When my sister and brother-in-law were stuck in Wichita Falls, TX during his military service (we're talking the 1950s, folks) it was a godforsaken part of a godforsaken state. No longer. God has moved in and set up shop. The Wichita Falls Times Record has the genesis of this development:
In the beginning, the state of Texas created a Bible course. And the course was formless and void. Darkness hung over the details of the course.Eventually, the state said, "Let there be K-12 instruction in religious literature that includes the Old and New Testaments."
And the Wichita Falls Independent School District said, "Let's move forward."
With the limited information the state has provided for its Bible elective course, WFISD board members voted Monday to move ahead with a stand-alone course that will be offered to high school students for the 2009-10 school year. (Ann Work, Wichita Falls Times-Record)
So God has his course, complete with required reading. But there are a few minor problems. So far the School District doesn't have anyone to teach it. I guess the 8 am time slot ("zero hour") is not that attractive to either students or teachers. Then there is the little matter of money:
WFISD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tim Powers estimates the course will require $23,000 to pay for a teacher (one-seventh of a teacher's salary for one class at each high school) and $4,500 for textbooks that cost $50 a piece.
Money well spent, I'm sure. The law allows the material to be shoehorned into existing courses, like English or social studies, but apparently it will take more than a shoe horn to get it in. The regular courses are already filled to the brim with materials the school district needs to teach to "teach to the test," a consequence of No Child Left Behind. Delicious irony. Nor is there any money to train teachers with the required history or language arts certification. Apparently being a pastor or minister won't wash. You really have to know something about teaching.
In an effort to help Wichita Falls from returning to its former godforsaken status, I hereby offer this as a substitute for the Bible course:
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Pretty funny! I must be developing a sense of humor for "sick jokes" from the Dark Side. Revere, just "look out your window" to witness some of the wonderful results being rendered by fatherless youths, not teaching kids about the universal values found in both Testaments (and the deeper spiritual lessons found in the Mishna and Jesus' parables), and even about the miracle of America's founding documents. Laugh while the laughing's good; it won't always be so funny when we reap what we are sewing.
OK, gang, you can start your stoning: 4,3,2,1....
Oh yeh, almost forgot...don't leave out all that delicious profanity, you virtuosos of that genre.
Paul, one of the problems with your analysis is that if universal values have to be taught, they are not all that universal to begin with. IMHO, the best way to teach is not by reciting stories (especially if some of them do not make sense) but by providing good examples. I think Christians (my guess as to your religion of choice) need to first start producing better public-figure examples than GW Bush or Sarah Palin, then perhaps we will listen to your stories with less of a sense of dissonance.
By the way, the Bible verse you are thinking of refers to sowing, not sewing - apologies if this was just a typo on your part, but otherwise it calls into question how much attention you were paying in Sunday School yourself.
A high school student from Japan that I tutor here in California frequently gets English lit class assignments that require her to analyze biblical imagery in Kafka, etc. It's baffling to her, and outrageously unfair--how is she supposed to do this? What about her classmates who are Americans, but are Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, non-religious, etc.? (Our city's population is probably less than half Christian...) I think these questions should just be dropped completely. On the other hand, the students could probably USE a religious literature course, since these themes are important in English literature and compose an important chunk of our cultural references, even for non-religious agnostics like me. Somehow I don't really trust Wichita Falls (I've been there) to teach such a class with a truly academic approach, though.
Lily - Your student would probably suffer the same problems with allusions to Homer, Dickens, or The Mighty Thor (not to mention the rest of the Marvel Comics pantheon). What's needed is not a Babble 4 Furriners class but some sort of Intro to Western Lit - provided to locals as well as them un-American types.
America's founding documents are miraculous, now? what's that mean, you pray to them and they cure your cancer or something?
America's founding documents are impressive works of political philosophy --- all the more impressive because quite a few still retain a lot of relevancy to politics today, two centuries and change later. but they are not miracles in any sense, way, shape, or form. nor are they religious texts, holy writ, or anything else of that manner.
Some youth's are better fatherless Paul, like the ones with Christian authoritarian fathers who beat the shit out of them, or who have sex with their own daughters (or sons). My Christian childhood home had a mother who did the sexual abuse and a father who was virtually not there.
Do you really think that one has to be religious to have values??? Do you really think religious people are all true to the values they promote. Jesus had harsh words for the religious hypocrites but kind words for those who were considered religious outcasts but did kind deeds.
You have made up in your mind a world that does not correspond to reality. But that is what religious people do, why should I expect different.
Paul --
First, put your own house in order.
ssal: Paul is a troll. Here's what our compassionate Paul said on November 19:
This is quite typical of the "you're either with us or you are against us" mentality of the religious, even those who claim to be tolerant. There is nothing tolerant about this. It is the usual kind of evil in the name of good crap we get from believers all the time. These are vicious and cruel people.
Bravo Revere!
Sticks and stones will break my bones, words can never hurt me.
Remember boys and girls, if your religion can not stand up to rational criticism, you would have no need to throw those sticks and stones.
If you don't like what Revere has to say, go to another more accommodating web site, where you will enjoy like minded commentary.
Sorry should read
if your religion could stand up to rational criticism, you would have no need for those sticks and stones.
What blows my mind even more than the Bible class (this is Texas, after all) is the fact that this high school has zero-hour at 8:00 AM. At my high school, I was in the jazz band, which was a zero-hour class. I was there warming up by 5:30 so we could start playing right at 6:00. It was horrible. I think I might have even preferred to go to a school that included religious indoctrination if it meant a few extra hours of sleep a night.
