22 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Agree. Bit like having LGBTQ+ books in school libraries.

No it's nothing at all like that.

18 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Hehe, I think we know how that will go! Those black-wings are in for life.

Kids are smarter and more able to decipher and distinguish than we give them credit for. That's why nothing should be censored. Kids know what to do about LGBLT, no book is going to change them.

What percentage of books in foreign translation are taught? The Bible is one of them. A few passages could snowball into indoctrination because of one wingnut Xian teacher. It could be balanced by teachings from other holy books, Guru Granth Sahib, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Siddartha, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Avesta, Tao Te Ching, you know, and Ron Hubbard.

If I were a teacher in Texas I would definitely add those other religious texts to the curriculum (maybe skipping Ron Hubbard) and introduce ideas in comparative religion. Great opportunity for the schoolkids. But I wonder how long I'd keep my job, in the current cultural wasteland that is Texas?

"He said repeated exposure to a single religious work throughout students' education, without comparable study of other faith traditions, could influence students toward Christianity over time".

Isn't this truly the whole point of this exercise, and thank God we still have strong Christians with a backbone who will fight to bring God back into the classroom. When we took God out of the public square, that's when the entire country started going to the dogs, and if we don't do something to stop the onslaught of demonic indoctrination in our culture, the country will be unfit to inhabit in the next generation.

21 minutes ago, FolkGuitar said:

I don't know where you went to school, but I'd hope you were introduced to Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm. All 'fairy tales.' I'd also go so far as to suggest that you were required to read several other works of fiction in your educational journey. Didn't you read Dickens, Melville, and Shakespeare in school? Fiction!
Why are you in favor of censorship?

Certainly did read, both fiction and non-fiction in school as a homework assignment, after which we had to answer questions about characters in class.

I'm just equating the Bible with any other fiction, which is at the discretion of the school or individual teachers, it's not mandated by the government.

What US is doing is the mandatory reading practices of North Korea, China, Russia... you know, all the "arch enemies of the US" as yanks were taught over their entire lives. Yet, under this current administration, they are turning the country into exactly what citizens of it were told to hate for a century.

Lastly, please, where did I state I favour censorship?

35 minutes ago, FolkGuitar said:

In a word, it is a brilliant piece of writing, so long as we recognize that it is a work of Fiction, rather than fact. We don't have to 'believe' it to appreciate it. Same with the Koran for Muslims and the Sutras for Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
How many Americans can state the precepts of Jainism, or have even heard of it, for that matter, despite it being a globally recognized world religion? Nothing wrong with learning about religions in school. We are there to learn about the world, and most of the world, for better or worse, relies upon Religion.

That, I certainly agree with.

10 minutes ago, fittobethaied said:

"He said repeated exposure to a single religious work throughout students' education, without comparable study of other faith traditions, could influence students toward Christianity over time".

Isn't this truly the whole point of this exercise, and thank God we still have strong Christians with a backbone who will fight to bring God back into the classroom. When we took God out of the public square, that's when the entire country started going to the dogs, and if we don't do something to stop the onslaught of demonic indoctrination in our culture, the country will be unfit to inhabit in the next generation.

God wasn't in the public square to begin with. So the country started going to the dogs at the start is what you're saying.

19 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

I wonder?
As this isn't being presented (now) as religious study, but a one or two-day exercise in an English class, it may not meet the requirements for such a challenge.

If the Bible passages being studied are from the Old Testament, they should be studied in their original Biblical Hebrew or Aramaic.

If from the New Testament, then Greek.

The Bible wasn't written in English. If we're going to go backwards, let's go all the way.

19 hours ago, BLMFem said:

The Bible isn't exactly a literary masterpiece, but rather a jumbled collection of old texts from various times.

This decision will definitely be challenged in court, and will end up in the SCOTUS.

From a purely secular, cultural standpoint, the Bible is widely considered one of the greatest literary masterpieces in human history. Its poetic impact on the English language, structural variety, and narrative depth stand completely neck-and-neck with the works of William Shakespeare.

