Yes

by Gary Maclean

Created on: June 09, 2010

We have so many very great books at our disposal today. Just walk into any Borders book store, or Barnes & Noble, or better yet, any library. The selection is astounding and the number of books continues to multiply every single day. 

Man has a personal relationship with the written word; whether he writes it or reads it; someplace, in every person's life, there will be some book, that has made a lasting impression. We just cannot get away from it. 

As we grow and learn new things we are exposed to more and more of these books. Most generally, through our formative years, we have little to say about the selection of many of them. Books are assigned by our teachers or are given to us as gifts or are indirectly related to our course of study and must be read for clarification. 

We are always being told what to read throughout our learning years. These readings are most often required reading. If you want to succeed in that particular class then you must read the assigned material. At times, we must even write book reports about it. 

What I am getting at is, public school has always assigned our reading material. If not a specific book, then one of our choice from an identified topic. That arrangement has been met with and worked through since I can remember. Tell me what I have to read, I will read it and I will report on my observations and interpretations. 

Through my school years, none of the assigned reading material has ever changed my course in life. I may have been emotionally affected by the topic but I have never became what I read about. My reading of Lord of the Pigs never forced me to re-enact any of the scenes contained within. Reading Treasure Island never resulted in my finding buried treasure. When I was assigned Moby Dick to read, I never had a fleeting thought about running off to sea to search for that one big whale.

These books all had an effect on my imagination. They let me slip away from my day to day existence and experience something totally different, but they didn’t change my life. Today, I can still read a good book and not be so intoxicated by the story that I have to live it. A good book is just that; a good book, nothing more. 

In my first year of college I took a class entitled “The Religions of the World.” I was, and still am, a Christian and I was curious about what the author had to say. I learned about Buddhism, Catholicism, Atheism, the Moslem faith, and several others. The reading of the assigned text never affected my faith. The class wasn’t trying to convert me to any of these different faiths; it was simply exposing me to them. It was a good class, I learned a lot, but I left the class still a Christian. Incidentally, the class was “offered,” not dictated. It was an elective course. I elected to take it. 

So, I look at what we have today, as far as books go. The one book that repeatedly out-sells every single other book ever published is the Bible. It has been estimated that over 6 billion copies of the Bible have been printed and distributed throughout time. This number clearly shadows any other claim to publishing propensity. 

Quotations from Mao Tse-tung (little red book) is probably the book with the second largest publishing numbers, but ownership was mandated for every Chinese adult between 1966 and 1971. 

In addition to being the most published and distributed book ever, in history, the Bible has also been published in more languages than any other. It is estimated there are about 6600 languages in the world. The Bible has been translated into about 4000 of those languages. It still has about 2600 languages to go. What is really interesting, though I have never seen one, is that it is said the Bible has even been translated into the Klingon language.

Bottom line, the Bible is a hard rock in the foundation of not only this country but in the entire world. It has permeated almost every culture and sect. It continues to rise in popularity and demand. The Bible is a force not to be trifled with. 

Anything as prolific as the Bible should certainly be studied and dissected. I absolutely believe classes on the many, many different aspects of the Bible should be offered to our children during their learning years. Notice I said “offered;” I would not agree with forcing any religious teachings on our children through their schooling programs. We can see what that does just by looking at several other countries in the world. 

Bible classes would be electives. Students could take them if they wanted to, they wouldn’t have to. Of course, the Bible would have to be the assigned text, but the class would not be assigned. Do we really think there is so much negative stuff in the Bible that our students would be adversely affected if they were exposed to it? Would the Ten Commandments really hurt someone if they were to study them? Is the Lord's prayer so confusing that we are afraid it's beauty would harm our children?

The Bible is a positive text. It is well written. It is clearly long-lasting. It will be here far after I or you have left. The stories, parables, metaphors and poems, sonnets and songs in the Bible could do so much to enhance any literature, writing or reading class. I absolutely believe the Bible should be offered to our students all through their K – 12 years and even beyond. Remember, it is offered not assigned!

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