‘Go to California’: Oklahoma school chief pummels opponents of Bible in history
There is no doubt that the Bible has had a tremendously powerful impact on the world, and especially the West.
It’s been documented to have, through its stories, characters and symbolism, influenced literature, art and music. Even government, as America’s founding documents cite those rights that are bestowed by our Creator.
Basics concepts of justice such as ‘Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not kill” provide the foundation for the law.
In the early days of America, the Bible often was the only text book used in schools. Even now multiple schools teach the Bible as history.
And that’s what’s going to happen in Oklahoma, through the actions of the state superintendent of schools, Ryan Walters.
Those local education industry managers who disagree, he said, can “go to California.”
We won’t allow woke administrators to indoctrinate students in Oklahoma. Period https://t.co/a7P7nYZEH5
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) July 28, 2024
‘Go to California’: Oklahoma State Superintendent slams districts refusing to integrate Bible into curriculum https://t.co/bsdFEt348n
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 28, 2024
“It’s part of our history. It’s crystal clear. … You look at the Pilgrims, you look at the Mayflower Compact, you look at Thomas Jefferson talking about our rights coming from our Creator. … The reality is the left, these radical woke administrators, want to indoctrinate your kids…”
He said they want to pretend the Bible played no part in American history and “that’s a lie.”
He said they are pushing “leftism” on children, “saying there was no morality, there was no belief in God.”
Oklahoma students will consider the Bible in its historical context, he said.
Those “woke administrators” who are, in fact, insisting on their ideological agenda “can go to California,” he said.
Fox News said the comments came after he gave a directive to schools to integrate the Bible into history lessons, and eight districts across the state resisted.
“I’m going to tell these woke administrators, if they’re going to break the law and not teach it, they can go to California because… here in Oklahoma schools, we’re going to make sure that history is taught,” Walters aid.
“What we’re doing is making sure teachers have resources in order to teach these concepts that the left has pushed out of our schools.”
Walters said the impetus for the addition came from parents.
“When I ran three years ago, they were crystal clear. ‘Why in the world are we not teaching our kids that our rights came from God? Why in the world are we not referencing all these unbelievable moments in American history where the Bible was cited?’ It is absolutely part of our history,” he said.
A commentary at Twitchy quickly took up the subject and blew out of the water the criticisms that schools now suddenly are teaching religion.
“Walters has not mandated that schools ‘teach the Bible,’ as so many outlets like USA Today have proclaimed. The policy mandates that all classrooms be furnished with copies of the Bible, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and, like Louisiana, the Ten Commandments. Moreover, the policy does not include any mandate related to teaching the tenets of Judeo-Christian religions (Walters’ guidelines expressly forbid that). Rather, it dictates that schools must include the Bible only in such a way as to reflect its impact on history, culture, and Western civilization.”
The guidelines, in fact, call for teaching the “historical and literary aspects of the Bible,” not any “religious beliefs.”
Further, the guidelines call for full information to parents, with confirmation that using the Bible as a historical reference “is not an endorsement of any religious belief.”
The commentary explained, “The fact of the matter is, regardless of how much the left may hate it, there is no single literary text that has had anything close to the historical and cultural significance to and impact on Western civilization as the Bible has. Sorry, lefties. It’s just true.”
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