them. What separates the Christian homeschooling movement, then, from these homeschoolers who may just happen to follow Christ? The answer lies in the level of organisation placed in what is being taught homeschooled children. The Christian homeschooling movement is nothing short of theonomic indoctrination.

Take, for example, The Old Schoolhouse magazine. This is by no means a fringe journal. Currently, the publishers of The Old Schoolhouse are conducting a marketing campaign in conjunction with WorldNet Daily to provide subscribers of WorldNet's Whistleblower magazine with "an extraordinary package of FREE homeschooling products."

At first glance, this seems like a good thing. It appears to be little more than neo-conservatives' putting their money where their mouths are: The public schools are in horrible shape, and homeschooling remains a quite valid alternative to the increasing possibility that one's child will not receive "a free and appropriate education" as guaranteed by the US Supreme Court in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. Closer examination of both the offer and The Old Schoolhouse, however, reveals that this is not the case.

Subscribers to Whistleblower will receive, among other gifts, the following:

• A year's subscription to The Old Schoolhouse [more on that later]
  
• The Bible in Living Sound. This is not the complete Bible, of course, but is a collection of Bible stories on CD which will motivate your child to slay great Philistine warriors... or something like that.
  
• An issue of Creation magazine, from the scientific minds at Answers in Genesis Ministries.
  
• A book from Bob Jones ["yeah, I guess we'll admit blacks now"] University Press. The book, Songbird, is toted as "[h]istorical fiction for ages 9-12." Unfortunately, it's not the only fiction included with this offer.
  
• Last, and possibly least, "field trip videos" from Alpha Omega. Because nothing beats the real thing, except possibly setting your kids down in front of the ol' boob tube for a few hours.

All of this is offered as a "curriculum" for homeschooled students. With curricula such as this, who needs education?

But wait, there's more! I haven't even scratched the surface of that great periodical, The Old Schoolhouse. Amazingly, the periodical's site has crashed my computer about a half dozen times this morning, so do proceed with caution as you view the site.

The magazine's Statement of Faith says it all, really. On my journal, I further explore this incredibly long statement of faith, and what it means for theonomists.