EDITORIAL: Leave Bible out of lectures

Is it a good idea to study the Bible? Of course it is. It’s a wealth of great literature and much of our society is based on the principles featured in it. How clueless would a student seem if they did not know the story of Noah’s Ark, Adam and Eve, David defeating Goliath, or Jesus’ resurrection?

The Ten Commandments, Moses parting the Red Sea, the Tower of Babel, Cain’s battle with his brother Abel, the scandal of Bathsheba, Sodom and Gomorrah — these are all familiar stories to most.

But should they be taught in a public school?

Certainly religious education should not be part of a public school’s curriculum. That’s obvious.

But a group of residents is asking the Huntington Beach Union High School District to add a Bible as Literature course.

On the face of it, that sounds like a much better idea. The advocates pointed out to school board members that their class would be based on ones taught in Long Beach and Fallbrook public schools and another that was recently introduced in the Murietta Valley School District.

The problem here is some teachers may be tempted — or even some of the students — to take the opportunity to proselytize? How do you regulate that? Do you have monitors periodically look in to make sure classroom instruction doesn’t veer too much toward religious advocacy?

The separation of church and state principle is one that was firmly established by the Founding Fathers.

Why?

History tells us it had a little something to do with a king shoving religion down the throats of his subjects.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, “The legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions … thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”

For those who want their children to study the Bible, sending them to a religious-based school or to a Bible study class at their church is a better option.