Odessa, Texas School Board chooses Bible-based curriculum for class

A West Texas school board approved a curriculum that uses the Bible as its main textbook for an elective course Tuesday, a decision opponents fear invites proselytizing and spurns non-Protestant students.

Saying it had overwhelming support from the community, the Ector County Independent School District board voted 4-2 in favor of adopting the more conservative curriculum offered by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.

The National Council curriculum uses the King James Bible as its textbook. The other choice before the school board, offered by the Bible Literacy Project, uses the text "The Bible and Its Influence" and includes broader discussions of other faiths.

.......

School board president Randy Rives, who voted in favor of the National Council, said he thought the Bible would be the textbook when the class was approved in April. He said he was not worried about litigation.

"I'm not afraid of lawsuits," Rives said. "I believe we're doing what's best for our kids."


http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Bible_Class.html

a bible based curriculum and a more conservative bible based curriculum? Sounds like the mullahs who made this decision could teach the Shiites something about fundamentalism.

When I was in elementary school in the 60's out here in SoCal, no one would have ever thought of teaching this baloney.

If you had told me then that this was the way things were headed, I would have told you that you were crazy.

Up is down, and down is up. What a crazy world it is now! Thank Spirit I have Beloved Daughter in a secular private liberal arts school.

No way.. no way would I have dreamt this could happen to our country. I thought we were progressing, not regressing. I'm an open minded person, but I've had it :spank: with the religious crazies lately. A local columnist for our local rag just wrote a piece telling those of us who do NOT agree that Christianity should be taught in public schools have the option to home school our kids or find a private school that suits our believes. Up is down and black is white. I think that woman just told us all that in order for our kids to have NON-RELIGIOUS education, we have to pull them OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

Since I pay school taxes in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD (a so-called "rich" district), some of my tax money is sent along to Odessa (a "poor" district, even though it is in the oil patch).

I have no say about what ECISD does with my money.

BTW, in Hurst high school kids that are so inclined come church to learn about the Bible; not public schools.

It's gonna be a slug-fest to determine which "CORRECT" religion should occupy the most time of the students.

schools have dropped all after school programs when required to let students start non-christian religious groups like the christian kids had. I can't help but think this would have the same effect in cases like these as well. Make 'em have a world religions course with the major texts of each faith included plus invite clergy from each sect. Then what the school boards fall all over themselves trying to enforce the seperation of church and state like they should have to begin with!

I'm just waiting for Tacky Tom to push for the inclusion of $¢ientology™ in all schools! Let's see how the folks at Jesus Mart react to that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mind if i borrow that?

Anyone want to convert for a little while?

the best thing that ever came out of Odessa, Texas was Becky Brecheisen, and unfortunately at that time I was too much of an immature idiot to appreciate what a woman like that had to offer. The Odessa School Board is apparently equally idiotic. Though separated in time by about 35 years, it would seem we have that in common.

:banghead:

We're screwed.

:dunce:

:puke:

:crazy:

even as an elective.

having read Friday Night Lights, I find this all too easy to believe x(

if you'd like an Odessa story about the Other High School in town - it's the first use of the temporary insanity plea in the US.

Also: "Pinky" Roden if you like great bootlegging stories, as well as why there is a strip in Lubbock and an Impact in Abilene.

Also: John Ben Sheppard, former state AG from Odessa and his interesting connections to LBJ et al.

I grew up here, and I teach here. There MIGHT be 30 kids who'll sign up for this course in this crooked town of 50% high school dropouts, 12x the national average use of illegal drugs, a haven for underage drinking, the second highest teen pregnancy rate in Texas, and where the oilfield is being crippled by an 87% fail rate on piss tests for roughnecks.

This thing will die on the vine the second semester, cause people here just ain't religious, they just spout religion....

But it's an interesting spot, if you like colorful crooks, crooked politicians, and corruption by the boatload! ;)

LOL

Can you really imagine those high school kids reading King James? The stilted archaic language? Word choice probably far above most of their reading levels?

No way will they stick with it.

who can resist all the rapeing, killing, and such in the name of Gawd?

