Oklahoma orders first shipment of Bibles for use in public school classrooms

[Matthias]

“More than 500 Bibles have been purchased for use in Advanced Placement (AP) Government classrooms across the state of Oklahoma.

The move marks the first purchase of Bibles specifically intended for use as an ‘academic and literary resource’ in U.S. public schools and is a key part of a broader initiative aimed at providing Bibles to every classroom in Oklahoma according to State Superintendent Ryan Walters.

The Bible purchase, which will be distributed specifically to AP Government classrooms, is part of a push to purchase 55,000 King James Version Bibles with the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights included. …”

Oklahoma orders first shipment of Bibles for use in public school classrooms

More than 500 Bibles have been purchased for use in Advanced Placement AP Government classrooms across the state of Oklahoma

www.christianpost.com

Does anyone have any concerns about this?

 

[Bob]

Thank you for your intriguing post and question.

My quibble is not connected to the Bibles per se (or the KJV!), but with the heavy hand of the state pushing on local school districts.
(That blue states mandate all kinds of garbage in their schools does not constitute a role model.)

Better for each state to set standards of excellence and leave it to the districts for implementation. Material assistance could be given to the poorest districts.
Blessings.

 

[Jay Ross]

is part of a push to purchase 55,000 King James Version Bibles

Really, is the KJV the best version for children to read when their Metadata resource for reading is based on the English used today within their respective districts.


Putting Bibles into school classroom is a great idea, but how well will the children be able to comprehend the language of the KJV. Even many of the younger teachers will also have a comprehension problem and opt for more modern English literature that they can relate too.

Perhaps the money to be spent on the KJV bibles would be more effective if a more modern translation was given instead.

 

[Matthias]

Does it matter what the class teachers believe and say about what the Bible teaches?

Teacher is an atheist? Students and parents okay with what the atheist teaches about the Bible?

Teacher is an agnostic? Students and parents okay with what the agnostic teaches about the Bible?

Teacher is a Jew? Non-Jewish students and parents okay with what the Jew teaches about the Bible?

Teacher is a Baptist? Non-Baptist students and parents okay with what the Baptist teaches about the Bible?

Teacher is a Methodist? Non-Methodist students and parents okay with what the Methodist teaches about the Bible?

Teacher is a Catholic? Non-Catholic students and parents okay with what the Catholic teaches about the Bible?

Teacher is a Muslim? Non-Muslim students and parents okay with what the Muslim teaches about the Bible?

Teacher is a Buddhist?… a Hindu? … a Wiccan? … a ….

It doesn’t matter what the teacher believes or doesn’t believe and teaches about the Bible?

 

[Rockerduck]

Really, is the KJV the best version for children to read when their Metadata resource for reading is based on the English used today within their respective districts.


Putting Bibles into school classroom is a great idea, but how well will the children be able to comprehend the language of the KJV. Even many of the younger teachers will also have a comprehension problem and opt for more modern English literature that they can relate too.

Perhaps the money to be spent on the KJV bibles would be more effective if a more modern translation was given instead.

Please name one modern bible version that hasn't applied wokeness and gender change in it.

 

[Matthias]

Thank you for your intriguing post and question.

My quibble is not connected to the Bibles per se (or the KJV!), but with the heavy hand of the state pushing on local school districts.
(That blue states mandate all kinds of garbage in their schools does not constitute a role model.)

Better for each state to set standards of excellence and leave it to the districts for implementation. Material assistance could be given to the poorest districts.
Blessings.

The area of the state that I live in (Kentucky) is predominantly Catholic (about 80%). The majority of public school teachers in the county are Catholic. The local school board would approve the Catholic viewpoint on what the Bible teaches.

Protestant Bibles would not be used in the classroom in my county; only Catholic Bible would be used here. Other areas of the state are predominantly Protestant and Protestant Bibles would be the choice in those areas.

KJVO is still strong in many areas of the state.

 

[Matthias]

Religious composition of adults in Oklahoma, according to the Pew Research Center.

