RC Sproul's List Of Ten Books Your Teenagers Read

[debrand]

ligonier.org/blog/what-are-ten-books-your-teenagers-read-part-their-homeschool-education/

Because Sproul is homeschooling for religious reasons, it doesn't surprise me that there are religious books on this list. What surprises me is that the list has ONLY religious books and none of those are the bible. I am an atheist but I keep nagging my children to read the bible or at least sections of it. The bible influences a lot of western literature and thought. The Old Testament has some very dark but interesting stories that I actually enjoyed reading.

Funny enough, the list includes one of Sproul's own books.

. Tearing Down Strongholds by the present writer. This has been, by far, my worst selling book. I’m sure it has a plethora of weaknesses, given its author. But it remains among my favorites. The bulk of the book is a bird’s eye look at varying unbelieving epistemologies, systems by which unbelievers build their worldviews. It tests these epistemologies against themselves, and lo, they collapse into absurdity. Good preparation for tangling with the wisdom of this world.

He doesn't include any great works of literature on this list. Seriously, isn't that one of the advantages of homeschooling? You can expose your child to great works of art by fictional writers.

7. Monsters from the Id by E. Michael Jones. Jones, editor of Culture Wars magazine, traces the history of horror fiction from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Aliens. Why would I want my teens to read that? Because Jones, as is his habit, masterfully weaves the private lives of the creators of these stories with their ideologies and the stories themselves. Reading Jones is like reading Romans 1 unfold before your very eyes as you watch minds given over to depravity bear bitter fruit.

Okay, I admit I am a bit of a weirdo. I like horror films and books. My take on horror is that putting people in frightening, unusual situations is an interesting way to show the best and worst of human nature. Lots of people view horror movies as teenage territory but I think that the problem is that Hollywood dumbs down these types of movies. With my fan girl love of scary movies/books and just all around frighting things, this book seemed interesting so I checked it out. It sounds as if the author is saying that all horror movies/literature are based on repressed human guilt. However, I have not read the book and am only going by the reviews.

Here is the Amazon page for the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Id-Rise- ... roduct_top

Whoops, RC Sproul made his own list twice

Biblical Economics by the present writer. Embarrassed to make my own list not once but twice. Not suggesting mine is the best book on economics, but it is, I hope, a good introduction. It lays the groundwork for fruitful future reading, which would include David Chilton’s masterful Productive Christians and Bastiat’s The Law.

What books would you include on a teenagers must read list? Honestly, there are a lot of good books that would be interesting reading for adolescents but I can't narrow that number to ten.

[Trynn]

I think teenagers should read all the books in the world. Do not tell me that this is impossible, that is not something I want to hear.

In all seriousness...

One of the weaknesses of the school model of education is that it squeezes out great books that don’t fit neatly into one or another of those artificial divisions of learning we call “subjects.â€

Umm... really? Cuz like, this was not my experience at all. Granted I did not attend TehEvil Public Skool but my Christian school encouraged us to read books that overlapped subject material but didn't quite fit in neatly.

And even if they hadn't, there's this thing called a "library" we were free to peruse.

We don’t start with, “What books have had a deep impact in shaping what I am?†But with “What subjects am I supposed to be teaching, and which books will help me teach them?â€

Yeeeees. I fail to see the problem with this approach.

I don’t teach my children subjects—I seek to instill in them wisdom. Which means I have them read the books that gave me wisdom.

Gee kids, hope you didn't want to actually LEARN things like history and math. Only one "subject" allowed: WISDOM!

And that's all from the first paragraph!

[MrsFoxx]

If you're raising kids in a Christian religious home, Foreign Bodies, by Hwee Hwee Tan. It's a novel that challenged my privileged America of Christianity - faith doesn't always come complete with a baptism and a happy ending.

Also, The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. Science fiction that also explores faith and pain, seriously one of the best books I've ever read.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok. This book is an incredible book about friendship, and what it takes to be someone's friend through thick and thin. Its central character's faith plays a huge role, and I learned a lot about Judaism.

These are all books I was as a teen that really started me thinking. I could name so many more.

[debrand]

I thought it was humorous that he included two books that he wrote himself.

[Maggie Mae]

One of the weaknesses of the school model of education is that it squeezes out great books that don’t fit neatly into one or another of those artificial divisions of learning we call “subjects.â€

No. This is untrue. The reason that books are "squeezed out," in my experience, is that we (US) group kids together by age and overcrowd our classrooms. When you have 180 days to teach 30 students who range from illiterate to voracious reader, some stuff will get over looked. Add in the fact that kids and families and teachers are moving around and getting different teachers and going to different schools, it makes for inconsistent curriculum. Between 5th and 12th grade, I read the following books and stories four times: To Kill A Mockingbird, Animal Farm, and The Odyssey. I read Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth 3 times. Les Miserables was assigned twice. The Crucible was assigned at least three times, possibly three, but I didn't like it very much so I don't remember it anyway. Yet I missed The Scarlet Letter and 1984, which are also classics. We only read part of The Canterbury Tales, yet another English class read the entire existing works in a modern translation. Every teacher is different and has their own ideas for their class that year.

I don’t teach my children subjects—I seek to instill in them wisdom. Which means I have them read the books that gave me wisdom.

This just speaks to the arrogance of Sproul. A normal person who has a background in education will realize that the children they are teaching today are different than themselves. While some students really enjoyed The Catcher in the Rye in their teens, other students preferred Looking for Alaska, or Perks of Being a Wallflower or Freedom Writers. I really enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird, but when I showed the movie to my SO, he just didn't get the appeal. Because we all have different things that "speak" to us. Maybe his students would benefit from reading a book not written by dad.