Gotta go read more about them "loins"!

Like the story of the man whose wife gets raped by someone from the Tribe of Benjamin, so he cuts up her body and sends pieces of it to all the OTHER tribes, so they will go to war with him.

Or the story of - was it Absalom? - some king - who slept with his sister. That one's classic.

And there's always David and Bathsheba - you know, David, the guy who forced himself upon this married woman, then sends her husband out to war and tells the other men to withdraw from him so he'll be struck down and killed. Yes, David, the "man after God's own heart."

futher down mentioned it being taught a lot of places. I realy would like to see this balony go down in flames in a court case rather than from lack of interest. It sure doesn't seem in line with the establishment clause to me.

Having been to Odessa myself, I have to agree with mbperrin, that the people there like to come off as "religious," but it's really more like ignorance cloaked in am armor of touchy self-righteousness and defensiveness. They just, as the OP said, "spout religion."

This makes me wonder, though, if this curriculum was picked because of its feasibility as an elective and/or student demand (unlikely), or because someone's trying to start a lawsuit & publicity situation?

:tinfoilhat:

The 'National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools'?!?!? WTF is this?

The dumbing down of America continues as the inmates are running the asylum.

Check them out: www.bibleinschools.net/

The Links page endorses "Creation Science Evangelism" & "Wallbuilders."

Here's a bit of PFAW's page on the group: NCBCPS board of directors and advisory board have included Religious Right leaders like televangelist D. James Kennedy, President of Coral Ridge Ministries, who has called public schools "Godless" and actively campaigned for the impeachment of a federal judge who ordered a proselytizing state judge in Alabama to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom. Kennedy also has a well-documented history of raising money by promoting the false and inflammatory stereotype that gays and lesbians are child molesters.

www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=1353

The Bible Literacy Project's rejected curriculum is much more balanced: www.bibleliteracy.org/Site/index2.htm

I'm not convinced that Bible studies belong in Public Schools. But Odessa picked the worse option.

In fact, the Religious Right, as documented on www.agapepress.org was upset that the more moderate curriculum might be used.

all the way. Jesus hates everyone but repukes and their friends. The rest of us are f*cked.

not required.

If they offer an elective for the Bible, then if Muslims want such a course as well, they have to provide a Koran course as well, same for Jews and the Talmud, etc. Include all or include none, that is what would allow this to be Constitutional, there is no middle ground here.

(shades of Condorlizard)shudder and I agree with what you're saying...still, I think they've skirted a problem in making it an elective course...unless, of course the Hindus, Jews, etc DO demand the same ability. After reading mbperrin's post I doubt that will happen. At least not on the local level. LOL

However, the same would go for Catholics and their version of the Bible as well, so a separate course for them, and Mormons with the Book of Mormon, etc. I would imagine that there are more of them in this town than either Jews or Muslims. This is a pandora's box that has been opened.

ON EDIT: What I'm trying to make clear here is this, if one religion is given preference over others, in any area of government, including elective courses in public schools, then it is unconstitutional. That means that the School board now CANNOT have any objections to ANY religion demanding an elective course as well. This means that even the Church of Satan could have the Satanic Bible put into a public school course, that I would like to see.

since this is not a case of a "club" requested by students after school hours but is instead a class sanctioned by the school, you may well be right about its constitutionality.

I am no lawer but looking over that decision it shure seemed like doing this would legaly represent a preceved indorcement of a particular religion over others. Just because something is 'optional' does not mean it is ok within the establishment clause... if I understand it correctly.

Furthermore unlike say a student organization after school... a much better argument can be made on the basis that actual tax money is going to fund this etc.

I seriously doubt it will survive court chalange but that is not the point... they wan't to push their message and have already succeded in sending the chilling message they wanted to.

But this is freakin' bible study.

If they have some Muslims in that school, then have the Muslim community demand a course for the Koran, when it is rejected, call up the ACLU.

