PrincipledMom™

This post is on the first of 12 steps Mr. Rose recommends to renew your mind and formulate your philosophy of education. This book has done more to help me in my home educating journey than all other books combined (sans Bible) so I am really excited to do this study. If you want to join us, visit GACEstudy. 

See "A Guide to American Christian Education" (GACE) p. 118 for all the steps and reading list. Step one is to read about the key to BPA.

The key to the BPA is the heart, the internal cause of things.

Christian education begins with salvation. It is internal, a heart issue (Proverbs 4:23). So then naturally BPA will begin with the heart also. This is the first method of education I have personally encountered that worked this way. Everything else is about modifying
behavior or changing actions. BPA gets to the root of it all--the heart. That's why he calls it the key. You have to understand that to get before you can move to the next step. It unlocks everything else. It is the standard for everything from this point on (like an answer key).

Internal means "primary, causative, invisible." So this means the heart is God's domain. God is responsible, watchful and governing the hearts of men. The heart is not my domain, but as children their hearts are in my care. I am a steward. As they grow and learn Christian self-government they take more responsibility until they answer for their condition.

We discover our child's heart by their actions. (Proverbs 23:7, Lk. 6:45, Rom. 10:10) Their fruit will be evident. We are to teach them God's Word, writing it on their hearts. Then it becomes the fruit they need to produce. The internal will become external.

When studying the 7 principles of American Christian history and government, you should discover the internal to the external connection in each by relating:

1. how internal and external are related to the principles
2. God's Principle of Individuality is the foundational principle 
3. all others come from that principle
4. how they are expounded biblically, educationally, historically and governmentally (see chart on p. xxii)

Mr. Rose also said that Biblical principles are for "every area of every Christian's life." This applies to all subjects as well. We are to see internal to external in every subject because Christ is in every subject and His kingdom works the same wherever you go. That sets BPA apart from every other method out there.

In our study of Benjamin West we were creating a T-chart comparing and contrasting schools in colonial days and today. One of the main differences we discovered was that colonial schools were concerned with character while today's schools (and many parents) are concerned with conduct. You cannot simply control conduct and raise godly children and good citizens. You will have outward compliance and inward rebellion. We need our children to understand that we are concerned with their hearts and they are to control their own behavior. Mr Rose states on p. 30,

The correlative of Christian self-government  is a Christian character and conscience (internal) whereby the individual student is both responsible and accountable  to the internal demands of God's law written on the heart. The effect is a self-governed,  free and independent man among men, who reasons from God's Word rather than adapts to his environment or acts without reflection.

It really is as hard and as easy as a heart change. The subjects both come from that and cause that. And I will explain that in more detail as the study progresses.