Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Education Resolution Redux

My post on the education resolution to be brought to the SBC in San Antonio this June stimulated a great response and my friend Les and I discussed the "do-ability" of this resolution. I suspect I came off as a dreamer, anticipating that churches could work together, pool resources, and make such a proposal work over the course of several, even many years. Les took the opposite tact and remains a bit skeptical. He said in the comment thread, "Unfortunately, it would take some very unselfish churches to accomplish it. It grieves my heart to say this but I don't see that many unselfish SBC churches around."

After mulling it over for a day, Les is probably right. There are not very many unselfish churches around; a sad indictment but one that is nonetheless true. After a thread's worth of discussion, I also became doubtful and I tend to be fairly optimistic. However, E. Ray Moore, outspoken proponent of pulling out of public schools, also dreams of a day when such a proposal may work. He is quoted in a recent World Net Daily article,

Moore told WND that for the most part, there would be nothing simpler than Christians creating a parallel school system.

"The resources are there," he said. "Church buildings lie fallow five days a week, so the buildings are there. The people are there. The children are there. Budgets are in place in churches. In many cases there are Christian public school teachers who could come over. Everything is there, in place, available, right now as I speak."

Add to that the availability of Internet, satellite and other course options, and there you have a school, he said.

"But they do not have a biblical theology and the will to do it," he said.

Well, there you have it.

As far as declaring that the current problem is a theological one, he may be hermeneutically off-base. He quotes Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." He then claims that many Christians are disobedient to Scripture because this command includes education. He goes on to say,
"This should be part of their witness, along with Bible study, faithful attendance, and tithing [Oh my!]," Moore said. "That's what we're teaching. That's sort of made us a little different. We're teaching this as part of biblical obedience."
That "Oh my!" was from me. I won't argue that he is probably right about churches possessing the wherewithal to accomplish such a monumental task, but here is where I would like to open this up for discussion. Where do you see flaws in Moore's reasonings, if any?

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