Introduction to The Bible and Its Influence: Teacher’s
Edition
The introduction to the Teacher's Edition provides a complete
overview of the textbook, its philosophy of education, backgrounds, and
teaching recommendations. You may read it here or download a full-color excerpt
as a PDF file
from the actual textbook. Use the link to the right.
Welcome to The Bible and Its Influence -- Teacher's Edition
Congratulations! You have chosen to teach a course on the Bible and its
place in history, literature, and culture. This decision of yours and of
your school or district is an important one for academic excellence.
Academic knowledge of the Bible is a valuable intellectual asset. Such
knowledge has given its possessors language for self-expression, metaphor to
help in understanding human nature, a mirror to hold up to culture, and
stories to stimulate the imagination. People without such knowledge are
handicapped in the study of over two thousand years of Western culture, art,
music, literature, history, and public debate.
The textbook The Bible and Its Influence is an opportunity to
share the contents of the Bible with your students in an appropriate,
honest, and direct way. Used in combination with the Bible, this textbook
follows a safe constitutional path for the presentation of biblical
content—the narratives, characters, plots, poetry, letters, events,
parables, prophecies, and proverbs in the Bible.
The course you are about to teach acknowledges just how sacred the Bible
is to so many people. There is no attempt to veil the sacredness of the
text. Nevertheless, this course is designed to provide academic access to
this important work as literature in itself as well as its influence in
literature. The textbook steers a path between two extreme approaches to the
Bible—neither of which is constitutionally or educationally valid.
The Bible and Its Influence acknowledges that there is a science
of biblical criticism. It also acknowledges people of great biblical faith
and evangelical spirit. Nonetheless, the focus of the textbook is found in
its very title—to give a basic knowledge of this great sourcebook and to
demonstrate its influence on other works of culture, on the development of
language, and on historical perspective.
| You cannot fully understand something if
you are missing a big piece of it. Take Flannery O'Connor, who
knew the Bible so well and whose references to it are just so
built in that you really have to know the Bible well to catch it
all. If you can, you are going to read her better. You are going
to understand more of where she is coming from than if you do
not know the Bible well. Or take Faulkner. He is one of those
people who just draw on their own biblical reading and knowledge
so completely that they don't even know when they are making an
allusion. It just comes out. Students who know the Bible will
pick up on the allusions that other students would miss.
Bible Literacy Report II
Professor Pamela R. Matthews
Associate Professor and Associate Head of English
Texas A&M University
|
In order to steer an academic course, the textbook was developed through
a collaborative effort involving scholars and teachers. The textbook was
developed over almost five years. It was written and rewritten under
scholarly guidance from all areas of the academic community and of the
believing community. All worked together to accomplish an overview of the
entire Bible—both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament—that is fair
to all believers and to nonbelievers as well. The result is an academic
course on the Bible with unique claims and distinctions:
- First Amendment Standards: The course fulfills the standards
of The Bible Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide. This guide is a
consensus statement about how the Bible can be taught in public schools.
Twenty-one educational and religious organizations, ranging from the
teachers' unions to the National Association of Evangelicals to the
American Jewish congress, endorsed the guide.
- Rigorous Review: The course was reviewed by more than forty
prominent literature academics, high school teachers, theologians, and
scholars, both secular and religious. The religious reviewers
represented Roman Catholic, Protestant Evangelical, Mainline Protestant,
Eastern Orthodox, and Jewish traditions. General Editor Cullen Schippe
is the retired publisher for Music, Religion, and Social Studies at
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill.
- Student Textbook Used Along with the Bible: The Bible is the
primary text for this course. Nevertheless, the course is based not only
on teacher's materials but also on a complete student edition that
guides and focuses the learning process. The forty chapters in the
textbook comprise fourteen units, seven for Hebrew Scriptures and seven
for the New Testament. For all direct reading from the Bible, students
are encouraged to use a translation of the Bible with which they are
comfortable.
- Cultural Context: The Bible and Its Influence broadly
covers the cultural contexts and influences of the Bible, with examples
of art, literature, rhetoric, and music. The textbook contains a host of
engaging features (described in detail later in this introduction) to
illustrate and reinforce both the literature of the Bible itself and its
context within history and contemporary culture.
- Respect for Faith Perspectives: The course presents biblical
material academically, without prejudice to a particular view, canon, or
doctrine. It preserves the ability of parents to teach their view of the
Bible's religious significance.
- Teacher's Edition: This teacher's edition is designed to be a
thorough and complete teaching plan that provides background, talking
points, lesson plans, and other help for the classroom teacher. Note
that this teacher's edition contains reduced pages of the student
edition with lesson plans that wrap the pages.
- Online Support: The first source of online support is the
Bible Literacy Project Web site, which has additional resources for the
classroom teacher. (See www.bibleliteracy.org/teachers. Log in using the
code [
].) The second is a university-based, online
teacher-training program available through the College of Education of
Concordia University, Portland, Oregon. (See www.bibleliteracy.org/training.)
- Nationwide Use: In the first eighteen months of publication,
over 130 schools in thirty-one states and three foreign countries
successfully adopted The Bible and Its Influence. At that time,
more than two thousand educators were evaluating the course for
adoption.
The Bible and Its Influence is the work of a broad coalition of
people who understand the importance of academic knowledge of the Bible. As
in any coalition, not every member is in perfect agreement, but each has
decided to set aside differences for a greater purpose. In this case, that
purpose is providing a place for academic study of the Bible in the public
school curriculum. The Bible and Its Influence teaches about
religion, about literature, about culture, about art, about music, and even
a bit about history. It does not, however, seek to teach that everyone needs
to have faith—whether broadly or narrowly defined—to benefit from knowledge
of the Bible.
It is the sincere hope of all the people involved in the Bible Literacy
Project that you and your students have a rich and academically rewarding
journey through The Bible and Its Influence.
The Case for Bible Literacy in Secondary Schools1
 What would you say is the single most important book an educated person
needs to know? When the heads of college English departments were asked what
book “at a minimum, every incoming freshman should have read,” their number
one answer was: The Bible.2
Yes, the Bible.
Yet today relatively few students receive high-quality, academic
instruction about the Hebrew Scriptures and/or the New Testament. For
example: While 81 percent of English teachers in one local survey said that
teaching about the Bible was important in literature classes, just 10
percent said they actually do so.3 Scholarly reviews of textbooks
in public schools confirm that virtually all religious references, including
the Bible's role in our history, art, and literature, have been excised from
the curriculum.4 One survey of high school textbooks showed that
just one quarter of one percent of literature readings was from the Bible.5
Why Does Bible Literacy Matter?
