“Although I have taught Bible literature courses for several
years, after using this new textbook with my students, I cannot
conceive of going back into my classroom without it. My students
have very positively responded to the Bible Literacy Project’s rich,
attractive and student-friendly materials.”
Joan Spence, public school language arts teacher, Battle Ground, Washington
“The Bible Literacy Project textbook was an indispensable tool in my
classroom last year. After using the text, my students felt that
they acquired a deeper understanding of not only the Bible as
literature, but of all the literature that we read throughout the
year. Having knowledge of Biblical texts allowed my students to
recognize archetypes and allusions in various types of literature as
well as in contemporary media. I will continue to use the text in my
classroom for years to come!”
Heidi Pike, public school English teacher, Snohomish, Washington
“In my 36 years of teaching Bible literature in public school
classrooms, I have never seen a textbook like this one—with such
possibilities across the curriculum. It's balanced, well-researched,
and sensitive to a wide spectrum of faith traditions. I think
students will find it consistently inviting—and thought-provoking.”
David Freitag, (retired) public school English teacher, Portland, Oregon
“I think it’s an excellent reference text. The background, the
literary connections, the art work all serve to give a teacher
excellent background information for tailoring Bible literature
teaching purposes in their own classroom. As a person who has read
and studied the Bible for a long time, I was a surprised how much
information I learned, for instance, about the structure of Hebrew
poetry and the structure of the Book of Ruth.”
Barbara Murray, Assistant Principal, West Linn, Oregon, former English teacher, 2001 Christa McAuliffe Fellow, and
1995 Oregon Teacher of the Year
“This book is extremely ‘student friendly.’ It is interesting,
informative, and challenging, and makes connections to contemporary,
relevant events. It is objective and unbiased, and is sensitive and
non-threatening to students' belief systems. Teachers and students
both will enjoy working with this textbook.”
Stuart Rowe, public school English teacher, Vancouver, Washington
“The Bible Literacy Project is contributing significantly to the
educational life of our nation with the publication of this
important textbook. The academic study of the Bible in our schools
has long been omitted. Now we can redress this omission with a
splendid new resource, one carefully crafted for the
humanities/English classroom.”
Gwendolyn Whitmore, public school English teacher, Portland, Oregon
“The textbook is very readable. I like the charts and the word
source sidebars. The editors did a nice job of connecting to current
events. The unit features are very strong.”
Bret Freyer, public school English Department Co-Chair, West Linn, Oregon
“I applaud your efforts: good, exciting summary, excellent
literature references; good cross-referencing. As I read through
each chapter, I felt inspired to include that section in my units. I
thought … ‘I can do this. This is manageable. My kids can deal with
this.’ The language of each chapter is easy to follow, enjoyable to
read.”
Michael Groves, public school English teacher, Portland, Oregon
“A non-threatening approach which would encourage many school
systems to incorporate Bible literature into their curriculum.”
Linda Hodges, English teacher, Jefferson County High School,
Dandridge, TN
