The Philosophy of the State & Our Children

The Greek philosopher, Plato, was one of the first to suggest that children should be raised by the state. He went so far as to say that wives and children are to be held in common by all, and no parent is to know his own child nor any child his parents.

In the 1700’s the Swiss-born French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau taught a similar idea to Plato, that children should be taken from parents and given as little restrictions as possible. He thought if they could grow up with no outside influence they would turn out perfect. Rouseau fathered 5 children, but did not raise any of them.  He dropped them off at the foundling hospital shortly after birth. This was the equivalent of giving them the death penalty for being born. He had no experience raising children.

When we get to the 1800’s there was a German philosopher names Karl Marx who further promoted the abolition of the family.  Marx’s famous work, The Communist Manifesto, triggered the rise of several communist regimes throughout the world that slaughtered 120,000,000-150,000,000 people in the 20th Century.  He believed no one should own anything; land, property, business, children.  It all belongs to the state.

Today, there is a group in America that is led by self-proclaimed “trained Marxist.” They state as their goal to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure” and to “dismantle the patriarchal practice.” This despite the fact that children who grow up without fathers are much more likely to perpetrate crime, go to jail, commit suicide, be addicted to drugs, etc. The organization is known as Black Lives Matter ™

In contrast to these secular philosophies, the Bible teaches that children are the responsibility of parents. That parents, and specifically fathers, are to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph. 6) Proverbs 29:15 says that a child left to himself brings his mother to shame.  Marxism, by definition, is anti-Christian. 

This is why Christians have been slaughtered and imprisoned by the millions in every communist country that has existed. Under Marxism there is no diversity of thought.  All must conform to the government’s view on everything and if history contradicts their ideas, history must be revised.  There is no tolerance. Children must be taught to conform to the government’s single-minded thinking.

Today, in America, we are in the midst of a revolution.  It is not unlike the revolutions that took place in Russia, China, Cuba, and the like.  As in all Marxist revolutions it is disguised to make one believe it supports justice and equality.  However, that is not the true goal.  The true goal is the complete overthrow of the freedoms our founding fathers fought to protect, and destroy any remnant of a Christian worldview.  The result is always the emergence of the “ruling” class and the “peasant” class. There will be no middle class.  Torture and death wait anyone who might disagree with the government.  You may be passionate about supporting the declared causes of justice and equality, but you can be sure, once they have achieved power you will no longer be needed.  They will come for you too.   

The following video from Living Waters further explores the contrast between the Christian and communist worldviews.

Camping For Christmas (And For Mama)

We love Christmas.  For our family it is truly a wonderful time of year.  As soon as Thanksgiving is over all the decorations come out.  The lights go up.  The tree gets decorated.  That Nativity is set up.  It is a fun filled time.  It is also a very busy time.  My wonderful wife who has been so busy with homeschooling the children now has even more on her plate.  She is a busy woman, and Christmas can add an overwhelming load to an already stressful schedule.  Is there something that we homeschool dads can do to help her out this time of year?

A number of years ago, I came up with an idea to get the kids out of the house and let my wife have some time alone to get ready for Christmas.  It is the first gift I give her every December.  My children also look forward to this tradition.  The first week of December means Yogi Bear Park and our annual Christmas campout.  Technically, it is called Jellystone Park, but because the theme is Yogi Bear, that has become what we call it.  Every year in early December, I pack up the van with all the children and we find a Jellystone park and spend several days in a tiny little cabin.  This is typically somewhere in the Texas Hill Country. 

Jumping Pillow at Jellystone – Kerrville, TX

Jellystone Parks are fun places for families.  They typically have a number of fun things to do at them.  There are playgrounds, jumping pillows, an arcade, laser tag and other activities.  You can buy bags of sand and take them to a place where the children can “pan for gold.”  We often find things to do outside the park as well.  Many times, we have visited Natural Bridge Caverns and their drive through safari park where we get to feed exotic animals.  Several times we have also visited Enchanted Rock State Park and hiked up the massive granite rock.  We have a grand old time just the children and me.  We also spend the evening with a campfire, grilling, making smores and playing games. 

Enchanted Rock – Fredericksberg, TX

While we are making memories, my wife is taking care of all those things she can’t get to when the children are home.  I am always thankful she has this time because I can tell when we get home, she is somewhat refreshed.  This is a way I can show love to my wife. 

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Ephesians 5:28 ESV

It is also a time where I can work on some things with my children.  This year, I tried a new training method of teaching my children to look for ways to encourage one another and avoid being critical or ugly to each other. 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

Hebrews 10:24 ESV

I call it the Tic-Tac method.  I attached those little stick-on hooks to the console at the front of the van and hung small zip-lock bags on them.  Each child had their own bag.  I started the day with 3 Tic-Tacs in each bag.  Every time I heard one of them say something kind, or do something nice for their brother or sister, I would add another Tic-Tac to the bag.  If I heard them say or do something that was not very nice, I would take a Tic-Tac out and eat it myself.  When we got to the cabin, I hung the bags in the wall and continued the training.  At the end of each day I would let them eat whatever was in their bag. 

We also continued to do family worship.  We primarily focused on Christmas, singing Christmas hymns and reading the scriptures that pertain to Christmas time.  We had great discussion and prayed for things relating to Christmas. 

Stonehenge II – Kerrville, TX

If you have a lot of children this might sound like a difficult thing to do, but I promise it is worth it.  It can be very challenging managing 7 children it a tiny little cabin.  It is winter, so we don’t always have great weather this time of year.  There have been times where children have gotten sick on the trip and I was up with a sick baby in the night.  This year, our van decided not to start for a while which added a little extra stress to the situation.  However, it is still all worth it.  My children love this time with their Daddy.  It is also a tremendous blessing to my wife to have the time to herself.  We even get so see God work in ways that we might not get to see.  One of my children reminded us to pray about the van and it did eventually start back up. (Weird electrical issue.)  Our children are a gift and one day they will be gone.  This was our first year without our oldest who is in college.  The memories, however, build strong relationships and strengthen our family.  None of them will ever forget their Christmas camp outs with Daddy.  I am so grateful for the times we’ve had.

I hope you as a homeschool dad can find ways to support your wife and build your relationship with your children this time of year.  May you all find much joy in the celebration of our Savior this Christmas. 

Bitnami