Good News out of Norway

Once again I must say that I'm not a fan of HSLDA, or a member, but I do receive their emailed newsletters. We homeschool our children and HSLDA is a sometimes helpful, though not always candid, source of information.

In this case I have linked an article regarding the homeschooling family in Norway that has received quite a bit of attention. I'm sure some readers will already be familiar with the story. Even outlets like the BBC have covered it.

http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Norway/201606030.asp?utm_source=WU%20email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WU

Thankfully and wonderfully the family is having their children returned to them.

The reason the story got some international traction was due in part to the rather harsh Social Services department of Norway which has fallen under sweeping criticism by a wide range of people.

But secondly Evangelical and in this case Pentecostal Christianity is being viewed askance by many of the authorities in places like Scandinavia and Germany. They fear subcultures, Muslim, immigrant and potentially Right-wing groups. The American Right-wing and its values are spreading especially in Evangelical circles, and it cannot be doubted the US Church has a huge influence on the struggling Christian communities in Europe and elsewhere.

There's also a 'spanking' angle to the story, increasingly becoming an issue in the Western world as governments move to outlaw conventional parenting practices and the ability of parents to raise their children as they see fit.

But to many the real story here was that the father of the family is Romanian and there's a growing anti-immigration sentiment accompanied by what could be described as low-grade harassment on the part of the authorities. The combination of factors 'may' have led to this family's difficulties. It's quite a story. We can be glad their children were returned and hopefully they will look to leave Norway which like Germany is rapidly becoming a land unfriendly to Biblically minded Christians.

Homeschooling is not the only option for Christian parents but increasingly the idea of sending your children off to public school is becoming less and less viable or defensible. This isn't merely about the pro-Sodomy or pro-Evolutionary agenda of modern secular education. These are just symptoms of a large and pervasive cancer. There's a growing movement in conservative American Churches that all but makes homeschooling part of the gospel and your Christianity is suspect if you're out of line.

This is a mistake and yet at the same time parents that just blindly send their children to public school due to monetary concerns, conformity or some other motive are most definitely in error and have failed to think through the issue.