I've been blogging nearly a year and have never posted anything written from another website...so when I tell you that you need to read this article forwarded to me by my friend Phil Ellenburg. It is very well done:
We live in the land of biblical idiots: Public school courses that promote Bible literacy can enhance our civic life.
By Stephen Prothero, STEPHEN PROTHERO is chairman of the religion department at Boston University and the author of "Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- and Doesn't."March 14, 2007
ALTHOUGH THE 110th Congress has brought to Capitol Hill 43 Jews, two Buddhists and a Muslim — Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who took his oath of office on Thomas Jefferson's Koran — Washington remains a disproportionately Christian town. More than 90% of federal legislators call themselves Christians, making Congress more Christian than the United States itself. The president is an evangelical Protestant. Catholics enjoy a majority on the Supreme Court. Biblical references — from the Jericho Road to the golden rule to the promised land — permeate political speech. Yet U.S. citizens know almost nothing about the Bible. Although most regard it as the word of God, few read it anymore. Even evangelicals from the Bible Belt seem more focused on loving Jesus than on learning what he had to say.
In a religious literacy quiz I have administered to undergraduates for the last two years, students tell me that Moses was blinded on the road to Damascus and that Paul led the Israelites on their exodus out of Egypt. Surveys that are more scientific have found that only one out of three U.S. citizens is able to name the four Gospels, and one out of 10 think that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. No wonder pollster George Gallup has concluded that the United States is "a nation of biblical illiterates."
Biblical illiteracy is not just a religious problem. It is a civic problem with political consequences. How can citizens participate... for the complete article (and you'll want to read it al) click this link: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-prothero14mar14,0,5385607.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
Share YOUR thoughts on this article with our community...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Good article. Sad, but good.
While teaching Kindergarteners a couple weeks ago here in Calvert, I was going over "N" words with one of my students and he couldn't think of any so I said, "Noah." At five years and living in this community, he didn't have a clue who Noah was or had ever heard the story. It broke my heart.
It's up to us to teach these kids and their parents. What a huge mission. Glad we have God on our side :)
Post a Comment