Richard Dawkins supports school Bible plan
From The BBC
27 May 2012
Leading atheist Richard Dawkins says he supports the plan to
put a Bible in every English school. The privately funded distribution of King
James Bibles began this month to mark its 400th anniversary. Prof Dawkins,
writing in the Observer, said: "It is not a moral book and young people
need to learn that important fact because they are very frequently told the
opposite". Critics have said it is unlikely that schools do not already
have a Bible. Education Secretary Michael Gove supported the plan, saying the
text had had "an immense influence" on the English-speaking world. He said pupils should learn about its role in the nation's
history, language, literacy and culture.
Prof Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist at Oxford, said:
"A native speaker of English who has never read a word of the King James
Bible is verging on the barbarian” He added: "I have even heard the
cynically misanthropic opinion that, without the Bible as a moral compass,
people would have no restraint against murder, theft and mayhem. The surest way
to disabuse yourself of this pernicious falsehood is to read the Bible
itself." Although he questioned whether any child would actually read it,
he said: "Whatever else the Bible might be - and it really is a great work
of literature - it is not a moral book and young people need to learn that
important fact because they are very frequently told the opposite." He
added: "Not a bad way to find out what's in a book is to read it, so I say
go to it. But does anybody, even Gove, seriously think they will?"
In the same way that Mr Gove wanted pupils to learn about
its wide influence, Prof Dawkins emphasised the Bible's contribution to
literature. "The whole King James Bible is littered with literary
allusions, almost as many as Shakespeare (to quote that distinguished authority
Anon, the trouble with Hamlet is it's so full of clichés)."
The Bible distribution costs of £370,000 are being funded by
charities and philanthropists.
[I’ve heard it said that an effective way of promoting
atheism is to get people actually reading the Bible. As I have never read it –
or any part of it (hence being verging on barbarism) – I couldn’t possibly
comment. As far as I can tell, both from western history and the number of
books dedicated to the subject, the Bible is far from self explanatory. It
requires, so it seems, a great deal of interpretation and debate over the
various interpretations. How this is expected to be a significant part of any
reasonable school curriculum is beyond me. After all, shouldn’t schools be
teaching something a bit more relevant to 21st Century life like
Science, Mathematics and even History? By all means have the Bible (and the
Koran and other religious books) in school libraries for reference but I
wouldn’t waste too much time actually teaching them. As to the Bible being a
‘great work of literature’ again, not having read any part of it, I couldn’t
possibly comment. But I could probably list 50 books off the top of my head I’d
rather study instead of it. Finally, in this so-called Age of Austerity,
couldn’t the charitable groups involved find something better to do with
£370,000?]
4 comments:
How did you escape never reading parts of the bible? Are you familiar with any of the stories in it? A great many idioms and minor references come from the text, and there are some gems amid the general horror. I particularly like Ecclesiastes, for instance.
sc said: How did you escape never reading parts of the bible?
Just lucky I guess [lol]
But seriously.... Both of my parents are (or where in my fathers case) non-practicing Catholics. So inevitably I was sent to Church of England (Protestant) schools. Now the CofE really don't 'do' religion so we weren't expected to read the Bible per se. As far as I know we never had one in the house (it's possibly we did but I can't remember seeing one) so I never actually *read* any of it.
sc said: Are you familiar with any of the stories in it?
Growing up in the 'christian' West it would be difficult not to! But if you quoted chapter and verse to me I wouldn't have a clue what they related to. I saw the classic Hollywood versions of The Bible and The Ten Commandments eons ago and I no doubt picked up bits and pieces from TV and even something from our so-called 'Religious education' classes but nothing in any depth.
sc said: A great many idioms and minor references come from the text, and there are some gems amid the general horror.
I'm probably familiar with at least some of them. I'm sure that I even use them from time to time!
sc said: I particularly like Ecclesiastes, for instance.
As an example I know the name but I have no idea which bit of the Bible it's in. I'm guessing the New Testament - right?
I've only read snippets of it, and I have trouble crediting it as a "really great work" of fiction or anything else. I think it's a valuable glimpse into earlier human society, but the book we Westerners read is a translation that has a life of its own.
As having foundational influence on the shape of emerging human society in the West, I can give it credit. But I see little point in reading the nonsense now. There's just too much valuable and useful and true stuff to read without hoping to find merit in a couple thousand pages of barbaric gobbledygook.
wunelle said: But I see little point in reading the nonsense now. There's just too much valuable and useful and true stuff to read without hoping to find merit in a couple thousand pages of barbaric gobbledygook.
Couldn't have said it better myself...
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