One of the greatest problems in this generation is confusion about individual responsibility. Perhaps the problem began with Freud who told us that feelings of guilt were a sign not of vice, but of virtue. That our problems stemmed from our mothers, not from our sin. Perhaps our problem began with Goethe whose Faust escapes the consequences of his sin by sincerity and good naturedness, poor Gretchen aside. Look at the evolution of the American understanding of hero:
a. Traditional John Wayne . . . A moral, golden rule, hero. He was never immoral. He always did the right thing.
b. Modern Clint Eastwood . . . Eastwood is tough. “Make my day” world. Doing something invites any appropriate response–as defined by offended person.
c. PostChristian Tom Cruise . . . Cruse is selfish but moral. Commits adultery and lies for the sake of good things in The Firm. But there is a hint of morality.
The Christian homeschooler must be responsible before God. Every thing must be do to His glory.
Confusion about responsibility is only one confusion. Confusion about what toleration is also everywhere. S.D. Gaede, When Tolerance is No Virtue, says . . . In our culture, there is considerable confusion about how we ought to live with our differences and a cacophony of contradictory justifications for one approach as opposed to another. All appeal to the need of tolerance, but there is nothing like common argument on what that means. The question our culture raises by nature and development is what is truth and what can we believe? Our culture doesn’t know the answers. In fact, we have lost confidence in truth and have come to the conclusion that truth is unattainable. Thus, tolerance moves to the forefront. C. K. Chesterton wrote: Toleration is the virtue of the man without convictions. The Christian Response: A. We need to understand the culture in which we live–one in which relativism is growing which leads to injustice. B. We must know what is right and do it. C. We must seek justice–we cannot turn a blind eye to the injustices related to multi-culturalism. D. We must affirm truth and not tolerate relativism. E. The church must be who it is–it must express its convictions about truth and justice and practice and express tolerance (i.e., love) to the multi-cultural body of Christ.