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Should the Bible be used as a textbook in schools?

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posted on Nov, 26 2004 @ 10:21 PM
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Sure, the bible, like any other colelction of myths and superstitions, should be taught in school as part of a literature or sociology class. People should learn where modern day Neo Conservatism comes from, after all.



posted on Nov, 26 2004 @ 10:27 PM
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But really, if we're afraid of showing children a book containing stories of a man sacrificing his child, how can we teach about WWI or II or even dare to look at the current evens of our own society?

They are not taught to tell children how to live their lives, they are taught to be respected for what they are- breathtaking works of literature.


I am saying that to paint a picture of omnipotence that reconciles the bad and the good is sending a wrong message. After all, a god should be held to higher standards. The god should be a source of salvation for all. One thing is humans committing human errors. Another is to have a god who knows no better.



posted on Nov, 27 2004 @ 02:40 AM
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People here can argue till their blue in the face that America is not a Christian country, but the Christian paradigm is universal in all western cultures. We celebrate Christmas, we celebrate Easter, we celebrate Thanksgiving,


Yeah, and these traditions are Christian how? It just so happens that the majority of people on earth are uneducated and ignorant of history. Many pagan ceremonies have been embraced by 'Christian' churches.

Yes, children should have the choice of being taught the Bible. This should be in line with freedom of speech.

The bible 'can' still be used as a religious text book, if it is taught in religious studies. If it is used for literature classes, then again, the definition of text book can be used.

Can anyone tell me why it got taken out of the schools anyway?



posted on Nov, 27 2004 @ 03:17 PM
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Originally posted by shmick25



People here can argue till their blue in the face that America is not a Christian country, but the Christian paradigm is universal in all western cultures. We celebrate Christmas, we celebrate Easter, we celebrate Thanksgiving,


Yeah, and these traditions are Christian how? It just so happens that the majority of people on earth are uneducated and ignorant of history. Many pagan ceremonies have been embraced by 'Christian' churches.

Yes, children should have the choice of being taught the Bible. This should be in line with freedom of speech.

The bible 'can' still be used as a religious text book, if it is taught in religious studies. If it is used for literature classes, then again, the definition of text book can be used.

Can anyone tell me why it got taken out of the schools anyway?


yes but the christian faith is favoured above all other religion and text....WHY... I am an athiest i feel it shouldnt be forced on to children but if it must then it should be taught with the same importance as any other religion and allow the child to choose there own religious studies as they see fit.

Also ministers within assemblys i feel is also a wrong.....for it is ok for the christians within the walls but what about the other religions and athiests within the wall they are forced to listen to a prayer that means nothing to them.



posted on Nov, 27 2004 @ 03:33 PM
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The bible should be used as a text book as long as we can interpret the metaphorical statements and stories such as the creation story. An example would be "LET THEIR BE LIGHT", which is actually the big bang and as far as I know, seven days of creation could be metaphorical of 15 billion years.



posted on Nov, 27 2004 @ 04:36 PM
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This discussion is a bit off, of course the bible should be read in school, as well as all other major religions text, and the practical adaptation of their religion in the areas where they are worshiped!
I my self am an atheist. but like any other Swede, I read ( what I was horrified to know was not taught in the states) religion class from 7:th grade and depending on your choices of study in our "higschool" (humanitarian, technical social science�) to my 12:th year where we study all religions, to learn understanding of the customs and traditions of other countries. No wonder you Americans (witch include about 30%of my relatives) are so judgemental and close-minded when it comes to religion. No wonder you don�t react when you president openly calls Muslim countries for the "axis of evil" because you don�t know, you have no knowledge, and therefore no understanding of Islam, its history and the way that the overwhelming majority of Muslims practice their beliefs.
I think all americans with children or who are young and still studies on this post should make it their cause to implement religion study in their school. because as some of you pointed out before, religion is what shaped our nations, our values and our way of thinking. and as important as it is to learn about the holocaust, it is to learn about the benefits and the horror the different religions has brought humanity....
Ps: we read about Satanism, its history, although we didn�t put to much time in since it not exactly a major world religion�.


[edit on 27-11-2004 by disturbence]



posted on Nov, 27 2004 @ 08:06 PM
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I disagree with the above statement religion as a whole does not shape the world we live in only the ones who practise that beliefe which has never really functioned within my life. Although I know all about different religions and how muslims faith is one of the most peaceful religions on this earth. I agree that if ppl understood it they would be less judgemental.
I am from the UK and did 1st and 2nd year Religious studies which is manditory here. I didnt like it the teacher didnt get on with me too well due to my beliefes and my understanding of religion i am not ignorant in the subject some of my family are religious and some are not.

But truely it does not shape the world as much as it did due to the fact that christianity is a falling religion new members to christian churches are fallin and i believe some other religions are actually increasing in members.

