Displaying Bible Quotes in Schools: Is it ever okay?

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Forums > All Posts > Displaying Bible Quotes in Schools: Is it ever okay?

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2011-09-13 03:05 PM

ChristyR
Denton, TX
Posts: 311

A Virginia school is being sued for violation of separation of church and state by displaying the 10 commandments in a public school.

See the article here.

The part of this article that caught my eye was that the school board voted that it would be okay to hang the 10 commandments along side other U.S. historical documents. I don't agree with this, obviously, because it gives off the connotation that the Bible is fact. (Not to mention, who classifies the bible as a United States historical document, anyway?)

But what if the bible was portrayed as a work of fiction? It's obviously one of the most influential works of fiction (in my opinion) ever written.

No one would think twice if there was a poster in their child's school that read "'Procrastination is the thief of time' - Charles Dickens, David Copperfield".

Would it be okay to put the bible on a high school reading list as a work of fiction? It's okay to make kids read The Odyssey or The Iliad as fictional literature. This must be offensive to any who choose to follow a Hellenistic religion. Though I'm sure there aren't many people who do (if any) in the U.S., there are definitely still followers in Greece.

Is the difference the prevalence of the religion behind the book?

BTW, I am not BY ANY MEANS suggesting that the bible should be displayed in schools. It's just something I was wondering about... Let me know what you think.

2011-09-13 03:17 PM

ChristyR
Denton, TX
Posts: 311

I also realize that this would be considered blasphemy by most and would never actually happen. I just wanted to play the what-if game for a minute.

2011-09-14 12:31 PM

Chapmanooka
Not Selected
Posts: 3

the difference is NOT the prevalence of religion behind the book. the objection is moot, if the school LIBRARY contains the religious books from all ove rthe world. but what public school will be allowed to do this, especially with the current atmosphere regarding the far-right hypocrites?
THere is nothing wrong with having as many resources in a public school that will enable the future voters (and thinkers) to be informed and educated. The importance of HISTORY, LANGUAGE, SCIENCE , Math Art and MUSIC cannot be measured by a standardized test; however, these same tests give the AMerican parent an idea of what kind of person they are helping to raise in this 21st century. Bibles andother religious books have no place(except the LIBRARY) in the PUBLIC SCHOOL or the CHARTER SCHOOL.
Ideology, like time, is relevant, but NOT in the school. the ideology that should be fostered is this: WE are all Americans, We must TEACH not just give assignments; we must TEACH , not just go along with the whims of ideologues; we must TEACH critical reading and thinking.

2011-09-18 02:28 PM

Veronica
Not Selected
Posts: 205

I remember the "hippie" days, when in reality and in song, they said, "Everybody must get stoned."
Of course their form of "getting stoned" was a lot more psychedelic. & they always went back for more.

But in the Koran, & yes even in our dear Old Testament, they recommend a lot of stoning for just about any offense. Even walking into a room & accidentally seeing your daddy naked. (Ahem) Women seemed to get the worst end of the stick in those days, since they could be punished with death for not covering their head in public, or walking out the door without their husband's permission. Oh, the Good Old Days. If you feel a bit Masochistic, you can read ALL the Old Testament completely, & you could easilly believe that you are reading the Koran. A BIT OF HISTORY. The Moslem Koran was written 600 years after Christ.

2011-09-19 05:05 AM

Veronica
Not Selected
Posts: 205

Is the BIBLE a Historical document? Is it factual? I guess to many it is mostly a question of FAITH.

But the first 5 books of the Old Testament are directly taken from the TORAH, a book of Jewish History. I think they really consider this a "historical" document. It lists all the various tribes, even to the umpteenth generation. These 5 books -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy -- are from the Jewish Torah. If you study it in depth, it tells locations of places, like The Garden of Eden (in the area currently known as IRAQ) and the location of Armageddon (plains of Megiddo) in PALESTINE. Apparently, there are corroborating documents in Egypt & Rome about things occurring in the Bible.

For instance, Roman documents describe a crucifixion by Pontius Pilate of a man named Jesus. Or at least a description which makes it clear that this was what had happened. It has been a lot of years since I pursued all this extensively, but these are the basics I remember.

ONE THING IS UNDENIABLY CLEAR. How many men have been born on this Earth, who made Time stand still, and begin again? Only ONE man was born so that every year BEFORE HIS BIRTH has been dated "B.C" ever since. (For Before Christ). And every year SINCE his birth is called A.D. (This stands for Anno Domini -- the Year of our Lord). NOW, IF THIS "dating" system is incorrect, and this Jesus was NEVER BORN, then the ENTIRE CALENDAR OF THE WORLD IS WRONG. Furthermore it would have been WRONG for 2,000 years. -- Does this help you put it into perspective?

2011-09-19 07:23 PM

theslickdumpling
Normangee, TX
Posts: 3

I appreciate you asking the questions. We need to have thoughts provoked, respectful discussion about these topics.

My son attended a highschool in which the principal, the school's secretary and many teachers were members of the large Baptist church in town. It seems that anything and everything that happened in that school was reported directly to the pastor of the church, who was connected to Tom DeLay (He 'represented' our district----ha, ha. No really, I think he was only representing himself and his cronies.)

There was prayer "...in the name of Jesus". There was an oppressive Christian atmosphere permiating that school. When I visited that church, the deacons standing at the back doors, leading from the santcuary, their arms were folded and their stance appeared to be that of bouncers or bodyguards. There was an extremely oppressive atmosphere tht permiated that church and beyond.

Ordinarily I would say that, of course, the Ten Commandments might be displayed, along with texts from other religions.

At my son's Bacaloriate Tom DeLay stated that he wanted the 'Ten Commandments' posted on every school wall in the country. Well, you see----THAT is enough for me to oppose the idea.

www.theslickdumpling.com

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