Religion [Archive] - Homeschool Spot

Brooke

03-22-2005, 08:48 AM

I don't label myself any denomination, but when we moved we started attending the Baptist church my dh grew up in. Most of the people in our homeschooling group attend Baptist churches, too.

I heard on AFR a while back that the Baptist church was encouraging its membership to pull their kids out of public school in favor of homeschooling. The spokeman I heard was a former military man and equated it to not sending troops to battle until they have had intensive training in a safe zone vs. some Christian's notions that their kids will be "salt and light" in the public school.

Jackie

03-22-2005, 11:13 AM

There are about a zillion different "Baptist" labels. I grew up in an American Baptist church, which now-a-days tends to be a little liberal. Then there are Southern Baptists (who were the ones trying to pass the measure encouraging pulling Christian kids from public schools), General Assembly of Regular Baptists (where my parents now attend), Free Will Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Northern Baptist Conference (a predominately Black church that came out of the Civil War), and Baptist General Conference (which came out of I believe Swedish immigrants). And those are just the ones I know!!! You will find that they may have things in common, but they are often very different from one another, too!

becky

03-22-2005, 01:08 PM

We all sound like Baptists!!!
I honestly thought some of you were Pentecostal.

I seriously think, though, that we're giving a 'feeling', for lack of a better word, to these forums. I think it's why some people stop posting and you never hear from them again.
There are just a few of us who post here regularly, if you stop and take notice.

While I'm not saying I think we should keep our faith to ourselves, I think we should wonder just how welcoming a place this is when an opposing view is given...

BTW, I'm a Southern Baptist.

CrystalB9

03-22-2005, 05:20 PM

We attend a non-denominational church.

zsmomma

03-22-2005, 05:21 PM

On the question on why I thought most were baptist...I am not sure I just did. I think Becky hit the nail on the head. It was just a feeling.

My reason for asking though was because of Bible curriculum. What some might use might not work for others. Thanks for the responses. I do not think that I upset anyone but if I did I am truly sorry. Renee

becky

03-22-2005, 06:42 PM

Jimmie Lu is Pentecostal, isn't she?

Does anyone know when she'll be back from Mexico?

CrystalB9

03-22-2005, 07:41 PM

Jimmie Lu isnt leaving until April 15th. I think...

Brenda

03-22-2005, 07:57 PM

I don't think Jimmie Lu and her family are pentecostal. She told me their religion last summer but I can't remember for the life of me what it was - if I'm not mistaken it is a non-denominational church that they go to (or something along those lines). I really want to say along the lines of Lutheran but I can't rememver. Faith believers! I do know that.

They haven't left for Mexico yet - they leave on April 15 - the last I had heard (a couple days ago) they are flying down this time They're excited about their missions trip and still need us to pray for them...

(Becky - just curious - did you think I was pentecostal? Just wondering...not looking to stir up anything, just curious)
Brenda

Jimmie Lu

03-22-2005, 10:23 PM

I am here just have been enourmously busy with details and easter and church and well LIFE!!!! You could say we are pentecostal. Our senior ministry Disciples Fellowship is Interdenominational. And basically that means we are to respect other denominational beliefs. We preach in pentecostal, methodist, luthern, EC and non denominational. Our church membership is in the assemblies of God and our ordination is through Disciples Fellowship. The guy we are working through in TX is Baptist and many Catholics donate to our ministry. We attend a congrigational church at the moment and did some asst. pastor work in a Church of God. So wow it sounds nuts I know but............ As far as curric. We use BJU, Beautiful feet(I love it),Rod and staff, and we did use some A/O but do not any more. Yes we are flying on April 15 Tax Day!!!

becky

03-22-2005, 10:48 PM

Brenda with you I wondered how big of a change it was to go from Catholic to Baptist. My first husband was Catholic and I couldn't get over all the hoops we had to jump through to get married.
When I said I thought some here were Pentecostal that was an observation based on past discussions, it wasn't an insult or anything.

Brenda

03-23-2005, 05:24 AM

Becky I didn't take it as an insult :wink: - was just wondering. While talking about extreme changes, Mom went from the Catholic church to an Apostolic Pentecost church and she loves it. As long as any church I go to worships God, I'm a happy camper...

For curriculum - we have used some Abeka, A/O and other stuff last year (mixture of a little bit of everything). Not sure what we use in the fall... Haven't got that far in my planning yet.

