The Oklahoma State School Board held its monthly meeting with Ryan Walters yesterday morning. There were many highlights, including the unveiling of new metal detectors!
This past week we learned that 1.4 million dollars in grants to OK schools for safety and security lapsed unspent by the OSDE.
— Rep Melissa Provenzano (@proven4oklahoma) June 27, 2024
In other news, the State Department of Education has installed new metal detector ahead of today's state school board meeting. 1/ pic.twitter.com/DTMHbloCoG
From the national perspective, the big news was that our Christian Nationalist State School Superintendent Ryan Walters issued a mandate for all Oklahoma public school districts to begin teaching lessons from a collection of 2,000-year-old ancient religious texts that contain various Middle East-centered myths, fables, and philosophies.
As long as these texts are taught alongside Beowulf, the Iliad, and other fictional religious-themed epics and “histories” from ancient times, I don’t have a big problem with the Bible being taught in school. Sure, there are plenty of churches that kids across the state may attend to get those lessons, but if it’s an elective course and doesn’t proselytize, why not?
Naturally, Walters was there to quickly provide that “Why Not?” argument.
Always pandering, indoctrinating, and seeking attention, Walters says he wants the Bible to be taught as real-life history to help provide students with a better understanding of the foundation of our country.
Oklahoma’s top education official ordered public schools Thursday to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12, the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms.
The order sent to districts across the state by Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters says adherence to the mandate is compulsory and “immediate and strict compliance is expected.”
“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said in a statement. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation, which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction.”
What a pandering dick cheese, huh?
I, unfortunately, was taught in Oklahoma Public Schools from Kindergarten – Go Lee Lions! – all the way through High School – PC West is Best! – and I was never once taught from the Bible. Despite that, I still have a pretty clear understanding of the “foundation of our nation,” including that pesky First Amendment that says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
But then again, all public schools are different.
Ryan went to McAlester Public Schools – a rural school district where students apparently beat each other over the head with large, heavy Bibles every morning – leading to severe brain damage that renders them unable to employ critical thinking skills, or even interpret or follow the simplest of laws.
It’s not clear if Walters has the authority to mandate that schools teach it. State law says individual school districts have the exclusive authority to decide on instruction, curriculum, reading lists, instructional materials, and textbooks.
Yep, look at that.
Ryan is going full Ahab and ignoring the word of God, a supernatural, all-mighty moralist deity who – as Peter says in Romans 13:1-2 – put the authorities in place to establish the same societal laws that Ryan is trying to usurp:
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
It makes you wonder, instead of forcing Oklahoma students to read the Bible, maybe Ryan should open up the good book and give it a gander instead. While he’s at it, maybe he should read the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions, too, so he can get an idea of which laws he’s violating.
Of course, we all know that doesn't really matter.
Ryan – along with his puppet master Matt Langston – is doing all this stupid authoritarian unconstitutional stuff for attention. He doesn’t care if it’s right or wrong or even legal, just if it stirs up enough controversy to get him a spot on NewsMax tomorrow evening – something that, along with Ryan’s dark haughty lies, is something the Lord really hates according to Proverbs:
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
Geeze, I bet it sure sucks for Ryan to be hated by the very same God he's trying to force upon every school district across the state.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
