David Van Biema's Essay: The Case For Teaching The Bible

Religion is one of the most controversial issues in society today. The concern of allowing prayer in schools is an on-going debate and has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Religious school clubs, after school activities, curriculums, and moments of silence during school are just a few of the court cases that judges have administered. People in favor of prayer in schools believe that their children can only learn certain values through religious practice. On the other hand, an individual against religious practice in schools views this issue as an infringement on his or her children’s rights as Americans.

Issues involving public schools and religion have been topics involving intense debate. It is difficult for the government to elucidate the appropriate boundaries of religion in the public schools. It is true that teaching about religion is permitted in the public education systems, but the real question is where the margin should be set between teaching religion and simply teaching about religion. It is almost impossible to teach about the history of the United States without teaching that religious beliefs associated with the history, artwork, and literature. More than the public is lead to believe, The Constitution permits religious activities in and around public school buildings. It is unfortunate that the

Sitting in a classroom filled with several maps of the world, vast spines of colorful books, and watching the clock hit the next hour, there is nothing more that a seven-year-old would rather do than be stuck sitting in a desk for eight hours of the day. Looking back to when I was young and learning about the history and background of the church, I was illiterate. According to Bud Heckman’s definition, “religious literacy is the understanding of the profound role that religions plays in human social, cultural, and political life in both contemporary and historical contexts” (2).  Learning about religion seemed

In Fish’s article in the New York Times, he aims to show both sides of the controversial assignments given to students. These assignments aim for the belief and strong views that students hold. They start discussions and many students even refuse to complete them due to their insensitivity to their beliefs. Fish tries to persuade the readers that when something attacks someone’s personal belief, they tend to react and fight for what they think is right. Fish also shows both sides of the arguments by talking about how the assignments are uneasy. Furthermore, how the professors do not mean to attack anyone they simply want to engage students in controversial topics and allow students who do deny the assignments to reaffirm their faith. Fish uses various examples in order to get his point across to the readers.

To counteract the changes that America is experiencing, as the framers of the constitution foresaw, certain laws such as the first amendment are able to be applied differently in special situations like towards the public school system. Banning religion in public schools is such an important issue, because the school curriculum is unable to accommodate every child’s religious needs or offer the same amount of coverage to each religion represented in America. If parents feel as though the instruction of religion is such a pivotal aspect that should be in their child’s life then perhaps a private school that is tailormade to teach and interpret religious aspects would be better suitable. The principle of religious neutrality forbids schools to give religious objectors a substitute that is, from a secular perspective, superior to what other children get. The material instructed in public schools should enable “the minds of school children to be open to various possibilities [in which allowing] that both creationism and evolution be introduced, without religious applications” (Phy-Olsen 98). Modifying the school curriculum for any such child or group creates not only isolation but also negatively emphasizes the differences between students. Students are unable to achieve their full potential with religion in schools, because they will be lacking the sense of

Intro: Molly Worthen is an accomplished PhD graduate from Yale University, and novelist of “Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism” and “The Man on Whom Nothing Was Lost: The Grand Strategy of Charles Hill.” (Worthen). Spending most of her life studying religion and namely ideology in North American Society.

Religion in public schooling is a major controversy proven by the fact that Americans have been debating the place of God in schools almost repeatedly since public education got its start in the country nearly two hundred years ago. As the United States becomes more religiously diverse, its shared doubt on this issue becomes more prominent. Not even the Supreme Court, with its muddled and unclear ruling on the establishment

However, teachers who in the classrooms have not been adequately prepared to take on such a sensitive and sometimes controversial issue. It is important that the educational system employs teachings that are able to fairly and effectively teach students about religion (Passe & Wilcox, 2009, page 104). This is where the change in the source of religion in schools needs to begin. Passe and Wilcox state, “teachers can be leaders in demonstrating how to do it well” (2009, page 106). In this quote, Passe and Wilcox are referencing the kind of impact that teachers can have on others and society by correctly leading in a way that shows that religion can be taught in a way that is acceptable. The problem lies within the curriculum. Passe and Wilcox’s focus on the changes that are occurring in the curriculum in our educational system and how there has been changes and the focus has move away from where religion should be taught and what content it should be taught with. Passe and Wilcox state that “social studies … is gradually disappearing from the … curriculum in favor of literacy and mathematics (2009, page 104). Within our schools, there is the less focus on social studies because of it does not hold the same value as other subjects because of their importance on standardized tests. Passe and Wilcox makes a firm point by state that “we cannot teach history without teaching about religion”

