The best book of all
Yesterday, my latest column came out.
Today, a poorly argued letter to the editor was printed.
Much of what he [and the others who commented] said isn’t worth responding to, but I will mention one point that I originally intended to include in my column but did not have space for: I am not talking about a class that studies the various world religions and puts them side by side. While I do think everyone who wants to be a good “world citizen” should learn these things, I would put knowledge of the Bible even ahead of general world religion knowledge, at least while we’re talking about the United States. I won’t deny the influence the Koran, etc has had on our country and Western thought in total, but quite frankly, it’s nowhere near as great the influence of the Bible. I really don’t think someone who hasn’t a clue about the Bible can be considered well-educated.
Comment by tet on 6 September 2007 at 3:27 pm:
*chuckle*
Joel might be interested in knowing that Isaac Newton spent the latter part of his life writing religious texts and pondering God’s role in natural philosophy.
I would no sooner forbid the teaching of the Bible in schools than I would Shakespeare (especially the King James version, since the English authors were contemporaries of the Bard.)
Of course, I would encourage instead the abolition of schools, so in my ideal world, the point would be moot–the parents or their paid tutors would decide what was taught to their children.
The lack of instruction in the main documents upon which our culture depends is, in my mind, just one more nail in the coffin of public schooling.
Tom
Comment by Augur on 6 September 2007 at 9:00 pm:
Brenda – I think that so far that might be your best column of all, or at least of the ones I read. Your column was persuasive and elegant at the same time, much as I imagine you are.
This is a tough one, b/c you have to be able to trust teachers to teach and not preach, and any “interpretation” invites disruptive criticism from parents and community leaders. Then again, it’s tough to argue that teaching the bible is more trouble than its worth.
Teaching the bible is another thing that makes some kids different and left out. You and I grew up raised in the Christian tradition, I cant help but wonder how our views would be changed if we were Jewish, or Mormon, or Muslim. Based on my not knowing, I’d like to give some deference to my non-christian friends. Surely they are also rational enough to see the educational merits of teaching the bible. What percentage of non-christians do you think support the teaching of the bible in schools?
I’ve never seen data on that point, has anyone in the agora?
Comment by augur on 6 September 2007 at 9:11 pm:
One thing I was a little unclear about, when I said “Surely they are also able to see…” I was trying to point out, that in making a value determination about whether the bible could legitimately be taught in say, an english lit course, non-christians could see some merit in teaching it and make a rational decision on how heavily to weigh that educational value against the disruptive effect and the potential for preaching by some teachers. If we approach this as a balancing test, allowing a certain percentage of kids to be stuck in a class room where they are required by law to spend their days, in a situation where it’s easy for teachers to preach at students is also problematic. Keeping the bible out of school protects these kids from religious oppression by a well intentioned teacher gone bad. And if you say, well then the teacher should be fired, imagine how likely that is in a bible belt high school that a principal or school board (the latter of which is elected) is going to kick a teacher out for teaching a little “morality” in the classroom. The fact that we cant trust communities to police against this in a manner that protects the rights of the few is precisely why we’ve arguably pushed the bible too far out of the classroom. This is a very tough balance.
Comment by tet on 7 September 2007 at 9:08 am:
The loss of a consensus morality in our nation, Augur, is one of the reasons that we’re drifting toward dictatorship. Remember a while back when I argued that without such a consensus, laws cannot be enforced, no matter how many police you hire and how restrictive the laws you pass.
I think that we’re in a lot more danger from a lack of teachers “teaching a little morality” than we are from a glut. I hold the waning of influence of the traditional black churches in the inner-city to be as responsible for the present high-crime situation as I do the well-meaning interference by social do-gooders.
Tom