Only the last chapter of Why Christian Kids Need Christian Education (a title nearly half the length of the book) is devoted explicitly to persuading Christian parents to get their kids out of government schools, though the rest of the book is laying a foundation for author Doug Wilson to make his case on.
A lot of vocabulary specific to Reformed covenant theology and presuppositional apologetics makes its way into this brief tract, but never pretentiously. Wilson makes his points theologically, and since these are his starting points, they naturally inform everything else he has to say.
He begins by showing the difference between Christian and secular epistemology (how we know things), the nature of human nature, what a worldview is (it's more than just how you think), and the difference between natural and special revelation. All of this is very sound, but none of it is difficult or complicated.
What may be difficult is to accept everything Wilson says as biblically supportable, but it certainly is. He does make a couple unfavorable asides about homeschooling, and he is arguing exclusively for the enrollment of Christian kids into Christian (presumably Classical) schools, but his doctrinal underpinnings and arguments are virtually unassailable.
Learning is not a neutral territory of facts and data. Children are shaped by what they learn, and if they're being force-fed secularist propaganda, that's what they'll be shaped by. But because it is the duty of Christian parents to raise their kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord, they're also called to shape a curriculum that is Christocentric.
Wilson makes his points with typical flair and comic relief, though with fewer blood boiling zingers than many readers have come to expect from the lightning brand of Moscow, ID. Instead, his tone is irenic and earnest, as he pleads with Christian parents to take the education and overall shaping of their children seriously.
The plea, and its biblical and philosophical proofs, are quite thorough, though the book is much less than 100 pages. Whether you remain on the fence yourself, want to convince others of the position, or simply want to generate thought and dialogue, few books on the topic of the need for Christian education are as accessible or down to earth as this one.
Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews
here.
Did you find this review helpful?