P3C

Philosophy Through Catechism

Who is Jesus?

What is faith?

Why am I here?

Martin Clephane 1

Foreword P3C 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 use 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 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. In this book we move beyond the units covered in P1C and P2C to engage in more catechesis through philosophy or P3C. References to sections in YOUCAT are also included to give the Church’s view.

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 faith; that 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

3

Food for thought: Consciousness, mortality and love.

5

Rationale / Quotes

6

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

10

Scheme Overview

11

What is faith?

12

What is faith? Introduction

13

What is faith? Lesson Plan

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Worksheet 1 Faith is a good thing.

15-19

What is faith? PowerPoint

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Being a Catholic

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The Junk Shop

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Why am I here?

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Why am I here? Introduction

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Why am I here? Lesson plan

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Contents: 25

Worksheet 2 I have a destiny

26-32

Why am I here? PowerPoint

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A grain of sand in a sea of nothing

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The power of love

35

Who is Jesus?

36

Who is Jesus? Introduction

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Who is Jesus? Lesson plan

38

Worksheet 3 The coming of Jesus is a good thing

39

Worksheet 4 Jesus is the Son of God

40- 47

Who is Jesus? PowerPoint

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Meeting Jesus

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The King’s Armour

50

Further Questions introduction

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10 Big Questions

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Glossary

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Elements for RECD used in the scheme: Life in Christ

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Elements for RECD used in the scheme: Revelation

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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 as it is hoped that children will consider what faith is and why people have it; in the first unit ‘What is Faith?’

Then we look at our own existence and what it means to be human in ‘Why am I Here?

Then we look at God as human in ‘Who is Jesus?’

Through the reflections on faith and human existence we then look at Christian faith through its assertion that God became human, and how we might encounter Christ through faith in ‘Who is Jesus?’

This cycle follows on from the P2C cycle.

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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

Oral response

Written response Hermeneutics

Written response Data

Break

Plenary

Time for whole session

What is faith?

Outline project and the purpose of this unit, share faith definitions and do activity around the words.

Reflect on previous learning: What is faith? And P2C unit Who am I? We then discuss whether there is a purpose to life or destiny.

Reflect on previous learning:’ Who is God?’ from P2C Warm up: ‘Love Songs’

Children can add more examples to the list.

Focus on positive and negative aspects, relate to other world faiths.

Share positive and negative definitions for God and Science and begin enquiry.

Share story of ‘Being a Catholic / The Junk Shop’

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

at least 2 hours

During this time data can be collated to give a percentage

Data shared along with chosen responses from either side of debate

During this time data can be collated to give a percentage

Data shared along with chosen responses from either side of debate

Why am I here?

Who is Jesus?

Share ‘Who is Jesus?’

Power Point, and lead P4C enquiry into what is the best definition for Him.

Children annotate texts and share their interpretation; challenge or support them.

Share story of ‘A Grain of Sand in a Sea of nothing’ and ‘The Power of Love’ Children annotate texts and share.

Share story of ‘Meeting Jesus’ and ‘The Knight’s Armour’ Children annotate texts and share.

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‘Faith is a good thing’

Children write response to the statement: ‘I have a destiny.’

Children write response to the statements: ‘The coming of Jesus was a good thing’ and ‘Jesus is the Son of God’

Share Catechism view at a separate time.

Youcat 25 at least 2 hours

Share Catechism view at a separate time.

Youcat 279

at least 2 hours Share Catechism view at a separate time.

Youcat 75

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What is faith?

In this unit the purpose is to get children thinking about what having faith means; in terms of the individual person’s experience but also what impact faith can have from a social /global perspective.

It looks at the things that faiths share and focuses particularly on how faith is part of our identity, which can lead us to question if that is all it is, or is too much made of religious identity as it creates divisions between different communities. It also looks at what a gift faith can be and how it can be a positive experience for people.

The story of ‘Being a Catholic’ plays with the idea of religious identity. If we replace the word English with Catholic it illustrates how someone can also have a religious identity as well as a national one. It helps us reflect on the problems with extremism both nationalist and religious, and how at times these can be blurred together.

The story of ‘The Junk Shop’ gives the analogy of faith being a precious treasure but also something that may present many challenges and even burdens.

