Posted on 04/23/2008 4:52:37 PM PDT by mnehring
Superintendent Rick Albritton with Gilmer ISD says the idea is to expose students to the Bible as literature, its influence on culture, and on society. Monday, trustees with the district unanimously approved offering the Bible as a social studies elective for juniors and seniors in the fall.
"It's not to proselytize. It's not an evangelical course," said Albritton. "It's strictly from the historical perspective." And the district wants to make that clear.
The description for the course in 2008-2009 course guide states the Bible course is academic and not devotional. Nor does it sponsor the practice of religion.
As a course, a textbook will also be used. According to the publisher's web site, The Bible and Its Influences is now used by 181 schools in 38 states.
Alan Metzel, a world history teacher, said he looks forward to teaching the course this fall. "Nebuchadnezzar, and the Hittites, and the Assyrians, and so much that's in the Old Testament--we already cover some of those things, and I think this will give us a broader perspective of it," he said.
Metzel hopes those perspective will lead to brighter students.
"In college, we take humanities, we take classes that broaden our horizons, and I think anything that you take as an elective, is going to stretch people's horizons."
ACLU Law Suit forthcoming.
They were both Southern Baptists and both characters.
In Gilmer Texas, anyone with an ACLU business card would be run out of town.
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I would hope they run them out of the state.
The state of Georgia has made a class in Old and New Testament a viable course for an English elective.
Even has standards for it.
Can Gilmer get any farther from the coast than it is ? May explain why it’s an enclave of reasoning.
Actually, quite a few schools do this. I am of two minds on it. On the one hand I am always happy when God’s Word makes it into school. On the other hand, I wonde rif the Bible will be handled correctly.
My son’s honors English class (5A high school in Dallas area) studied the Book of Ruth as literature back in the ‘90s. No problem (except it was KJV, and the non-churched kids found it difficult).
This is objectively justifiable. The bible is the most influential piece of literature in the history of the world.
And the Bible was the most important book at the founding of the United States. One of the youngest signers of the Constitution was Dr. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813). He wrote why the Bible should be taught in our public schools. He gave the benefits if it were taught, and the consequences if it were not taught.
I Quote,”I believe no man was ever early instructed in the truths of the Bible without having been made wiser or better by the early operation of these impressions upon his mind.”
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