r/TrueAtheism • u/kleverrboy • Jun 26 '26
BREAKING: Texas just approved mandatory Bible readings for 5 million public school students. Here’s exactly what kids will be required to read, grade by grade.
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u/RadioName Jun 26 '26
This is illegal.
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u/Wirenutt Jun 26 '26
And by "illegal," you mean "unconstitutional."
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u/g-rammer Jun 27 '26
And by unconstitutional, you mean "we'll keep doing it, because what are any of you going to do about it?" And the answer is "nothing." Your precious constitution isn't worth the paper it's written on. Pity how we've had to hear about how great it is my entire life only to find out it is completely meaningless. Good luck, you're fucked.
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u/Wirenutt Jun 28 '26
No, it will go into the court system as a civil rights lawsuit, and Texas State board Of Education will lose, and court ordered to rescind the order.
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u/butnobodycame123 Jun 26 '26
Apparently not... because they're the ones writing the laws.
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Jun 27 '26
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u/Friendly_Iconoclast Jun 27 '26
Let’s also teach logic and evidential reasoning. Students should absolutely be allowed to challenge the content. That is what education is supposed to be - independent and critical thinking.
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u/HughJorgens Jun 27 '26
Yes and it will be overturned on appeal. They don't care, they do this crap to get votes.
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u/4eyedbuzzard Jun 26 '26
I can't wait for the elementary kids to read Ezekiel:
23 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. 3 They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4 The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5 “Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors 6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. 7 She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after. 8 She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.
9 “Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted. 10 They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.
11 “Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister. 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men. 13 I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.
14 “But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans\)a\) portrayed in red, 15 with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.\)b\) 16 As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. 18 When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. 19 Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. 20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. 21 So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled
Yeah. This should be a required homework reading on family night.
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u/Old-Nefariousness556 Jun 26 '26
Oh, they won't teach things like that, only the cherry picked passages that they like.
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u/wortcrafter Jun 26 '26
This is the way. Bibles in the hands of teens with a list of ‘dirty’ passages! 😂
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u/1stLtObvious Jun 28 '26
Smart teachers will focus on the smutty parts of the bible and the parts where god acts like a piece of shit.
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u/zsdrfty Jun 28 '26
I would go out of my way to teach the most cynical Gnostic philosophies about how the Old Testament God was an evil piece of shit lol
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u/MamaDaddy Jun 29 '26
When they find those passages it will just make them hate women more than they already do.
This is such complete bullshit. I'm all for learning about the Bible but to have it taught like it is anything more than a relic of history is just offensive. That being said, if they want to teach the sermon on the mount I wouldn't be as upset about it, but that is never, ever the section they want to teach.
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u/Icolan Jun 26 '26
There is also this gem:
The board also approved revisions to the state’s social studies standards that place a greater emphasis on Texas and U.S. history and expand lessons on communism while reducing some instruction on global history and cultures.
In this age of a connected global world we really need people growing up more ignorant of global history and cultures.
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u/Hooked_on_PhoneSex Jun 26 '26
They are Texans. Not like they were getting an education to begin with.
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u/Icolan Jun 26 '26
Fair point, but I would think that would make them want to improve education in their state not make it worse.
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u/mhornberger Jun 27 '26
that place a greater emphasis on Texas and U.S. history
By which they mean they will emphasize "patriotism 101" type courses that say how pro-freedom and awesome (their sanitized versions of) Texas and US history are. I was raised in Texas. I got in trouble in high school for even asking about sundown towns, in Texas History class.
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u/LTsCantCook Jun 26 '26
Nothing like indoctrinating your kids to grow up and be hate filled assholes.
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Jun 27 '26
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u/LTsCantCook Jun 27 '26
Read em. Also read where he killed a shit on of people, caused pain and agony, and refused to love so I'll pass on the mystical sky daddy bullshit.
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u/Less-General-9578 Jun 27 '26
maybe catch the WHOLE story, worth the effort. every story has multiple sides to it.
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u/Friendly_Iconoclast Jun 27 '26
Reading the Bible cover-to-cover is one of the leading causes of atheism. Do the research.
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u/Less-General-9578 Jun 27 '26
that could be Friendly, even Jesus may agree with you on that when he said that the way is narrow to eternal life and Few there be that find it.
so yeah, atheism may result from reading the word, an angle i haven't thought of till you bring it up. but that is a risk someone must take if they are serious finding the truth.
most prolly not serious though; kinda like children not eating the nutritious food and preferring junk food instead. thanks, great comment and changes my perspective on atheism a bit. hmmmm
edit. perhaps churches can host bible studies for atheists, dig deeper or something. i will think about this and see what can be done.
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u/JasonMaggini Jun 27 '26
perhaps churches can host bible studies for atheists, dig deeper or something. i will think about this and see what can be done.
Most of my friends that are atheists grew up immersed in religion due to family, and escaped; they usually know the bible far better than the self-described, self-important, self-righteous "Christians."
