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Dr. Del Tackett is the author, architect and teacher for Focus on the Family's The Truth Project, a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.
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When Social System Collide
Posted on February 25, 2010
Filed Under Marriage & Family, The State | 45 Comments
Last week, I had the privilege of spending a few days with a phenomenal family—the Romeikes. Uwe and Hanne have five wonderful children, Daniel (12), Lydia (11), Josua (9), Christian (7) and little Damaris (4).
Uwe is a pianist and makes his living teaching piano. Germany is their native country. But they are now living in Tennessee.
Why?
Because not long ago, they had to flee their beloved homeland and seek asylum here.
That may seem strange to the ears, because none of us would think that anyone would need to “flee” from Germany. But the Romeike family did—because they really had no other choice.
You see, Uwe and Hanne became convicted that they should be teaching their children—at home. The German state believes that IT should be teaching Germany’s children—and that was to take place only at the government’s authorized schools.
This obviously represents a serious conflict.
And when one comes in conflict with the power of the state, one usually loses.
That came to a head on a relatively quiet morning while the Romeikes were still in bed. The doorbell rang and Uwe looked out the window only to see, to his horror, the police and their vans. He knew why they were there, but never really believed it would happen.
Up until then, for the few families that had chosen to home-school, the German government had primarily treated it as a misdemeanor, with a small fine. But now, maybe because of a perception that the home-schooling thing might spread, the state began to turn up the heat.
That heat has gotten so strong, that today German moms and dads are losing full custody of their children and spending 3 months in jail. It still gives me the chills to recall little Josua telling me what it was like when the police were yanking them away from their mother and shutting them up in the van. He was crying. They were all crying.
This is the awesome power that the state can bring upon its citizens when it chooses to take more and more ground. Whether that ground is within the family or within the church or within the sphere of labor, it is a social war that the state intends to win and few things can stand in its way.
One of those “few things” happens to be the courage of those who are willing to stand for righteousness, no matter what the cost.
The Romeikes have paid dearly. Others in Germany are paying even more.
Let’s pray they persevere and emerge victorious.
The law in Germany is deep-seated. It maintains that it has the complete authority over the formal education of children—a position that hasn’t changed much since it was first enacted by the Third Reich in 1938.
Many home-schoolers in the United States have battled against a similar view found here. But over the last 30 years, they have regained the freedom that families in this country enjoyed for nearly three hundred years before our views of the civil government started to change and we began to see the state more and more as our savior.
We are engaged in this battle today on all fronts. Not only from a power-hungry state, but from the world, the enemy and the flesh—which has a voracious appetite to take more and more ground in our heart and mind and soul.
Remain vigilant and courageous. Freedom requires them both.
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is not for the faint of heart.
The spoils of war are too precious to lose.
[The details of this story will be presented in our first Cross Examine show due to air later this year. Pray for us!]
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45 Responses to “When Social System Collide”
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I appreciate what this family has given up. I was challenged by the school system years ago in Livermore, CA. Police were sent to my door and a number of things ensued. Neighbors reported that I was running an illegal daycare. I had 5 children. WE kept to ouselves and generally stayed inside to avoid issues.
That was when I began to see the difference between a belief system and a conviction. A conviction will not change, whereas a belief system may be altered depending on circumstances.
I was able to stand my ground and eventually was able to continue with homeschooling, but various people and institutions made it quite difficult to carry on.
Thanks for sharing.
Hey Del! Thank you so much for this post! It could not have been more timely. I teach at a third year Classical and Christian school and we are doing a chapter in history that deals with Germany and Hitler. I told my students the other day that homeschooling was illegal in Germany and it was hard for them to believe. One said, well, yeah but they really don’t enforce it. I told them of a family I had heard of who had their children taken away and that families are fleeing Germany for this very reason. I am going to pass this on the my students as well as their parents. As a side note, I use some of the Truth Project clips in my Science class…they were blown away but the clotting process! Thank you for all you do and stay encouraged. God is, in fact, God Almighty!
Dear Dr. Tackett,
I heard about this precious family briefly on Christian radio. I am blessed and amazed that they have stood their ground agaist a government that continues to use their power in many tyrannical ways. You would have thought that the Germans, being ashamed and horrified at their history under the Third Reich, would reexamine all laws which limit freedom and human rights. Thank the Lord that we still can provide a place of refuge for this family and may they be blessed and prosper in freedom. May we also continue to pray for this freedom we enjoy, to educate our children at home under the auspices of our Christian Faith.