Religious Landscape Study

Explore the geographic distribution and demographics of America's major religious groups.

www.pewresearch.org

 

[Matthias]

Something that we mustn’t lose sight of: the Oklahoma experiment in public schools teaching the Bible is, at the moment, limited to Advanced Placement classes. These are courses offered in high school which can provide students who enroll in them to simultaneously earn high school credit and college credit. In other words, these are college level courses rather than high school level courses. They will be taught as students are taught in post-high school public institutions of higher learning. The course is optional. Not all high school students enroll in Advanced Placement classes.

 

[Matthias]

The Bibles, originally, were to contain the US Pledge of Allegiance (which is not taught in the Bible), the US Declaration of Independence (which is not taught in the Bible) and the Bill of Rights (which is not taught in the Bible).

A mixture of Bible and nationalism. Any concern about that?

I’m a US citizen but I don’t (and won’t) pledge my allegiance to the United States government. Will the teacher be okay with that? Will it affect my grade in the course if it becomes known? Will it be noted and reported to government authorities?

 

[Aunty Jane]

Does anyone have any concerns about this?

Only that the Bible promotes separation of church and state.....(John 17:16; John 18:36)......and “Christianity” is a mishmash of conflicting denominational beliefs. All I see is grounds for much conflict.
Christianity has nothing whatever to do with a political pledge or a connection to any nation’s constitution.

Freedom of religion is a constitutional right in many democratic countries....when the state starts dictating what Bible and what religion can be taught...freedom of religion goes out the window and totalitarianism rears it’s ugly head.

It’s not what many imagine it to be....

 

[Matthias]

Will the Bible be taught as nothing more than literature? Some* of the online courses I’ve taken through Hillsdale College are taught in this manner. They were excellent. Doctrine? Not a whit. Perhaps that will be the Oklahoma model / experience.

*Other online courses offered by Hillsdale College that I’ve taken did include doctrine. I noted the bias, learned from the course and was pleasantly surprised that there were no doctrinal questions included in the quizzes. Would a typical high school student taking the course be equipped to do that? I doubt it.

 

[Jay Ross]

Please name one modern bible version that hasn't applied wokeness and gender change in it.

Presently, I am in Kathmandu city, Nepal. They have a Nepali translation of a Bible which they use. The know that their translation has around 200 mistakes in it with respect to the translation that was used as the basis for their Nepali Bible Translation. But even though they know of these errors and that it takes time to slowly remove those errors, for the Pastors in Nepal, they know that their Nepali Bibles are still the best means for them to come to know who God is and how they can relate to God and His Salvation process.

The same is also true for our modern English translation. The biggest issue that I have with our modern translations is that they are contextually in error with the available 'original' Hebrew texts.

How one can go about correcting the various contextual errors is fraught with problems as it also requires a number of 'accepted' theological premises to be radically altered from what we as men would understand to what God originally intended in His scriptures.

You want me to name one modern bible version that has not been modified to suit the thinking of its respective time at its publishing, then then is not one translation that could be left off of that list, including the LXX.

Putting Bibles into Schools without having properly trained teachers to provide guidance into how to understand the scriptures will only lead to an increase in the Bible's rejection by the youth of today.

The people who are responsible for the training of their children in morals and religious beliefs are the children's respective parents and not the education institutions.

What we have are people 'acting God like' to achieve an outcome that they believe that God would want and in doing so they themselves have turned away from God themselves. If God is actually giving them this direction, then it will succeed but the unanswered question is, "Has God given this directive or not?"

 

[Bob]

Thank you all for your posts.

What many of you seem to be saying is, “If the Bible isn’t taught the RIGHT WAY (my way), it should not be taught at all! The teacher will do more harm than good!”

Now, most of us were taught history and literature when we were teens, and we can imagine various learned professors saying the same thing about those subjects (Hamlet or Macbeth, anyone). One question: did your teachers give you tools for learning all these subjects, or did they try to indoctrinate? Bad teachers have a bad influence on young minds, no matter what they teach (including math and science).

If Oklahoma will approach this curriculum by giving teachers the main points to illuminate (e.g., the Bible as the basis for the natural rights in the U.S. Constitution), and leave religious teaching to parents, pastors, etc., that will be fine with me.

