[Vision2020] Boise Man Seeks to Put Bible Education in IdahoSchools
Sue Hovey
suehovey at moscow.com
Tue Jun 23 18:45:17 PDT 2009
Kai, his raised eyebrow wouldn't be enough....his ears aren't the right
shape.
Sue
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kai Eiselein" <editor at lataheagle.com>
To: "Joe Campbell" <philosopher.joe at gmail.com>; "Sue Hovey"
<suehovey at moscow.com>
Cc: "Moscow Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 8:25 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Boise Man Seeks to Put Bible Education in
IdahoSchools
> Joe,
> I'd support you teaching logic to grade schoolers, but only if you dressed
> and acted like Spock.
> Can you do the one raised eyebrow thing?
>
> Live long and prosper.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joe Campbell" <philosopher.joe at gmail.com>
> To: "Sue Hovey" <suehovey at moscow.com>
> Cc: "Moscow Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 7:30 AM
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Boise Man Seeks to Put Bible Education in
> IdahoSchools
>
>
>> Great post, Sue! Maybe I should start a petition to teach logic in
>> grade school. I'd have less of a problem with folks taking a Bible
>> course as an "elective" if they had to take logic along with it.
>>
>> Joe Campbell
>>
>> On Jun 22, 2009, at 10:37 PM, "Sue Hovey" <suehovey at moscow.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Great idea. I'll teach it. I had a high school Bible class
>>> once...It was
>>> taught by a wonderful man, our Southern Baptist pastor, and I hung
>>> on every
>>> word he said. I recall he told the one Catholic in the class he
>>> didn't have
>>> to believe everything in the lectures, but he needed to take notes
>>> so he
>>> could give the correct answers on the quizzes. Then I went off to
>>> Baylor
>>> University and learned a lot more about the Bible (King James version,
>>> naturally)--especially the New Testament. I know for a fact that Jesus
>>> didn't turn water into the drink we know as wine--it was more like
>>> Kool Aid.
>>> (Remember, we didn't dance at Baylor either.) I'd have a bit of
>>> problem
>>> teaching the Bible as "the greatest book ever written," as I've read
>>> quite a
>>> few books with considerably more literary merit--(I'm thinking
>>> Huckleberry
>>> Finn.) It couldn't be taught as fiction--that would antagonize
>>> fundamentalists, or as history--historians would bring suit, or as
>>> science
>>> (well maybe in Idaho). And in high school I'd probably decide not
>>> to deal
>>> with Song of Solomon, or the admonition to burn witches (high school
>>> students sometimes have a bit of trouble with inference: "if
>>> witches tend
>>> to be female, then females tend to be teachers, therefore teachers
>>> tend to
>>> be witches--we'll use the homecoming bonfire."
>>>
>>> Even with my credentials, fundamentalist parents would consider me
>>> not a
>>> good choice. They would be correct. And of course we couldn't have a
>>> Jewish teacher--no New Testament; or an athiest or agnostic, or even a
>>> deist--not religious enough. An LDS? Heavens, they'd probably use
>>> the Book
>>> of Mormon as a supplemental text. A Jehovah's Witness--thank goodness
>>> they'd refuse, but they'd want to distribute their literature. Not a
>>> Unitarian either, everyone just knows they don't have a good handle on
>>> belief. Even the KKK, when they burned crosses in the South, planted
>>> question marks ? in the yards of Unitarians.
>>>
>>> Seriously, even as an elective course, an appropriate and
>>> historically
>>> accurate teaching of the Bible as literature would be impossible.
>>> Perhaps
>>> it caused limited damage in my little homogeneous hometown of 50
>>> years ago,
>>> but even though we had a wonderful, compassionate, intelligent
>>> teacher, he
>>> was unable to distance himself from doctrine. And he would have
>>> faulted
>>> himself as a minister had he done so. I think a serious, intelligent
>>> teacher would be equally incapable of designing a curriculum which
>>> would be
>>> inoffensive to the students who might elect that high school class.
>>> And if
>>> it were, I doubt it would be worth the students' time.