Brenda

Jackie

03-23-2005, 05:42 AM

When my parents were married, Dad was Catholic and Mom was Methodist. They had to sign a paper before the priest would marry them that they would raise the kids in the Catholic church. So Mom tried to "change". She went to classes, but the priest told her it would never work, because she was to strong a Protestant. She kept asking question like, "Where does it say that in the Bible? Where in the Bible is purgatory mentioned?" So she didn't go for years. Dad and I use to go by ourselves, while Mom stayed home with my little brother. Then we had some neighbors move in that attended the Baptist church. My brother and I went to Bible School with them, and LOVED it! I shocked the neighbor's daughter, because I had a question and decided to go straight to the head. So this little 8YO girl walks right up to the pastor, tugs on his sleeve, and very respectfully says, "Excuse me, Father....." I mean, he was in charge, so I figured he HAD to be the priest, LOL! (He responded as if everyone addressed him that way.) Dad decided that Mom had tried it "his" way, so he would try it "hers". He attended the Baptist church with us for 6 years before finally making a decision.

No offense was taken, Renee. I was just curious. While I do know several Baptist HS families (mostly through AWANAS), I can name about 9 non-Baptist churches in my immediate area with large homeschooling groups, too. I'm from a high-population area!

zsmomma

03-23-2005, 08:25 AM

I guess! All of the hs groups around here are baptist. Which means if you make a comment about a bottle of wine that you get looked at like you have sinned. I guess that is part of the straw that broke the camels back so to say. My son came home from church bawling his eyes out a year ago. When we asked him what was wrong he informed us we were going to h*ll when I asked why he said that the teacher said that if you drink alcohol that you are going to h*ll. So dh pulled out his bible and showed him that it says if you drink in excess, to get drunk, then you are disobeying Gods word. We have a glass of wine with our friends every weekend and have no problem with it.

Then he was taught that catholics are bad people. I do not believe this either. I do not agree with all of there beliefs but everyone has to choose there own church and beliefs. So we started going to different baptist churches thinking that it was just this one that was kinda weird. Then we tried Lutheran and Methodist. We started asking a ton of questions. Like why did we both grow up hearing that the baptist church was "the one true church"? So that lead us to researching every single religion. We both just feel that we have been led to the current church we are going to. We still believe that Christ came to earth, died on the cross and saved us from our sins. We still believe in baptism. We have found that the biggest difference is the way we worship now. The main beliefs are still there.

Anyway, I was just wondering. I am trying to find a bible curriculum for the kids and am strugging to find one that will work. By the way what is A/O? I saw it in a few posts and have nooooo idea what it is! Thanks and sorry for babbling.

Brenda

03-23-2005, 09:50 AM

A/O is Alpha Omega curriculum. It is a Biblically based home school curriculum. I like it, others like it but there are some that might not like it for a variety of reasons.

I'm almost scared to touch the wine topic - not because I agree with one way or another but because I'm afraid I might not word it correctly and set us on a path we don't want to go down.

I believe there is a difference between having a social drink - or a glass of wine (or whatever the 'spirit' (drink) may be) and going out and becoming so inhebriated that you can't remember your name, etc.

In Jesus' time on earth, He turned water into wine at a wedding reception and they all drank of it. The Last Supper is another example - the cup which they drank from (someone correct me if I'm wrong) I believe was wine - to represent His blood.

I really find it fascinating to learn about other religions and their doctrines. I (sort of) understand the Catholic church, and now I understand the reasoning behind the Baptist church. I think what's important to remember that regardless of what our individual belief is, we are all sinners and there's only one way to make that right.

Did I babble on enough? Sorry. I guess a bottom line here for me is that I respect each person who is here - you may not agree with what I say and sometimes something someone else says might strike me the wrong way, but it's not my place to judge others and I do try to work through something that catches me the wrong way.

I truly hope that we haven't set a precident as being a home school forum where only christians are welcome - that would be devastating. I don't think we have, but Becky you made a good point in one of your posts - some people who used to post often (or at least visit) haven't been back in quite a long time. I enjoy learning other view points from others - as long as we're all respectful about it.

Brenda

Brooke

03-23-2005, 10:02 AM

AO is Alpha Omega. Sometimes people will refer to them as Lifepacs. I am ecclectic...and until recently foundering on curriculum! I just found a couple things that work for me. Math-U-See (math) and Explode the Code and primers (phonics/reading). Both of these programs are non-doctrinal...at least in my limited use of them. I might be wrong as the reading program goes on. Right now I have a 5yo doing the primers.

