P2C Philosophy to the Catechism

Who is God?

What is Truth?

Who am I? Martin Martin Clephane Clephane 1

Foreword P2C Catholic education is under increasing scrutiny and pressure: revelations of abuse by the church, the rise of militant atheism and an increasing secularism make being a witness to one’s faith increasingly more challenging. We must therefore consider how we prepare the children brought up in the Catholic faith to meet an increasingly hostile environment.

Through the use of Philosophy for Children (P4C) we can develop reasoning skills to develop apologetics in the classroom. P4C is based around the 4 Cs: caring, collaborative, creative and critical thinking skills. In our RE lessons we are adept at being caring and collaborative but there is a definite need to be more creative and critical if we are to engage the children meaningfully in addressing the ‘Big Questions’ of life.

When delivering our RE curriculum we must also make the distinction between education and faith development. In faith schools we are also charged to catechise and make the doctrine of the church meaningful to its children. Using this scheme we can move from philosophy to catechesis what I call P2C. This book follows on from the units in P1C.The discussion statements in this scheme are designed to give agree/ disagree answers; from this, a gauge can be created to assess where children are in their faith.

Reasoning can deepen and support one’s faith but it does not give one faiththat is a very different experience. The gauge can help us assess the impact of a child’s age or background on their belief system.

Faith experience must always be kept as a priority in the school and the gauge can also be an indicator of how effective these experiences are.

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Food for thought: Consciousness, mortality and love. (‘Cogito ergo sum’. ‘I think therefore I am.’ Rene Descartes.)

Human experience begins with consciousness; the awareness of being. This conscious thought develops into the realisation of our own mortality and from this comes fear. Beyond the basic need to survive, love underpins all our desires and from this love we have hope.

Consciousness leads to three key questions:

Who am I? Why am I here? Am I alone?

Mortality leads to three key questions: What happens after death? Who or what made me? What is life?

Love leads to three key questions: Is there a universal force? Do we have a purpose? Is there inherent morality?

The questions of consciousness lead to ideas about creation and a path to belief in a creator God, the God of the Old Testament.

The questions of mortality lead to ideas about the afterlife and belief in resurrection; as borne out in the Gospels and in the person Jesus Christ.

The ideas of love make us question how we live our life and the force that may be driving it. This is the Christian life of the New Testament and the belief in the Holy Spirit.

This analysis of consciousness and the human condition can lead us to the conclusion we are created in the image of a greater consciousness; in the image of God. Jesus is the ultimate human. As such He is conscious of His paramount place as one with God. He is conscious and fearful of His own mortality, yet aware of His spiritual immortality. He promotes a lifestyle and ideology based on love. If the Christian goal is to be more like Jesus then we must strive to be ultimately human. An understanding of the philosophical nature of our existence, therefore, is crucial.

This scheme of work takes children on the journey from consciousness and thinking to faith and doctrine or from Philosophy to Catechism (P2C).

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Contents: 2

Foreword

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Food for thought: Consciousness, mortality and love.

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Rationale / Quotes

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Summary of why we should use this scheme.

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AT2: Learning from Religion: Reflection on Meaning

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3 Big Questions

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Scheme Overview

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What is Truth?

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What is Truth? Introduction

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What is Truth? Lesson Plan

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Worksheet 1 If something can’t be proved.

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What is Truth? PowerPoint

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The Tale of the 3 Little Pigs Tails

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The Broken Sword

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Who am I?

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Who am I? Intro

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Who am I? Lesson plan

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Worksheet 2 There is life after death

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Contents: 27-33

Who am I? PowerPoint

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Pinocchio and the Broom

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Rabbit Pig

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Who is God?

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Who is God? Introduction

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Who is God? Lesson plan

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Worksheet 3 God’s existence is a good thing

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Who is God? PowerPoint

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The Ant and the Artist

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X-Factor God

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Worksheet 3 God exists

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Further Questions introduction

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10 Big Questions

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Glossary

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Using the whole scheme

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Rationale: To develop deeper thinking which will lead to the skill of apologetics; making children more resilient in their faith

Quotes: I think courageous and open-minded critical enquiry lies at the heart of deepening one’s faith, and P4C offers a marvellous vehicle for that.

