The Bible has become a new casualty in the crusade to ban books in school libraries. Using the criteria for banning books under a recent state law - the Bible is now banned forbidden from gracing the shelves of the library at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah.
The Utah law states that any books containing "pornographic or indecent" content must be banned from school libraries. This is part of a new crusade across the country to ban books in the name of protecting children, and it has given power to right-wing groups to ban books dealing with the LGBTQ community and trans people. But the wording of these laws are somewhat vague, and a Utah resident demonstrated how ridiculous the laws are by pushing for the banning of the Bible - and winning their case.
I oppose the Bible being banned from school libraries. But based on the new standards for banning books, any references to prostitution, sex, homosexuality, and a host of other topics many Americans have deemed inappropriate for children appear in the Bible, and, well - those standards could lead to Bibles being banned.
Here is one example we touched on on the air today, from Ezekiel, 23:18 - 21:
“When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.”
We understand the point of this passage is not to arouse anyone, but the mere presence of similar words and scenes in a non-pornographic context has been enough to get other secular books pulled from shelves. Perhaps a more nuanced approach to protecting kids is called for!
