I know I've seen Godspell, but I don't remember it. I do recall a moment where the Jesus character appears in a fountain and then vanishes... I think.

Not exactly vivid memories.

Gospel.

Good News.

Don't we have good news to share with others? You can homeschool your children and find joy in it! There is more to this life than the here and now! There are a ton of great books just waiting for you to read! It's possible to have children in the comfort of your own home! Sonlight is the best homeschool curriculum in the world! <cough>

All cool stuff.

I got thinking about this because of what looks to be a great series that Robin has started on her blog. She mentions the analogy of telling people that their house is on fire, and that there is a similar urgency in our message as well.

And that's true.

But, as I thought about it, the fire analogy doesn't work for people who don't agree with us (no matter what the subject matter). Spreading this kind of good news is like trying to convince your neighbor that he needs to stop using his microwave because it is killing him and his family.

"But I like my microwave," your neighbor replies. "And I'm happy with it. And everyone else is using their microwaves just fine. I think you're a kook and just trying to disrupt my good life. Besides, there are plenty of medical studies that show your view to be wrong."

Similar responses arise when you try to share the good news of Christianity, homeschooling, home birthing, eating organic foods, going "off-grid", exercising, etc. It's good news--often, very good news with significant ramifications--but if people think you're a nut, your urgency just makes you look all the more batty.

So what do we do? One option would be to make a '70s movie with people vanishing from fountains--or some other more culturally applicable work.

But other than that, I think the best promotion is a life that has been positively changed by whatever it is. Sharing your story--your testimony--of how wonderful home birthing, homeschooling, eating healthy, Christianity, or whatever other bit of good news you have is the most powerful tool I can think of.

And that's one of the many reasons I absolutely love the Sonlight Moments forum. And that's one of the many reasons I pushed to make it so everyone can read it.

If you haven't glanced at the Sonlight Moments widget on the right there or visited the forum lately, I highly recommend it.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

I still struggle with "media" as a plural, at least when it comes to saying things like "media are bad." <shudder> Almost like nails on a chalkboard...

Only worse.

"The media are evil." That's fine. But just saying "media are" without a definite article is painful. Almost like watching some "reporting" that's going on out there...

Only worse.

Again and again and again today, I kept seeing posts about how the media are skewing reality in favor of their own agenda. The most interesting--though highly biased in the other direction--video was this one which makes some pretty powerful claims. It's well worth the eight and a half minutes. I'll be here when you get back...

...here's the problem: Sure, some Leftist reporter did a shoddy job and should probably be fired or go back to school and learn how to report again, but isn't the other side in danger of falling off the tightrope the other way--at the very least?

"No," the reply will come. "No, see, we're not on a tightrope; we're next to a cliff, and they went over the cliff. We're on solid ground, even if we move farther Right."

Tightrope or Cliff?

...hmm...

I'm guessing the guys who made this eight and half minute video would say something rather similar.

It's at least something to consider.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Foment: agitate; try to stir up public opinion

Brought to you by Elisheva Hannah Levin

I read a great response today to the question: What do I do when my kids know more than me?

I agree with Lee's thoughts. And I love the way that homeschooling encourages everyone to learn more. Love it!

But there's another part of the homeschool mentality that comes out of this: Life long learning, not just for kids but also for us adults. Homeschooling can rekindle a wonder about the world and a desire to understand it more. So there's much more than just a "I'll look that up and get back to you" attitude. We can be excited about learning, and so dive into a subject, not just find the answer and get out.

My dad blogged about Sonlight's Life Long Learners forum today as well. I haven't really spent any time there, but it looks like they get into some pretty tough subjects.

And we shouldn't shy away from them.

Granted, we need to pick our battles and choose what we will expend our efforts pursuing--and sometimes there are more important things to tend to than ethical debates, apologetics, or the latest scientific philosophy; naturally, we can't do everything.

But I love being a part of a community that is dedicated to seeking the truth and getting smarter.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. If you want to read what others have been thinking about/experiencing, be sure to check out the Other Posts of Note.

I love words, and every once in a while one will pop into my head and I'll have to look it up again. For example: Recapitulate.

Fitting, seeing as how I want to continue (finish?) the discussion (rant?) I started yesterday.

I left off suggesting that we can't just "live and let live" because others would die (physically, metaphorically, spiritually, etc). But since people hold strongly to opposing views, what's to be done? Both sides often feel like the other is "The Enemy" and that truth resides on this side of the line. But as rational, intelligent, educated, and truly caring people, I think there are two things we can/should/must do:

1. Find the real enemy. While filming MathTacular, we said hunger is the enemy. The problem is not that Luke suggested we move a light. He's not trying to sabotage the shoot. No, we're just hungry and it's time to take a break.