Will Ord

If one has the answers to all the questions - that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt. You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble.

Pope Francis 37 Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked.

John18:37-38

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Summary of why we should use this scheme.

1: The young people who leave our schools are vulnerable to all sorts of criticisms and indeed their faith will be increasingly challenged. Some understanding of apologetics and learning based on reason and self- reflection must be developed if we are to see their faith develop as they move on in education.

2: One of the accusations made by critics of Faith Schools is indoctrination. Therefore, children, regardless of their faith or lack of faith, should be able to question and indeed challenge aspects of religious teaching.

3: Although religious education and levels of attainment are rigorously scrutinised in our schools, gauging where children are in terms of faith development is avoided. It would appear not only relevant to gauge this but, from a Church point of view, the only question really worth asking.

4: Make better use of attainment target ii, strand ii, the hardest area of the RE curriculum to evidence. This area specifically focuses on the asking of questions and giving reasons for belief, as shown in attainment targets.

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AT2: Learning from Religion: Reflection on Meaning Philosophy: the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence Philosophy is already part of the attainment targets set out for our schools.

Our RE curriculum should be leading us to engage with questions around the meaning of life and existence.

AT2 Learning from Religion: Reflection on Meaning i) engagement with own and others’ beliefs and values. Throughout this strand pupils will be reflecting on beliefs and values; by talking, exploring, discussing, thinking, responding and questioning, pupils will be increasingly able to structure and articulate their thoughts; they will be able to listen attentively to others and come to understand and empathise with others’ views, beliefs and values; they will develop the ability to engage critically with their own and others’ religious beliefs and world views. ii) engagement with questions of meaning and purpose In this strand pupils will be confronting the difficult questions which all people have to face; they will be thinking critically about their own questions of meaning and purpose and about the ways in which people of all faiths and none have struggled with similar questions; they will be exploring the evidence and arguments used by people of different faiths and other traditions to justify their position; they will be developing the ability to express their own point of view.

(Bishops’ Conference Department for Catholic Education and Formation) 8

The three big questions covered in this scheme are: This is put in the form of a cycle.

Children will consider why or how we establish our beliefs in ‘What is Truth?’ then look at their own existence and what it means to be human in ‘Who am I?’. If they view there is more to their existence than their physical reality they can then consider if God exists and what God could be in ‘Who is God?’

This cycle could then carry on form philosophy to further apologetics, with three new questions:

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Scheme Overview Each unit is designed to take at least 2 hours, however open ended enquiry can lead in all sorts of interesting directions. The units can also be split in half if needs be; the first part focused on enquiry and hermeneutics, the second on data collection, again this is just a suggested model.

Unit

Intro and warm up

What Outline is project truth? and the purpose of this unit, share vocabulary and do the warm ups on the Power Point Who Reflect on am I? previous session and how it links to this one, share vocabulary and do the warm ups on the Power Point Who Reflect on is previous God? session and how it links to this one, share vocabulary and do the warm ups on the Power Point

Oral response

Written response (Hermeneutics)

Written response (Data)

Break

Plenary

Share What is Truth Power Point, and lead enquiry

Share story of ‘The Tale of the Three Little Pigs’ Tails’/ ‘The Broken Sword’

Children write response to the statement:

During this time data can be collated to give a percentage.

Data shared along with chosen responses from either side of debate

If something can’t be proved it isn’t true.

Children annotate texts and share.

Share Who am I? Power Point, and lead enquiry

Share story of ‘Pinocchio and the Broom’/ Rabbit Pig’

Children write response to the statement:

Children annotate texts and share.

Time for whole session at least 2 hours .

Share Catechism view at a separate time.

Youcat 3

During this time data can be collated to give a percentage.

There is life after death.

Data shared along with chosen responses from either side of debate

at least 2 hours

Share Catechism view at a separate time.

