Recently, Canyon Independent School District (Texas) Superintendent Darryl Flusche removed the Bible from school libraries due to its sexually explicit material. Some Evangelicals were outraged over the superintendent putting the Bible in the same category as secular books deemed offensive to Christian sensibilities.
Regina Kiehne, a mother of two students in the Canyon Independent School District said:
It seems absurd to me that the Good Book was thrown out with the bad books. In a day when we are needing security guards and bulletproof windows and doors, I think having the Word of God available to our children cannot only be preventative to violence, but also provide comfort and a sense of security in a chaotic world.
It just makes sense to have the Word of God in our school library. After all, it is the book of wisdom. It is the bestselling book of all time; it is historically accurate, scientifically sound, and most importantly, life-changing.
The only reason something is stolen is because it is valuable. The Bible holds great value. It should be valued in our Texas school system.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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Maybe the shooting in the Christian school will change her mind? Probably not.
Given that the US is the most superstitious (sorry, religious) developed nation in the world, with correspondingly the highest incidence of bible ownership, one would not expect it to have a problem with shooting in schools. Surely the existence of bibles should serve as a physical barrier, a philosophical defensive wall, against the ingress of those with ill intent? In reality, the issue of school shootings is a horrifying problem that is particular to the US and caused by a mix of things that are going to be very hard to sort out. One thing is for certain though, and that is that a mix of thinking that prayer ever helps (other than its soothing effect), muddied intellects able to think that the bible is science or history, and unfettered access to guns, is an absolutely essential part of the recipe.
2 recent school shootings happened in Christian schools – Covenant in Nashville and Abundant Life in Madison. It’s safe to say there were copies of the Bible in those schools, and those Bibles did not protect those who died or were injured.
“God’s will be done.” If school shootings are God’s will then shouldn’t they be celebrated? Does the devil give me thoughts like that? Get thee hence Satan!
I prefer the Peanuts Treasury. Calvin and Hobbes is pretty good too.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/peanuts-treasury_charles-m-schulz/322088/item/42380237/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_everything_else_customer_acquisition&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=593719077582&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiApsm7BhBZEiwAvIu2X7U4oEQEFR5u5NcUM5YHwQ-UCJ4n-gYMIB1XXYDLHKc89ubUSO8iSxoChogQAvD_BwE#idiq=42380237&edition=52061832
only once have I heard of someone whose life was saved by a Bible: the soldier had a small format Bible in his pocket when he was targeted. The Bible stopped a bullet and saved his life. Might have been in the Civil War. On the other hand, there were similar tales of items like cigarette cases stopping bullets during either World War 1 or 2. It makes more sense to stop potential shooters outside the school!