Now the Bible is considered pornographic and indecent

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Poorly worded legislation in the flurry to restrict and/or ban books that are deemed "pornographic or indecent’ from schools appear to be having [presumably unanticipated] consequences

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ctim-the-bible

A Utah school district recently removed the King James Bible from school libraries for containing “vulgarity or violence”. Last year, you see, amid an orgy of conservative book-banning, Utah’s Republican legislators passed a law that allowed any parent to file a challenge about a book in a public school they considered “pornographic or indecent”. Of course, nobody wants pornography or indecent materials in schools, but this law has been wielded in bad faith to get rid of anything related to LGBTQ+ people or racial identity.

One enterprising parent in the Davis school district, north of Salt Lake City, fought back by providing eight pages of examples of objectionable material from the Bible. The Bible, they complained, contains “incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape and even infanticide … You’ll no doubt find that the Bible … has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.” The school district was duly convinced and removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools.

This isn’t the first time that conservatives have had their vaguely written, regressive laws weaponised against them. Last year, someone responded to Florida’s “don’t say gay” laws by circulating a letter among Florida teachers recommending that all students be referred to as “they” and “them” to avoid “gendered pronouns” such as “he” and “she”. As it says in the Bible, you reap what you sow.

[Machinist]

I don't think reading these passages in the Bible is the same as looking at a Hustler magazine. Pornography is intended to be arousing on some level.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

I don't think reading these passages in the Bible is the same as looking at a Hustler magazine. Pornography is intended to be arousing on some level.

That depends on your POV.

However, the poorly worded legislation has left open the possibility for other texts to be included under that definition.

[Machinist]

That depends on your POV.

No one ever in history has ever been aroused by reading passages from the Bible.

[rogue06]

Poorly worded legislation in the flurry to restrict and/or ban books that are deemed "pornographic or indecent’ from schools appear to be having [presumably unanticipated] consequences

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ctim-the-bible

A Utah school district recently removed the King James Bible from school libraries for containing “vulgarity or violence”. Last year, you see, amid an orgy of conservative book-banning, Utah’s Republican legislators passed a law that allowed any parent to file a challenge about a book in a public school they considered “pornographic or indecent”. Of course, nobody wants pornography or indecent materials in schools, but this law has been wielded in bad faith to get rid of anything related to LGBTQ+ people or racial identity.

One enterprising parent in the Davis school district, north of Salt Lake City, fought back by providing eight pages of examples of objectionable material from the Bible. The Bible, they complained, contains “incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape and even infanticide … You’ll no doubt find that the Bible … has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition.” The school district was duly convinced and removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools.

This isn’t the first time that conservatives have had their vaguely written, regressive laws weaponised against them. Last year, someone responded to Florida’s “don’t say gay” laws by circulating a letter among Florida teachers recommending that all students be referred to as “they” and “them” to avoid “gendered pronouns” such as “he” and “she”. As it says in the Bible, you reap what you sow.

Apparently one of those who voted to restrict access to the Bible to High Schools admitted that it didn't contain sensitive material as defined by the bill, but decided to ban it any way after employing a standard that they cooked up.

IOW, all the hallmarks of miffed leftists acting like petulant children.

The decision is widely expected to be reversed by the Board of Education.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Apparently one of those who voted to restrict access to the Bible to High Schools admitted that it didn't contain sensitive material as defined by the bill, but decided to ban it any way after employing a standard that they cooked up.

IOW, all the hallmarks of miffed leftists acting like petulant children.

The decision is widely expected to be reversed by the Board of Education.

It probably will be reversed but that a parent could make that complaint and at least temporarily have it upheld shows the sloppy wording.

However, why I am surprised that Right Wing Americans have difficulty in producing precise and coherent prose?

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

No one ever in history has ever been aroused by reading passages from the Bible.

How do you know? Are you another faux mind reader? Or are you claiming omniscience?