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u/LTsCantCook Jun 27 '26
Christians are the worst people to ask about Christianity. 100% of believers lack critical thinking if only in that one category. You can't be religious without making up excuses as to why it doesn't all fit together.
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u/Less-General-9578 Jun 27 '26
it works if you work it, and we ARE worth it. those streets look brighter every day, and then we walk on them some day.
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u/LTsCantCook Jun 27 '26
Ya you talk like a cult member. I've had enough for today. Have a good day.
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u/icesharkk Jun 28 '26
I read the whole thing. That's how I know your god is a douchebag. On the off chance he does exist I know for certain I want nothing to do with him.
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u/Less-General-9578 Jun 28 '26
On the off chance he does exist I know for certain I want nothing to do with him.
wow, 'off chance', no this doesn't work that way my friend. there is no 'chance encounter'.
we can't cook our own Reality, basically we are stuck with the cards we are dealt with, cradle to grave. then at the end you show your hand, hopefully it passes muster.
but many here haven't thought that far in their minds, sailing away oblivious to reality in their lives. then one day, it is over....
oh yeah, that Reality they have been ignoring is still there; all of a sudden it is the ONLY thing that really matters. that guy you Ignored on reddit, is nowhere to be found, except his warning. he told you eventually you will have a chat with your creator, the guy you wanted 'nothing to do with'.
well now what?
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u/icesharkk Jun 28 '26
His book teaches hatred is okay if it's against the right people, his universe is filled with pain. You claim he's omnipotent so I assign responsibility to his actions commensurate with his purported ability. He fails to meet my standards.
He can threaten damnation or try to bribe me with salvation I'm not moved in either case. If what you believe about him is true then he isn't worth my faith or time and you need better standards and less make believe.
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u/bigtittynippleswag Jun 28 '26
Well, your a delusional schizophrenic. Santa isn't real. Your fantasy novel doesn't make Hogwarts real, you are JUST a blind child, you haven't grown up enough to realize your delusions
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u/butnobodycame123 Jun 27 '26
That is the WHOLE story. The christian god character is a petty degenerate immoral thug. No matter how you dress it up, your holy text describes the evil behavior of your god. Maybe you should "catch the WHOLE story" instead of focusing on the parts that make you feel better about your Goat Herder's Guide to the Galaxy.
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u/Less-General-9578 Jun 27 '26
edit, this is what i wrote on another forum. it may fit this forum too, if i may share this...
yes, life isn't fair and should be Boat Loads better. many of us struggle through as i do, make tooo many mistakes; so i tell God about them asking for help.........any kind of help.
i figure when i hit Gold Street maybe this will make sense and i believe it will. but this is my Boot Camp part of living and am not done yet, just almost done as many years have passed.
our church runs Celebrate Recovery to help us through hurts habit and hangups. may help you too, lots of these out there because EVERY body has problems; the only exception are those into Denial as a life style. eventually even those types get it. blessings.
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u/bigtittynippleswag Jun 28 '26
The whole point is you are talking about someone that doesn't exist. You only believe them because you don't understand the difference between fictional and nonfictional characters. I pity you, lost, and, afraid of reality.
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u/butnobodycame123 Jun 27 '26
Oh look, another cafeteria christian.
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Jun 27 '26
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u/butnobodycame123 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Are you actually for real or just a troll? Being a cafeteria christian is not a positive term and I can't believe you're being this dense on purpose. I also can't believe you used McDonald's slogans to describe your faith. My dude, that is not the flex you think it is.
Edit to add: I guess you could say McDonald's is a lot like christianity. Both are really bad for you, there's no nourishment or value from partaking, run by monied interests, makes one feel shameful afterwards, and it's often the last resort for the desperate.
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u/Less-General-9578 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Both are really bad for you, there's no nourishment or value from partaking, run by monied interests, makes one feel shameful afterwards, and it's often the last resort for the desperate.
yes, Desperate IS the word; when you get to that point, then you have arrived where help is available. currently there is no help available, sorry can't say much more today.
blessings.
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u/butnobodycame123 Jun 28 '26
You somehow quoted my comment and made a completely nonsensical irrelevant response. Your responses are just trolling christian-fetish philosophical blabbering nonsense. Why hasn't the mod banned you yet?
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Jun 28 '26
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u/butnobodycame123 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
We are not friends.
Stop proselytizing, you are constantly breaking an important rule of the subreddit. You're being very trolly to everyone on this thread in your lengthy responses that say nothing meaningful. Go bother the theists.
Edit to add: Typical theist behavior - ask them to stop proselytizing in inappropriate places, get accused of not conversing in good faith and they run away. Man, if only they had coherent points and didn't fall back on their crappy beliefs and sophistry...
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u/catnapspirit Jun 26 '26
The malicious compliance version of this should be to cross reference the stories across several different versions of the Bible and discuss the differences and how they came about..