Youcat 280

Share Who is God? Power Point, and lead enquiry

Share story of ‘The Ant and the Artist’/ ‘X-Factor God’

Children write response to the statement:

Children annotate texts and share.

God exists and God’s existence is a good thing.

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During this time data can be collated to give a percentage.

Data shared along with chosen responses from either side of debate

at least 2 hours

Share Catechism view at a separate time.

Youcat 4

What is Truth?

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What is truth?

In this unit the purpose is to get children thinking about how you establish a belief in something. Is it through proof? If so how do you prove anything and how do you gauge proof? Do we believe what we are told or taught? Is this a sound method? Can we believe what we see in front of us? (A series of optical illusions will challenge the children’s ability to believe what they can see.)

Do we have an inherent set of truths; things that we would believe despite any counter evidence?

We can make a link to Rene Descartes. In search for truth he decided to strip away anything he could doubt, his own perception of reality could even be doubted as a dream. He came to the conclusion that the only thing he could really know was that his mind was at work, which lead to the famous quote:

Cogito ergo sum.

I think therefore I am.

The story of ‘The Tale of the Three Little Pigs’ Tails’ plays with this idea. Can the pigs have knowledge about their tails just from what they see, or is there an inherent understanding of what the truth might be?

The story of ‘The Broken Sword’ also challenges the idea of ‘seeing is believing’ but also opens the debate of scientific understanding over mysticism or magic, in this case, refraction in water; making an object appear broken. This story can be used as an extension activity.

This unit would link to work around ‘What is Faith?’

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What is truth?

Objective : To gauge children’s perspective on how they interact with their belief system.

Introduction to project: What is truth? Who am I? Who is God? Explain that the human experience is a quest for understanding and there are many big questions which religion has tried to address; ‘pondering the imponderable’.

Explain the open nature of the enquiry, not giving right or wrong answers but your own answers.

Explain vocabulary: Philosophy, Theology, Paradox and Apologetics.

Warm up: Show slides with philosophical questions to engage the children and model interaction.

The children then discuss the different ways of answering the question ‘What is truth?’

What you see?

What you have been told or taught?

What can be proved?

What you think?

Show optical illusion website, to challenge what they see or what they think they see.

Share the story ‘The tale of the three little pigs’ tails.’ Children work in groups to annotate the stories and discuss its meanings; they then feedback.

Children complete worksheet: ‘If something can’t be proved it isn’t true’.

Givng a reason for their answer agree or disagree.

Children have a break and answers analysed.

Particular response picked up or further questions created.

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If something can’t be proved it isn’t true.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What arguments are there to the contrary?

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What is Truth? PowerPoint Presentation

Show how this unit fits in with the whole scheme and how one progresses to another.

Show that this could lead us to a further cycle and how they are linked.

Don’t shy away from using the correct vocabulary.

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What is Truth? PowerPoint Presentation

Warm up An interesting teaser that leads to the meaning of words (see Ludwig Wittgenstein) and how one thing is relative to another.

Use these statements to open the enquiry, click the link to website containing optical illusions to challenge what they perceive as true.

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What is Truth? PowerPoint Presentation

This story leads to a discussion about how we come to know or think things.

The use of three pigs is a play on the traditional tale and engages the children emotionally.

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What is Truth? PowerPoint Presentation

Children begin to consider the impact our upbringing has on our beliefs.

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What is Truth? Powerpoint Prentation

Have fun! Give the children curly paper tails to stick on.

Ask if they can see theirs.

This can lead children to reflect on how important the correct role models are.

Different experiences, although very similar, give very different results.

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What is Truth? PowerPoint Presentation

Reflect on what happens if you are not shown something by those bringing you up.

Children can reflect on what might be an inherent sense of truth; without any evidence.

This can lead children to consider their spiritual nature, which leads on to the next unit: Who am I?

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The Tale of the Three Little Pigs’ Tails Once upon a time there were three little pigs, they were all brothers born of the same litter.