The child should be allowed to learn about these thing if desired (all to their own) but it should neither be at an a time where the child can be infulanced in one direction it should be their choice.

Holacaust wasnt just about religion it was due to many surcumstances such as a blame game for who made Germany loose the 1st world war and also a way of controling the masses through fear.



posted on Nov, 27 2004 @ 10:30 PM
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sure...lets use the bible in schools...it was that way a few decades ago.

All the major universitys in the USA, the top ones...all were started for religious reasons. Yale, Harvard...etc....

and not only that...if you read the original constitutions of the states for the north east....NJ, NY,MA...etc....you could not even hold public office unless you confessed Jesus Christ as Lord...didnt matter what denomination you were...so long as you were Christian.
For us in New Jersey...it is the "Province of East New Jersey" 1683.

Massachussets says in their constitution....

in 1780... NO PERSON SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO HOLD PUBLIC OFFICE, UNLESS....HE SHALL DECLARE HIMSELF TO BE OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

And the old "hornbooks" they used...contained the Lord's prayer.
Hornbooks are what they used to teach kids in school...



posted on Nov, 28 2004 @ 08:04 AM
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how can you claim that religion hasn�t shaped the world??? religion was the main tool up until recently to control the masses and to make then to the bidding of the ones in power. the ancient engineering advances of the Greeks was made so temples could be risen to the gods, the mathematical and medical advancements of the arabs was in the name of understanding the glory of the creation of allah,
the repression of progress in europe due to the catholic church? how the kings and lords of northern europe used the lutheran belief to break from the control of rome?
should I go on? and don�t claim that its meaning is lost to people of today, was it not in the name of Christianity that the greatest houlcoust in my lifetime was conducted in Rwanda in 94? was it not american bishops and priests a couple of months ago told their "congregations" that voting for kerry was a sin that needed penance before mass???
people still feel the need to believe in something and we must educate our children so they understand why!

and when I before mentioned the holocoust I meant that its historical impact on our world needs to be studied, as do the impact of the religions.

[edit on 28-11-2004 by disturbence]

[edit on 28-11-2004 by disturbence]



posted on Nov, 28 2004 @ 11:48 PM
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Religion PARTICULARLY Christianity has shaped the western world from our art, architecture, laws, literature, language and even obscenities. Perhaps in the end, its Christianity that needs to be taught in schools and NOT the Bible.



posted on Nov, 29 2004 @ 07:29 AM
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I agree with the above but it is not techniqually the faith that shaped it in many cases peoples twisted views of it (a bit like fanatics take the muslim faith beyond its peacful meaning.) Christianity should only be taught to ppl that want to listen and if forced then you must take into consideration every other religion and also have that taught at the same detail and with no pushing towards the one religion as it is uneathical and also against a person human rights in my opinion



posted on Nov, 29 2004 @ 07:40 AM
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Not in any school that my grandkids might be attending!!!

You do realize, that if that book, in it's entirety were made into a mini-series, it would have to have a rating of PG, if not higher.....daughters messing around with their drunken fathers, young widows sneaking into their in-laws house and stripping naked in his bedroom, then laying at his feet all night until he wakes up....then offering herself to him......

sorry, no go here.



posted on Nov, 29 2004 @ 09:50 AM
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Originally posted by Slicky1313
The Bible isnt just a religious book, but a recording of history that dates back very far kept record.

Its a terrible source of history for the very small region that it is concerned with. The history of a wandering tribe of goat herders in simply not important, and besides, lots of its 'historical facts' don't seem to have occured.


fact is, the Bible was taught in US public school not to long ago in the before the 1950's or so when it began to change, and creation was taught in science on how earth came about.

And now its not because people finally realized that it was inccorct.


according to the nations forfathers, this nation was under "God" NOT "Allah" NOT "Buddha" and NOT "Satan" but "God",

When did the founders say this?

it never said "Jesus Christ" but "God".


hence, under this nations principals "God" should be in school,

Except for that seperation of church and state principle right? Or that freedom of religion principle??


and the nations laws and everything else were founded under the Bible,


The United States was not founded on the bible. Hell, lots of the founders weren't even big beleivers in the bible. They looked to the whole history of the world for their inspiring examples on which their state should be founded and they chose, not the temple based theocracy of ancient jewish history, not the ecclesiastical rule of the vatican in the dark ages, but the examples of Republican Rome and ancient greece, particularly Sparta (over Athens). The looked to something like 'The Republic' rather than 'The City of God'.


how you cant even say "God" anymore without getting sued up your rear end.

No one gets sued for this, this is pointless hyperbole.


flange gasket
How do you explain that America's founding fathers fled from religous persecution to start a free society if you don't understand the historical religious basis for the persecution in the first place? How do you teach the history of the Inquisition without mentioning religion? How do you elucidate the problems the Masonic founders of America had with the church if you can't explain what the church is?

