My Nephew's Bible Class project

Hugh Freaking Dillon

he called me up and told me his bible class has a project where they have to ask 10 people the same question: "what is God to you?". I told him "well, it's interesting that you are asking me, as I'm agnostic".

PAUSE.

I ask him "do you know what 'agnostic' means?". He says he does not. I tell him what it means, and ask him if he still wants me to be the subject of his question, and he says he does, so ok, I'm going over to his place on Tuesday to give him my answer (his teacher says she prefers them to conduct the question/answer in person).

He's nearly 16, in grade 10. He's been in a private religious school all his life. I find it interesting that he didn't know the meaning of agnostic. He knew what atheism is.

Shouldn't this have come up at some point in class over the last 10 years?

aerial

What are you going to tell him?

Pjzepp67

Sounds like the usual control mechanisms put in place by religious organisations, such as the limitation of information available to individuals under their control and influence. Quite shocking that at the age of 16 he and his school friends have not come across the term agnostic. If a religious institutions strength comes through faith then surely they should have faith in their chargeships to take all matters on board and come to their own conclusions, whether it be for, or against.

I hope you enjoy your chat and the young man gains some insight from it.

Remember, if you have PJ in your soul...who the fuck needs a God...we have Mike

Thirty Bills Unpaid

aerial wrote:

What are you going to tell him?

He's probably going to say that he really would like for the earth to be the center of the universe and created by a divine entity that was always just kind of sitting there waiting to create something... but that's really hard to believe.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

aerial wrote:

What are you going to tell him?

that I don't believe in god in the traditional christian sense. I believe there is a force (no, not the Star Wars kind), and it may be nature, it may be something else entirely. But I don't believe we were created by a supreme being that needed a rest on sunday.

dmaradona10

Well...I think his Bible class has an open minded instructor. The teacher wants to expose the students to a diversity of opinions about what God is to people by asking 10 different people that question. I think the point of the project is to show that different people have opposing viewpoints about what God is.

Jeanwah

Yeah, judging that he's been in private religious school all of his life, One would think that he's pretty sheltered. I know I was, but that was a really long time ago! I agree with the last poster that at least the assignment is open-minded enough to learn from other people rather than just what he learns from his school.

Hugh Freaking Dillon

dmaradona10 wrote:

Well...I think his Bible class has an open minded instructor. The teacher wants to expose the students to a diversity of opinions about what God is to people by asking 10 different people that question. I think the point of the project is to show that different people have opposing viewpoints about what God is.

I agree. I asked him point blank "is this a multi-faith question", and he said "yes, it is", so I applaud that for sure.

brianlux

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

Shouldn't this have come up at some point in class over the last 10 years?

Yes, I think it should have. I can't help but wonder at how many other useful and important things may be missing from you nephew's and other kid's education. Quite a few, no doubt.

JonnyPistachio

dmaradona10 wrote:

Well...I think his Bible class has an open minded instructor. The teacher wants to expose the students to a diversity of opinions about what God is to people by asking 10 different people that question. I think the point of the project is to show that different people have opposing viewpoints about what God is.

Exactly. This is a good exercise I think.
Sometimes it bugs me when kids are forced into ONE thing without experiencing or thinking about what else is out there.

lukin2006

At least it's private school and assume his parents are paying for it ... unlike here in Ontario and other provinces in which the taxpayer is on the hook for Catholic education as well as public ... not just English but French Catholic as well :fp:.

Just curious did your nephew get a choice at 16 weather he wanted to continue in religious school or go to some other type school.

My answer would be one word I think its total bullshit. Thats just me though.

pandora

What a good opportunity for bonding as well as learning.
A great exercise for a young adult. This will really get the kids thinking and feeling.

hedonist

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

dmaradona10 wrote:

Well...I think his Bible class has an open minded instructor. The teacher wants to expose the students to a diversity of opinions about what God is to people by asking 10 different people that question. I think the point of the project is to show that different people have opposing viewpoints about what God is.

I agree. I asked him point blank "is this a multi-faith question", and he said "yes, it is", so I applaud that for sure.

With you both; the door to learn from this exercise is wide open. And though I too scratched my head at his not being taught the meaning of agnosticim at school, there are so many other ways in which to learn about it (ie parents, books, etc.).

(btw, your answer makes sense to me, HFD)

fife

Pjzepp67 wrote:

Sounds like the usual control mechanisms put in place by religious organisations, such as the limitation of information available to individuals under their control and influence. Quite shocking that at the age of 16 he and his school friends have not come across the term agnostic. If a religious institutions strength comes through faith then surely they should have faith in their chargeships to take all matters on board and come to their own conclusions, whether it be for, or against.

