I like to read comments. For anyone who has spent considerable time on the internet, it’s widely accepted wisdom that the quickest way to have a bad day is to read the comments from a post that you adamantly agree or disagree with. But I do it anyways, because I NEED to know that either everyone agrees with me or people that disagree with me are dumb. Also I’m plagued with a small voice that, whenever I make a declarative statement, whispers, “you cannot say anything with confidence because you’re wrong all the time and sometimes you lie.” If you’re wondering: yes, I did try and accept Jesus into my heart via the Sinner’s Prayer no fewer than 40 times.
I want to address one comment in particular, made on a video I’ve written about before. The commenter posted a phrase I’d heard previously but had never academically engaged with. In a video featuring a Bible scholar making the argument for sending children to public school, someone wrote as a rebuttal: “Don’t give your children to Caesar and be surprised when they come back Romans.”
Let’s get this out of the way: what a dope talking point. Public schools, in this metaphor, are an extension of the government—an institution at the time of Jesus that was openly persecuting the Jewish people. Later, tensions with Rome would lead to civil war. This comment conjures the idea of our innocent Israelite babies being handed over to a pagan idol only to return as godless oppressors of the faith. Just a 10/10 Biblical nightmare imagery quote.
The original line is “We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.” It comes from the pastor Voddie T. Baucham Jr., in his book: Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk With God. Baucham writes that homeschooling is the true application of a parent’s responsibility to raise their children in line with scripture, most notably Ephesians 6:4: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Public education, according to the author, is an abdication of Christian mothers’ and fathers’ duty in favor of a dangerous and powerful “other”—the government.
On its face this type of government fear-mongering is silly. Talking points like these continue the lie that Christians are not a huge percentage of policymakers in every level of American government. In 2021 63 percent of American adults self-identified as Christian. We are overrepresented in Congress. For example, the United States House of Representatives comprises 435 members; the Pew Forum reports that in 2023 385, or 88.5 percent, of the representatives are Christians. Rules, laws and norms that came out of our nation’s seats of power are overwhelmingly likely to have been made by people professing Jesus as the only son of God. Governments don’t exist in a vacuum, and that “government school” that some like to disparage was created, grown, funded and implemented by… Christians. Now we’re not alone in this project, so several smart people sought to ensure that the church is not unequally yoked with the state, but to deny Christianity’s impact on government policies is like denying Shakespeare’s influence on teenage romance movies.
The curious case of giving to Caesar
Besides ignoring the political power of Christians in the United States, this particular argument against public schooling is interesting because of what scripture it calls to mind. I don’t think it’s on purpose—for the reasons that I will unpack later—but saying we shouldn’t give our children to Caesar reminds me of a time when religious leaders tried to trick Jesus by asking them whether it was right to… give to Caesar.
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
Matthew 22:15-21 (English Standard Version)
The enemies of Jesus saw the possibility for entanglement because God’s chosen people at the time labored under high Roman taxes. Some of the Jewish people thought that paying any tax to pagan rulers was an admission of Caesar’s, not God’s, lordship over people. If Jesus endorsed the unpopular taxes, perhaps his followers would sour on him, the thinking goes. If He pushed for refusal to pay, on the other hand, the Pharisees could take Jesus to the Roman rulers under a charge of insurrection.
Listen if you had read that story to me in Sunday School and, before Jesus answered, asked what I think He would say I would’ve guessed some third option that leaves everyone baffled while He gave an Irish goodbye or something. But no, Jesus straight-up told them to pay their taxes because he saw more than what was handed to Him.
Civic participation is not sinful.
When confronted with the question of “who has claim to my money?” Jesus looked at the coin in question and saw the profile of Tiberius Caesar. This denarius (worth a day’s wages) belonged to Caesar, and by His answer Jesus states that Christians should pay taxes and obey civil laws. Once He looked up, however, Jesus would see another image in the people around Him: the image of God. To the believer Jesus is saying that the money is the government’s, but you are His. Paying taxes to Caesar is a recognition that Jesus’s followers can participate in a pagan society because His kingdom is not a political one.
