Remember the TX school board member who got rude over the bible class?

[madfloridian]

Well, now a Jewish teacher there in Odessa is speaking out in anger. Seems like that remark "kiss my butt" angered them.

Texas school board member tells parents to "kiss my butt" over religious class.

Parents who did not think the class was fair were complaining to the board, and Butch Foreman said this:

“If they don’t have children in the class, they can kiss my butt,” Foreman said. “They’re just looking to impose their beliefs and their views on everybody, and we don’t put up with that crap out here.”

If the plaintiffs did have children enrolled in the classes, then Foreman said he would tell the students to drop the class and take another course since it’s an elective.

And there is a lawsuit going on there now.

Well, now a Jewish teacher gets angry.

Jewish teacher gets angry

Here is a snip from the letter, the rest at the link.

I am writing as a parent, as a member of the Jewish community in the Permian Basin and, despite concerns about my job, as a teacher in this school district.
I have been respectful and professional in expressing my thoughts about selecting a Bible course in ECISD.

I reviewed the Bible curricula under consideration last spring, and then I spoke at the public forum.

Other members of our Jewish community reviewed the curricula and wrote letters to the school board, as well. And yet, when it came time for a final board decision, Randy Rives said publicly that he hadn't heard from anyone in the Jewish community.

And most recently, I read in the Odessa American Butch Foreman's disrespectful response to concerns about the Bible class: "If they don't have children in the class, they can kiss my butt. They're looking to impose their beliefs and their views on everybody, and we don't put up with that crap out here."

Enough is enough. These repeated public insults of my religion and our legitimate questions about the Bible curriculum are perfect examples of the very concerns I have about a biased presentation of the Bible in our schools.

Well, looks like there's going to be a Showdown in Odessa with a lawsuit.

And Chuck Norris gets into the fray, bless his heart.



Council board member and actor Chuck Norris has described this curriculum as the "first step to get God back into your public school."

[Selatius]

1. There is a historical reason as to why the church and the state are separate.

There are Sunday classes that parents can enroll their children in, but since everybody pays taxes, then it is logical to assert that the state those taxes fund should be religion neutral because not everybody is a Christian. Nevermind that not everybody is of even the same denomination of Christianity. The reason why there is a separation was to precisely avoid the kind of religious strife that had plagued Europe for centuries and still causes problems in Europe today into the modern era. (See Northern Ireland or Former Yugoslavia)

[sandnsea]

2. *sigh*

There is so much religion in this country, that even kids who have rarely gone to church are indoctrinated into believing Christ is the only Savior. If these people can't teach their kids the values of God at home, and have them carry those values to school and behave themselves, well then maybe the school isn't the problem.

[madfloridian]

13. Agreed.

I thought things would get better after the election last year, but it has not. Even some of the Southern Baptist churches here are waking up to what happened to them...the hijacking. But the attempts to control both parties continue from left and right religious leaders...and the parties just seem to go along.

[ninkasi]

3. I don't understand the role of victim

that the Christian fundies are so fond of playing. If anybody objects to having their viewpoints shoved down their throats, the fundies are the first to scream that they are being treated unfairly, and are victims. Regardless of what religion anybody practices, they are welcome to worship freely at the place of worship they choose, and to say silent prayers anytime of the day or night.

The issue is not that their religion is forbidden, the issue is whether it should be religion sanctioned by any organization funded with taxpayer money. If I were a billionaire Muslim, or Jew, I would be paying a bundle in taxes, and would probably feel offended if my tax dollars were used to promote another religion's point of view in entities that I paid to support.

If NO religious viewpoint is endorsed in public education, this can't be considered prejudicial to Christianity. Can you imagine the outcry if Muslim, or Jewish, or Hindu parents were in the majority in a certain district, and insisted that their religion be taught as fact? The wails of the fundies would reach into outer space.

[madfloridian]

8. And to say they had heard nothing from the Jewish community.

Now that was just a lie.

[ninkasi]

9. They didn't hear anything

because they weren't listening. They only listen to their own narrow minded kind.

[madfloridian]

10. You are right. They just ignore other views.

:hi:

[Tom Joad]

4. Seems like the "kiss my butt" guy doesn't know much about ethics or respect.

And what is Chuckie going to do? punch out anyone who does not accept Jesus?

[Erika]

5. What would you prefer?

There is a limited amount of choices.

