Our Worldview

We as four homeschoolers do not just walk up to a random individual and boldly state, "I am homeschooled." We are often asked, "What grade are you in?" thus beginning a conversation. Home education makes us different from the world, but not necessarily better. As people meet us, we want them to see the light of Christ through our countenances, our attitudes, and our actions. We are home schooled because this is what God has called our parents to do and what we believe is scripturally right.

In whatever we do we try to keep our focus on God. We do not do all this for our glory, but to the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Carefully we attempt to base our worldview on the truths of the Bible. This does not mean that we are always right and always know the answers, in fact, it is quite the opposite! We are still young, and learning. If there is something questionable, whether in beliefs or whatever else, we turn to God and our parents to look for direction.


We have a worldview that most would think is strange. In fact, probably many non-homeschoolers have a picture of us that may not be completely true. But we strive to avoid going by the standards of the world, and we hope those who misunderstand us might see the reasons we appear peculiar. Choosing not to live like the world can mean we are persecuted. Presently in America we are not facing intense persecution. However, as quickly as America is turning from God and running in the opposite direction, we may someday have to face it. We, as Christians, must be able to stand up to persecution of the worst type. During the Renaissance, people were persecuted so much that millions of people died each year. The kings would go to every extreme to stop Christianity from spreading. We are now trying to reform the world of the current day, showing godliness in our lives to everyone who meets us. We are striving to be bright lights to a lost and dying world.
Caleb once wrote a paper on his worldview, it says:


The question, “What is your worldview?” does not come up very often in our culture today. But, in this paper, I am going to personally answer that question. “Worldview” is a term that is defined exactly as it sounds, a person's view of the world. My worldview is based on the Bible.

God, an infinite and personal being, with all authority in heaven and on earth, is the wonderful Creator of all. Our triune God, unlimited and eternal, has many amazing characteristics. He is unchangeable no matter what, immanent and transcendent. Holy and loving, He is supreme creator of all things-- man, animal, and the universe.

The Universe, its origin, and its nature are all wonders of the Heavenly Father. Its intelligent design reveals God's creativity. Nothing exists outside of God's design. The existence of the universe proves that there is a creator.

Man was once holy, sinless, and perfect, until he was deceived, disobeyed God, and fell into sin. Our ancestors tried to deceive God, and still sinful man walks to please himself, not God. We were created in the image of God, unique having dominion over all animals. We are made to bear God's image. Although this is a blessing, man still chooses sin today, and because man is sinful, he needs the restraining hand of God.

There is a standard for morality, that is God Himself. Jesus is God, so we can look at His character in the Bible for the standard. One example of His character is trustworthiness. His righteousness is another. If we do not follow the rule of ethics and morality, we will surely suffer great consequences.

The question, “Why do we suffer during our lifetime?” has a very simple answer, because of sin. All was good, but man brought sin into the world. We are free in our moral choices, if we were not we would be like robots. The real source of evil is Satan. If evil had not come into the world, then there would not be death, and Hell would be non-existent. But man chose sin, and there are consequences.

What happens to a man at death is based on what his beliefs are. If you are a believer in Christ then you go to Heaven, if you are not you go to Hell. The most common belief is that works gain entrance into Heaven. But Jesus said, “...I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” John 3:3

The meaning of History is how God relates to man. There is a sequence in History, and it all leads to an exciting climax. No one is completely sure of the end-time events. Every true Christian knows that Jesus will return. All believers should be alert for it.

There are many worldviews, but there is only one that is true. Our infinite God is true. He is the source of goodness and love, that we should follow with all our hearts. Free to choose obedience, being created in the image of God, dominion over all on Earth, these are blessings from the one and only true God of all creation.


We attend a Family Integrated Church together. We all love it! There are some differences between Family Integrated Churches and normal churches. One is that we don’t have Sunday school. Another is that we don’t offer children’s programs or youth groups. We do everything as families. Our church believes that it is the father’s responsibility, along with the mother, to teach and train their children. Our fathers lead us in family worship, memorizing Scripture, and growing in our knowledge and love for the Lord Jesus. Even though we do not have age-segregated programs, we are not at all bored or stuck with adults all the time, even though we enjoy spending time with adults, and talking with them. After our church service and fellowship meal, we often play games together. Sometimes there may be an age range of 3 years old to 16 years old playing! We believe it is healthy for our families and our church to keep everyone together. As young adults, we are learning how to serve others. Whether it’s by cleaning up, playing with kids, or watching babies, we can do it, and cheerfully, right? Our church is such a blessing, even if it is different.

To understand our worldview, you must know that we do these things for the Lord, not to gain attention for ourselves. We are homeschooled because God’s Word says it is right for parents to teach and train their children. Here are some verses on the subject:

• DEUTERONOMY 6 "These words that I am giving you are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children."
• PSALMS 78:5
  "He commanded our forefathers to teach their children"
• PROVERBS 1:8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction, and don't reject your mother's teaching"
• EPHESIANS 6:4 "And fathers, don't stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

We enjoy homeschooling so much, and we get to be with our family all the time. When you are with your family 24/7 you are constantly bonding with each other.

Dating vs. Courtship

On Allison's blog, she made a post on the matters of courtship vs. dating. It reads:

" As different as my family is, especially since we home school, we get a variety of questions. However, a popular one is, "Why aren’t you going to date/why don’t you date?" I’d like to give some of my perspective on this issue.

First of all, many people haven’t ever heard of courtship. When you tell them you aren’t planning on dating, the first thing they think is, "How are they ever going to get married?!" So let me give a little insight into courtship. Courtship is designed with the thought that marriage is permanent, and so to find an appropriate mate requires discernment, with the guidance of parents. In courtship, you do not have a romantic relationship, but rather one with a high standard, godly and honorable.

