Matt Hall has a good post on the proposed resolution to urge all Southern Baptists to take their children out of public schools. Hall observes:
My gut reaction is to simply condemn this with all the other fundamentalist retreat from culture – abandon the present system, create a separate “Christian” system, and be done with it. The problem is that strict separatism never works and is unbiblical. Better to issue a resolution encouraging Southern Baptists parents to be more involved with their public schools, to encourage students to equip themselves with the truth, to reform the system.
I agree. Besides, it is somewhat misleading to speak of “the public schools” as if they all were run by the same people and all had the same agendas. Public schools can be as different as night and day depending on location. And just because a school has a “Christian” moniker in front of it does not mean that the education will be doctrinally sound.
I can see the concern that the proponents of the resolution have, I just think that such a resolution would be ultimately powerless (remember the Disney boycott from a few years ago?) and risks hampering the education of many children. What’s next—should Southern Baptists only do business in Christian workplaces?