Homeschool

A Baptist pastor has been forced to defend his sermon after advocating for traditional marriage through Amendment One, the North Carolina legislation that would outlaw same-sex marriage, which is up for vote on May 8. For his fiery defense of marriage, Pastor Sean Harris was attacked by gay advocacy groups, who maintain that the minister advised violence toward effeminate children.

"If I had to say it again, I would say it differently, no doubt," he told FayObserver.com, noting his words were taken out of context. "Those weren't planned words, but … the word of God makes it clear that effeminate behavior is ungodly. I'm not going to compromise on that."

Pastor Harris, of Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville, apologized for the comments in a formal statement, but not the Christian belief that homosexuality is a sin, as put forth by the Bible. However, he says the exaggerative tactics of his sermon — in which he suggested to "crack" or "punch" a youth — were sorely misconstrued, and easily twisted by those looking to confuse the issue. more >>

Michael Pearl is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, and founder of No Greater Joy Ministries in Tennessee who became a point of controversy when his teachings about child training became linked by critics and the media to at least three fatal cases of child abuse. He spoke with The Christian Post recently and discussed what he sees as the difference between "disciplining" and "physical punishment" with one of his critics, Janet Heimlich, a journalist and author of Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment.

Pearl and his wife, Debi – both of whom are ministers and authors – penned several books about family life in accordance with Christian faith, based on the Scriptures and their own experiences and understanding of Christianity. One of these books, To Train Up a Child, which recommends strict "training" methods including such that can cause children pain, became the center of a controversy, especially after it was discovered that parents of three children who abused them to death were known to be familiar with the book and the Pearls' teachings. The book was self-published by the ministry in 1994 and sold an estimated 670,000 copies since.

The pastor's support for practicing spanking as a disciplining method, which Pearl claims is "natural" and coherent with the Christian faith, often causes an outcry, even though the Pearls are not the first authors to advocate spanking. more >>

Two popular evangelical Christian speakers and authors, who are a married couple and founders of "Marriage for Today," a radio show helping other couples with marital problems in accordance to the Bible, are scheduled to appear on CNN to defend child-raising methods advocated by controversial Tennessee evangelical pastor Michael Pearl.

The Rev. Mike Fox and his wife, Trisha, told The Christian Post Tuesday they have been successfully practicing child-raising methods advocated by Pearl and his wife, Debi, on their "most beautiful daughter in the world." They also claimed that media outlets have "crucified" Pearl without analyzing the nature of his advise deeply enough.

The 66-year-old evangelical pastor of 40 years and his spouse, founders of No Greater Joy Ministries, found themselves in the spotlight after some reports linked their recent book, To Train Up A Child, to brutal cases of child abuse. Pearl was interviewed by CNN and The New York Times recently. more >>

Correction appended

The author of a book analyzing the phenomenon of child abuse in religious communities has criticized Michael Pearl, an evangelical Christian pastor and author of a book on child rearing using corporal punishment, suggesting that his teachings might be potentially dangerous to children's health and life.

The Tennessee-based founding pastor of the No Greater Joy ministry has found himself under scrutiny after his controversial book, To Train Up a Child, educating parents to raise their children with the use of corporal punishment, which he co-wrote with his wife, Debi, became linked  to several cases of criminal child abuse. One of those cases was the tragic death of Hana Williams, whose body was found in her parents backyard with signs of abuse. A copy of To Train Up a Child was reportedly found in the parents' possession. more >>

Correction Appended

Many Christian parents are reporting that the Girl Scout's affiliation with “Planned Parenthood” is not something that they want their children involved with, and have now begun removing their daughters from the organization.

In recent years, it has become more apparent to many Girl Scouts and their parents that the wholesome values that the organization claims to stand behind may not be as wholesome as expected. In response, they are favoring several faith-based girl empowerment organizations that have been founded as alternatives to the Girl Scouts. more >>

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has defended her parenting technique, which has been criticized by some for making her children travel the globe with her instead of sending them to school. She fought back by saying that the modern-day education system is such a mess that her children are better off being homeschooled and travelling the world with her.

Jolie, and partner Brad Pitt, have six children; Maddox, 9; Pax, 7; Zahara, 6; Shiloh, 5 and 2-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. Instead of giving the children a permanent school location, Jolie chooses to hire private tutors and homeschool them.

Currently starring in Kung Fu Panda 2, Jolie insists that her methods of raising the children are far more educational than the current school systems on offer. more >>