I mentioned in another thread I started last year that I had been shanghaied into being a Sunday School teacher. I have second and third graders. This year, in addition to the regular lessons I have been trying to have them do some extra fun things, like the skit we did for the parents last week, the story of Esther, or how to look up things by chapter and verse in the Scriptures. I made a couple of big posters with all the books in the Bible listed in order, Old and New Testaments, and I made a set of cards with each book listed on a card. We have had contests to see who can get their cards in the right order fastest( each was dealt four or five cards at a time) I even threw in a couple of jokers, non-existent books, to make them keep looking. They liked the prizes I give out, these gold-foil wrapped chocolate coins.
And this week I *finally * got something in the way of a reward. One of the girls was looking at the posters I made, with her brow kind of wrinkled, and noticed that most of the books that had people’s names had *guy’s * names. So she asked me why. She’s a smart kid. So I gave her the “straight dope” and told her that back when the Bible was written down men had most of the power and whatever education was available. Women couldn’t do a lot of the things they do now, so they didn’t get much credit for things. “That’s awful!” she said, and I agreed. But I did soften the blow by telling her what Moses did for the women whose men had been killed, saying they should get their fair share of the land.
Yes!!! They are actually paying attention!!! And while some folks don’t count the Apocrypha as Scriptural, there are a couple of cracking good stories in there about strong women. Are second and third graders too young for Judith? Maybe so, but it’s tempting.
What? Are you nuts? They’re way too young for that! I’m not sure I’d be comfortable teaching that to high school age kids.
Whazzat? OH…Judith! I thought you said Lilith!
Careful what you wish for, Baker! One of the kids I got shanghaied into teaching paid attention to what I said, and now she’s become a Doper (Hello, agentfroot!). Granted she was a teenager, but still. . .
. . . I think it’s great that one of your students is actually questioning the Bible and not just lapping it up obliviously. That kid’s got possibilities . . .
I’m curious: What would you do if one of your students came to you asking things like, “how do we know that God’s real?” and “Why is our religion right and all the others are wrong?”
We talk about this in my (high school aged) class all the time. My response? “You tell me.”
We talk about other religions all the time. One thing that really stuck with me in college was “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill. He believed that it was not just important, but mandatory to always know the opinions and beliefs of others if you want to know for sure that your own beliefs are right.
So, my students all know the differences between Baptists, Catholics, Mormons, and Lutherans (our church). They even know the differences between the different Lutheran denominations.
Heck, they even know that Luther himself made some unfortunate remaks about Jews in his life. Full disclosure is the only way to go.
One of mine nailed me yesterday with “Why did He just raise Lazarus? Why didn’t He raise everyone else who had died?” And on the one hand, glad they’re asking and thinking, on the other I do wish they’d ask and think questions I know the answers to. Maybe I should print lists at the beginning of next class.
They’re only mentioned briefly, but Miriam has good moments. Deborah and Jael do as well (actually, they’re pretty cool). Rahab risks her life & so does Esther. And many of the names in the list in Romans 16 are women’s names, so even though they didn’t get billing in Acts, the women were keeping the church running.
Slacker, I’m an Episcopalian now, but I was born a Missouri-Synod Lutheran. After I started thinking for myself I became ELCA. For non-religious reasons(too long a story) I became Episcopalian. I liked what the cathedral provost here said “Being Episcopalian doesn’t mean you have to check your brains at the door.” I agreed to become a Sunday School teacher though because I remembered a question I asked my teacher when in second grade. We had been learning about the crossing of the Red Sea and it sounded kind of unlikely to me. So I asked the teacher “If we went to the bottom of the Red Sea would we find Pharoh’s soldier and horses and chariots?” And the teacher was up front with me. Instead of telling me not to question God’s word, or to just have faith, he said “No” and then went on to explain how metal and bodies “go away” after a while, especially in the water. So I didn’t get the answer I was looking for but I appreciated that he didn’t figuratively pat me on the head.
Zoggie, Judith is the title of one of the books of the Apocrypha. She was a young widow whose city was being besieged by the forces of one Holofernes. She, along with her maid, left the city and went to his camp, pretending to be getting out while the getting was good. They had brought along their own food in a bag(religious reasons) and each evening left the camp to pray. Holofernes had the hots for the pretty young widow and invited her to supper with him(nudge, nudge, wink, wink) She agreed and brought her food and maid along. He got so drunk he passed out. Judith cut off his head, put it in the food bag, and the two women left the camp to “pray” The head was hung on the city gates and the army was so demoralized it broke off the siege. Tough cookie, Judith. Wish I could have named a daughter for her.
:eek: I have an aunt Judith and my grandmother is very religious, and my aunt is one tough cookie at times!
Alrighty, now I just have to call my grandmother and ask her if that was who my aunt was named for.
My mothers’ middle name is Christine which I would believe grandmother had religion in mind with that since she was a “going through the change” baby. I’m sure a lot of praying ensued when she found out it wasn’t the change but a baby!
Mom passed Kristine down to me as my first name but I went with Wicca although as a child I saw many religions and went to bible school and enjoyed it and learned a lot, Wicca suits me.
I passed Krystyne down to my daughter as a middle name because now it is a family thing, and hopefully she will pass it on to her first born in one form or another.
My oldest son is Joshua Michael David and while still in the hospital with him our family doctor came in singing to him about Joshua. That was pretty cool.
Sorry to hijack and then ramble in your thread, but that Judith story is really something.
Back to the OP, it’s kinda cool when you realise you’ve made a child think and possibly impressed something important on them isn’t it?
(Hello, agentfroot!). Granted she was a teenager, but still. . .