My Favourite Links of the Week

The first link comes from The Thirsty Theologian, from his sidebar. This piece, Five Initially Wrong-Headed (but Potentially Contextually Understandable) Reasons to Homeschool, is something I can relate to quite well. In a nutshell, these are the five reasons:

1. To make them godly
2. Because I don't want them exposed to evil
3. Because I'm afraid of what's going to happen out there
4. Because I can teach them only what I agree with
5. Because it's easier.

I have to admit that last one left laughing out loud. Easier? Well, it depends on what you mean by "easier."

There is a tendency among parents who homeschool -- and I plead guilty to having been one of those parents -- to think that homeschooling is a panacea for every ill our children might confront. The roots of sin and rebellion exist in the heart of the child; not in the classroom. Yes, there are plenty of things in a public school that can throw our children off the path, but I have seen up and close and personal that homeschooled children do struggle with sin. The blogwriter points out how those five reasons can be legitimate, but how they can also be a bad set of reasons.

Reformation 21 has this piece, "Is Hurt Mail the New Hate Mail," by Carl Trueman. Here is a snippet:

But I think there is more to this phenomenon of hurt and pain than a mere aping of the culture. It is more cunning and dishonest than that, Over the last couple of years, I have noticed that the hate mail in my inbox has been replaced by what I now call hurt mail. Now, the agenda of your typical hate mailers is pretty straightforward: they are simply attempting to intimidate or humiliate the recipient into silence. What you see is what you get. Hurt mailers, by comparison, are rather more subtle and duplicitous: by claiming pain, they immediately do two things. First, they make themselves the poor victims; and second, they imply that the targets of this hurt mailing are intentionally malicious perpetrators. The game is precisely the same as with hate mail -- to make someone whom they dislike or whose opinions they discount shut up -- but the tactic is different: to win by seizing the moral high ground that belongs to the professional victim.

I so enjoy Dr. Trueman's writings.

Another great piece is this reflection on Calvin's 500th anniversary by Kevin DeYoung. I like that guy, too. One of the things I would love to see in my own geographical vicinity is to see young men rise up and lead the church. At the moment, most of them are playing their Game Boys or Rock Band. I hope we can get them away from that.

And what would a week be without a little poetry? I enjoyed this, at Rebecca Writes.

The Crusty Curmudgeon celebrated Calvin's anniversary with some interesting history tidbits. He has more today.