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[GK86]

Link.

Now that Gov. Matt Bevin has signed the so-called "Bible Literacy Bill" into law, the ACLU and other watchdog groups say they are going to make sure the classes don’t cross the constitutional line from teaching to preaching.

“Right now the language of the bill is very vague and the Kentucky Department of Education has not yet put together a curriculum,” Amber Duke of the Kentucky ACLU said Wednesday. “The concern, though, is that you could have a curriculum that is constitutional and could be delivered in a manner that is not constitutional.”

The Bible class as envisioned by HB 128 is a course solely "on the Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament of the Bible, the New Testament.” The purpose is to “provide to students knowledge of biblical content, characters, poetry, and narratives that are prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture.”

It is also an elective, not a required course.

“They will not be teaching about the Koran or the sacred texts of other religions,” said Duke. “That would be more of a comparative religions class. This is a Bible literacy class.”

Bevin, a Republican and conservative Christian who has waged a campaign to drive abortion providers out of the state, signed the bill on Tuesday at the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort in a ceremony that opened with a prayer.

“The idea that we would not want this to be an option for people in school, that would be crazy,” Bevin told the crowd. “I don’t know why every state would not embrace this, why we as a nation would not embrace this.”

 

[Slayven]

“They will not be teaching about the Koran or the sacred texts of other religions,” said Duke. “That would be more of a comparative religions class. This is a Bible literacy class.”

Lol This is so cute

 

[Laevateinn]

We need a hero

 

[Autodidact]

"LOL Kentucky" should always be the first response.

 

[quesalupa]

Take that shit to court.

 

[Loxley]

Get ready for God's Not Dead 3.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

Straight up walking backwards now huh?

 

[Frozenprince]

"Bible literacy class".

"Not about preaching".

Wut.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

prerequisites to understanding contemporary white society and culture.

fixed that.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Satanism class next year.

 

[Darryl M R]

So this will more than likely go to the SCOTUS, when this get struck down will it prevent other states from being this stupid?

 

[Host Samurai]

So a Fake News class.

 

[BatDan]

Get ready for God's Not Dead 3.

They already placed a sequel hook in 2. I'm not kidding.

 

[SexyFish]

Well, at least it isn't required.

 

[Slayven]

I am glad that Kentucky schools are well funded and among the best of the nation, that this was a pressing need

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

Lol This is so cute

Yep.

 

[WiiredShawn]

"LOL Kentucky" should always be the first response.

Speaking as a resident of Kentucky, yes, absolutely.

Seriously, this Bevin guy is a total ass clown. To think we went from a Democratic governor who helped the state adapt to the ACA to "let's teach the Bible in public schools and pray away all of our problems."

 

[Poppy]

i read parts of the bible in school for the sake of its value as literature but obviously i dont trust the agenda of the government of a state signing a bible literacy bill

 

[Velcro Fly]

Other people ruin everything for me and religion is just part of that.

 

[MisterShine]

In a vacuum, there's absolutely nothing wrong with this.

The bible is the most influential text probably in human history, or at the very least in the English language. Having an elective high school class dedicated to it is reasonable. Sadly we don't live in a vacuum and this will probably be terrible.

 

[Mechanized]

prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture

Bwahahaha. Yeah I guess, but not from the standpoint they intend.

 

[Damaniel]

Take that shit to court.

They're gambling that the SC will be much more conservative by the time the case comes around. Don't assume that the court will do the constitutional thing when there's politics to be played.

 

[HStallion]

The Satanic Church is salivating at this news and how they can totally turn this around on this guy. Hope he likes the Church of Satan coloring books.

 

[Verelios]

Lol gl guys

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Ugh. And here I thought Bevin would just fuck up this state with abolishing KYnect and fucking over sick people.
I look forward to the lawsuits. This man has been an embarrassment to KY since he got elected, at least to me. Sadly, many in the state like what he is doing.

 

[Goofalo]

Can't wait for Ezekiel 23:30 day in class.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

We need a hero

You want old boy to get run over

 

[Username1198]

Kids can just stay home and pray to god for good grades!

