To the Editor:

Re “Oklahoma Districts Resist Edict on Bibles in Classes” (news article, Aug. 23):

If teachers in public schools are required to teach the Bible in the classroom, they should teach it as they would any other historical document or book of literature.

Teach the good, the bad and the ugly. Create a curriculum that encourages debate over whether this is a book of fact, fiction or mythology. Teach students that this book was written (and rewritten) decades and centuries after what it describes, based on oral history, and discuss the weaknesses of such sources as fact. Have students debate the benefits and drawbacks of a society based on the teachings of the Bible versus a constitution. Devote a portion of the curriculum to other religious books and teachings, including those of Native Americans.

Or they could just abide by the freedom of religion we have as Americans and leave the promotion, interpretation and teachings of the Bible to religious institutions.

From the NY Times