There are many important rationales for bringing high-quality, academic
instruction about the Bible to all American schoolchildren. Students of all
faiths (and none) need to know about the Bible to engage their American
heritage in key areas of language, arts, and literature, as well as history,
law, and politics. Why should any student, regardless of faith tradition, be
denied the tools to understand some of the most inspiring rhetoric in
American history? Or contemplate just a few of the achievements of Western
culture that have been inspired, in part, by biblical language and
narratives: Milton's Paradise Lost, Handel's Messiah, Michelangelo's David.
The list is endless.
Language and Literature
 Without Bible literacy, students are denied full access to their own
linguistic, literary, and artistic heritage. The goal is not simply to study
the Bible as literature, but to understand the Bible's unparalleled
influence on the whole Western tradition. The Hebrew Scriptures and the New
Testament were not crafted for artistic purposes; they have been (and
continue to be) regarded as sacred texts by millions of people of faith. As
such, they have exercised great influence on novelists, poets, artists, and
composers, as well as ordinary speakers. “It's hard to teach American
literature without Bible references,” points out one English teacher.6
Here is how another high school English teacher put it:
Today we discussed The Old Man and the Sea…when he carries the
mast, he falls, he lies spread out on the mast, it's just like Christ
crucified…. Most of the class didn't have any idea.… A Tale of Two
Cities—one man is sacrificing himself for another, just as Christ
sacrificed himself for mankind. Sidney Carton walks through the garden
before he decides just as Christ walked through the garden. I tell the
students, I'm not any particular religious persuasion at all. I'm not a
Christian. You just have to know the Bible.7
History, Law, and Politics
On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me
now. Because I've been to the mountaintop.… And I've looked over. And
I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want
you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised
Land.
The next day he was assassinated. It was one of the great, tragic, and
truly gripping moments in American history. To grasp its full significance,
students born twenty-five years or more after King's death must know more
than that Dr. King was a great civil rights leader. To understand Martin
Luther King, Jr.'s last public words, we have to know about the text that
inspired him. Without any knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures, King's
freighted references, “mountaintop” and “promised land,” become at best
vague rhetorical flourishes, at worst mere gibberish to 21st-century
American students.
The civil rights movement is but one example of the importance of a
background in the Bible. The Mayflower Compact; Abraham Lincoln's “House
Divided” speech; the temperance and the abolitionist movements; Harry
Truman's 1949 inaugural statement that “all men are created equal because
they are created in the image of God,” to give just a few examples—little of
America's historic public rhetoric or great reform movements can be fully
comprehended by those who do not know the Bible.
European history, too, from the legacy of the Roman Empire up through the
Crusades, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and the rise of the
nation-state, to the Pilgrim wanderings that led to America's founding, is
literally unintelligible without at least a basic working knowledge of the
Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament.
To understand is not always to endorse. The history of the public use of
the Bible in political rhetoric and reform movements poses important
intellectual questions about the relationship of church and state, an
ongoing debate in which the next generation of American citizens and leaders
will surely participate. We do not urge the study of the Bible as a simple
source of political legitimacy, but as one of the key texts whose publicly
debated meanings have shaped our past and reshape the present.
The Crisis of Biblical Illiteracy
 Until recently the importance of the Bible in a good education was widely
acknowledged and uncontroversial. Now, however, heritage, roots, and the
culture knowledge that the Bible represents are needlessly being lost. Why?
Too many Americans believe that it is illegal to teach about the Bible in
public schools.
One reason for this misconception has been confusion about a series of
Supreme Court decisions in the 1960s. In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that
public schools may not require devotional use of the Bible. In that same
decision, however, the Supreme Court explicitly acknowledged that academic
study of the Bible in public schools is constitutional, as part of a good
education. In his majority opinion to the court in Abington v. Schempp,
Justice Thomas Clark wrote:
It might well be said that one's education is not complete without a
study of…the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement
of civilization. Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of
the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a
secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the
First Amendment.
This decision banned devotional use of the Bible in the curriculum, but
not academic teaching about the Bible. Many educators failed to recognize
this distinction, however, and simply ceased teaching about the Bible
altogether. Those who did recognize the distinction could find few curricula
that presented the Bible in an academic manner.
The current public school curriculum, with its highly visible absence of
instruction about these core texts, assumes one of two things: either that
all American children are already well educated in Christian and Jewish
texts, or that knowledge of these books is unimportant to a good liberal
arts education. Neither assumption is true. To the first point, religious
instruction in and academic instruction about the Bible are not the same
things. Religious study of the Bible, for example, does not examine the role
and influence of these texts in American and European history, art,
literature, law, and politics. Furthermore, many American teens do not
receive religious instruction of any kind.8 Moreover, as
religious diversity in America increases, the rationale for high-quality,
academic instruction about the Bible becomes stronger, not weaker. Students
from non-Christian or non-Jewish backgrounds are less likely to have the
basic literacy about the Bible they need and deserve to fully engage
American history, arts, and letters.
The exclusion of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament from the
public school curriculum has unfortunate consequences, direct and indirect.
What we exclude from our children's education, the so-called “null
curriculum,” communicates an active message: either that the study of
religious texts and history is so dangerous and disruptive that a tolerant
society cannot include it, or that the Bible is not something educated
adults think is very important for children to know.
The Bible Literacy Project aims to change the frame of reference in the
public square by forcing the foes of teaching about the Bible to recognize
their argument for what it is: not a case for tolerance, neutrality, or good
scholarship, but the advocacy of ignorance and cultural illiteracy. However,
our story begins not with confrontation but with an amazingly successful new
effort at peacemaking. Working with the Freedom Forum's First Amendment
Center, the Project produced The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment
Guide, in which a highly diverse group of organizations managed to agree on
what the issues were—both with regard to the issues of legality and basic
fairness—for a school that chooses to include the Bible in its curriculum.
The National Education Association and the American Jewish Congress endorsed
the Guide, along with the National Association of Evangelicals, the
Christian Legal Society, and other religious, educational, and civil
liberties groups.9
The primary task now is to move beyond words, to action: To muster
support for a Bible literacy curriculum for public schools that is fair,
balanced, rigorous, and constitutional, accompanied by a textbook which will
harm no child's faith while leaving every teen knowledgeable about the
Bible. This Bible course has been reviewed by leading Bible literature
scholars, faith leaders, and educators to ensure its fairness and accuracy.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has agreed to defend, free of charge,
any school district sued for using our Bible curriculum in a manner
consistent with The Bible and Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide. This
applies to districts in which the teacher has taken one of the online
training courses found at www.bibleliteracy.org/training.
