"An ounce of tolerance is worth a pound of righteousness"

Religious Views, by Art Carney

In reference to the "Bible class" article (Frontiersman, August 16, 2002), aside from math and science, the class that is being proposed by some local Christians would almost cover the requirements needed for a high school diploma.

Studying the Bible within the context of history, art, literature, music and the social studies could save the school district a lot of money by eliminating the need for a number of classes in our present high school curriculum, not to mention that such a class could possibly help stop the "increasing instability" in American society. What a deal!

Of course I'm being facetious, but they are dead serious, and that scares me.

They claim the Bible class would only provide information and would not set out to legislate morality -- which doesn't do much to calm my fears -- and while they point out that Biblical quotes were used by many great Americans, I seriously doubt that our students, would be "severely handicapped" by getting their Biblical knowledge at Sunday school instead of at high school.

At the University of North Carolina, there is a Christian-inspired lawsuit under way that protests the choice of selections in the Koran that need to be read by those students who wish to participate in an elective discussion about the religion of Islam.

Among other things, the suit claims the "required" reading selections do not illustrate the true war-like nature of Mohammed or of Islam in general. I guess we'll have to let the courts decide that one.

The purpose of this tidbit of information is to illustrate the possibility that Christians may have an inherent streak of intolerance where other religions are concerned, as well as where there is an absence of religion.

In North Carolina they attempt to thwart a discussion about that strange religion called Islam, and here in the Valley, Christians are hoping to promote the Bible in our "Godless" public schools.

If there isn't a lack of tolerance, there, then maybe it can be attributed to a touch of paranoia or evangelical zeal.

Regardless of the reasons why such things happen, it would be more appropriate to have an elective high school class about religion in general, rather than a class about the Bible.

At Mat-Su College there is a class titled the "History of Western Religion" which could easily be modified for high school students. Of course the Christian students would be exposed to the historical facts about other sacred books besides the Bible, but it is likely they would end up with a greater appreciation of their own beliefs, as well as some degree of tolerance for the beliefs of others. In today's troubled times, an ounce of tolerance is worth a pound of righteousness.

Early America was a haven to many patriots who sought religious freedom here, and that freedom includes the freedom to choose, as well as the freedom to reject religion.

Benjamin Franklin was not exactly a practicing Christian, and many of the Biblical quotes of our founding fathers could just as easily have come from the Talmud or the Koran, but in those early days of religious freedom, Jews kept their mouths shut, and Muslims were nowhere to be found.

Maybe Christian intolerance was alive and well in those days, too.

Nevertheless, the new world order of the 21st century requires that different nations and different religions find ways to get along with each other.

A little patience and tolerance will go a long way toward bringing about a meaningful dialogue that will help bridge the gap between different cultures, and doing so would help facilitate the Christian virtue of loving one's neighbor.

Art Carney is a Wasilla resident and frequent contributor to the Religion page.