Not long ago I heard that the Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill allowing the Bible to be taught as Literature and can be offered as an elective in the public school. Currently, Broken Arrow Public Schools does not offer this class. But, as I talk to more people at the Superintendent’s office, this may about to change! I am pursuing this agenda not just so that our students in Broken Arrow will get an opportunity to study the Bible in high school before they go off to college, but also because I want to teach the class. In April of 2011 I took and passed the English Certification Test certifying me to teach Language Arts grades 6th-12th which qualifies me to teach “Bible as Literature”.

For students to be able to study the Bible in the public school would provide a balance to their learning corresponding to all other subjects especially History, Science, and English. Instead of just a mention of the Bible in other classes, it would give students actual learning time from the TRUTH. “Isolated doctrines taken out of their biblical context do not ever make sense to modern people, because they no longer have the background to supply the context on their own.” (Nancy Pearcy, Total Truth, pg 89).

The Bible is known on public school campuses as a real book, but unfortunately really only a handful of students have actually read it for themselves. Students seem intimidated by the Bible because few have been shown how to read the Bible. When students begin to know the history behind the 66 books, the authors, the reasons it was written, and the importance of the Bible – their understanding and appreciation of it will override their intimidation. To just all of a sudden pick up the Bible and begin to read it, can lead to confusion and eventually squelch the desire to want to read it again. Students need to be taught the principles this country was founded upon which will expose the real success of this nation.

We all know that the Bible is the most widely known book ever written.  And even more interestingly, it is the best-selling book of all time as well as the best selling book year after year. Bibles are placed in all hotel rooms (thanks to the Gideon’s). Presidents and other federal officials take their oath of office with their hand on the Bible. Most students have heard about the 10 Commandments, but do they know where to find them in the Bible or even list all 10? What about the Golden Rule. Most don’t even know it is biblical. Why isn’t the Bible at the top of the list for English Teachers to require students to read and learn from… even Shakespeare refers to the Bible 1,300 times.

The article, “The Case for Teaching the Bible” in Time Magazine, David Van Biema writes, “If Literature doesn’t interest you, you also need the Bible to make sense of the ideas and rhetoric that have helped drive U.S. history. “The shining city on the hill”? That’s Puritan leader John Winthrop quoting Matthew to describe his settlement’s covenantal standing with God. In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln noted sadly that both sides in the Civil War “read the same Bible” to bolster their opposing claims. When Martin Luther King Jr. talked of “Justice rolling down like waters” in his “I Have a Dream” speech, he was consciously enlisting the Old Testament prophet Amos, who first spoke those works. The Bible provided the argot–and theological underpinnings –of women’s suffrage and prison -reform movements.” Van Biema ends the article by writing, “And, oh yes, there should be one faith test. Faith in our country. Sure, there will be bumps along the way. But in the end, what is required in teaching about the Bible in our public schools is patriotism: a belief that we live in a nation that understands the wisdom of its Constitution clearly enough to allow the most important book in its history to remain vibrantly accessible for everyone.”

Personally, I am enjoying learning more about the benefits of today generation learning the Bible in public schools from an educator perspective, from a U.S. citizen perspective, but most importantly from being the daughter of the King perspective. I have lots more to learn. If any of you have an opinion or have actually studied the Bible as Literature in school please share your experience.

God has used Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in many different times in my life, but today it jumps off the page in a fresh, prayerful way. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

To God be the glory!

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