Hobby Lobby’s Steve Green launches a new project: public school Bible curriculum

[merithyn]

Yeah, but he's obviously not going to be allowed to do that.

Oh for fuck's sake, at least read the bolded part, will you??

He's already got the curriculum in one Oklahoma school district, with the intent of having it in 20 other school districts in the next year, and 1000 as soon as he can make it happen.

So long as it's approved by the individual school boards and is not mandatory, he can and he will be allowed to do that.

[Barrister]

This guy's announced intention is to make it mandatory and universal; and far from a 'critical analysis', again his expressed hope is to use the course to teach the "truth" of the text, and to emphasise only the positive impact of the text on society.

Yeah, but he's obviously not going to be allowed to do that.

What makes you so sure of that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

[Barrister]

Yeah, but he's obviously not going to be allowed to do that.

Oh for fuck's sake, at least read the bolded part, will you??

He's already got the curriculum in one Oklahoma school district, with the intent of having it in 20 other school districts in the next year, and 1000 as soon as he can make it happen.

So long as it's approved by the individual school boards and is not mandatory, he can and he will be allowed to do that.

Exactly.  As long as it's not mandatory.

[Valmy]

Yeah, but he's obviously not going to be allowed to do that.

Oh yes he will.  He has lots of money.  Obviously he will never get close to doing it nationwide but he will in a lot of jurisdictions where his ideas are popular.  Such is how the culture war goes.

[Valmy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Addressed in the article.

[merithyn]

I was a medieval history major. Of course I do.

I have read it and commentaries on it.  I took two classes in College on it.

And I know a lot of medieval history but I am not really sure who much good knowing the Bible extensively did me.  The sort of Christianity practiced right up until the Biblically literalist Protestants came along seems only loosely based on it

If anything you have to go back and read up on Saints and folk customs and official church doctrine and the councils.  Knowing that stuff strikes me as more important.

Knowing the Bible makes it far easier to understand the laws and practices of 13th and 14th century England, in my experience. It also makes understanding the art and architecture much easier. It means that frescoes aren't just pretty pictures, but each picture is on each wall or ceiling for a particular purpose to that building.

It's actually pretty interesting, I think. I also believe that religious studies should be taught in school... by agnostics with no particular brand of religion of their own.

[merithyn]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Addressed in the article.

Which he refuses to read. 

[Valmy]

I never knew that the prophet Isaiah, often used by Christians to support the messiah-hood of Jesus, actually declared quite another person to be the anointed of God - namely Cyrus the Great, Emperor of Persia! 

Dude nothing is more hilarious than the weak ass support for Jesus in the Old Testament.  No wonder they have a hard time converting Jews.

[Jacob]

Anyhow, as a European from secular Denmark - we had religion classes. In fact we had a Christianity class from... I think grade 3 to 5, and after that it turned into a religion class. We learned a bunch of the common bible stories and, I believe, a bit of historical context. There was, to my recollection, never any implications about the content being true or false; it was all about familiarity with the content.

Seemed alright to me.

In the religion class, later, we still studied Christianity but we also did a fairly big section on Islam with the same attitude - these are some of the key stories and events, this is what the religion is about; with no judgment on whether it's right or wrong.

[Malthus]

It's actually pretty interesting, I think. I also believe that religious studies should be taught in school... by agnostics with no particular brand of religion of their own.

More or less how I was taught as a kid, actually - 1970s Reform Judiasm at Holly Blossom.  It's gotten more conservative since, I hear.

[Malthus]

Anyhow, as a European from secular Denmark - we had religion classes. In fact we had a Christianity class from... I think grade 3 to 5, and after that it turned into a religion class. We learned a bunch of the common bible stories and, I believe, a bit of historical context. There was, to my recollection, never any implications about the content being true or false; it was all about familiarity with the content.

Seemed alright to me.

In the religion class, later, we still studied Christianity but we also did a fairly big section on Islam with the same attitude - these are some of the key stories and events, this is what the religion is about; with no judgment on whether it's right or wrong.

Seems the right approach to me.

[Valmy]

Denmark has an official state church  .  I get what you are saying but that is why the religion classes are there.

But I want no part of this in an American public school.  Our public school system could not be more different politically.

[Valmy]

Seems the right approach to me.

Do you have any idea what a horrible idea trying to do something like this would be in Texas?  We have culture warriors passionately battling it out on every school board.  This sounds good and has the right intention but man....we spend way too much time fretting about making sure our kids are appropriately taught Capitalism and Christianity are the best ideas in the universe at the expense of literacy and mathematics as it is and we do not even have religion classes.

[Jacob]

Denmark has an official state church  .  I get what you are saying but that is why the religion classes are there.

But I want no part of this in an American public school.  Our public school system could not be more different politically.

Oh yeah, I agree that it is unlikely it could be carried out like that in the US. I think it provides a useful cultural and intellectual grounding, but it should have exactly zero hint of proselytization to it... and as you say, that is very unlikely to happen in a US context. So I agree with your stance.

[Scipio]

Putting aside the issue of whether we should have public schools at all, considering the woeful general state of public education and most government institutions in this country, I'd like to thank Oklahoma for once again making Mississippi look good.