Here we go again:
Charleston, SC Latest Local News: District 2 board adopts Bible course:
SUMMERVILLE — Sunday school classes at church aren't the only place the Bible will be taught this year.
The Dorchester District 2 school board approved an elective course Monday night called History and Literature of the Old Testament and New Testament.
The course will be taught as an English elective and is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors at Fort Dorchester High School.
When I was in college in South Carolina, I took a Bible study course taught by a Methodist minister. He taught the class as Literature and History class. He didn't teach a Sunday school class. His teaching method put him at odds with some of the students in the class. Some wanted to have a weekday version of Sunday School, but he wasn't having it. School was for learning and church was for worship. He claimed that was how he learned it in seminary and said: (paraphrasing) nobody ever lost their faith by studying the Bible and its books as historical and literary document(s). They just learned they had less than they originally thought.
Apparently some of the faithful weren't up to his challenge. Many of the Christians dropped the class during the first few weeks. I guess understanding the historical place of their religion and its textual presentation was just too much for them for them. It's a shame. The class was well taught and I learned a good deal.
I don't think this is how the Fort Dorchester HS class will be taught. If it is, in fact, taught as a real literature and history course, the Christians will be offended that their precious tome is being taught in a non-Christian, secularist manner no matter how gently and scholarly the course proceeds. In my class, some couldn't make it past the two creation stories in Genesis without their heads nearly exploding.
Conversely, if it is taught as the Christians undoubtedly want -- as a faith-filled Sunday School class -- it will violate the First Amendment. A state institution will be promoting and enforcing a single religious doctrine in an overt manner.
All in all, this is a profoundly bad idea for everyone involved.
I grew up in SC and there are plenty of things I love about that place. The reality is, however, that SC is not a tolerant environment for the most part. Godlessness is not broadly tolerated and is viewed as inherently un-American. SC, of course, does not have the monopoly on that bigoted view.
I have no doubt that the real goal behind this class, and the governmental maneuvering to create permit it, is to teach Christianity and instill its message into students. No one is really interested in learning anything that might challenge their faith. After all, we wouldn't want a school break out in the midst of our religious fervor.
Technorati Tags: Bible Study, church and state, Dorchester District 2, education, religion, South Carolina