World News Korner

Bible study course, created by Hobby Lobby president, will soon be taught in Oklahoma public schools.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

According to the Religious News Service, the “Museum of the Bible Curriculum” created by Hobby Lobby’s President Steve Green (pictured above) will be beta-tested in Oklahoma’s Mustang Public School district beginning in the Fall of 2014.

Green hopes the program — which will be overseen by Jerry Pattengale, head of the Green Scholars Initiative — will be placed in “hundreds” of high schools by 2016, and “thousands” by 2017. It is a four-year elective course in which students will study the narrative, history, and impact of the Bible on Western Civilization. Because the book is being taught within an academic purview, it does not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Abington School District v. Schempp.

“Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible,” the Court decided, “when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.”

I actually agree with the judge up to a point.

An elective course that studies the impact of the Bible on Western civilization could be an interesting and informative class.

However since this is coming from the ultra religious Hobby Lobby people, it's goal is far more subversive than simple education about the impact of the book.

“The goal is to show that the impact of this book, when we apply it to our lives, has been good, because it has. So it’s good, and it’s true,” Green said, before moving on to discuss the other section of the curriculum, which would be “the story of the Bible.”

“We’re as ignorant [as] we’ve ever been, would be my argument,” Green said, “because we aren’t teaching it in our schools.”

“That would be the goal,” he continued, “to reintroduce this book to this nation, because it is in danger, because of its ignorance, of what God has taught. There is [sic] lessons of the past that we can learn from the dangers of ignorance of this book. We need to know it, and if we don’t know it, our future is going to be very scary.”

Green also labeled the Bible a "reliable historical document" which is far from the truth as you can get.

In my opinion, if this course is offered in Oklahoma public schools then it opens up the door for a course about Islam, in which the Koran is describes as a "reliable historic document."

Or a course about Sikhism where the Adi Granth is taught as a "reliable historic document."

Or perhaps an elective course that studied the Vedas as a "reliable historic document."

Each and every one of them deserve the same consideration in an academic environment, unless it can be proven, scientifically, that one book is more reliable than another.

And THAT should be the test before this course is introduced into the Oklahoma public school classrooms.

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