The Good Book

There is an interesting scene from an episode of the TV drama - "24"- where Agent Doyle quotes a passage from the Koran to Agent Nasser (the only Muslim at "CTU" - Counter Terrorism Unit" it appears). Agent Nasser's reaction is priceless because you can see that at that moment there was a clear cultural connection between the two of them.

I was reminded of this scene when I read a recent Associated Press (AP) article, "Some Georgia Public Schools Decide to Offer Bible Classes," because I see huge potential social gains by having people read the holy books of the world's various religions. Not just the Bible but the Torah, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, and the other books that Agent Doyle mentioned that I have yet to read --

http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/OTHERREFERENCE/RELIGION/HolyBooks.html

This AP article notes that the State of Georgia is deciding whether to offer the nation's "first state-funded Bible classes." Other state legislatures considering a version of Georgia's plan at this time include -- Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.

Now detractors would simply dismiss this idea since all five states noted here are part of the USA's "Bible Belt." In fact critics of the program are cited in the AP article as saying, "the classes could easily turn into endorsements of Christianity............" While the Georgia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) plans to monitor how the classes are taught. "Monitor" ? I would rather have the ACLU celebrate that a book is being read in classes versus a worse situation such as having the Bible (or the Koran for that matter) banned from class room use. As long as the State of Georgia is considering spending tax dollars to supply Bibles they should allocate some of the funds to also buy copies of the holy books mentioned earlier.

I am confident that having a greater understanding of the religions of our fellow travelers on Planet Earth would help create a greater degree of tolerance that would allow all of us to live in a more peaceful world. Not convinced by my words? Then I ask you to consider the conflicts and deaths caused by religious ignorance in Northern Ireland which has FINALLY arrived at a self-governing parliament consisting of Catholics and Anglicans.

Life is short but the afterlife is eternal ;-)

Todd