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The Christian Private School Option

Public school, homeschool, or Christian private school? These are the options Christian parents have before them when deciding where their kids are going to spend the majority of their time growing up. Who is going to be their main influence? What worldview will they be taught? A godless, Marxist, racially divided and highly sexualized worldview or a Biblical worldview that teaches love for God and neighbor, good character and a strong work ethic?

During the Village Church of Barrington’s seminar titled, ‘Parenting in a Godless Culture: Educating Parents and Grandparents,’ you’ll get a good look into these three education options. The first school type looked at is Christian private school. Calvin Lindstrom, who is the pastor of Church of Christian Liberty and the school administrator for Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, Illinois, speaks about how it’s in Christ that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found (using Colossians 2:3) and summarizes the pros and cons of public school versus private school.

Pastor Lindstrom is followed by a panel of parents who discuss the reasons they sent their children to a private school and how they have found it a blessing. Please watch and share!

The Christian School Option from Village Church of Barrington on Vimeo.





Mask Mandates Should be the Last Straw

With the increasingly extreme attack on parental rights and medical freedom represented by Governor J.B. Pritzker’s COVID mask and vaccine mandates for schools, there has never been a better time for parents to sever all ties with the government’s “education” system.

As if the dumbing down, perverse sexualization and extreme indoctrination were not serious enough already for parents to make serious moves protecting their children, government officials in Illinois decided last month to double down on the extremism.

Among other deeply controversial policies, Gov. Pritzker decreed that all staff and even some eligible Illinois students must receive the experimental COVID injection. The Democrat governor also ordered all students over age 2, as well as all staff, to wear a face mask throughout the school day.

“This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Pritzker claimed, falsely, during a press conference, citing debunked figures while ignoring the overwhelming evidence that fully vaccinated people are being hospitalized and dying in significant numbers. “People can slow the pandemic by masks and vaccinations.”

In reality, the latest data appear to show the COVID injections are practically worthless in protecting anyone from the virus — especially after some months have gone by. According to the latest government data out of the United Kingdom, (see p. 20) about two thirds of those who died from the so-called “Delta” variant were fully vaccinated at least two weeks earlier. Just 28 percent were unvaccinated.

On the mask mandate, Pritzker again appears to be ignoring actual science and data. For instance, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pointed out in his recent executive order banning mask mandates in public schools, a Brown University study found “no correlation” between masks and COVID in Florida schools.

DeSantis also pointed to studies showing an extremely low risk of children contracting a serious case of COVID. And he noted that there is no real evidence showing that counties with mask mandates fared any better than those with them during the previous school year. Even more concerning, the popular Florida governor warned of dangerous health consequences associated with face masks.

In any case, parents have the right to make medical decisions for their children, not bureaucrats and government officials, he said.

“Given the historical data on COVID-19 and the ongoing debate over whether masks are more harmful than beneficial to children and to school environments in general, we should protect the freedoms and statutory rights of students and parents by resting with the parents the decision whether their children should wear masks in school,” DeSantis said in his order.

Ironically, just two weeks before imposing his new mandates, Pritzker similarly argued that families should be involved in making decisions and that local policymakers should be making decisions for their jurisdictions.

But when not enough families and school districts bowed to the demands of the COVID totalitarians, Pritzker issued mandates and claimed to be merely following the “recommendations” of the disgraced CDC.

“Far too few school districts have chosen to follow the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prescription for keeping students and staff safe,” Pritzker proclaimed. “Given the CDC’s strong recommendation, I had hoped that a state mask requirement in schools wouldn’t be necessary, but it is.”

Despite the media hysteria and the governor’s decrees, the non-profit group Illinois Policy pointed out that the number of daily deaths attributed to COVID in Illinois has been below 20 since mid-June, and COVID patients occupied just a small fraction of available ICU beds and ventilators.

Meanwhile, in Sweden, where authorities consistently advised against masks and shunned any sort of mandates at all, daily deaths have fallen to virtually zero.

Still, the threats from the governor and his supporters are already ramping up. The Illinois High School Association warned last month that any schools violating the governor’s decrees would have their student athletes banned from playoff games this fall.

Even private schools are being bullied. Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights had its state recognition revoked for failing to comply with the mandates. Adding insult to injury, Pritzker even claimed he would deny students their diplomas if schools did not comply with his edicts.

Republicans in Illinois blasted the governor’s antics. State Senator Darren Bailey, who is himself running for governor, blasted Pritzker as a “tyrant” who has overstepped his authority by issuing “unilateral mandates.”

