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Opinion
May. 11, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

FROM OUR READERS: Bible study isn't limited to religion

Christian tome shaped literature, language, social issues for centuries

By IAN MYLCHREEST
SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL

Try this quick quiz: What do Herman Melville, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Harriet Beecher Stowe have in common? (Clue: There are no points for saying they all wrote very long novels in the 19th century.)

The answer should be easy for the average English or comparative literature major. Others, check below.

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    • If plans now taking shape in the Clark County School District bear fruit, though, some local high school seniors might be able to figure out the answer for themselves.

    The district's curriculum specialists are gathering curricula and materials that might be used in a course on Bible literacy -- not just reading the Bible, but understanding the way it has shaped our language and history. Courses like this already are being taught in hundreds of high schools in 38 states. Some of the champions of these courses have mixed motives -- part religious, part educational. Still, there is a real role for an academic curriculum in Bible literacy.

    Biblical phrases have passed into our language, so it's hard to avoid some basic knowledge. Phrases such as "Good Samaritan" or "David and Goliath" are embedded in everyday speech.

    Other knowledge of the Bible is much more obscure. In a Gallup poll taken for the Bible Literacy Project, only 37 percent of high school students could identify what Jesus had said in the Sermon on the Mount. Even among those identifying themselves as evangelicals, 56 percent did not recognize "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" from a list of four sayings of Jesus.

    The same happens with Shakespeare's stamp on the language: We all know the meaning of phrases such as "one fell swoop" or "too much of a good thing." But we're only getting the Cliffs Notes version if we never read "Macbeth" or "As You Like It."

    Biblical literacy courses do not and should not catechize or indoctrinate students. They help them play catch-up on a core component of Western culture. Schools already teach classical myths, but learning about Apollo hasn't led students to sun worship, and knowledge of Artemis hasn't increased the popularity of hunting.

    Teaching U.S. history to those who are ignorant of the Bible is as hard as teaching the subject to people who have no concept of democracy, taxes or war.

    Everyone thinks they know that the Puritans left England to seek religious liberty, for example, but try explaining what John Winthrop and his colonists wanted to escape.

    Nowadays, Satan is an abstraction. Raised on the Halloween version of the Devil, many of today's students just don't get why the people of Salem took witchcraft so seriously. A biblical struggle between good and evil shaped their world, but students often look at the New England town as if it were a mental asylum.

    By the time, students land in the 19th century, they understand the moral evil of slavery but they cannot comprehend the religious impulse that drove many of the abolitionists. When William Lloyd Garrison called the Constitution "a covenant with death," it seems like not much more than political name-calling.

    When we study the religion of slaves, students often look at me as if I'm making it up when I tell them that St. Paul encouraged slaves to obey their masters, and that this verse from the letter to the Colossians was a favorite among slaveholders. In the same way, many students are bemused by the idea that slaves took inspiration from the Exodus or expected divine intervention to free them after hearing about the Book of Revelation.

    And if you don't know the prophet Amos, you're only seeing Martin Luther King Jr. through a glass darkly when he talks about "justice rolling down like waters."

    The traditional way of teaching the role of the Bible is to build it into courses on history and literature. That's hard, but it's not impossible.

    What is impossible, though, is teaching the kind of Bible literacy that's needed to make sense of arguments about a whole range of issues that roil current politics.

    Should capital punishment, for example, be understood as "an eye for an eye" or would we be better to live by Christ's injunction to "turn the other cheek"? Should we shun gays because Leviticus says lying with a man is "an abomination," or would we be better to live by Paul's inclusive mandate to the Galations that "(t)here is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

    There are no easy answers to any of these questions, but our education and our civic discourse would improve if students had a better understanding of the language and history of the Bible. And the school district can't develop the curriculum quickly enough for me.

    The answer to the quiz: They all wrote novels with heroes modeled on Christ. For extra credit, name three 20th century novelists who did something similar with biblical imagery.

    Ian Mylchreest is a producer at KNPR's "State of Nevada" and teaches U.S. history at the College of Southern Nevada.



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    jep wrote on May 12, 2008 11:21 AM: The Bible is a great piece of literature. It's full of insight into the human condition and it helped shape Western thought and Western civilization.


    David Johann wrote on May 11, 2008 08:33 PM: Hey, "For it is written."

    A lot of things are written. And the word "Bible" is capitalized. Thought you would want to know.

    Follow the link I provided in an earlier post below to early Christian writings that were also "written," but did not make it into the "Bible."

    BTW, which "Bible" are we talking about? More than one exist. You see, they couldn't agree. I'll be darned. IT'S THE WORD OF GOD! WHY COULDN'T THEY AGREE?

    I'll tell you why. Because it was a highly political process.

    But then, you shouldn't listen to me. I'm possessed. Just like in the movie "The Exorcist." I even come with the same, creepy, background music.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYmIKcP7Nbc

    Or, if you want the piano tutorial to the theme song from "The Exorcist," that's here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTttV4OfILo&feature=related

    Be careful. It's satanic. That's how I got possessed. Just like Linda Blair did by playing with Ouija boards.

    BTW, the "Ouija" Board was patented in 1920, and is currently marketed by Parker Brothers, makers of "Monopoly." Just like corporate welfare, "Monopoly" is a game that good, God fearing Republicans like yourself absolutely adore.

    Have a nice, Republican day!


    Sad Summerlin wrote on May 11, 2008 07:37 PM: Happy Mother's Day ---

    In one Article, John F, David J and I all agree.

    Regardless of personal belief, the Bible is work of literature that should be taught, just like the Koran or even the works of Buddha. It should be taught as literature in the school, and with the religious significance taught in church, temple or mosque.


    For it is written wrote on May 11, 2008 04:18 PM: The bible is foolishness to those that are perishing.


    Ed R. wrote on May 11, 2008 11:28 AM: Yes, the bible should be read as literature in schools together with other ancient texts. Students today don't have a clue what it means when when Greek, eastern, or old and new testament references pop up in literature. This improved education would might prevent a future RJ editor from penning dumb questions like "Should capital punishment...be understood as "an eye for an eye" or would we be better to live by Christ's injunction to "turn the other cheek"? Should we shun gays because Leviticus says lying with a man is "an abomination," or would we be better to live by Paul's inclusive mandate to the Galations that "(t)here is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Thorough and serious bible study would show the danger of blindly accepting the ethics of goat-herding primitives when we decide how to live. Bible study would help prevent young people from using the stupid parts of ancient texts to excuse their ignorance.



    Mike L. wrote on May 11, 2008 08:39 AM: The Bible is a mess and makes no sense, historically or theologically.


    My opinion wrote on May 11, 2008 08:31 AM: Excellent!


    David Johann wrote on May 11, 2008 08:18 AM: Here's what was to happen soon, 2,000 years ago.

    "'The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.'"

    Revelation 22:6.


    "'Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.'"

    --Revelation 22:7.

    "'Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.'"

    --Revelation 22:12,13

    "'He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.'"

    --Revelation 22:20.

    http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=73&chapter=22&version=31


    Willard Roker wrote on May 11, 2008 08:17 AM: This is nothing more than an attempt to legitimize the Bible as fact. No you do not need to be a Bible scholar to understand Shakespeare..."Lord what fools these mortals be"


    John F wrote on May 11, 2008 08:07 AM: The Bible (old and new testament both) is the single most important piece of literature ever written. An extremely large portion of the great works of Western literature cannot be understood properly without a knowledge of the Bible.

    How can you possibly hope to understand Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, etc., without knowing the Bible?

    Of course, I suppose that shouldn't bother me too much. They're not teaching Tolstoy or Shakespeare any more either.


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