Face it, Many of us are beyond sick of the minority fundies trying to shove their religious concepts down our throats.

[Onceuponalife]

6. Chuck Norris should jump off a cliff

His ill-informed evangelism is getting tired.

[madfloridian]

7. "Liberal attacks on Bible Curriculum" by Chuck Norris.

At least it sure looks like it is by him. His picture is there in the article.

Looks like he is doing some very confusing math. He talks about the number of schools teaching the Bible (1350 in 37 states). Is it all their curriculum. Purposely confusing.

More numbers I am not sure about...the course he wants or courses all together. Someone needs to be on guard.

Georgia's Legislature approved and is preparing its 180 school districts to offer two literature classes on the Bible.

More than 800 Craig, Colo., residents are petitioning to get an elective class at Moffat County High School on the history and literature of the Bible.

In my own state of Texas, the House Public Education Committee is presently considering requiring the state's 1,700 school districts to offer history and literature courses using the Bible as the primary text.

The Bible as the primary text for history and literature...caution needed in interpretation. The Bible is NOT history per se. This worries me.

http://www.bibleinschools.net/

The Texas Freedom Network, or TFN, is one of them – a self-admitted adversary of any biblically conservative movement, calling themselves "a mainstream voice to counter the religious right." The TFN, for example, is requesting five unnecessary changes to the Texas bill, which is intended to assure students are taught this classic text:

Mandate that teachers have appropriate academic qualifications and sufficient training on legal and constitutional issues surrounding instruction about the Bible in public schools.

Require rigorous, scholarly reviewed textbooks and other curriculum materials for all courses.

Include strong and specific language that protects the religious freedom of students and their families by barring the use of Bible classes to evangelize or promote personal religious perspectives.

Require the Texas Education Agency to regularly monitor and report on the content of public school Bible courses to ensure that they are academically and legally appropriate.

Continue to allow districts the option to offer – or not offer – such courses.

I say amen to all of the above requirements by the Texas Freedom Network.

Texas Freedom Network

So call me a liberal, Chuck. I think Bible taught as literature might be good, but then you get to teach other religious texts as well.

[madfloridian]

11. WSJ has an article on this issue. Many parents are upset.

I hope this gets a lot more attention.

Bible Curriculum Dispute Heats Up in Texas Town

Lori White thinks high school students should study a variety of religions, including Christianity. But the Bible curriculum used in Odessa, Texas, and a growing number of other schools, she says, is aimed at instilling faith, not knowledge.

"It's a curriculum that proselytizes," says Ms. White, whose son graduated from Odessa's Permian High School last year.

....""I believe strongly in the separation of church and state," says Ms. White. 'I don't want my tax dollars spent that way." She and several other parents say they are working with the American Civil Liberties Union to assess their legal options to stop the Bible classes, and ACLU officials acknowledge that litigation is possible.

The National Council has encountered such challenges before. In 1998, a U.S. District Court judge in Fort Myers, Fla., halted Lee County schools' planned New Testament course using the National Council's curriculum, saying that the recounting of the resurrection relied on a religious interpretation. Last year, the nonprofit Texas Freedom Network released a study on Bible teaching in the state's schools that found that in 11 districts using the National Council curriculum, "sectarian claims...permeated the classrooms."

The study's author, Mark A. Chancey, a professor of biblical studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said in an interview that despite changes in a later edition of the National Council's teacher's text, he found that the council's work was "an attempt to promote particular religious views about the Bible, namely those of some conservative Protestants.

[BlooInBloo]

12. I just assumed they all did that.

[pingzing58]

14. Parents are the first teachers in any Faith / Religion and the home is the place for it.

I would not want my children being taught by an unqualified
H.S. level teacher who does not have a Masters Degree in
Biblical Studies and presenting the "Bible" as
literature.  That's the realm of the Denominational and
Non-Denominational Christian Churches.  That's why every
Baptist goes to bible study on Sunday.  Catholics were not
allowed to study the bible until after the Vatican II reforms,
so I am told, because the ordinary person was not qualified to
interpret it.  Chuck Norris should encourage the local
Christian Churches to have bible study as part of youth night.
 And, most importantly, it is the responsibility of parents to
pray with their children in the morning before they leave the
house and receive a blessing from them - now that's biblical! 
It is not proper for the public school teachers or
administrators to assume the parent's responsibility in
showing their children the way of faith.