Louisiana mandates 10 Commandments In Schools

[Loren Pechtel]

I believe the authors know it will be struck down. It's an election year stunt.

Gotta keep up a stream of insanity so SCOTUS can decide what to implement.

 

[ZiprHead]

News out of Oklahoma, even worse...

Oklahoma state superintendent orders schools to teach the Bible in grades 5 through 12

Oklahoma's top education official is ordering public schools to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12.

apnews.com

New Oklahoma Bible directive faces pushback from several schools

Several Oklahoma schools are speaking out against State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ directive to teach the Bible in public school grades 5 through 12.

abcnews.go.com

Several Oklahoma schools are speaking out against State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ directive to teach the Bible in public school grades 5 through 12.

Walters recently released guidelines on his controversial Bible mandate in public schools after ordering educators to incorporate the religious text into their lessons, arguing that the Bible is necessary to ensure "students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.”

In a June 27 meeting, Walters spoke on the requirement, saying, "every teacher and every classroom in the state will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom.”

The order was followed by intense backlash from civil liberties groups and the Oklahoma Education Association – a collective of educators, administrators and other school employees -- who say it infringes on students' and educators' freedom of religion.

Now, several Oklahoma schools have publicly stated that there will not be any changes to their curriculum and that they will continue to adhere to current school standards despite Walters’ recently announced guidelines.

 

[ZiprHead]

Seen elsewhere...

And God shall smite Oklahoma with swirling funnels of great wind that shall destroy the godless schools and fling them unto heaven!

Meteorolgy 17:7

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Seen elsewhere...

And God shall smite Oklahoma with swirling funnels of great wind that shall destroy the godless schools and fling them unto heaven!

Meteorolgy 17:7

It's been amazing how selectively red some storms have been.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I like how they say 'add the bible to the curriculum', as if you just insert it with no trouble. The Bible isn't exactly a short book (or a single book), and to actually study it requires a bit more than knowing it exists.

 

[Politesse]

I like how they say 'add the bible to the curriculum', as if you just insert it with no trouble. The Bible isn't exactly a short book (or a single book), and to actually study it requires a bit more than knowing it exists.

And conservatives hate model curricula.

 

[Jarhyn]

I like how they say 'add the bible to the curriculum', as if you just insert it with no trouble. The Bible isn't exactly a short book (or a single book), and to actually study it requires a bit more than knowing it exists.

And conservatives hate model curricula.

And if you do actually study the Bible, it has a tendency to make people become atheists (or depending on how well you study it, it makes people something much more unbearable to religious righties: actual followers of Christ).

 

[Politesse]

Or religious extremists.

Or numerology conspiracy theorists.

Or Latin geeks.

 

[Jarhyn]

Or religious extremists.

Or numerology conspiracy theorists.

Or Latin geeks.

Religious extremists usually come from selective study.

Latin geeks? Entirely possible.

I wouldn't expect a biblical numerologist to happen though unless someone is already a numerologist with heavy schizoid affectation.

 

[Ruth Harris]

I wouldn't expect a biblical numerologist to happen though unless someone is already a numerologist with heavy schizoid affectation.

Actually, I have seen this develop several times in people who are considered to be biblical scholars with no trace of mental disease. It is simply due to the fact that they cannot accept the idea that the scriptures are not infallible (and were never meant to be!), and search desperately for some way to keep their belief that they are perfect. This has been happening since the scripture was originally written, and is usually known as "gnostic belief". Thus not only can they proclaim that the scripture is infallible, they can also claim to be among the few who hold this "hidden knowledge".

Ruth

 

[Politesse]

I wouldn't expect a biblical numerologist to happen though unless someone is already a numerologist with heavy schizoid affectation.

Actually, I have seen this develop several times in people who are considered to be biblical scholars with no trace of mental disease. It is simply due to the fact that they cannot accept the idea that the scriptures are not infallible (and were never meant to be!), and search desperately for some way to keep their belief that they are perfect. This has been happening since the scripture was originally written, and is usually known as "gnostic belief". Thus not only can they proclaim that the scripture is infallible, they can also claim to be among the few who hold this "hidden knowledge".