Discussing why people have faith in something they can’t prove, takes us back to the ‘What is Truth?’ unit in P2C.

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What is faith?

Objective : To gauge children’s perspective on how they view faith and if they feel a connection to their own.

Introduction to project: What is faith? Why am I here? Who is Jesus? and how they follow on from P2C themes. This links to What is truth?

Explain vocabulary: Philosophy, Theology, and Apologetics.

Warm up: Reflect on P2C unit ‘What is Truth?’ and how we often believe things we can’t prove. Discuss if faith is like that or are there things we could prove?

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

Activity to generate enquiry: Use the 30 word list and share them between children, working in groups they discuss what the word means in terms of faith i.e. books (Bible, Missal, Catechism) or comfort (believing in the power of prayer, life after death, guardian angels).

Dependent on previous learning the activity could be divided into different religions i.e. Islam, books (Quran) or comfort (idea of heaven).

Look at the negative versus the positive statements and engage discussion. Ask if there are any other words they would like to add i.e. guilt.

Share the story ‘Being a Catholic / The Junk Shop.’ Children work in groups to annotate the stories and discuss their meanings; they then feedback. Children are invited to support the themes of the story or indeed challenge them.

Children complete worksheet: ‘Faith 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.

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Faith is a good thing.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is faith? PowerPoint Presentation Show how this unit fits in with the whole scheme and how one progresses to another.

Show that this has led us to a further cycle and how they are linked.

Don’t shy away from using the correct vocabulary.

Warm up This paradox is a quote from my three year old daughter; you are never too young to be a philosopher.

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What is faith? PowerPoint Presentation

This relates back to the P2C unit. ‘What is Truth?’ Discuss how religious faith relates to this concept.

This section begins to unpick features of religion and can work equally well with all religions; Christianity to Jedi.

There are 30 words in total so they can be shared into groups easily; one per child.

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What is faith? PowerPoint Presentation

The activity can be extended by different groups focusing on different religions. On this slide some words are negative features.

Suggestions are taken but can also be challenged. More negative aspects could also be introduced to the debate.

Children can create their own word lists and create Wordles.

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What is faith? PowerPoint Presentation

This story focuses on the idea of religious identity and tolerance of difference. It works equally well with another religion i.e. Islam.

In this case it is England it would work equally well with another nationality to make the point.

Image of Crusader and Bloody Sunday illustrate when the English have been involved in morally dubious conflicts. This may be a debate in itself.

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What is faith? PowerPoint Presentation

This image is of an English Defence League march, against Sharia law; again it may be an instigator for debate around racism.

The images of the Beatles, Sit Isaac Newton and Sir Winston Churchill; show Englishness in a positive light.

The word English is transposed with Catholic; this could be Welsh to Muslim or Scottish to Jewish.

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Being a Catholic An Englishman asked his friend what is it like to be a Catholic; this was his response: Well you are English, you have always been English; your parents were both English. Your children are English and are being brought up in a traditional English way; as were you. You have many English friends but you have friends from other backgrounds too, and it isn’t the fact that they are English that you chose them as friends; although having common ground can be helpful.

On the other hand you aren’t always happy with everything that has been done by the English or in the name of the English, some of which have been terrible. You haven’t always agreed with the English people who have been put in charge of the English; there are countless things you would love to change about the way things are run for English people.

You aren’t always happy with the behaviour or attitude of some English people, there are actually certain things that sometimes make you a little ashamed to be English.

Yet despite all this, you love being English and there are so many things to be celebrated and shared about being English, you could never imagine being anything other than English, because you know that the English are on the whole an amazing bunch of people, the English have given so much to our world, and strive to make the world a better place.

English is your identity and it defines who you are.

Now my friend, take the word English and replace it with Catholic. That is what it is like.

Replace English for any other nationality and Catholic for any religion and it has the same effect.

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The Junk Shop This story can be used as an analogy for faith being precious.

Imagine you had been looking for something your whole life, a priceless treasure that had eluded you your whole life you had scoured the earth for it but to no avail.

Then one day in a far off dusky city you venture down a seedy back street and happen upon a junk shop.

It is full of dusty, worthless rubbish made of rusted metal and worm ridden wood; chipped, battered, unwanted and covered in cobwebs.

