What kind of theologian are you?

You scored as Martin Luther. The daddy of the Reformation. You are opposed to any Catholic ideas of works-salvation and see the scriptures as being primarily authoritative. Martin Luther 93% Karl Barth 87% Anselm 80% John Calvin 67% Friedrich Schleiermacher 60% Jonathan Edwards 53% Augustine 40% Charles Finney 33% Paul Tillich 13% J�rgen Moltmann 0% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Hat tip to Scott at Transformatum for this quiz.

Luckenbach, Texas

by Waylon Jennings

There only two things in life that make it worth livin'
That's guitars that tune good and firm feelin' women
I don't need my name in the marquis lights
I got my song and I got you with me tonight
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love
Chorus:
Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us fueding
like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs
and blue eyes cryin' in the rain out in Luckenbach Texas
ain't nobody feelin' no pain
So baby let's sell your diamond ring
Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away
This coat and tie is choking me
In your high socitey you cry all day
We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones
Four car garage and we're still building on
Maby it's time we got back to the basics of love
Chorus:
Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us fueding
like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs
and blue eyes cryin' in the rain out in Luckenbach Texas
ain't nobody feelin' no pain
Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us fueding
like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs
and blue eyes cryin' in the rain out in Luckenbach Texas
ain't nobody feelin' no pain

Public vs home vs private continued...

DISCLAIMER: I THINK IT SORTOF MAKES SENSE BUT THIS ISN'T AS COHESIVE AS I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE AND I RAMBLE A BIT. PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE.

DISCLAIMER #2: I DON'T HAVE CHILDREN (YET). I HOPE TO ONE DAY SOON BUT DON'T YET.

CagerMania brought up an interesting point while commenting on a previous post about the PCA resolution which failed at General Assembly.

Cager said...

Don't know if higher education was mentioned in the resolution, but I attended a public university and have never been more challenged and strengthened in my faith by any other setting.

Higher ed wasn't mentioned specifically in the resolution but was referenced by the author of the resolution when interviewed by WorldNetDaily, but only to make the point that the PCA values Christian education enough at the collegiate level to maintain its own institution.

Warhurst says the denomination stresses that there is a difference between the education offered at its college, Covenant College, and secular institutions, and the same argument should hold for K-12 schooling.

So Warhurst didn't directly address colleges. But I think Cager's point can be made to apply to lower levels too.

I did not receive a Christian education in elementary or middle or high school or college. I went to a private Mississippi 'Academy' (one of those formed in reaction to racial integration of the public school system) and later a 'public' state-funded magnet/boarding school for math & science.

I attended the same public university as Cager. I actually became a Christian while at that University... God used professors, friends, fraternity brothers and a campus ministry to show me who He is and who I am and why I need Christ. God being God, He can use any circumstance to gather in His sheep and in fact uses "...all things ...for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).

So, Cager's point is valid. Someone who has been taught the foundations of the faith can go to a public school (college or high school or maybe even middle school) and be challenged and consequently be strengthened in their faith. AND not just that but even pagans can go to public institutions and come away Christians (I did and I'm sure countless others have as well).

But adult Christians with children are commanded to "bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Eph 6:4). We are also told in Proverbs 9:10 that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." And Deuteronomy 6:6-9 tells us:

⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The point being (and I think this is a point that the authors of the resolution were making) that children only when properly equipped/educated should be sent into the world bearing the good news. Sending a young child to a secular school where they will be taught that the Truth is false and that the false is truth is very dangerous, especially when they have not yet learned the foundations of the faith. At best parents will spend alot of time "un-teaching" them what they learned or at worst the children will buy into the SH worldview. To borrow language from the resolution:

The public school system does not offer a Christian education, but officially claims to be "neutral" with regard to Christ, a position that Christ Himself said was impossible (Luke 11:23), and

Whereas, The public schools are by law humanistic and secular in their instruction, and as a result the attending children receive an education without positive reference to the Triune God

BTW, just so we're clear here Luke 11:23 says "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters." Those are words spoken by Christ incarnate. If the government schools are neutral, then by Christ's logic the government schools are against him.

So, the question becomes many faceted:

• At what point is a child ready to face/attend an institution that promotes a secular humanist worldview?
  
• Should we send children to private Christian schools or homeschool until a certain age/maturity level to see to it that they are equipped with the full armor of God and then consider public education?
  
• Is our chief aim to raise children who will be economically successful or who will be Godly?
  

