Episode Details

Homeschooling didn’t become normal in America because the culture got nicer. It became normal because families and attorneys fought for parental rights when educating your own kids could trigger investigations, court battles, or worse. We sit down with constitutional attorney Mike Farris to answer a listener’s real-life tension: how do you honor biblical teaching about submission to authority while still protecting your children and doing what you believe God calls you to do, especially when the law feels intrusive or hostile? 

We dig into Romans 13 with a crucial distinction that changes everything: “authority” isn’t automatically whatever an official says. In the United States, the highest civil authority is the Constitution, and government actors don’t get to invent powers that were never granted. From there, we walk through practical, on-the-ground homeschooling realities, including when simple notification rules are reasonable to follow and when regulations turn into unconstitutional control over curriculum, religious conviction, or parental decision-making. We also point you to tools that help families who move often, including military families trying to keep up with different state homeschool laws. 

Then the conversation widens into free speech and religious liberty as Mike explains his current work challenging the Johnson Amendment and what a court ruling could mean for pastors speaking about candidates during worship services. We close with powerful historical context from the American founding, including Jonathan Mayhew’s famous sermon on “unlimited submission” and why the fight over authority, conscience, and tyranny never really goes away. 

If this helped you think more clearly about homeschooling, parental rights, or biblical citizenship, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Support the show