Homeschool – “Reasons for the Faith, aka Apologetics”

A Fundamental Right to Breathe Freely?

Resource for Civil Rights Litigation and Advanced Homeschool Civics Study.

Attorney Daniel Horowitz has offered up a lot of information for the express purpose that it be used in a civil rights lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of mask mandates and lockdowns.

I think the same information could become an outline for an advanced-level homeschool course in American History and Civics.

Constitutional Attorney Daniel Horowitz Makes the Case for the Right to be Unmasked.

Daniel Horowitz is a lawyer who is the purveyor of the Conservative Review, by Daniel Horowitz. He is also the host of the CR Podcast.

In Episode 851, on 4/12/2021, he spells out: The Constitutional Case Against Mask Mandates.

https://www.theblaze.com/podcasts/daniel-horowitz-podcast

Daniel has a conversational style that is suited to the general (i.e., non-lawyer) audience. He takes the time to explain several concepts, including the natural rights that we in the U.S. inherited with the English Common Law.

Bodily Autonomy Means the Government Can’t Force Mask-Wearing Without Due Process.

Daniel cites several U.S. Supreme Court cases, including the very recent _____ v. Newsom, standing for the proposition that the government can’t merely assert that freedom of movement creates an unacceptable health risk. Government can’t infringe our fundamental rights without showing they have a compelling interest (public health) and that they are using the least intrusive means necessary.

Daniel explains how a number of Supreme Court cases, including Roe v. Wade, were based on an expansive reading of our rights to privacy. He makes a persuasive (in my opinion) case that the right to breathe and freedom of movement are more compelling.

Conclusion.

I encourage everyone who has asked “where are the civil liberties lawyers on lockdowns and mask mandates?” to listen to the podcast and share it widely.

Thank you!

Michael Oswald

michael@msochartered.com

www.msochartered.com

Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.

Theological Liberalism – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Apologists are Sounding the Alarm About Theological Liberalism.

Neil Shenvi and Alisa Childers are two of the Apologists I follow.

Neil’s website proclaims:

“Christian apologetics from a homeschooling theoretical chemist.”

https://shenviapologetics.com/

Alisa’s website says this about her:

A lifelong church-goer, follower of Jesus, and former CCM recording artist with the Dove award-winning group ZOEgirl, I experienced a period of profound doubt about my faith in my mid-thirties. … I began to investigate my faith intellectually—I took seminary classes and read everything I could get my hands on. This began my journey from unreasoned doubt into a vibrant, rational, and informed faith.

https://www.alisachilders.com/

The Danger of Theological Liberalism.

“I’m increasingly convinced that the most pressing apologetics need is not equipping Christians to defend the truth of Christianity, but protecting Christians against the advance of theological liberalism.”

Neil Shenvi, posted on Twitter 12/30/2020.

What is Theological Liberalism?

Theological Liberalism, also known as Progressive Christianity, is:

“… a growing movement in the church that seeks to re-interpret the Bible, re-assess historic doctrines, and re-define core tenets of the faith. All the while, this movement identifies itself as “Christian,” claims to follow Jesus, and boasts a high view of Scripture. But as we’ll see in this series, they are leading many unsuspecting Christians astray, and confusing the body of Christ about what the Bible is, what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and what the good news of the gospel proclaims.”

Alisa Childers, 10/8/2020

https://www.alisachilders.com/blog/progressive-christianity-101-what-you-need-to-know

Conclusion – Sort of.

This is the first of what may be multiple posts on the topic of Theological Liberalism, as I follow where the Holy Spirit leads me.

Thank you!

Michael Oswald

michael@msochartered.com

www.msochartered.com

Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.

Parents – Here is Help for you to Push Back on School Indoctrination!

Parents and Students Retain Their Constitutional Rights in the Public Schools.

The U.S. Constitution spells out the agreement between the people of the United States to form a limited federal government. The specific purposes of the government are spelled out in the Constitution. Anything not specified in the Constitution is reserved to the people and to the states that ratified it.

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. Those amendments spell out fundamental rights (free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, peaceable assembly, etc.) of the people that government is supposed to protect.

Parents and students retain those rights when they participate in the public schools.