The sense of superiority one gets from the self-deluded belief that he is right above all others and most righteous will never allow acceptance of others who may not agree with that person. Religion is, by its nature, anti-Christ. All the talk about a personal relationship is just that - talk. A personal relationship would make religion unnecessary. If someone really had a personal relationship with God, a church would be an empty place, a preacher or a priest would be superfluous, and we wouldn't have any more stupid religious wars.

this course.

If a freethinker were to teach it, a multitude of examples would be highlighted, demonstrating the intolerance for other religions, advocation of slavery, God punishing people arbitrarily, incest, fraticide, submission of women to their fathers, husbands, and brothers, self-mutilation, etc.

However, I have a feeling this course will be used to convert nonbelievers using the aegis and imprimatur of the government through its public schools to do so.

It's a project of the Bible Literacy Project. I'm not sold on Public Schools featuring Bible courses, but this curriculum is fairly balanced. It uses different translations & has a more inclusive approach to the subject. Here's an article on an earlier meeting in Odessa:

"I've reviewed both of the books upstairs,” Roy Jones, an Odessa Police Department chaplain, said about the Bible Literacy Project and the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools curriculums. “The Bible Literacy Project, as a teacher, would be easier to teach. The students will enjoy it more.”

Lisa Roth, an English teacher at Nimitz who’s also a member of the Jewish community in Odessa, said she also favored the Bible Literacy Project’s book.

“I read through the curriculums — for a while,” she said. “In the National Council’s book, I felt like my identity was used as a stepping stone. That is not a course I would want my daughter to take. In the other one, I was amazed. I wanted to keep reading.”

www.bibleliteracy.org/Site/News/bibl_news051116OdessAmerican.htm

The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools uses only the King James Version. Here's what I found at the Texas Freedom Network:

AUSTIN – A religious watchdog group went on the attack Monday against a Bible study course taught in hundreds of schools in Texas and across the country, saying it pushes students toward conservative Protestant viewpoints and violates religious freedom.

The Texas Freedom Network, which includes clergy of several faiths, said the course offered by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools is full of errors and dubious research that promote a fundamentalist Christian view.

www.tfn.org/religiousfreedom/biblecurriculum/

Odessa picked the National Council's curriculum.

AHHHHHHH!!!! ... wait mabey I missread... AHHHHH!!!!!

This sure seems like a state endorcement of a particular religion to me. Hope it goes down in flames.

How're you gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they hear that?

Public Information Officer: Mike Adkins


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adkinsmp@ector-county.k12.tx.us

The land of "friday night lights"
the little shrub's turf

Ignorance galore. I've never visited a place in this country I've disliked more.

lived in Hobbes, N.M., we sometimes flew into Midland-Odessa.

"I believe we're doing what's best for our kids."

Fuck Dat.

That really pisses me off, this smug, arrogant attitude amongst the Taliborn-Again that there's NO way *I* can be a "moral" person, simply because I don't have the "Fear of GAWD" keeping me from giving in to my "Animalistic Sinful Nature".

Might as well teach Bible in school-where else they gonna learn it?

... errors and contradictions in the Bible.

:nuke:

:evilgrin:

I grew up in Abilene TX just a few miles east of Odessas

football is the real god in TX. at our local junior high games they had thousands for even the pee wee team
before the main jr hi games.

It would not surprise me at all if you could not make any sports team unless you took this "elective".

That is the kind of pressure on students then. Not so sure anything has changed.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/chinamart.htm

Your story's out; you grew up in Abilene, huh?

It's only fair, isn't it?

Seriously.. this assbite wrote that 92% of Americans believe in God, 80% believe that Jesus was born to the VIrgin Mary and is our savior, and over 70% actually believe the story about his birth, complete with angels... Then she goes on to say that America is a Christian nation, and that a "vocal minority" should not be allowed to remove jesus from our government and schools! She also said that if those that don't want their kids exposed to christian celebrations in PUBLIC schools need to pull their kids out of the activities, home school them, or find a private school.. but that jesus belongs in the public schools because Christians are the majority here!! They've gone fucking insane, you know.

the majority is Muslim, and were required to take a Koran coures, or to a heavily Jewish area of New York City and were required to study the Talmud or to a heavily Buddhist area of Hawaii and were required to study the Lotus Sutra.