Bible as the Inspired Word of God The Bible is the work of various authors, who lived in different continents and wrote in different eras. Furthermore, much of the text does not claim to have been 'dictated' by God and is not always God speaking to people. In parts it consists of people speaking to God, as in the Psalms, and people speaking to people, as in the New Testament letters written by Paul. In light of this, some maintain that it is not possible to treat the Bible as a book of divine oracles, delivered once by God and recorded by its authors through divine inspiration, since biblical authors were products of their time and subsequently their understanding of divine truth was culturally

After all, “isn’t it against the First Amendment of our Constitution to promote religion in any government entity [a school]? Hasn’t the Supreme Court ruled against such a sectarian proposal?” (Teaching the Bible) What many people have never been taught is that America was founded on Christianity and the Bible. The founding Fathers had Bibles “printed by the order of Congress ‘for the use of our schools’” (Monumental) “They wanted the word of God to go out to every family.” (Monumental) They predicted the catastrophic effects of not having a high moral standard for their young, and they saw the plentiful benefits of allowing the Bible in the educational system. One example of this is Harvard. Founded by the pilgrims, the Harvard original founding monument “states the University’s commitment to advancing the Kingdom of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ-proclaiming that this, in fact, was the purpose for which Harvard was created.” (Monumental) Somehow, the basis on which America was established has been lost throughout history. Few people know that Harvard, one of the most well known and established schools, was actually built for the purpose of spreading the word of God. Now, prayers and Bibles are hardly allowed through the door. Even Thomas Jefferson, who was unconvinced of the factual evidence of the bible, chose to adopt it as a primary reader during his first presidency on the Washington D.C school

Christianity has long faced attacks on the historical authenticity of Jesus, His claims, works and resurrection. This skepticism took a new turn when the Jesus Seminar took it upon themselves to study the authenticity of the Gospels and the historical accuracy of their contents. The article in Time magazine, Gospel Truth? by David Van Biema explores the arguments of the Seminar and the counter-arguments brought forth by Christians who defend the historical authenticity of the Gospels. My reading of the arguments put forward by the Seminar, have not found their conclusions consistent with the evidence found in the Bible, historical records or personal experience.

The article focused on the views of three religious studies faculty teaching at large public universities in the Southern United States. They compared their institutions within the group and with other institutions from different regions of the United States. Due to an overwhelming Christian character of their institutions became the common theme as they we conceptualized their challenges in teaching. Their classrooms were made up of predominantly Christian students who carry with them their own religious perspectives and a set of associated expectations about what they should learn. Even when their students

Peter Berger and Stephen Prothero argue the necessity for religious literacy relating to human nature and it’s importance in everyday life. Prothero explains the school systems direct affect for the increase of religious ignorance due to the lack of religious studies in public schools and higher education. Berger discusses the humanity aspect of religious literacy, and persuades the reader that it is the duty of human beings to be religiously educated, and through religious education humans can become much more knowledgeable about their morals and the effect society has had on them.

Very touching post. I did not know that there could be an issue if students read the Bible in school. I actually find it offensive if someone goes against the one’s worldview, when at the same time there are people who stare at Pokémon game and do not get punished. How could it be that spiritual knowledge can get punished. The reason is because of it’s influence. Many people do not understand religions, I believe they are afraid of it. However, everyone should understand that a person who is reading book is not awful, this person is the one who can give an advice and help another, it is a person who is trying to reach for the knowledge and understand the life. And when other is using a phone and being a “Zombie” will gain nothing but game addiction.

As we go through our day by day lives in a very secular world, I believe it is very easy to question ourselves as Christian educators. We ask ourselves if we are doing our jobs exactly to God’s calling. Are we striving to teach the truth? And with that, what is truth? According to Gaebelein in his book The Pattern of God’s Truth, “All truth is God’s truth.” As educators we are called upon to cultivate “Christlike minds” (Moreland). This is quite the task, especially given our surrounding circumstances and constant secular environment. Not only are we, as educators surrounded by this secularism, but our young, adolescent students are as well. So, how do we accomplish such as task of guiding