Texas School District Seeks Bible Course

There is a growing movement around America to get public schools to teach about the Bible. Classes that approach the Bible from a devotional perspective would not work, but objective and scholarly classes might. Are such classes even possible, though?

The Herald Today reports on the creation of a Bible class in Texas:

The Ector County Independent School District unanimously approved an elective course in biblical literacy in April, an action underscoring the marked increase of such “Bible study” classes nationally. Constitutional scholars are concerned that these classes constitute a subtle erosion of what they see as the traditional and necessary wall of separation between church and state.

They have good reasons to be concerned: the organization which does the most to promote these classes, the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, is not academic or objective.

The North Carolina-based organization offers courses in biblical study in public schools as part of its commitment to restore religious and civil liberties in the nation. The council’s board of directors and advisers draws heavily on such religious conservatives as evangelist Ben Kinchloe of television’s “The 700 Club” and David Barton, a prominent conservative author and speaker on church-state separation.

“The world is watching to see if we will be motivated to impact our culture, to deal with the moral crises in our society, and reclaim our families and children,” [president, Elizabeth] Ridenour wrote in a welcoming message on the organization’s Web site.

Does this sound like the agenda of an organization interested in academics or biblical scholarship?

Americans United reports:

Critics say the NCBC curriculum is a tool to evangelize students. The group’s president Elizabeth Ridenour has said its agenda is “to expose the kids to the biblical Christian worldview.”

Moreover, the NCBC web site has included statements, such as, “The Bible was the foundation and blueprint for our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, our educational system, and our entire history until the last 20 to 30 years.”

The NCBC board of directors and advisory board are rife with Religious Right leaders, AU’s letter stated. Indeed, “the NCBCPS boards have included at least two Christian Reconstructionists – Howard Phillips and Rus Walton – who advocate an extreme vision of government based on a literal reading of the Bible.”

Ridenour claims that the group’s curriculum is used in hundreds of school districts nationwide and has “never been legally challenged.”

Ridenour evidently isn’t entirely honest when discussing her organization. Americans United reports that she has claimed the group’s program has “never been legally challenged,” but in reality it was challenged in federal court. In 1998, a school was barred from continuing with the second semester of the course and the judge in the case expressed disbelief that miracles in the New Testament, like Jesus’ resurrection, could be taught as “secular history.”

Legal action might occur in this case, too, if the school isn’t careful:

“There’s an awful lot of people in this town convinced that they’re going to get Jesus taught in the classroom, a tool for evangelism. And that concerns people like me,” said David Newman, an English professor at Odessa College who opposes the new Bible course. He is Jewish.

“If they want to teach the biblical influences on culture and art, why not make it a traditional humanities course that examines all the influences on Western culture?” he asked. “If I see this thing becoming more of an advocacy course, I can assure you there will certainly be legal action taken.”

Alfred Brophy, a University of Alabama law professor who teaches American legal history, said Odessa may reflect a new battleground for religious conservatives who complain God has been taken out of the nation’s public schools. “This is ground zero in the next culture war,” Brophy said. “They’re introducing a religious curriculum into the schoolhouse, but it’s subtle. It’s the camel’s nose poking under the tent.”

As with creationism, the purpose of this biblical class is to introduce religion to public schools. The real motives are made clear from supporters who don’t realize that they are supposed to hide such feelings. It’s unfortunate that so many Christians have so little respect for others, others’ religions, and the principle of religious freedom.

It isn’t enough for them to teach their religion in their own homes and churches; so insecure are they that they feel the need to also have officers of the state teach their religion. They don’t seem to realize, though, that the state is an inappropriate agent for religious instruction. These same people rarely seem to trust government regulators or tax collectors, so why start trusting government Bible teachers?

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Church and State News
• Religion in Public Schools
• Secularism 101