More on public schools

PCA General Assembly defeated the resolution encouraging officers and members to remove their children from government schools.

JollyBlogger a.k.a. David Wayne (pastor of Glen Burnie Evangelical Presbyterian Church-PCA in Glen Burnie, MD) began a series of posts here discussing the issue. I was especially encouraged by this:

The language of his resolution was the language of encouragement, not binding law. In other words, his intention was to offer what amounts to pastoral advice, not a law. This was not presented as something that was to be binding on the conscience of the member of the PCA. I did not speak to him personally at the Assembly, but from listening to his humble and thoughtful presentation of his views I understood his intentions to be those of warning parents about the dangers of public schools and asking the denomination to encourage, not order, parents to pull their kids out of public schools. I can't envision Rev. Warhurst or his compatriots attempting to bring church discipline on those who failed to heed his/their encouragement.

Anyhow, this discussion will go on for quite some time. I lean more toward the withdraw from gov't schools side of things but appreciate that there are challenges to both home and Christian schooling. It will be interesting to read/hear what people think on this issue.

B

Lame internet quiz of the month: What kind of dog are you?

Some of the client folks were taking this quiz today. I was relatively pleased w/ my results.

English Foxhound.
Prime function: to hunt foxes alongside mounted huntsmen.
Personality: Strong, lively & noisy. Not kept as pets.

I think it fits.

Click here and then click on the WHAT DOG ARE YOU? link. Post what you come up with.

B

I can't drive 55

Political insight from Doug Wilson.

To change the metaphor, Democrats advocate driving us off the cliff at 80 mph. The Republicans want to go 65. One of the funniest things in the world to watch is any debate between people who believe that our current two-party system is anything but a Mutt and Jeff show.

B

And the homschoolers said AMEN

A resolution was introduced today by a pastor at the Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly that encourages officers and members to remove their children from government schools. This is just a motion and not an official denominational statement.

I doubt that this will even get voted on this year (sounds like it will go to committee) and even if it does go to vote it will likely fail. But the language of the resolution is compelling. It will be interesting to see what sort of discussion this generates.

Link here for the WorldNetDaily article and here for the PCAGA blog entry.

What do you think... is the resolution well written? Is it possible to send your children to government schools and raise them to be Godly young men & women? Is it optimal to do so?

UPDATE 6/16/05 12:22 PM CST: Lost of interesting comments here and here on the merits of this issue.

I'm Not From Here

By James McMurty

(chorus)
I'm not from here
I just live here
grew up somewhere far away
come here thinking I'd never stay long
I'd be going back soon someday
it's been a few years
since I got here
seen 'em come and I've seen 'em go
crowds assemble, they hang out awhile
then they melt away like an early snow
onto some bright future somewhere
down the road to points unknown
sending postcards when they get there
wherever it is they think they're goin'
I'm not from here
I just live here
can't see that it matters much
I read the papers and I watch the nightly news
who's to say I'm out of touch
nobody's from here
most of us just live here
locals long since moved away
sold the played-out farms for parking lots
went off looking for a better way
onto some bright future somewhere
better times on down the road
wonder if they ever got there
wherever it was they thought they'd go
hit my home town
a couple years back
hard to say just how it felt
but it looked like so many towns I might've been through
on my way to somewhere else
I'm not from here
but people tell me
it's not like it used to be
they say I should have been here
back about ten years
before it got ruined by folks like me
we can't help it
we just keep moving
it's been that way since long ago
since the stone age, chasing the great herds
we mostly go where we have to go
onto some bright future somewhere
down the road to points unknown
sending post cards when we get there
wherever it is we think we'll go

Junkmail Chapter One

This is one of the most moving essays I have read (certainly of late, maybe ever). It speaks to me on many, many levels and frankly much of it I don't understand.

I think I'll read it again and again. I admire its brutal honesty. I empathize with longing to be loved and not knowing how to really love. I want to learn what he has learned.

If you have time (it isn't short) give it a read and let me know what you think, what strikes you, if it speaks to you at all, etc...

B

NW 952; 6/6/05

Raindrops run like
Tears across the window
Gray clouds.
Rising.
Blue Sky, White Tops. Water below. Bright sun in the eastern sky.
Northward. Glimmering.
Hardscape. Blemishes on the ground.
Shadows of towering clouds.
I am just starting to live, yet I am dying. Or both?

Bayou Barataria

Batch, Bubba, Skip & Cap'n Nick along with our trout. We cooked 'em that night.

B