Here’s another sign that society has lost its ability to think rationally: Heritage Christian School of Findlay, Ohio is getting pummeled in the press and in comments sections on YouTube and news sites for disciplining a student who broke the school’s rules by attending his girlfriend’s public high school prom. Meanwhile, Tyler Frost (the kid who broke the rule) has become an overnight sensation. He’ll be appearing on CBS’ The Early Show tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, and he has similar invitations from Inside Edition and ABC’s PrimeTime. He’s gone from an anonymous Christian school senior to a martyr and anti-establishment cult hero in a matter of days—all by breaking the rules he willingly agreed to, then publicizing it for his own benefit. That’s nuts. Yet, it’s front page news, regionally and nationally:
- Local News Cast (here and here)
- Local Newspaper
- YouTube Video (including surprisingly harsh comments)
- Fox News
- MSNBC
Why do I agree with Heritage Christian School, the media’s most recent conservative values “whipping boy”?
First, because they’re right. As a public school kid, I chose to attend my senior prom way back in 1990. The mood, the music, the dancing, the dress, and even the “right of passage” nostalgia attached to proms all contribute to making them a dangerous event for hormone-charged teenagers. At my prom (which, amazingly, was almost 20 years ago), there was a basic understanding: the guy paid for the tickets, the meal, the tux, and perhaps the limo, but he would be paid back in the end (wink, wink). Everybody knows that prom is as much about the extra-curriculars that follow it as about the event itself. For people to act as though a school or church or family which tries to protect a teenager from such obvious temptations is unreasonable or unkind is misguided. Although the concept makes people giggle, the Scripture clearly and repeatedly calls Christians to live lives differently from those who don’t know Christ, including avoiding and resisting temptation to immorality (Eph 5:3-8; Rom 13:13-14). Christians are called by Scripture to be holy in real life circumstances (1 Pet 1:15-16). Per Tyler’s own admission (and per the experience of anyone who’s ever been to a prom), the temptations at high school proms are a reality, and they’re not at all conducive to a life of holiness. That’s not legalism; it’s common sense. I’m not suggesting that everyone who attends a prom is diving into immorality, but for a Christian to put himself in such a situation is unwise. And for a school or parent to protect teens by putting proms off-limits is wise.
Second, because they’re standing on principle. All they’re doing is enforcing a rule which they’ve had in place for years. Tyler knew about the rule and knew he was breaking it, yet he’s shocked that the school is actually taking the rule or his blowing it off seriously enough to suspend him and prohibit him from marching in its graduation:
“I kind of expected he say something [sic] to me about him not approving of it,” Tyler said. “But I didn’t think it would be anything this serious.”
Let’s review the situation, sans the “poor kid vs. legalistic oppression” spin of the press:
- The Christian school has long-standing rules in place regarding student conduct.
- The student knows this (he’s attended the school for 13 years).
- The student and his parents agreed to abide by the rules (he signed a statement to that effect at the beginning of the school year).
- The school is enforcing the rule. And whereas they could expel him, they’re showing mercy.
That’s it. Pretty cut and dry. The fact that it’s deemed worthy of national news says more about our “you-gotta-fight-for-your-right-to-party” society than it does about the school. We have it exactly backwards: Tyler is made a hero for reneging on his word, and the school is made into the picture of mean-spirited zealotry for keeping its word. Again, it’s nuts.
A few concluding thoughts:
Wouldn’t it be great if parents (a) encouraged children to keep their word, (b) supported authority rather than undermining it, and (c) stopped being naïve about the influences of a decadent culture?
And wouldn’t it be great if news agencies (a) focused on real news, (b) didn’t twist stories of defiance and disobedience into stories of courage and heroism, (c) had the common sense to acknowledge that the kid agreed to abide by the rules, and therefore the school has every right—and even responsibility—to carry them out?