[starfish]

Spanky Sproul reads? Who would have thunk it.

[dianapavelovna]

And if your kids go to evil secular college, they'll be exposed to lots of books on various subjects.

[docmom]

He does not want his kids to learn to think critically, to challenge the status quo or to come up with independent ideas. He wants them to spout back his own pet theories. What an incredible disservice to his children.

If you are right, and your ideas are actually based on truth you should have absolutely no problem with your children reading anything and everything available out there, right? If you are wrong and your children can make a cogent argument based on their reading, you should reconsider your position. This is how the world moves forward.

[apple1]

Before you even get to the specifics (or even why we would look to Sproul as a source for this type of info) - it's sad to me to say "ten books".

I like to see kids read voraciously - read and read and read.

[Rebelwife]

I think teenagers should read all the books in the world. Do not tell me that this is impossible, that is not something I want to hear.

In all seriousness...

Umm... really? Cuz like, this was not my experience at all. Granted I did not attend TehEvil Public Skool but my Christian school encouraged us to read books that overlapped subject material but didn't quite fit in neatly.

And even if they hadn't, there's this thing called a "library" we were free to peruse.

Yeeeees. I fail to see the problem with this approach.

Gee kids, hope you didn't want to actually LEARN things like history and math. Only one "subject" allowed: WISDOM!

And that's all from the first paragraph!

Last year in 8th grade my daughter's school did a project based on the book "A Long Walk to Water." It tells the story of two Sudanese children and one of the children walks 2 hours every day to get water for her family. They studied it in English from a literary standpoint, they studied it in Civics and World History from a sociopolitical and cultural standpoint, and her science teacher incorporated it into a whole unit on water - testing water for contaminants, chemistry, etc. I guess they weren't able to figure out a way to incorporate geometry, though. :think:

My daughter got so much out of that unit, and I thought it was an amazing approach.

[darkplumaged]

I am sooo bored of this particular fundie--specifically Calvinist--obsession. No work of art, be it literature, music, whatever, can ever be evaluated on its own merits. No, they always have to drag the artist's "private life" and "worldview" into it, and surprise surprise, these always come up wanting unless the artist also is, or appears to be, an archconservative moralizer.

[GenerationCedarchip]

Perhaps a little OT, but why is he called Spanky Sproul? Tons of people in that circle spank their kids, so I'm guessing there's some other kind of story out there that I've missed? :?

[debrand]

Perhaps a little OT, but why is he called Spanky Sproul? Tons of people in that circle spank their kids, so I'm guessing there's some other kind of story out there that I've missed? :?

I don't know if this is why but there is a rumor that he used to use spanking to discipline his wife. Whether that was true or just an ugly rumor, I can't say. I do NOT like Sproul but if he is innocent, the person who started the rumor is much worse than he is.

[Savoring Samsara]

If you're raising kids in a Christian religious home, Foreign Bodies, by Hwee Hwee Tan. It's a novel that challenged my privileged America of Christianity - faith doesn't always come complete with a baptism and a happy ending.

Also, The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. Science fiction that also explores faith and pain, seriously one of the best books I've ever read.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok. This book is an incredible book about friendship, and what it takes to be someone's friend through thick and thin. Its central character's faith plays a huge role, and I learned a lot about Judaism.

These are all books I was as a teen that really started me thinking. I could name so many more.

Seconding The Sparrow as a book that many people can appreciate, and one of my favorites as well.

[dianapavelovna]

I don't know if this is why but there is a rumor that he used to use spanking to discipline his wife. Whether that was true or just an ugly rumor, I can't say. I do NOT like Sproul but if he is innocent, the person who started the rumor is much worse than he is.

It was discussed a few months ago in the DPIAT threads:

Over on the Spiritual Sounding Board they are discussing RC Sproul Jr.and his alleged wife spanking. Because they are mainly using Jen's Gems as a source, I am not certain how accurate their information is. However, the writer did say that he/she has been hearing rumors about non consensual wife spanking for along time. If the allegations are not true, it is very cruel to make them public without at least stating that they could be false. I might dislike Sproul Jr but he has young children who lost their mother. I don't have any desire to cause them more pain. Could some of this gossip get people sued? I don't know why but the spanking aspect seems unlikely to me. It sounds like a salacious rumor that has enough aspects of sexuality and abuse to make it interesting.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20492&start=240#p672484

OK, I just fried my brain so you don't have to. You are welcome.

I just scrolled through all the comments on the latest JensGems post.

JensGems: AKA "the blog that doesn't gossip but does disseminate unsubstantiated rumors, claim that they are verified fact, get pissy when challenged, and then retracts many of the stories." When will TW Eston and Jen realize that doing this casts doubt on all of their writing?

The story of the 17 year old girl who was impregnated by an older married BCA member is bunk. Any polygamy stories are suspect. God knows whether Sproul is into wife spanking -- although I don't find that accusation terribly far-fetched.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20492&start=400#p674930

I don't know if it has been discussed before that. A quick search on yuku didn't turn anything up.

[GenerationCedarchip]

I don't know if this is why but there is a rumor that he used to use spanking to discipline his wife. Whether that was true or just an ugly rumor, I can't say. I do NOT like Sproul but if he is innocent, the person who started the rumor is much worse than he is.

Ah, thanks. There were people at my old church who were friends with both generations of Sprouls, but I'd never heard that one. The most I'd ever heard was that Sproul, Jr "is into things his daddy would never have approved of."