Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court
ordered Attorney General Eric Holder to respond to the Home School Legal Defense Association's (HSLDA) petition on behalf of the Romeike family – a German home-schooling
family who fled to the United States to avoid Germany’s persecution … just
because these Christian parents home-schooled their children. In September 2006, the European Court of Human Rights outlawed
home-schooling in Germany; and home-schooling families have been threatened
with state seizure of their children and imprisonment.
James Mason, HSLDA's Director of Litigation, sees this as a hopeful sign that
the Court will hear the case. “The
government initially waived its right to respond, apparently thinking that Romeike v. Holder wasn't worthy of the
Court's consideration,” he said. “Clearly,
someone in the Supreme Court disagrees. While
the odds of the Court taking any case are very low, this has increased the
chances— but it is impossible to predict whether the Court will ultimately
accept the case.”
The Court is considering the case. Now, the Justice
Department has until December 19 to respond (or ask for an extension) … which
means the final briefing might not happen until February of 2014.
“We are pleased by the Court's
interest in the issues we have presented in our petition. Romeike
v. Holder gives the Court an opportunity to address important religious
freedom and human rights issues. We hope
that after due consideration of the government's brief they will agree to hear
our case,” says Michael Farris (HSLDA).
Why would this be a matter of
religious freedom and human rights?
Because there is no shortage of Biblical references placing the primary
responsibility for training children on their parents – not the government.
(see Deut. 6:4-7; Prov. 1:8, 4:1, 6:20, 10:1, 13:1, 15:20, 23:22, 31:1; Eph.
6:1-4; Col. 3:20-21) What is striking
about these passages of scripture is the complete absence of any indication that
government has the responsibility for training children or for deciding what
children should be taught. The
consistent pattern implies that parents, not the government, should have the
freedom to decide how best to educate their children. This is the complete opposite of the polices
of communist countries, who take children from their parents at a young age and
seek to indoctrinate them with communist propaganda that in many cases is
contrary to the convictions of the parents … particularly Christian parents. And it is complete opposite to the policy of
the government of Germany today, which will actually take children from their
parents by force in order to compel them to attend state-run schools … even
when parents object to the immoral and anti-Christian values taught in those
schools.
Lest you think this has no relevance
to the U.S.A., think again! The treat
has reached American shores. In July
2009, a 10-year-old home-schooled student in New Hampshire was ordered by a
judge to attend public school because the girl “appeared to reflect her
mother’s rigidity on questions of faith” and the girl’s best interests “would
be best served in a public school setting” and by learning “different points of
view at a time when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of
belief … in order to select, as a young adult, which of those systems will best
suit her own needs.” The judge issued
this order even though the ‘marital master’ who evaluated the young lady said
she was “well-liked, social, and interactive with her peers, academically
promising, and has more than kept up with the academic requirements of the ___
public school system.”
Whether you have a school-aged child
or not, are you willing to allow parental rights and religious liberty to be denied
of parents who wish to educate your children according to the tenants of their
faith? If your answer is ‘no,’ then
don’t wait for a court decision … but state your case in the court of ‘public
opinion.’
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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