Now, is Christianity all about rules against dancing and the like? Absolutely not. It’s about a relationship with the crucified and risen Christ that provides sinful people with forgiveness for sins, deliverance from sins, hope rather than despair, and a present and eternal relationship with God, despite the fact that we deserve only His judgment. (More information here.)
Can Christian schools or parents make young people moral through rules? Not at all. Only the grace of God expressed through the gospel of Jesus Christ can do that. Nevertheless, saving grace does indeed require, motivate, and enable making godly choices (Titus 2:11-13), and responsible rules are often necessary to protect young people under our care in the meantime.
Bottom line: Even if you don’t agree with the rule or the principles behind it, you have to appreciate the fact that Tyler and his parents agreed to it and should therefore be willing to accept the consequences without whining about it on the airwaves. Tyler’s not a marty or a hero. After all, it doesn’t take courage to break your word. It takes courage to keep it, even when you’re being misrepresented and mocked for doing so. Kudos to Heritage Christian School.
Filed under: Contemporary Issues, Fundamentalism | Tagged: Christians and Prom, Heritage Christian School Findlay Ohio, Tyler Frost |
My Two Cents 
Relativism is really the problem here. We know there is black and white. Truth exists no matter how many deny it or recklessly push it aside. As Christians, we cannot cherry-pick what biblical principles we follow and which ones we break. The father is exemplifying a disease that is corroding today’s Church. It is subtle. It is deceptive. And it is cloaked in ‘tolerance’ and ‘acceptance,’ the banner philosophies by which evil is advancing in the Church as well as the world today. Many will label Heritage as intolerant and out of touch. But it is the church that is out of touch with what God’s holiness demands and what it provides.
His holiness is the perfection of moral health, the state in which this world was created. The best environment man has ever known. But sin came and has been propagating the lie ever since: ‘There are better things than God.’ The prom is a nothing but a ‘pretty little package’ wrapped up with sensualities and sins ‘of our former ignorance.’ God’s holiness is so much more satisfying. It is what gives us abundant life. It is what saves us from this world and its empty promises. It gives us satisfying, sustaining joy. God is not lording over us with a set of rules. He is leading us by His Spirit into a more perfect union with Himself. And that is what is at stake here: Is God’s holiness more rewarding than two hours of pleasure? Is integrity and respect for authority flexible?
There are few men in fundamentalism that I love and admire more than Gordon Dickson. We regularly interact and I always am challenged to love God’s Word more when I’ve talked or instant messaged with him. We may not agree on peripherals, but I have benefited from his teaching and his sincere love for God. I’m disappointed with the media, our society, and the boy’s family, but I think there are few people who will be able to ride this storm with such dignity as will Pastor Dickson and his church. I agree: kudos to them.
(It does make me glad i don’t have a Christian school though, and it confirms in my mind one more reason why I’ll keep saying no to that proposition whenever it’s brought up as a possible ministry for our church!)
Chris,
I’ll say publicly what I said to you via e-mail earlier: Fundamentalism should hire you as its VP for Public Affairs/Media Relations.
P.S. Sometimes Josh Scheiderer cries a little on the inside if you don’t give him an HT. ;-)
i have a source close to Josh Scheiderer, and he denies any hard feelings about non-HT’s.
back to the substance of this fine blog post…
Thank you, Brother Anderson, for bringing some biblically clear thinking to this amazingly un-newsworthy story.
Unfortunately, I am only mildly surprised by how some Christians are responding to this. The knee jerk reactions of legalism for every painful action of authority is getting to be the norm–to our shame. Are we to say that any enforced policy is legalistic? The authority of the local church is being undermined here (Hebrews 13:7, 17), and little do the parents know that in the process they are undermining their own authority (Ephesians 6:1-3). I believe we continue to slide into a culture where the scope of all authority will be determined by those under that authority. Which I believe means the authority is not really the authority; those under them are. Another word for this, I believe, is “rebellion”.
