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Texas Requires Bible Class in Public Schools

News Type: Event — Seeded on Tue Sep 2, 2008 11:35 AM EDT
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The Bible's history and literature will be required to be taught in public schools in Texas under a new law that has been clarified by the state attorney general to mean exactly what it says.

"This is a huge victory for the people of Texas and, I think, for people across the country for academic freedom," said Jonathan Saenz, a lawyer for Liberty Legal. "There are 1,300 references to the Bible in the works of Shakespeare alone. Over 60 percent of the allusions studied in [advanced placement] English come from the Bible. Students are going to be better academically and culturally when they hear about the Bible."

The decision is a result of work by the state legislature as well as an opinion from Greg Abbott, the state's attorney general, in a letter to Education Commissioner Robert Scott.

The question is, where will the texas Legislature be when schools are inevitably sued for violations of the Establishment Clause? It's one thing to teach the Bible as literature or history, and quite another to use the unconstitutional NCBCPS curriculum on the Bible.

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{"commentId":2694934,"authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}
iarnuocon

And Chisum said the legislature specifically addressed the Bible, not the Quran or any other religious writing, because "the Bible as a text … has historical and literary value."

"It can't go off into other religious philosophies because then it would be teaching religion, when the course is meant to teach literature," he said.

Right. Because teaching other great religious texts as historically valuable or as literary works is "teaching religion." Or is it that they "lack historical and literary value"? That's a little bit unclear, at the moment, isn't it? And, of course, no one will be teaching Christianity, rather than the historical and literary aspects of the Bible, right? I mean, right?

But if they do, I'm sure no one will sue over having their sacred cows tipped.

Day One: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John-- or even anyone who actually met Jesus...

What!!??!!

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  • 5 votes
Reply#1 - Tue Sep 2, 2008 11:44 AM EDT
{"commentId":2705996,"authorDomain":"pete-6"}
Ratatosk

Day two... Accounting mark 10 verse 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven... Is this a one time distribution or is it reoccurring liquidation of assets and is there any special irs forms that need to be filled out ?

{"commentId":2705996,"threadId":"346087","contentId":"1815903","authorDomain":"pete-6"}
  • 1 vote
#1.1 - Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:10 PM EDT
{"commentId":2706036,"authorDomain":"pete-6"}
Ratatosk

Day three... Snake Handling

{"commentId":2706036,"threadId":"346087","contentId":"1815903","authorDomain":"pete-6"}
  • 1 vote
#1.2 - Tue Sep 2, 2008 8:12 PM EDT
Reply
{"commentId":2695715,"authorDomain":"spiffie"}
spiffie

Erm, not that I doubt the wonderful journalistic chops of a site like WND, but I don't think they understand the ruling they refer to. The Texas Freedom Network, for instance, put out a statement the same day as the ruling:

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said today that the state's public school districts are not required to offer courses about the Bible. Note that this opinion takes on extra significance since the State Board of Education last month refused to adopt clear, specific curriculum standards required by the Legislature. Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller said the attorney general's ruling correctly interpreted the Legislature's intent that school districts have the option to offer or not offer these elective classes.

And from the ruling itself at the Attorney General's site:

Section 28.002(a) of the Education Code defines the required foundation and enrichment curriculum for school districts and charter schools but does not identify courses that school districts must offer. Education Code subsection 28.002(a)(2)(H) provides that the enrichment curriculum will include "religious literature, including the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and New Testament, and its impact on history and literature," but the Legislature did not mandate that this curriculum instruction be provided in independent courses. The State Board of Education, however, may provide for enrichment curriculum offerings in school districts by rule.
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  • 3 votes
Reply#2 - Tue Sep 2, 2008 12:14 PM EDT
{"commentId":2701071,"authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}
iarnuocon

Good call, spiffie. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. You can smell a lawsuit of some sort coming over the horizon, any day now.

And you have to wonder about a clarification that leaves both sides feeling their interpretation is correct.

{"commentId":2701071,"threadId":"346087","contentId":"1815903","authorDomain":"iarnuocon"}
  • 1 vote
#2.1 - Tue Sep 2, 2008 3:50 PM EDT
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{"commentId":2700658,"authorDomain":"jdl-28"}
jdl-28

I think they can teach bible class but do not have to, I feel it would be wrong to teach any bible class in public school, if I had kids I would not allow them to take them. It is the parent place to teach their children about the bible and God, and if someone want to have their children in a private religious school that fine.

Not everyone believe in religion and no school should make a student take a class about the bible on that stand point alone, do not push someone belief on other and each person that read a bible come up with difference meaning for the same section.

There are religious nuts out there that believe everyone should believe just like them and that will not work, it time to keep religion in your own home and allow us other people to decide what is best for us. To me religion is for weak people who can not think for themselves and need a preacher to help them along. I myself found out I can talk to God without that middle man, so I do not need to pay to talk to him at all. I feel that preacher may go get a real job during the week and support himself.

{"commentId":2700658,"threadId":"346087","contentId":"1815903","authorDomain":"jdl-28"}
    Reply#3 - Tue Sep 2, 2008 3:31 PM EDT
    {"commentId":2704007,"authorDomain":"pete-6"}
    Ratatosk

    Maybe someone should offer $50 a week for the best video of a classroom erupting in laughter.

    Exodus Chapter 21 Verse 2 God says.... "If thou buy an Hebrew servant/slave"

    Then in verse 4 God says

    "If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. "

    ok here is my Question teacher....

    I can buy me Russian wife thru a mail order catalog, but where do i get myself a Hebrew slave ?

    {"commentId":2704007,"threadId":"346087","contentId":"1815903","authorDomain":"pete-6"}
      Reply#4 - Tue Sep 2, 2008 6:37 PM EDT
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