tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post7651279630446078394..comments2024-03-20T00:30:11.702-07:00Comments on Home Education Heretic: A religious upbringingSimon Webbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-6363740230393248432009-12-27T16:30:20.739-08:002009-12-27T16:30:20.739-08:00I am not religious, so I don't believe that a ...I am not religious, so I don't believe that a human's conscience, or "inner voice" stems from God.<br /><br />I do, however, believe that a lot of the school system, as well as many aspects of modern, capitalist society tell human's not to trust their own intuition, but to listen to external guidance from a source they are told to trust.<br /><br />The ad-men and the corporations use the structures of organized religion, so ingrained in western society to their advantage, by giving the masses their opium in the form of "what to buy to be cool in 2010" lists.<br /><br />An inner voice is a good thing to have, simply as an antidote to peer pressure, and attributing it to God is a good alternative to attributing it to madness.<br /><br />In fact, many early Gods which humans believed in have been attributed to the fact that the left and right hemispheres of the brain had not fused, leading to a kind of permanent schizophrenia.<br /><br />In the animal kingdom, madness is seen as irrational and non-conformist behavior, which usually results in death; such as the way that global warming has caused animals who would normally be shy and retiring to suddenly confront their natural predators. An action which as resulted in sudden death...<br /><br />In humans, however, this autonomy is often what leads to cultural shifts, including those which have shaped society, whether or not the people or groups in question had any notion that they were guided by a God.<br /><br />I was home educated in what could be seen as an autonomous fashion, however I resent being groups with those who have the attitude that "the kids know best".<br /><br />Child centered, or self directed learning is not the same as apathy purporting to be an educational philosophy.<br /><br />I have chosen, or been encourage to learn about, and take an interest in subjects which will equip me for my own life, as I choose to lead it.<br /><br />If your attitude towards God is as something within, instead of something without, then it is not tremendously incompatible with my own personal views, despite the fact that I do not agree with the existence of a deity.<br /><br />Any form of morality, with the knowledge that it is ultimately a subjective, psychological construct is crucial to people realizing that they should not sit back and let others persuade them how to think, what to buy, or that it is OK to have 3 cars and destroy the rain forests.Theohttp://tpn.lowtech.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-60082457234816438062009-10-12T05:10:21.506-07:002009-10-12T05:10:21.506-07:00Julie I am happy to count you as an ally since I h...Julie I am happy to count you as an ally since I haven't seen any evidence at all that you would like to stop me from parenting and educating according to my own deeply held ethics and conscience and be forced to parent according to yours!<br />JoelyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-28030155334892150872009-10-12T05:02:41.983-07:002009-10-12T05:02:41.983-07:00"I believe that God places within every human..."I believe that God places within every human a guiding device, rather like a compass, which enables us, if we will only pay heed to it, to distinguish right from wrong."<br /><br />I don't call it God, I call it the promptings of the higher self, the human soul and I believe that we start to learn not to heed that voice in childhood, when first parents then teachers and then ultimately the state force us to internalise values or beliefs or even a sense of self that are not our own. This process damages the integrity of soul to consciousness. Alice Miller explains that no-one whose integrity has not been harmed in childhood will ever feel the need to harm another human being.<br /><br />Which is why I find it both impossible to understand and angry making that you apparently have no problem supporting Graham Badman's recommendations which will require me and other parents like me to shut down that inner compass, to stop being true to the prompting of our souls and to internalise the State's messages about parenting and education in it's place. <br />JoelyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-20128710645909676532009-10-12T04:53:14.232-07:002009-10-12T04:53:14.232-07:00"In other words, we are trying to develop a t..."In other words, we are trying to develop a talent or skill within the growing child, not impose a set of instructions from without."<br /><br />You confuse me Simon. I thought you said you were opposed to autonomous ed, now you claim to be doing it? <br /><br />JoelyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-49867944594581639872009-10-12T03:02:28.085-07:002009-10-12T03:02:28.085-07:00Don't worry - you won't offend me so easil...Don't worry - you won't offend me so easily...good heavens. I spend my days with too many home educators...don't know about the theory of shape changing lizards ect, but I have developed a very thick skin (that and the fact that I have eight children....)Julienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-69248060638592748242009-10-12T02:09:16.910-07:002009-10-12T02:09:16.910-07:00Julie, I'm really sorry about making that rema...Julie, I'm really sorry about making that remark about Calvinists. It wasn't a dig at you; I had completely forgotten what church you were connected with. I certainly didn't mean all Calvinists anyway. It is just that I have noticed a gloomy relish in some of those who believe I am bound for Hell! I am sure you appreciate the irony, that on the one hand I am damned to eternal punishent by some Christians and on the other I am accused of wishing to peddle Christian theology to a House of Commons select committee. What you say above is very true, single causes do make for very odd bedfellows. During the 1930's some Zionists made contact with the Nazis because both groups wnated Jews to go to Israel.