As usual the consequences of sin (defying authority, breaking your word, etc) are always more than the sinner anticipated. Remind anyone of Cain? (Genesis 4:13)
For His glory,
Christian Markle
“Frost’s father, Stephan Johnson, said he plans to file a lawsuit against Heritage Christian because the suspension is unfair and unwarranted, he said.”
At least we know where he gets it.
They likely signed the agreement with fingers crossed, as I’m sure many parents of Christian school students have done, but what kind of example is that for the kids?
On the bright side with three network TV crews present, I’m sure the boy never faced the temptation to be paid back (wink, wink).
I agree, Tim.
I don’t know Gordon Dickson well, Bob, but everything I’ve heard has been very positive. And I often have the same thoughts about not having a Christian school. Shwew. You go, Josh.
Speaking of Josh…er, Anonymous…HT: Josh Scheiderer. :)
Ben, no thanks on the PR gig.
Nick and Christian, I certainly agree that the dad’s response is more troubling (and probably behind) Tyler’s. A lawsuit? Mercy.
What a mess. I graduated from a good christian school years ago. My dad was a teacher in the public school. I attended both public and private school. I taught in both public and private school. There are valid arguments for and against both. My girls are in public school currently, but I don’t know for how long.
Look, you don’t have to agree with all the rules, you just have to obey them. Was there anything immoral or sinful about not wearing a belt to school? NO! Did I write boys up for not wearing a belt because that was the rule? YES!
And I wish parents (esp. christians) would stop using lawyers as some sort of legalized blackmail/hitmen.
It’s a shame that this seems to be the only kind of publicity we as christians seem to get from the media, but I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise.
the school should publish the statement that students are required to sign. The school says they forbid dances, but does it cover when the students are off school grounds? Second the priciple has stated that the students need approval the attened another schools dance. So why wasnt approval given ? the student could have not told the school, and if he kept quiet to his friends no one would have found out. They should be happy he’s honest and informed the school. Suspending him is one thing if he in fact broke a rule that state sudents are forbidden from dancing anywhere in the world , but to not let him graduate with his friends is some what un christian as well. Just because he did this they are going to ruin what should be a great time for this student that cant ever be repeated. It’s not like beat someone up, gout drunk, used drugs, or stole anything. He did something most americans do, go to the prom. I wonder if any staff at the school went to proms when they were younger, someone should find that out, if so nothing bad happened, so what makes it so wrong?
The principal signed a permission slip….then let the “council” get him out of it. ….what about HIS duty to stand behind his signature?
And people are right…they are not producing the “agreement” signed by the student and parents for a reason…. Maybe it doesn’t spell things out like they say. Especially since the principal used a qualifier by stating he discovered the no dancing rule was put in place by the school committee way before he was hired. Apparently even he didn’t know it existed.
And why bother stating a christian ought not put themselves in a place of rock and roll and girls dancing in low cut dresses, if the rule really was that clear and he could just quote the rule. It sure sounds at this point that the principal is in the wrong….
If they can’t produce an agreement with explicit rule language that supports their claim that the student agreed to said rule, a lawsuit surely will stick.
[…] Heritage has posted an official response on their website. I won’t take the time to offer any thoughts, but will instead just point you to Chris Anderson’s characteristically helpful post. […]
Good article. The most troubling aspect of this is the attitudes shown by the boy and his family. WWJD? I doubt he would be suing his school for punishing him for eating and drinking with publicans and sinners.
Let’s not forget that Christian schools are notorious for having the most out-of-touch parents, most rebellious students, and generally the most ignorant families around. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it thousands of times. Some family with a wayward youth who is causing trouble or gets kicked out of the local public school looks in the phonebook under “R” for religious institutions and enrolls the student in the school in complete, utter, absolute ignorance of anything about the school, only that “it’ll fix li’l Johnny, dang nab it.” My kids are long grown, but I would never in a million years send my kids, if I had any of school age, to the typical Christian school because of this reason. It’s been decades since I’ve had any contact with Christian schools and have been out of the loop, but my guess is that maybe nothing has changed.
