Time magazine: Bible literacy
Time Magazine Cover Story on Bible Literacy
22 March 2007 -- article below
The Case for Teaching the Bible
Why We Should Teach the Bible in Public School
TIME Magazine: April 2, 2007. By DAVID VAN BIEMA -- TIME's senior religion writer. His first cover story on the topic ran in 1996.
Source URL: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845-1,00.html
Miss Kendrick came ready, with props. The day's topic was the Gospel of Matthew. "You can divide all the Beatitudes into two parts," Jennifer Kendrick explained to her teenage audience. "The 'Blessed are the whatevers,' like 'the meek,' and then the reward they will get. So I've made some puzzle pieces here." She passed out construction-paper sheets, each bearing either the name of a virtuous group or its reward, in black marker. "And you've got to find the person who has the other half. What's the first one in the Bible?"
"The poor in spirit," mumbled a crew-cut boy.
"O.K. What goes with the poor in spirit?"
A girl in the front of the room replied, reading from her sheet, "For they will see God."
"Nope," chirped Kendrick. "O.K., find the person that matches yours. I'll take the roll."
By which she meant an official attendance roll. Because the day was Thursday, not Sunday. And the location was not Oakwood Baptist Church, a mile down Texas State Highway 46, but New Braunfels High School, a public school that began offering a Bible-literacy class last fall. The class has its share of conservative Christians. Front-row center sat Rachel Williams, 18, whose mother does teach Sunday school at Oakwood. But not 20 ft. away sat a blond atheist who asked that her name not be used because she hasn't outed herself to her parents. Why take a Bible class? I asked her. "Some of my friends are Christian," she said, shrugging, "and they would argue about, like, whether you can be a Christian and believe in evolution, and I'm like, Okaaaay ... clueless." Williams signed up for a similar reason. "If somebody is going to carry on a sophisticated conversation with me, I would rather know what they're talking about than look like a moron or fight my way through it," she says. The class has "gotten a lot of positive feedback," she adds. "It's going to really rise in popularity."
Click here to read the rest of the article at the Time magazine website.
22 March 2007 -- article below
- Exciting news of the amazing publicity achievement by Chuck Stetson's Bible Literacy Project, forwarded by Sheila Weber. This prominent coverage will reach more than 4 million readers and is a landmark in their six-year effort to ensure that students know the narratives, themes and people of the Bible by the time they graduate from public high school. The Time article argues that academic study of the Bible in public schools is important and needed.
- The "Bible Literacy Project" is a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies-North America (FOBA-NA) involved in various Bible literacy and engagement ventures. The Forum heartily endorses their work as part of the Forum's commitment to "producing resources that will encourage individuals to engage with God's Word and grow to apply God's truth in every aspect of living."
- A big thank you to the many agencies in the Forum who have contributed financially to the Byron Johnson research study, as we see the kind of positive national publicity that comes with a well-researched project.
- We urge you to pick up a copy of the April 2nd issue of TIME from your newsstand and share it with your local school administrator.
- VOLUNTEER to bring this course to your school next fall! Here’s how! SCHOOLS can CALL toll free 866-805-6574 or sales@bibleliteracy.org
- LEARN MORE at www.bibleliteracy.org. For a complete overview
- For media interviews, contact: Sheila Weber, BLP Vice President, Communications (646-322-6853 sheila@bibleliteracy.org)
The Case for Teaching the Bible
Why We Should Teach the Bible in Public School
TIME Magazine: April 2, 2007. By DAVID VAN BIEMA -- TIME's senior religion writer. His first cover story on the topic ran in 1996.
Source URL: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845-1,00.html
Miss Kendrick came ready, with props. The day's topic was the Gospel of Matthew. "You can divide all the Beatitudes into two parts," Jennifer Kendrick explained to her teenage audience. "The 'Blessed are the whatevers,' like 'the meek,' and then the reward they will get. So I've made some puzzle pieces here." She passed out construction-paper sheets, each bearing either the name of a virtuous group or its reward, in black marker. "And you've got to find the person who has the other half. What's the first one in the Bible?"
"The poor in spirit," mumbled a crew-cut boy.
"O.K. What goes with the poor in spirit?"
A girl in the front of the room replied, reading from her sheet, "For they will see God."
"Nope," chirped Kendrick. "O.K., find the person that matches yours. I'll take the roll."
By which she meant an official attendance roll. Because the day was Thursday, not Sunday. And the location was not Oakwood Baptist Church, a mile down Texas State Highway 46, but New Braunfels High School, a public school that began offering a Bible-literacy class last fall. The class has its share of conservative Christians. Front-row center sat Rachel Williams, 18, whose mother does teach Sunday school at Oakwood. But not 20 ft. away sat a blond atheist who asked that her name not be used because she hasn't outed herself to her parents. Why take a Bible class? I asked her. "Some of my friends are Christian," she said, shrugging, "and they would argue about, like, whether you can be a Christian and believe in evolution, and I'm like, Okaaaay ... clueless." Williams signed up for a similar reason. "If somebody is going to carry on a sophisticated conversation with me, I would rather know what they're talking about than look like a moron or fight my way through it," she says. The class has "gotten a lot of positive feedback," she adds. "It's going to really rise in popularity."
Click here to read the rest of the article at the Time magazine website.
posted by Wayne Leman at 5:03 PM
2 Comments:
Wayne,
As good as the article is, I don't think that you should lift the whole thing and repost it (unless you have received permission, and then that should be noted). All we need is a pull quote and a referral.
Damian
Thanks, Damian. I wondered about that but since it was distributed widely by email I thought maybe it was OK. You're right, however, and I will revise the post.
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