Dark Christianity
dark_christian
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May 2008
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dogemperor [userpic]
The Old [Home] Schoolhouse, part II

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY [info]swisscelt)

[x-posted by request]

As I mentioned previously, the Statement of Faith of The Old Schoolhouse magazine is incredibly long. So I can't quote the whole of it here. [I do, however, have it on file in case it should come up missing from their website.] I can't do the statement justice without quoting portions of it here. [This is covered under "fair use" criticism, yadda yadda.]

The first two paragraphs read like a juvenile interpretation of the Apostles' Creed. This is fair enough, as they do claim to be a Christian resource. Unfortunately, they don't stop there. They go on to state, "We believe that the Bible is the ONLY inerrant Word of God." Which Bible? [We'll see that below...] And what, then, shall we do with John 1:1-3, which explains that Christ, not the Bible, is the Word of God? Needless to say, this statement is "unscriptural".

Next, after they do nothing but restate Trinitarian doctrine in a manner which leaves no question on their stance, is a series of statements on the nature of Jesus Christ. The statements begin with the following: "We believe that Jesus Christ, Who is our Lord God, is fully God, yet fully man." Ah, yes... the doctrine of the hypostatic union. Again, this isn't terribly problematic for a Christian resource, but it is curious why they'd bother with such theological distinctions for a resource aimed at children.

They continue: "Without Jesus Christ, man cannot find eternal life, but will spend eternity apart from God, in suffering." Again, no scriptural basis can be found for this; in fact, it contravenes Revelation 20:13-14. "This eternal life with God is freely given of God, but must be accessed His way, which is through His son, our Lord Jesus Christ." If eternal life is "freely given" by an omnipotent being, there is very little one must do to access it. More theonomic double-speak.

Now begins the serious theological distinctions, which are not only grossly inappropriate for a children's resource, but in fact serve to distance the periodical from the majority of Christians: "We believe that man is in rebellion against God because of Adam's sin. Man's very nature is evil, and all are bound for hell, a place of eternal darkness and torment, unless the Father calls him." The technical term for this is preordination [also referred to as predestination], and is not acceptable to many Christian denominations. "We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those who are saved to the resurrection of life, and those who are lost to the resurrection of damnation." This is completely without scriptural justification, and is actually a modern theological invention.

Now that we've established this magazine as geared towards those predisposed to Calvinistic thinking, the Statement continues to reveal its true goal: Theonomy. "We believe that at the perfect time in history, God chose to reveal Himself, and to declare His will to His Church." To talk of "God's will" is to state what is and is not acceptable "before an angry god", to borrow the popular theonomic statement.

Maddeningly, the Statement returns to establish what is and is not a part of the Bible. "There are several books, commonly called the Apocrypha, which are not of divine inspiration, and are no part of the canon of Scripture. Therefore, they can not be used as an authority from which to draw from, in the Church of God." Sola scriptura and anti-Catholicism, all in one fell swoop! I suppose Catholic homeschoolers, who tend to use Bibles which include the Apocrypha, are just plain out of luck.

"It is therefore to be received as the highest authority, and can be depended on fully, without any supplementation." I think perhaps the editors forgot, at this point, that they're offering a magazine which is supposed to supplement the homeschoolers "Bible-based" curriculum. This, of course, highlights the inherent error in sola scriptura, not to mention the very notion that curricula may be based entirely upon "biblical" teachings.

The final four paragraphs (!) are merely restatements of the above, and serve no purpose other than to further drive home the notion that this is a magazine for specific Christian indoctrination. The editors, who'd already stated that they are not meant to minister, contradict themselves by concluding, "Please send us a note if you would like more information on spending eternity with God." Yeah... and if you feel like spending what will seem like an eternity listening to the battle plans of Christian theonomists.