As Christians we should have an even greater insight. And, no, it's not that Obama is the Antichrist. Rather, we know who the Enemy is. We know what he does, how he works, and know how to put him down.

Or, we should.

The problem--for me, at least--is that I often operate as a functional atheist. No wonder we have trouble recognizing the Enemy.

...that reminds me, for some reason, of one of my all-time favorite blog posts. If you haven't read it yet: Do so.

2. Consider your epistemology. How do you determine what is true/right/accurate? And the variance between these answers is what allows us to be ideologically 180° from each other.

If we could openly and accurately acknowledge our epistemological views, I think things would start to become much clearer. The step after that, the next impossible step, is to hash out where we are intellectually inconsistent. That would, I think, bring much more consensus in the world.

The difficulty of both of these steps often leaves me to throw up my hands. I can't do it. We can't get there.

And that, I propose, is why we find we can't do anything.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. Of course, when I'm not functioning as an atheist, I realize that I can at least pray.

Labeling someone else--or a group of "someone elses"--as "The Enemy" is a very powerful tactic. It makes things black and white, cut and dried, and a point of fact.

And as a matter of fact, others are very, very wrong at times.

But they see themselves as absolutely right, and you as very, very wrong. And we know this is true. For example, the best villains always have a very compelling reason for doing what they are doing. They, while we recognize their error, firmly believe they doing the right thing.

So how do two people (or groups) who are ideologically 180° from each other get anywhere? This is, I think, the fundamental question that--until answered--leaves us with things like opposing political parties and varying religious views (or lackthereof). This reality is one of the primary reasons we can't just "live and let live"... because, in many cases, doing so would be detrimental to others whom we care about. For instance: Pro-choicers believe that letting Pro-lifers have their way will end up killing women and has little to do with babies. Pro-lifers, on the other hand, believe that letting Pro-choicers have their way kills babies and has little to do with women. That's radically different and there is very little room for "common ground" here.

Another example of "The Enemy" mindset that I saw again and again today was The Department of Homeland Security's latest "report" that labels "those that [reject] federal authority in favor of state or local authority" as, at the very least, potential terrorists (bottom of Page 2 of 9).

Katie
Karen

I couldn't find a link to the .pdf from the Department of Homeland Security's site, but I did find this note. So, perhaps those "rightwing extremists" are over-reacting a tad to what is not much more than a very poor choice of words... perhaps.

This "Enemy" mentality has been brewing in various areas of the homeschool movement as well.

So what should we--as rational, intelligent, educated, truly caring people--do in these kinds of situations? Broadly labeling everyone of the other side as "The Enemy"--as the DHS appears to have inadvertently done--is not the way to go.

But what is? Because, as rational, intelligent, educated, and truly caring people, we can't do nothing.

Can we?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

A couple weeks ago, I was challenged by Jennifer to look into the negative stereotypes of Native Americans presented in some of Sonlight's titles. I promised to back to her and hope to continue the conversation here. But this post applies to many other aspects of questionable content, so please keep reading.

Sonlight's IGs
Part of what makes Sonlight's curriculum so amazing are the Instructor's Guides (or IGs). Every IG is full of notes and questions to help round out the texts; primarily because every author is writing from a particular bias or viewpoint, and those could easily be wrong or hurt someone. Sonlight, thus, includes a lot of background information so students (and their parents) can get a clearer picture of what is really going on.

And while I couldn't find a particular article on stereotypes of Native Americans in my brief search of one of the IGs, I saw many notes about what was happening at that point in history that shows false negative stereotypes as errant.

One customer said just yesterday:

Sonlight carries a lot of books that cover sensitive topics. They have been especially careful to alert parents anytime their children will come into contact with such material. This gives parents a chance to proactively have a conversation with their children about the issue presented to make sure the child understands the topic and looks at it through the lens of a Biblical worldview. (full post here)

So Sonlight tries to balance out negative/incorrect ideas in our IGs. If you are not using the IG with your books, you're not getting the full Sonlight experience.

On the other hand, we know there is always room for improvement. If you come across a section of a book that you think should be dealt with more fully, please let us know. We are always welcome your input and insights. Jennifer, I would be very interested in your thoughts especially.

Consider Your Perspective
Another post I came across today warned people that Sonlight's science program "is extremely creationist/young earth based." I find that moderately amusing because there are many others who feel that Sonlight promotes Evolution and Old Earth thinking far too much.

Who's right?

In many ways, it all depends on your perspective.

I think, objectively--especially when you consider the titles we carry along with the notes in our IGs--it's fairly clear that Sonlight does promote a creationist/Young Earth view... with some notes about the other topics to round things out.

Granted, we can all get so myopically focused that we don't see where we have gone wrong. That's why it's so great to be surrounded by a large community that can help set us right. And that's why your feedback is so valuable to us. We never want to hurt people, but when we do please help us set it right.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father