Israel Wayne

Originally published in a homeschool support group newsletter in October 2007.

In his book, Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview, Israel Wayne, a homeschool graduate, explains how his parents intentionally passed on a godly heritage.

He begins by stating that he knows many homeschooled young people who were raised in Christian homes, yet they never embraced biblical thinking in their hearts. After growing up, these youths left the faith. To counter this risk, the author wrote this book. He seeks to point parents to the truths in Scripture as the source of guidance for raising and educating our kids.

In the first chapter, Wayne stresses the importance of having an eternal perspective when educating our children. He focused on our motivation to homeschool. Is our motivation to do better than the public schools or to obey God?

He sees training children at home as a biblical mandate and the way for God to shape the parents' hearts so they, in turn, can shape their children's hearts. When keeping an eternal focus, spiritual issues should take precedence over academics.

Next, he compares worldviews and describes how they shape the goals of education. An unbiblical worldview leads to unbiblical educational goals. “A successful education isn't contingent on what a child knows, it hangs on what the child believes,” explains the author.

One's view of truth, absolute or relative, will affect the instruction of all subjects. Wayne explains how the study of history, science, mathematics, language arts, philosophy, literature, cultural studies, and cultural expressions through art and music are all affected by one's worldview. The author admonishes us to hold all subjects to God's standard to determine what is right.

The last four chapters cover parental rights, socialization or socialism, developing a family ministry, and a list of 13 excuses not to homeschool, which Wayne counters.

The author writes in a friendly, first-person style, yet he gives weight to his arguments by quoting others and citing several works in endnotes at the close of each chapter. His use of many subheadings makes the book easy to skim and refer to later. Still, the book could use an index.

Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview made me rethink my way of homeschooling.

All parents who want to develop a biblical worldview for themselves and their children will find this book beneficial.… (mehr)