Posted on 04/27/2005 8:12:53 AM PDT by wmichgrad
ODESSA, Texas (AP) — The school board in this West Texas town voted unanimously to add a Bible class to its high school curriculum.
Hundreds of people, most of them supporters of the proposal, packed the board meeting Tuesday night. More than 6,000 Odessa residents had signed a petition supporting the class.
Some residents, however, said the school board acted too quickly. Others said they feared a national constitutional fight.
Barring any hurdles, the class should be added to the curriculum in fall 2006 and taught as a history or literature course. The school board still must develop a curriculum, which board member Floy Hinson said should be open for public review.
The board had heard a presentation in March from Mike Johnson, a representative of the Greensboro, N.C.-based National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, who said that coursework designed by that organization is not about proselytizing or preaching.
But People for the American Way and the American Civil Liberties union have criticized the council, saying its materials promote religion.
Johnson said students in the elective class would learn such things as the geography of the Middle East and the influence of the Bible on history and culture.
"How can students understand Leonardo da Vinci's `Last Supper' or Handel's `Messiah' if they don't understand the reference from which they came?" Johnson said. The group's Web site says its curriculum has received backing in 292 school districts in 35 states.
In Frankenmuth, Mich., a similar proposal led to a yearlong controversy before the school board voted in January not to offer such a course.
On the Net:
National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools: http://www.bibleinschools.net
People for the American Way: http://www.pfaw.org
A Christian education isn't just adding school prayer, a bible class, and downplaying evolution. In all actuality we've really had a socialist education system since the beginning of this country, it's just the religious leaders then fell for the trap. We need separation of state and schools.
The ACLU would rather they hand out automatic weapons...
A comparative religions course that examines the major tenents and history of "The Big Five" Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism might pass legal muster. This course will not.
Perhaps so. Regardless of how one views the Bible, it seems to me that anyone trying to understand the history of western civilization, western art or english literature absolutely has to be more than passingly familiar with much of the Bible. Regardless of the translations used in church/hebrew school, students need to read the Authorized Version (King James) in the same way that they read Shakespeare, with annotation to explain the words whose meanings have changed and inscrutable obsolete spellings.
I should add Putin also had others develop Bible programs for the trade schools and military.
*ugh* Better just to kick it further up the line and make it a college elective and spend more time on the three "R's".
It's an elective - what is the problem?
And why not? If my child can study communism or basket-weaving, why can't he study the Bible?
This is great. I can't wait to see how this plays out.
And sometimes they even ask Bible questions on Jeopardy!
Communism and basket weaving weren't taught at my high school. Well... We were taught a little about the Soviet Union, but by then the Soviet Union had gone the way of the Dodo. We knew that there was such a thing as basket weaving, but mostly what we were taught was reading, writing, science, and math.
Once the government starts teaching religion in the schools we will have:
(1) Classes denigrating the accuracy and historical meaning of the Bible in which liberal teachers use "higher criticism" to destroy the faith of their pupils and
(2) A door is open for instruction in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, witchcraft, etc.
Children should be taught the Bible in their homes and in their churches by people who teach true doctrine - not by government hirelings.
You all didn't have electives?
Problem is now the hard right Christians will want a course in The Salvation through the Bible.
Oh crap, that's not correct. My kid had this as an elective in the 90's. The Bible as Literature.
Class is still being taught today.
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