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PHIL 101 Session II
Philosophy and Contemporary Ideas (Liberty
University)
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PHIL-101
Liberty University
Session 2 Notes
Academically Expected
The Bible in
State Academic Standards
The Bible in State Academic Standards. It looks at all 50 states. Particularly, I also want you to
read the Introduction (pages 5-12). It covers all the state standards, including District of
Columbia’s. It looks at laws that are relevant to religious liberty, and it includes states’
constitution preambles because oftentimes, in those preambles, they reference acknowledgement
and thankfulness to Almighty God, the supreme ruler of the universe, that sort of thing.
State Constitution Preambles
Academic standards also include civics lessons about their state’s constitution. The majority of
state constitutions reference God. For example, Pennsylvania third graders are expected to:
<Explain the meaning of a preamble. Constitution of the United States, Pennsylvania
Constitution.= The preamble to Pennsylvania’s Constitution reads as follows: 8 <WE, the
people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of
civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance, do ordain and establish this
Constitution.= As a civics lesson, students should compare their state constitution's preamble
referencing God with the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that our rights come from the
Creator. We have included the preambles of state constitutions that make reference to God.
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Thomas Jefferson
In his book, Notes on Virginia, in 1784 Thomas Jefferson wrote this: <Can the liberties of a
nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds
of the people that they are of the gifts of God?= And this, by the way, is also carved in the
Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. The idea is that since liberties come from God, if we
remove that idea that they come from God, our liberties will be in jeopardy.
National Association of
Music Education
We have been looking at your state’s academic standards regarding what’s expected, and I also
wanted to bring up the issue of music. Sometimes there are questions about whether you can
perform religiously-related music. Well, here is an interesting statement from the Music
Educators National Conference or the National Association of Music Education. It is the largest
association of music teachers in the country, and it says: <it is the position of MENC. The
National Association for Music Education that the study and performance of religious music
within an educational context is a vital and appropriate part of a comprehensive music education.
The omission of sacred music from the school curriculum would result in an incomplete
educational experience.=
Reflection
Time (Requirement: At least 5 minutes while the online course is running) I am lucky enough to
have the privilege to teach in a Christian Preschool. We are able to teach the children how God
is
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so great. How we are all different and that is ok because we all aren’t going to believe the
same things all the time. But God loves us regardless. How many of our Founding Fathers,
Martin Luther King Jr., and others used scriptures of the Bible to back them in speeches.
