The Attorney General of Tennessee has cleared the way for Tennessee public schools to have classes that study the Bible as a literary and historical document so long as acceptance of its religiosity is not pushed upon the students. For the original story from April, see this Tennessean article. For one of the horrified media responses, see this more recent Knoxville News Sentinel article by Leslie Snow.
First of all, the Bible, simply as a document, is still the most important literary work in human history. There is no struggle of man that is not in the Bible: from love and faithfulness, to war and sacrifice. The quest for meaning and the evolution from hatred to love are there. As is the history of a civilization as it develops from wandering nomads to a stable kingdom, and then as an angry people under the thumbs of various imperialist states. Our understanding of the development of human culture would be far poorer without the Bible.
But beyond all that, when you consider that nearly every piece of art from 300 A.D. to the nineteenth century in some way references the Bible, how can you expect students of art to understand the symbolism and appreciate the work if they have no idea of its foundations? And how can one have a complete understanding of the history of western culture without knowledge of the book that inspired the beliefs and behaviors of the people of that culture?
I'm going to leave the other potential benefits of teaching the Bible to children completely alone, as it will only inspire more histrionics from those who cannot see reason for all their unreasonable fear of a dissolution of the boundaries between church and state.
First of all, the Bible, simply as a document, is still the most important literary work in human history. There is no struggle of man that is not in the Bible: from love and faithfulness, to war and sacrifice. The quest for meaning and the evolution from hatred to love are there. As is the history of a civilization as it develops from wandering nomads to a stable kingdom, and then as an angry people under the thumbs of various imperialist states. Our understanding of the development of human culture would be far poorer without the Bible.
But beyond all that, when you consider that nearly every piece of art from 300 A.D. to the nineteenth century in some way references the Bible, how can you expect students of art to understand the symbolism and appreciate the work if they have no idea of its foundations? And how can one have a complete understanding of the history of western culture without knowledge of the book that inspired the beliefs and behaviors of the people of that culture?
I'm going to leave the other potential benefits of teaching the Bible to children completely alone, as it will only inspire more histrionics from those who cannot see reason for all their unreasonable fear of a dissolution of the boundaries between church and state.
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