Then something catches your eye, a sparkle amidst the gloom, an object buried deep beneath the pile of junk. You desperately pull old and battered objects aside until you free it from where it has been lurking for goodness knows how long. You cup it in your trembling hands and gently blow away the years of dust that cover it, and there it is, regaining the shine that had captivated men for centuries the most precious thing you could imagine, your heart’s desire.

In trepidation and excitement you go to the owner and ask him if you can buy it, hoping above hopes that he is unaware of the treasure’s true value and that your meagre funds can secure the purchase.

He first eyes the treasure then you; up and down, before staring into your eyes, he clearly knows the value you place on the piece from the way your breathing has grown faster and the sweat on your palms as you hold it out in front of him.

After what seems like an eternity he breaks your heart and says, ‘It’s not for sale.’ You feel sick and desperate but before you can draw breath to argue he continues, 'However… you can have it for nothing…’ your heart skips and your eyes widen with delight, could it be true that you could have your heart’s desire for nothing; given as a gift? But the man carries on, ‘…on one condition.’ You are suspicious but would be willing to accept lots of conditions to gain the prize you so long for.

‘What is the condition?’ you ask; both nervous and excited.

‘You can have the treasure only if you agree to take all the other things that you don’t like. All this stuff that you don’t see any value for, all this stuff that seemed to be important to people a long time ago but has no value to modern society; things that were common place and part of people’s everyday lives but are now cast on the rubbish heap. To secure your desire and happiness I want you to accept this burden, this is the only price I ask you to pay.’

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Why am I here?

In this unit the purpose is to engage the children in an enquiry about existence and their place in it. We look at the themes of destiny and wonder if there is a plan or design in creation and if not what that means for us. We look at the debate between religion and science in creation, and reflect on the idea that love plays such a strong part in our sense of meaning.

In the story ‘A Grain of Sand in a Sea of Nothing’ the scientific explanation for creation, the ‘Big Bang Theory’ is portrayed as a traditional creation story. This can be interpreted in different ways, some may accept it as a rejection of God, some may see it as an offence to God and others may see it as an affirmation of God’s work. Facilitating these different arguments through enquiry will deepen the children’s thinking, and may cast new light on their views of Genesis or religion in general.

The story ‘The Power of Love’ uses the analogy of the parent to open discussion around our relationship with our own parents and God; not always understanding the reasoning behind their actions but coming to an appreciation that they are based on love. One must bear in mind that not all children have this model of parent and their own personal experience will play a part in their interpretation and engagement in this story.

This unit would links to P2C unit Who am I?

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Why am I here?

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

Explain vocabulary: Philosophy, Theology, and Apologetics.

Reflect on previous learning: What is faith? And P2C unit Who am I? We then discuss whether there is a purpose, design or destiny and can we affect that?

X-Factor God from P2C might be a good example of design with free choice.

Enquiry: God v Science looking at the positives and negatives of either God being in charge or Biology. The discussion can be open or you can use the suggestions in the power point lists. Children can vote for positives or negatives, then for God or Science.

Share the story ‘A Grain of Sand in a Sea of Nothing’. It is told like a traditional creation story but is an account of the scientific view; ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

Children can consider if this does away with God as a creator, or does it enhance it? Is it as far-fetched as other creation stories (Genesis)? How do we feel about the story at different points; at the beginning of time then when it talks about humanity?

Share the Story ‘The power of love’. Children can consider the purpose of life stemming from love. How does this relate to their own experience and relationship with their own parents? How does it relate to our relationship with God? Children complete worksheet: ‘I have a destiny.’ 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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I have a destiny.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

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

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Why am I here? PowerPoint Presentation

Relate to the previous unit and the P2C unit ‘Who am I?’

This is in line with the previous unit about one person’s belief compared to another. (See Ludwig Wittgenstein)

Here we look at the control we have over our existence.

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Why am I here? PowerPoint Presentation

We now look at the idea of control or freedom of choice in a God v Religion enquiry

A list of positive and negative statements are given from the point of view of God being in control.

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A list of positive and negative statements are given from the point of view of biology being in control.

This challenges us to consider whether we have a purpose and consider the meaning of our lives.

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Why am I here? PowerPoint Presentation

A story which depicts scientific explanation of creation in the style of a traditional creation story.

In the beginning there was nothing is a reference to Genesis.