We started the year using Mystery of History--a chonological christain world view of history. We loved it, but it is multi-age and 5yo dd (darling/dear daughter) is not quite ready for a structured history course so we might wait another year or so to begin. The same went on with the science program I purchased, Considering God's Creation. Great program, but again dd was just not quite ready for that kind of structure. I have an 8yo ds that naturally explores science constantly, so it has worked out nicely. He also enjoys historical documentaries and biographies so that base is being covered effectively without any pressure.

If you need a good curriculum review site, try www.homeschoolreviews.com. I've made some great decisions after looking at that site.

Jackie

03-23-2005, 10:31 AM

I am also using The Mystery of History and Considering God's Creation. I looked seriously at Story of the World that many of the others here use, and DH turned it down because it doesn't have a Christian "world view". (Which, as those that use it will tell you, doesn't make it a "bad" program, just not what my family was looking for!) I don't use a set Bible curriculum; we sort of use the AWANAS program for that.

Baptists do have a reputation of being a bit "closed-minded" and judgemental on occassion. That's why I'm quick to point out how many DIFFERENT Baptists there really are. DH and I no longer drink one glass of wine before going to bed at night, but that had more to do with my food budget than our beliefs, LOL! We did have a run-in with the Catholic issue at AWANAS. My daughter's best friend comes from a very active Catholic family. They are wonderful people, and devoted parents. They attend church reguarly, and if their oldest daughter cannot make it on a Suncay morning, they expect her to attend Mass on Saturday instead. So Alyssa started going to AWANAS with Rachael. Her third week there, they decided to talk about comparing denominations, and mentioned that Catholics "worship" Mary. That upset Alyssa...ask any Catholic, and they will tell you that they don't "worship" Mary! So she went home and talked to her mom about it. Her mom decided that perhaps it'd be better she not attend if they were going to say things that weren't exactly "correct". Was sorry to see that happen, but I would have made the same decision! I'm not sure those fine differences need to be brought up somewhere like AWANAS. I think Brenda's comments summed things up nicely.

I also believe that there have been discussions where people have been respectfully disagreeing, and others have jumped in and took offense FOR another where no offense was meant or originally taken. I know there are some that chose to not post so often due to business, etc., and I wouldn't want to imply that it's because of religious differences. I know that there are some of you I don't always agree with, but I'd hate to see you leave because of it, no more than I plan on leaving because of it.

Trish

03-23-2005, 12:08 PM

I am Pentecostal. I haven't read what everyone one is I just seen someone say something about Pentecostal.

I was raised Southern Baptist. I left the Baptist church after I married and started going to the church I go to now.

Brooke

03-23-2005, 01:13 PM

I mentioned earlier that I don't declare any particular denomination, but we are attending the Baptist church (not sure which kind) that my hubby grew up in. I have't yet encountered any "rules" to follow outside of reading the Bible and taking it at face value. I know there are people who use tobacco (my dh chews :P ) and we have no conviction about having a drink every now and then; however, we don't keep it in the home for our children's sake and dh knows that if he had it around he might start drinking it more often than necessary. I always weigh the situation I am in before partaking.

I would think that our beliefs on alcohol (which we believe comes under the "is it wise?" Proverb rather than a command to abstain) would not be rationale to have us move on to another church. Likewise, I wouldn't think that the people with a conviction to abstain from alcohol would deny us fellowship.

becky

03-23-2005, 01:37 PM

If I had been the Catholic parent I wouldn't have been so quick to pull the girl out of Awana. What an excellent chance to clear up misconceptions! The mom could have sat in on class to help explain the differences. Of course, the hosting church would have had to be receptive to that kind of information.

Shame on them if it was a teacher who brought up the worship issue. We had a family in Awana who wouldn't sit in on our service Sunday night while his girls were in class. I wouldn't have dreamed of telling the daughter I taught that her dad was wrong! They attended a church faithfully and that's all that should have mattered. Some at my church didn't agree.

Brooke

03-23-2005, 03:16 PM

Jackie...whilst knowing that I will inevitably spark a debate, why is it that Catholics don't think they "worship" Mary? I thought they prayed to her and therefore looked at her as diety. That might be my misconception having never been Catholic. But it seems to me I have seen movies and such where a person was bowing down to Mary's image and praying to her.

