John P. Kelly

John P. Kelly

On the day before Sept. 11, 2001, Time magazine published an article on archeology titled “The Quest for Sheba.” A co-worker brought me the article thinking I might enjoy it. The first paragraph began as follows:  “Her original purpose may have been to quiz the great king, but it was the torrid love affair between the wise and powerful Israelite ruler and the mysterious monarch from the south that everyone remembers. Their legendary romance, celebrated in both Bible and Koran, begat epic poetry, Hollywood extravaganzas. …” 

I was amazed.  Neither the two Time authors nor their editors knew or noticed there is NO mention of a love affair between Queen Sheba and King Solomon in the Bible.  It appears these highly educated journalists got their history from Hollywood B movies.  How can well-educated journalists for a news magazine of international circulation be so completely unaware of source material from a book influencing the course of history and literature more than any other? 

The most ardent supporters of agnosticism, atheism or separation of church and state can not deny the influence of the Bible on history and English literature. Can an intellectual who recites memorized verses from Shakespeare or Blake, claim little or no understanding of the hundreds of Biblical allusions contained in those very works of literature? Can everyday citizens understand what happened on 9/11/2001, the day after this article came out – without understanding the history of the Jewish and Arab peoples as partially and in some cases solely recorded in the Old Testament?   Most people likely accepted the Time article as accurate.  This huge knowledge gap is present in modern-day America. 

This wasn’t always the case.  For 100 years, McGuffey’s Readers were by far the most used and circulated textbooks for children in the public schools of the United States.  If you read through those books, you find Bible passages and associated assignments along with many other great historical and literary works.  But since the 1960s, references to the Bible have been systematically removed from public schools and textbooks, aided by Supreme Court decisions and Madalyn Murray O’Hare.   Apparently afraid that the public schools might impose religion, some have sought to sanitize any mention of it. 

Fast forward to summer 2007:  The recent passage of HB 1287 in the Texas Legislature now mandates the offering of Old and New Testament elective enrichment courses in Texas school districts when more than 14 students desire to enroll in them. This law is set for implementation during the 2009-10 school year.  When Boerne High School students were surveyed in a past year, more than 100 indicated they wanted to take such a course.  By recent action of our board of trustees, the Boerne ISD will implement the electives a year ahead (August 2008) of the mandate. 

The content of these new high school Texas courses will be taught ONLY to those who request it.  The course will teach students about aspects of the Bible that are prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture and will familiarize students with the Bible’s content, history, literary style, and influence on society. There is also an excellent new textbook now available titled “The Bible and its Influence,” which is likely to be of great use and which has been endorsed by an extraordinarily wide spectrum of people and organizations. Those who teach the course must have (at a minimum) a secondary English or composite Social Studies/History certification. They must also receive training related to the delivery of the course so as to teach it an objective manner without proselytizing.  

I’m not saying this bill or its implementation will be without controversy.  But if knowledge of the Bible has great value, it should not be prohibited only because it is also potentially controversial. Some say this material ought to be taught solely in churches or homes and not in public schools.  Those are certainly the right places to talk about the spiritual content of the Bible. But youth-oriented Sunday schools do not generally teach the Bible’s influence on English Literature or western history. While some students are taught these things in private schools, most American children attend public schools. Thus in 2007, relatively few students or adults (including churchgoers) have much knowledge of the Bible from any source. This is very different from the educated American people of 100 years ago. Therefore these new Texas public school elective courses have merit. 

Who knows?  One of our well-educated youths might someday fact check for Time magazine.