Sadly their mummy died and they had no one to look after them. It would be hard finding somewhere for three hungry little pigs, so after scratching his head the framer decided they should be spilt up.

One went to live with pigs on another farm, it may not have been the same as his own family but they seemed to have a lot in common and he soon settled in.

Another went to live with the cows, they were much bigger than them but if he stood on his tip toes he could just reach the udders and have some milk.

The smallest one went to live in the farmer’s house, it was clean and warm and for some reason, probably because he was so cute, he got lots of cuddles.

Now as we know, pigs have curly tails, but a pig can’t see its own tail; they just can’t get their chubby little heads to twist round their chubby little necks.

They had parted when they were tiny piglets, and had no memory of their mother or brothers but the first pig could see other pigs’ tails so he knew that his tail was pink and curly.

The second pig, however, only ever saw cows’ tails, so he thought his was long and brown and hung straight down. The third pig had never seen a tail, he had never even heard of one, but whenever he sat down he knew something wasn’t right.

He began to question what he thought he knew to be true.

Can you write an ending to this story?

Is there a moral?

Do you feel there is more to you?

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The Broken Sword Once upon a time there lived a King called Bertamaus. His wife had died a year before and now he was left to bring up his only daughter Lilliana. She was very beautiful with shiny brown hair and green eyes; she was also very very clever.

Bertamaus thought it was time for Lilliana to marry. And he took her to one side. “ My dear you are now 18,and, as is the tradition in these kind of stories, I will anounce a competition to find the best possible husband for you.”

Lilliana looked worried, little did her father know that she was in love with Jasper the stable hand. He was young and thin but very kind and rather handsome in a scruffy kind of way.

The king began to pace back and forward in a very important manner. “ Lilliana your husband will have to protect not only you but the whole kingdom. What we need is a test of strength, then we will attract the greatest of warriors as suiters.”

Lilliana pondered, Jasper was no warrior, he was a simple stable boy, who could be brave when needed (like the times he had to calm the horses as they bucked and kicked) but he had never raised his hand in anger to another living soul.

As if a light had come on in her head she jumped to her feet. “ I know Daddy, your sword is surely the finest piece of steel in the kingdom. If a man could break it into two pieces that would be a fitting sign of his abilities.”

The King was delighted with the idea and wasted no time in getting the competition underway. Great hunks of men came from far and wide to take up the challenge. One after another they drew the king’s sword and with nashing of teeth, they huffed and puffed and pulled and twisted at the great blade which refused to buckle; not even a tiny kink was to be seen. All the while, Lilliana sat taking notes with a pencil and sipped gently from a tall glass of clear water. The gathering of strong men stood defeated before the disappointed king.

“Well that’s that!” said Bertamaus.

All of a sudden there was a disruption at the back of the hall; pushing his way through the gathering was Jasper. He knew he was no match for the others but his love was so great he believed that he would overcome and win her hand.

Like the others before him he pulled at the great sword trying to bend the tempered steel but to no avail. With tears in his eyes he looked at his beloved Lilliana. She gently smiled and then taking up her pencil she plopped it into the glass of water. A smile came to Jasper’s face. He looked to his left at a tank in which the king kept his prize, pet, tropical fish. Jasper lifted its lid and, with a swish, popped the sword into the tank. Everyone gazed in wonder; they could clearly see that the top of the sword which was out of the tank was not touching the rest of the sword which was submerged.

The king was astounded, “ I have seen with my own eyes that my sword is broken. You have won the hand of my daughter.”

Liliana and Jasper were married, and everyone was happy in the kingdom, especially the king as his precious sword miraculously fixed itself when Jasper took it back out of the tank.

They all lived happily ever after.

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Who am I? In this unit the purpose is to get children thinking about their own sense of being. The slides challenge the children to explain who they are. Is it their name? What happens when we change our name? Are we the same person we were 2,3,10 years ago? Will we still be us in 10 ,20,50 years’ time? Were we us before we were born/ conceived? What if we looked different (plastic surgery)?

