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I grew up in TN in a fairly rural setting. My home town had a population of about 18,000 back then. What I've found while progressing though life is that I got an awesome public education. Sure, the kids who moved into town from up north rocketed to the head of the class because their schools were better than the southern schools. As a native southerner I managed to stay in the top 10% with them though.
Back when I was in high school we had six-week mini-courses in English. That is, we had the opportunity to change the subject of our English courses every six weeks. We could take etymology, vocabulary, grammar, literature, creative writing, and The Bible in Literature (Bible Lit.). I took all of those courses and that has benefited me greatly in life. Especially the grammar and vocabulary courses.
I particularly enjoyed the Bible Lit. course. My instructor was not just a teacher but a deacon in the First Baptist church. He taught the class in an appropriate, secular manner. There was no proselytizing. He taught us about the many references to the Bible in novels, plays and essays. When an author makes reference to a "Jephthah's vow" I know what the author means. When an author refers to "pearls before swine" I know what that means.
I have no delusions that the Bible is some text inspired by a one true God. That's rubbish. I do know that it was just about the only book available to common people for many decades. It inspired and informed much of our literature. To me, explaining the background of that literature is okay even if it means referencing the Bible.
We teach mythology and talk openly about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. I think it's okay to teach the same sort of courses about the Bible. In fact, I think it's critical to teach the Bible in an objective, secular way.
The right-wing nuts use the Bible as a weapon. So few people actually know what the Bible says anymore. I don't think many people really read it. They just pick and choose parts or parrot their clergy without any bit of doubt or curiosity.
If it's not on Facebook or being Twittered people have no clue about it. It's too hard to read the English in the King James version and form one's own opinion. Just like it's too hard to read the Constitution and Bill of Rights and understand our nation's founding.
I'm sad for our nation. We don't educate and we don't care for our citizens. Until we start educating our youth again this nation will continue to decline. When will the GOP figure out that a nation of ignorant people will not be able to deliver them the greedy profits they desire? You can't have a nation of idiots making minimum wage fueling the profits the GOP so blatantly desires. The math doesn't work out.
In any case; we liberals should stop trying to keep the Bible out of the classroom. We should ensure it's there and discussed objectively. How else can we expect to refute the stupidity of the right if the nation is ignorant about the basis of their talking points?
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