C
charles cure
Guest
www.bibleliteracy.com
this website/publishing house has produced a textbook that teaches bible literacy and supposedly can be used in schools to teach kids more about the bible, regardless of constitutional restrictions.
on their website they have some reviews of the books from different media outlets. one of them goes like this:
"Public schools have no business using Bible instruction to advance a religious agenda. But when they decline to impart knowledge about such an important subject, they are not doing anything to preserve the separation of church and state. They are merely failing their students."
Chicago Tribune (May 12, 2005)
and here is another:
“How are we to expect our young people to live up to America’s ideals if they are cut off from the stories, beliefs and metaphors that for hundreds of years gave those principles life?”
The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 12, 1999)
what i thought was interesting about this wasnt really the war that has erupted between secular and religious interests attempting to exert influence on childrens education, rather it was the fact that this is presented in a way that makes it appear that a lack of knowledge about the bible precludes an effective understanding of the principles of Americanism. I would agree with the assessment that judeo-christian themes permeate our society on most levels, but find it disturbing that a writer from the Wall Street journal is so uneducated as to not grasp the concept that these principles did not originate with the bible or christianity. I also think that most american christians today are woefully ignorant in terms of scripture but that the majority of them still seem to have some understanding of the underlying principles of the country. What does everyone think of this, is an understanding of the bible necessary for american kids to become good citizens? Do we need to teach this stuff in schools or is it a subtle encroachment by the right to christianize the education system while apparently circumventing constitutional prohibitons on the mixture of church and state?
this website/publishing house has produced a textbook that teaches bible literacy and supposedly can be used in schools to teach kids more about the bible, regardless of constitutional restrictions.
on their website they have some reviews of the books from different media outlets. one of them goes like this:
"Public schools have no business using Bible instruction to advance a religious agenda. But when they decline to impart knowledge about such an important subject, they are not doing anything to preserve the separation of church and state. They are merely failing their students."
Chicago Tribune (May 12, 2005)
and here is another:
“How are we to expect our young people to live up to America’s ideals if they are cut off from the stories, beliefs and metaphors that for hundreds of years gave those principles life?”
The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 12, 1999)
what i thought was interesting about this wasnt really the war that has erupted between secular and religious interests attempting to exert influence on childrens education, rather it was the fact that this is presented in a way that makes it appear that a lack of knowledge about the bible precludes an effective understanding of the principles of Americanism. I would agree with the assessment that judeo-christian themes permeate our society on most levels, but find it disturbing that a writer from the Wall Street journal is so uneducated as to not grasp the concept that these principles did not originate with the bible or christianity. I also think that most american christians today are woefully ignorant in terms of scripture but that the majority of them still seem to have some understanding of the underlying principles of the country. What does everyone think of this, is an understanding of the bible necessary for american kids to become good citizens? Do we need to teach this stuff in schools or is it a subtle encroachment by the right to christianize the education system while apparently circumventing constitutional prohibitons on the mixture of church and state?