I’m off again on another rant. It’s in relation to a newspaper article which you can find here.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24753674-1248,00.html

A QUEENSLAND father of five has taken action in the Anti-Discrimination Commission  after his four-year-old daughter was asked to help make a replica of Noah’s Ark  at the local state school.

R** W********, who has five children under the age of 10, is opposed to religious instruction in state schools.

He said he was taking action because he did not believe students should be “exposed to superstitious mumbo-jumbo, presented as fact, in an educational setting”, The Australian reports.

The Bible Literacy report
Can be found in its entirety here: http://tinyurl.com/6xovm4

Almost without exception, English professors we surveyed at major American colleges and universities see knowledge of the Bible as a deeply important part of a good education.

For example, when asked to respond to the question, “Regardless of a person’s faith, an educated person needs to know about the Bible,” no professor disagreed; nine provided additional explanation. When asked, “Some scholars say Western literature is steeped in references to the Bible. How would you respond to that?” 38 of 39 English professors agreed; 24 strongly. When asked, “In your opinion, how important is it for students who take your courses to be familiar with the Bible?” 38 of 39 professors said it was important.

Overwhelmingly, professors in this survey indicated that a lack of basic Bible literacy hampers students’ ability to understand both classics and contemporary work. Arduously “decoding” scripture references detracts from absorbing and responding to great works of art, both ancient and modern. At the same time, a number of professors expressed discomfort or reservations with appearing to “take sides” in favor of the Bible in the contemporary context.

They did not wish to associate themselves with a political movement around the Bible, or to seem to detract from the importance of other aspects of a good education, including the value of becoming knowledgeable about other world religions.

This report concludes that high schools should make basic Bible knowledge part of their curriculum, especially for college preparatory students. Doing so requires developing a variety of educational materials and curricula that  simultaneously:

(a) acknowledge the Bible’s status as sacred scripture to millions of Americans,
(b) are fair to students of all faith traditions, and
(c) are of high academic quality.

Doing so will be an important part of meeting the next generation’s educational needs in an increasingly diverse population.

The King James version of the Bible has been of major impact in the development of the English language. In terms of the English language, it ranks up there with Shakespeare and the Oxford English Dictionary. It is a rich, literary source which still has cultural meaning today. Many people are probably not even aware of how many common phrases used daily originate from the Bible. If a parent values education, then surely a stance such is akin to their child being led like a ‘lamb to the slaughter‘.(Or another reference) It is my hope that the ‘powers that be‘ will encourage Biblical Literacy in our school thus enabling future generations to go from ‘strength to strength‘.