While I was living in the Bay Area, I joined a number of parents—including an atheist and a Muslim—in opposing elementary school lessons which taught a functional view of the family. These controversial lessons also included an implication that homosexual behavior was no big deal in the Christian community as a whole and totally consistent with biblical teaching.
A few months ago, a reporter from Focus on the Family called and asked how I ended up defending a biblical view of the family in a deposition related to this issue. It’s simple, really. I would like to teach my child my perspective on religious issues rather than have the public school do that for me. I was asked, along with other parents, to explain how these lessons were in conflict with our moral convictions. But I was also asked to cite specific Scriptures, explain how New Testament commands differ from laws pertaining to ancient Israel, and answer a myriad of other theological and personal questions seemingly irrelevant to the issue.
Before all of this happened, I could never have imagined giving a defense of the faith—a literal apologia in the truest sense of the word—in a legal setting like this. Over the summer, some of my comments were printed in Citizen magazine. For example, I stated:
There’s a huge difference between teaching tolerance—which is by definition being respectful of people with whom you disagree—and saying a certain lifestyle is to be affirmed as morally praiseworthy.
And yes, I’m aware that I just quoted myself on my own blog! But hey, my comments don’t get published everyday so this is still a pretty rare occurrence for me.
Interestingly, this whole issue of defining the family has returned to the spotlight with the recent ruling of Judge Walker. I’m not a lawyer, but I suspect his rationale is similar to Judge Roesch’s personal views which ultimately denied Bay Area parents their rights. (Note: The controversial lessons were discontinued by the district).
For an interesting analysis of the current marriage debate, check out this blog post written by my friend, Chris Neiswonger, as well as this one by Stephen Notman, who I’ll get to meet at the Bayside Apologetics Conference in a few weeks.
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