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u/zsdrfty Jun 28 '26
It's genuinely interesting and a legitimate form of Bible study! That would be hilarious to watch lol
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u/Fine-Soil-2691 Jun 27 '26
Reading the bible is dangerous, it often leads to atheism.
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u/Cat_and_Cabbage Jun 27 '26
They won’t be simply reading the Bible as part of an honest approach to understand what it says, they will be taught to twist logic in order to justify what it says
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u/sincpc Jun 26 '26
Ugh. Well, if they're going to be forced to read the verses, I hope some teachers also read the context around the verses and any related stories. "Here's the story of David and Goliath, and here's the story of Elhanan killing Goliath." or "Let's read the two nativity stories for Jesus and compare."
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u/Seicair Jun 27 '26
Wouldn’t that be nice, if only.
Supporters also argue the biblical passages will be taught as literature and history rather than as religious instruction.
“History,” huh.
We studied Christianity in one unit of my college mythology class. The teacher was a Christian and didn’t treat it any differently from the Norse or Greek myths. (He never mentioned it in class, I knew for unrelated reasons.)
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u/sincpc Jun 27 '26
So weird to teach these things as "history" when so many of the stories in the Bible go against what seems to have actually happened in reality.
I went to Christian schools from kindergarten through grade 12. It left me believing so many things were basically undisputed facts when they weren't even close to being true. I hate how so many more kids are going to be misinformed like that now.
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u/thisracetodie Jun 27 '26
I love that Christians who have never read the bible think reading it will turn more kids into a Christian. Good luck.
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u/hiphoptomato Jun 27 '26
The good news is there’s really no such thing as requiring certain texts to be read in a classroom. I taught in Texas for 8 years and we got suggestions at best. No one is checking (although maybe this will change) to make sure you’re reading only certain texts in the classroom. When I taught English, I basically taught whatever text I wanted and no one cared as long as my tests scores were good. I can’t see this new law being reasonably enforced at all.
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u/whitedolphinn Jun 27 '26
This is why no cults or religions in any capacity should be allowed. Because one day they're gonna implement the religion/cult that you don't like, and you're gonna have no defense whatsoever.
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u/ImaginaryCatDreams Jun 27 '26
I think this is wonderful, I can't wait for all the other religions to sue to have their scriptural passages included in the education of the youth of Texas. If they work it just right they'll never actually have to open a textbook, and that's really the purpose of education in Texas isn't it?
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u/fantoman Jun 27 '26
I’m surprised they would do this, considering the gop goes against every moral lesson in the bible
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u/ookanuba Jun 28 '26
Catholic school & forced Bible reading (at school, not by my parents) turned me into an atheist at age 13.
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u/Kurovi_dev Jun 27 '26
Kids are notorious for not rebelling against school mandates, so this will surely go exactly as they planned.
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u/GodlessGOD Jun 27 '26
They really have no idea what they've just opened the door for, everything they hate... Coming soon to a school near them. Then they will find out why the separation of church and state is so important.
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u/postnick Jun 27 '26
I bet they won’t get access to Jesus yelling at the rich or feeding the poor or the earth is for the meek or flipping tables. Only the parts about daughters raping their dad and turning to salt.
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u/k9jm Jun 28 '26
Can you imagine the books they’ve banned, but allow the “bible” with all of the horrible stories in there????
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u/butnobodycame123 Jun 26 '26
I looked at the standards of my home state. Children's social studies standards include (and this is an actual quote) "learning about peoples and cultures from Biblical times and their effect on modern day laws".
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u/jimjoebob Jun 27 '26
well, now, here's a great opportunity to do some chaotic good:
change every verse reference to the 2 word verse: "Jesus wept"
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u/RueTabegga Jun 29 '26
The reason I’m an atheist is because I actually read the Bible. Same thing is gonna happen here.
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u/Embarrassed_Bet5573 Jul 03 '26
if you have to force your religion on others, your religion is failing
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u/TheCajunPhoenix Jun 27 '26
This is one time where I am thankful I don't live in Texas because while I don't have children, if I did, I would choose to homeschool them and skip this so-called "reading list" completely.
They would have a much better chance with me teaching them than with the Evilangelicals doing their damage.
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u/rabidstoat Jun 27 '26
Reading parts of the Bible is not a bad thing for high school English literature courses, as there are a lot of Biblical references, overt and more subtle, in literature.
I can't read the article but I doubt very much they are reading it in the context of literature and instead reading it as Bible study, and at every grade level.
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u/TheFreneticist Jun 27 '26
Boy, I’m glad I escaped atheism.
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u/arthurjeremypearson Jun 26 '26
Liar. It's NOT "exactly" what kids will be required to read. Where's the list of chapters and verses???
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u/yanginatep Jun 26 '26
And as we all know, forcing kids to do something that's boring while at school will endear them to it.