 

[Frozenprince]

So many gay kids gonna have their self worth just destroyed.

 

[chaosblade]

So this will more than likely go to the SCOTUS, when this get struck down will it prevent other states from being this stupid?

By the time this hits the SCOTUS it will probably have 6-7 conservative justices. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't shoot it down under the pretense that it's technically optional, due to being an elective.

 

[tbm24]

Went to a Catholic high school, albeit in NYC, and all the required religion courses never offended or pushed anything to my recollection. Now my school was run by brothers, Kentucky public school classes will likely be taught by nutters.

 

[TestOfTide]

Wasn't there a controversy a year ago because a caligraphy class had people learning to write proper arabic with Koran verses and the white christians freaked out?

 

[AdmiralSnackbar]

I was pretty sure "the Bible as literature" was always an elective when I was in school.

 

[norm9]

Very useful for all the biblical jobs you can get out in the real world.

 

[Violence Jack]

At least it's an elective.

But this sets a scary precedent anyway. Isn't this what Bible School is for?

 

[Monocle]

I was pretty sure "the Bible as literature" was always an elective when I was in school.

I'm sure that's exactly what this Kentucky governor has in mind: a totally non-preachy, purely academic Bible as literature class!

 

[LifEndz]

We 1800's now boys!

 

[John Rabbit]

“The idea that we would not want this to be an option for people in school, that would be crazy,” Bevin told the crowd. “I don’t know why every state would not embrace this, why we as a nation would not embrace this.”

Yeah that's a real head-scratcher.

 

[.JayZii]

It would be cool if schools were able to have a general theology class that compared multiple religions. Not any time soon with how dumb everyone has to be.

 

[AdmiralSnackbar]

I'm sure that's exactly what this Kentucky governor has in mind: a totally non-preachy, purely academic Bible as literature class!

I was in Kentucky and had this explained to us by our lesbian English teacher.

Obviously milage will vary with this but nothing about this is new or as assuredly awful as everyone hopes it is.

 

[120v]

hold on now Kentucky would be just as cool with a koran literacy bill... right?

 

[Sciz]

Gonna flip their shit the second some teacher refers to any of it as fictional.

 

[Zeus Molecules]

Went to a Catholic high school, albeit in NYC, and all the required religion courses never offended or pushed anything to my recollection. Now my school was run by brothers, Kentucky public school classes will likely be taught by nutters.

I had the same experience, went to catholic school in NYC and the only time they pushed anything on us was abortion related. Beyond that they were pretty damn liberal

 

[WiiredShawn]

Gonna flip their shit the second some teacher refers to any of it as fictional.

I would just let Louis C.K. lead the discussion.

 

[gabbo]

I know this is more a rhetorical question, and the answer is laughable, but what educational value does this actually serve in 2017? Unless it's a critical theory or philosophy course (it isn't), this would have to be tossed out by the courts at the first challenge, no?

 

[BlueTsunami]

Gonna flip their shit the second some teacher refers to any of it as fictional.

That would be the best way to buck against this. Teach it as you would teach Tolkien.

 

[jdstorm]

So many gay kids gonna have their self worth just destroyed.

Its highschool. Thats going to happen anyway.

Edit: To all kids. I originally missred your post and just wanted to clarify that i was being snarky about High School as a negative experience and didn't mean to single out any particular subset of people.

 

[BassForever]

In a vacuum I'd totally be okay with a religious studies class that exams the various religions, their origins in history, and the practice of them today. I think a class that teaches understanding of multiple religions would help to create better understandings of people who live their lives around them.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Soon it will be required reading:

 

[Fracas]

"LOL Kentucky" should always be the first response.

Speaking as a resident of Kentucky, yes, absolutely.

Seriously, this Bevin guy is a total ass clown. To think we went from a Democratic governor who helped the state adapt to the ACA to "let's teach the Bible in public schools and pray away all of our problems."

I still can't believe we shot down Jack Conway and went with a dude who spoke at a pro-cockfighting rally.