CBI Blogs

As a Jewish person informed by what our sacred texts teach, I have always clung to the concept of free will. In Deuteronomy 30 when the Israelites are told, “I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—and you and your offspring will thrive…” I read it as a declaration of the balance of power between people and God. God might be all powerful, but by sharing that power with us, giving us the power of choice, it puts limitations on God’s side of our relationship and provide us with mental freedom where we are not bound by God’s power. Instead we are rewarded and punished by the merits of our own choices. If we pay attention to the laws as given, interpret them in a way that brings meaning to our modern lives, and live in such a way that benefits the world around us, we are making the right choices and we and our offspring will thrive.

As an American, I am passionate about the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities of all who share citizenship in our nation. I attended a high school that required seniors to take a year of “Government,” which taught a curriculum similar to the “Civics” my parents took when they were in high school. In that class we learned, among other things, about the Constitution. We had to memorize the preamble (which has not kept hold in my brain) and the topics in the Bill of Rights. It was regularly driven into us that the rights afforded to American citizens in the US Constitution were the things that make America democratic. The Bill of Rights was written precisely because James Madison and others saw the importance of limiting the government’s power over its citizens. Seeing no such limitations in the Constitution as it was written, the Bill of Rights was created to push the balance into the hands of the people.

The very first Amendment includes the right we call “Freedom of Religion.” About this it states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Although I am not a legal resident of Texas, many people I care about are, including my three nephews in Fort Worth. So when I hear on the news that Texas is poised to pass a law saying that public schools will be permitted to teach the Christian Bible, it is personal.

Making it legal for public school teachers to teach from a religious book that does not apply to many of the students is a violation of their First Amendment rights. The Bible they refer to clearly respects an establishment of religion, since they plan to teach from the Christian Bible¹. The religions that do not consider their version of the Bible to be holy writ (like Judaism and Eastern religions) will be graded on someone else’s religion. Young children in grades K-5 who are at their most impressionable will be exposed to a religious narrative that might not match the religion of their household. It also violates the tenet from the book of Deuteronomy that we should have free will in how we practice our religion. It is a conflict of the very book they claim to hold so dear to force other people’s children to learn from there stories.

This is not freedom of religion, this is theocracy.

Something else I learned in Government class is that as citizens, we have the responsibility to reach out to our lawmakers to make sure our voices are heard. Ruth Siegal recently shared the NCJW’s message about this issue, and since I cannot write it better than they did, please read on and I hope you choose to take action:

TAKE ACTION BEFORE FRIDAY! Time is running out—let your voice be heard!

Email or call the Board to reject the curriculum: Click here!

Or

Contact key members who may be persuaded to change their vote:

• Will Hickman: will.hickman@tea.texas.gov (512-463-9007)

• Kevin Ellis: ellisSBOE@gmail.com (512-710-7915)

• Tom Maynard, tom@maynardfortexas.com, (512-763-2801)

Sample Message:

"Dear [Board Member],

I urge you to oppose the adoption of the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum. Its heavy reliance on Biblical teachings is inappropriate for public schools and could harm students of non-Christian faiths. Please protect religious freedom and the integrity of public education by voting against this curriculum.”

#ProtectReligiousFreedom

Thank you to the NCJW for this message, and to any one who reaches out to help prevent this injustice, this violation of our religious values, and this violation of our religious freedom.

¹Christians refer to it as “New Testament,” but I do not like that distinction because it implies that there is an old testament, and for me that one is current. “Christian Bible” and “Hebrew Bible” or “Tanakh” are much better ways to distinguish the two in inter-religious discourse.