Kaonashi

By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

After five years of work involving 41 scholars and a cost of $2 million, the Bible Literacy Project has released a textbook designed to bring academic study of the Bible into the public high school.

The Bible and Its Influence (BLP Publishing, $67.95) is an oversized, 388-page book lavishly illustrated with glossy photos and drawings, published just in time to hit the high school classrooms in the 2006-07 school year.

The publishers cited the need for a textbook offering objective and fair presentations of the Bible without crossing the First Amendment lines of separation of church and state. To achieve that delicate balance, The Bible and Its Influence followed a set of guidelines established in a consensus statement signed by 21 educational and religious organizations, titled “The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide.�

A draft of the book was reviewed by high school teachers, theologians, secular scholars, and biblical experts representing Roman Catholic, Protestant Evangelical, mainline Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, and Jewish traditions, according to the publisher. Their feedback was incorporated into the published edition.

The editors of The Bible and Its Influence were Cullen Schippe, retired vice president of McGraw-Hill/Macmillan textbook publishers, and Chuck Stetson, chairman of the Bible Literacy Project.

“The Bible has been and still is one of the most influential books ever published. Its influence is seen in literature, art, music, culture, public policy, and public debate,� the book says in the preface, citing biblical references found in literature, art, rock music, political speeches, advertisements, and virtually all aspects of society.

The new textbook, the first such effort in 30 years, fills an academic void, according to Charles C. Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center. “Until the release of The Bible and Its Influence, there was nothing out there — no Bible textbook, no curriculum guide, no secondary resource — that I would recommend for use in a public school,� he said.

In the absence of a suitable textbook, many public school systems have avoided offering any classes on the Bible. A survey released in April by the Bible Literacy Project showed that less than a quarter of American students were what teachers consider “Bible literate.�

Ninety percent of those surveyed recognized Adam and Eve as the first man and woman in the book of Genesis, but 8 percent wrongly believed that Moses was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles. Two-thirds of the high school students polled could not identify a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount, and two-thirds did not know that the Road to Damascus was where Paul was blinded by a vision of Jesus.

Endorsements for The Bible and Its Influence have been pouring in, including praise from Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; Marc Stern of the American Jewish Congress; Bishop Richard Sklba, chairman of the Catholic Biblical Association; Dr. Leland Ryken, English professor at Wheaton College, and Joseph Stowell, retired president of the Moody Bible Institute.

More information is available online at www.bibleliteracy.org.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs...EWS10/51126013
I found this interesting.

Mountain Man

Then they all need to be shot. It is extremely rude, and arrogant, of these asinine christians trying to push their religion into public schools. Too bad none of those 41 "scholars" had a brain.

Toto

There has been ongoing discussion of this in the CSS forum. Vorkosigan has posted a long analysis on DailyKos, referred to here.

Biblical literacy is a good thing, and can be secular. But this project has some deficiencies.

Chris Weimer

That's unfortunate. I wonder if the SBL would ever put together something like this?

Ted

Study of religion does not have to be a way of getting converts.

On the surface, this seems like a good way to know thine enemy. It sounds like an interesting book.

However, it should not stand alone. Similar books are needed on the other major religions if it is proposed to "teach the controversy"

Ted

Vorkosigan

This is not a good way to know thine enemy. This is a religious right project that should be shunned and fought wherever it appears.

Vorkosigan

Bender

I'm curious to know, exactly why people *need* to know this? How many people polled knew who the green knight is? Perhaps Gawain?