Loooking Inside Bible Course In Tennessee High School

Yesterday's Chatanooga (TN) Times Free Press reports on what goes on inside the classroom during teaching of the course on the Bible and its influence on literature, art, music, culture, and politics, authorized by a 2008 law enacted by the Tennessee legislature. (See prior posting.) In the Marion County classroom of high school teacher John Paulsen, many of the copies of the Bible used as a textbook were purchased with funds donated by churches. Paulsen challenges students to think about religion scientifically and to think of science religiously. He walks a fine line, urging students to decide for themselves whether various miracles in the Bible are reported accurately, or are a form of religious mythology.