Australian Opp Leader: All kids must read the Bible

[bobalot]

This windbag is the Federal opposition leader in Australia.

All kids must read the Bible, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says

BIBLE classes should be compulsory so children have a fundamental understanding of Christianity on leaving school, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

"I think everyone should have some familiarity with the great texts that are at the core of our civilisation," Mr Abbott said.

Do you agree with Tony Abbott's view? Have your say below.

"That includes, most importantly, the Bible.

"I think it would be impossible to have a good general education without at least some serious familiarity with the Bible and with the teachings of Christianity.

"That doesn't mean that people have to be believers."

But former Howard government Islamic advisor Dr Ameer Ali, said Mr Abbott's remarks were "over the top".

"It's one thing to say every child needs a good knowledge of history and geography or science," Dr Ali said.

"But it is something else to say all children should have a knowledge of the Bible. That might hurt other people who have their own holy scriptures," he said.

And the Australian Education Union's federal president, Angelo Gavrielatos, said that religion was not a priority for schools.

"There is a place for comparative studies of religion in the curriculum, but ultimately we consider it a private matter for parents and their children," he said.

In an interview with the Herald Sun Mr Abbott also said:

YOUNG people should be alerted to the long-term health dangers of binge drinking.

A STRONGER police presence was needed in places where street violence was common.

THERE should be better choices for women considering abortion.

OBESITY should be tackled not through "creating a nanny state" but through education to encourage adults to be more responsible for themselves and their children.

PEOPLE should have more children, and the baby bonus should not be means-tested.

PENALTY rates for employees who work on weekends or public holidays were a matter for workers and employers to agree upon, "subject to a reasonable safety net".

Source

There should be "better" choices for women considering abortion? Tony Abbott is an strident anti-abortionist. We can all guess what he means by "better" choices.

The scary thing is, this arsehole could be the leader of this country.

[Shroom Man 777]

Everyone should be forced to study the Koran because apparently kids nowadays, including myself, are deficient in their knowledge of the Arabic numerals and mathematics.

[Lusankya]

The scary thing is, this arsehole could be the leader of this country.

I very much doubt this will happen, precisely because of him saying crap like this. Abbott's even less popular than Costello was. The bigger danger that Abbot's causing to the system is that he's increasing the probability of a Labor majority in the senate next election, which would be even worse than the Liberal majority in both houses last time, because they won't even have the threat of someone like the Nationals pretending to be a real independent party.

On the other hand, if Abbott gets elected, at least I'll have an easily understood reason for wanting to leave Australia. "Our Prime Minister is a loon who wants everyone to be Catholic" is something that everybody can understand.

[Vendetta]

Studying the Bible is just about the surest way to raise atheists...

[dragon]

Now if it was a study of all religions equally including atheism than that would be ok. THat way kids can see the inherent flaws in different religions as well developing a tolerance for difference.

That how my DoD school was we learned a little about every religion in order to teach tolerance and understanding.

[Stark]

Now if it was a study of all religions equally including atheism than that would be ok. THat way kids can see the inherent flaws in different religions as well developing a tolerance for difference.

That how my DoD school was we learned a little about every religion in order to teach tolerance and understanding.

This is pretty much every history class ever, circa grade nine.

This story is hilarious because it shows that the coalition's 'plan' of having a new leader of awesome would have worked better if it wasn't Abbott. What a tardbar.

[Zixinus]

If he wants to teach the core of modern civilization, then he should advocate the teaching of the countless philosophical works and ideas that have made up western civilization. The Bible is a legacy in western civilization, not a source.

[Lusankya]

Yeah, but he doesn't want to teach the core of modern civilisation: he wants to teach everyone to worship and respect Mary, Mother of Christ and to say our prayers before bed just like good little boys and girls. Everybody knows this, and the only people who buy his half-arsed rationalisation are the ones who are just as crazy as he is.

[The Romulan Republic]

Actually, while I can't speak for the motives of this particular individual (not being particularly familiar with Australian politics or past statements/actions by this person), I see absolutely nothing wrong with teaching about the Bible as an important part of history and literature. I would naturally object to teaching it as the Word of God, but as long as its taught from a literary and historical perspective, I see no problem with it.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Eh we read the Bible a bit in Humanities and one of my English classes in high school, and everything was handled appropriately as far as "we are reading it because of historical/literary significance" goes and nobody was standing up telling us about the One True Faith or anything.

[Stark]

If you paid attention you'd kno that every child in Australia already learns about the bible in this way(except art students I guess) and Abbott is just a religious nut of the deny abortion variety. It's deeply amusing that Americans would imagine he's highlighting some ignorance of the Bible historically. The very idea the bible text itself is the core of modern civilisation tells you all you need to know about poor old Mr Abbott.

[DPDarkPrimus]

I don't believe for a second that Abbot is trying to have the Bible used in an objective and useful educational fashion, merely saying that the possibility does exist for it.

The quotes from Abbot are nothing new to me - I've been hearing them from politicians since I was old enough to care about politics. Such is the US.

[Stark]

The Liberals knew what they were getting, which is why Abbott's narrow victory is so fucking hilarious. The it's going to be great if Rudd and Abbott start fighting over the god-botherers (although I'm pretty certain they're different varieties) because they'll end up looking like complete idiots.