Please let us know where and when we can see Cross Examine.
Blessings!!Lisa
Dear Dr. Tackett,
Thank you very much for this article and the comments attached. Please remind the children of God that this is not far off for the USA. With the hate crime legislation just past, Pastor’s of inclusive bible teachings are at risk. Everyone please pray for your Pastor’s and the body of Christ Jesus to also be able to stand firm to the truth, way and the life!!
Peace be with you all!!
Paul
Dear Dr. Tackett,
Thank God this family has made it to the land of the still-free-so-far. My husband and I have been home schooling our 6 children since they were born. Only God could get me into something like this! But 11 years ago the company for which my husband works sent our whole family to live in Germany for 6 months. After we got there, when we went to register our temporary residency with the local officials we learned it was against the law to teach your children at home! Gratefully, since we weren’t German citizens and weren’t planning to live there very long they allowed us to teach our children in their country providing we weren’t there longer than 3 months. So half way through our time there, we drove to the Netherlands for a long weekend and re-entered Germany. This was acceptable. While in the Netherlands, we learned home schooling was illegal there too. When I see how our liberal leaning country is becoming more and more socialized (like western Europe) it definitely gives me reason to pray.
Of course we Christians are called to repent of our sins, but Nehemiah (after personal confession) confessed the sins of his country and countrymen. We need to do this.
Thank you for what you are doing. Deb
I have a little girl that looks to be about the same age as the girl holding the kitten. She is one of four. It just gives me this deep nauseating feeling, because we too are homeschooling, that as one of the bloggers had said, “this is not too far off in our future”. There is no telling when things are going to turn for the worse, but I pray my children will be able to stand at the gate when it is their turn.
We in America have enjoyed a relatively mild reaction to home-schooling for 20+ years….I, myself am grateful to the many courageous parents who have gone this route (I, also, for 6 years), and thankful to God for the resulting lawyers and doctors and other leaders, that may well become great factors in the rescue of our nation……please keep praying.
My son and his wife plan to home school and I watch with interet what is going on in Calfornia with homeschoolers. An anti home schooling move by the state It isn’t this close to home here in Washington but laws are being passed which seems to be tightening the noose, so to speak. Parents currently HAVE to have a degree or a specified number of college hours to home shcool their own children or seek “professinal” instructors certifiedn by the state. It is easy to see how each step is getting closer to closing the door. And it is amazing that so many parents just shrug their shoulders when their children come home from school with what they are being taught.
In the late 1960s I was an active conservative in a small southern California town. I often attended and spoke up at city council and school board meetings. A few months before our first child was to start kindergarten in the public school system there was a particulary acrimonious battle at a school board meeting. I ultimately prevailed as my position was unquestionably the wisest position and I gathered enough board members that we won the vote. After the meeting one of the most powerful board members approached me and asked if I had children. I told him that I did. He then said, “You may have won this battle tonight, but we will win when we get your children!
Well, they didn’t get our children. We immediately to set out to find alternative education and within a very short time I was introduced to the pastor of a local church who was starting a school in thier basement that fall.
I was blessed with helping wall in one end of the basement providing a kindergarten class and a 1st/3rd grade class. Our son went K-6th and our daughter K-4th in that school. I ended up serving on the school board which launched me into the blessings of, now, over 35 years of lay service in Christian education, helping build 3 schools in the process.
As money tightens and effects the government schools there will be more and more pressure for the state to go after private Christian and secular schools and home schooling families. All 7 of our grandchildren are being home schooled and I still, at 70+ have some involvement with a Christian school ministry of Early Ed. thru 12th. God has been good and he can count on me to stand fast to protect Christian families from state force. Serving TO THE GLORY OF ALMIGHTY GOD!
We started homeschooling our daughter when it was illegal in Ohio in the early 80′s. Now praise to God, we have this freedom in U.S. We are being challenged on every front these days. But God is faithful!
Del – I taught in Christian schools in the early eighties & know of churches padlocked by the state for operating schools! It took a few years before the public schools in our area recognized our value & place. Eventually, they even sent students they couldn’t handle our way – wow!
