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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How about the Bible?[/quote]

The Bible is not non-biased -it is the holy book for Christians.  Also, the first part of it - the Hebrew scriptures or Old testament - is the holy book for Jews.  Also, the Bible is not meant to be read like a book and would be very difficult  for a child to understand.  A children's Bible would also not be appropriate, because it is aimed toward Christian children.[/quote]

Actually, reading a Bible or children's Bible is a great way to learn what the Bible says: just read it like a story book.  Growing up I had a Bible illustrated like a comic book, it was excellent and I wish it was still in print.  Golden Books also does Bible stories for really little kids.

Look, "bias" and truth are irrelevant to this discussion: OP's point is that her kids are ignorant of basic cultural context.  Awareness of Biblical stories is a big part of understanding Western literature and art, cultural allusions, folk music, etc. -- it's at least as important as knowing Greek mythology, more so given the huge population of Christians alive today.  If you are Western I don't think you should consider yourself educated if you haven't read the Bible or a really good summary of it.

It's also important to have a working understanding of other major religions, although they're less influential on modern Western culture (just as Christianity is less influential on Eastern culture).  OP should follow up with some kids' books about other major religions.  I attended Catholic school K-12 (I am not Catholic) and every year we had a World Religions unit that covered all the major religions.

Separately, for older kids who have a basic grasp of the Gospels, the book "Zealot" is a really interesting look at the historical context (it does not promote the holiness of Jesus, quite the opposite).[/quote]

I agree that the Bible is important as literature -- and think that non-religious parents have to be VERY CAREFUL that they steer away from anything that teaches bible stories or Christian dogma as truth and something you must believe in order to avoid an eternity in a terrible, real place called hell.  The belief is unfortunately pervasive  in our society.[/quote]

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