A & E "Classroom????"

So, I'm flipping around the channels this morning doing my usual menopause-induced insomnia routine and I come across two different A & E "Classroom" presentations.

In case you haven't seen any of these, they're often pretty interesting, though sometimes their research on the facts leave a lot to be desired. They actually give permission to legally tape the program and provide an expiration date for deletion.

Anyway, the first one was something about "Mysteries of the Bible" (or some similar title) and I'm thinking THIS is proper for a classroom??? Parochial school, maybe, but why would they make this propaganda and put it under their "Classroom" series? Am I missing something?

So I start flipping through the channels again and find another "Classroom." This was something like the 10 (20?) greatest inventions of the 20th century so I stopped to watch. They began talking about the Wright Brothers' flight and who do they bring on as commentator for this particular segment? Bill O'Reilly and they labeled him a "journalist!" Are they kidding???

I really hope teachers aren't using this series without VERY close scrutiny.

LTH
Just blowin' off some steam.

signing on to this stuff but to put it in a "Classroom" series just bugged me.

then I see no problem with it.

Portraying women as either saints or prostitutes.

Used as justification for the crusades.

Used as a justification of slavery.

Used for their hatred against gays.

Used as justification to keep women subservient to men.

Used for their hatred against anything non-Christian.

Stories of incest, rape, murder.

The works of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dante, John Milton, and many others used the Bible for their works on many occassions.

The stories make greater sense and have greater impact if you have read the Bible.

is "stories." The authors you mentioned do not present their stories as fact.

Call me crazy, but I don't see the need to tear down the wall that separates church and state.

A&E used to be my favorite channel, but something has happened to it in the past few years. I hate that their bread-and-butter shows are now about serial killers and criminals. I guess the sheeple really like to be safe in their recliners while watching gritty, terrifying shows about evil. Of course, I tune in regularly to watch the Sopranos reruns on Wednesday night, lol. But, wasn't A&E previously devoted to more "artsy" programs? Then they realized that crime pays, I guess.

so is "Inside Edition", the tabloid TV show Billo did journamalism for back in the last millennium. They own all that footage, and probably parts of Billo, too.

People at A&E probably sit around all day scraping up crappy showa out of snippets of old tapes.

really wonderful productions of many classics - they teamed with the BBC to produce Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth that is probably the best television I've ever seen.

Instead now they show Dawg the Bounty Hunter and other reality show crap.

for school.

That crap belongs in church, not in school.

the studies of the world religions is ok in public schools, but not religious studies. religion is a part of history, influenced many happenings in history (ie the crusades, the muslim caliphates, hinduism, etc) and is an important part of history.

just so long as they do not promote one religion over another.

And they need to quit teaching Shakespeare, too, because it is full of many of the same sordid themes!!

(And don't even get me started on Madame Bovary...)

political, economic life of ancient, medieval and modern societies is off-limits.

That would make for a very superficial understanding of almost every civilisation
Mesopotamia
Egypt
China
Japan
Hellenistic cultures
the Upanishads
Hindi Culture
Medieval Europe
Renaissance Europe
the Crusades
the Wars in Europe during the 15th-17th Century
Cromwell, the Caliphates in western Asia
the Monarchs of Thailand treated as Gods
the Aztec Culture and their many Deities
and the list goes on

"Mysteries of the Bible.?

Examining the stories of the bible or any ancient text is a perfectly legit topic for school.

You then posted, Not with my tax dollars. That belongs in Church not in school.

His original post had zilch to do with the TV series and more to do with the study of ancient religions in school.
Your response basically said you opposed his opinion. That ancient religions should not be studied in school.
My response to you is based on his original post.

We're talking about a television show that discussed the "mysteries of the bible" . Thats one aspect of that text that could be studied as a part of the study of ancient religions in school.

How is my comment not relevant?

I read your comment as something relating to a broader view of the use of religious texts in schools to understand various world cultures.
Not as an endorsement of using the series as a means of supporting one religious position over another.

My zilch comment was overstated.

If you're offended, I apologise.

If you feel I was diminishing your opinion, again, I apologise.

edited for spelling

I understand your comments better now. ;)

There's a difference between advocating for a religion and examining the literary context of a text that has influenced much of western civilization and to a lesser degree elsewhere.

edited to add: And I'm an Athiest who has never particularly liked the Christian variety of religions. I'd be happy if there never was 'Holy Bible" but there is and its a book whose contents are worth studying.

"critical thinking" and real-life "logic" ...

critical thinking and real-life logic when trying to convince students that evolution is fantasy and the earth is only 6,000 years old.

If they are trying to "convince students that evolution is fantasy and the earth is only 6,000 years old" than that is endorsing a religion.

Examining how a text makes the case for such things is not.

then the students should already be instructed on how to USE their brains (far from what the Right wants to paint it, "how to think" is NOT brainwashing ... it's "how to use your brain for something more than a BS collector" ...)

BBC does this as well, I think- but I for one would trust a BBC classroom presentation long before I'd trust A&E'e.

old books to avoid the oppressive propaganda.