Research: The Bible Literacy Reports
The development of this course and its textbook began with research.
Along with the ordinary research that goes into any textbook development,
the Bible Literacy Project produced two research documents to confirm the
importance of academic knowledge of the Bible as a component of excellence
in education. The first of these studies, The Bible Literacy Report, was
released prior to the publication of the The Bible and Its Influence in
April of 2005. This study featured the responses of high school teachers and
high school students. The second study, Bible Literacy Report II, was
released in June of 2006. It featured the responses of university
professors.
The executive summaries of the two reports are reproduced here for your
convenience. The full text of both studies is available at
www.bibleliteracy.org.
 Bible Literacy Report
What do American students know about the Bible, and what do they need to
know in order to get a good education? This research project consists of two
parts:
(a) a qualitative research study of what the best high school English
teachers think their students need to know about the Bible, and
(b) the only recent nationally representative survey of American teens'
religious knowledge to uncover what American students currently know about
the Bible (and other religious texts).
The Qualitative Research Findings
In a diverse sample of high school English teachers in 10 states, 40 out
of 41 teachers said Bible knowledge confers a distinct educational advantage
on students. Ninety percent of high school English teachers said it was
important for both college-bound and “regular” students to be biblically
literate. An Illinois teacher stated, “I think from the standpoint of
academic success, it is imperative that college-bound students be literate.
For the others, I think it's important for them to understand their own
culture, just to be well-grounded citizens of the United States—to know
where the institutions and ideas come from.”
Conversely, many teachers reported that students in their English classes
who were not familiar with the Bible were disadvantaged. One California
teacher said, “Students who don't know the Bible are certainly at a
disadvantage. It's harder for them. They're not as familiar with it, and it
takes more time for them to understand what it is.” Teachers reported
students without Bible knowledge take more time to teach, appearing
“confused,” “stumped,” “clueless.”
These English teachers reported that among their students, Bible
illiteracy is common. The majority of high school English teachers in this
sample estimated that less than a fourth of their current students were
Bible literate. Only four of the thirty public schools in the study
(compared to all four private schools) offered a unit or course about the
Bible. Economically advantaged school districts in this sample were far more
likely to offer academic study of the Bible than less advantaged school
districts.
The Nationally Representative Gallup Survey: Bible Literacy Project
Analysis
This Gallup Survey is based on a nationally representative sample of
1,002 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, who were interviewed between
May 20 and June 27, 2004. It represents the first extensive, nationally
representative survey of the Bible and religious knowledge among American
teens in recent years.
The good news is that strong majorities of American teens recognize the
basic meaning of widely used Judeo-Christian terms such as “Easter,” “Adam
and Eve,” “Moses,” “The Golden Rule,” and “The Good Samaritan.”
However, substantial minorities lack even the most basic working
knowledge of the Bible. Almost one out of ten teens believes that Moses is
one of the twelve Apostles. About the same proportion, when asked what
Easter commemorates, or to identify Adam and Eve, respond “don't know.”
However, only a minority of American teens appears to be “Bible
literate,” reaching the level of knowledge similar to that defined by high
school English teachers as necessary to a good education. For example:
- Fewer than half of teens (49 percent) knew what happened at the
wedding at Cana (Jesus turned water into wine). Nearly one out of four
refused even to guess.
- Given a choice of four quotations from the Bible, almost two-thirds
of teens could not correctly identify a quotation from the Sermon on the
Mount.
- Similarly, less than a third of teens could correctly identify which
statement about David was true. (David tried to kill King Saul.)
One-quarter of teens believed that the statement “David was king of the
Jews” was false.
- Only 8 percent of teens in public schools in this sample reported
that their school offered an elective course on the Bible, and just one
out of four public school students (26 percent) said that a unit or
section on the Bible was offered in an English or social studies class.
The Bible Literacy Project analysis of the Gallup data concludes, “No
controversy among adults, however heated, should be considered an excuse for
leaving the next generation ignorant about a body of knowledge crucial to
understanding American art, literature, history, language, and culture.”
 Bible Literacy Report II
What do today's college students need to know about the Bible to
participate fully and equally in the courses taught in America's elite
colleges and universities?
This study surveyed 39 English professors at 34 top U.S. colleges and
universities to learn their assessment of how important Bible literacy is to
college-level study of English and American literature. What do incoming
freshmen in college-level English courses need to know about the Bible?
Almost without exception, the English professors who were surveyed at
major American colleges and universities see knowledge of the Bible as a
deeply important part of a good education. The virtual unanimity and depth
of their responses on this question are striking. The Bible is not only a
sacred scripture to millions of Americans, it is also arguably (as one
Northwestern professor stated) the “most influential text in all of Western
culture.”
For example, when asked to respond to the statement, “Regardless of a
person's faith, an educated person needs to know about the Bible,” no
professor disagreed; nine provided additional explanation. When asked, “Some
scholars say Western literature is steeped in references to the Bible. How
would you respond to that?” 38 of 39 English professors agreed—24 of them
strongly. When asked, “In your opinion, how important is it for students who
take your courses to be familiar with the Bible?” 38 of 39 professors said
it was important.
Overwhelmingly, professors in this survey indicated that a lack of basic
Bible literacy hampers students' ability to understand both classics and
contemporary work. Arduously “decoding” scripture references detracts from
absorbing and responding to great works of art, both ancient and modern.
At the same time, a number of professors expressed discomfort or
reservations with appearing to “take sides” in favor of the Bible in the
contemporary context. They did not wish to associate themselves with a
political movement around the Bible, or to seem to detract from the
importance of other aspects of a good education, including the value of
becoming knowledgeable about other world religions.
This report concludes that high schools should make basic Bible knowledge
part of their curriculum, especially for college preparatory students. Doing
so requires developing a variety of educational materials and curricula that
simultaneously (a) acknowledge the Bible's status as sacred scripture to
millions of Americans, (b) are fair to students of all faith traditions, and
(c) are of high academic quality.
Doing so will be an important part of meeting the next generation's
educational needs in an increasingly diverse population.
The First Amendment
 Although educators widely agree that study about religion is an
important part of a complete education and that learning about the Bible in
courses in literature or social studies is part of that study, there are
wide-ranging differences as to what approach should be taken. Knowledge of
biblical narratives and concepts contributes to the understanding of
literature, history, law, art, and contemporary society.
The courts--including the United States Supreme Court--have held that
public schools may teach students about the Bible as long as such teaching
is “presented objectively as part of a secular program of education”
(School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 1963). So before the
development of a high school course began, the Bible Literacy Project worked
with the First Amendment Center to create a comprehensive guide that could
be used both for the creation and the evaluation of Bible curriculum
resources for the public schools. The result of that work was The Bible
in Public Schools: A First Amendment Guide.