As you realize I’m sure, we dare not take our liberties for granted. As goes Europe – we usually follow…
Blessings on you for all you do – Bart
The homeschool movement began a few decades ago as a “David” against a “Goliath”. However, “David” was and is still on the side of righteousness. And due to the lingering, but yet powerful legacy of our forefathers, American parents have been able to firmly establish once again the truth regarding the rearing of their children. As our forefathers paid a price for which we are grateful, so should we recognize and be grateful for the sacrifice many parents made in the early days of the homeschool movement that those of us participating today do not have to face. Thank you, forefathers, forerunners, and thank You, God.
Dear Dr Del Tackett: Thankyou for your work on the Truth Project, It has literlly transformed our men’s groups. Please also send a post how this family may be contacted, maybe our men’s group can send them support. And maybe they would be interested in speaking to home school groups in our area.
Thank you for telling the world about this. I can’t imagine not being able to teach my children & grandchildren God’s values. We Americans take our freedom for granted. We need to pay attention to what is going on in our country.
My husband spent 44 years in Christian higher education so some may have thought that he/we would not be thrilled when our daughters decided to home school. On the contrary, we knew the girls and knew they would do a superb job. The oldest grandchild is now 18 and a National Merit Scholar; his brother and cousins are also remarkable students, but more importantly, delightful Christian young people, well rounded and leaders. We continue to pray for this blessing to spread and prevail.
Del,
What a gripping story of a truly courageous family. May God continue to bless and keep them in their new home as they strive to serve Him, and may God open our eyes to what is transpiring around us these days in our native land. My wife and I began our home educating journey when our eldest son (now 26) entered 4th grade. The public school system diagnosed him as ADHD and wanted to medicate him. No way we were going to let that happen. So through encouragement of brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord led us to home educate our children. All three have completed their high school education, the younger two having never set foot in a government run school. God is so good. We are mindful of the many courageous men and women who blazed the trail across our land over the past two or three decades to secure the rights we currently have. We are also mindful that we must be diligent to “watch, pray and act” to protect and defend those freedoms. An important action is continuing education, a superb example being the great work that you do through the Truth Project. Our youngest son (18) recently led his first group through the series in our home and is planning a second one in the near future. May God continue to bless and honor what you are doing through the Truth Project, and may He raise up a faithful army of believers who will stand firm to the end. Our precious Lord Jesus deserves nothing less than our all. To Him be all praise and honor and power and glory!
satan always trys to hinder the passions god gives us. stick it out.
Thanks for bringing this one to our attention. It’s funny how you hardly ever hear stories like this in the news. It’s bad enough to hear about human rights violations from third world countries, finding out that things like this are happening in Germany is shocking, and disturbing. It’s a reminder that we have to remain constantly vigilant to keep it from happening here.
This story is not finished. There was a hearing in a court in Memphis regarding asylum for the Romeike’s. The judge ruled they should be granted asylum. However, our Federal Government is considering appealing that ruling on the grounds that Germany is a free country and there is no political reason or immediate threat to life that would justify asylum for this family.
The land of the free is about to turn away a family who came here to escape government oppression. God help us!
Wow, thank you for passing this on. We were not aware that the government was taking such an agressive role. We have a cousin who came to live with relatives in the states to get an education because the government only allowed him one career option, in which he had no interest.
I was also blown away by the first responder, Nancy. Our two first children were born in Livermore, Ca. The Lord moved us to Washington state and called us to home school. I had no idea the hostility toward home schooling we left behind. Praying for freedom to home school to continue here in the US.
would like to tweet this.
You mention the Third Reich and the practices of 1938 and things haven’t changed much. The civil authorities count on the lethargy of the people, and the fear they can induce in the masses in order to carry out the state agenda. Hitler did the same thing, and people thought “well, it’s just them and not us, so we’ll turn our heads.” In this way, the “foul yeast” get leavened throughout the system, and the result was the downfall of Germany.
We’ve seen what can happen when individuals take a stand, and gain momentum, both in the Bible, and in Germany (e.g. “tear down that wall Mr. Gorbachev”).
The key is to publicize things like you are doing with this article, and to stay vigilant, and remember that the evil one roars like a lion and is ALWAYS on the prowl.
Thank you.
Dr. Del,
This sent chills up and down my spine, and has made me sick on top of that. As a Jewish believer, with Grandparents that had to leave Germany prior to WWII, and with many family members that were not able to, this hits close to home in more ways than one. Freedom is not free. It must be fought for, with everything that you have, or you are not free at all. I have a request for all that are able to read this posting, if indeed it is posted: Pray. Seek first His Kingdom, and His righteousness. Pray for a revival to break out in our country, and in Germany.
