Posted on 04/27/2005 12:06:40 PM PDT by kingattax
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.
Yeehaaawww! I am from Odessa and I am very proud that our school system had the courage to do this! Rush mentioned it on his show, right at the end of the show, and warned the ACLU about coming down to Odessa to start any trouble! LOL!
thats a great pic :)
I had an elective class in high school in the late 70's ( Texas ) called "the Bible as Literature". It was not an easy class. We studied the writing style of the different contributors in both Testaments and had to comprehend a lot of old prose writings. Even though no religious undertones were taught, I learned a lot about scripture, but I also learned a lot about writing. I thought it was a fun class and made a B.
Not to mention I was the only guy in a class of about 15 girls.
Bible belt ping.....
Check out the cajones in Odessa...!
Hurray for the school board!
More school boards should have the courage this one showed!
yunz go, dahn there!
Can we hire these people to go to DC and take care of things there too????? I have a message for the ACLU, but the mods would remove my comment.
Bravo to them! The more knowledge the little schweinhunds get about their culture, the better. They could afford to be taught some stuff aboot other cultures too.
West Texas - the buckle of the Bible Belt..........
Just as long as it keeps the pants up...
I have always thought major world religions should be taught as an elective class. Elective = free choice. It's not like they are forcing non-Christian kids to attend bible school. The ACLU is dead wrong on this one. If there's any compromise at all, it would be to teach about other religions as well, since they have also had a major impact on the world.
Sounds like pretty standard, non-conterversial stuff. Heck, I took two semesters of the literature of the english Bible in college (in the absence of which, you have no fundamental reference point for most of western literature and philosophy). Sounds like it should be a required course to me.
"Don't mess with Texas and don't mess with God!!!
I have no intention of doing either!
Darn right, we know what to do to the ACLU weenies in Odessa! They don't stand a chance against West Texas--we'd stomp 'em like the roaches they are!
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