totalshell – Member

I d rather the govt was involved in giving all children in the country access to a cornerstone of the dominant religion in the country

Every child in the country already has access to it.

Being bloody suspicious, I find that the books are from a private donor through the Gov. If a private donor wishes to give a KJB to every school then why does the Gov need to be involved?

i agree, I think religion should steer clear of the state and the state not show favour to any religion or belief.

Our copy arrived at school today. I took great pleasure in leaving it in the fiction section of the library before I left tonight.

bigblackshed – Member
Being bloody suspicious, I find that the books are from a private donor through the Gov. If a private donor wishes to give a KJB to every school then why does the Gov need to be involved?

Unless it’s a case of Bibles for Peerages or PM Questions?

this^

goves plan has been foundering for a while, im sure hed like to have had the state pay but then for fairness theyd have to buy a copy of other major religous texts too

the kjb may have had an important place in out literary history but it was written by king james for the propaganda purpose of reinforcing the divine right of kings and making sure the plebs know their place

which sounds about right for a tory gov.

goves generally a dick his push to privatise education is far more worrying, his lies about academies and healthy food is a prime example http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/apr/22/jamie-oliver-academies-junk-food

just wait till may finally gets the boot from the home office and gove gets that job, thatll be extra scary

As long as the schools use it in conjunction with other religious texts and some text that provides a counter viewpoint that’s great.

Is it still the case that RE is the only compulsory part of the curriculum for under 16s and that (obviously) RE isn’t Religious Indoctrination? If so, you’d assume that every school has a bible knocking around already and probably the other major source texts as well. (I’m possibly very out of date).

it really is a fundamental text, easily as important as Shakespeare when talking about modern English.

so, totally unimportant to anyone outside of academia or the handful of people who can actually work out what the hell shakeapeare is saying then ?

or the handful of people who can actually work out what the hell shakeapeare is saying then ?

“handful”

Seriously ?

I’m with trailmonkey on this, I reckon Shakespeare must’ve been on the ol’ sherbet when he wrote some of his stuff, and working out wtf he was trying to say isn’t much more than a guessing game. Good stories though.

If they want to make the bible more accessible then, well in London at least, they should distribute the Cockney Bible.

For example it’s a sheer delight to read the Lord’s Prayer (AKA the Guvnor’s Prayer) in Cockney :

Hello, Dad, up there in good ol’ Heaven,

Your name is well great and holy, and we respect you, Guv.
We hope we can all ‘ave a butcher’s at Heaven and be there as soon as possible:
and we want to make you happy, Guv, and do what you want ‘ere on earth, just like what you do in Heaven.
Guv, please give us some Uncle Fred, and enough grub and stuff to keep us going today,
and we hope you’ll forgive us when we cock things up,
just like we’re supposed to forgive them who annoy us and do dodgy stuff to us.
There’s a lot of dodgy people around, Guv;
please don’t let us get tempted to do bad things.
Help keep us away from all the nasty, evil stuff,
and keep that dodgy Satan away from us,
‘cos you’re much stronger than ‘im.
Your the Boss, God, and will be for ever, innit?
Cheers, Amen.

Why so much cynicism/suspicion.

Maybe someone just thinks it’s a good idea and wants to use their privileged position (i.e. loads of money) to help, especially at a time when the govt is pretty strapped for cash.

Or they could have tried to do something actually useful.

If they want to make the bible more accessible then, well in London at least, they should distribute the Cockney Bible.

And the Book of Dave

so, totally unimportant to anyone outside of academia or the handful of people who can actually work out what the hell shakeapeare is saying then ?

😯 Schoolchildren do Shakespeare. It really isn’t that hard to understand 95% of it and any decent text will have footnotes explaining the other 5%.

Anyway, yes the text of the KJV was/is hugely influential. There are around 250 odd idioms and phrases in English that come directly from that text. No other book can claim that.

Here are some you may have heard of:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bible-phrases-sayings.html

The King James bible is available in every school with a web connection, which is all of them: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/

Anyone bothered by the bibles being sent into schools would surely be more bothered by the compulsory act of daily collective worship? And anyone bothered by the government’s involvement in the distribution would be more bothered by the non-separation of religion and state?

I hope someone donates The God Delusion to every school in the country

Anyone bothered by the bibles being sent into schools would surely be more bothered by the compulsory act of daily collective worship? And anyone bothered by the government’s involvement in the distribution would be more bothered by the non-separation of religion and state?

doesnt happen in mosy schools. I also think you have missed the point, no one is botheted by schools getting a book. The problem is Gove writting the intro and the book being clearly just for display purposes.