Here's an interesting church-state issue.

An Ohio middle school teacher says he won't obey an order to remove a Bible from view of students.

John Freshwater said Wednesday he agreed to remove a collage from his classroom that included the Ten Commandments, but that asking him to remove the Bible on his desk goes too far.

Officials with the Mount Vernon School District say they don't oppose religion but are required by the U.S. Constitution not to promote or favor any set of religious beliefs.

Freshwater says being forced to keep the Bible out of sight would infringe on his rights.

Since I started teaching, there has always been a Bible in my classroom Indeed, it has been a necessary part of my teaching material. Back when I taught English, it was a useful tool for bringing in literary references and linguistic choices made by authors who were raising biblical imagery. Teaching history, I ind it useful to refer to certain elements of the Old and New Testaments when relating back to issues in Middle Eastern history (especially the ancient period) and the Christianization of the Roman Empire.

And yes, I do read it at times during my personal time during the day.

But I don't know how I feel about placing it front and center on a teacher's desk by itself, rather than on a book shelf or amongst other books. And this story doesn't give a whole lot of details about the situation and why its presence has become a problem.

Any reaction from readers?

Posted by: Greg at 10:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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