[Machinist]

How do you know? Are you another faux mind reader? Or are you claiming omniscience?

No. It's quite objective:

And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father

No one ever has been aroused by the above passage.


And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

Or this one. Or any of them. It is objectively non-arousing.

[rogue06]

It probably will be reversed but that a parent could make that complaint and at least temporarily have it upheld shows the sloppy wording.

However, why I am surprised that Right Wing Americans have difficulty in producing precise and coherent prose?

Again... you had one of those who voted to ban it admit that it did not contain sensitive material as defined by the bill -- so it wasn't "sloppy writing" of the law.

They established their own standards that they created -- so it wasn't a case of "sloppy writing" of the law.

IOW, you are pushing a claim that is contradicted by the facts.

Anyone surprised?

[Sparko]

I just find it ironically funny that Utah, the Mormon Capitol of the world is now banning the bible. I bet they didn't ban the Book of Mormon though.

[Machinist]

How do you know? Are you another faux mind reader? Or are you claiming omniscience?

To be fair, dendrophilia is a sexual attraction to trees. So I guess anything is possible. The problem is, that if the Bible is banned on the basis that it could be potentially arousing in someone who has that rare disorder, then we would have to also ban anything horticulture related.

[Gondwanaland]

I just find it ironically funny that Utah, the Mormon Capitol of the world is now banning the bible. I bet they didn't ban the Book of Mormon though.

Looks like it very well could be (btw Mormons use the Bible too):
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023...allenged-utah/

Book of Mormon now challenged in Utah school district that banned the Bible Book removal requests are snowballing in Davis School District, which has become a battleground in the fight over literature.

The Utah school district that just banned the Bible in elementary and middle schools received a new request Friday targeting another religious text: the Book of Mormon.

A spokesperson for Davis School District confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune the latest book challenge, which is aimed at the foundational text of the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The request calls for the book to be reviewed for containing violence, which includes battles, beheadings and kidnappings among its stories. Members of the faith believe the text was translated from golden plates by church founder Joseph Smith.


The complaint is the latest in a snowballing process for reviewing school literature in Utah.

A law was passed in 2022 to allow parents to submit requests for removal of books containing any “pornographic or “indecent material.” That was spurred by conservative groups largely targeting texts written about the LGBTQ+ community.

A parent in Davis School District said they became frustrated by how that law was being used, so they decided to file a request for review of the Bible. They called the scripture “one of the most sex-ridden books around” and said, as such, it fit the definition for porn.

The committee that reviewed the complaint determined in a decision released Thursday that the book did not violate the law. As such, it will be kept on the shelves in high schools in the district, said Davis spokesperson Christopher Williams.

But the members did decide that “vulgarity or violence” in the religious book was not age-appropriate for elementary and middle school students. The King James Version of the Bible has been removed at those schools, though Williams said other translations of the book remain. There is one junior high that has another translation and two elementary schools.

Those will remain, Williams said, because those versions were not challenged.

Now with the Book of Mormon challenge, the district will form another committee to review that book to determine if it violates the law.

The Tribune has filed a records request to obtain a copy of that complaint, which the district declined to immediately provide.

Williams said there have not been complaints filed on other religious texts, such as the Quran.

[rogue06]

I just find it ironically funny that Utah, the Mormon Capitol of the world is now banning the bible. I bet they didn't ban the Book of Mormon though.

It's a liberal controlled district in Utah, not the entire state. I suspect that those involved would gleefully craft their own standards again to ban it if they had thought of it.

[Gondwanaland]

No. It's quite objective:

And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father

No one ever has been aroused by the above passage.


And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

Or this one. Or any of them. It is objectively non-arousing.

Mot people aren't aroused by snuff films either. Yet some are.

Btw, Song of Solomon has some racy stuff in it

[Machinist]

Mot people aren't aroused by snuff films either. Yet some are.

Btw, Song of Solomon has some racy stuff in it

I've just never heard of anyone sneaking off into the bathroom with a Bible...