[Ford Prefect]

Anything which damages Rudd's credibility is great, but the slimy deviant is too clever and usually too media savvy to get into the trap of dogmatically fighting about religion with Tony 'Have I mentioned I love Jesus' Abbot. He's got a pretty sweet set-up currently: he doesn't need to preach, he just needs to continue giving his current impression of being religious, like how he always gives interviews on Church steps after Sunday mass. This is going to appeal more to Australia's religious base, because it shows that Rudd is 'one of the faithful' without delving into evangelical territory.

[Yona]

BIBLE classes should be compulsory so children have a fundamental understanding of Christianity on leaving school, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

Is he any relation to Sarah Palin?

Some people snort drugs,... others snort religion. Both can cause side effects.

[Zixinus]

Yeah, but he doesn't want to teach the core of modern civilisation: he wants to teach everyone to worship and respect Mary, Mother of Christ and to say our prayers before bed just like good little boys and girls. Everybody knows this, and the only people who buy his half-arsed rationalisation are the ones who are just as crazy as he is.

And that is what I meant to be my point: his rationalization is baseless.

If he would honestly want to teach the core of western civilization, he would advocate making the central philosophical ideas, such as the scientific method or the idea of a government that is responsible to its people, mandatory reading for all students. As well as the ideas behind the main political ideals that are popular today, such as liberalism and socialism, both Western ideas and how a modern democratic government works.

While many of these philosophies were made by Christians, sometimes heavily infused with Christians ideology and motifs, they are not defined by being Christian. These works are the true core of Western civilization. Yet idiots like him can't tell the fucking difference and somehow conclude that a 2000 year old cult movement ,that quickly branched and started trotting each other's throat in short order, is somehow the core of western civilization.

[Mr. Tickle]

Can I presume he is referring to the New Testament in isolation or the combination of both the Old and New?

To build upon that point I could have no problem if (as other posters have stated) this was done purely in a historical context and setting out the development of these stories/fables which are totally deep rooted in early civilization. The formation of the Abraham faiths should be critical in that, so I would argue that discussion of the Old Testament should be very much discussed, and in much more detail rather than a read through of the headliner chapters of genesis and exodus, oh and that bloody one with the whale.

If we are wish to teach children the history/basis of the most powerful, insidious and self replicating means of thought control then I'm all for it, pull back the curtain and look past the smoke and mirrors.




edit: grammer error fix.

[adam_grif]

Opposition wants bible classes, government wants internet filtering.

I need to leave this country ASAP.

[General Zod]

Can I presume he is referring to the New Testament in isolation or the combination of both the Old and New?

To build upon that point I could have no problem if (as other posters have stated) this was done purely in a historical context and setting out the development of these stories/fables which are totally deep rooted in early civilization. The formation of the Abraham faiths should be critical in that, so I would argue that discussion of the Old Testament should be very much discussed, and in much more detail rather than a read through of the headliner chapters of genesis and exodus, oh and that bloody one with the whale.

If we are wish to teach children the history/basis of the most powerful, insidious and self replicating means of thought control then I'm all for it, pull back the curtain and look past the smoke and mirrors.




edit: grammer error fix.

I don't know how much you can argue in favor historical context considering a significant chunk of the "historical" bits in the bible were written hundreds of years after the fact with a fair bit of whitewashing. Especially when some stuff like the Exodus of the Jews was pretty much entirely fabricated.

[bobalot]

Tony Abbot will crash and burn before the next election or lead the Liberals into electoral suicide.

[Stark]

Opposition wants bible classes, government wants internet filtering.

I need to leave this country ASAP.

Only one of those options is actually practical; the laughable farce of one may push the electorate into the other, however.

[bobalot]

Opposition wants bible classes, government wants internet filtering.

I need to leave this country ASAP.

You want to leave a rich first world country with high standards of living because of something that can never be practically implemented (internet filtering) or something the electorate will never accept (Compulsory bible study)?

Hell, even members of the governing Labor party are against internet filtering, which means the chances of it passing are growing more faint by the day.

Are you actually being serious?

[adam_grif]

Of course the rampant stupidity displayed by politician's pipe dreams aren't the only or main reason I want to leave. I hate that we don't have a bill of rights. I hate the political false dichotomy between authoritarian centre-right Liberals and authoritarian centre-centre-right Labour. I hate the absolutely shoddy internet speeds and the associated ludicrous pricing. I hate the bizarre 60% markup Video Games get here. I hate that I'm never going to be able to own a firearm more impressive than "centrefire .22 LR bolt action" (which sucks because I've always wanted to collect and fire WW2 rifles, and even after jumping through the olympic sized hurdles I have to in order to get my hands on any guns at all, I'll never be able to buy a Garand, STV-40 or G43).

That's off the top of my head. Australia is a fine nation, but it's not a great fit for me and my interests.

[Lusankya]

Out of curiosity, which country would you find to be a great fit for you and your interests? And do you consider finding somewhere that "fits your interests" better to be worth giving up the privileges and advantages of Australian citizenship?

Personally, I don't find Australia to be a great fit for myself either, which is why I'm in China right now, but I imagine that your reasons are quite different from mine.

[Stark]

Oh man. One of his interests is clearly not importing video games? I gotta laugh at anyone who thinks 20mbit/s is 'shoddy' and worth fleeing the country for, but I guess 'higher than 100ms' = 'unplayable lag'.