Recent legislation in Oklahoma requires the teaching of the Bible in all public schools. What should Christians think about this?
What are the specifics of the Oklahoma mandate? Starting fall 2024, all Oklahoma public school classrooms, grades 5–12, must have a physical copy of the Bible, and the teachers must teach it.
The Oklahoma State Superintendent of Schools, Ryan Walters, said this, “The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone. Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation. This is not merely an educational directive but a crucial step in ensuring our students grasp the core values and historical context of our country.”
On Oct 4, the Associated Press reported “Walters is seeking to spend $3 million in state funds to purchase 55,000 Bibles for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution.” It has been reported that these are King James Version Bibles.
Since the beginning of the school year, some Oklahoma school districts have chosen not to comply with Walters’ mandate, and a group of educators, ministers and concerned citizens have sued Walters.
My opinion is that Walters’ mandate is not a good idea. Not just because he desires the King James Version, when there are much more readable, accurate contemporary versions. My opinion that Walters’ idea is not good has nothing to do with the word “Bible” at all. I am all for teaching the Bible. If my local high school offered a Bible elective and was seeking local pastors to teach it, I would sign up. But I am not for mandating the teaching of the Bible or mandating that copies of the Bible be placed in every classroom, even if those copies were in a contemporary version.
This question is very similar to the previous question here about the separation of church and state. When we start talking about the mixing of church and state, we are going down a road that is very dangerous to the mission of the Kingdom. Christians should never attempt to force people into relationships with Jesus. We do not want Bible study, Bible reading or church attendance to be compulsory. We believe in free will.
Jesus teaches something incredibly important in Matthew 7:6 that might help us understand why mandated Bible teaching in public schools is such a bad idea. In Matthew 7:6 Jesus says, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
The surrounding context here is Matthew 7 verses 1-12. Jesus’ goal in this section is to eventually teach the Golden Rule in verse 12, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” So verse 6 must relate in some way to the Golden Rule. Since the verses before and after it are some illustrations about how the Golden Rule can be applied, it is highly likely that this too will be an application of the Golden Rule.
The verse mentions dogs and pigs. These were two very, very unpopular animals in ancient Israel. When I was a missionary in Guyana and Jamaica, I dealt with plenty of street dogs. They were often out of control, barking and fighting constantly. One scholar I read says this, “Pigs and dogs were considered unclean animals, which had no appreciation for valuable things. Pigs typically ate the vilest foods, and dogs were scavengers, consuming even human blood. Stray dogs were known to growl at those who tossed them food as well as those who ignored them. The image would thus be forceful and beyond dispute for ancient hearers.”[1]
Jesus is not saying that we should evaluate people, and if we think they are not worthy of Bible teaching, we should withhold it from them. Another scholar, Dallas Willard, writes: “Jesus is not suggesting that certain classes of people are to be viewed as pigs or dogs. Nor is he saying that we should not give good things and do good deeds to people who might reject or misuse them.”
What Jesus is saying: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Do you want any teaching shoved down your throat? No. No one likes that. That isn’t how Jesus worked, and it is not how any thriving relationship grows, whether a relationship with God or humans.
Jesus is saying that so often we have precious things that we want to give to people that they are not ready for. The problem is that we are not listening to these people. We might have good intentions, but our good intentions make little difference when people don’t want what we are offering.
Think about how Jesus interacted with people. He built relationships. He invites us to follow his way, not forcing himself on others.
Forcing religion on young is why so many leave the church. Mr. Walters’ mandate is misguided, therefore, and it seems he does not understand Jesus’ heart or Jesus’ method of making disciples.
But Walters says he is just trying to introduce students to the theological beliefs of our founding fathers, a theology that was important to their creation of our nation. He believes students need to know the Bible in order to understand the history of the founding fathers.
Which founding father? Thomas Jefferson? Jefferson, a deist, famously disagreed with the supernatural, and made his own Bible that removed the miraculous. Can you see the potential problem there?
And that leads to numerous questions. Is Oklahoma using a Bible curriculum? Who will create it? What theology will it teach? Will teachers who have not studied biblical interpretation teach the Bible? Will teachers who are not Christians teach the Bible? Walters’ idea is a recipe for all sorts of problems.
Here’s what I think would be a far better approach. As with any Christians, Christians in Oklahoma should do what Jesus did, and what Jesus taught us to do: make disciples, teaching them to obey everything he taught. We do not go around neighborhoods or schools attempting to force anyone to be a follower of Jesus. We invite them with love and care, demonstrating the Fruit of the Spirit to them. Sure we have a story to tell. But we do not ever try to mandate that they hear that story.
In my local school district students can voluntarily go to Bible to School during the school day through the release time program. Students can go to Good News Club after school. Students can go to Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Focus. All of these groups are opportunities for students to study the Bible. I support these Bible study opportunities because they are not mandatory. These are free will opportunities for students to learn God’s Word and build relationships.
I call on Walters to revoke his mandate.
[1]Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. 1993. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament . InterVarsity Press: Downers Grove, Ill.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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