The Bible for secularists

Clarke's small pamphlet is an important work, particularly as we debate the Australian Curriculum.

It strikes me as bizarre that we mandate knowledge of Indigenous beliefs and customs in all subject areas, when these beliefs and customs have virtually no relevance to contemporary Australian life, yet we completely ignore the Bible and Christian beliefs and customs, which have huge relevance.

As church attendance dwindles, it becomes even more important that this knowledge and understanding is transmitted.

Otherwise we will become cultural orphans, strangers in our own linguistic landscape, unable to converse in depth with virtually all our cultural forebears.

Clarke's central message is that you don't have to be a Christian for the bible to matter, it is a matter of literacy, not religion.

I say amen to that.