15 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Give it a few decades, and it will be the Quran as mandatory, and the Bible will be banned literature.

I may be wrong, but I sense a hint of sarcasm in you comment, how ever I totally agree with it!

The idea of introducing other religious texts is interesting.

I think for students who have an interest anything should be available.

I guess It might increase tolerance and understanding.

But I like the naturalist point of view, for example there is a story that when anthropologists were busily cataloging creation myths that they asked a certain ethnic group

How was the world created?

They answered "We thought it had always been here."

Sensible from the evidence available to them.

Religion has done nothing but cause grief and destruction for the last 2000 years. Instead of promoting fairy tales it should have a stronger emphasis on science and evolution!

16 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

From a purely secular, cultural standpoint, the Bible is widely considered one of the greatest literary masterpieces in human history. Its poetic impact on the English language, structural variety, and narrative depth stand completely neck-and-neck with the works of William Shakespeare.

Its impact doesn't make it a masterpiece.

Source for your claim "From a purely secular, cultural standpoint, the Bible is widely considered one of the greatest literary masterpieces in human history" please,

16 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

If the Bible passages being studied are from the Old Testament, they should be studied in their original Biblical Hebrew or Aramaic.

If from the New Testament, then Greek.

The Bible wasn't written in English. If we're going to go backwards, let's go all the way.

We read Homer’s ‘Ulysses’ when I was in high school.

Should we have been required to read it in Greek? Voltaire didn’t write in English, should everyone be required to learn French?

What about Shakespeare? Should kids take a few years to learn Old English first so they can read ‘MacBeth?’

15 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Give it a few decades, and it will be the Quran as mandatory, and the Bible will be banned literature.

Really LA ? You Muslim paranoid? Seems odd, I lived in Thailand had Muslim friends, never got the feeling they were trying to take over. This post from you is surprising.

20 hours ago, BLMFem said:

This decision will definitely be challenged in court, and will end up in the SCOTUS.

Notable - New U.S. Supreme Court justices are not legally required to be sworn in with a Bible, nor are they required to use any religious text. Under the Constitution, officials have the right to simply affirm rather than swear an oath, and there is no religious test for holding public office.

39 minutes ago, FolkGuitar said:

What about Shakespeare? Should kids take a few years to learn Old English first so they can read ‘MacBeth?’

Any English speaker should be able to read Macbeth.

I wonder if the schools will be using Matthew 25, the one where their messiah says both people and nations will be judged on:

-their humility

-how they care for the poor

-how they welcome the stranger

-how they treat those in prison

I'm going to guess Texas will do what all Christian Nationalists do:

Have white Jeebus as their poster boy, but hate everything he teaches

On 6/28/2026 at 9:50 AM, webfact said:

The Texas State Board of Education has voted to require public school students to read selected passages from the Bible as part of a new statewide literature curriculum.

Congratulation, Texas Time Machine 🤔 300 years backward. Mandatory ?!!!! Huh, I won’t expect more from Ayatollahs. Different name, different book.

On 6/28/2026 at 10:53 AM, dinsdale said:

Agree. Bit like having LGBTQ+ books in school libraries.

Were they required to be read? That is a difference. and then the difference of a Constitutional protection dealing with religion.

21 hours ago, candide said:

Let me guess.... they will be taught that god created the world in seven days? 😂

Six ... remember, "he" rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath ... ask the Seventh Day Adventists ... wait ask those who follow the Talmud ... wait ask ...

21 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

I am against forced religion in schools.
But is the goal of this reading religious or literary? Only 2-3 selected passages will be read, in each grade level, along with passages from E.B. White, Shel Silverstein, Aesop, Kurt Vonnegut, and Elie Wiesel as literature—hardly a proselytizing lineup.
I have no problem with students reading selected passages as literature; in fact, I'm in favor of it. Just so long as they aren't making the classes religious training.
This said, Texas will need careful oversight to keep it from turning into forced religious exercises.

