Summary
Rightwing groups across the US are driving a wave of legislation to restrict books in school and public libraries, targeting content deemed “sexually explicit” or “obscene,” often affecting LGBTQ+ and race-related titles.
Texas leads with 31 bills and 538 book bans in the 2023–24 school year.
Proposed laws, like Texas Senate Bill 13, shift book selection power from librarians to parent-led advisory boards.
Critics, including librarians and legal scholars, warn these efforts amount to censorship, risk violating First Amendment rights, and reduce access in underserved communities.
That doesn’t hurt free will? Someone receiving a “revelation” is still free to act in it as they will; Christian theology also recognizes Natural/General Revelation in which anyone can find God’s will just by observing the natural world and/or society. Apostle Paul called the Greek philosophers “prophets”, and I personally think the title also applies to modern scientists.
(cont. Mastodon char limit)
I don’t and can’t disagree with what you said. The moment the powerful started using the Bible its message was twisted into supporting all sorts of evil, like those you mentioned.
But I believe the message of Jesus is that it is meant to be read from the perspective of protecting, helping, and freeing the weak, the “lesser”, the vulnerable.
And it was others reading it this way that made the ideas that became human rights to spread in the Western World.