New Resource Guide by Focus on the Family Helps Parents Combat the Liberal Agenda in Schools.

I was fortunate to attend public schools in San Jose when they taught those lessons in Civics class and honored their duty to protect our Constitutional rights.

Sadly, many public schools today are failing in that vital duty. That is why Focus on the Family has produced a resource guide for parents of public-school students.

The Christian Post on 12/16/2020 published an article titled: Focus on the Family releases resource guide to help parents ‘push back’ against liberal indoctrination in schools.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/resource-guide-helps-parents-combat-liberal-agenda-at-schools.html

From the article:

“The socially conservative group Focus on the Family has released a new resource guide to help parents make informed decisions about their children’s education.

Back to School–for Parents, compiled by Focus on the Family and its partner organization Family Policy Alliance, was released Wednesday and is available to download for free. Its goal is to serve as a “busy parent’s guide to what’s happening in your children’s classrooms and practical steps you can take to protect them.”

The guide features information on what children across the United States are learning in school, including “comprehensive sex education” and mandated instruction on LGBT history. It also touches upon efforts to allow trans-identified students to enter bathrooms, locker rooms and showers designated for the opposite sex, in addition to allowing biological males who identify as females to compete in girls’ sports.

Conclusion.

I am a volunteer with two nonprofit organizations that help parents and students protect their God-given rights.

The Alliance Defending Freedom and the Pacific Justice institute each provide pro bono legal services. I encourage anyone whose Constitutional rights are being violated by the government to contact them directly.

Thank you!

Michael Oswald

michael@msochartered.com

www.msochartered.com

Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.

Please Consider Homeschool or Charter School

I believe the government’s near-monopoly on K-12 education (and the corresponding indoctrination in the religion of atheism) is a major cause of the ungodly behavior we are seeing all across the USA.

Dinesh D’Souza’s recent article explains in great detail how the schools and universities were systematically turned into indoctrination centers. https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-philosopher-of-antifa_3380743.html

If we want to help restore civility to our streets, we need to break the government stranglehold on our children’s education.

Please consider homeschooling or sending your kids to a charter school.

Homeschooling.

I have written two posts on the subject of homeschooling.

In my 4/21/20 post titled Homeschool Your Kids? The Left Wants to Stop You, I sounded the alarm about efforts to strip parents of their God-given rights to direct their children’s education.

In my 4/28/20 post, Looking for Homeschooling Resources? Here Are Some, I shared some resources from people I trust to help parents find material that will help them educate their children in ways that honor God.

Many of you homeschooled your kids to some extent after schools were closed last Spring. It is no longer a great mystery to you. Please help other parents by sharing your success stories as well as the things you will do differently going forward.

Charter Schools.

If homeschooling is a bridge too far for you, please consider sending your kids to a charter school.

Providentially (from my viewpoint), Thomas Sowell has just released a book in defense of charter schools It is titled “Charter Schools and Their Enemies”.

Here’s a link to his 6/27/20 opinion piece in the New York Post, Charter Schools are the Best Way to Wipe out Educational Disparity: https://nypost.com/2020/06/27/charter-schools-are-the-best-way-to-wipe-out-educational-disparity/

Here are excerpts from the article:

Depending on who you read or listen to, charter schools are either a striking success or a “failed and damaging experiment” — or even just “fads.”

Such conflicting opinions have led to bitter controversies that have raged for years. But my new book, “Charter Schools and Their Enemies,” features hard facts about educational outcomes in more than a hundred individually identified New York City schools.

No wonder most critics of charter schools, and defenders of traditional public schools, want to argue on the basis of rhetoric.

They don’t want to argue on the basis of facts about test results.

One common example of misleading rhetoric is an often-repeated statement that — nationwide — charter schools “as a whole” do not perform any better than traditional public schools “as a whole.”

Please read his article.

Conclusions.

Please protect your children, and help others protect their children.

Please homeschool.

Please choose a charter school instead of the local public school.

Please also consider donating money to charter schools that serve the poor. You will help others rescue their kids from those public schools that are often low-performing as well as indoctrination centers.

Thank you!

Michael Oswald

michael@msochartered.com

www.msochartered.com

Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.

Looking for Homeschooling Resources? Here Are Some.

