The Bible Is NOT A Science Textbook

I saw the story of the Mount Vernon, OH teacher and his bible on a muted, airport TV yesterday.

Yep – national news.

You didn’t really think Fox News could pass up a story like:

“Ohio Teacher Refuses to Remove Bible From Students’ View”

The subtext, for Fox News viewers, is pretty clear: Ohio Schools are biased against Christians.

But if you read the whole story, you’ll quickly see that this just isn’t true. If anyone is biased here, it’s John Freshwater- the middle school SCIENCE teacher who refuses to teach the course for which he was hired.

If Freshwater was hired as a religious studiest teacher, then the Ten Commandments on his door and the posters with Bible verses throughout his classroom would have been appropriate. Even the extra Bibles on his clasroom shelves.

But he wasn’t. He was hired to teach SCIENCE. Not Christian science. Just normal middle school science.

And that’s the real problem here.

I don’t think anyone really cares if this guy wants to keep a bible on his desk. Whatever floats your religious boat. But the bible is not a science text book- and it should stay closed during science class.

And if Freshwater could do that- then the bible wouldn’t be a big issue.

But again- he has a long history of NOT doing that.

Not only has he passed out handouts questioning evolutionary theory (in a SCIENCE class) and pretty made it clear the his God is responsible for creating the universe.

In one class, Freshwater used Lego pieces to describe the beginning of the world. He dumped the pieces, then asked students if the Legos could assemble by themselves, said Joe Stuart, 18, assistant editor of the high-school newspaper.

When Freshwater taught students about electrical current, he used a device to leave a red mark in the shape of a cross on the forearms of some students, Stuart said.

Stick to teaching science in your science class, Mr. Freshwater, and you can keep whatever the hell you want on your desk.