By a vote of 19-8 the Tennessee state Senate ignored their state’s Constitution, which states that ‘no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship’, and passed a bill that will make the Bible the official state book.
If the governor signs the bill, the Bible will join the ranks of other such dignified and lofty things as the state tree, tulip poplar; the state wild flower, the purple passionflower; the state cultivated flower, the iris; the state fruit, the tomato; the state bird, the mockingbird ; the state rock, agate; the state reptile, the Eastern box turtle; and the recently designated state rifle, the Barret M82/M107.
Along with these and the state fish, the state wild animal, the state amphibian, and the state horse, the Bible will be given great honor. .
Republican State Senator Steve Southerland claimed his bill would recognize the Bible for its historical and cultural contributions to the state because of the economic impact of Bible publishing in the state, and its traditional use to track family histories.
But as Democratic Senator Yarbro said, “I don’t think that’s why we read the Bible, I don’t think that’s why we send our kids to vacation Bible school. To those of us who grew up in this faith, it is so much more.”
But, then again, considering how important guns and the Bible are to elections in Tennessee, the bill’s introduction and vote just days before the candidate filing deadline, may give the Bible another use, portraying rivals as being opposed to the Bible if they voted against the bill.
It’s up to the governor now that the bill has arrived on his desk.