I am a highschool student in Texas (fortunately not Wichita Falls, unfortunately Dallas) and I have mixed feelings about the bible courses. On one hand, I'm glad I'm a senior this year and planning to get out of Texas so I won't have to witness these bible classes spread to my highschool. On the other hand, I might have enjoyed a chance to take a bible class. I know I would have recorded every lesson to listen for the slightest hint of proselatizing, and then started to report it to try and get the classess shut down. However, at my school, the teacher who has already said that she'd like to teach a bible course is rather openly atheistic, so that might be an interesting class.
I'm disappointed in you Revere. I'm sorry I called you an honorable man on yesterday's post. You're just a name-caller like the rest of them. My opinions on Viet Nam are just as valid as yours, whatever they may be. Fifty-nine thousand of our military folks were killed there because our politicians put us in a war they really were too weak to pursue in a way that would have supported our troops.
All of you worldly, free-thinking anti-Americans are as intolerant and filled with hatred as those you condemn. Standing up for your country, a separate issue from religion, is nothing I'm ashamed of. You people who enjoy the luxuries of freedoms you don't realize nor appreciate, while you crap all over our military heroes, have much to be ashamed of. It's a shame more people don't call you out on it as I'm doing.
Turns out, a troll is somebody who just pisses you off with his opinions - every bit as valid as yours and the ilk in your forum. You "enlightened ones," really are an evil lot. Not to worry; I won't be back.
if you don't even know what the other man's opinions are, how can you pretend to claim any equality of validity there?
Paul:
Just because you and Revere both have an opinion on a subject doesn't mean that your's carries the same validity as his. It's called "false equivalence".
As for your claim regarding the "universal values" found in the old and new testament--Aren't you being a bit selective? Do you think that only the warm and fuzzy values in the bible are valid? I think you need to read the book a little more closely. Don't disown the hate-mongering, misogyny, and racism that your bible holds as "universal values".
Your idea that being Christian somehow elevates your moral judgement is absurd. There have been thousands of societies throughout time that have lived communally and peacefully without JEESSSSSUS.
Paul,
I understand how offended you have been. This is not a blog where you can convert people to your beliefs. This is not a blog where anyone cares what you think.
I have a challenge for you. I challenge you to a test of your faith. I challenge your beliefs. If you take up this challenge do so with an open mind, and a strict adherence to the open rules. I challenge you to meet and talk to people who have AIDS, I challenge you to meet and talk to people that live on the street, I challenge you to meet and talk to scientists, doctors, lawyers etc. The challenge is as follows.
I challenge you to let go of any faith based activity for one whole year. This means that you do not attend church, you do not read the bible, or attend any function where the bible or faith based ideals is spoken, seen and or written. I challenge you to a year of thinking for yourself. I challenge you to a year of confronting your fears. I challenge you to face a world without your crutch - your faith.
I challenge you to come back in a year and to tell us all how your life has changed.
Paul, what about people who want to stand up for the rights of fellow human beings, such as the Vietnamese? What about wanting troops to not be killed and broken in a useless war that wastes lives, treasure and opportunities while causing evil is not "supporting" them?
You are saying it is "shameful" to not want soldiers to be killed and maimed in useless wars? Not wanting them to be killed is "crapping" on them?
Your opinion is not as good as Revere's because you didn't arrive at it through valid reasoning based on an understanding of the facts. It was told to you as "talking points" by individuals who profit from the carnage, the damage and the destruction that those talking points advocate.
Paul is righteous because he says he is. Paul is correct in all his assertions because he says he is. God is on Paul's side because he says He is. Paul's opinions are just as valid as Revere's because he says they are. Paul is angry with us anti-American heathens because he says he is.
WOO!! WOO!! Here comes the clue train and the last stop is Paul! Paul posts religious-laden posts playing Devil's advocate-- that is, religion's advocate-- cheerfully pointing out to us "enlightened" people that religion gives humanity wonderful benefits while happily ignoring genocides, holy wars, witch burnings, repression of women, infanticides, and literally countless atrocities perpetuated by religious followers for literally thousands of years. Whenever the rallying people decry Paul for his one-sided, unashamed support for all things Godly, he conveniently retreats to any one of the following "arguments" (see: cop-outs)
1) Non-believers don't "get it" why God can love Jews, Christians, Muslims, etc. but then allow terrible things to happen to them (the Holocaust, Crusades, or Jihad).
2)Only a religious man can appreciate morals, ethics, or have a code of conduct. Like preaching hatred for gays while boning male prostitutes/little boys.
3) Science can't explain everything therefore religion has a purpose. Kinda like saying "Because I don't understand something, rather than educating myself I will claim that a figment of collective imagination must have done it!" Brilliant.
4)EVERYONE IS AGAINST ME! I AM PERSECUTED! THESE WOUNDS, THEY WILL NOT HEAL!! Essentially when Paul fails to win over anyone to his side of the "argument" he plays the role of rebel/repressed minority. This usually fails, too, once everyone reads his posts and rips them to shred for logical fallacies, historical inaccuracies, and/or emotional rants irrelevant to the topic of discussion.
Paul claims that he will never post here again. Hardly! I fully expect--no, I order him!-- to post here every day. How else will he win his never-ending battle for religious tolerance except by bashing scientists on a science blog written by scientists? Go get em' Paul, God is surely smiling down at you for your thankless posts in support of hatred!