Why I Believe in Distinctly Christian Education for My Children (and for Yours Too)
In this current cultural moment, a time when the far Left’s radical, trans-ideology is rearing its ugly head more than ever, inspiring some to commit atrocities such as the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the Annunciation School shooting, many parents may be again rightly thinking through the question of how they can best train their children up in the way they should go (Prov. 22:6). How do we as Christian parents not merely protect our children from attacks by such people, but far more importantly, protect our children from the ideology that is demonstrably destroying the hearts and minds of so many youths today. Asked more pointedly, should Christian parents allow their children to be educated in the American public education system, where much of this indoctrination is happening, or ought they to do all within their power to provide distinctly Christian education to their children?
In what follows, I want to share my conviction that Christian parents must provide distinctly Christian education for their children, since it is their unique calling to raise their children up in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” and not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers in that task. I will break this down into three parts, following my own journey towards this conviction.
A Child’s Education is the Parent’s Responsibility
Growing up, I attended Christian school kindergarten through 8th grade, was homeschooled for a couple of years, and then finished my time at another Christian high school. One might say I am biased as a result in favor of Christian education. However, I also am under no illusions as to what Christian education can and cannot do. Often in the discussions of whether Christians should send their children to a Christian school, stories are told of those who received a Christian education but later turned out badly or sinned grievously in some way. “See”, some will say, “they went to a Christian school and they turned out worse than many Christians I know who went to the public school.” These negative examples serve, for some, as a way to equalize both sides.
If even those with a Christian education can make huge mistakes and maybe not even be Christians at the end of it, what does it matter whether we have our kids in public school or Christian education? Having been under Christian education all through my life, for instance, did not prevent me from getting entangled in horrible sins in my youth and young adulthood. So, Christian education clearly wasn’t sufficient to save and reform me. So, what’s the point of it all?
I certainly had this question on my mind as I sought to repent and believe the gospel with regard to my own sin after all my education was said and done. It may have partly been due to my uncertainty regarding this issue that, when my own son was coming up to kindergarten age, led me to enroll him in the local public school. Then, like many others, I suspect, it was the increased government restrictions on children’s education that occurred during the COVID pandemic that made me pause and think, “Is this really what I want for my son?”
As I reflected more upon my responsibility as a father and as a Christian, it became clearer to me that my child’s education was one of the things that fell under my exclusive responsibility, not the government’s. I think the almost universal practice of delegating this responsibility to the government caused me, and I suspect many others, to forget that whether we delegate or not, God looks to us to raise our children, and their education is very much a part of this calling. In other words, God looks to me to see that my children are educated “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). This was the first step for me in my current conviction, realizing that I bore the responsibility of educating my children, that their education was not a disconnected thing from the “discipline and instruction of the Lord”, or “the way they should go”, which parents are to bring up their children in. When I took this first step, I suddenly realized that everything my child would be taught in school would be on me if I allowed it.
A Child’s Education is to be God-Centered
As I came to grips with this responsibility for the education of my children, I also began to further reflect on the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” which I am to provide them, and this became the second step towards my convictions around Christian education. Was the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” that I was to give to my children an isolated bit of information that could be provided in a neat and tidy way, separate and distinct from the study of other subjects like math and science? In other words, could I provide my children with the training they need as to the gospel and worldview of the Bible while also allowing them to learn other subjects of study from the world from those who do not know God? I had often compartmentalized in my mind the “discipline and instruction of the Lord”, thinking that it was a sort of spiritual understanding that I provide my kids, while everything else involving study of the world, etc., is more-or-less unrelated.
I thought, in other words, that the knowledge of God and the Bible is somewhat irrelevant to the study of math, science, history, and most other subjects. I was, in the words of Francis Schaeffer, thinking in parts rather than in wholes. I thought, perhaps like others, that as long as I corrected for my kids the “big” errors they might receive from a public education, teachings on macro-evolution, for instance, or teachings on sexuality, everything else would be neutral information that would be just as well received by my children from unbelievers as from believers. This is very flawed, and my understanding of the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” helped me see this.
According to commentators, the “paideia” of the Lord, in which believing parents are to raise their children, translated “discipline” in Ephesians 6:4, would have called to the mind of first century Christians the Roman “paideia” which was far from an isolated bit of information but rather referred to an enculturation, an all of life training which was what made one an ideal Roman citizen. For Paul to use this word would have communicated that, as Christians, we are to have a similar “all of life” worldview and training for our children. It is not enough to be given some isolated Bible studies on Sundays and then be taught to think and value things the way the rest of our culture does, Monday through Friday. No, Christian children are to be trained in the “paideia of the Lord”.