The Guide offers the following principles to help distinguish
between teaching about the Bible in public schools and religious
indoctrination. These statements should be accepted by anyone who would
institute a Bible course in the public school curriculum or by anyone who
would want to teach such a course. You can access the entire guide at by
clicking here
( ).
- The school's approach to religion is academic, not
devotional.
- The school may strive for student awareness of religions, but
should not press for student acceptance of any religion.
- The school may sponsor study about religion, but may not
sponsor the
practice of any religion.
- The school may expose students to a diversity of religious views,
but may not impose, discourage, or encourage any
particular view.
- The school may educate about all religions, but may not
promote or
denigrate any religion.
- The school may inform the student about various beliefs, but
should not seek to conform him or her to any particular belief.
When teaching about the Bible in public schools, teachers must understand
the important distinction between advocacy, indoctrination, proselytizing,
and the practice of religion--which is unconstitutional--and teaching about
religion that is objective, nonjudgmental, academic, neutral, balanced, and
fair--which is constitutional.
Teacher Attitude
 Teachers who are selected to teach Bible courses should be certified to
teach the subject matter in the public school system, and they should
receive training from qualified scholars before teaching the course. Bible
electives ought only to be offered when there are qualified teachers
available. The Bible and Its Influence is supported, therefore, by an
online teacher training program. (See
www.bibleliteracy.org/training.)
But training is only one component of teacher readiness for Bible
courses. At least as important is the fundamental attitude of such a
teacher. The essential attitude for you as a teacher of a Bible course is
undoubtedly an attitude of respect. That respect has to extend in several
directions:
- The Law of the Land: The teacher needs to respect the
Constitution and the interpretation of that Constitution down through
generations. Today's society is diverse and complex, and so to follow
the spirit and the letter of the law that has separated church and state
is critical if the course is to be successful.
- Divergent Opinion: The teacher needs an attitude of respect
for diversity. Not everyone sees the teaching of the Bible in public
schools as a good. That viewpoint deserves respect as well. Respect will
lead the teacher never to belittle or take lightly the different
viewpoints and divergence of opinion that may be shown during the
course. The teacher with a respect for differences of opinion will be
able to give evenhanded access to an important book.
- Faith Traditions: It is quite likely that represented in your
classroom will be a diversity of faith traditions that also deserves the
attitude of respect. The Bible is, after all, a sacred text for many. It
is the lesson of history that a lack of respect for differing faith
traditions and approaches to the Bible helped remove the Bible from the
classroom in the first place. The teacher needs to manifest respect for
the various faith traditions--Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical,
Orthodox, other world religions, or no formal faith tradition at all.
- The Text: It is of great importance that the teacher of this
course show respect for the text itself. On the one hand, one with such
respect would not disparage the Bible or treat its content lightly. On
the other hand, that same respect will help the teacher avoid uncritical
adulation that can be an obstacle to objectivity about the text.
- Biblical Scholarship: The teacher of this course needs to
show respect for the discipline of biblical scholarship and biblical
criticism, for the intensive efforts of archaeologists, linguists,
historians, and theologians. It is important for the teacher to show
appreciation for scholarly tradition.
- Students: Most of all, the teacher in this course needs to
have respect for the students themselves in order to give them a
challenging, basic, and complete course on the Bible that will be of
help to them in their academic lives.
Program Components
 The Bible and Its Influence is composed of six basic components.
The first three are essential for teaching the course. The other three offer
support, assessment, and enrichment. Here is a brief snapshot of each
component in the program.
1. The Bible
The primary resource for this course is the Bible itself. To offer an
academic course on the Bible without using the text itself would be like
offering a course on Shakespeare or Melville or Hawthorne without letting
the students confront the full range of the plays or novels. Each student in
the course should have his or her own Bible to use. As far as version or
translation is concerned, the students should be able to use a translation
that is part of their family or faith tradition. Jewish students who use the
Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, will also need a copy of the New Testament.
2. The Student Edition
Even though the Bible is the primary text, the vehicle for conveying the
content of the course is the student edition. The text covers the entire
Bible and conveys the biblical information and guides the biblical reading.
The student edition also frames the classroom discussions in
constitutionally acceptable ways. The student edition is rich in
illustration and filled with features that show the Bible's influence in all
the various aspects of life and culture. Each student in the course needs
free access to the student edition. The student edition is not optional.
3. The Teacher's Edition
The third essential component of the course is the teacher's edition.
This edition contains all the information, lesson plans, background, and
classroom scripts needed to effectively and successfully teach the course.
It is designed to provide everything you need in one convenient volume. At
the same time, the teacher's edition is designed with ease of use in mind.
4. The Web Site
The Bible and Its Influence is supported by the Web site of the
Bible Literacy Project (www.bibleliteracy.org/teachers).
At this site, the teacher will find the full text of both Bible literacy
reports and the
First Amendment Guide. In the future, the Web site will post ideas,
additional lesson strategies, and other resources that will enhance and
supplement the teaching of the course.
5. Online Tests
The Web site also provides online tests for The Bible and Its
Influence. To access these tests contact Sarah Jenislawski for the entry
password to the registration system at
sarah@bibleliteracy.org.
6. Online Teacher Training
One unique offering of The Bible and Its Influence is online
teacher training. These courses for credit and for continuing education
units have been developed jointly with the Bible Literacy Project and the
College of Education of Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. Online
courses will be available several times a year. Three price and content
structures are available: a modestly priced course that gives a certificate
of completion, a mid-price course for continuing education units, and a
full-price course for graduate-level credit. It was developed around The
Bible and Its Influence under the direction of Dr. Marie Wachlin, and it
features the direct instruction of nine of the finest scholars in the field
of English literature, including Robert Alter, Ph.D., Professor of Hebrew
and Comparative Literature at U.C. Berkeley; Leland Ryken, Ph.D., Clyde S.
Kilby Professor of English at Wheaton College, IL; and Tremper Longman,
Ph.D. (Yale), Professor of English at Westmont College, CA.
See
www.bibleliteracy.org/training for details.
Student Edition Features
 The first thing you notice about the student edition is the
lavishness of its presentation. A central feature of the text is a
program of illustration that provides the visual learner with almost
instant recognition of the impact the Bible has had on all aspects of
Western culture. The art and illustration program is taken almost
exclusively from examples of fine art, folk art, and some photography.
All the illustration is captioned to make even the illustration program
a learning opportunity.
