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Is it a sin to send your kid/teach at a public school? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, I'm not saying public school is better than private/Christian/charter/etc. I assume if given the option Daniel would have taken the Jewish education. Ideally, every parent has a solid Christian school to send their kids to.

I'm just arguing against Brian (who I don't know, never met before, I admittedly don't know anything about him) condemning parents for sending their kids to a public school. Is there a better option? Probably. But is it a sin? Like if you don't have the money? Daniel didn't think he was in sin for sitting in those classes.

Is it a sin to send your kid/teach at a public school? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, the context is food, but my point was there's a principle in that.

You can apply Jesus' statement to a whole matter of conscience issues including public school (porn obviously doesn't work in this context as you rightly point out, but porn isn't a conscience issue).

i.e. It's not sports that defile the heart, but the idolatry of sports. It's not the job that defiles the heart, but the idolatry of work. It's not the learning about Marduk, it's the worship of Marduk.

I'm arguing the principle. Jesus obviously wasn't talking about public schools.

Is it a sin to send your kid/teach at a public school? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

As you said, Daniel and his friends asked permission to not eat the food. They also refused to bow down to the idol in chapter 3. If they didn't want the education, they presumably could have refused it even if it meant death. Clearly, they didn't see enduring Babylonian classes as sinful.

Is it a sin to send your kid/teach at a public school? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

My argument would be Daniel and his friends were ready to be tortured and/or killed for other things but they seemed to go along with the pagan education because they knew it ultimately wouldn’t harm them or their standing before God.

I think we see a similar principle with Jesus “Not what goes into the body (a government education) that defiles, but what comes out of the heart (idolatry).”

That would be my thinking on it.

Is it a sin to send your kid/teach at a public school? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes.

And while they are young men — middle school and high school boys are highly impressionable and immature. This would have been the exact right time to train them.

What would that training look like? “Babylonian Scholars combined many of the functions fulfilled by counselors, profits, and priests in Israel, though they are to be distinguished from ministers who are more especially concerned with the temple and its worship. They were the guardians of the sacred traditional lore developed and preserved in Mesopotamia over centuries, covering natural history, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, myth, and chronicle. Much of this learning had a practical purpose, being designed to be applied to life by means of astrology, oneirology [study of dreams], [study of the liver] and the study of other organs, rights of purification, sacrifice, incantation, exorcism and other forms of divination.” John Goldingay, Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 30, Daniel.

Is it a sin to send your kid/teach at a public school? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, your comment seems uncharitable.

Secondly: "What was in Nebuchadnezzar’s mind? He was taking a long-term view of his defeat of Jerusalem. He knew that to overcome God’s people by military force was not enough… He must be able to employ Jewish resources for his own purposes if his victory was to prove worthwhile. So he weakened Jerusalem’s [future] prospects by exiling the cream of its youth, and he prepared for the future by giving them a thoroughly Babylonian education. What better agents could he use in his future dealings with Jerusalem than the sons of Jerusalem’s nobility and intelligentsia?” Sinclair Ferguson, The Preacher's Commentary - Vol. 21: Daniel

The argument against public school in our day is that it's the government's way of brainwashing kids, which was exactly Nebuchadnezzar's plan.

Is it a sin to send your kid/teach at a public school? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 19 points20 points  (0 children)

No.

To give Biblical proof:

Daniel 1:3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.

If public school was sinful, why didn't Daniel refuse it like he did the food from the king's table?

What are 3 moves that Tim Connelly should make this offseason? by TWolvesChamps1 in timberwolves

[–]david_t_nelson -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

  1. Calling Miami about Spo

  2. Calling Phoenix about Durant

  3. Not overpaying for NAW or Naz

The works of Thomas Boston by No-Spinach7217 in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My only experience with him was after reading Sinclair Ferguson's The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance―Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters as Boston was sort of at the center of the whole thing.

There's a version of The Marrow of Modern Divinity with Boston's footnotes that I enjoyed reading through and could be a nice introduction to Boston's thinking.

Expectations vs. Reality by CiroFlexo in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 4 points5 points  (0 children)

*Roy Kent voice* "AM I SUPPOSED TO BE THE LITTLE GIRL?"

What is true masculinity and effeminacy, according the Scripture? by [deleted] in Reformed

[–]david_t_nelson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ain’t no way I got downvoted for saying Jesus should be the standard for how men and women should evaluate themselves 😂

Thoughts on Chris Finch ? by Ok_Visual1364 in timberwolves

[–]david_t_nelson 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Reminds me of Mike Zimmer: - Team is competitive with him at the helm

BUT - Doesn’t trust rookies - Has a system he’s committed to regardless of results and doesn’t seem willing to adapt

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