Ruth

Bingo! Intelligent and well read people who are looking for a clear and consistent message in Scripture cannot find it superficially in the text, but going deeper in a scholastic way would call their beliefs into question. So they start looking for the secret "message within the message" that will resolve all these contradictions and save their faith. It starts with a heavy use of concordances, and ends with arm-waving theories about why this participle form was used nine times in scripture, but that one only four, and why that means Robbie Kennedy was the true antichrist and the roswell aliens are demons.

 

[Jarhyn]

I wouldn't expect a biblical numerologist to happen though unless someone is already a numerologist with heavy schizoid affectation.

Actually, I have seen this develop several times in people who are considered to be biblical scholars with no trace of mental disease. It is simply due to the fact that they cannot accept the idea that the scriptures are not infallible (and were never meant to be!), and search desperately for some way to keep their belief that they are perfect. This has been happening since the scripture was originally written, and is usually known as "gnostic belief". Thus not only can they proclaim that the scripture is infallible, they can also claim to be among the few who hold this "hidden knowledge".

Ruth

To be fair, I think there is a good deal for "gnostic" thought that isn't schizoid or insane*. It just happens to live alongside all the numerology and the like.

I will usually separate certain "gnostic" doctrines from "gnostic belief" in terms of merely claiming special secret knowledge, though.

*Generally, it is unorthodox and "atypical" either way, however.

 

[bilby]

The Bible isn't exactly a short book (or a single book), and to actually study it requires a bit more than knowing it exists.

Not according to most evangelical Christians. All you need to know about the Bible is that it exists, and that therefore whatever your pastor tells you to do is commanded by God.

 

[bilby]

Latin geeks?

Apparently, they're going to inherit the Earth. Though, of course, by "Latin", he is referring to any person of Hispanic heritage.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Which bible are they going to teach? There's lots of these guys around. The KJV original, for example, was written because there were different bibles around and the crown didn't like what some of them were saying.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The Bible isn't exactly a short book (or a single book), and to actually study it requires a bit more than knowing it exists.

Not according to most evangelical Christians.

Of course! I'm quite aware of this. That is why I raised the issue, because teaching the Bible isn't exactly simple. Preaching is a piece of cake and maybe that is what we need to actually be calling it, because anyone can preach, but to teach requires instruction and knowledge. To instruct on a book of dubious meaning requires being able to answer questions that are legitimate and don't have simple answers. That is unless we aren't instructing, and rather we are preaching.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Of course! I'm quite aware of this. That is why I raised the issue, because teaching the Bible isn't exactly simple.

They're not really teaching "the bible." They're actually teaching bible worship. It'll hit snags for sure. These are church people wanting to bring their church into the classroom. They'll be "teaching" the koran and other alleged holy writings soon enough.

 

[Politesse]

Which bible are they going to teach? There's lots of these guys around. The KJV original, for example, was written because there were different bibles around and the crown didn't like what some of them were saying.

This is a special problem for Louisiana, which has a relatively high Roman Catholic population, about a quarter of the state's population and a major force within the Republican party in that state. But we've seen this many times before. I expect they will compromise using a traditional strategy for handwaving this problem: allowing students to "bring their own preferred Bible" to class. It doesn't really solve the problem, especially not the constitutional problem, but it does wave it away and avoids bringing the Troubles to the Bayou.

 

[Gospel]

Well, they're clearly overlooking the fact that teaching people to focus solely on spiritual matters—like not loving anything in this world or valuing possessions only in heaven—could reduce the number of engineers & scientists developed countries need.

 

[Bronzeage]

Or religious extremists.

Or numerology conspiracy theorists.

Or Latin geeks.

Religious extremists usually come from selective study.

Latin geeks? Entirely possible.

I wouldn't expect a biblical numerologist to happen though unless someone is already a numerologist with heavy schizoid affectation.

As a former Latin geek, ego hanc calumniam morior.