This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
So Mr. Steve Green of Hobby Lobby wants high schools to "teach the Bible" in Oklahoma and in thousands of schools by 2017. By the way, he adheres to a literal reading of the text. ("Hobby Lobby boss persuades school district to incorporate Bible into its curriculum," Tribune, May 8.)
If the Bible course required students to actually read every word of the text, and not skip over and/or cherry pick the parts that each religious sect uses for their particular form of adherence, then any normal, decent person would discover the morally reprehensible actions of God and chosen peoples/tribes alike.
A non-exhaustive illustration: God's responsibility (Amos 3:6, Lamentations 3:38, Isaiah 45:6-7); human sacrifice (Leviticus 27:28-29, Judges 11:29-40, 2Samuel 21:1-9); killing first born (Exodus 12:29); slavery sanctioned (Exodus 21:2-6, Leviticus 25:44-46); and selling one's daughter (Exodus 21:7). Further; killing witches (Exodus 22:18), death for heresy (Exodus 22:20), for violating the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14-15), for cursing one's parents (Leviticus 20:9), for adultery (Leviticus 20:10), for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16), and death by stoning for unchastity before marriage for women only (Deuteronomy 22:20-21).
He has every right to his religious adherence and to proselytize to his heart's content, but constitutional mandates for separation of church and state prohibits his clearly sectarian public school Bible course.
Charles Ashcraft
Cottonwood Heights