Jackie

03-23-2005, 07:45 PM

Brooke, I'm sending you a PM! I've had my words taken out of context before,and I'd rather not have someone read into it what I didn't mean!

Anonymous

03-24-2005, 08:30 AM

Why would you get your religious education from movies?

Brooke

03-24-2005, 11:20 AM

My religious education is from God's Word. What I know about other religions comes from various sources including people, books, newspapers, TV news, and the entertainment industry. I think most people fit into this catagory rather than experiencing every religion they hear about first hand.

becky

03-24-2005, 04:17 PM

Guest, why won't you register so we can know who we're talking to?
Nobody is going to slam you. It would just be nice to know who you are.

Becky

Anonymous

03-24-2005, 05:52 PM

100% Southern Baptist
You know where we worship doesn't really matter its knowing that we have Jesus in our hearts. And that we all believe that he died on the cross for us, and that he rose on the thrid day. The He is the only way that we can get into heaven.
Happy Easter Everyone!!!! :D

becky

03-24-2005, 07:06 PM

Amen, Guest!

zsmomma

03-24-2005, 10:15 PM

Well Guest, While I agree with you 100% the curriculum was the reason why I was asking. I do not want something that would potentially slam my beliefs for my bible curriculum! That is why I was asking. I am/was not trying to start a debate was just wanting to know where everyone stood.

Anne

03-25-2005, 03:31 PM

Wow, not even sure I want to post, but here goes. I'm a Baptist, by conviction. My parents are Baptists. I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my all sufficient Savior when I was a child and when I was a few months older, I followed the Lord in baptism. I'm still a Baptist today. All that said, I'm not going around telling others I disagree with their denomination's doctrine. There are many churches that preach the truth on salvation, but vary widely on other issues.

There are plenty of false religions that deny Jesus's diety, His virgin birth, etc. They are false religions. But in order to reach those who follow those religions, one must lovingly be a witness and testimony to people, not attack their religion.

I grew up in a predominantly Roman Catholic country and live in another RC country now. The Roman Catholics in both countries DO worship Mary. Many Roman Catholics ask me what I think of Mary. I tell them I respect her, but I do not worship her. Hasn't made anyone angry so far. I'm considered "odd" because I'm not Catholic, but not dangerous! LOL!

Okay, I'd better not say too much more!

As far as curriculum goes, we use Bob Jones. My dh teaches the Bible lessons, so I'm not sure if he's run across anything contrary to Scripture. The thing is, the curriculum is a tool, as Tina TX always says!

Blessings,

Anonymous

04-01-2005, 07:39 AM

As a Roman Catholic, I honor Mary, not worship. There is a difference.

zsmomma

04-01-2005, 08:57 AM

As a Roman Catholic, I honor Mary, not worship. There is a difference.

Thank you! I was wondering about that. I know that in Orthodoxy we honor, but do not worship the Saints. There is a big difference.

Jackie

04-01-2005, 11:01 AM

Thank you very much, Guest!!! "Honor" is a good word to describe it. That's exactly how my Catholic friend would put it!!! Unfortunately, many protestants don't see the difference.

Brooke

04-01-2005, 04:40 PM

The reason I think Catholics "worship" Mary is because they pray to her and bow to her image and build shrines for her. To me, praying to someone implies you see them as diety. I don't believe it is a matter of Protestants jumping to a wrong conclusion. It seems like a logical end to me.

As a Christian (Protestant) I only pray to God, in Jesus's name. I know many Catholics who pray to Mary as well as other Saints. That, to me, is where the confusion about using the word "worship" comes in. Making any sense? Sometimes my thoughts don't get transferred from my brain to the web quite right :roll: :D .

Vicky

04-05-2005, 02:26 PM

What is Awana??

Jackie

04-05-2005, 03:47 PM

AWANAS is a Bible club that comes out of the Baptist church. It teaches Biblical truths, and the the children must memorize the scripture that backs up that truth. For Example (from my oldest daughter's book):

Q: What do I need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ?

A: I need to know that because of the Lord Jesus Christ, I am loved.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinenrs, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers.
Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It also has a strong emphasis on service/missions. My daughter takes place in AWANAS Quizzing. Many of us here have children in it. I strongly reccomend it. Of course, some of us have nad not as positive experience as others. ANY program is only as good as those running it!

Vicky

04-08-2005, 10:48 AM

Sounds a little like Bible Drills. Which Baptist does it come from there are lots of them. I am Southern Baptist and have been all my life and I have never heard of it. Sounds like fun. Wish we cold get that started here.