In my 4/20/20 post titled Homeschool Your Kids? The Left Wants to Stop You., I sounded the alarm about efforts to strip parents of their God-given rights to direct their children’s education.

In this post, I want to share some resources from people I trust to help parents find material that will help them educate their children in ways that honor God.

Answers in Genesis (AIG).

In these blog posts The Authority of Scripture, The Inerrancy of Scripture, and Thinking and Communicating Foundationally I have highlighted how AIG has shown a decades-long commitment to stand on God’s word. They have an impressive array of publications and videos on just about any topic one could name. Their materials are well- researched and professionally-produced, because they know there are people hostile to the Gospel who will amplify any perceived error.

Here is a link to the homeschool tab on their education page. It is one of over a dozen such tabs on that page.

Alison Morrow (Lee Strobel’s Daughter).

Lee Strobel is the well-known Chicago crime reporter who set out to prove that the Gospel is false, followed the evidence, and became a follower of Jesus. Lee’s story is told beautifully in the movie The Case for Christ. The move is (in my opinion) a faithful re-telling of Lee’s autobiographical book of the same name.

Lee posted this on his Twitter feed today (4/28/20):

Go beyond “crisis schooling” and genuinely home school your child this fall. My awesome daughter Alison is a former classroom teacher & homeschooling expert who can help you! Her workshop is May 4. Watch her video below: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ke6sbv0y2AI

There was also a link to Alison’s website, https://goodschooling.net/

I watched the video. I then visited the GoodSchooling website, clicked on the Help Me Homeschool and Register for “Launch Your Homeschool” Free Workshop tabs. I now have access to their impressive library of free resources and am looking forward to the 5/4/20 workshop.

I encourage parents, grandparents, and anyone else who cares about the next generation to do so as well.

Thank you!

Michael Oswald

michael@msochartered.com

www.msochartered.com

Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.

Homeschool Your Kids? The Left Wants to Stop You.

Homeschool Your Kids? The Left Wants to Stop You.

Is Homeschooling So Dangerous It Should be Banned?

A recent edition of the Harvard Magazine contained an article by Erin O’Donnell in which law professor Elizabeth Bartholet described homeschooling as something so harmful it should be presumptively banned. The article, titled “The Risks of Homeschooling,” can be found here: https://harvardmagazine.com/2020/05/right-now-risks-homeschooling

This is the second paragraph of the article:

Yet Elizabeth Bartholet, Wasserstein public interest professor of law and faculty director of the Law School’s Child Advocacy Program, sees risks for children—and society—in homeschooling, and recommends a presumptive ban on the practice. Homeschooling, she says, not only violates children’s right to a “meaningful education” and their right to be protected from potential child abuse, but may keep them from contributing positively to a democratic society.

Why Did I Write This Post?

I’m writing this to alert everyone who shares Thomas Jefferson’s view that we are all endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (emphasis mine).

Leftist governors such as Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan have displayed what I think can reasonably be described as a tyrannical impulse in the arbitrary restrictions contained in some of their shut-down orders. Forcing home improvement stores to rope off sections that the governor feels are “non-essential,” such as gardening, are hard to see as being genuinely necessary for public health.

Anyone who would abuse the power of government to ban “harmful” gardening will no doubt find a similar justification to ban homeschooling.

Four Excellent Organizations that can Help Us Defend Our Liberty.

Please make a note of the following organizations that provide pro bono legal advice in defense of our liberties:

Homeschool Legal Defense Association. hslda.org

Pacific Justice Institute. https://www.pacificjustice.org/

Alliance Defending Freedom. https://adflegal.org/

Center for American Liberty. https://libertycenter.org/

Stay Alert and Spread the Word.

If you or anyone you know is harassed by a government agent because you choose to homeschool, contact one of these public interest law firms for help defending your rights.

If you catch wind of legislation that smacks of a homeschooling ban, contact HSLDA.

HSLDA also has a variety of other resources for homeschooling families.

Please share this post with others who value liberty.

Thank you!

Michael Oswald

michael@msochartered.com

www.msochartered.com

Michael Oswald is a follower of Jesus who lives in Boise, Idaho. Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed in this article are his own.