{"id":2519,"date":"2026-06-30T21:08:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2519"},"modified":"2026-06-30T21:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:08:59","slug":"what-happens-when-forced-bible-reading-backfires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2519","title":{"rendered":"What happens when forced Bible reading backfires"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Christian conservatives are cheering last week\u2019s announcement by the Texas Board of Education mandating readings from the Bible in the state\u2019s K-12 literature curriculum starting in 2030, but a curriculum studies scholar says they appear to be forgetting that this puts Bible myths under a microscope.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2517\">Trump is screaming another coup out loud: analysis<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kids will be dissecting it like a tadpole, and squaring that with the reality that snakes don\u2019t, in fact, talk. Nor do they hand out apples.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe decision might not be the victory they think it is,\u201d Nicholas Mitchell tells MS NOW. \u201cIf such stories from the Bible are appropriately taught as literature, then students will be encouraged to question and challenge Christianity\u2019s holy text, not accept it and believe it without question.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a curriculum studies scholar, I can see that the education board\u2019s decision will create a predicament for schools and teachers that they will not be able to avoid: the inevitable outrage from Christian fundamentalists when the Bible is taught as something other than truth, that is, something other than religious instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell said some parents and politicians may be cheering this mandate now and he said he\u2019s doubtful they\u2019ll be as \u201cgleeful when classroom implementation begins and teachers are made to treat the Bible not as a divine text but as a book.\u201d And teaching the Bible as literature, rather than settled fact, will open it up to being analyzed the way any other book gets analyzed \u2014 complete with hard scrutiny of its philosophy, contradictions and shortcomings.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2516\">Trump official bashes host after being fact-checked in real time<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsider the Texas teacher in 2030 who is teaching high school sophomores excerpts from the Book of Job,\u201d said Mitchell. \u201cAccording to that story from the Hebrew Scriptures, Satan bets God that if God lets him inflict immense suffering on an innocent man named Job, then Job will curse God. A person teaching Job as literature would prompt students to think about what accepting that wager say about God\u2019s character and Satan\u2019s character? How does the story attempt to make sense of human suffering? A good literature teacher would also push students to think about why this character, God, let such awful things happen to a person as good as Job and then scolded him when he complained. A teacher who does that is likely to offend some people\u2019s religious sensibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some fundamentalist students and parents will inevitably see critical analysis of the biblical text as \u201ctantamount to blasphemy,\u201d said Mitchell because such engagement would challenge their belief that the Bible is \u201ca flawless sacred text that leads to salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThus, the people who seem to be clamoring the most to bring the Bible into schools may be the least pleased if it\u2019s taught in accordance with the law,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2514\">DC insider points out a slip that may confirm Alito\u2019s pending resignation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christian conservatives are cheering last week\u2019s announcement by the Texas Board of Education mandating readings from the Bible in the state\u2019s K-12 literature curriculum starting in 2030, but a curriculum studies scholar says they appear to be forgetting that this puts Bible myths under a microscope&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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