The student edition is divided into two discrete sections. The first
section covers the Hebrew Scriptures and is set up in the order of the
Jewish Bible rather than in the traditional sequence of books found in
Christian Bibles. The textbook is constructed on a strong linear and
narrative base that provides a guided reading of virtually the entire
Bible--Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. One of the more difficult
aspects of studying the Bible is learning how the Bible is
structured—basically, how the Bible works. The basic content of the
student edition is also designed to give the students a strong,
challenging, and coherent reading experience along with their reading of
the actual Bible.
A Word about Translations: One of the more important decisions
in the development of the student edition was which translations to use.
Not every translation is looked upon favorably by all traditions. To use
only one translation of the Bible throughout the student edition would
be to exclude many segments of the public school community. A major
priority in the development of the student edition was not to exclude
anyone. After careful consultation, three translations were chosen for
reproduction in the student edition: The King James Version, the New
Revised Standard Version, and the Jewish Bible--the Tanakh. The King
James Version is used for those familiar passages that are most
recognizable in that translation. The New Revised Standard Version was
chosen for its readability and for its broad interdenominational
acceptance. The Tanakh was chosen for the majesty of its prose and its
poetry and to provide a point of reference and identification for the
Jewish participants in the course.
The Structure of the Student Edition
 The following list will provide you with a guided tour of the structural
elements of the student edition.
- Unit Openers: The unit openers set the tone for the units.
There are fourteen units in all. The openers consist of a scene-setting
passage and a set of unit learning objectives.
- Chapter Openers: Each chapter is opened with four devices:
- Key Biblical Texts: Most chapters begin by listing Bible
passages that may be assigned to the students beforehand.
- Discover: What students can expect to learn from the
chapter.
- Get to Know: Biblical characters or events that will be
covered in the chapter.
- Consider: A thoughtful discussion question to link the
content of the chapter with the experiences of the students.
- Discussion Questions: Scattered throughout the text are thought
questions that help the students exercise higher level thinking skills.
- Projects: At the end of each chapter are projects that will
help provide active learning opportunities for the class. These projects
may be worked on by individuals, with a partner, or in small groups.
- Unit Features: At the end of each unit is a special longer
feature. These features highlight some special areas of high interest or
important content. They are meant to provide punctuation to the regular
routine of the chapters. The features include material on the Bible and
Shakespeare, the formation of modern Israel, biblical allusions, literary
genres, and much more.
- Glossary: The development of vocabulary is a strong strand
throughout the text. Important and technical words first appear in
boldface. The words are defined in context, and they appear again in the
glossary.
- Index: There is also a complete and comprehensive index to
the student edition.
Special Features
 The student edition also provides a wide array of special features to
enhance the learning experience. These features appear throughout the
textbook. Each of them provides connections to dramatize the influence the
Bible has had over the centuries.
- In Your Journal: This feature guides the students in
personalizing their learning experience by keeping a record of their
reactions and discoveries.
- The Bible in Literature: This feature demonstrates the influence
the Bible has had in the form and content of great literature down through
the centuries and right up to contemporary times.
- The Bible as Literature: This feature examines the literary
elements in the Bible itself.
- The Bible in History: This feature demonstrates specific
historical events, trends, developments, and movements that affected the use
of the Bible or were affected by the Bible.
- Cultural Connections: This feature explores how the Bible has
influenced different elements of culture—music, art, theater,
architecture, history, public policy, ceremonies and rituals, and the
like.
- Into Everyday Language: This feature highlights the effect that
translations of the Bible have had on the formation of the language and upon
common speech.
- Look It Up: Occasionally, the students are given some
specific research and reading assignments that entail looking up and
studying several related passages.
- Maps, Charts, and Graphs: Throughout the student edition, there
is extensive use of text and graphic devices to communicate the content and
to organize the learning.
The illustration, structure, organization, and text features in the
student edition are all designed to provide an optimum learning opportunity.
They provide a richness that will engage the students, challenge them, and
leave a lasting impression.
Teacher's Edition Features
 The entire structure of the teacher's edition of The Bible and
Its Influence is designed for maximizing the learning experience,
for engaging the students in a constant dialogue throughout the
class period, and to challenge and stretch the students as well. The
teacher's edition is also designed to minimize the need for
extensive teacher preparation by providing sufficient and even
extensive background information. There is scant need for outside
resources.
Your teacher's edition is both a guide and a script. You may use
the lesson plans as suggestions or you may follow them exactly as
they are written. The advantage of following the plan closely is a
sense of security—knowledge that the material as presented has been
reviewed both for its constitutionality and for its effectiveness.
The teacher's edition is yours to customize and adapt. Wherever
possible some “white space” remains on the pages so that you can
record your adaptations right in your book.
Because the student text is narrative and linear in structure,
the lessons in the teacher's edition are also linear. There are
devices to begin the lessons and devices to close them, but between
these two bookends, the lesson plan is driven by the student text.
In general, the teacher's content is presented page by page and in
the sequence that elements are presented on the student page.
Your teacher's edition contains the entire student edition. The
teaching pages are presented in reduced form with a wraparound
lesson plan. The glossary and the index to the student edition are
presented full-size. Care has been taken in the design to make the
reduced student pages clear and readable.
The Structure of the Teacher's Edition
 The architecture of the teacher's edition follows that of the
student edition. The following list will provide you with a guided
tour of the structural elements of the teacher's edition:
- The Unit Opener: The unit opening spread can be used
as a brief introduction to each unit. It provides a brief script
for setting up the unit content. In addition, the unit opener
provides several resources for you:
- Bibliography: A list of readings for the unit in general
and for each chapter in the unit
- Cultural Connections: A quick reference to the
connections in each unit to literature, art, music, theater,
history, popular culture, and the like
- Vocabulary Preview: A list of the words or terms to be
introduced in the unit
- The Chapters: Each chapter is a self-contained lesson
designed to be covered in a single class period, and the lesson
plans contain the following consistent elements:
- Lesson Objectives: These are usually linked to the
“Discover” statements in the student edition and are stated
in terms of learning outcomes.
- Biblical Information: Throughout the chapters there is
background on the biblical material being presented. It is
presented only when needed, and it is always the first
element on the teacher page even when the background refers
to elements later on the page.
- Working with the Text: This element in the chapter
structure is the propeller for the lesson. It guides the
reading of the text, provides comprehension dialogue,
suggests courses for discussion, and prioritizes the content
as you go through the lesson. Within this element there are
three types of text: Directions, notes, and general
information are in Roman type. Direct scripting is presented
in boldface type. Possible student responses and answer keys
are presented in italics in color.