CAVEAT: I’m NOT saying this family is completely ignorant and has no clue what kind of school they send their kid to. There is not enough info to garnish this from the story. But Christian schools are notorious for having the worst students around because they are full of problem students who really did end up there only because the ignorant parents really did look up “R” in the dictionary.
If anyone from the school reads this, or the famous student or members of his family, please understand that I do not mean to impugn any person, family or institution. I have never even heard of this school before today, and of course have never heard of this family either.
All I was trying to say is that Christian schools have historically been full of students and families who are about as removed from the institution as much as 8 year old T-ball players are from Major League Baseball players. Historically, many constituents of a Christian school don’t know the first thing about what they are getting into. I wasn’t kidding when I said many families end up there because they really do look up “R” in the dictionary. And the schools are so desperate for students and money that of course they take anyone who signs on the dotted line and adds to the enrollment and tuition base. Many Christian schools had very confused kids because the institution and the family were polar opposites and the families obviously had not the slightest clue what they were getting into. The parents wouldn’t really have a clue if the school was a Catholic, Muslim, Mormon, Baptist, or Jewish school. They just figured “if it’s religious then this dang school must be pritty good to learn my kid somethin'”
I left that movement decades ago and perhaps I am just dredging up my old memories too much! Again, please just take this as an anecdotal post and realize that I don’t know any of the parties involved.
Tyler Frost broke NO biblical commandment. This is merely the “Christian” school and Calvary Baptist Church throwing the weight of its own legalism around.
Even Jesus broke “the rules”! ’twas one of the reasons why the Pharisees sought to have Him killed. And that is why Tim England is doing this to Tyler Frost. England and Calvary Baptist have COMPLETELY forgotten that Christ put to death the Rule of Law so that we might have the Rule of Love instead.
Steve, as a pastor of seen good kids from public schools, Christian schools, and home schools; I’ve also seen hardened kids from all 3 educational settings. So I don’t think we can say that Christian schools are filled with malcontents. Also, Tyler’s been in the school for 13 years, so he wasn’t sent there as a “reclaim” project.
Chris, there are a number of serious problems comparing Tyler to Christ. For starters, Jesus is God and Tyler is not. That about settles it, I think. But not only was Christ the author of the actual biblical laws and therefore over both them and the Pharisees’ additions, but He also “broke rules” for the sake of ministry—healing on the Sabbath, etc. He certainly didn’t do anything for His own pleasure. Tyler did what he wanted to do. I get that. But comparing him to Christ is beyond ridiculous. Let’s not pursue that line of reasoning here anymore. It borders on blasphemy.
[…] Chris Anderson, Pastor of Tri-County Bible Church, Madison, Ohio […]
Tim England and those of Calvary Baptist Church are not God either.
And it’s well past time that we as followers of Christ begin to question those who come to us claiming that they have such authority from Him.
Of course they’re not God, Chris. No one compared them to God the way you compared Tyler to Jesus.
Another major difference that I should have mentioned: Jesus didn’t sign a contract promising to obey the Pharisees’ (bogus) rules. Tyler did agree to obey the school’s rules, then didn’t keep his word. Scripture commands us to do so, even when we don’t think it’s in our best interest (Psalm 15:4b). And, of course, it commands us to submit to our authorities (Rom 13:1 ff; 1 Pet 2:13 ff).
Tyler admits he signed the contract here. He also says it was worth it. Fine. So stop complaining and take the consequences.
BTW, the idea that he was agreeing only not to dance at the Christian school is laughable. I don’t imagine that that’s a big problem at Heritage. :)
Last thing (as we probably won’t agree anyway): I’m all for Christians checking up on their spiritual leaders as exemplified in Acts 17:11. Absolutely. But don’t confuse that with rebellion against authority, as Tyler demonstrated and which Scripture condemns very clearly. If Tyler didn’t want to be under the authority of the school, he didn’t have to enroll there.
