Comments on: Homeschool regulation must be a top priority for the Obama administration

By: Alm Leads National Conspiracy « The Patrick Henry Patrician

Alm Leads National Conspiracy « The Patrick Henry Patrician — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:01:25 +0000

[...] center-left think tank on family and faith issues, recently shocked the nation by revealing a sinister plot to brainwash American children, rewrite American history, and subvert the American [...]

By: I can’t think of a title so just read it | AnAtheist.Net

I can’t think of a title so just read it | AnAtheist.Net — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:34:54 +0000

[...] long back and forth comment conversation with a Christian homeschooling parent on a blog post about homeschool regulation. To make a long story short, near the end of the conversation I wrote the [...]

By: James Tracy

James Tracy — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:16:47 +0000

Good science according to whom? How about the vast majority of professional scientists? A theory in science is a well established and robust set of explanations for a complex array of facts. Darwin's "theory" has been enormously successful in what it explains. But this is not just about evolution. To quote from a recent piece by Sam Harris:

"The goal is not to get more Americans to merely accept the truth of evolution (or any other scientific theory); the goal is to get them to value the principles of reasoning and educated discourse that now make a belief in evolution obligatory. Doubt about evolution is merely a symptom of an underlying problem; the problem is faith itself—conviction without sufficient reason, hope mistaken for knowledge, bad ideas protected from good ones, good ideas occluded by bad ones, wishful thinking elevated to a principle of salvation, etc."

In today's world where faith breeds needless conflicts we need now more than ever to ground our descendants in the firm principles of rational thinking. You are bringing up the importance of values. I agree, values are important, and one of those values is precisely this – the capacity to not fall into the intellectual trap of faith as an excuse for a lack of firm knowledge.

By: Richard_Collins

Richard_Collins — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:52:40 +0000

Dianna, I don't think this discussion is productive so it is best to end it here. I am shutting off further comments. Good luck to you, I wish you well, but I cannot in anyway reconcile your goals for children with my own. In fact I don't believe any kind of compromise or mutual understanding is going to come out of this effort.

By: Dianna Castillo

Dianna Castillo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:35:25 +0000

The goal is not to get more Americans to merely accept the truth of evolution (or any other scientific theory); the goal is to get them to value the principles of reasoning and educated discourse that now make a belief in evolution obligatory.

Ok, so in other words you think we should be forced to believe in evolution? We cannot be forced to believe in evolution any more than you can be forced to believe in God. Nobody should be "obliged" (forced) to believe anything that we don't agree with . Not me, and not you. I don't consider you, or any atheist a radical, or backward, dilusional, or warped for what you believe. I don't believe I should be considered any of those things for believing as I do. I disagree with you, but I respect your decision not to believe. It seems as though that is not the case for me, and all other Christians, and it's very sad. We are slowly losing our rights in this country, because we believe there is a God. Call it what you want, I call it religious persecution.

By: Dianna Castillo

Dianna Castillo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:29:01 +0000

Mr. Tracy,
There is a saying among Christians. For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible. I'll leave it at that.

By: Dianna Castillo

Dianna Castillo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:27:16 +0000

Mr. Collins,
I tried following your link, but it said the page was no longer there, so I'm sorry, I was not able to read what you posted.
Dianna

By: James Tracy

James Tracy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:42:52 +0000

Just to be clear: any sort of criticisms that might be leveled at homeschooling should not be taken as a hidden argument for the virtues of public schools, which obviously have many of their own unique and challenging problems. Nor should such criticisms be misconstrued as an argument that homeschooling is somehow inherently inferior to other forms of schooling, which I don't think it is.

By: James Tracy

James Tracy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:14:55 +0000

By: James Tracy

James Tracy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:07:05 +0000

Dianna – I think that you are more interested in your rant than actually considering what I am saying (or at least separating me from the article in the post). I have said several times that I am not against homeschooling in principle. Indeed, I have no doubts that homeschooling can be extremely effective if done properly and with care. I am not arguing that the public school system is superior or without its own problems. That, too, has to be done properly and with care. I have never stated anywhere that I Find Christian teaching "offensive." This is about what makes for a strong education – not about what may or may not be personally offensive.

Morals and values are one thing – dogmatism and false and/or misleading doctrines about science, history, etc. are something else entirely.