One of my most memorable courses in college was the Bible as Literature. I found my knowledge of the Bible to be a foundation of my liberal education long before I choose to return to theological studies. I believe teaching the Bible as Literature and History would help to advance a culture of intelligent discussion about religious questions. Discussions about religious questions must advance beyond sectarianism and dogmatism, phenomena which are nurtured by the present policy of having no discussion about religion in the public arena. As I see it if we continue to pursue the present lets pretend to be secularists policy we will see our nation increasingly divided by sectarianism. We could move toward creating a common culture if we taught religion as part of the liberal arts.
Today in the New York Times Bruce Feiler writes that public schools should Teach, Don't Preach, the Bible: YESTERDAY'S ruling by a federal judge that "intelligent design" cannot be taught in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district has the potential to put the teaching of the Bible back where it belongs in our schools: not in the science laboratory, but in its proper historical and literary context. An elective, nonsectarian high school Bible class would allow students to explore one of the most influential books of all time and would do so in a manner that clearly falls within Supreme Court rulings.
Overcoming colonialism through faith and action.
Oh dear, Has someone taken over your blog!?!
I'm so surprised by this! Apparently I've not been reading enough of a breadth of your writing to have a better sense of you, so this takes me by great surprise. Although it is nifty to be able to disagree w/ you for once. ;-)
The bible as literature, maybe.... learning about different literary forms via biblical literature, I can maybe see that, but it's a slippery slope. I don't know a lot, (or rather, remember a lot) from my seminary lit crit studies, so I shall leave my ignorance and move on.
But the bible as history? It's not a history as we understand history, but a history of a people (or people's) remembering the oral traditions of their past in a certain way as to create an identity of themselves.
Teaching bible as history -- whose history does it tell? The history that is supported and understood by the person developing the curriculum? The history of the Jews, followed by the history of a particular structure of ecclesia ?
How 'bout the Book of revelation? do we teach it as being about Rome and Nero worship, or as prophesy -- history that isn't written yet?
oops, I just got called to go to staff meeting. off to my actual job now...
Indeed the Bible as edited isn't historical, but when we examine how the redaction took place, the result is quite revealing of ancient middle east history.
As I see it this would be an elective Great Idea course, with such topics as Creation or Evolution, Heredity or Nurture, Revelation or Inspired Literature. A humanities course could look at the images in the book of revelation.
There are to many folks in this society that have never read this literature, or discussed core ideas,
that critical thinking is declining.
I taught US history at the college level, my students didn't know at first that history was a method of inquiry in the society as it developed over time. They thought it was about facts that happened!