Enough of this. It’s a tempest in a teapot. But the school was fine to do what they did.
The people at Heritage Christian should read 1st Corinthians then.
Paul has quite a bit to say about the issue of liberty in Christ. And I can’t see how Tyler Frost going to a prom was going to cause *any* legitimate stumbling for his fellow believers.
Chris, do you honestly think he had no obligation to keep his word?
I believe that integrity is sacred, but that mercy and grace are even MORE sacred for those of us who follow Christ sincerely.
For all we know, Tyler and his girlfriend didn’t even start their relationship until after the “contract” was signed. Should she be penalized for it, denied the memory of a senior prom for the rest of her life?
Tyler Frost put the happiness of one that he loves over the “rules” of other men. I believe that is quite Christ-like, indeed.
Do the principal and pastoral staff of Heritage Christian even care for such a thing… or are they only concerned with “rules” which have no biblical basis at all?
Does Tim England NOT have enough faith in what his school is teaching, that it’s not possible for him to trust his students with the character education that they are supposedly receiving from Heritage Christian?
I have written about this already: Tim England is enforcing CHURCH-ianity. And that is a far thing indeed from demonstrating the love and mercy of Christ. This has no doubt turned OFF more people from Christ than it has attracted them to Him.
2nd Corinthians 2:15: “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
Or as the old saying goes: “You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
Here’s a shocking video that a concerned friend just sent me. I used to let my kids watch Little House On The Prairie every Monday night – until last night! As a concerned parent who thought he was “up on everything,” I can see that I have been woefully ignorant. Please, do not let your kids watch Little House On the Praire!
Jjones, thanks for the comic relief. As usual.
Chris, your calling for Christ-like mercy is grossly hypocritical in light of the venom you’re spreading about Heritage Christian and its principal on your blog. You can say whatever you want there, but any more posts you make here will be deleted. Ridiculous.
Chris Knight,
To be honest, you sound pretty Pharasaical, holding up a standard that the Bible never gives. The Bible doesn’t say you have to allow teens to go to the prom. So when you say the school must, you are establishing rules the the Bible does not. Jesus condemned people who held up unbiblical rules as the standard for righteousness and mercy.
You complain about mercy and grace, but you are showing none of either to this church, school, and principle. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical on your part?
You say that this young lady was being denied the memory of a senior prom. Jesus didn’t have that memory and he seemed to turn out pretty well. Billions of others through history didn’t have that memory and they seemed to do alright. (Or perhaps we have finally hit upon the reason for societal dysfunction in our word: “Seniorpromlackofmemory disorder.”)
You say that “This has no doubt turned OFF more people from Christ than it has attracted them to Him.” But I have to wonder how you know that. Are you God? You have some survey? Or you just making it up as you go?
Frankly, I think your arguments are bankrupt. Your position may be right or may not be (and I think Chris A pretty much put that question to rest), but your support of it could not be more lacking.
We all need to pray for Heritage Christian School, Calvary Baptist Church, Tim England, and Pastor Dickson, that God will be glorified in this issue. The mainstream media are and will continue to do everything possible to ridicule and bring public pressure against these folks.
Being the good, mush-brain American Christian that I am, I always suspected that I have been deprived of something that would explain my unhappiness with God and hatred of anyone that threatens to put a finger in the eye of my carnal appetite. Now I finally have an explanation: I have NO memory of going to a Senior Prom.
Alas! I’ve been robbed. Thus deprived, I will never be able to witness effectively to other of my entertainment-numb, sensually-charged compatriots who are intoxicated by pleasures that I envy even though I am, of course, trying to convince them that those pleasures are inferior. Oh, how I wish you legalists could understand me! I long to have my base passions inflamed and stirred up so I can tell others about the glory of Christ, the beauty of heaven, and the eternal pleasure of knowing God with all the devotion of a young man who has just given his girlfriend a hickie. If only sinners could see that I can get as turned as they, they will come to Christ in hordes.