There are many ways to "do" courtship, but there are a couple basic principles and stages. The first stage is, obviously, friendship. If a young man thinks a certain woman could be his future bride, he then discusses it with his parents and prays. If his parents agree and are at peace with it, he will get the father’s permission, concluding that marriage will be probable. One difference between dating and courtship is the father is involved in courtship. In most dating scenarios, it is boy and girl alone. Most of dating has to do with useless infatuations and "this person likes this person this week". There is no long term commitment, especially if the participants are not ready for marriage! Back to courtship, in an ideal courtship situation, the families will have already known each other for a while, and perhaps go to the same church. With this, the father would have a pretty good idea of what the man’s beliefs are, his character, and his relationship with his parents and siblings. Usually the father will have questions to ask the young man about theology and doctrine, his life goals, and other things. For instance, if the man was planning on being a missionary in another country and the woman he wants to court doesn’t want to leave the state, there would be a problem. After a period of months of examination and determining God’s will, and both agree that it is God’s will for their lives, they decide to marry. This is called the engagement/betrothal stage.

These are our thoughts on courtship. Of course, each and every courtship is unique. There will be differences in every courtship story you hear. Not one of us personally have reached the age to court, so what I know is what we’ve learned and what my family thinks will work. In conclusion, we would like to add a section from a book Allison highly recommends. It is called, So Much More, by Anna Sofia & Elizabeth Botkin.
How should a girl relate to young men? The Botkin girls respond,"When in the presence of young men, we should act as though our husbands might be in the room watching us. We should pray that no young men ever rob us of feelings we are saving for our husbands, and in the same way, we must not defraud other young men of what belongs to their wives, because God has chosen wives for them, too. It is almost as though they are already married, and this fact should affect the way we treat them, so that they will think of us "as sisters, with all purity" (2 Timothy 5:2).

John W. Thompson explains his views why dating is a problem:
Dating, even Christian dating, generally results in a series of emotional attachment or bonds with different dating partners. To express this language of romance, a young woman gives a piece of her heart to a young man when she becomes emotionally involved with him. By the time she meets the man she will marry, she will have only a fragment of her heart left to give. Even without going out on a date, a young woman can give pieces of her heart to several young men during her youth, so that by the time she marries, she is no longer a one-man woman (1 Tim. 5:9) Yet Paul’s analogy of Christ and the church in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 explains that a pure maiden saves her love for one man only, not just physically but emotionally too. The goal is not just physical purity but emotional purity--only one romance for life!"

College

She also wrote about college; we do not think it is needed for some jobs. The world says you have to go to college and get a diploma, a “stamp” of credit by them, or you will utterly fail in the world of business. Why would you want to be approved by the world’s standards anyway?

Another topic that I’ve heard a lot of controversy on is the whole college issue. Because we are home schooled, the question often arises, “What about college?” If we reply by simply stating we are not planning on doing traditional college, it is a shock and taken negatively. Many people seem to incorrectly conclude that if you don’t go to college, you are dumb, can’t get a job etc. However the opposite can be true! My parents are not planning on sending me or my siblings away to a secular college because of all the worldly philosophies. This does not mean we won’t have any learning after high school, and it doesn’t mean my brothers will not pursue college at all. Most of the stuff I will say now will relate to girls going to college.

Most likely, we will do distance learning. My sister and I are going to learn some things that would make good home businesses. One example is teaching piano. My family is very musical. My mom went to college to get a music degree, and teaches her children piano. I have recently completed my last level and am being “apprenticed” by mom to learn how to teach. It is a great in-home business! Some other suggestions for in-home businesses are flower arrangement, cake decorating, sewing, art lessons, cutting hair and grooming dogs! Some skills can be beneficial for your own family as well as great home businesses. Cutting hair would be one. If you have a skill at cutting hair, you can use it as a side job as well as for your own family. Of course, the main job that both my sister and I will take on is being a wife, mother and keeper at home!

We believe in our church that it is the father’s role to protect and guide his daughters. How could he do that if he was sending his girls off to be taught by some person he didn’t know?! Statistics also prove that we are losing a majority of the Christian youth the ways of the world when they are sent off to college. This is because they are not well grounded in truth, resulting in them falling away because they cannot back up their own beliefs!

I have to say; hoping this isn’t taken wrong, that I don’t believe God would call women to certain jobs. Certainly God does call some ladies to be single, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, there are certain jobs that I believe God would not call women to do. Running the state or country would be one of them. Being a Pastor would be another. Some would complain, “But I’m sure God is calling me to do this!” I must say that God has never and will never call anyone to do something that is out of His revelation. If it is clear in Scripture, He will not go against what He says there. It is evident in Scripture that God says the normal state for women is to be married and at home! Having children! Keepers at home, watching over their households while they teach and train their children in God’s ways. So, my sister and I are preparing now to be future wives and mothers, not pursuing careers. Although we DO believe education is important, the purpose is different. We are learning how to think, resolve a Biblical worldview, and discern the difference between right and wrong—good and evil. We are endeavoring to prepare for the future, by establishing skills and habits that will be beneficial. What we choose to do, or not to do, will affect the next generation.

Note: These are our thoughts and views on some different issues. Obviously, there is even more that we could choose to write on. If you have any questions that have to do with what we believe, leave a comment. We will attempt to answer questions through the wisdom and discernment of our parents. We hope that this home school blog will be honoring to God, and an encouragement to other homeschoolers, as well as to everyone else who visits.

-Caleb


-Allison


-Luke


-Katlyn