Ignore the religious background of the 10 Commandments for a second and you have a pretty darn solid list of rules to live by. Not exactly the most complex set of rules to start your new country on huh? Don't lie, don't steal, don't murder, etc. To teach only evolution is not as incendiary for the masses to handle. Why not teach both and let people make up their own minds? Oh wait, that would mean we stupid humans were allowed to think for ourselves. My bad.
There is a difference between recognizing the wisdom of those rules and claiming that the Bible is literally correct, in every respect.
There is a difference between learning about the role of Christianity in the country's history and claiming that the country is required to be Christian, in every respect.
Finally, there is a difference between people who would profess Christianity in the schools as something to be considered among the other religions that have played a part in our history versus those who would either have you believe that Christianity is the only religion that ever played a role, or at least that it was the only religion that ever did anything worthwhile.
These folks fall squarely in the latter category of all three sentences above.
don't be silly. The only time the local boys are right is when they agree with the collective.
Not at all. They are free to disagree with the collective. In my view, they are even free to promote educating people about the debate. I think such discussion is good.
Its the lock out all alternative points of view as the work of Satan theory that makes me wince.
For 23 years, Steven Prince has enjoyed being in a classroom in Knox County.
"You really can't beat this job. Every period is different because every high school kid is different and every day is different."
He's taught out of US History to Psychology textbooks.
But since 1992, he's taught from a different book.
"It's to focus on the bible as history and the supreme court has ruled that it's a historical document that can be studied."
And over 1,000 students have studied the bible as an elective in his class
Link:
For 23 years, Steven Prince has enjoyed being in a classroom in Knox County.
The Bible's place in history? I think that's a great thing to teach in the schools.
The Bible AS history? Well, I happen to believe that myself. But I recognize that the schools are not an apt place to have that perspective.
As a Christian, I am under an obligation to share the news, right? I should take pride and great joy in that. But when it comes to other people's kids I feel like I have to respect their right to direct them the way they see fit.
I'm okay with a Mormon teaching my kid the role of Joseph Smith and Mormon theology in the trek across the continent to Utah and its historical significance. I am not okay with him teaching my kid that it is a fact that God put some stuff on plates for the him to read.
The Mormon parent should be okay with me teaching the role of the Bible in everything from the development of the printing press to how Europe evolved in the Crusades and Protestantism. But I doubt he is cool with the fact that it can be read to rule out what he sees as his kid's path to Heaven.
