The editors of The Wall Street Journal ask, “Do Bible Passages Belong in English Class?” Texas is the reason for the question. Back in April, the Texas State Board of Education gave preliminary approval to a set of reading lists that include some Bible excerpts. Those Bible passages were approved just over a week ago by a slim margin. Apparently, even mentioning the Bible in public schools has become controversial.

The linked article to the Wall Street Journal provides some needed perspective. For example, there is the 23rd Psalm reference to “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” That passage has been repeated by everyone from Nelson Mandela to a recent rapper.

They mention a passage from Ecclesiastes: “To everthing there is a season,” it says, including, “A time to be born, and a time to die.” They point out that this wasn’t a lyric written by the Byrds in 1965. That passage is found in the Bible, which the Supreme Court says is constitutional if taught in an objective manner.

Here are a few of the other Bible passages. “Love is patient and kind” (1 Corinthians 13). “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5). The editors remind us that those passages can be found in secular literature (such as works by Walt Whitman, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, and George Orwell). 

When we were discussing this on my radio broadcast, I argued that you couldn’t even begin to understand many of the references and allusions used in English literature if you didn’t have some understanding of the Bible. Given the level of biblical illiteracy today, including some Bible passages within an English class makes sense.

Fortunately, the Texas State Board made the right decision, but the vote was closer than it should have been.