>>>
>>> When you are offered the chance to sign that petition, think about
>>> it, and
>>> then refuse.
>>>
>>> Sue Hovey
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
>>> To: "Moscow Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
>>> Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 8:21 AM
>>> Subject: [Vision2020] Boise Man Seeks to Put Bible Education in Idaho
>>> Schools
>>>
>>>
>>>> Courtesy of today's (June 22, 2009) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> Boise man seeks to put Bible education in Idaho schools
>>>> Petition supports ballot initiative allowing non-sectarian study of
>>>> the
>>>> Bible
>>>> By Halley Griffin, Daily News staff writer
>>>>
>>>> Chuck Seldon is a man on a mission.
>>>>
>>>> The Boise resident is working hard to bring Bible study back to
>>>> public
>>>> schools in Idaho, in the form of elective history or literature
>>>> classes.
>>>>
>>>> "We have a year and a half to get 51,000 signatures, and then it
>>>> goes on
>>>> the ballot and we've got the Bible back into the public schools,"
>>>> said
>>>> Seldon, 77, a retired educator and founder of Our Godly American
>>>> Heritage,
>>>> a group working to bring Bible curriculum back into public schools.
>>>>
>>>> He must gather at least 51,000 signatures from registered Idaho
>>>> voters to
>>>> get the initiative on the 2010 general election ballot.
>>>>
>>>> The initiative would add a section of Idaho Code authorizing school
>>>> boards
>>>> to offer an elective Bible course in public secondary schools.
>>>>
>>>> The proposed statute reads, "Recognizing that the United States
>>>> Supreme
>>>> Court declared in Abington v. Schempp (1963) that '(t)he Bible is
>>>> worth of
>>>> study for its literary and historic qualities' and that 'such study
>>>> of the
>>>> Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as a part of a
>>>> secular
>>>> program of education' is consistent with the First Amendment of the
>>>> United
>>>> States Constitution, it shall be lawful for any local school board in
>>>> Idaho to allow for elective Bible course curricula to be approved and
>>>> offered in its public secondary schools."
>>>>
>>>> The Idaho Constitution states that "no sectarian or religious
>>>> tenets or
>>>> doctrines shall ever be taught in the public schools," but Seldon
>>>> says the
>>>> proposed statute forbids the endorsement of sectarian or
>>>> denominational
>>>> doctrine in the elective classes.
>>>>
>>>> Seldon and his wife "left the public schools in 1973 because we
>>>> didn't
>>>> like the direction they were going, and so we started setting up
>>>> Christian
>>>> schools around the world," he said.
>>>>
>>>> Seldon said he first heard of the National Council on Bible
>>>> Curriculum in
>>>> Public Schools, another group pushing for Bible curriculum in public
>>>> schools, when he moved to Idaho to retire.
>>>>
>>>> The group's Web site claims its Bible curriculum has been voted
>>>> into 487
>>>> school districts in 38 states to date.
>>>>
>>>> Seldon said he got very excited when he learned about the project and
>>>> decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the cause.
>>>>
>>>> "There's hope for our public schools. The greatest book ever
>>>> written, and
>>>> it's not in the public schools? It's amazing," he said.
>>>>
>>>> University of Idaho student Kate Carlson said she supports Seldon's
>>>> project, and would willingly add her signature to the petition.
>>>>
>>>> "I am Christian and I fully believe in religious education," she
>>>> said.
>>>> "And not making people do it, but giving them the option. I
>>>> definitely
>>>> think it would be a good thing."
>>>>
>>>> Moscow resident Sharon Andres agreed.
>>>>
>>>> "I think that would be great," she said. "They throw everything
>>>> else at
>>>> the kids."
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> Comments?
>>>>
>>>> Tom Hansen
>>>> Moscow, Idaho
>>>>
>>>> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to
>>>> change
>>>> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
>>>>
>>>> - Unknown
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> =======================================================
>>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>>> http://www.fsr.net
>>>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>> =======================================================
>>>
>>> =======================================================
>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>> http://www.fsr.net
>>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>> =======================================================
>>
>> =======================================================
>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>> http://www.fsr.net
>> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
>
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