Should public schools teach the Bible? Good question. Many would say sure, why not?
A state legislator proposed a bill that would allow teaching the Bible in school. Another of our ledge guys is proposing a bill that will allow Arkansans to carry guns to church. Never know when a gunfight is going to break out in Sunday School.
I might support a course on the Bible but only if the teacher teaches the real truth about the Bible.
Most Christians, even the very devout, don t have a clue how the Bible came into existence in the two centuries after the time of Christ. Many would be shocked to know the real truth about the Gospel of John. That s the Gospel that declares that Jesus is the only pathway to Heaven;
“No man comes to the father but by me,” Jesus says in the Gospel of John. Christians don t seem to notice he didn’t say that in Matthew, Mark or Luke. Many serious Bible scholars now believe Jesus most likely never said those words nor did he believe such a thing. If you really want to know thetruth, and most people don’t, read “Beyond Belief” by Elaine Pagels.
We assume the ledge will insist all Holy Books should be taught. Why not?
Muslims, and there are many in our community, believe God, or Allah, (same thing) dictated the Koran to Mohammed. It contains some strange teachings and must be sung in Arabic to get the full effect. Sing it, brother!
Hey, we might as well throw in the Book of Mormon. They believe the Angel Maroni appeared to Joseph Smith and gave him gold tablets with God’s final word to American Christians. Unfortunately he lost the tablets but remembered everythingincluding the fact that the Garden of Eden was somewhere near Carthage, Mo.
You can surely see the problems that arise whenwe think about teaching our various Holy Books in public schools. Whose interpretation of the Bible shall we teach? The legislator proposing this bill insists that no “beliefs” or “doctrines” would be taught. Ha-Ha-Ha! LOL!
It’s obvious the legislator, a Baptist, naturally, who says the Bible is the “most accurate book in the world” has never seriously studied how we got the New Testament. Yes, it s been the most popular book in the world for centuries, and it contains many, many inspiring stories, songs and myths, especially instructions on how to stay out of eternal hell, a subject in which many people remain interested in to this day. But accuracy is not a strong selling point when discussing the Bible.
The original words of Jesus were spoken in a forgotten form of Aramaic, written down originally in a lost form of Greek (Koine), translated about fifteen hundred years later into old Latin during the dark ages and, finally, translated into English, the King James version, in the 16th Century.
Each scribe who worked on the text over the centuries made errors.
Some even purposely made changes in the textto fit his own medieval beliefs or views. That s why belief in an inerrant Bible is unreasonable and against all modern literary sciences.
The legislator offering a bill that would allow the carrying of guns to church is even more bizarre. Guns to Sunday School? They want our kids to take a Bible (Koran, Book of Mormon, Talmud, I-Ching, Bagavad Ghita, Boy Scout Hand Book) to school and a gun to church.
Only in Arkansas - and maybe Alabama - would we consider laws that make it legal to teach the Bible to public schools and bring our guns to church. Hey, just think, you can attend church with your family then drive directly to deer camp. Go ahead. I dare you to teach the real truth about the Bible in school then allow your kids to decidefor themselves what they believe about it. But that won’t happen. Teaching the Bible in school is nothing more than teaching “my beliefs” to your kids. As for taking guns to church, that s just one more reason I’ll continue to stay away.
GRADY JIM ROBINSON IS A RETIRED PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER AND FREELANCE COLUMNIST.
Opinion, Pages 13 on 04/03/2011