A QUICK QUESTION
What is a “Bible-believing Christian”?
Dr. [Brian] Ray notes that home schoolers consistently score 15 to 30 percentile points above the national average on academic achievement tests. Also, he says, they generally score better than their public school peers in the area of socialization. “development,” he notes.
And the president of the NHERI says myths about the lack of academic and social skills of home schoolers are not the only inaccurate and unfair stereotypes being connected with the movement.
Ray and his wife have successfully home schooled eight children, and he has also authored a book on the practice, his Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling (Broadman and Holman, 2004). The author says research shows that the demographic stereotype of home schooling as simply involving white, middle class Christian families is not completely accurate.
“It has not always been that — in fact, some of the first people promoting something we now call home schooling were not Christians,” the home education expert says. Today, he notes, the movement in America is made up of “probably about 75 percent people who would call themselves Bible-believing Christians.”
As for the other 25 percent, Ray says they can be described as “everything,” including “move to the country, blow up the TV, goat-farming, atheists.” In fact, he says, most of that surprising string of characteristics — except for the “atheists” part — describes his own family. Also, he notes, home education is expanding at a particularly pace among the African American and Hispanic American communities in the U.S.
According to Ray, all those who argue that home schoolers are not ready for the “real world” need to realize that home education is the real world. And within it, he says, home school students thrive and achieve as they interact with people of all ages and backgrounds in their community.
If “Bible-believing Christians” mean fundamentalist, I’d bet Ray’s stats are out of date (if they were ever true). (via Izzy)
10 Responses to “A QUICK QUESTION”
 Comment by Chris November 27th, 2004 at 10:21 am |
Isn’t “bible believing Christian” sort of redundant? |
 Comment by Daryl Cobranchi November 27th, 2004 at 10:27 am |
Evidently not. This doesn’t quite answer my question (which I have posed via email to Brian Ray): Is a Bible-believing Christian a fundamentalist by definition? |
 Comment by Michelle November 27th, 2004 at 11:04 am |
There are actually people who call themselves Christians (I can’t judge whether they are Christians or not) who do not put much stock in the Bible. And I don’t just mean that they don’ believe in a literal creation. Some of them don’t believe in the virgin birth. They don’t necessarily agree with all of the Bible’s teachings (that is, even if they agree that the Bible teaches something, that doesn’t mean it matters to them). The Bible is little more than a good book from which they can choose the parts of Christianity that they like. And they admit this. And, there are more people who believe this way than most people think. |
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Comment by CED November 27th, 2004 at 1:10 pm |
I think we are more in the blow up the tv, goat farming atheist category. |
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Comment by Michelle November 27th, 2004 at 2:46 pm |
Just as an example, I was just reading a whole discussion on a popular Christian message board on whether we should “take Paul seriously.” *Christians* were arguing that Luke (“Paul’s press secretary”) was the only person other than Paul to actually call Paul an apostle, and therefore basing doctrine on Paul’s writings was “shaky.” If we can’t trust Paul then we might as well throw out the entire books of Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. I wouldn’t call someone who believes this a “Bible-believing Christian.” |
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Comment by Roy W. Wright November 27th, 2004 at 2:52 pm |
I am a most-of-the-Bible-believing Christian. |
 Comment by Rikki November 27th, 2004 at 4:09 pm |
I don’t live in the country and I don’t have any goats. It’s a sad day. 🙁 |
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Comment by Dave November 27th, 2004 at 7:11 pm |
How do I blow up my TV? |
 Comment by darby November 27th, 2004 at 7:24 pm |
I’ve never cared much for Paul. Can you imagine what Christianity would look like without Paul? |
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Comment by darby November 27th, 2004 at 7:27 pm |
Anyway, with Christianity, it’s really not so much a matter of what WE call YOU, but more what you call yourself. Afterall, there are plenty of Protestants who don’t consider Catholics to be real Christians. But you just try telling a Catholic that they aren’t Christian! (It’s a great way to get your head bit off…) |