God bless,
Steve
Acts 20:24
I feel for this German family. On another side, while in Germany this summer visiting a friend, I discovered her 4 children attend a Christian school. But the big surprise was that it only cost something like 50 Euros per child! Why? Because the German government pays the Christian teachers their salaries in the Christian school. It may not stay that way – but I’d like to see the US government do something like that!
Del – thanks so much for keeping us “in the know” about world events and how they affect each one of us. I just received a letter in the mail outlining how sex education in our schools is being used as a platform for homosexual adgenda as early as kindergarten. I never homeschooled my kids, but if I had kids at home I certainly would consider it today. Much prayer is needed for this country and the Christian teachers in the public school system.
Thank you for sharing this families story, I have been following it from the beginning, I am so blessed to live in an “easy” state I have home schooled both my children from kindergarten through high school with no problems or issues at all!
I pray God stays with this family & protects them for their convictions
I lived in Germany for 6 years and home schooled during each…. I was with the U.S. Army. My German neighbors made it clear that they thought we were wrong. I would like them to see my kids now ($11K Scholars Program Recipients). Now we live in a state that offers up to $2500 to assist in our homeschooling endeavors. I love freedom. It is what my father fought the Germans to maintain.
We started homeschooling when many in this country did it ‘underground’. Thanks largely to the efforts of Homeschool Legal Defense Assoc., we like this family now have the ability to do so without penalty. HSLDA was very instrumental in helping them as I understand it. They, like Focus On theFamily, have been voices of truth and courage for so long and we are so grateful and blessed to have all of you! We stand together with you and pray for you often.
A family in Sweden still doesn’t have their only child, a 7 year old boy. Visit ADLD’s Johanssons
Resource page. We need to be all praying for this family whose son has been taken away since June of 2009. They only get to visit 1 hour every 5 weeks.
What a tragedy! It truely breaks my heart.
Thanks for posting that article and for visiting this family.
We prayed for them during their trail and sent letters to the government.
I live in Quebec and there are lots of families that have been brought to court for home schooling their children. This province is still battling for the right to home educate. Quebec needs the prayers of Christians outside of Quebec to support us as we battle in court. We are blessed to have Home School Legal Defence that helps these families legally.
Blessings on your ministry Del !!!
Thank God for freedom! I pray this isn’t the last American generation to enjoy it. The world’s oppressed have a place to run to, but where shall we run if freedom is lost here?
Wow! I have been following this story and know that despite their cirumstance that you, Del, were a breath of fresh air for them to meet with! Please pass along my support and tell them I have been praying for their plight and want to welcome them here in America! May we never take our freedoms for granted and than the God that has given them to us and may we all do our part to preserve them for our future generations! Amen, amen!
In our area of Indiana there are very few successful, private Christian schoools. There are an increasing number of children being home schooled as an alternative to public education. I was blessed for a time to teach high school in a local christian school and used some of the Truth Project materials in discussion of Darwinism. My fear is that the state will begin a slow process of increasing requirements for college entrance to the point that the home schooled/small Christian schooled graduate will not be able to compete with the public school graduate in the college level classes. We may do the best we can in home school/Christian school education only to find the door to higher education slammed shut through stilted legislation. God’s Blessing to you Del, keep up the good work.
I wonder if the special agency in our US State Department that is charged with identifying those nations that persecute on the basis of religious belief ever talks about Germany. Surely those of us who support freedom of religion as a fundamental human right need to expose our folks to just how far secular utilitarians who seem to run Europe are willing to go.
I too have a story. We moved to Colorado in 1983, from California.I had been teaching my 4 children, we had a job change, and moved to Co. Within a short time someone reported us, and the superintendent of the local school showed up, unannounced and asked many questions. I knew my rights and knew he could not come into my house, uninvited, and he was not invited. He peeked in, only to see the 4 kids sitting at the table doing their work. My point is, know your rights, and your childres rights. We never got in trouble. But that scare helped me to see that at anytime the state wants to be nosey they can and will.
As a public school teacher, I have taught numerous students who were home schooled in elementary school. Some have learned very well, but not all parents are competent teachers. One student could barely write a grammatical sentence as a junior in high school. Her mother said that she always did “A” work in English. No, mom, you were way wrong. Home school is an option, but it leaves many student unprepared for real-life challenges, much less for transfer to high quality schools.
