Encore presentation of "God's Warriors"

This Saturday and Sunday, August 9-10 at 8 p.m. ET, CNN is airing an encore presentation of God's Warriors. If you missed it the first time, take a look. But first, read the posts on this blog to get the inside scoop on home-centered learning and Classical Conversations' cameo role in the show.

If you saw the show, what is your response one year later? How can we use this to reach out to the community? Check out Leigh Bortins' podcast on her blog 1 Smart Mama to hear her thoughts on the consequences of being light to the world around us.

Also, this past weekend (Aug. 2-3), CNN released a new addition to the God's Warriors series: Buddha's Warriors. Did anyone see it? What did you think?

How radical is Classical Conversations?

Last night at 9 PM I tuned in to CNN to watch the conclusion of the series “God’s Warriors.” I was interested to see how CNN would portray God’s Christian warriors, a group in which I claim membership. I was especially curious how CNN would use the interviews with the Nevarr family and Classical Conversations.

I was disappointed, if not surprised. Although CNN taped interviews with CC personnel focusing on the meeting point of intellectual discovery and faith, none of this perspective made it to the show. Instead, in their eagerness to divorce God from public life, CNN portrayed a strict separation between acts done for “religious reasons” and those done for any other reason.

It is true, as CNN emphasized, that many home schooling families, mine included, home school with the intent of giving God the glory. This is one fundamental aspect. But there is another aspect, intrinsically linked to it. Giving God the glory means aspiring to excellence in all areas of life. It means being unafraid to consider the hard questions of faith. It means being willing—even eager—to engage in dialogue with those who have a different viewpoint.

Home schooling is not done for “purely religious reasons,” as CNN asserted. Instead, Christianity inspires us to care about a number of other concerns: low standards of literacy, one-sided dialogue about controversial subjects, and lack of purpose in learning.

The interview with the Nevarrs reached a telling point when Christiane Amanpour asked, “What don’t you want your children exposed to?” The Nevarrs’ response? “We do want our children exposed to a Christian worldview.” This subtlety demonstrates what CNN missed.

In my home school community, most families chose to home school for positive, not negative reasons. Picture a good education as a tower of blocks. Instead of viewing public school as a completed tower with “bad blocks” that needed to be removed, my community saw public school as a tower that was missing several key blocks, blocks that home schooling could provide.

In a five minute segment, however, CNN was able to gloss over this important distinction; and then the show moved on to more ominous music and freeze-framed angry faces.

After the show ended, I found myself asking, just how radical is Classical Conversations? Compared to the other interviews, the Nevarrs seem almost out of place. But then I thought about the goals of Classical Conversations: to know God and make Him known, to challenge our culture’s low educational standards, to dare to think children are worthy of effort, and to confront the hard questions of faith and culture in an intellectual and purposeful manner.

In a culture where mediocrity, apathy, and “fitting in” are some of the highest values, these are pretty radical goals. When seen in that light, it seems CNN would have shown more footage from Classical Conversations. The home school movement is definitely growing. Why pass up on a perfect example of growing Christian radicalism? That’s a good question.

Classical Conversations is definitely radical. The only hitch is that it is not quite the type of radical that CNN was hoping to see.

-Jen, CC employee

Remember...

God's Christian Warriors airs tonight (Thursday) at 9 PM on CNN. Don't forget to watch!

To know God and to make Him known

A few comments have indicated concern that the CNN series "God's Warriors" will present a distorted picture of Classical Conversations and home schooling in general. While this is a possibility, neither Classical Conversations nor Christian home schoolers is the focus of this CNN series.

The three monotheistic religions and their influence on the landscape of politics are the focus of this series. The CC family interviewed is but a “blip” during the third installment of the series, and the brief interview itself focuses on how we, as home schoolers, influence the culture by our educational choice. The fact that we are recognized as a growing group of cultural “influencers” will be eye-opening for many.

Thank you for your concern about CC or the featured home school family "being manipulated or used." The intent of this series seems to lean toward emphasizing existing conflict among these monotheistic religions and even within the religions themselves. Comparisons and contrasts of "methods of influence" that will serve only to heighten any existing controversies are sure to be made. Reactions to this series will vary from one extreme to another, as interpretations of the information will be directly related to where a person chooses to draw their understanding of life and current events - from the news (man’s perspective) alone or in the light of God’s Word.

We at Classical Conversations do not fear CNN, nor their influence, perspectives, or intentions. We understand, as do most of the families that participate in our communities, that they are "of the world," and we expect this series to reflect just that. We do not fearfully shrink back from engaging the culture, but rather we seek to intelligently challenge current cultural thinking with a Biblically-based worldview.

Our mission statement states "To know God and to make Him known." We know that our God is a God who delights in "David and Goliath" situations, in the numbers of Gideon’s army, in the simplicity of Joshua’s victory, and in confounding the "wisdom of this age." We also know that He often fulfills His greatest plans in the darkest of hours. Over time, we will see who really "used" who. While we would never think to "seek out" CNN, the Lord had CNN seek us out. Given our first-hand knowledge about the unfolding of the events surrounding this situation, and knowing our God, we see our response as trusting the sovereign God whom we serve and fulfilling our mission to make Him known.

- CC Communications Team

"God's Warriors" - according to CNN

August 21-23 at 9 PM ET/PT, CNN will air a three day, six hour special on "God's Warriors" - Jewish, Muslim, and Christian - reported by chief international correspondant Christiane Amanpour.

According to the show's online press release, God's warriors include:
-Protestors who kill for their religious beliefs.
-“Patriot Pastors” who seek to change American culture through the ballot box.
-Zealots who target prime ministers and presidents with assassination for “subverting God’s will.”
-Suicide martyrs who are revered as iconic heroes.
-Parents who reject science education in conflict with their religious principles.

For the third segment of the series, representatives from CNN interviewed influential home school families in Virginia. Among them were several members of Classical Conversations, a national educational service company that trains parents interested in using a Christian, classical model of education.

According to Classical Conversations' founder, Leigh Bortins, "We know parents want to teach
quality academics to their children. We assist parents in this divine task through inspiration and practical equipping."

CNN team members filmed a Classical Conversations "parent practicum" and conducted interviews with eighth grade Program Manager Lisa Bailey and tutor Jennifer Nevarr.

Nevarr calls Classical Conversations, "a vehicle that will allow us to enjoy the blessings of helping our children grow in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom."

Is this the type of organization that should be equated with suicide martyrs and "protesters who kill for their religious beliefs"? Does CNN intend to make this misguided comparison? A CNN press release says people like the Nevarrs, "are fighting battles on a quieter, more personal front." Hopefully the CNN series will reflect this important distinction.

Classical Conversations Program Manager Lisa Bailey says of her interview, "My impression was that the producers and support people were genuinely curious about our ideas and quite open to the logic and thought behind our worldview."

Classical Conversations will be featured in the third segment of the CNN series, airing on Thursday, August 23 at 9 PM. Only then will viewers know how CNN has chosen to handle the topic. In the meantime, share your own questions, thoughts, and musings here. Please keep your comments respectful.