Are we our body or our mind? A slide shows a man who loses body parts and the children are asked if he is still that person, until all that is left is his head.

The process is then reversed by asking if the body remained but the mind went, would it still be him?

The story of ‘Pinocchio and the Broom’ plays with this idea. Pinocchio like the broom has had parts replaced over the years until nothing is original, what makes him Pinocchio? The gift from the blue fairy introduces a sense of spirit or soul.

The story of ‘Rabbit Pig’ plays with what it is that defines us as one thing or another with the title character constantly questioning what kind of creature he is. This can be used as an intro or a support activity.

Children annotate the texts for meaning and reflect on what defines them, physical or spiritual.

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Who am I? Objective: To gauge children’s perspective on how they view their own existence.

Explain vocabulary: Philosophy, Theology, Paradox and Apologetics.

Reflect on previous learning: What is truth? Look at the responses from the story of the Pigs’ tails. Look at the different versions of truth that are emerging.

Use the end of the story as a cue for the next session.

Warm up: Show slides with philosophical questions to engage the children and model interaction.

The children then discuss the different ways of answering the question ‘Who am I?’ Your name Your body Your mind Show power-point, challenge ideas of existence/ identity over time, before and after death.

Share the story ‘Pinocchio.’ Children work in groups to annotate the story and discuss its meanings; they then feedback.

Children complete worksheet: ‘There is life after death.’ giving a reason for their answer true or false.

Children have a break and answers analysed.

Particular response picked up or further questions created.

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There is life after death.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What arguments are there to the contrary?

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Who am I? PowerPoint Presentation

Relate to the P1C unit What makes me special?

Reflect on ‘The Tale Of The Three Pigs’ Tails’ story on how they formed their identity.

Warm up This warm up will be good preparation for enquiry into body or mind, or body and spirit later.

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Who am I? PowerPoint Presentation

At the moment she was declared wife to Prince William her identity changed from Kate Middleton to Kate Mountbatten-Windsor.

Ask children how long they have been them; were they them before they were born or even conceived?

Are you still you as you grow older? Our atoms are recycled, our body changes, is it still us?

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Who am I? PowerPoint Presentation

In this slide the man loses body parts. Is it still him?

Why?

This is reversed; the head / mind goes first. Is it still him?

Why?

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Who am I? PowerPoint Presentation

This is a play on an old joke about a broom.

Use a broom as a prop. Have a child sweeping up. Ask the children how old they think the broom is.

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Who am I? PowerPoint Presentation

This is based on an old joke, so feel free to have a bit of fun with it.

Children may reflect on injuries they have had and how they have healed.

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Who am I? PowerPoint Presentation

The changes help the children reflect on their own changes‌

‌they can also be related to life cycles: butterfly, frog etc.

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Who am I? PowerPoint Presentation

Children reflect on what makes them, them.

The gift of life and the Blue Fairy provide an analogy for spirit or soul.

Children now reflect on their own existence and consider their own immortality.

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Pinocchio and the Broom One day Pinocchio was sweeping the workshop. Gepetto looked affectionately at the boy holding the broom. “You know Pinocchio, that broom is 50 years old.”

Pinocchio looked at the broom and screwed up his face, “This broom looks bran new!”

Gepetto laughed to himself knowingly, “Well that’s because it has had 20 new handles and 15 new heads.”

Pinocchio was not convinced by this answer either, “Then it’s not the same broom, silly!” he chortled.

Gepetto sat down to rest his weary limbs and looked Pinocchio in the eye, “You too have had many changes Pinocchio.”

“What do you mean?” asked the boy;still confused.

Gepetto rubbed his chin and cast his mind back, “Well for a start I replaced your head when it split in the cold winter.”

Pinocchio remembered that unpleasant experience well, “What a splitting headache!”

Geptto continued, “And I replaced your legs when they got wood worm from that rotten shelf.”

Pinocchio squirmed to think about it, “Those pesky worms really tickled!”