We should be thankful for the valiant young highschoolers like Tyler that are so aroused for the cause of Christ they are willing to take the message of His mercy and grace straight to the highschool prom, all the while following Christ’s methodology of resisting the Pharisees and of sending his disciples in pairs. Granted, they’re going in each other’s arms with a slow dance, but this is 2009. Tyler is Martin Luther. A reformation has begun.
My testimony is shot. I have never been to a prom. Sigh.
Chris, thanks for being understanding and “getting it!” I like to have fun and I hope no one took it the wrong way and thought I was making fun of anyone or any place. That was not my intent in the least (if anyone misunderstood)………..Back to the seriousness.
FWIW – Some verses my husband shared with me on this subject.
I Peter 4:3-5 (ESV) – (3) The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties and lawless idolatry. (4) With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; (5) but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
I agree with everything you say! BUT why did Mr. England sign the permission slip? And once he signed it, why didn’t he stand behind his decision?
If the rule was one of scriptural command or principle, you wouldn’t ever give permission to disobey it. If the rule was one of Christian liberty, and, in the authority structure under which you are operating, exceptions are allowed to be made, then you decide whether to make an exception or not. But once you have made that decision, assuming you are allowed to make it, shouldn’t you stand by that decision? Why punish a student for doing what you have given him permission to do?????
What a horrible thing to have your signature on a permission slip allowing a student to participate in the environment you describe in your blog.
What an appropriate text, Donna (and Todd). Thank you!
Just wondering….Would this even be an issue if this had been a private Muslim school? Do Muslims in the public school system attend the prom? Like I said, just wondering…
[…] in a teapot over Heritage Christian School’s suspension of a student who broke a known rule, some have wondered why the school’s principal, Tim England, signed the “permission slip” required […]
Holy crap…
Tim England signed the permission for Tyler to attend his girlfriend’s prom. If it was against school policy then why did Tim sign it in the first place? I don’t know Tim and I don’t know Tyler, but I give my props to Tyler for sticking with his decision.
I work with teens and am part of a church who cares more about seeing people come to know Christ, not about rules and regulations.
In the post, the author says “At my prom (which, amazingly, was almost 20 years ago), there was a basic understanding: the guy paid for the tickets, the meal, the tux, and perhaps the limo, but he would be paid back in the end (wink, wink).” – you are generalizing your opinions. You are making it sound as though everyone who attends a school prom stands on this same opinion. I went to three proms with three different girls and not once did my date feel like she had to pay me back with sex or making out, nor did I expect it. Your argument is unreasonable and baseless.
What should be at the core here is not if Tyler should be rightly punished for breaking a school rule (which shouldn’t be enforcable outside of the school), but if the guidelines that Heritage has are outdated to begin with. I’m all for living holy and righteous, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be holier than thou or self-righteous. We are ALL sinners and there is NO higerarchy of sin. One sin is not larger than the other.
Christ did not come condemn but to save. I’m tired of out-of-touch “christians” making old fashioned rules. Going to prom and dancing is not a sin and it won’t always lead to sin. Just like drinking alcohol isn’t a sin, but drinking too much can be. Can’t we trust that if someone is a Christ-follower that they have some ability to make right choices without fear of judgement from others? This should apply to ALL Christ-followers no matter their age. If we truly believe that Christ is perfect and someone follows Him, can’t we assume that they will have His guidance to make right decisions?
Such as Tyler going to prom. Why do we assume the worst that just because Tyler went to prom, that he will automatically get caught up in sex or too much underage drinking or anything else?
I applaud Tyler for sticking to his decision.
As people who follow Christ, we should be more worried about the people who are going to burn in hell and trying to show them that there is another way through Christ’s sacrifice.
And those people aren’t in the churches, everyone… they are in the bars, the strip clubs, the corners, and yes, even high school proms.