- Visual Learning: Because the illustration program is an
essential component of the book's impact, the visuals are
integrated into the lesson by means of this device. This
element focuses on the pictures themselves and provides
suggestions for discussion and observation.
- Vocabulary: Throughout the chapters there is a
vocabulary development strand. In most cases this element
expands simple definitions into items of interest.
- Features: Each feature in the student edition has a
corresponding script in the teacher's edition—every map,
chart, Cultural Connection, The Bible in Literature, Into
Everyday Language, In Your Journal, etc., is highlighted and
handled in the lesson plan.
- Links: Throughout the lesson plans you will discover
links to the background pages described below.
- Across the Curriculum: When dictated by the content,
there are extension activities that connect the material in
the chapter to other subjects in the curriculum—math,
science, music, art, social studies, language arts, and so
forth.
- Projects: There are minimal and simple suggestions for
the projects at the end of the chapter.
- Recall: At the end of each chapter there is a review of
content that is divided into two parts. The first part
provides content questions, and the second part provides
suggested responses.
- Unit Features: As mentioned in the structure of the
student edition, the features at the end of each unit are
treated as special high-interest lessons. Within the teacher's
edition, these features have a different structure:
- Introduction: A setup for the discussion of the feature
- Biblical Information: Background essential to the
discussion (Note: When this background is not specifically
biblical, it is labeled simply “Information.”)
- Discussion Starters: Helps and hints for initiating and
sustaining a classroom discussion of the material
- Further Study: Suggestions for activities, research, or
projects that extend the experience of the feature
- Background Pages: A unique teacher tool in The
Bible and Its Influence--Teacher's Edition is the Background
Page. For each chapter and unit feature in the course, there is
a single corresponding page (located after the glossary). On
each Background Page you will find supporting information on
literature, culture, history, art, music, and the like. You will
find biographical information on artists and authors. These
pages are a rich resource that will help you respond to student
questions and to add interesting elements to your introduction
of topics as they occur in the chapters. For ease of use, each
chapter has no more than a single Background Page. It is a good
idea to keep a “traveling” marker in the B-page section so that
you are always just one flip away from your background material.
Summary
Although there is a wealth of material in your teacher's
edition—possibly more than you will ever need—there is one element
missing. That element is you. There is no way to substitute for your
skill, your sense of respect, your fairness, and your ability to
provide a strong academic focus on the Bible and on its cultural
impact.
Teaching the Course
 The Bible and Its Influence is designed to cover the
entire Bible in either a full-year or one-semester course. Each
chapter is considered a full lesson. The projects and features
provide opportunities for special sessions and discussions. However,
there is a great deal of flexibility for teaching the course. First
of all, it is not necessary that every chapter be covered in class
or that each chapter be given equal weight. However, for the most
effective use of this textbook, some attempt ought to be made to
show the entire arc of the Bible—both Hebrew Scriptures and the New
Testament.
Planning and Pacing
There are forty chapters and fourteen features in the course. If
all the material is used, this amounts to a total of fifty-four
sessions without factoring in the presentation of research and
artwork that results from the various projects. This wealth of
material demands a good planning calendar for the course—one that
can be maintained—in order to avoid the frustration for both you and
your students of ending the course with loose ends dangling.
- Text Driven: The individual chapters are driven by
the text and by the clock. Most of the lessons are eight pages
in length, a few are six pages, and two run longer. As far as
lesson pacing is concerned, it is not necessary to read every
word of every chapter in class.
- Assign the Reading: One of the greatest aids to
successful lesson pacing will be the assigning of reading in
advance of the class. The reading assignments should include
both the Key Biblical Texts and the chapter itself. If the
students have read the material in advance, pacing will be a
breeze. However, in the real world, it will be necessary to
handle a certain amount of the reading load within the teaching
session. Even though you will be given suggestions, it will be
up to you to choose how best to cover the extensive reading
material.
- Follow the Path: The Working with the Text notes in
your lesson plan provide you with a path through the lesson and
will help with the pacing. Start with the path, and as you
develop your own style and materials, you can feel free to
wander away from the path.
- Student Interest and Engagement: Along the path you
will discover that some of the features command more student
attention and enthusiasm. Student engagement trumps covering
every inch of the text. For a successful and dynamic experience
in presenting the Bible, be ready to follow student interest.
This is a survey course, not a mastery course. The end product
of your planning, pacing, and teaching will be for your class to
have a solid background in the Bible that will be of assistance
to them in their other studies, that will enhance their own
writing and communication, and that will help them understand
and interpret the use of the Bible in society in general. You
are looking for biblical literacy and not biblical scholarship
or proficiency.
- Suggested Timing: Although there is no pacing clock
or assigned minutes for each section in a chapter, you can
create your own pacing by keeping the setup of the chapter to
ten minutes or less. You can keep the Recall section of the
chapter to five to seven minutes (or it can be skipped
altogether—especially if you use the testing program). Then,
create for yourself a forty-minute arc to cover the material in
the chapter.
- No Lectures: Avoid the lecture approach. Although
your own training, familiarity, and comfort with the material
are important, stick closely to the text. As much as possible
make each session a dialogue that includes the material, you,
and your students. Be aware that it is quite easy to slip into
“Sunday school mode” with biblical material. In a lecture
approach, it is also easy to deviate into a critical or
analytical mode that parses and delineates rather than
discovers, connects, and reacts.
 Dialogue and Exchange: Each chapter should provide
ample opportunity for you and your students to talk about the
text and its implications. In that dialogue, you can demand
adherence to certain rules from the class. Although most of the
rules of dialogue have their source in best practices and common
sense, because of the nature of the book you are studying, such
rules need to be discussed and in place when the class begins:
- Respect: Each student should be willing to
respect the opinions and positions of every other student.
- Openness: Most students will be in this class
because they have chosen to be there. Nonetheless, the rule
of openness applies. The students should exhibit an open
mind to this academic study of the Bible. The study is a
demanding one, and intellectual openness will help everyone
succeed.
- Participation: Because of the density of the text
and the far-reaching influences of the Bible, the course
touches upon most of the students' previous learning
experience. The best way for all to share in that experience
is for everyone to participate actively.
- No Filibustering: The flip side of participation
is the filibuster—one student dominating the discussion
without regard for the ideas and sensitivities of the
others. You can enforce the rule against filibustering at
any time.
- Preparation: The more prepared the students are,
the more easily the material will be covered. All students
should understand the importance of preparation for the
classes. This preparation involves doing the assigned
reading from the Bible and from the text, marshalling
questions and responses to questions, and completing
assignments and projects on time.
