By Wiley Drake, 2nd Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention

Dr. John Hagee, of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Tx., called "The Bible and Its Influence" "a masterful work of deception, distortion and outright falsehoods." Bible Literacy Project Communications Vice President Sheila Weber has claimed that "misrepresentations" about the textbook "The Bible and Its Influence" have been corrected. However, many of Hagees' strongest concerns remain unchanged.

Page 29 reads "other origin stories tell of many gods who are created, etc." Hagee says this "plants the concept in the mind of children that polytheism is just as acceptable as monotheism, which is contrary to the Bible." Also unchanged is a Bible quotation from an interpretation by Dr. Robert Alter, an endorser of and contributor to the textbook, saying God created the world "out of welter and waste." Hagee contends this leaves a "completely wrong" impression of the creation account. Hagee says the unchanged phrase on page 34 promotes polytheism: "By contrast, some traditions and philosophies see humans as no more or less sacred than other living creatures."

Below is just a sampling of some of the troubling passages in "The Bible and Its Influence" that remain unchanged:

• "Job is one of the most difficult books in the Bible in that it provides no clear cut moral or answer to Job's situation." (page 161)
•  "God's help comes with strings attached – commandments or laws that the Israelites must obey in order to keep faith." (page 72)
•  "The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.' [Job 42:12] This ending, though pleasing in some ways, has failed to satisfy various readers over the centuries." (page 160)
•  "It is always good to remember not to try to apply current standards to the biblical accounts." (page 50)
•  "Many students although aware of good and evil, have not thought deeply about it. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, God is considered to be good, all knowing and all powerful. Yet this view presents a problem." (page 163)
•  "Gideon won the battle by a bit of trickery." (page 81)
•  "The pattern of family trickery and deceit continues." (page 56 speaking of the family of Abraham)
•  "American writer and reporter Lincoln Steffen's 1926 defense of Leninist (Communist) politics was called ‘Moses in Red.'" (page 65)

The text's dialectic method of questioning faith is reinforced on page 13 where it claims William Tyndale, translator of the Bible, "coined such phrases as 'Let there be light,' 'My brother's keeper,' and more. Teachers are instructed to "Devote particular attention to the phrases coined by Tyndale." This creates doubt over the true author of the Bible. Tyndale only translated the Bible, but the Bible Literacy Project implies that he was the one coining the phrases and writing the sentences.

It is obvious why the National Council on Islamic Education has endorsed the guidelines to which the textbook was written. Teachers are instructed "to explain that the traditional Islamic reading of this story [ sic. Abraham and Isaac] (incorporated into the Qur'an) substitutes Ishmael for Isaac; Muslims see Ishmael as the oldest son and true successor to Abraham." In the revised student text, students read "Muslims honor Abraham as the first monotheist, worshipper of the one true God they call Allah." The text further states that "They [Muslims] prize the covenant God made with Hagar when she was abandoned in the wilderness" and quotes scripture supporting the statement. The text never mentions that the Bible states that Ishmael is not an heir to Abraham.

As Dr. Hagee said about this textbook, "distortions, deceptions and falsehoods never produce moral, emotional, political or intellectual health." This is especially true when the Bible is compromised with liberal interpretations, justification of communism, and implications that God's chosen people were deceptive liars. Fact is, the Bible Literacy Project's revisions fall far short of allaying deep concerns about "The Bible and Its Influence."

Date: March 29, 2007

Contact: National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools

Media Relations - (336) 272-2930

Seven Georgia School Districts Follow Recommendation of Legislature

and Implement NCBCPS Bible Curriculum

Greensboro, NC—March 29, 2007—Seven additional public school districts in Georgia have voted to adopt the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public School’s (NCBCPS) elective Bible curriculum, The Bible in History and Literature, since the passage of a recent state law. In 2006, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation encouraging public schools to offer an elective course that teaches both the Old and the New Testaments in the context of history and literature, using the Bible as the primary textbook.

“We are pleased that many districts are already taking action to implement the recommendations of the legislature. State and local leaders are right to acknowledge that teaching about the Bible is an important component of any well-rounded education,” said Elizabeth Ridenour, NCBCPS President. “This curriculum meets all the applicable Constitutional guidelines and has assisted thousands of students in their pursuit of academic excellence and cultural literacy.”

NCBCPS notes its curriculum has been implemented in over 380 school districts (1,500 high schools) in 37 states, since its launch in 1994. Approxmiately 190,000 students have already taken the elective course for credit. The curriculum utilizes the Bible as its textbook, and includes a 300 page teachers’ guide. The course has never been legally challenged because it presents the Bible objectively, as part of the regular program of public school education.

The 2006 enabling legislation, authored by State Senator Tommie Williams (R), SS19, amended Georgia’s Quality Basic Education Act to make available an elective course in the history and literature of the Old Testament Era and another in the history and literature of the New Testament Era. NCBCPS’ The Bible in History and Literature fully complies with the Georgia law.

The NCBCPS curriculum has been endorsed by The Foundation for Academic Excellence, Citizens for Excellence in Education, American Family Association, The Center for Reclaiming America, Eagle Forum, Dr. D. James Kennedy, David Barton of WallBuilders, and many other organizations and legal entities. For more information about this curriculum or how to have it implemented in your school district, visit www.bibleinschools.net or call 1-877-ON BIBLE.

Media's 'Go-To' Man on Religion in Public Schools, Charles Haynes, Unqualified, Has Conflict of Interest, By Nancy Manno, co-host of the radio talk show 'In Great Company'

Tuesday March 27, 6:00 am ET

LINWOOD, N.J., March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Freedom Forum First Amendment Center Senior Scholar, Charles Haynes, the news media's "go-to" man on religion in education, is not qualified to speak on legal Constitutional issues and Haynes should recuse himself when discussing teaching Bible in public schools because of a conflict of interest due to his longstanding association with the Bible Literacy Project, which is marketing a textbook to public schools.

For the full article to go Media's 'Go-To' Man on Religion in Public Schools

On December 21, the Bible Literacy Project (BLP) responded to an article by Dr. Wiley Drake (Second Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention), which pointed out the error in the BLP's textbook, THE BIBLE AND ITS INFLUENCE, that states on page 238 that Jesus was born in Nazareth. The BLP said this would be "corrected" in the second printing of the textbook due January 2007.

This acknowledgement of error by the BLP is interesting given that its website claims the textbook doesn't contain errors, a number of which I have described in previous articles. Let's see if the BLP's new textbook edition corrects "all" of the errors. And I wonder if the BLP will give all the schools using the current edition free new editions to make up for selling them texts with errors which they claimed weren't there?

If you want to see the BLP's list of reviewers and consultants (who did not catch the errors before initial publication), look here.

Among those listed is Dr. Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center. However, given Dr. Drake's criticism of Dr. Haynes, the BLP now seems to be trying to distance itself from the latter.

To read the entire article, please go to The Christian News Wire. (The article will open in a new window).