Texas Plans Bible Classes In Public Schools By 2030

I don't get worked up about this stuff anymore. Texas is moving toward bringing Bible instruction into public schools, and while plenty of people see it as a major problem, I have a feeling it could end up producing the exact opposite result the supporters are hoping for.

Let's start here. The way these Bible teachings are being introduced is under the argument that the Bible is a foundational historical and literary text that's important for understanding Western civilization. There's certainly an argument to be made there, but it also feels like some carefully crafted legal language that's being used to open the door to a little religious instruction in public schools, including ours in Lubbock. Fair enough. I'm not even interested in fighting that battle.

It reminds me of my dog. Somehow, she always knows when we've hidden medicine in her food. Wrap half an aspirin in cheese or tuck it into a piece of steak—it doesn't matter. She figures it out and spits it right back out. Kids aren't much different. They usually know when someone is trying to feed them an idea instead of simply teaching them information, and they'll decide for themselves what they believe.

So I wouldn't get too worked up about what many people see as a violation of the separation of church and state. The proposal isn't supposed to take effect until 2030, and there's plenty of time for courts to weigh in, for lawmakers to rethink it, or for everyone involved to move on to the next culture-war issue. Either way, I suspect this story has a lot more chapters left before it's over.