Here’s another example of what students are learning in Texas public school Bible courses. Looks more like Sunday School, yes? Nope. This PowerPoint slide is from the Ector County Independent School Districts in Odessa.
From the above PowerPoint slide:
Sad to say mainstream anti-God media do not portray these true facts in the light of faith
But prefer to sceptically [sic] doubt such archaeological proofs to the veracity & historicity of the Biblical account, one of the most accurate history books in the world
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” (Psalm 37:5)
The Texas Freedom Network Education Fund’s new report — Reading, Writing & Religion II: Texas Public School Bible Courses in 2011-12 by Prof. Mark Chancey at Southern Methodist University in Dallas — includes many other examples of the Bible portrayed as an inerrant history textbook in Texas schools. You can read more about the report here and here. Our previous reports on public school Bible classes are here and here.
I’m not entirely against having bible classes in public schools as long as it isn’t taught in science classes and as long as clubs of different religions are equally accepted. I also wouldn’t want this course to be mandatory.
If they have a bible course, they need to teach the other “holy books”, too. I prefer they teach it as ancient folklore.
A class in the power of myths along the line of the Joseph Campbell TV series would be a good place to describe the Bible.
My brother and I may be the only evolutionary biologists ever to come out of the Ector county ISD. Does that make us the fittest?
Brent. Absolutley.
And the finest.
Good for you.
Now, head for Gold’s
gym and a cardio class:)
If they taught the kids how to read The Bible as originally written — in Aramaic and in Greek — and discussed the various translations of those languages, well then maybe the kids would actually learn something (i.e. Aramaic and Greek).
If it is taught in school as ANYTHING other than mythology or literature, it is a violation of church and state, in my opinion
If it is mandated, then it absolutely violates separation and the feds need to katn
The Bible curriculum came out of the radical and fundamentalist-controlled SBOE as a way for school districts to continue to use materials similar to the unconstitutional Fundamentalist Christian NCBCPS Bible curriculum which has been challenged in the U.S. Rather than create an accurate, scholarly, and balanced Bible curriculum, the SBOE maliciously allowed school districts to use essentially whatever they wanted. So the abuses continue.
Of course, the reason some school districts teach Bible curriculum courses (that purport to teach the “history” and literature of the Bible), is that local parents and school boards want such courses taught in the public schools as a way to reinforce the religiosity and faith of their children. Many and probably most of these students get the same material in their Sunday Schools and churches, but hearing it from supposedly-neutral and state-supported public school teachers obviously has more authority and legitimacy in kids’ minds. After all, that’s where they learn math and history and science, and that’s true, isn’t it? So the Bible stories must be true, too. It’s all about framing–how the message is presented.
To secular parents who cares about the academic achievement of their children, a Bible curriculum course would be irrelevant to useless, perhaps even worse than useless, since it wastes time that their kids of high school age need to learn the knowledge and skills that will prepare them to be successful in life.
First of all they got around the Separation Clause by making the classes electives. Second, and more importantly, almost all of the districts noted that have it have NOT met the minimum standards for curriculum and have essentially turned them into Sunday School classes. Note in particular, and offensive to me, is the way that they discuss Judaism through the evangelical Christian filter which not only means that they’ve got it wrong but that they’re educating young minds with incorrect information. <>
Let’s take the Ector County ISD to federal court. That one slide says it all.
1) Court rules they have violated the U.S. Constitution and must stop—and by court order issues a list of related prohibitions for the schools, teachers, and adminisitrators.
2) Anyone violating even one of the prohibitions will be sent to jail for contempt of court.
3) Really send them to jail when they do.