Required readings would include passages from Old and New Testament for students in middle school

Required readings would include passages from Old and New Testament for students in middle school

The conservative-majority Texas State Board of Education is considering adding at least 15 passages from the Bible to a required reading list as part of English lessons in public schools – the latest push from conservatives to implement Christianity into school curriculums.

Beginning in middle school, Texas students could be forced to read stories from the Bible including Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, and Lamentations 3 in addition to passages such as The Definition of Love from the New Testament, according to the list reported by the New York Times.

The new proposed changes have raised concerns from advocacy groups and academics who believe the changes will teach children a one-sided history lesson and “indoctrinate” students.

  • starik@lemmy.zip
    51·
    4 days ago

    Yes, a lot of Christians never read it and just assume it is full of profound wisdom. If fact, it is mostly boring bullshit that hasn’t aged well. People are used to better writing nowadays, and even children today are less ignorant about the nature of the world than the average adult from the period when the Bible was being written.

    • atzanteol@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      7·
      3 days ago

      It. Is. Soooop boring. And vague. There’s a reason an entire priesthood exists to elaborate on and interpret it.

      • GraniteM@lemmy.world
        7·
        3 days ago

        Ezekiel 23:20

        There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.

        It’s not all boring!

        • Sheppa@aussie.zoneEnglish
          4·
          3 days ago

          From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

          And

          Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

          Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them.

      • pbjelly@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        Omg yes. I had an AP English teacher, who is an atheist, but felt like snippets of it had relevance to the other literature we were reading and the few bits I read completely turned me away from it.

        Granted, one of the chapters was literally and (name) begat (name) who begat (name), and I was genuinely baffled by how one could read such a dryyyyy medium.

        Also, it didn’t help that God seemed like such a jealous Zeus type. It’s hard to be on God’s side when humans do human things like, long for a home that’s forever lost, etc.