Monday, April 2, 2007

Look who's saying we should teach the Bible in public schools!

By Tom Prichard

No it's not Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, though I don't think they'd object. No, it's Time magazine. In an interesting cover story
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845,00.html, Time supports teaching the bible in the Public schools.

What are some of the reasons supporting it's teaching in the classroom? For one, Time says the Bible is the bedrock of Western Culture.

  • One can’t understand the origins of our culture, history, and institutions without understanding the Bible.
  • Second, understanding the Bible is important for people, religious and nonreligious, to understand the many debates in our nation over evolution and creationism.
  • Third, Time notes that the Bible is the most influential book ever written, all time best seller in history and the best seller every year. Maybe people should know something about it.
  • Fourth, biblical themes and images permeate western and American culture and literature. From Shakespeare to Hemingway, from the Puritans and the Mayflower Compact to Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address and Martin Luther King's speeches, it’s important to understand the political ideas of our nation.
How can this be; wasn't the Bible tossed out of the public schools with the ban on school prayer and the posting of the Ten Commandments? While the United States Supreme Court banned school sponsored prayer and devotional reading, it didn't ban the reading and study of the Bible as literature.

It's refreshing to see common sense return to topics like studying the Bible in the public schools, especially by the more liberal Time magazine.

Related Article: Click Here to read "
Allow schools to teach diversity of faiths" by Chuck Darrell