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-60027131535866224572009-10-12T01:59:20.471-07:002009-10-12T01:59:20.471-07:00Simon said "Ah Julie, I bet I'm just the...Simon said "Ah Julie, I bet I'm just the sort of wishy washy, lukewarm, "Sunday Christian" that you despise! Whenever I meet evangelicals, they are very free in consigning me to perdition, although very sadly and with great reluctance."<br /><br />ah, but by now you will have gathered that I don't *do* judgement (well, being honest, I try to avoid it but fail miserably in private anyway!) That is why I am here - disagreeing with your solutions to the problems of the non educated "home educated" but defending your right to hold those opinions. That is what is so infuriating about some of the opposition you attract- it is obviously fine to be liberal in every theory except one! Not to mention the dangers of single issue politics - some advocate allying themselves to the likes of the BNP because they are pro home ed (although presumably as long as the educators are white). Then since I am clearly the rabid evangelical who the likes of some posters (Joely I think) wouldn't want as an ally - even though I am probably counted as on her side in the education battle, she probably wouldn't have much time for me elsewhere. Gosh, life is so complicated - and human beings are so inconsistent!!<br /><br />Incidentally although I may be a signed up Calvinist doctrinally I have every hope that in heaven I will have better things to do that crow at the fate of others (whether you are there or not) but would also like to remind you that because of my church links to the L'Abri movement I don't think that I fit the dour model you have in mind - see the L'Abri website eg "in the area of our relationship with God, true spirituality is seen in lives which by grace are free to be fully human rather than in trying to live on some higher spiritual plane or in some grey negative way."Julienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-30152619724462064212009-10-12T01:24:19.830-07:002009-10-12T01:24:19.830-07:00Somebody's very sharp this morning, Allie! I h...Somebody's very sharp this morning, Allie! I hope that you know that I don't really believe in the existence of Hell in any way at all. I have noticed that those who are most anxious to send their fellow beings there are generally people that I wouldn't choose to spend much time with in this world, never mind the next. One of the chief pleasures of Heaven, according to some calvinists, will be to peer down into Hell and gloat over the sufferings of the damned! Would you want to spend eternity with such people?Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-69718567489623597212009-10-12T01:17:42.783-07:002009-10-12T01:17:42.783-07:00I expect I'll be there too, Simon. I wonder i...I expect I'll be there too, Simon. I wonder if we'll have endless consultations about proposed changes in the temperature of the furnaces... I can imagine you voting for - just in case there's someone hiding in a cool spot somewhere ;-)Alliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07432518528835330361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-59335614842311433282009-10-12T01:09:08.866-07:002009-10-12T01:09:08.866-07:00Ah Julie, I bet I'm just the sort of wishy was...Ah Julie, I bet I'm just the sort of wishy washy, lukewarm, "Sunday Christian" that you despise! Whenever I meet evangelicals, they are very free in consigning me to perdition, although very sadly and with great relucance. As far as I can make out, the denizens of hell will be a very mixed bag of the expremely wicked, like Hitler and the theologically illiterate like the Dalai Lama, who didn't know a good thing when they saw it.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-20496240375457478982009-10-12T00:25:08.013-07:002009-10-12T00:25:08.013-07:00Simon said "She apparently thinks that I subs...Simon said "She apparently thinks that I subscribe to the doctrine of original sin." <br /><br />Well I do... and I am against the review - just goes to show the dangers of single issue politics, doesn't it? You end up siding with all sorts of weird people who don't make comfortable bed fellows when looking at their other views!Julienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-38440532655665793392009-10-12T00:16:14.614-07:002009-10-12T00:16:14.614-07:00Actually Julie, when I lived in Tottenham I did wo...Actually Julie, when I lived in Tottenham I did worship with the Friends. I have to say that not all of them believed that Jesus was the son of God, but they were all God fearing people. This post was really prompted by Joely, who has been making many comments lately. She apparently thinks that I subscribe to the doctrine of original sin.Simon Webbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10865289865412656573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7881402584568285627.post-44923913192169209152009-10-12T00:05:12.028-07:002009-10-12T00:05:12.028-07:00You would make a good Quaker, Simon! When a friend...You would make a good Quaker, Simon! When a friend of mine did teaching practice in a Quaker school she was given a lot of paperwork - including the phrase "most Quakers believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God"... I have always wondered how that can possibly qualify Quakers to be a Christian faith.... what do the rest believe then....?<br />Nevertheless you are going to have people at you from all sides now- too Christian! not Christian enough! Just can't win!Julienoreply@blogger.com