People certainly don't need for the bible to be required reading in order to understand this. In fact they'd be better off reading John Locke, or hell the Founders' writings themselve, but none of those are required. The content of the bible is actually whats irrelvant to the issue.


scat
Putting the Bible in al iterature class I have no problem with

I, personally, see no reason for it to be even there. Its not a particuarly great work of litereature as literature. There's certainly hundreds of other books that would be better and are more deserving of being put onto a required reading list for students.

jamuhn
In the Bible, God never intended for Abraham to kill his son, and Abraham never did.

The intent is rather irrelevant, abraham obviously didn't know it, nor did anyone else. And abraham did kill his son, he went thru the entire thing up to the point of the dagger sliting his throat at which point god miraculously stops him. He, in his 'heart', commited murder, and thats the point of the story. He became a murderer, even if the action was stopped. Its as if he loaded a gun pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger, but there was misfire and it didn't go off. Besides, apparently in some jewish traditions he actually does literally kill the child.



posted on Jul, 3 2005 @ 11:20 AM
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Isn't Sunday School the proper place for learning about the bible?

Next thing you know, Sunday School teachers are going to start teaching about economics or better yet... evoloution.

Maybe they SHOULD be required to... afer all, it IS a theory!



posted on Jul, 3 2005 @ 11:45 AM
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Why make the Bible a textbook? Just put it in the curriculum, and make sure the classics are there also, along with languages and advanced mathematics, greek, latin and so forth.

That is the way people learned in the past, and in fact they learned these things at an early age in less wasted time. The problem in our social structure is not necessarily the absence of the bible, prayer, and morality. The problem is the deliberate dumbing down of the entire educational system, through pressures of the robber barons sustained over a century. Does the oligarchy really want a population that is always making inquiries about its rights, and from people smarter than they themselves? Do they want union people who know the facts and the mathematics of corporations? I think not. They want a compulsory educational process underestimating even the lowest IQ kids. They want people to obey authority first, and neglect morality unless it is "official morality," or politically correct. Sadly as people around the world rediscover their lost education, they turn to every kind of literature, especially virtually banned books such as the classics and Shakespeare. People are discovering life as it is lived, and they to not relish living in stupidity.

Please put the Bible in there, along with the Greek classics, Greek language, Latin, and every cypher of knowledge possible for an informed citizenry. Higher mathematics is possible for even the young, but not too easily when kids had to run a gauntlet of little robber barons stealing their lunch money.

By all means, since the overall system does not allow it, set aside time for the real educational process entirely separate from the hypnotizing, mind controlling, so called school experience. Yeah have your kids go to school, but teach them at home for at least 4 hourse a day, and teach them well the history of education and why it is programmed to fail and how they can still learn there with critical thought about its great ommisions and authoritarian failures. If not, try home schooling period.

[edit on 3-7-2005 by SkipShipman]



posted on Jul, 3 2005 @ 11:48 AM
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NO...Religion should not be in school in any way shape or form. It does not belong there. You cannot force religion on people and it needs to be addressed. It is constantly being forced down our throats everywhere you look.



posted on Jul, 3 2005 @ 11:50 AM
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Originally posted by I See You
NO...Religion should not be in school in any way shape or form. It does not belong there. You cannot force religion on people and it needs to be addressed. It is constantly being forced down our throats everywhere you look.

As is the aethistic / agnostic point of view.
Neither hardliner side should be promoted above the other.



[edit on 3-7-2005 by kenshiro2012]



posted on Jul, 3 2005 @ 11:59 AM
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Unlike too many bookburners here, I suggest people read as many books as they can until they are so stuffed with knowledge, they are immune to nonsense including raw and mindless "fundamentalism." For example if you look halfway around the world, imagine Moslems universally teaching that Wahhab was a British Agent who was assigned to put dissention into the Ottoman empire. Previous to this early mind contol agent's hideous nitpicking and power mongering, it was unthinkable for one moslem to murder another over mere "doctrine." Much more even the concept of "martyrs," is derived from the Christian experience, not from the Islamic. I suggest more knowledge, not less, is the escape from the boot of the oligarchy that also thrives on the imposed ignorance of "one set of beliefs," alienating all others. Don't be a sucker for divide and conquer, and as I said before read as many books as you can and remember not to get too upset at how you have been cheated all your life.

[edit on 3-7-2005 by SkipShipman]



posted on Jul, 3 2005 @ 12:14 PM
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I was brought up in a Christian envoronment and went to parochial school, so we had to take religion. In sthat setting using the bible is ok

But, in a secular setting, no way. The bible may or MAY NOT be factual. I lean toward the NOT. We have enough fiction in our school textboooks as it is, esp history. We dont need bible stories to further mudd the truth



posted on Jul, 3 2005 @ 02:10 PM
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Perhaps i missed something, but could someone explain to me the grounds under which the Bible could be considered a textbook?




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