When You Rise Up

For R.C. Sproul Jr., "the issue of education is always the heart" and "education is discipleship." Taking his cue from the Great Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), he argues that parents are the only fit (and indeed, God-appointed) educators of their children, responsible not simply to teach them how to read and write but to train their hearts and minds in godliness.

In fact, he seems at times to go so far as to suggest character-development and doctrine are the only appropriate elements of any child's curriculum, and that academic study is irrelevant at best, and at worst pernicious. He's quick to say that's not the case, that academic excellence is a logical result of the pursuit of spirituality, but often his protestations fall flat.

Especially after he sets up a false dichotomy like this—would you rather, he asks, have a child who graduates Harvard at the top of his class to become involved with the Council for Secular Humanists, or one who never finishes high school and becomes a godly garbageman leading his family in virtue and righteousness. Shortly thereafter he hurriedly admits we don't have to make that choice, but why bring up such an absurd analogy in the first place?

Like many statements throughout When You Rise Up, it's hard to say. One gets the impression Sproul wants homeschooling to be right because it's the way he's chosen to educate his children, but doesn't really have a firm ideological basis for doing so. He camps on the Deuteronomy passage, referring back to it whenever he's at a loss, and recycles arguments over and over like an Irishman protesting his own innocence.

There's a lot to agree with here. Sproul affirms that any subject, even math, is objective rather than neutral because when properly taught it evidences God's truth. To a large extent his basic position that education is primarily about raising children with godly character is an excellent position to espouse—we would simply hope that it could be done better, with less dogmatism and more reasonable and Scriptural proofs.

  When You Rise Up

Albanyaloe of South Africa, 10/10/2011

If you're considering homeschooling, then this may be the book to read. It hits right to the core Biblical reasons for homeschooling. The author explains how homeschooling fulfills God's commands to parents in Deuteronomy 6: 6-7, and expounds practically how you go about living it out. I recommend this book to all new homeschoolers, but also to those who need new vision and purpose.

Whilst I did not agree with everything the author wrote (does one ever?), we found this book helped us in beginnning our journey to homeschool when we started years ago. We certainly did not find it a list of difficult things to do, rather, it enabled us to form our own vision for homeschooling, and gave us confidence that Gods Word is the same yesterday, today and always. I see a previous reviewer found some dubious information about the author. I have not searched for any, but we received our copy free from a company called Doorposts may years ago. They heartily recommended it.

  Keep Homeschooling in Focus

Daniel of Oregon, 4/16/2011

This book is a good refresher in the reasons for Christian homeschooling. R.C. Jr. does a good job of reminding us that if we have children, God will help us teach them well, and that their relationship with God should be our first priority, even though academics are also important.
He also gives some Bible-based structure for what we should teach, including "What is God?" "What has God done?" and "What does He require?"
As someone who already plans on homeschooling, I found this book encouraging. It reminds me that we are involved in a "culture war," and that the education issue is a very important battle for Christians. The state educational system in our current culture, with all its resources and "experts," cannot and will not do the job God has called ME to do: teach my children to know, love, and serve their Creator.

  Poor Argumentation

Mystie Winckler of WA, 2/18/2011

This is one of those books that makes me not want to homeschool (or make my own bread, or get chickens, and certainly never sew my own dresses), just so it’s clear I am not “one of those people” who think this lifestyle is the One Way of godliness.

His one argument is that Deut. 6 commands parents — and only parents — to teach their children from the time they rise up until the time they lay down (thus excluding sending them to school). Therefore, if God has given you children, he has also called — and commanded — you to homeschool. He hasn’t given you the responsibility of educating your children, it isn’t only that He will hold you accountable for how your children are educated, but He requires that you be the sole educator of your children.

Every counter example or position against his own argument was a complete straw man. He never seriously engaged with any arguments against his own, and his conviction that God requires homeschooling meant that every answer came down to, “We must believe God rather than man.” It was his trump card, and he pulled it out every time — who needs compelling and balanced persuasion when God Has Spoken?

I didn’t actually disagree so much with many of his statements, as much as the way he presents them and argues for them. On many of his positions — such as education is not and cannot be neutral — I don’t disagree, but I did not find the way he argued for them to be compelling at all. And many of the things he said along the way bothered me immensely. For example, he said one much not know more than the one being taught in order to teach. There are better ways to alleviate perceived inadequacies, but he goes so far as to deny inadequacy is relevant. Inadequacy in loving God, loving your children, or disciplining your children are problems every parent must work against. Academic inadequacy? Sproul Jr. simply shrugs his shoulders. Doesn’t really matter, so long as you teach them to be faithful.

His rhetoric is sloppy, and his whole style throughout is conversational. Conversation allows for tangents to not be tied in, for segues to be unclear, for arguments to be personal rather than logical.

This book will encourage and strengthen those who already agree with Sproul Jr.’s vision of the family, but I can’t see it actually evangelizing non-homeschoolers (which he admits is his goal — even using the word ‘evangelize’).

  Good Book, Bad-boy Author

Schoolingathome, 10/17/2008

I used to think this was a good book. Then I loaned my copy of When You Rise Up to a friend. She did a web search on R.C. Sproul Jr's name and what a surprise that turned out to be! I didn't know that he'd been defrocked, and he was defrocked over some really bad things too. I won't recommend his book again to anyone else. Too much risk of causing confusion with my friends that I'm trying to talk in to homeschooling. There are better books by people who haven't been in so much trouble.