Hi, just wondering how you can label yourself as a "Christian homeschool provider" when you sell read-alouds with dragons and wizards in them? In the Bible we are told that the dragon is Satan (Revelation 12:9), and we are not to make our son or our daughters to pass through these things--including wizards, witches, etc (Deut 18:10-12, Isaiah 8:19-20). I couldn't possibly purchase a program KNOWING there are books feeding my precious children with such demonic aspects.
Thanks for writing! From the sounds of it, Sonlight may not be a good fit for you and your family. If you haven't already, I recommend you read through the 27 Reasons NOT to Buy Sonlight and Why Sonlight Uses Certain Books that Some Homeschoolers Won't Touch. Those two articles will give you a little more insight into where we are coming from. However, they do not address your specific concerns, and I'd like to do that.
You are absolutely correct that in Scripture dragons are associated with evil, though "dragon" is used to describe Nebuchadrezzar and Pharaoh, not just Satan himself. Now consider: God allowed His people to be subject to both Nebuchadrezzar and Pharaoh... so in a very real sense, God allow His people to be enslaved by these "dragons."
To my understanding, passing through the fire is a reference to sacrificing children to Molech. The rest of the passages you reference talk about not going to witches and wizards for divination. I do not find where these passages say we should avoid all reference or interaction with them. In high school, I knew several Wiccans. While I never participated in any of their witchcraft, I did speak to them and did my best to be their friend. But my personal experience has less to do with Sonlight than the actual content of our books.
Sonlight carries many missionary biographies which do often contain descriptions of witchcraft, shamanism and demonic practices. But the goal is not to feed these ideas to your children, but rather show how the forces of evil are very real in this world and that Christ has overcome them and offers so much more.
With all that as background, I'd like to finally respond to your question:
Followers of God have, throughout history, had to live with/under/next to "dragons," witches, wizards and demonic activity. Sonlight seeks to, among a great many other things, help us as followers of Christ see how He would want us to deal with these forces and those who attempt to wield them. In that sense, Sonlight is perhaps the best Christian homeschool curriculum to use.
But the specific title you allude to doesn't actually have anything to do with any of that. I believe My Father's Dragon is about ingenuity, creativity, caring for the oppressed and using one's resources wisely. The dragon is--at most--the catalyst for the tale. It is not a "Biblical dragon" but rather a mythical creature in need.
Again: It sounds like Sonlight may not be right for your family, and I completely agree that you--as a parent--need to decide what is right for your child based on your understanding of them.
I would be happy to chat about this with you further if you still have concerns or questions, and I wish you all the best in your homeschooling endeavors.
~Luke
Here at Sonlight we get questions every now again about the content of the books we carry--often The Wizard of Oz and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Do you ever get questions about the content you teach in your home?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
