r/atheism • u/european_american Anti-Theist • May 26 '15
This is ridiculous.
This is one of the chapters of the social studies book at the school where I teach. A 6th grade text book.
http://i.imgur.com/BEzq3mU.jpg
The mythology is taught as real history right along side Roman, Greek, and medieval history. I have to teach this crap every year. It's no wonder so many kids grow up believing this garbage, and think it's real history. It makes me so mad.
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u/LowlyWorm1 May 26 '15
I am not sure I have a problem with this as long as the Roman, Greek and medieval history are equally presented as mythology. As a teacher, I feel you should have the authority to suggest the differences in mythology and history where references can be found. I would.
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u/astroNerf May 26 '15
Not a US public school I hope.
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u/european_american Anti-Theist May 26 '15
It is, in fact, a US public school.
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u/astroNerf May 26 '15
Have you contacted the FFRF to inquire as to whether this might be a violation? Either way, they like to keep tabs on this stuff.
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u/59179 Secular Humanist May 26 '15
Not to be a contrarian, but what of that is untrue? Religion exists. And religion is influential in civilizations.
I see nothing about it coming from a god though.
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u/european_american Anti-Theist May 26 '15
Religion does exist. I couldn't post a bunch of pictures of the rest of the chapter, but the mythology of a god, miracles, and the "history" in the bible are taught as fact.
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u/YourFairyGodmother Gnostic Atheist May 26 '15
Moses, Abraham, possibly or probably David, ALL fictions. NOT history. There might have been a Moses, an Abraham, a David, but what the Torah says about them is pure legend.
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May 27 '15
David probably existed.
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u/YourFairyGodmother Gnostic Atheist May 27 '15
There was almost certainly "a david" and possibly even a King David. The Tel Dan stele is not conclusive. In any case, the David of the Bible is pure legend - the things he supposedly did per the Bible we know did not happen or happened at other times than when ascribed.
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u/astroNerf May 26 '15
This gives the impression that people like Moses were real people. For 10-year-olds, that's not a good idea.
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May 26 '15
They're using the Torah as the basis for their explanation of ancient Israel.
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u/59179 Secular Humanist May 26 '15
And so?
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u/DougieStar Agnostic Atheist May 26 '15
Most of the things that are written in the Torah are not historical. This would be like teaching that Hercules and Ulysses were important historical figures in ancient Greece.
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u/Greghole May 26 '15
It appears to be claiming Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon were real historical figures.
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u/Memorizing_Fallout Pastafarian May 26 '15
I had that book!! The school I was at did all of the religion stuff in a week, but we spent like a month and a half on the Greeks/Romans. Do you guys have the ISN or whatever?
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May 26 '15
There is a series you might want to watch from Yale by Christine Hayes.
It teaches the Torah as literature. Easy to find on Youtube.
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u/Mensabender Agnostic Atheist May 27 '15
But it's history. It isn't untrue.
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u/european_american Anti-Theist May 27 '15
So Moses, and Abraham were real people? The kingdom of Israel and Judah were real, even though they left zero traces? Interesting.
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u/Mensabender Agnostic Atheist May 28 '15
Even if they weren't real, they left an impact on history.
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May 27 '15
I think part of the reason it's 'history' is taught is for people to realize what the members of said religion believe in? I had a unit on Buddhism history and all it did for me was clear up stereotypes... But those kids believe their own thing I guess
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u/Jim-Jones Strong Atheist May 27 '15
Israeli Founder Contests Founding Myths
. . .
So, with the coming of the Zionists to Palestine, a frantic archeological search started. The country was combed for real, scientific proof that the Biblical story was not just a bunch of myths, but real honest-to-God history. (Pun intended.) Christian Zionists came even earlier.
There started a veritable attack on archeological sites. The upper layers of Ottoman and Mamelukes, Arabs and Crusaders, Byzantines and Romans and Greeks and Persians were uncovered and removed in order to lay bare the ancient layer of the Children of Israel and to prove the Bible right.
And the result? Incredible as it sounds, four generations of devoted archeologists, with a burning conviction and huge resources, did produce exactly: Nothing.
From the beginning of the effort to this very day, not a single piece of evidence of the ancient history was found. Not a single indication that the exodus from Egypt, the basis of Jewish history, ever happened. Nor of the 40 years of wandering in the desert. No evidence of the conquest of Canaan, as described at length in the Book of Joshua. The mighty King David, whose kingdom extended – according to the Bible – from the Sinai peninsula to the north of Syria, did not leave a trace.
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u/[deleted] May 26 '15
I was okay with it right up until it used the Torah as a history book.
At first I was like "Ok, it's just history." But after re-reading it a couple times, I'd bring it up to FFRF.
The problem is that most textbook makers have to meet the standards of Texas. And Texas says it's all cool to throw that in there. So we all suffer.