For those of us who are used to compartmentalizing our faith from other subjects, this may be the most difficult hurdle to overcome. For instance, does the study of math really require acknowledgement of God, and would a Christian educated by math from a non-Christian, for instance, really be worse off? One answer to this question comes from what Paul describes as the very nature of sin in Romans 1. When Paul explains the descent of mankind into sin, he describes a “failure to acknowledge God.” In other words, the very heart of sin is not first and foremost in breaking commands, getting the answers wrong to questions of sexuality or the design or origins of the universe; the heart of sin is failure to acknowledge God. We significantly underestimate the seriousness of sin when we say that God is irrelevant to the study of any part of his created universe. Thinking that God is irrelevant to math, science, art, history, or any other subject matter is the very heart and definition of sin, and the reason Paul says the wrath of God is coming upon the world.
I became convinced that in order to raise my children in a way faithful to the calling placed on me, I needed to teach them to view all things in acknowledgement of God and of the lordship of Christ; in other words, in the “paideia” of the Lord. There is no neutrality when it comes to education. Either I will train my kids to acknowledge God in all things, or I will train them to acknowledge God in some things and to ignore him in others.
You Should Not Be Unequally Yoked in Your Child’s Education
The final step that led me to the conviction that, as a Christian, I must choose distinctively Christian education for my children began as a question that naturally flowed from the first two convictions discussed above, and that was the question of who I want to partner with in raising or educating my children. Throughout history, people have delegated the teaching of their children to others, so their children can learn in group settings or be taught certain subjects by experts in a trade, for instance. However, for God’s people, the religious community, whether the synagogue or later the church, was the place where such education was often delegated. It is a very new phenomenon to have the state, the secular government, provide education for children. When I accepted that it is my calling to educate my kids, and that I must provide them an “all of life”, God-centered education, I began wondering who, if anyone, I would want to delegate some of this responsibility to.
For many, this is where homeschooling becomes a wonderful solution. There is either no delegation at all, or the delegation is very minor, one day a week, the kids join other homeschool kids, for instance, receiving teaching from others on particular subjects. For our situation, we were not equipped for homeschooling at that time, so we were looking for a delegation that looked like an actual “brick and mortar” school. As I’ve thought about the nature of this sort of delegation of a child’s education, which is a delegation of the parents’ role in raising their children, the more I think the term “partnering” is most appropriate. Raising children is such a primary responsibility for parents that whoever they choose to share in that responsibility is essentially their partner. One could even say they are metaphorically “yoked” together in the task. So, the question, for me, was did I want to partner with the state, with government public schools, or did I want to partner with other Christians in the raising of my children? When my calling specifically is to raise my kids “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”, who would best serve this aim and aid me as a partner in this? Would the government schools assist or deter in this pursuit? Would they teach my children to study all subjects as an act of worship and as part of their discipleship? Would they communicate a Christian worldview? Would they instruct my children in the values and character qualities I want my children to emulate?
The answers to these questions became clear as a resounding “no.” The government schools would not and could not do this.
Since 1 Corinthians 15:33 says that “bad company corrupts good morals,” I knew that a context where my children are surrounded by other children whose parents know the Lord would be essential. Furthermore, because the government schools do not promote the Christian faith, at best, they would teach my children raw data, but with the faulty assumption that God is irrelevant to the study of the world. Even if I found a public school that didn’t appear to teach the most demonic things often taught in public schools today, such as gender ideology, etc., my kids would be taught to view God as irrelevant to the study of his world, a premise that Scripture rejects. They would not, in other words, be raised in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, acknowledging him in all things. Is this the kind of partner I should have in the raising of my kids?
In Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul instructs Christians not to “partner” with unbelievers. And in 2 Corinthians 6, he cautions against being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers. Used often as verses to dissuade Christians from marriage to unbelievers, these verses actually havean application much broader than marriage. Their application is to any close partnership. I have come to see the partnership of educating and raising my children as equally significant and important as the partnership of marriage. In both cases, the partnership exists partly for the purpose of creating a family (i.e., to raise children), so Paul’s statement is relevant: “What fellowship has light with darkness?” When I delegate the education of my kids to others, I am essentially yoking with them in the work of raising my children. Will who I partner with be seeking to go the same direction I am called to go, bringing my kids towards the goal of the discipline and instruction of the Lord? If not, we are unequally yoked, and Paul’s demand that we not partner with them applies. This became my conviction, and so distinctly Christian education became the only option I could in good conscience provide for my children.
Although Proverbs 22:6 gives hope to parents regarding the God-centered education of their kids (“when he is old he will not depart from it”), we know that this is not an absolute, across-the-board guarantee. No, having one’s kids at a Christian school does not guarantee anything. The above three convictions, though, are what brought me to a place of conviction regarding my responsibility to do all in my power to provide Christ-centered education for my children. I became convinced that giving my children a Christ-centered education is first of all a matter of my own faithfulness to my calling as a parent, that it is a matter of teaching them to view all things with reference to the truth of God, and that the only ones I should partner with in this cause are those who share my faith in the Lord Jesus. Are there circumstances in which a public school may be the only option for some parents out there? I believe that may be the case. The above convictions, however, have led me to do all in my power to provide a distinctly Christian education for my children, and, I believe, they should motivate us all in the Church to do what we can to help other believers provide this same upbringing for their children.
