Stickers in Science books? Why not then stickers in Bibles?

Question

In 2002 the religious right of Cobb County, Georgia voted in favor of placing stickers in public school science books in order to cast doubt on the theory of evolution in favor of their religious conviction*. Luckily this was ruled unconstitunional in 2005 and overturned.

My question is: How would christians feel if the government passed a law that required that every bible had a warning sticker inside that read something like this: "Ideas contained in this book have little to no evidence to support them. Most of the stories have been adapted from earlier religious beliefs. This book should be read with an open and critical mind."?

Somehow this seems more justified than the schoolbook stickers of Cobb County, GA.... Your thoughts?

*Here is the actual text of the stickers:
"This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things**. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.***"

**Actually this sticker is mistaken about evolution. It is the study of how life on earth became so diverse... not the origins of living things, This is simply more evidence of a religious spin, and is further confusing to students.

***And religion shouldn't be Studied with an "open and critical mind?!"

Eri:
I like it.. spot on, however in order to be fair I considered the wording for my sticker very carefully. It's meant not to offend, but rather enlighten. I think it's much more fair than what was done to those school books (see *'d comments above).

Answer 1

as a theist I think that's a great idea. If they require a text book to have a sticker then so should the Bible.

Answer 2

Unlike naturalistic evolution the Bible actually has good evidence to support it. I recommend www.apologetics.org. For example, the remnants of ancient chariot wheels have been found at the bottom of the Red Sea where Scripture says God drowned Pharoah's chariot army after he split the sea. Check out a video called (Exodus Revealed). Whereas paleontology remains science's letdown. If you base your beliefs solely on "evidence" you should be able to provide some kind of historical evidence arguing that the Bible was adapted from earlier religious beliefs. As for naturalistic evolution, the fossil record embarrassingly records abrupt appearance and stasis not mutation (we've all heard of the pre-cambrian explosion), molecular biologists simply cannot demonstrate how one species could ever mutate into another. Finch beaks and pepper moths evidence micro-evolution, not macro-evolution. The reason such stickers should be in science books is precisely because scientists, who claim to believe only what is observable, testable, and falsifiable prove to be "men of faith" when they affirm naturalistic evolution in spite of the fact that they have neither observed or tested it. I could also mention the problems of irreducible complexity and the failure of chemical predestination among others, but this is a start. Also, any good educated Christian would encourage reading the BIble with an open and critical mind. If the Bible has a divine author, he can take it.

Answer 3

For one thing, students aren't forced to read the Bible and take it as fact. Reading the Bible is optional.

Students are forced to read their textbooks, are rarely told about any evidence which might cast doubt on evolution, and are required to answer test questions in a manner which acknowledges evolution as fact, even when it is contrary to common sense.

Secondly, your claim that the Bible contains ideas which have little to no evidence to support them is mistaken. The Bible has an extremely large amount of historical and archaeological evidence which shows a very large amount of the events recorded in the Bible are recorded accurately. You might argue about whether some of the events had supernatural causes, but to say there is little to no evidence they happened is untrue.

I would agree with the last statement, however: The Bible should always be read with an open and critical mind.

I challenge you to read the Bible that way.

Answer 4

That's interesting; i hadn't thought of it that way.

If there were Bibles in public schools, I'm sure there'd be a sticker, just as I'm sure those nerds who own science text books don't have those stickers.
(plus: the government couldn't order stickers on all Bibles printed; freedom of the press!)

Also, I just realized; in the scientific sense, a "theory" is something that has been proven and supported many times (vocab word this year!)


(FYI, I do believe evolution happened, but I believe the Bible happened too!)

Answer 5

the stickers are only for schools -- not the books themselves. And that is because if the gov't -- which is a representation of the people -- requires kids to read books which their parents find disagreeable (and with some sound basis), then parents (aka voters; aka the people of the "of the people, by the people, for the people) should be allowed to mandate a sticker for those required readings. In contrast, the bible isn't mandated public school material.

c'mon, use some common sense.

Answer 6

i'm incredibly effective Goo long gone will do away with the decal glue residue. This tip is going to sound unusual, in spite of the indisputable fact that it works. in case you the books are coated with a laminated e book jacket, or if the hide is slick and shiny, you may get the decal glue off with somewhat peanut butter. I even have used this technique. The trick is to apply in basic terms a tiny little bit of peanut butter, rub it into the decal, and then scrub off gently with sparkling paper towels. you are able to google this to hit upon extra precise training on line.

Answer 7

The Bible warning label:

WARNING: This is a work of fiction. Do NOT take it literally.

CONTENT ADVISORY: Contains verses descriptive of or advocating suicide, incest, bestiality, sadomasochism, sexual activity in a violent context, murder, morbid violence, use of drugs or alcohol, homosexuality, voyeurism, revenge, undermining of authority figures, lawlessness, and human rights violations and atrocities.

EXPOSURE WARNING: Exposures to contents for extended periods of time or during formative years in children may cause delusions, hallucinations, decreased cognitive and objective reasoning abilities, and, in extreme cases, pathological disorders, hatred, bigotry, and violence including, but not limited to fanaticism, murder and genocide.

Answer 8

This guy has already designed his own stickers for placing in the bible.

Answer 9

Actually, I'd recommend a different sticker for Bibles.

WARNING: This book contains scenes of graphic violence, sex, abuse, and murder. It is demeaning to women and encourages the practices of slavery, oppression, racism, and hatred. It has been used to justify acts of unspeakable violence over the last 2,000 years. Not appropriate for anyone under the age of 18.

Answer 10

Evolution is an unproven theory. Every year, scientists discover more things that refute their long held beliefs. I'll take the Bible. It's been consistent for a looong time.