It wouldn't hurt kids to read it. Might give them some self respect.
I dunno, Tam, there are parts of the Bible that are fairly R - rated. Try this one for size. Year 12 English poetry appreciation perhaps?
Solomon’s Song of Songs.
She Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love is more delightful than wine.
Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the young women love you!
Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.
FriendsWe rejoice and delight in you
we will praise your love more than wine.
SheHow right they are to adore you!
Dark am I, yet lovely,
daughters of Jerusalem,
dark like the tents of Kedar,
like the tent curtains of Solomon.
Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother’s sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;
my own vineyard I had to neglect.
Tell me, you whom I love,
where you graze your flock
and where you rest your sheep at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled woman
beside the flocks of your friends?
FriendsIf you do not know, most beautiful of women,
follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
by the tents of the shepherds.
HeI liken you, my darling, to a mare
among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.
Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.
We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.
SheWhile the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.
My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting between my breasts.
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.
HeHow beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.
SheHow handsome you are, my beloved!
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.
HeThe beams of our house are cedars;
our rafters are firs.
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I went to a wedding in Cornwall last year while on an overseas holiday. Lovely little village church on the Cornish seaside. One of the best weddings I've ever been to. The vicar organised two bible readings: one was from the
Song of Solomon on erotic love and the other was from Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians on disinterested altruistic love. Eros and Agape (pronounced "ah-ga-pay"). Quite a nice little homily too! He told us that married life starts with a healthy dose of Eros (gives us the word "erotic") and that by the time you reach your Golden Wedding Anniversary it's probably more Agape than Eros. It was nice.
Dunno how the mums & dads would react if you made the kids read the Song of Solomon, though ... Oh you mean that we can skip the song of solomon? Well what about Deuteronomy and all those bits about condemning people to death - such as daughters who refuse to obey their fathers. Oh? We can skip those bits too? So what bits do we give them to read? The carefully selected bits? Selected by whom?
So when you say get the kids to read the bible you mean the "sanitised" Bible? The fairy tale bits ... like the guy who lived in a whale or the guy who built a boat and brought in the animals two-by-two (did that include every single insect too?) for when the Bigfella Upstairs made a big flood?
I went to a government high school. No bible reading there! Parish priest would come in once a week for "Scripture" class and demand to know "who went to Mass last Sunday!" and then go around the class interrogating the kids who'd failed to put their hands up. I think we managed an "our Father" and a "Hail Mary". Rest of the time we either talked or caught up on our homework.