- Honesty: A correlative to respect and openness is
honesty. Every student has the right to expect honesty of
the others and the obligation to be honest with the others
as well.
Remember that you will have in your class students
with
different religious backgrounds, or perhaps no
religious background at all. All should feel welcome, safe, and
secure in this course. You cannot supply those feelings all by
yourself. You and your students need to work together on this
atmosphere.
- Small-Group Discussions: Whenever possible, work in
small groups for discussions, conversations, readings, and the
like. Small-group discussions can allow for greater
participation. These small-group activities can also be a way of
parceling out material and reviewing assignments. Remind the
students that all the rules that apply to the class as a whole
will apply in small-group learning opportunities.
 Scheduling
Full-Year Course
The full-year course is the model on which The Bible and Its
Influence was developed. The course as designed spans fifty-four
sessions. Some sessions can be expanded and some contracted. There
are an equal number of chapters for each of two
semesters—twenty-seven sessions per semester. In most cases, this
scheduling will allow for splitting the longer or more complicated
chapters, for testing sessions, for some active learning sessions
(projects and reports), and the like. In short, a full-year course
provides few scheduling challenges.
One-Semester Course
If The Bible and Its Influence is offered only as a
one-semester course, some advanced planning is necessary. It is not
recommended that only the Hebrew Scriptures be taught. To give an
overview of the Bible, it is important that both the Hebrew
Scriptures and the New Testament be covered. However, as can be seen
in the sample scheduling chart, the New Testament material can be
abridged. The sample chart presumes a twelve-week semester with
three class periods per week. The material is assigned to the week,
and the division among the three classes during that week is
somewhat flexible.
| Sample Semester Course |
| Week |
Material to Be Covered |
| 1
|
Units
One and Two: Cover the Unit One feature on Biblical
Allusions as part of one class and assign the Milton
feature as homework. |
| 2
|
Unit
Three, including the Abraham and Isaac feature. |
| 3 |
Unit Four, including the Emancipation feature. |
| 4
|
Units
Five and Six: Collapse Chapters 10 and 11 into one
session and assign the feature. Give a full class to the
major prophets (Chapter 12). Combine the minor prophets
with the unit feature, Thirst for Justice. |
| 5
|
Unit
Seven: Chapters 14–17—give an entire class to Job
(Chapter 17). |
| 6
|
Unit
Seven: Chapters 18–20 and the Shakespeare feature. |
| 7
|
Unit
Eight and its feature, which reviews the literary genres
of the Bible. |
| 8
|
Unit
Nine on the Gospels: Concentrate on Chapters 24 and 25
and the feature on the two parables. |
| 9
|
Unit Ten
and its feature, A Death with Meaning. |
| 10
|
Unit
Eleven: Concentrate on Chapters 31 and 32—and choose
either the feature on Augustine or the feature on the
legacy of the Reformation at the end of Unit Twelve.
(Note: Skip Unit Twelve or assign its reading as
homework.) |
| 11
|
Unit
Thirteen and its feature. (Note: Revelation usually
engenders a great deal of student interest.) |
| 12
|
Use Unit
Fourteen (Epilogue) as an opportunity for review,
project reports, testing, and the like. Use the last
class for the unit feature and for student evaluation of
the class. |
Block Scheduling
Many schools may offer their electives and advance placement
courses as part of block scheduling. Such scheduling is a challenge
for teaching The Bible and Its Influence. If you are faced
with block scheduling, much of the success of your course will be
based on the assignment of reading and on efficient use of classroom
time. The sample block schedule presumes that there are fourteen
ninety-minute sessions. Obviously, no two block scheduling
situations are exactly the same, but the sample will give you an
idea on how to choose material.
| Sample Semester Course |
| Week |
Material to Be Covered |
| 1 |
Unit
One: Set up the parameters of the class with the
students, cover the material in the unit, and use the
Unit One feature as the last 15–20 minutes of the class.
Assign: Projects and Units Two and Three. |
| 2 |
Units
Two and Three: Concentrate on Chapters 3 and 5. Use the
Unit Three feature as a small-group activity. Assign:
Projects and Unit Four. |
| 3 |
Unit
Four: Concentrate on Chapters 7 and 8 and the Unit Four
feature on Emancipation. Assign: Projects and Unit Five. |
| 4 |
Unit
Five: Use the feature Exile and Return to bring the
material into the students' current experiences. Assign:
Projects and Unit Six. |
| 5 |
Unit
Six: Chapter 12 is a longer chapter. If necessary, focus
on that chapter alone. The feature is important and
makes a good small-group discussion. Assign: Projects
and Unit Seven, Chapters 14–17. |
| 6 |
Unit
Seven, Chapters 14–17: Concentrate on Chapters 14 and
17. Assign: Unit Seven, Chapters 18–20, and the
Shakespeare feature. |
| 7 |
Unit
Seven, Chapters 18–20: Concentrate on either Chapter 18
or Chapter 19. Be sure to save sufficient time for the
Shakespeare feature. Assign: Unit Eight and its feature. |
| 8 |
Unit
Eight: Concentrate on Chapters 21 and 23. The feature
provides a very good review of literary genres and
should not be skipped. Assign: Unit Nine and its
feature. |
| 9 |
Unit
Nine: Concentrate on Chapters 24 and 25. The feature is
good as a small-group activity with the visual component
discussed by the whole class together. Assign: Unit Ten
and its feature. |
| 10 |
Unit
Ten: Concentrate on Chapters 28 and 30. The feature is a
good whole-class activity—especially with its potential
for dramatization. Assign: Unit Eleven and its feature. |
| 11 |
Unit
Eleven: Concentrate on Chapters 31 and 32. Assign: Unit
Twelve and its feature. Block 12 is also a good time to
collect projects and written assignments. |
| 12 |
Unit
Twelve: This is a fairly short unit, but be sure to
collect outstanding assignments. Elements of the
projects and assignments can be used in block 14.
Assign: Unit Thirteen and its feature. |
| 13 |
Unit
Thirteen: Concentrate on Chapter 37 and the feature on
Dante. Assign: Unit Fourteen and its feature. |
| 14 |
Use this
block as a general review (much of Chapter 40 is a
review), time for testing, and the sharing of project
results. Be sure to give the students an opportunity to
evaluate the course. |
Summary and Conclusion
To summarize the value of The Bible and Its Influence,
here are just a few of many personal endorsements and comments the
textbook has received from scholars around the country. As you teach
this course, realize that you are providing intellectual and
academic access to a book that is foundational for almost all of
Western civilization. Enjoy the experience of sharing this exciting
book with your students. Take pride as well in the fact that you are
not only providing them with the knowledge of an important work, but
also that you are providing them with a distinct educational
advantage.