“And do you remember the time I replaced your body and arms when they caught fire when you fell asleep near the candle?” asked the old man, peering over his glasses.

“Boy that burned!” said Pinocchio grimacing.

“And I have lost count how many times I have replaced your broken fingers…you should be more careful with my tools!” scolded Gepetto.

Pinocchio held up his hands and wiggled his fingers, “These will come in handy!” he joked.

Gepetto got up and put an arm around Pinocchio, “It’s not the pieces of wood that make you special Pinocchio.”

“Then what does?” asked Pinocchio gazing up at the old carpenter.

With a tear in his eye he looked lovingly at the puppet, now his son, “My boy, you were given the gift of life, and are loved…so make the most of it!”

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Rabbit Pig One day Rabbit Pig woke up in his little hutch…or was it a sty? He yawned, stretched and wiggled his little nose…or was it a snout?

He was very excited, for today was Rabbit Pigs birthday. He dashed to the window and looked out across the garden…or was it the farm? But there was nobody there and Rabbit Pig gave out a sad little squeak…or was it an oink?

But then, from behind the hedge jumped out all of Rabbit Pig’s friends: Bat Rat, Frog Dog and Monkey Pigeon. “Surprise!” they said, “Happy Birthday Rabbit Pig!”

Well Rabbit Pig was so delighted he did a funny little dance on his furry little feet…or were they trotters? But the best was yet to come as his friends produced a marvellous birthday cake made entirely from carrots…or was it pig swill?

And at the end of the day, after all the excitement Rabbit Pig went to bed and said to himself, “I am indeed a very,very,very lucky little rabbit… …or am I a pig?”

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Who Is God? In this unit the purpose is to get children thinking about the existence or nonexistence of God. It focuses initially around the question of what do we mean

by God? The slides show images of different depictions of God; deist and theist.

The two stories which accompany this unit depict two different versions of God. The ‘X-Factor God’ is designed to give an example of an ‘intelligent design God’ that leaves lots of opportunity for free choice but has a clear plan for His creation; it includes the idea of evolution being part of God’s plan too.

In ‘The Ant and the Artist’ Antoine takes on the role of scientist/ atheist and rejects notions of the loving, creator God/ artist (Claude Monet).

Children annotate the texts for meaning and reflect on what God might be like, or if we, like Antoine, should reject the idea of the Creator altogether.

The two discussion statements reflect on the existence of God and the nature of God. These tie into ideas of Atheism but also theism versus deism. Links can be made to atheist writers ie Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and the relationship between science and religion.

This unit would link to work around who is Jesus?

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Who is God? Objective: To gauge children’s perspective on how they view the concept of God Explain vocabulary: Philosophy, Theology, Paradox and Apologetics, Deism, Theism Reflect on previous learning: Who am I? Look at the responses from the story of Pinocchio. Look at the different responses and discuss what is more to us than the physical. Can this lead us to identifying with a greater force? Can we call this God? Warm up: Explore the idea of paradox, using the slides on the power point.

Show power-point: Ask the children to identify what the artist impressions of God are saying about strength, power, wisdom, masculinity.

X-factor God: Use the analogy of X-factor to demonstrate an intelligent design God which involves free choice.

Share the story ‘Antoine and the Ant.’ Children work in groups to annotate the story and discuss its meanings; they then feedback.

Children complete worksheet: ‘God’s existence is a good thing.’ giving a reason for their answer; agree or disagree.

Children have a break and answers analysed.

Particular response picked up or further questions created.

Finally an anonymous worksheet; ‘Do you believe in God?’ Summing up of the project, make links to the following: What is truth?

What is Faith?

Who am I?

Who made me and why?

Who is God?

Who is Jesus?

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God’s existence is a good thing.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What arguments are there to the contrary?

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

Show how this unit links back to our ideas around belief.

This is how this links to the next book P3C.

Warm up A very famous paradox.

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

Sometimes people assume what others think about God. But can we really know what God is like?

The depiction shows an old man, he is looking down; his hand is reaching out from heaven and giving life to man ; in control of his world below.