Germany is now part of the ONE WORLD (EUROPEAN )SLICE of Government, and like our government they follow all O.W.G. rules and lies. No, we cannnot stop fighting the good fight. Our own nation shows huge signs of this thinking!!!
Wow, this goes along with our sermon series on putting on the whole armor of God. We also just finished doing the Truth Project and I am ready to do it again! I know God used you richly to encourage and bless this family. I know that, they too will be greatly used by God. Thanks for your concern to turn our hearts to God.
Lynn commented that “Home school…leaves many student unprepared for real-life challenges, much less for transfer to high quality schools.” She cites as evidence her experience with one student.
I have worked in higher education for more than twenty years and frequently hear faculty colleagues lament the inability of many incoming students to do college-level work. Back in 2000, the Association of American Colleges and Universities launched an initiative called “Greater Expectations: The Commitment to Quality as a Nation Goes to College.” A disturbing statistic shared early in the resulting monograph is that of the 75% of high school graduates who continue their studies, 53% require remedial coursework when they get to college.
According to the most recent research facts provided by NHERI, “The home-educated typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests.” and “Home-educated students typically score above average on the SAT and ACT tests that colleges consider for admissions.”
It is undeniable that some homeschooled students are academically unprepared for college. It is also undeniable that the majority of students graduating from our public schools are academically unprepared for college.
Of course, life is about more than college and academics. The Greater Expectations monograph suggests that a central goal of a college education is for graduates to be enabled to “lead personally fulfilling and socially responsible lives.” NHERI research about adults who were home educated is encouraging. Adults who were home educated are much more civically involved than the general population, they participate in ongoing community service activity at about twice the rate of the general population, and they reported being “very happy” with life at about twice the rate of the general population.
Sources:
http://www.greaterexpectations.org/.
http://www.nheri.org/Research-Facts-on-Homeschooling.html
http://www.nheri.org/Home-Educated-and-Now-Adults.html
Hi, I live in scotland and while we are trying to bring our children up in godly fashion our education system is diametrically opposed to our beliefs. we have home schooled one child, because the teacher he had was not teaching him at all. we are aware of the difficulty her in scotland to home school. our laws state that there must be an education available, whether it is taught or not is up to the individual. we are now home schooling a second child and we were required to prove that we were fit and able to do so. Many people here a led to believe that their children must go to a state authorised school. However in england parents are having some of the basic benefits removed by home schooling, we see the thin end of the wedge. God will remain even when all other powers and authorities are brushed aside. I pray for those who are victimised and abused because of their belief. Thank you for highlighting this sad state of affairs..
What are we going to do when the vans pull up to our doors? There are way too many people in positions of power who want to be like the other nations. Is that ever an old song?
And God told Samuel to tell them what to expect.
Don’t we ever “get it?”
I applaud this family for seeking personal freedom to follow their convictions. So far, the US allows this type and I am thankful for the opportunity to follow my own convictions.
On a global note, I became aware of a new ISO 26000 guidance standard on social responsibility. This type of global effort on establishing moral rights and wrongs without a Biblical basis can lead to imposition of worldly standards outside of a governing body. I think this is a bad sign. It is currently written as a guidance, but over time it could become enforceable. It will impose committee defined morals onto corporations, which impact employees. Review it for yourself. Is this the type of thing that looks good but it is not quite true?
After reading this, I began to wonder, could this be the beginnings of a problem here with history books that people are trying to rewrite might come to this.
This does happen America! While I was a pastor in Florida, my wife was a stay at home mom taking care of our three adopted children and six additional children in foster care, I was arrested in my church office and latter that evening all the children were litteraly grabbed out of my wifes hands.
The ex guardian adlitum of our thre children was an atheist an she did openly showed hostility and hate toward us because of our Christian stance. She started a rumor that I had molested two children. No investigation. No reports. no nothing to support her rumors about me. Yet Iwas arrested. The reason that was used for the children being torn away from my wife ” she prayed with the children.”
That was in 1999.
Banning homeschooling is not the only way that governments can control what is being taught to children. I live in Australia and currently our left wing federal government is trying to impose a national education curriculum which would require all student to be indoctrinated in a humanist world view including 14 year olds studying bioethics in favour of genetic engineering, eugenics and abortion. And if you dont teach you kids this stuff they will fail to pass science because the humanist content it is more than 50% of the science curriculum.
Watch out in the USA because libertarian governments will always make a grab for centralized governance and then impose sweeping reforms such as a national education curriculum. First will come central health care, then central education.