Episcopal rector: Which Bible will we put in Idaho classrooms? They aren’t the same | Opinion

Apparently, the cure for every Idaho school’s challenges is found in just reading aloud from the Bible, according to the Idaho Family Policy Center. No instruction, no commentary needed; the simple act of reading every single passage of the Bible aloud will magically cure every societal ill caused by Idaho’s perennial failure to fund and support public education for all students.

As our children hear the wonderful stories in the Book of Judges, I’m sure they’ll be deeply inspired! Who doesn’t love to read about Jephthah sacrificing his young daughter to repay a vow to God for giving him victory over his enemies (Judges 11), or the story of the Levite dismembering his concubine after she’s assaulted and sending her body parts throughout the twelve tribes of Israel (Judges 19)? This would remind young women that men are some of the most dangerous people they’ll meet, including fathers and boyfriends.

As children hear Jesus’ admonitions to “go and sell all that you own and give it to the poor” (without any work requirement!) and to love your neighbor as yourself (without checking their citizenship!), our children will learn that a Christian nation would take care of every single person from birth to old age and would not fixate on acquiring wealth as the only worthwhile goal of life. Surely no nation would pursue wealth and power as its primary goals, for that would be met with condemnation as Babylon in the Book of Revelation, chapter 13! And no nation would want to run afoul of the words of the prophets that consistently condemn those who oppress the poor and defraud their workers!

And teaching children that might does not make right! Oh, the wisdom they’ll gain from Daniel, chapter 3, when the political leader sets up a golden statue and demands worship and adoration, and Daniel refuses to bow down! Imagine that – not making a politician the center of your life!

And Romans, chapter 13, will boost our civic life! It will teach our children that authority is to be obeyed – such as non-discrimination laws and laws to protect the environment! – and it will also teach them to gladly pay their taxes! What a lesson in civic responsibility! Romans 13 8-10 would make a good companion to all the posts of the Ten Commandments, too: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” Love sure isn’t “woke”! Or so I’m told.

But I’m also aware that not every Christian tradition uses the same texts in their Bibles. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians have other texts in the Old Testament that are not included in more Protestant Bibles, such as Tobit, Baruch or Judith; would we want to deprive our students of a wonderful story where a woman single-handedly stops an invading army by decapitating its commander with his own sword? It is a lesson in boldness and courage for all! I can’t imagine leaving it out just because some folks do not consider it part of the Old Testament. Whose Bible is the “right” one?

And what translation would we use? Some churches lean toward modern translations, and others stick with older translations like the King James Version, which was developed for the Church of England and is the historic Bible of the Episcopal Church which I am a part of. (We Episcopalians tend to read more modern translations because we love the best of Biblical scholarship, though). So which translation is going to be the “right” one?

So many questions remain. Perhaps we should fund our public schools first, and leave the Bible to church.