About a week ago, news surfaced that a suburban district of Oklahoma voted to adopt a public-school curriculum prepared by the Museum of the Bible as a study guide to art, literature, and archaeology. That, of course, raised fears about religious incursion and proselytizing in public schools, but the Bible folks assured everyone that this would not take place. From the San Jose Mercury-News:

The Mustang School Board in suburban Oklahoma City voted this month to place the Museum of the Bible’s curriculum in its schools as an elective for a one-year trial after being assured that the intent is not to proselytize but to use the Bible to explain key principles in the arts and sciences.

That’s not proselytizing? Then why use the Bible?

What was the school board thinking? Did they really think that Christians wouldn’t use this opportunity to spread the Good News? (More likely, they wanted this to happen.) The curriculum is both supported and promoted by Steve Green, president of the Christian Hobby Lobby chain of stores—the chain that didn’t want its employees covered by Obamacare because they had religious objections to the plan’s birth-control provisions. (Meanwhile, it’s been discovered that Hobby Lobby’s own 401k plan invests in companies that produce birth control devices and contraceptive pills. Beam in their eye?)

And, of course, the Mustang school board certainly must have reviewed the material. You don’t adopt something without looking at it. The Associated Press did, too, and descried some disturbing things that were just reported(my emphasis):

While the course does explain the inspiration behind famous works of art and holds a prism to historical events, it also endorses behavior for religious reasons and implies that bad things happen as a direct result of disregarding God’s rules. . . .”This is not about a denomination, or a religion, it’s about a book,” Green told Mustang school board members last November. “We will not try to go down denominational, religious-type roads.” Among the topics covered by the curriculum are the role of religion in early America, discussing the New World as a haven for those seeking to escape religious persecution. It also talks about the role of religion in art, citing the role of patrons such as the Catholic church and wealthy families during the Renaissance. The book also uses popular culture, mentioning songs written by U2 that it says are based in the Psalms, to illustrate the Bible’s modern relevance. It does not name specific compositions. From the outset, the book describes God as eternal, “faithful and good,” “full of love” and “an ever-present help in times of trouble.” “The first pages of the Bible spotlight God’s desire for justice and a just world,” the second chapter says, but adds, “When humanity ignores or disobeys his rules, it has to suffer the consequences.” The course also says people should rest on the Sabbath because God did so after six days of creation. Green’s stores, following the same principle, are closed on Sunday.

The school board, in a masterpiece of dissimulation, defends the curriculum:

The superintendent of Mustang schools, Sean McDaniel, said if the board believed the curriculum crossed a line it wouldn’t have approved the course. “We’re not asking kids to believe the stories,” McDaniel said. “This is a purely academic endeavor. If it turns into something beyond that, either we will correct it or we will get rid of it.”

Well, it’s too late: it’s already “turned into something beyond that.” But, thank Ceiling Cat, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) is on the case:

Andrew Seidel, a lawyer with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, wrote to the Mustang district this week complaining that “negative aspects” of God, such as jealousy or punishing children for the actions of their parents, are not mentioned in the course. The book phrases contradictory questions and answers — such as references to the Israelites being slaves — in ways designed to favor Christianity, Seidel said. He said it also poses Christian thought as rhetorical questions, such as asking, “How do we know that the Bible’s historical narratives are reliable?” rather than, “Is the Bible historically accurate?”

Welcome to America, where Christians just can’t keep their grubby hands, and their faith, out of the public schools. Isn’t indoctrinating kids in church, or in their homes, enough for them? Apparently not, for, like many who think they’re in possession of the Absolute Truth as well its moral dicta, they have a duty to missionize.

I have a feeling this curriculum won’t last long.

h/t: Mark

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By the way, if you aren’t a member of the FFRF, I’d urge you to consider joining. They’re this website’s Official Secular Organization™ because they actually get stuff done instead of making a lot of noise but accomplishing little, as many such organizations seem to do. And they don’t get embroiled in internet drama. You can join here; it’s only $40 a year and the monthly newspaper is worth that by itself.