(This is a letter written by Pastor Joe Morecraft III, one of the most theologically consistent church ministers of Presbyterianism in the United States, uncompromisingly faithful to the legacy of the Protestant Reformation, and a tireless defender of the truth of God and an opponent of its enemies both within and without the church.)

Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings in the Name of Him in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

In ancient Israel, before the shepherd would lead his sheep to pasture, he would go to that pasture and remove all sharp stones or poisonous plants that would harm the sheep. Elders have a similar responsibility towards our congregation. We are to protect it from false and poisonous teaching.

Particularly if you are homeschooling your children, I want you to know about several authors whose writings are infecting homeschools with their false teaching.

The first is a brilliant woman named Susan Wise Bauer, an evolutionist, a revisionist of church history, with a less than biblical worldview, who is hostile toward the Reformed Faith. She has even written a novel criticizing and characterizing the distinctives of our denomination, the RPCUS, calling people who share our views “Christian Nazis.”

The second is Mary-Elaine Swanson, author of John Locke: Philosopher of American Liberty. She attempts to make Locke’s political philosophy biblical and Christian. Whereas Locke personally professed Christ but was no Calvinist, his philosophy was rationalistic, based on human reason rather than the word of God. When the West adopted his philosophy, it began its radical rejection of the historical Christian approach to politics that had marked it for hundreds of years.

The third author I would warn you about is Michael Farris the best essay writer and founder of Patrick Henry College. Throughout his career, he has stood against a Reformed worldview and a Reformed approach to education. But one of his most recent books entitled From Tyndale to Madison should especially be avoided. This book presents a revisionist view of the Protestant Reformation and the history of the church since. Farris paints Calvin and the Calvinists as the culprits throughout the centuries, the betrayers of true liberty. The opposite is true, however; they were instead the great defenders of liberty and justice for all. Farris’ book is an embarrassing misrepresentation of the facts, probably out of ignorance and prejudice.

The fourth author I must warn you against is Michael Horton, who professes to be Reformed, but whose theology, ethics and worldview leaves something to be desired (although he says some good things). His view of the relation of church and state, called the “two kingdom view,” is especially poisonous and flawed. This view says that the Bible governs the church, but human reason, unaided by the Bible, governs the state.

Although we may glean some good from some of these publications, we are sad to note that, not just a lack of real scholarship, but also in some a desire to revise actual history and turn it according to pre-conceived false ideas has influenced these books. Don’t be led astray. “To the Law and the prophets,” must be our standard of excellence for truth, not the opinions of men and women. Let God be true and every false man a liar.

If you have any questions, please call me.

Your servant,

Joe Morecraft III