About the Bible

Last week, news outlets reported that the state of Texas has made parts of the Bible "mandatory reading" in its public schools. 

And the internet lost its mind. 

Immediately, there were calls for separation of church and state. There were cries about indoctrinating our children. There were concerns about what they would learn, about which portions of the Bible would become required reading. 

I even saw one comment that said something like, "Okay, but make sure they start with Song of Solomon." 

To be fair, I think the Bible is important reading. But I also think it doesn't have to be presented in a religion-specific way to be valuable. And I think that's the angle that most, if not all, public schools in Texas will take. 

Because whether you are a Christian or not, the truth is that this country was founded by mostly Christian individuals who derived their concept of the value of human beings from the Bible. Their thoughts, their passions, their dreams for this new land were shaped by what they understood from having learned about God and Jesus. 

That whole thing about all men being created equal? That wasn't our idea. 

That thing about working together for the good of all? God's idea again. 

That bit about worrying more about your own worship than what everyone else is doing? God's command. 

Religious freedom itself is founded on God's ideas. The actual teaching of the Bible is that God's way is best, but if you want to go off burning your children for Molech, then...whatever. Just don't do it while you're pretending you belong to God. 

So yes, I think it's important to understanding who we are as a country, as a people, as a nation with the laws and principles and founding ideas that we have, to know where those ideas came from. And like it or not, the truth is that they came from the Bible. 

I highly doubt that the public schools are going to be building lesson plans around, say, Passover. Or Purim. Or doing poetry units out of the psalms. They're going to be addressing the fundamental ideas of equality, dignity, and freedom that are foundational to our country. 

That's important. 

And if we're being honest, most of the persons saying otherwise are digging themselves into a hole they didn't see coming....