Miss Kendrick came ready, with props. The day's topic was the Gospel of Matthew. "You can divide all the Beatitudes into two parts," Jennifer Kendrick explained to her teenage audience. "The 'Blessed are the whatevers,' like 'the meek,' and then the reward they will get. So I've made some puzzle pieces here." She passed out construction-paper sheets, each bearing either the name of a virtuous group or its reward, in black marker. "And you've got to find the person who has the other half. What's the first one in the Bible?"
"The poor in spirit," mumbled a crew-cut boy.
"O.K. What goes with the poor in spirit?"
A girl in the front of the room replied, reading from her sheet, "For they will see God."
"Nope," chirped Kendrick. "O.K., find the person that matches yours. I'll take the roll."
By which she meant an official attendance roll. Because the day was Thursday, not Sunday. And the location was not Oakwood Baptist Church, a mile down Texas State Highway 46, but New Braunfels High School, a public school that began offering a Bible-literacy class last fall. The class has its share of conservative Christians. Front-row center sat Rachel Williams, 18, whose mother does teach Sunday school at Oakwood. But not 20 ft. away sat a blond atheist who asked that her name not be used because she hasn't outed herself to her parents. Why take a Bible class? I asked her. "Some of my friends are Christian," she said, shrugging, "and they would argue about, like, whether you can be a Christian and believe in evolution, and I'm like, Okaaaay ... clueless." Williams signed up for a similar reason. "If somebody is going to carry on a sophisticated conversation with me, I would rather know what they're talking about than look like a moron or fight my way through it," she says. The class has "gotten a lot of positive feedback," she adds. "It's going to really rise in popularity."
Read this article, and think it's very interesting. :)
To be honest, initially, I was happy to see that some Americans are thinking of introducing Bible studies into classes. But then I was thinking... if they're teaching the Bible from a secular viewpoint, will it help change people's mindsets for the better? And if it doesn't, wouldn't people be able to manipulate Scripture for their own purposes? I mean, there are people who have used Scripture as a justification for slavery back during the 19th century, and not forgetting the Crusades.
But then, I realise, part of the problem is that they haven't read very much of the Bible, and what they've learnt is often out of context. E.g. when some people use the Old Testament injunction, "Thou shalt pay an eye for an eye...", they forget Christ's injunction, "But I say to you... turn your other cheek..."
In addition, even from a cultural and historical viewpoint, the Bible has been such an integral aspect of major works of literature, and famous American people e.g. Abraham Lincoln and Martin King Luther were influenced greatly by it. After all, the Bible is indeed one of the most beautiful works of literature in history. Just read the poem of Job... Kafka really can't match that! And who can forget Martin King Luther's powerful rebuke to the injustices of his time, "Till justice rolls on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"? He took them from the prophet Amos.
And also, it's not about Christians alone... the Old Testament is the sacred Scripture of the Jews too, and one of the holy books of the Muslims. Since Scripture is such a central tenet of three major religions, it is important that adherents for each religion should at the very least know what the Bible says. Not just know about, but know.
But What About Freedom of Choice?
But one may argue that there is freedom of choice involved. What, hypothetically, if it was compulsory for me to read the Buddhist Sutras, or the Koran, or Mao's Red Book, in class?
Then I think it's important to consider that there is indeed enrichment, much enrichment, to be gained from being taught books on other beliefs as well, if not for your own belief's sake, then at least for others' belief's sake.
I remember reading Greek mythology back in primary school, and while that makes me no more a believer in Zeus than I believe the earth is flat, I think my mind has been enriched by learning how the ordinary Greeks saw life, and how they perceived their gods as distant and inapproachable. Even for a Christian, you can get to appreciate just how dramatic it would be for a Greek to believe in "the Logos who became flesh".
And anyway, I think the Bible itself says more than once that it's a good thing to be aware of other religions and to speak respectfully of their religions even though we may not agree. Like how Paul went around in Athens looking at the inscriptions to the Greek idols, so that he could understand the Athenians' mindsets better. And how Peter told the Christians to speak with gentleness and respect, and Paul agreeing too, saying that all our conversations should be full of grace.
I guess this analysis is far from complete, but yeah, in the end, I think it's really worthwhile to teach the Bible, even if it's from a secular viewpoint. After all, the Bible describes itself as "sharper than a double-edged sword", so if one is going to try using a sword... he needs to know what a sword looks and feels like first, especially if it's a super-sharp one. :)
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Hmm, I remember Singapore, at one time, had religious education as part of its criteria. I wonder why they took it off the syllabus... Maybe I should find out more about this.
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