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As a Jew who was raised in the heart of the Bible belt, I was very upset to learn that some people in the typically open-minded and welcoming community that makes up Steamboat Springs were advocating using the Bible in school curriculum under the pretenses that their children need a more well-rounded curriculum.

If people are pushing a Bible class to provide a "well-rounded" education, they are pointed in the wrong direction. If we would like our children to have "well-rounded" educations, we should provide subjects they don't already come in contact with every day. The only appropriate religious class for public schools is a class on religions of the world -- a class that gives students the history and ideas of all the major religions in the world (many of which people have had limited, if any, contact with).

It is wrong to say that this class would be teaching the Bible in non-Christian ways. What many people do not realize is that the stories that comprise what the Christians call, the "Old Testament" are shared somewhat with the Jewish faith. However, the Christians and Jews translate these stories very differently. Therefore, if the curriculum of this class uses the popular "King James" translation of the "Old testament" it is ultimately a Christian-based class.

People seem to have forgotten the main reason this country was formed: religious freedom. The separation of church and state exists so that we as Americans never will be held to the standard of a state religion, such as Europe was for centuries. We all need to be very careful trying to place any religious belief in public schools.

The Bible has no place in public schools as a curriculum. Christians are free to bring a Bible to school and read or study it in their free time. There are many appropriate places for children to learn about the Bible -- they are private Christian schools, churches and homes.

Adria Halseth

Steamboat Springs