We should stop worrying about enforcing man-made “biblical” rules and be more concerned about a world going to hell and trying to de-populate hell.
“We should stop worrying about enforcing man-made “biblical” rules and be more concerned about a world going to hell and trying to de-populate hell.”
I was tempted to try this logic on the police officer that stopped me several sundays ago as I was rushing to worship with God’s people on the Lord’s Day in complete dedication to honoring the Lord even at the expense of man-made rules. But I got the distinct impression from him that he would not tolerate the silly reasoning that seems to make so much sense to some youth workers, so I opted for an out-dated response: I humbly acknowledged that as a driver on that road I had tacitly agreed to abide by the rules of that road and even though my motives were at least as noble as the Evangelist Tyler Frost’s I nonetheless had to man up to the simple fact that I had violated a –what I still believe to be — stupid man-made rule.
The above youth worker has lauded the brave Frost for taking his stand and caring for the souls of men at the highschool prom. I cannot wait to hear how the young Evangelist confronted the worldly sensuality, rebuked immorality, and preached Christ to the lost.
I’ll watch CBS in the morning. I’m sure they’ll fill me in.
Well, Bill.. I suppose I should have clarified my man-made “biblical” rules statement. I did not mean rules created by government. (I’ve been stopped by my fair share of police officers and have “manned-up” to pay the fine just as you did) I mean rules put in place by well intentioned believers onto other well intentioned believers and using scripture to back up their rules.
Your comment has more sarcasm in it than necessary.
Listen, I didn’t call Tyler an evangelist. But in his own way, I think there is a subtle message that Tyler gave to the other people at the prom: “Even though I believe in Christ and follow Him, I am not above you, I am not better than you, dancing is not a sin, I’m here to have a good time and enjoy prom with my girlfriend.”
In simpler terms, just because we believe in and follow Christ, that does not make us any better than someone who does not. We all have our junk and sin. We just have a hope that God’s grace covers over our junk and we need to share that with everyone else.
Jeff, let’s discuss one thing at a time. There are several issues that you have amalgamated into one. You misunderstand me if you think I’m primarily concerned about the worldliness of proms. It’s the worldliness of lying that has me concerned.
1. Is dancing/prom/etc. a sin?
2. Is breaking a rule that you agreed to keep a sin?
On the first…. we can debate and discuss legalism surrounding these issues all day long. I’m not prepared to say that going to a prom is necessarily a sin.
On the second… I am prepared to say that if a man says he will do something and then does not do it, he’s lied. It’s as simple as that. It really doesn’t matter if the rule is stupid or man-made or extra-biblical.
When I was on the mission field under a controlling mission board my wife and I were tempted to go watch a movie one night in a European city miles away from any body else we knew in the world. The movie was good (and we go to movies now all the time) and we knew that there was absolutely nothing biblical about the mandate to not see a movie. HOWEVER, we had signed an agreement and, following the admonition of Psalm 15, we remembered that a godly man swears to his own hurt and still keeps his word.
Now, defenders of the Martyr Frost may say that the rule doesn’t apply to off campus but then they would have to show
1. That there is a rational reason why the school would forbid Tyler to dance and drink only on the school campus that, in fact, never hosts a dancing/drinking event.
2. That there is no evidence anywhere that even public schools do not have rules that affect how students act off campus.
3. That Tyler was mentally handicapped to the point that he had no clue that the rule applied to outside events.
4. That Tyler’s parents were forced by secret agents to sign a document that said they would abide by the rules.
5. That the school surreptitiously changed the rules after the parents and Tyler had signed on to something completely different.
Once these things are shown, fine. You have a case.
However, otherwise you simply have a punk and his step-daddy who don’t have the manliness of character to say, “Our word is our bond.” And, if they didn’t understand that to be the mind of the school when they signed it, then you have a young punk and his step-daddy who aren’t very smart.
Either way, quit making a hero out of him.
[…] Then comes the best part, where Chris tells why he agrees with Heritage Christian School […]