:wtf: I guess it involves no thinking at all.

Yes, the website is a bit gaudy. But Christian scholars from most denominations--& Jewish scholars--designed the curriculum. Their material uses excerpts from different versions of the Bible--not just the King James. And the Religious Right believes the Project is a Commie Plot!

The Bible faces a rising onslaught of ridicule, and legal assaults. Its most vocal antagonists include People for the American Way and the ACLU. Why would such opponents applaud a textbook titled, The Bible and Its Influence? Why such support for a revolutionary curriculum published by the Bible Literacy Project?

The answer may lie in the word revolutionary. This new curriculum fits into a set of social and political changes that would try to affect every American. Joseph Farah, founder of WorldNetDaily, summarized it well in his exposure, of a "political movement" called Communitarianism, "which places the importance of society ahead of the unfettered rights of the individual."
www.earnedmedia.org/kjos1108.htm

Odessa chose the course destined by The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools. Their website includes such gems as "The Bible was the foundation and blueprint for our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, educational system, and our entire history until the last 20 to 30 years." "By Their Links Shall Ye Judge Them":
www.bibleinschools.net/sdm.asp?pg=links

Doctor Mark Chancey, who teaches Bible Studies at that notorious radical institution, Southern Methodist University, critiqued the NCBCPS curriculum for the Texas Freedom Network.
www.tfn.org/religiousfreedom/biblecurriculum/execsummary/

NCBCPS founder Elizabeth Ridenour is a member of the Council on National Policy, an organization comprising some of the nation’s most influential leaders from the religious right and other conservative causes.

The group’s Board of Directors, Advisory Committee, and endorsers make up a virtual “who’s who” of the religious right, including the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum, Focus on the Family, WallBuilders and the Texas Justice Foundation. Many of these groups oppose the separation of church and state and assert the primacy of Christianity in this nation’s government and legal system.

The NCBCPS curriculum goes beyond a study of the Bible as literature or a description of the importance of the Bible for beliefs and practices of religious groups. It, in fact, improperly endorses the Bible as the “Word of God.” It also attempts to persuade teachers and students to adopt views of the Bible that are common in some conservative Protestant circles but rejected by most scholars. While such views are certainly appropriate for individuals or religious groups, public schools should not present them as fact.

The curriculum almost exclusively reflects views held by certain conservative Protestant groups. The role of the Bible in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian thought receives little attention.

The curriculum depicts the United States as a historically Christian nation. It even erroneously implies that historians generally believe that the Bible, even more than the Constitution, is the nation’s “Founding Document."

What do the people of Odessa think about the decision? Some were happy, because they want the Bible taught as History. But quite a few Odessans were NOT happy.

www.oaoa.com/news/nw122105b.htm

the different denominations start fights over some teaching that they don't approve of. I'm thinking that, even though the course is an elective, sooner or later someone will throw a fit over something. I feel sorry for the kids who are being indoctrinated, but they will be anyway. Realistically though, the course will probably only be taken by little fundies in the making anyway. They won't grow up smart enough to get far in life. Sad.

If a kid is crazy enough to want to study the bible, let him or her.

I'm not sure that Bible Studies is a wise elective for Public Schools--is this the most valuable use of scarce resources? (Monetary resources for ecuation, that is. I live in Texas & our last 2 governors have been as good for our State as Katrina & Rita were to the Gulf Coast.)

A better, more inclusive curriculum is available. The Odessa school board picked the one that appeals to the most narrow-minded of Bible thumpers.

for an elective. Time would be much better spent teaching a child to think, rather than brainwashing him, but, even back in the 1950s, when I was in high school, there was a bible club. Back then though most of the other kids thought the kids who joined that club were weird. Most of the kids I went to school with were Christians, but very few of them took Christianity outside their churches and homes. Outside of that club, I never heard mention of God, Christ, or Christianity in school. I rarely heard mention of them in my community, although most people from that small farming community regularly went to church.

If they reject it, I'll mail them a letter opposing their bible class.

So what would YOU do?