Jackie

04-08-2005, 11:06 AM

My chldren attend at a GARB (General Association of Regular Baptist) Church. (I use to joke that if they were "regular" Baptists, did that make me an "irregular" Baptist?) But I've learned of one or two non-Baptist church that has been granted an AWANAS program. AWANAS Intermational has a web site at www.awana.org

I'd say 1/4 to 1/2 of the kids that take part in AWANAS don't attend church there.

Brenda

04-08-2005, 12:02 PM

AWANA is an international, nondenominational, Bible-centered youth organization whose goal is to reach boys and girls with the Gospel of Christ and train them to serve Him.

I could go on forever about the ministry (I LOVE IT). The ultimate goal of AWANA is to train children about God's word and it emphasizes salvation from the very first time a child steps into the door.

If you go to http://www.awana.findlocation.com it will promt you to give a zip code or city and state and then it will show you where to find a church near you that has an active ministry.

I strongly encourage you to look into it - you won't regret it, your children will have a blast and they will take away so much from it.

Brenda

becky

04-08-2005, 10:44 PM

Jackie I noticed that when we had Awana many of the kids were from another church.

becky

04-12-2005, 10:41 PM

Did anyone see Maria Shriver on Larry King last night?
She talked about when she and her parents met the Pope, and she said he encouraged them to PRAY TO MARY. So, at least some Catholics do pray to Mary.

Jackie

04-13-2005, 05:42 AM

Yes, they pray to Mary AND the Saints.

I'm going to try and explain best I can. If anyone out there can do a better job or if I have say anything incorrect, PLEASE jump in and correct me!!! I am not an "authority" by any means. My mom grew up Methodist, Dad Catholic, and I attended a Baptist church! Dad took me to the Catholic church when I was a little girl...we left it when I was about 8 years old, so my knowledge IS SKETCHY.

According to scripture, Jesus is our Intercessor (Hebrews 7:25). Catholic people believe that Mary and the saints ALSO intercede. They are not "gods" to be "worshipped", but more like holy people to be revered. Some of you will say that IS "worshipping". It's not my point to debate with you the right or wrong of these beliefs, or whether or not I agree with them. I'm just trying to explain how they're thinking.

My personal belief is that there are Catholic people that are "saved", and some that are not, just like in my church or any of yours there are both saved and unsaved. Going to a particular church or denomination is NOT going to get ANYONE into Heaven, no more than it will keep anyone out. That is an individual decision. I am sure each of us have some theology that is in error, myself included. So please let's not start nit-picking about a particular group.

becky

04-13-2005, 02:31 PM

I was reading in the paper today that some people are praying to the pope. One lady wants her husband's eyesight restored, so now she's praying to the pope, who just passed away.

Jackie

04-13-2005, 03:28 PM

Again, it's the belief that he, as a holy man, can intercede on a person's behalf.

becky

04-13-2005, 06:43 PM

My first husband was Catholic, but at the whole other end of the spectrum. He didn't even go to church at Christmas or Easter that I remember.

LifeLearner

05-28-2005, 11:21 PM

[quote=Not sure what we use in the fall... Haven't got that far in my planning yet.

Brenda[/quote]

so what will you be using on Monday, hmm?
I WILL be checking on you!!!
:wink:

Glenda

JenPooh

06-15-2005, 01:54 PM

I attend and are a member of a Bible Church or Non-denominational if you prefer that term. We also have AWANA at our church and plan on enrolling our son when he's old enough. I don't understand a lot about different denominations myself, but would never slam any of you for choosing a different place of worship. Like one post said, it's what you truly believe (Jesus, the cross, and rising again) that really matters.

LifeLearner

06-15-2005, 10:28 PM

According to scripture, Jesus is our Intercessor (Hebrews 7:25). Catholic people believe that Mary and the saints ALSO intercede. .

We can all intercede. That is what it comes down to. We can all pray intercessory prayer for each other. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans that cannot be uttered. I don't know about you all, but I've prayed for others when I had no words. I could say nothing, I simply sat and communed with God with no words. He knew what I was wanting/feeling/thinking. I believe that, too, is intercessory prayer.

Just my take. I'm not catholic, I take issue with much of their doctrine, (tho I'm not going to debate it) including their views on Mary and the saints, but I do believe that we have much more prayer power than we give ourselves credit for!

Glenda