IN THEORY: High School show must go on

John Burroughs High School students in Burbank recently performed a summer musical called “Children of Eden,” loosely based on the Old Testament. Some have criticized the show, arguing that it blurred the lines between church and state and that tax money shouldn’t go to such a program. Others say students should be exposed to all cultures and themes, of which the Old Testament is a part.

What do you think?

My position is that students should be exposed to all cultures and themes. The Hebrew Scriptures, which Christians call the Old Testament, is embraced by at least three major faiths of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. (I realize that the Muslim Holy Book is the Koran, but Muslims also revere at some level both the Old and New Testaments. Officially, Muslims refer to Christians and Jews as “People of the Book.”) And let the kids have some fun, for crying out loud!

As I understand the situation, the John Burroughs thespians put on a production that was “loosely based” on writings in Genesis. Did you see “Jesus Christ Superstar”? How about “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”?

I’m all for church and state separation, and have said so in the past. But there’s a little thing called artistic license, and kids should learn about that, too. If the idea for a story comes from some religion’s Holy Writ, why get bent out of shape if it serves as the libretto for an opera or a musical? We’re talking about an educational institution, right? And if a student’s curiosity is somehow heightened to do some further reading, that’s a good thing, right? Even Shakespeare used biblical references in his works, so will we see picket signs that decry the Bard? I hope we have not yet sunk that far.

THE REV. C.L. “SKIP” LINDEMAN

Congregational Church of the Lighted Window

United Church of Christ

La Cañada Flintridge

High schools today are plagued by a variety of very troubling issues — including drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and violent crime.

Driving by some campuses and seeing how the young people dress, talk and act, you could be forgiven for thinking that you’d accidentally stumbled upon a gang hangout or house of ill repute. (While that statement may seem exaggerated, sadly the consequences of this trend are all too real — both for the children and for society at large.)

I wonder if those who criticize the Old Testament play are as vocal about tax dollars being spent to promote programs that may encourage bad language or inappropriate behavior. After all, some of the programs and shows that these high schools produce are extremely distasteful.

Or is it just any reference to religion that the critics are concerned about? Some people seem tolerant of almost anything at all, so long as it contains no hint of religious belief. Because of the blatant hypocrisy often found in these arguments, I find them disingenuous.

When our children’s education, future and well-being are at stake, we must focus on one thing only: what is best for the children. I feel that within the greater context of education, a spiritually themed show can be beneficial to the educational process and should be encouraged.

As far as the separation of church and state, I believe our founding fathers were supportive of religion and religious practices within government- sponsored institutions, so long as the authorities don’t favor one religion over another.

RABBI SIMCHA BACKMAN

Chabad Jewish Center

It seems to me that it is intellectually dishonest when the “division of church and state” is interpreted to mean that any mention of religion in a government/state-sponsored setting is strictly forbidden.

It’s true, the writers of the Constitution did not want a state-sponsored religion as had been the case in England, but the idea of abolishing any mention of religion was never their intent. There are those among us who will not be satisfied until every religious reference is completely expunged from culture and erased from the pages of history books.

Currently, tax-funded schools already make room in certain instances for religious- themed materials, Christian and non-Christian alike. The public school system, for example, allows the Bible to be taught as literature.

Great works of literature utilized in the classroom make reference to biblical themes and characters, and any study of art history would be incomplete without mention of religious artistry throughout the ages.

Public tax-based institutions do not exist to promote religious ideologies. But to deny any mention of religious themes in any context is too extreme.

FATHER PAUL J. HRUBY

Pastor

Church of the Incarnation

Glendale

Let’s consider the church/state issue from the Christian perspective. In Scripture, it’s a given that believers will live in cultures where we will be literally surrounded by people who reject the person, the word and the morality of Jesus Christ. Though we are not “of the world,” we are certainly in it. We are expected to associate (“have contact with in society” or “mix”) with people who disagree with us. We’re commanded to live in peace with all men as far as it depends upon us, to do good to all men and not just run away and ignore the rest of the world.

Schools that wish to teach Western culture with any semblance of credibility likewise cannot ignore or hide from how it has undeniably been influenced by Christianity and Judaism. Recently, I watched a documentary on the movie version of Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Tolkien was a Christian, and he included many overtly Christian themes in this work. Yet in disbelief I listened to the documentary explain that the theme of this beautiful work was Tolkien’s concern for the environment. Let’s pray our schools don’t sink to the same level of ignoring or deceitfully secularizing cultural masterpieces built on deeply felt principles of faith.

PASTOR JOHN BARTA

Valley Baptist Church

Burbank  

Separation of church and state is essential to the health of our society. I understand that the line between the two is increasingly being blurred, particularly when mixing belief systems with science. But this case at John Burroughs High School is quite different. It can and should easily be categorized in the “Old Testament as literature” classification.

Here is a story that is being taken on its literary merits. It has all the classic themes that lend themselves to good theater: love, lust, dishonesty, infidelity, vengeance, jealousy and murder. Coupled with the mysterious, it has all the elements for a box-office hit. The stories in question are part of a rich religious tradition in which they find merit and value. When taken outside of their religious framework they are mere stories for entertainment and hopefully, at the end of it all, a moral to contemplate and ponder.

Think of other high school productions. Would anyone assume that “Bye Bye Birdie” was expounding the virtues of the military draft? Or that “The Music Man” is an instructional source for trombone playing in orchestras?

Yet throughout the plays you find human emotions that force you to laugh, cry and think. And if you walk away with a thought, perhaps one that forces you to rethink your circumstances, then the production has done what all good art is intended to do.

FATHER VAZKEN MOVSESIAN

Armenian Church

In His Shoes Ministries

What’s with this voracious effort to completely divest our country of anything biblical?

The Separation Clause ensures no mandatory state religion or government interference in worship; it doesn’t insist we pretend the Bible doesn’t exist, or that it’s had nothing to do with our history (which it certainly has).

Schools have presented biblically themed plays in the past, like “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Godspell” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Christians haven’t been pleased with every stage interpretation, but I can say that such plays present some of the most interesting themes and recognizable subjects because we’re all somewhat familiar with them, and they’ve enjoyed popularity for millenniums.

Even Hollywood screenplays reference Scripture; “Pulp Fiction,” “The Number 23,” “The Matrix” and “Evan Almighty” come to mind. Should we deliberately make our students ignorant of the longest-running best-seller text and most read volume of all time (which has essentially defined Western civilization)?

Numerous plays of our world are performed, but why is the Bible off limits? Has America given itself completely to paganism?

THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM

Senior Pastor

MontroseCommunity Church.org