4 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Is LBGT a race now?

As well as Islam?

😀😀😀

The people on the left enjoy calling others names, which makes them feel superior.

5 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

The proponents of "states rights" will change their minds when Minnesota mandates studying excerpts from the Koran as literature.

Similar to how "religious freedom" is an allah-given human right until those "others" put their holy icons on a hillside overlooking their town, or the church of satan installs a small monument on the courthouse lawn next to the granite block with the 10 commandants etched onto it.

The left will fully support students studying the Koran in Minnesota. Islam is the only religion that the left grants their approval.

22 minutes ago, Mr Awesome said:

The left will fully support students studying the Koran in Minnesota.

The left US Constitution will fully supports students studying the Koran in Minnesota.

16 hours ago, stevenl said:

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,

Generative AI. Word for word, copy pasted. A distilled "opinion" drawn from the Guardian amongst others. He used a machine to think for him.

Problem is, with comparing the Bible, in all its forms to the works of Shakespeare, William wrote everything he published. No one knows who wrote the bible. We know it wasn't one person. It was innumerable peoples, over centuries, chopping, changing, massage the script, Its basically an anthology compiled over centuries by dozens of authors, containing law codes, genealogies, ritual instructions, historical chronicles, letters, and religious teachings alongside passages of extraordinary poetry and narrative. It was not written for literary artistry. So consequently, bits of it, as literature, are <deleted>. The original Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew versions have zero literary value in the modern word. Any impact comes from later English translations. The first go was by John Wycliffe and his followers, and he was frankly a nut job. William Tyndale took a stab at putting the New Testament into what was then modern English, but he put his own spin on things. Myles Coverdale took care of the filthier bits. The King James version was basically Bible by committee; a committee of 47. And like all committees, they would argue the toss between themselves.

The Bible might be extremely influential, but from a literary point of view, its far from it. It lacks any narrative unity, huge junks are, frankly boring, especially the bits that go through genealogies, census records, citing architectural specs, describing in excruciating detail, religious regulations and setting tribal boundaries. It does little to develop characters, in the way Shakespeare did. It uses repetitious language, because that's the style of Hebrew, but in English "and it came to pass" become formulaic.

People confuse its influence with literary value. Its not the yardstick to use to instruct people how to write prose. Saying that its just about spending a couple of days with some selected quotes will actually devalue the influence of the Bible, because those reviews of snippets will lack all context. Imagine thinking you understand Shakespeare you only considered the famous St Swithin’s Day speech from Henry V. It reduces the Bible to a series of memes.

Obviously proponents of this idea don't want this, so they will push for compulsory religious education. When I was growing up, we went to Sunday School. That was the choice of the parents, not the school. I know for a fact that American churches also run sunday schools for kids. Why isn't this enough?

The King James Bible as one of the most influential works in English literary culture than as an unequivocally great literary masterpiece on the same artistic grounds as Shakespeare's plays or the great novels and epics.

11 hours ago, placnx said:

Ulysses: Do you mean the novel by James Joyce, or the Odyssey by Homer?

People in Appalachia until recently spoke Shakespearean English.

And Shakespearean English is not "old English". Its modern English. Americans everyday use Shakespearean words that the British have long stopped using every day (but we understand what they mean). But its not true people in the Appalachians were recently speaking Shakespearean English. Its their accent which was closer to Shakespeare, not really the words themselves. And you go into stores in some of those islands off North Carolina, and you'd swear you are being served by people from Cornwall who had lived in the US for a bit.

When Americans say "I have gotten tired", they are speaking the same English as Shakespeare. The British wouldn't say that (or rather, they have started saying that, due to the influence of American TV shows). Phrasing that the British dismiss as Americanisms are often actually an archaic form of English (but there are also genuine Americanisms).

Maybe some here were taught Shakespeare using some sort of dumbed down Cliff notes version.

On 6/29/2026 at 8:28 AM, fredwiggy said:

In God We Trust is still on our money.

What that means is that money is god and that's all they trust. Anything else is communism.

Clearly unconstitutional. But to the white nationalist maga fascists that's a feature not a bug.

57 minutes ago, BusyB said:

What that means is that money is god and that's all they trust. Anything else is communism.

It's based on the country's spiritual faith, which helps it's prosperity.

Matthew 25:31-46

The Sheep and the Goats

Well, MAGA does claim Trump is The GOAT

TRUE ✅

It could be worse. Kids could be forced to read The Art of the Deal.

There is a catch: First they will have to teach the little no neck monsters to read. Problem solved