“Unless you are part of a powerful special interest group that can help his campaign, he will continue to try and control your life,” Bailey added, saying masking should be a personal choice and that parents must “let their voices be heard on this despicable tyranny.”

One powerful way for parents to make their voices heard on this issue — and to protect their children from a wide range of other evils — is to exit the public school system entirely.

These outrageous abuses of power by Pritzker represent an attack on parental rights, medical freedom, the well being of Illinois children, and common sense. A growing amount of research is also pointing to very serious health risks poses by face masks, not to mention the catastrophic psychological damage being done.

Add to all of that the fact that in recent weeks, Pritzker signed a radical “sex ed” bill that is among the most extreme in the nation. Under the scheme, government schools will more vigorously promote abortion, promiscuity, gender confusion, homosexuality, and more.

Parents who are sick of being bullied and terrorized by out-of-control officials do have options. Homeschooling is one excellent choice that is in line with the Bible and can protect children and families from this sort of abuse. The number of homeschooling families in the state has more than doubled over the past year already.

At this point, it should be clear that government schools are not safe for children or families — and the risks extend far beyond that. Only a mass exodus can neutralize the threat and protect Illinois’ future.





Important Information on Taxes and Scholarships!

In August 2017, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Invest in Kids Act as part of a budget package and allocated $75 million for scholarships through tax-credit contributions. This legislation funds scholarships for qualifying low-income students to attend the nonpublic school of their choice.

The Children’s Tuition Fund of Illinois (listed as ACSI Children Education Fund on the state website) is officially authorized to serve students, schools, and contributors as a Scholarship Granting Organization and began accepting contributions on January 2, 2018. Your contribution can help private Christian schools across the state and, in the process, help families escape government schools.

Contributors to this scholarship program receive 75% of their contribution as a state tax credit. This is much more than just a deduction.

For example, if you owe $750 in Illinois state income tax and you contribute $1,000 to CTF IL, you eliminate your entire income tax liability because 75% of $1000 is $750. Almost all of your contribution ($950) goes to your designated school(s) for scholarships! Both businesses and individuals can participate. Please note that this credit is for the 2018 tax year—not for the 2017 tax year.

Since donations have been capped at only $75 million for the entire state, it is critical to make your donation quickly now that the system has opened on January 2, 2018.

To make a donation, you first need to register. This requires going to https://MyTax.Illinois.gov, registering on the site, and awaiting a confirmation “Letter ID” from the State. There is a great video of the process on the Invest in Kids Act website. Once you receive your Letter ID you must go back into MyTax.Illinois.gov and complete your registration.

If this sounds interesting to you, please take the first step of getting a Letter ID from the state so that you can finish the registration process. My letter only took a few days to receive, but if possible do this first step today!

Please visit https://MyTax.Illinois.gov today! Then select REGISTRATION in the menu on the upper right. And then choose “Sign up for a MyTax Illinois account.”

In Christ,

Pastor Calvin Lindstrom
Christian Liberty Academy




Attack, Vandalism Won’t Silence God’s Truth

Pro-homosexual vandals recently attacked an Illinois Christian academy where Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) was holding a banquet to honor an evangelical Christian leader.

Anonymous activists have taken credit for throwing concrete bricks through windows and doors at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights to protest the banquet for the “homophobic hate group” and guest speaker Scott Lively, co-author of The Pink Swastika and founder of Watchmen on the Walls.

“I’m not surprised that they did this,” admits Liberty Counsel Action vice president Matt Barber. “This really amounts to an act of terrorism in that they threatened more violence if Dr. Lively and his speech went forward and if the Christian Liberty Academy did not disassociate from Americans for Truth About Homosexuality.”

But in the face of all opposition, AFTAH has remained steadfast in exposing the homosexual agenda throughout the country. Barber contends the attack should trigger an investigation on the basis of hate crimes laws. He also points out that homosexuals who demand tolerance are not willing to repay the favor to opponents as they try to shut down the Christian message about their lifestyle.

“We are going to speak God’s truth in love without fear of reprisal, or even in this case, without fear of violence,” the attorney assures. “So I have a message to the gay terrorists that perpetrated this crime: Your terrorist tactics have failed, and you will not succeed in silencing God’s truth.”

Meanwhile, the Christian Liberty Academy vandals stand by their actions and claim they threw concrete through the windows and doors to “show that there is a consequence for hatred and homophobia” in the community and to directly cause the October 15 event to be shut down. And since the event was not called off, the academy has been warned that it “will continue to be under constant attack.”

Even so, the incident is not being treated as a hate crime because Lively was apparently targeted for his views, not for any characteristic cited in the Illinois hate crime law, such as race, color, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.