Imagine this same conversation about schooling. I believe that we as a diverse society (implemented by the government) have a compelling argument to require education of all children considering the benefits that range from the economy, public health, civic participation, national defense, legal system, and, yes, the church. When someone claims that public schooling is akin to giving their child away to pagans for training, is that too far off from the Jewish people in Jesus’s day who wanted to refuse paying taxes? Or is it possible that this civic participation does not scare a God who holds and protects every part of his children?
Who is “coming home” Roman?
Another point that I found interesting about this story and how it relates to the commenter’s argument against public schooling deals with the coin’s origin. In the commentary of the English Standard Version for Mark 12 (which tells the same story as Matthew 22 above) the writer notes: “By carrying the coin, [Jesus’s] opponents were already participating in Roman social order.” It’s clear that the line of questioning was insincere considering the Pharisees were actively a part of an ecosystem shaped by Rome. They enjoyed the roads that Rome paved, the security from outside invaders, the bustling economy, etc. This isn’t to say that Pharisee’s didn’t have a strong case for hating Roman rule, but obviously their objections didn’t lead them to refuse Roman currency.
Now consider the original threat of a child “coming home a Roman.” As Jesus makes clear in the dialogue, you can be a citizen of Rome and a member of the family of God. The disciple Mark notes that the Pharisees were more Roman than they let on by the origin of the coin. Perhaps here we admit that the coin is in all of our pockets. The “don’t give your child to Caesar” line claims that children going to public schooling will make them come home as Romans, or subjects in a pagan society. I am arguing we’re all Romans already.
Running away from one form of American government will not somehow revoke your citizenship. The land you own, the air you breathe and the dollar you spend are protected, changed or destroyed by our version of Caesar. We must come to terms with that reality, just as we come to terms with Jesus’s headship over us.
“Don’t be surprised when your kids come back Pharisees.”
The most devious lie in the commenter’s post is also the most common lie on this earth: that somehow humans can make ourselves acceptable in God’s eyes. This denouncement of public schooling is used as an affirmation for other, more “Christian” options (home- or private schooling) which, the thinking goes, won’t result in the secularization of your kids. Can you hear the siren’s call? “If you want to make sure your child is a Christian, then homeschool them.” I could wax poetic about the dangers of this sentence but let’s cut to the chase: the only way to God is through Jesus’s saving grace. No rite, performance or schooling will change that. As Jesus puts it Himself “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8).
The legalistic view that you must do X if you want God’s favor (in this instance, avoid public schools) would actually be very popular among the Pharisees in the Bible story. Jesus regularly rebuked the legalists among Him for shrinking God into a series of rules while ignoring all the promises of grace. Instead of insulating Himself among the true believers and best behaved, Jesus spent His time with cheats, thieves, and lowlifes. When His followers suggested that Jesus would overthrow the Roman government, Jesus marveled at their lack of understanding. He rebuked religious performance and calls for political/cultural supremacy in favor of meekness and praying in secret. These calls do not suggest that he was afraid, but confident in His position and His kingdom.
We should not be afraid of public schools any more than paying taxes. God, in His sovereignty, continues to hold His own even as this world is fallen at every level. Any attempts to control Him and His will put us in the crowd trying to trick Jesus into worldly insurrection instead of building a Heavenly kingdom. Knowing this, it’s fair to turn the line back around: “We cannot continue to send our children to Caiaphas [the high priest in Jesus’ day] for their education and be surprised when they come home as Pharisees.”
Paul (among others) were also Roman citizens. The line isn't as strong as people think it is.
Also, this is anecdotal, but is there a more common profession among people at church than teacher or at least someone who works for the school system? Maybe a broad category like 'sales', but I don't think I've even been apart of a Sunday School/Bible Study that didn't have at least a few teachers/speech pathologist.