Wyoming lawmakers are proposing a bill that would clarify language that schools have the right to teach the Bible in classrooms.  I’m more or less fine with this, there are some legitmate concerns, mainly biased teachings.

However, what happens when a student decides to follow Jesus because of their Bible 101 class?  There is going to be major freaking out among parents and people that are against religion and Christianity especially.  This will happen even if the teacher is extremely unbiased and fair in their teaching of the text.  This will happen because the Bible is self evangelizing.  You could say the Gospel Gospels.  The message contained within compels people to say yes to Jesus and his Kingdom.  In part, that’s what its designed to do.

Now I’m fine with a class that teaches about the Bible and Christianity and I’d be fine with a class that teaches about Islam and the Koran.  Our culture needs to be more literate in the major religions of the world.  So much of our culture and politics are heaviy influenced by our core beliefs.  We would have a far greater understanding of the Israel-Palestine conflict if we knew and understood the history and teachings of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.  But, how will our culture (parents, teachers, organizations) deal with the fact that students will convert to the religions they are learning about?  What has happened in states or schools where religion is already taught more widely?