Adam, Eve and the Prodigal Son: Texas kids will learn Bible stories
- Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 29
- 2 min read
The Texas board of education has approved a required reading list that includes stories and passages from the Old and New Testament, but not from Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu texts.
Elementary students will exposed to Bible stories, such as "David and Goliath" and "Daniel in the Lion's Den." ("Noah's Ark" was dumped at the last minute, because a board member didn't like the version on the list.) Older students will read the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis) and the flight from Egypt (Exodus), as well as "The Lord is My Shepherd" (Psalms) and parts of the Book of Job.
I think the controversy is overblown. It's impossible to understand Western culture and literature without a familiarity with Adam, Eve, David and Goliath. You can't even understand cartoons. How do history students understand "Let My People Go" if they've never heard of Exodus?
I also have no problem with seventh-graders knowing that Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" and "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
High school students will read 1 Corinthians 13: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal … Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude."
Again, this is part of our culture. It's not just for Christians.
I noticed that kindergarteners will hear an Ashanti story and a Choctaw story, as well as Aesop's fables and classic nursery rhymes.
Many of the other readings focus on American heroes and patriotic themes, which seems fine to me.
The board specified which translations to use, favoring Protestant Christian interpretations, writes Ellie Ashby in the Texas Tribune. She analyzes the various ways different translators describe Eve's creation, and quotes experts who seem to expect teachers to provide scriptural interpretations.
"Some of the required passages contain nuances that could challenge teachers," she writes.
Well, anything can be taught well or badly, deeply or superficially. How many teachers will confuse public school with Sunday school? Do we have so little faith?
When it comes to teaching Job, I recommend the scene in Good Omens, which challenges the story.
Even absent these guidelines one could subvert the paradigm. Introduce them to Bob Marley's Exodus album and then talk about why it was called Exodus. Not your fault that's from the bible, it just was there and needed to be discussed. 😁
Try reading Shakespeare without knowing anything about the Bible; his Biblical references are even more pervasive than his Greco-Roman mythology ones.
Kids don't have to believe in these stories to hear them and react to them--perhaps being invited to think, "What did this story mean to people in the past who heard it?", instead of always thinking about what it means to me.
Generally speaking, I think this is a good thing. Oh, I'm not interested in kids learning Christian doctrine, but I am interested in what is called in some circles the "cultural transmit". This is the body of cultural "knowledge" that is passed down from generation to generation. Due to political and social factors, the West has become terrible at passing down its culture. Getting rid of history was a big factor in this.
I think kids need to know things like the story of the Good Samaritan. I think they need to be familiar with David and Goliath. These things are part of our culture and removing them just lessens all of us. I was watching an old black …
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If I were state politicos and admins in Texas, I'd be more worried about mastering
reading, writing, math, social studies, science and geography before bothering
with reading bible passages...
I'd like to know what percentage of 4th, 8th, and 12th graders are proficient (i.e. -
at grade level) in Texas for the above subjects...I doubt it is higher than 60% (which
a D minus on the grading scale of A-F, where F is 59 or lower...