The Central Georgian

Report says Bible knowledge enhances literacy

GERALDA MILLER
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

The Bible Literacy Project released a report on June 1 at Baylor University. The report said that not knowing about the Bible, which is arguably the most influential text in all of Western culture, impedes a students ability to understand classic and contemporary literature. “What every good teacher tries to do is teach students how to interpret things on their own,” said Dan Halcomb, English and journalism teacher at Reno High School. “Nothing should be left out of that discourse, and that includes the Bible.”

William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!," Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," and Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon" are literary works included on the syllabi for many English courses for which professors say knowledge of the Bible is valuable.

"Regardless of a person's faith, an educated person needs to know about the Bible," was the response of a professor quoted in the Bible Literacy Report II: What University Professors Say Incoming Students Need to Know. The report was released June 1 by the Bible Literacy Project at an academic symposium on the Bible at Baylor University.

In addition to being a sacred scripture to millions of Americans, the report said the Bible is "arguably the most influential text in all of Western culture." Not knowing about the Bible impedes a student's ability to understand classic and contemporary literature, the report said.

Nevada English scholars agree with the findings, but a Washoe County School District administrator voiced concern about teaching the Bible in public schools.

Assistant Superintendent Jerry Holloway said there are other means for students to get access to the Bible outside of the school system.

"We need to be careful that we're not putting anything in place that is specific," said Holloway, curriculum director for 25 years. "The world is not all Christian."

The Bible's place in the classroom can be justified by the importance of students having cultural literacy and becoming critical thinkers, said Dan Halcomb, English and journalism teacher at Reno High School. That does not mean teaching a course solely on just the Bible, he said.

"What every good teacher tries to do is teach students how to interpret things on their own," he said. "Nothing should be left out of that discourse, and that includes the Bible."

Halcomb said students seem poorly informed about many biblical references in literature, including the Genesis story of Adam and Eve.

Western literature is filled with biblical references, whether it's Shakespeare with its estimated 1,300 biblical references or Melville's characters of Ahab and Ishmael.

"To not understand the references we often find in western literature is to not understand the literature itself," Halcomb said.

Richer experience

Phillip Boardman, English professor and director of core humanities at the University of Nevada, Reno, said students who have a familiarity of the Bible and its stories have a richer experience when studying literature, music and art.

"And that's one reason we include the Bible as part of our core curriculum in the university," said Boardman, who teaches a Bible-as-literature course.

Portions of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, including Genesis, Exodus, some of the Hebrew laws and Psalms, letters of Paul and Acts, are included in the required course.

Boardman agrees with Halcomb that studying the Bible helps understand the origin of western culture and American traditions.

Margaret Urie, professor of 20th century African American literature and the twentieth century American novel, said knowledge of the Bible gives students a deeper understanding of the text and provides universal significance.

For example, she said knowing the creation myth helps to understand Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" or James Weldon Johnson's "God's Trombones."

"This is not an isolated event," she said. "People can probably read contemporary literature without a real knowledge, but they will miss a lot."

This is especially true when reading African American literature, she said. That's because the escape from slavery is often paralleled with God's promise of leading the Jewish people to the promised land. Blacks also have an intimate association with what Urie called a "sweet Jesus," a compassionate deliverer to redemption. Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston are a few of the black writers who use biblical references, she said.

"Not only do writers often use these classical/biblical stories to shape their material, but readers also see these connections or parallels and derive additional meaning from the text -- as well as additional aesthetic pleasure from what they are reading," Urie said. "Which is what art is all about, 'giving shape and significance.'"

The Central Georgian, 2006,  Disclaimer..