Despite the Supreme Court's admonition that the Bible must be taught about "objectively," it appears that most, if not all, of the Florida school districts teaching the "Bible History" courses are doing so not objectively, but from a Christian perspective. This perspective extends beyond the titles to the course content, which typically presents the Bible according to particular Christian (usually Protestant) interpretations.
For example, it is common in the instructional materials to find the story of Adam and Eve referred to as "the Fall of Man," and the serpent in that story referred to as "Satan" - Christian interpretations of Genesis 3 that are not shared by other faiths. The Bible classes at issue in the Herdahl case also described Genesis 3 as "the Fall of Man." As Professor Lewis testified in that case, "That phrase, however, does not appear anywhere in the Bible; it is a purely theological, Christian interpretation of the story - further evidence of the religious nature of the instruction. Moreover, Jews, who also regard the Book of Genesis as religious scripture, do not interpret the story of Adam and Eve in the same way." And, as Professor Lewis testified in Lee County, "the Serpent" of Genesis 3 is "interpreted in Christian faith, but not Jewish faith, as Satan."
Likewise, a number of the Florida school districts present the "Old" Testament as predictive of, or in light of, the "New" Testament. For example, an exam used in the Indian River County school district asks, "Where is a prophecy in the Old [T]estament about the birth of Jesus?" This is a purely Christian reading of the Bible, since Judaism does not recognize a "New" Testament, nor interpret the Hebrew Scriptures as predictive of it.