The Bible and Its Influence is an undisputed triumph of
scholarship and presentation. The achievement is breathtaking. The
Hebrew Scriptures unit raised the bar very high, and I was a priori
a little skeptical about whether you could make the New Testament
genuinely literary in nature. I actually ended up liking the NT unit
better than the OT one. If virtue is its own reward, so is
excellence. The material is excellent.
Leland Ryken, Ph.D.
Clyde S. Kilby Professor of
English
Wheaton College, IL
The volume is well done. I was quite taken with the abundance of
supplementary materials included in the text—the artwork (highly
variegated and well-chosen), the insets about the Bible in
subsequent literature, the Bible in political life, etc. All this I
think is likely to help students see concretely how the Bible is not
just a set of ancient documents or something confined to pulpit and
Sunday school, but a series of powerful writings that have had, and
continue to have, profound effects on a whole range of our cultural
institutions and on the way we think about the world.
Robert Alter, Ph.D.
Professor of Hebrew and Comparative
Literature
University of California at Berkeley
In The Bible and Its Influence, the Bible Literacy Project
has produced an outstanding textbook that will both encourage
literacy and open students' minds to the significant role the Bible
has played in shaping our modern civilization. With excellent
scholarship, it provides a broad-based curriculum that explores the
history, culture, and content of the entire Bible and demonstrates
the value and relevance of biblical literacy for today.
Leith Anderson
President
National Association of
Evangelicals
It is, on the whole, an excellent job. It will serve as an
excellent and evenhanded introduction to the Bible. Without
question, it can serve as the basis for a constitutional course
about the Bible in the nation's public schools. It is therefore a
signal achievement.
Marc D. Stern
General Counsel
American Jewish
Congress
Familiarity with the literary allusions of the Jewish and
Christian scriptures has been the classical mark of a well-educated
person in Western society. The Bible Literacy Project's textbook,
solidly researched and professionally written, enables those
enrolled in our nation's public schools to savor that heritage in a
way which respects religious freedom and prepares for the rigors of
the very best of university education in the arts and sciences. I am
pleased to endorse this effort wholeheartedly.
Richard Sklba, S.S.L., S.T.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Chair of the Board of
Trustees for the Catholic Biblical Association
It is a pleasure to recommend the textbook produced by the Bible
Literacy Project. This book splendidly illustrates the importance of
the Bible for understanding Western culture. It does so in a way
that is respectful towards Jewish and Christian tradition and that
also appreciates the light shed on the Bible by modern historical
study. It takes an ecumenical approach that avoids confessionalism
but is appreciative of the positive role that the Bible can play in
our society. It is an excellent illustration of the way the Bible
can and should be taught in American public schools.
John Collins, Ph.D.
Holmes Professor of Old Testament
Criticism and Interpretation
Yale Divinity School
Let me say how impressed I am by this. It is clear that much hard
work and good scholarship have gone into the text. The instructional
design is excellent. This promises to be an outstanding resource for
public schools.
Charles C. Haynes, Ph.D.
Senior Scholar
First
Amendment Center
Arlington, Virginia
To be considered fully literate in the arts and letters of
Western culture, one needs to know the Hebrew Bible, one of the
cornerstones of this culture. This volume provides students with the
necessary tools to attain such literacy.
Ellen Frankel, Ph.D.
CEO and Editor-in-Chief
The
Jewish Publication Society
This text is a feast for the mind, the eye, and the heart.
Instructive, beautiful, and engaging, it promises to keep the
seminal works of the Western tradition alive for generations of
young people.
Amy A. Kass, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer in the Humanities at
the University of Chicago
Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute
The influence of the Bible on Western culture in every
respect—arts and literature, politics and justice—is immeasurable.
Thanks to this volume, students can begin to get some sense of the
range of that influence. Despite the sensitivity of the subject
matter, this volume succeeds in being admirably balanced and fair,
and yet accords full respect to sincere religious faith. Too long
the Bible has been selectively ignored by educators afraid of giving
offense. This volume makes it possible to once again bring into the
classroom the book that has had the single greatest impact on
Western civilization.
Frederica Mathewes-Green, M.A.
Author and Commentator
No piece of Western literature has had the culture-shaping impact
of the Bible. Knowledge of its genres, metaphors, and content is
fundamental to understanding literature, music, art, and politics.
The pleasing format, the engaging style, and the compelling and
accurate content of this textbook will provide students with the
necessary information to become competent and insightful readers of
culture and society.
Tremper Longman III, Ph.D.
Robert H. Gundry Professor
of Biblical Studies
Westmont College
The informational content, accuracy, exposition, illustrations,
and tone are all extremely well done, and I congratulate you on a
highly accurate and readable presentation.
Peter Lillback, Ph.D.
President
Westminster
Theological Seminary
1 This article is reprinted from the Bible
Literacy Project Web site,
www.bibleliteracy.org, © 2005.
2 A. M. Juhasz and L. R. Wilson, 1986. Should
Students Be Well Read or Should They Read Well? NASSP Bulletin 70(488): 78–83.
3 Marie Goughnour Wachlin, 1997. The Place of
Bible Literature in Public High School English Classes, Research in the Teaching
of English 31(1): 7–49.
4 See, for example, Warren A. Nord, 1995.
Religion and American Education: Rethinking a National Dilemma (Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press).
5 Marie Goughnour Wachlin, 1993. The Place of
Bible Literature in Public High School English Classes, Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Oregon. Available from University Microfilms International, Ann
Arbor, MI.
6 Wachlin, 1997.
7 Marie Goughnour Wachlin, 1998. “The Bible: Why
We Need to Teach It; How Some Do,” English Journal, March: 31–36.
8 In any given week, 49 percent of teens attend
religious services (church, synagogue, mosque, etc.). Twenty-four percent of
American teens say they never read the Bible. George H. Gallup, Jr., The
Spiritual Life of Young Americans: Approaching the Year 2000 (Princeton, NJ: The
George H. Gallup International Institute): 8–15.
9 The Bible and Public Schools: A First
Amendment Guide, 1999 (New York: The Bible Literacy Project and the
First Amendment Center). The Guide has been endorsed by the American
Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of
Teachers, the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress,
the Anti-Defamation League, the Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs,
the Christian Educators Association International, the Christian Legal
Society, the Council on Islamic Education, the National Association of
Evangelicals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals,
the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., the National
Council for Social Studies, the National Education Association, the
National School Boards Association, the People for the American Way
Foundation, the National Bible Association, and the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations.
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