Ah, "The Song of Solomon" as beautiful erotic literature. Any rational here is leaves a breath of the Separation of Church and State.

1 hour ago, mikeymike100 said:

From a purely secular, cultural standpoint, the Bible is widely considered one of the greatest literary masterpieces in human history. Its poetic impact on the English language, structural variety, and narrative depth stand completely neck-and-neck with the works of William Shakespeare.

That the Bible is "a literary masterpiece" in English should be credited to the 47 scholars who oversaw its translation from the Greek under the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1607. I'd be interested to knoe how the Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin versions stand up as literature.

19 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Hehe, I think we know how that will go! Those black-wings are in for life.

Kids are smarter and more able to decipher and distinguish than we give them credit for. That's why nothing should be censored. Kids know what to do about LGBLT, no book is going to change them.

What percentage of books in foreign translation are taught? The Bible is one of them. A few passages could snowball into indoctrination because of one wingnut Xian teacher. It could be balanced by teachings from other holy books, Guru Granth Sahib, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Siddartha, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Avesta, Tao Te Ching, you know, and Ron Hubbard.

agreed ... my laugh is due to our both knowing "other"belief seminal writings will not be equally studied.

There's only one answer.

Born, raised in Texass and got the hell out. My mother was a school teacher starting in the 1920's and retired in 1964 when I left for USMC Boot Camp. I stay in touch with old friends in TX and had to move back for a period of 11 years due to a divorce from hell in the late 1990/2000's. I can be pretty sure, like 99% the intention of bible verses is not for any purpose but white christian nationalism. I grew up in the baptist church, father a deacon, Sunday school superintendent, mother a Sunday School teacher. Btw, unlike my 'father' my mom was a good person with a good heart. I was primed to be another Billy Graham. I left TX and the states for good in 2010 but had been in and out of Thailand/SE Asia since returning in 2002. Texas is even worse today than it was when I had to return in 1999. Racist, bigoted to the core with a bunch of faux white christian nationalist. There are good people there and their power is growing but the state school board is controlled by white nationalist christian Republican MAGA traitors to America. Rest assured bible version will be used for propaganda purposes, not education. I stand firmly against the introduction of bible verses in TX public schools. I am in favor of the teaching of religions in school and their differences, history, the people killed and wars fought in the name of religion, etc.

16 hours ago, scorecard said:

Are there naughty bits? Please share.

Many verses mention incest, adultery and there is also a lot of violence. It has been beautifully dissected by Ruth Hurmence Green in "The born again Skeptic's guide to the bible". Recommended if you want to see some other side of the scripture.

1 hour ago, FolkGuitar said:

We read Homer’s ‘Ulysses’ when I was in high school.

Should we have been required to read it in Greek? Voltaire didn’t write in English, should everyone be reuired to learn French?

What about Shakespeare? Should kids take a few years to learn Old English first so they can read ‘MacBeth?’

Homer did not write Ulysses was written in Ireland by James Joyce in 1922 in English. You must be referring to the Odyssey. Yes, it is far more beautiful in Attic Greek than any translation I have seen. Similarly, the Aeneid by Virgil should be read in Latin. No English does it justice.

Kids should be allowed to explore their own interests. That may include Greek, Latin or French..

18 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

Six ... remember, "he" rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath ... ask the Seventh Day Adventists ... wait ask those who follow the Talmud ... wait ask ...

Yes, she did...

21 hours ago, MIke B Bad said:

Thought it was six.......didn't she relax and open a few tinnies, do her nails, on the 7th?

Gawd is gender neutral, non-binary, so THEY relaxed. 😆

ALL religions should be represented in the library. To FORCE students to study any one religion should raise alarm bells all over. However, it IS Texas where Jesus is a 6-syllable word.

Many posters seem to miss the big picture. This isn't about religion, this is about insuring that never will the sheep look up.