An ancient Greek god: very masculine, strong and vengeful.

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

This is a dormant God who exists at the heart of the universe but is apart from it.

His work done, he is at rest.

He holds the world without interfering with it.

God as ‘The Word’ fundamentalist Christians take the word of God as revelation and literal truth. Islam teaches that the Quran was dictated to Mohamed; Catholics believe it is inspired by the spirit.

God as man in the form of Jesus. Alone and full of human frailties.

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

A bit of fun with a very famous TV celebrity…

… demonstrating an intelligent design God, creating evolution…

… yet not intervening and giving free choice.

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

It may be useful to introduce the children to the oil painting before sharing the story.

The ant on the painting plays with the idea of our insignificance in the universe in terms of scale.

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

Reflect on the importance of science and learned knowledge.

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

The flying ants can be seen as prophets or angels…or even aliens.

Discuss Antoine’s reaction; relate this back to ‘What is Truth?’

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Who is God? PowerPoint Presentation

This gives an example of God not only as a creator but as an artist and the purpose for creation is love and nothing more.

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The Ant and the Artist Antoine the Ant lived on the surface of a great work of art; a huge painting full of colour and light. He was so small that the textures of the oil paint, its lumps and ridges, its troughs and peaks seemed to Antoine to be hills and valleys.

Antoine was a clever and inquisitive ant and he enjoyed nothing more than exploring. He loved wandering through the amazing landscape about him wondering what life was all about.

Antoine wanted to know everything there was to know about his world and studied hard becoming an excellent scientist. After experimenting for several years he at last found a break through. He discovered that the hills and valleys around him were made of particles of pigment which gave the land its wonderful colours. The pigment was made of minerals and mixed with an organic material, linseed oil, which bound it all together.

For this discovery he won many awards, but he was not finished yet. He looked deeper into his world and discovered that this entire world sat on another material, stretched canvas made from a plant; cotton. Again he was heralded as a leading light in the field of physics.

His best was yet to come. Antoine was so clever he put forward a theory that their world may be a collection of many other similar worlds that may even have other ant like life forms living on them. For this Antoine was heralded as a genius. He seemed to have all the answers to the world and the universe.

One day Antoine had a visitor, Francoise the flying ant. "Hello Antoine, my name is Francoise, I have heard all about your discoveries. I am a flying ant and I am here to tell you that you are correct in thinking that this world is part of a collection of worlds. In fact this world is part of a gallery of worlds."

Again Antoine was delighted with himself in making such logical and reasoned assumptions about the universe.

A few days later another flying ant arrived, “Hello Antoine, my name is Florence. I have heard all about your discoveries. You are correct in all that you say, but you need to know that your world is in fact a priceless work of art. From afar you can see that the hills and valleys of pigment and linseed oil make the most wonderful image of water and life."

Antoine scratched his head. "I have studied for years and all my research has never led me to this conclusion. I have conducted thousands of experiments and have found no evidence to support such claims. Can you provide any such evidence?"

Florence was taken aback by his lack of trust. “I have no such evidence for you, but why would I lie to you?"

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My reputation has been established through hard work and diligence. My knowledge has been gained over many years; you can't expect to turn up out of nowhere and expect to be acclaimed for wisdom you simply haven't earned. Answer me this, where have you come from?"

"Actually I have just flown from the studio of the artist who created your world and many others too. He is the most gifted artist and it is a real honour to see his work." said Florence beaming.

Antoine rubbed his chin, "This is really getting farfetched, of course there is the possibility you are right, but without the evidence to back up your claims I can only conclude you are delusional at best, a liar at worst,.

Florence was crest fallen, "I am sorry you don't believe what is clearly apparent to me."

Antoine wanted to prove his intellectual superiority over Florence, and stood at his full height. "What is it you hope to gain with this kind of talk? Clearly you think it will provide you with some sort of position of power!"

Florence stayed calm and replied, “The artist created your world out of love, it is with the same act of love that I came to you today, to share the good news. Although you do not believe me, that love will not change. I must return now and I hope one day we can meet again as friends." With that Florence flew away and out of sight.