Blessings.

 

[Wrangler]

“More than 500 Bibles have been purchased for use in Advanced Placement (AP) Government classrooms across the state of Oklahoma.

The move marks the first purchase of Bibles specifically intended for use as an ‘academic and literary resource’ in U.S. public schools and is a key part of a broader initiative aimed at providing Bibles to every classroom in Oklahoma according to State Superintendent Ryan Walters.

The Bible purchase, which will be distributed specifically to AP Government classrooms, is part of a push to purchase 55,000 King James Version Bibles with the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights included. …”

Oklahoma orders first shipment of Bibles for use in public school classrooms

More than 500 Bibles have been purchased for use in Advanced Placement AP Government classrooms across the state of Oklahoma

www.christianpost.com

Does anyone have any concerns about this?

Nope. Not one little bit.

Rather, I wholeheartedly support it with one caveat. I prefer a modern translation.

 

[Wrangler]

the heavy hand of the state pushing on local school districts.

I submit that an education lacking religious grounding is incomplete, at best, and nefarious, at worst.

 

[Wrangler]

It doesn’t matter what the teacher believes or doesn’t believe and teaches about the Bible?

If it matters to particular parents, they are free to have their child attend a private school that discriminates along those lines.

Also, the relationship between subject matter and what the teacher believes about it applies to all subjects, especially history.

 

[Wrangler]

Please name one modern bible version that hasn't applied wokeness and gender change in it.

REV

 

[Wrangler]

Something that we mustn’t lose sight of: the Oklahoma experiment in public schools teaching the Bible is, at the moment, limited to Advanced Placement classes.

I think this is a great way to roll out the change. Couch the roll out as elite, something to covet. This is the secular equivalent to holy, for it establishes a non-equal treatment. This goes against what I call THE PERVERSION OF EQUALITY.

IF the woke Left were consistent, they would demand all students get exposed to this material. When they do, we should acquiesce to their demands.

 

[Wrangler]

A mixture of Bible and nationalism. Any concern about that?

Nope. They need to learn also these nationalist documents in unison because both, the Bible and these Founding documents, along with the Pledge, continue to guide civil discourse.

Put differently, what guide should be taught to children for them to engage in civil discourse?

 

[Rockerduck]

Presently, I am in Kathmandu city, Nepal. They have a Nepali translation of a Bible which they use. The know that their translation has around 200 mistakes in it with respect to the translation that was used as the basis for their Nepali Bible Translation. But even though they know of these errors and that it takes time to slowly remove those errors, for the Pastors in Nepal, they know that their Nepali Bibles are still the best means for them to come to know who God is and how they can relate to God and His Salvation process.

The same is also true for our modern English translation. The biggest issue that I have with our modern translations is that they are contextually in error with the available 'original' Hebrew texts.

How one can go about correcting the various contextual errors is fraught with problems as it also requires a number of 'accepted' theological premises to be radically altered from what we as men would understand to what God originally intended in His scriptures.

You want me to name one modern bible version that has not been modified to suit the thinking of its respective time at its publishing, then then is not one translation that could be left off of that list, including the LXX.

Putting Bibles into Schools without having properly trained teachers to provide guidance into how to understand the scriptures will only lead to an increase in the Bible's rejection by the youth of today.

The people who are responsible for the training of their children in morals and religious beliefs are the children's respective parents and not the education institutions.

What we have are people 'acting God like' to achieve an outcome that they believe that God would want and in doing so they themselves have turned away from God themselves. If God is actually giving them this direction, then it will succeed but the unanswered question is, "Has God given this directive or not?"

There is a plethora of course materials in plain English to use with the KJV bibles. It's easy to have a test question and look it up like any other course. Most of us in the 60's and 70's only used the KJV. Pastors, teachers, evangelists, everyone, all of us. None of this in bible studies nowadays when somebody says "my version says this". If it causes students to ask questions, amen. That means they will find the answer. More translations caused more divisions in bible studies. There is a gold standard, the KJV.