A bible in every Texas classroom

ReligionStudent said:
That's just horendous. Now I am not oppose per se to teaching bible as lit etc. ( I think it would be hard to find someone qualified to teach it secularly who would want to). but there are so many good books out there that should be used in addition to the bible. You really cannot just jump in with the bible like that. At the very least if you are going to look at the Bible as lit, you need some contextualizing books.
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But the bible is the dirrect word of god and so it contexualizes itself. You don't need to worry about bad translations or historic context and all that BS. At least is you pick the right version of the bible.

I prefer the adulters bible myself.
 
ChristineR said:
That's an oversimplification. Numerous sects had texts and doctrines and they interacted and altered each other's texts and doctrines. Eventually one sect one out and they destroyed as many of the non-conforming texts as possible and bound the conforming texts into the New Testament. You can't separate the forming of the church from the forming of the texts.

I agree with you 100% about modern translations. The slangy stuff doesn't bother me nearly as much as the deliberate mistranslation of doctrines they don't like and the picking and choosing from the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient translations into Coptic, and qere and ketiv.
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I am not sure what you mean it is an oversimplification. The formation of the NT certainly is tied to the formation of the church. But that process went on long after the origional texts were written. Origen was not until the third century CE, Nicea was fourth century CE, and De Spiritu Sancto was not till mid fourth century CE. The texts were certainly complete by a time were the church was still forming. There are many other texts that come from these periods that are not in the NT.

I was not talking about canonification of the texts, but of the texts' writing.
My concern was with the statment that the NT came out of the church, which Doc had made. He seems to defend a position that the church was in place before the creation of the NT.

And as for translation, I may be an atheist, but it is 100 time as beutiful in the origional language, even just the sound. No modern translation of a psalm does it justice.
 
DOC said:
The Bible is the best selling book of all time -- it only makes sense to study it -- as literature, as philosophy, as history, or simply because it is the best selling book of all time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books
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Opposition to studying any "important" book, (be that importance real or imagined) gives it a force it shouldn't have. Not only should be studied as literature, philosophy and history, it should be studied about its role in shaping those things. That is, at the proper time, in the proper place, in the right context.
 
nails3jesus0 said:
you pretty much completely ignored me. It seems that 'thriller' by micheal jackson is the best selling album of all time. Does that mean music students should be forced to study it?
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No, but it could be an elective course, like study of the Bible could be.
 
Cleon said:
Or, study of the bible could stay where it belongs, in churches.
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So you don't want students to have the freedom to study the world's best selling book if they wish to take the elective course.
 
DOC said:
Thanks for the plug. I hope they do read the above forum, but I really don't start posting a lot of messages in that forum until around post 61.
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Slight tangent, but this really bugs the crap out of me. Will you take 10 minutes and learn how to link to messages on the forum unstead of just giving the number. It's really astoundingly easy if you just take a few minutes to get the gist and do a practice post or two.
 
DOC said:
So you don't want students to have the freedom to study the world's best selling book if they wish to take the elective course.
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Not at all. They should absolutely have that freedom. That's what churches are there for.
 
Originally Posted by DOC
So you don't want students to have the freedom to study the world's best selling book if they wish to take the elective course.


nails3jesus0 said:
I dont know how 'in every classroom'=elective. please explain.
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If you look at the first post in this forum, it talks of "elective courses". I assume the words "A Bible in every classroom" are the words of the forum creator"
 
DOC said:
So you don't want students to have the freedom to study the world's best selling book if they wish to take the elective course.
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So, according to your logic, there should also be a course concentrating on the study of this?


Maybe there should be a course "On the Appropriateness of the Bible in Public Schools".
 
Cleon said:
Not at all. They should absolutely have that freedom. That's what churches are there for.
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A book is a book. The most popular book of all time should be studied so students can maybe understand why it is the most popular book of all time. That's what education is all about.
 
DOC said:
A book is a book. The most popular book of all time should be studied so students can maybe understand why it is the most popular book of all time. That's what education is all about.
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But why have an entire class devoted to one book? Seems to me you should incorporate other bestsellers in order to constitute a more balanced class. Also, by doing this, the class would have to study it as fiction or literature, not history - otherwise, he's totally right: no place for it in a classroom.
 
DOC said:
Thanks for the plug. I hope they do read the above forum, but I really don't start posting a lot of messages in that forum until around post 61.
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All of which are thoroughly and fatally debunked - but feel free to check it out- multiple times - DOC just keeps coming back with the same disproved stuff like any other CTer.
 
DOC said:
A book is a book. The most popular book of all time should be studied so students can maybe understand why it is the most popular book of all time. That's what education is all about.
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"Best-seller" is not the same as "popular". Harry Potter is popular - it makes good reading. How many people book into a hotel so they can catch up on the next few chapters of that gripping Gideon bible? Not many, IMO. A free bible for home consumption is not hard to find. A free Koran is as easily obtained, and free Baghavitas have to be actively rejected in my experience.

I own two Bibles myself, one an early 19thCE family bible in two massive volumes that I picked up for a song out in the sticks for its display properties as much as anything else, the other for quick reference and it cost me a dollar at a charity shop. In neither case did I rush home in my eagerness to read them.
 
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