Antoine had stood his ground and won his argument. He was very pleased with himself. With all his success, Antoine would go the rest of his life never realising the truth of Florence's words, the beauty of the painting of the Water Lilies which surrounded him and the great gift of creation that had brought about his world by the hand of Claude Monet.

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The X- Factor God Once upon a time there lived a god called Simon. He was the creator of many wonderful things: pop stars, TV shows, hit records and especially Christmas number one records.

Every year his objective was to create a Christmas number one record.

He didn’t sing the songs himself, he did not write the songs himself, he didn’t even pick one straight away and release it.

No, through his TV programme ‘X-Factor’ he started an evolutionary process.

Over months, thousands of entries were listened to; not by Simon, he had people who spoke for the process (the judges) to sort through them.

This evolution was by no means painless and many had their hopes and dreams dashed along the way. When a chosen few had made it through, the whole process got even more complex; the whole country took part in the selection by telephone until one by one hopeful contestants fell by the wayside until, at last, they had chosen their favourite.

After months of television exposure and millions of telephone votes; this was the one the nation loved and as a result, of course, thousands rushed out to buy their recording.

Simon had a number one record; occasionally he had interceded as a judge and he was in charge of the overall project, but on the whole his mission had been accomplished through evolution and free choice.

Not everyone was happy and some had suffered but it was the most popular show around and, as always, Simon got what he wanted.

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God exists.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What arguments are there to the contrary?

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Further questions: I include further questions; my top 10. These are less philosophical and focus on the everyday challenging questions people have about modern Catholicism.

This unit can be used before the scheme of work to develop the skills of enquiry, or after to give the philosophical work a more everyday experiential slant.

They are written in direct response to the increasingly hostile environment that the faith finds itself in. For us all it is important to address these questions so we can build a better Church for the future.

They open up debate regarding important issues of social justice, racism, sexism and inequality. Allowing children to respond both verbally and in a written form is essential as some children struggle with writing but can have really articulate responses, also some children can feel uncomfortable expressing their views in public, and would rather write them down; particularly if a response might be controversial or against the majority view.

It is always important that the children give their own answers and not the ones they think you want them to give. From their responses you can learn a great deal about the children’s perspectives.

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10 Big Questions

1 Does the Big Bang prove that God doesn’t exist?

2 Is the Creation Story any use?

3 Is God good?

4 If God is good why does He let bad things happen?

5 If you are not a Christian what happens when you die?

6 If Muslims commit terrorist acts, should we be friends with Muslims?

7 If Jesus came for the poor why does the Pope live in a palace?

8 There is no proof that God exists, why should I believe?

9 Why is it God the Father and not Mother?

10 If I can’t trust the clergy should I still stay a Catholic?

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Glossary philosophy: the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, paradox: a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true or a statement or proposition which, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems logically unacceptable or self-contradictory apologetics: reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine hermeneutics: the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts catechism: a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for religious instruction(in Roman Catholic use) religious instruction in general. catechesis: a method of oral instruction involving question and answer techniques theism: belief in the existence of a god or gods, specifically of a creator who intervenes in the universe. theology: the study of the nature of God and religious belief natural theology: theology or knowledge of God based on observed facts and experience apart from divine revelation. deism: the belief that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient to determine the existence of a Creator, accompanied with the rejection of revelation and authority as a source of religious knowledge revelation: the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence fideism: the doctrine that knowledge depends on faith or revelation relativism: the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute agnostic: a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God. humanism: a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism ) secular: not connected with religious or spiritual matters atheist: a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods antitheism: active opposition to theism. The term has had a range of applications; in secular contexts, it typically refers to direct opposition to organized religion or to the belief in any deity, while in a theistic context, it sometimes refers to opposition to a specific god or gods

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Using the whole scheme You can follow the cycle as it is set out through the four books…

…or you can create your own units around topic themes.

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ŠMartin Clephane 2016

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