Cheese in an aerosol can

With reference to Rick's posts, I have concerns with antithesis/fundamentalism -- not with the doctrinal distinctives which he rightly praises but with the cultic mentality to which this can give rise and, indeed, to the postmodern hermeneutics which it can in fact ironically foster.  Just a few points here (and this is in no way a criticism of the school or the school choice of Rick):
1. To an outsider, American fundamentalism with all of its many antitheses looks, well, quintessentially American.  From its hang-ups over race in the 50s and onwards, to its politics, to its mind-boggling governmental and cultural conspriacy theories, to its very antithetical mindset, it is hard to imagine it existing in the same form anywhere else in the globe.  It's as uniquely American as the idea that cheese from an aerosol can is a desirable foodstuff. You do not have to be postmodern to see the cultural problem.

2. Not so quick with the `we're not postmodern' line.  The hermeneutic of suspicion which dominates fundamentalist discourse about the antithesis is as postmodern as anything Michel Foucault wrote. 

3. An overwhelming emphasis on antithesis creates a situation where others are only ever critiqued, not learned from, while we remain blissfully above correction. That's cultic and it's Gnosticism, and the Reformed world currently contains a couple of scary examples of exactly this kind of thinking and church life.   It's also not what Calvin talks about in Inst. 1.1 (note the oft forgotten qualification there of `nearly all knowledge.'  Further, modestly acknowledging situatedness does not demand postmodern relativism -- I'm a vigorous opponent of postmodern methods in my own discipline of history but spend most of my time when discussing documents in class in setting the cultural context; but to apply notions of antithesis, as fundamentalists often do, makes acknowledgment of context a very difficult thing.  It can in fact be used in such a way as to justify a form of Gnostic empiricism and in effect to  say `everyone else has tradition, we just have the truth' is a problem.  It could be better translated as `We have a tradition like everyone else, but we're not going to write it down so that it cannot be critiqued by you or anybody else.'

4. Charity of spirit (not compromise of doctrine) is a Christian virtue.  This involves the ability to relate to those who are different, to treat with respect as made in the image of God those from whom we differ.  An overwhelming emphasis on the intellectual/cultural antithesis does not, in my experience, foster the kind of appreciation for others, the self-deprecating humour, and the ability to see the absurdities of one's own positions, which enable this.  This is one big reason why I am absolutely committed to the public schools in my area.  Can you learn these virtues in Christian schools or in homeschooling?  Of course you can.  My point is simply that the antithesis can be abused in the name of Christ to subvert these very Christian imperatives, not that it always does so.

Readers please note -- I am not imputing any of the above to any particular school, particular person, or particular parental choice vis a vi education of children.