For generations the media and universities have been dominated by Marxist ideology, ideology that has never proven itself valid in time and space with real people and societies. Still, it rules within the elite because it allows manipulation and requires godlessness.
We need to know not out of idle, speculative interest, but because it is a shaper of the world today, the world we must function and minister in and the world we must prepare our children for.
Assumptions that used to lie hidden are coming more and more out into the open, and we are not prepared to properly identify them or respond to them.
"The ideas and thoughts that are shared here have been encouraging and challenging as I learn. I’ve also loved the spring seminars and the mentorship opportunities on the Sophie level!"
— Sarah Springer, Sistership Sophie
One reason we read and learn is to be able to understand what is going on in the world around us. We don't want to be in our own little safe bubble where we don't touch those around us with wisdom and grace and gospel truth.
The reality about our own time is that our cultural and social assumptions are Marxist.
That's not just a bad name to call people with whom we disagree. It's a thing. In Marxist thought, your guilt is not personal responsibility but rather group guilt. You aren't an individual with rights and responsibilities in Marxist thought, you are a part of a group that either has power or doesn't. Utopia comes when the underprivileged classes overthrow the privileged classes.
Knowing this very practical philosophy that is guiding so many social movements right now is crucial if we're going to be and send out an effective witness. Marxism is a philosophy that comes out people's fingertips and it is antithetical to Christianity.
A small band of homeschooling moms are preparing themselves for today's cultural milieu. We are outfitting ourselves for the spiritual warfare of our day by reading primary sources and solid analysis.
By the end of our 12-week study, we will be able to identify Marxism, define it, and respond with wisdom and grace to its effects in our society.
These are the books we're reading and discussing together:
Karl Marx
True understanding should begin by taking the primary source at its word. What did Marx himself actually say? The Manifesto only takes about an hour to read, but you'll never look at modern politics the same after you read it.
Plutarch
Communism is not actually a new idea. It's been tried after Marx, but it's also been tried before Marx. Our study of Plutarch will show us many different motivations behind communist efforts and give us opportunity to discuss class struggle outside our modern hot button issues.
Melvin Tinker
Tinker was a British minister who saw how anti-Christian Marxist thought is. He demonstrates that the social issues of our day are spiritual battles not to be ignored. Tinker will help us explore applications of our newfound knowledge.
We want to grow in discernment and wisdom so we can respond with grace and gospel to the issues of our day.
Our emphasis while we read this books will be on practical application in our own spheres as homeschooling moms.
We don't want to just know more. We want to be able to teach and live better with a better understanding of what's actually going on in the world around us.
Pursue the education you wish you had & learn to pass it on.
In Sistership I am encouraged to read more and think deeper--it's great!
— Hilary Sharrar
We are passionate about reclaiming and pursuing our own education, and we know that real education happens best in community.
We desire to see a grassroots resurgence in the liberal arts, especially dialectic, the lost of of truth-seeking conversation.
So we created a not-on-Facebook place for reading, thinking homeschool moms to gather and engage in meaningful, fruitful conversation.
We called it Sistership, and we'd love to have you join us.
Brandy Vencel, Pam Barnhill
Abby Wahl, Mystie Winckler
Find camaraderie and inspiration to keep you engaged in the project of true education - for yourself and for your kids.
"Here I find humble women driven by the desire for knowledge. They challenge me to continue to seek the truth, and to gaze upon the Lord’s beauty and truth and goodness. They nourish my mind and always give me more to read or seek. I am encouraged to continue to learn while being a better teacher to my children."
- Sabelle Millimono
"FB can be draining and discouraging but this space spreads a feast of ideas which encourage growth, feed the soul, and inspire."
- Clarissa Wilson
"I enjoy having a place to think about my own formation and education, not just that of my children. I've graduated two and have two left to homeschool, so the day is not too far off when I will not be actively homeschooling others, but I believe that I'm born a person and need to feed my mind on ideas as much as my children need to."
- Jami Marstall
"As a beginner homeschooling momma who is trying to reeducate myself I find this group so life giving, inspiring and motivating towards self-discipline in a way I have never been before."
- Felicia Buhler
But we can give a lifelong love of knowledge and learning when we ourselves have that lifelong love and practice. Let's keep the fire flaming within ourselves.
The best teachers are found in the best books. In Sistership, we read much more than just books on education. We read widely.
Reading does you no good if you don't think about it. In Sistership, we don't let information go in one ear and out the other. We think deeply.
We don't truly know or believe an idea until we're practicing it. Virtue is our aim, so we always bring ideas around to practices. We apply faithfully.
Own it. Grow into it. Live it.
Find your sisters.
Pursue the education you wish you had & learn to pass it on.