Daniel and the Lion's Den: Required reading for third grade public school students in Texas

The third grade students won't be reading from the Book of Daniel. They'll be listening to a video created by The Christian Broadcast Network (CBN).

CBN was founded by televangelist Pat Robertson in 1960. And the series of videos that include this episode is called "Superbook - Roar!".

Here is how CBN describes the episode: "Superbook takes Mateo to witness God miraculously save Daniel from the lion's den."

The video makes a short story long, and it ends with a song with these lyrics (beginning at 23:48):

Jesus you died upon a cross, and rose again, and saved the lost.

Forgive me now of all my sins. Come be my savior, Lord, and friend.

Change my life and make it new, and help me, Lord, to live for you.

Which shows that this required reading/video is not promoting any particular religion.

Here is the same story in fewer words from Daniel 6.

Episode 214: Daniel in the lion's den

Daniel 6

The plot against Daniel

^1-3 King Darius made Daniel his chief official because he had such an excellent spirit.

⁴ The others tried to find something to accuse him with, but they couldn't find anything since he was so perfect.

⁵ So they decided to attack his religion.

⁷ They wrote a decree saying that whoever asks any god or man, except the king, for anything in the next thirty days will be cast into a den of lions.

⁹ And the king signed the decree.

Daniel in the lion's den

¹⁰ When Daniel heard about it, he went to his room and prayed three times a day toward Jerusalem.

¹¹ And the other officials saw him praying.

¹² So they went to the king and said to him,

Didn't you sign a decree saying that anyone in the next thirty days who asks any god or man, besides you, for anything will be cast into a den of lions?

The king said, “Yes, I did.”

¹³ They said to him, "Well, Daniel, prays three times a day."

¹⁶ So the king commanded that Daniel be cast into the den of lions.

Daniel is saved by an angel

¹⁹ The next morning the king went to the lions' den.

²⁰ He shouted down to Daniel, saying, Hey Daniel, can your God save you from the lions?

^21-22 Daniel said, "God sent an angel to shut the lions' mouths because I am innocent."

²³ This made the king happy. And he commanded that Daniel be brought up from the den.

Daniel's accusers (along with their wives and children) are thrown to the lions

²⁴ Then the king commanded that those who accused Daniel be cast into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. The lions tore them all to pieces.

The king becomes a Jew

²⁵ The king wrote a letter to everyone on earth, saying,

²⁶ I command everyone to fear the god of Daniel.

He is the living God, who does great signs and wonders.

²⁸ So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Questions for students

1. Since King Darius in the book of Daniel was not a historical figure, most historians and Bible scholars consider the story of Daniel and the lion's den to be a legendary fictional account. What do you think? Do you think this famous Bible story story is just a made up story that never happened?
2. According to the story, Daniel prayed three times a day while facing Jerusalem. If so, then why don't Christians and Jews pray three times a day while facing Jerusalem like Daniel did?
3. The story says that King Darius ordered those who accused Daniel to be cast into the lion's den - along with their wives and children. The author of the Bible story (and presumably God) seems to approve of this. Do you think it was right to feed the lions with the wives and children of Daniel's enemies?