I hope you enjoy your chat and the young man gains some insight from it.

Remember, if you have PJ in your soul...who the fuck needs a God...we have Mike

this is kind of unfair, just because he says that he never heard the term agnostic doesn't mean that he was not taught it. I went to a catholic school and was taught about the term agnostic.

Jeanwah

Private religious schools have no obligation to teach any other religion or beliefs than the faith the school is a part of. I went to Catholic schools for thirteen years. No, there was no mention of Agnosticism nor any other faith, all of us were VERY sheltered from the rest of the world.

The one thing I remember in one religion class was the priest asking us all WHY we believed in God. None of us had the right answer; all we came up with is "Our parents do, school taught us, etc." It was the one time where we were taught to open our minds as to question why we believe what we do. That was 10th grade.

I didn't know what agnosticism was until after high school. Like I said, I was very sheltered, and that's part of going to parochial school.

cincybearcat

Pjzepp67 wrote:

Sounds like the usual control mechanisms put in place by religious organisations,

I highly doubt it. Most people just don't know the difference between atheism and agnostic.

pandora

Most people don't really care either. Something has to be important,
be able to relate to some degree to retain .
Now the personal exchange required in this project will probably have lasting effects.
We have on our am news teachers of the week and some of the skills they have are so creative to get kids to care and learn. Kudos to all our great teachers be they in Parochial, Private or Public schools.

MotoDC

brianlux wrote:

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

Shouldn't this have come up at some point in class over the last 10 years?

Yes, I think it should have. I can't help but wonder at how many other useful and important things may be missing from you nephew's and other kid's education. Quite a few, no doubt.

I've seen threads on this very forum wherein people who self-report as atheist or agnostic don't seem to understand the difference. Or at least are being intellectually dishonest about which they are.

Not at all shocking to find a 16 year old who can't explain the nuances.

hedonist

MotoDC wrote:

brianlux wrote:

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

Shouldn't this have come up at some point in class over the last 10 years?

Yes, I think it should have. I can't help but wonder at how many other useful and important things may be missing from you nephew's and other kid's education. Quite a few, no doubt.

I've seen threads on this very forum wherein people who self-report as atheist or agnostic don't seem to understand the difference. Or at least are being intellectually dishonest about which they are.

Not at all shocking to find a 16 year old who can't explain the nuances.

With due respect, being unable to differentiate between the two isn't tantamount to not knowing the term to begin with. I know though that 16 is still a tender age (not that they all aren't in some way!).

That said - and granted I've been back on the boards here only for a little over a year - but I haven't seen anyone describe themselves as one or the other with confusion (or dishonesty! - that seems pointless). I have, however, seen some shift in their views over time (myself included).

Hugh Freaking Dillon

MotoDC wrote:

brianlux wrote:

Hugh Freaking Dillon wrote:

Shouldn't this have come up at some point in class over the last 10 years?

Yes, I think it should have. I can't help but wonder at how many other useful and important things may be missing from you nephew's and other kid's education. Quite a few, no doubt.

I've seen threads on this very forum wherein people who self-report as atheist or agnostic don't seem to understand the difference. Or at least are being intellectually dishonest about which they are.

Not at all shocking to find a 16 year old who can't explain the nuances.

I wouldn't have been surprised had he not been clear on the difference. But he hadn't even ever heard the word.

Cosmo

At around age 16... you start to wonder about the things you are taught by your adults. I mean, hopefully, by that age you've found out that the stories about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny was purely fabrication on your parent's side.. but, hey... free toys and candy, so no complaints, right?
You've also started to figure out things like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson being slave owners... F.D.R. wasn't out to 'Save the Jews'... and the Indians were only trying to fight off the coming wagons that claimed God's land as their own. So, even though those teachers told you lies that made sense... it's sort of okay because, in the end, they were merely lies told to kids so kids could live as kids and not have to deal with the horrors of reality. Not too bad.. considering you are now 16 and should know truths by now.
The same goes for the things your church has been telling you. You should begin to question those things. Like, if Jesus DOES indeed, love the little children... then, why are those little children in Africa made to suffer? I know, the adults create the conditions.. but, if Jesus saves... why isn't He saving the innocents?
Basically... if your teachers lied to you as a kid... and so did your parents... why not your priests?
It's not a matter of 'going against your religion'... rather, discovering truths about it.
...
As for agnostics... i think we believe there is something out there that is not the human like god of religion... but, we know we don't know because we know that belief and knowledge are two completely different things. And both can exist in our lives.