Visions of Reality

by Albert J. Menendez

Although a majority of Americans have repeatedly shown in referendum elections and opinion polls that they oppose tax support for nonpublic schools, fundamentalist leaders and their political lobbies... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879758023
• ISBN13: 9780879758028
• Release Date: March 1993
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A good start - but needs more depth

This book is a very disturbing look at some of the materials used in fundamentalist Christian schools. All of the textbooks discussed are from Bob Jones University or A Beka Books. There are many Christian schools who do not use these textbooks, so this book is a real eye-opener on what is being taught in those schools besides the Bible. Bob Jones textbooks are extremely anti-Catholic. One of the history books discussed here claims that England defeated Spain because God supported Protestantism over Catholicism. I guess all those naval tactics and shipbuilding techniques were no match for God mucking with the weather. The same book often describes English and Scottish peoples in positive terms while condemning populations from Catholic countries. These attitudes will be instilled in children using the books, and that is the idea. While this book did an excellent job calling out the more shocking attitudes found in these books, it read rather incompletely to me. It seemed as if it needed more fleshing out. A deeper discussion into some of the different approaches of fundamentalist school textbooks would have been helpful, as they are not all the same and do not use the same approach. But the book is very helpful for parents choosing a school; after reading it they can then ask to see the textbooks used before enrolling their child.

Pretty accurate

I went to a (Pentecostal) Christian school that used none of the books outlined, but the sentiments taught were basically the same. I have taken a new interest in history because what I learned was so biased. Being a Christian, I have an odd view of this book,as I believe there is a case for Christian education, but not at the EXPENSE of education. This book outlines the pitfalls awaiting the student of a Christian school. In high school the only literature I read (other than the Bible) was Beowulf. The Bible and Beowulf was my ENTIRE literature foundation! I read no Shakespeare or Chaucer or Steinbeck. The emphasis on the spiritual life of presidents and lack of what they actually accomplished in office was another downfall. This book is pretty accurate in what it describes! We can't see the world through Christian glasses, we need to learn church history BEFORE the Reformation, and we need to realize Democrats are not children of the devil as is often taught in Christian schools, fundamentalist or otherwise.