Grain of sand represents the universe before the singularity, when all matter was condensed.

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Why am I here? PowerPoint Presentation

The singularity or Big Bang.

This diagram is a representation of the expansion of the universe since the singularity over 13.8 billion years.

The particles of matter are shown to start to gather together

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Why am I here? PowerPoint Presentation

They form larger objects.

Children may make the link to planets already.

‌eventually worlds

The evolution of life can be compared with the Genesis description, in the order of evolution‌

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Why am I here? PowerPoint Presentation

‌humans being created last.

The greatness of human achievement is difficult to explain in evolutionary terms.

This creation story differs from religious ones as it offers no suggestion of after life, and returns into darkness.

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A Grain of Sand in a Sea of Nothing I once met a wise old man in a faraway place some years ago. He told me the most amazing creation story I had ever heard. He said: In the beginning there was nothing; a huge lifeless, timeless, space-less sea of absolute nothingness. But amidst the sea of nothing came into existence a tiny grain of sand; miniscule in size and with little purpose or significance, until the most amazing thing happened.

In an event never to be repeated or matched again, a singularity occurred. The grain of sand exploded; an explosion of such magnitude and power, such light and energy, such awe and wonder that its impact is still to be felt 13.8 billion years later.

This was no ordinary grain of sand, from within its unassuming and diminutive frame came something incredible; that something was in fact …everything. All matter, all energy, all space and even time were born from the exploding speck.

The power of the explosion sent the time, the space and the matter swirling, spiralling rippling outward across the sea of nothing turning it into something, turning into a sea of everything; a sea we now call the universe. The matter, after spinning around, was drawn together in greater masses to form larger bodies eventually worlds; water, ice, rock and flame and most amazingly…life.

Every creature, from amoeba to blue whale, came from the heart of the tiny grain; every child, boy and girl of every colour and every nation, came from it too, being born, growing, learning, loving, struggling and dying. Every human life, every human emotion, every human thought, dream and achievement were born in the explosion from the single spec in the sea of nothing: Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Jesus and Hitler, every life and achievement, every baby’s cry and every mother’s kiss; all time and space and everything, it all came from the grain of sand in the sea of nothing.

I then asked him, “What happens to us when we die?”

He replied, “Why then we return to where we came from.”

“To a grain of sand?” I asked; perplexed.

“No not to a grain of sand.” he replied.

“Then to what?” I questioned further.

He paused for a second before answering, “…to nothing.”

With that he turned and left…

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The power of Love When we are children we rely on our parents; they feed us, clean us, clothe us and protect us. They teach us amazing skills like how to walk and talk; something I always took for granted.

As I got older and grew in independence I began to find my parents a bit of a nuisance; they didn’t understand what was important to me. They curbed my freedom and were always telling me what not to do. I had to live by their rules and ideals even though I was quickly developing my own.

At last, when I was finally old enough, I moved out and got my own place, I was finally free; independent to walk my own path and make my own decisions without worrying about being judged.

I fell in love more than once but then I met someone special; the one who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. My parents were a bit wary about me rushing into things; yet again they were standing in judgement over me and my decisions, but I was a strong independent person now and I had made up my mind and followed my heart.

We decided to get married and yet again my parents were there commenting and bossing me around. It was supposed to be MY big day but they made so many demands that it caused a lot of rows.

Well the big day came and went and we all got on for a change. Now I was a member of two families, now I had two sets of parents to judge me or criticise my decisions.

In no time at all it seemed we were starting a family of our own. Soon it would be my turn to be the parent; I would have the responsibility and make the decisions for my family. And so it transpired that I had a baby girl. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen, it was amazing that of all the billions of babies that had been born that mine was clearly the best and most wonderful.

My feelings for her were completely overwhelming, I had just never felt anything so powerful, it consumed my whole person, body and soul; then it hit me, an incredible revelation, the feeling I was feeling now for the first time was the feeling my parents have had my whole life.

Their judgements, rules and criticism weren’t because they wanted to hurt me, no, now I understood, it was this amazing power that guides and protects us and those we hold dear. The power of love.

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Who Is Jesus?

In this unit the purpose is to get children thinking about the nature of Jesus Christ; how we perceive him and how we may encounter him as Christians.

The difficulties of understanding Jesus as part of the Trinity and Son of God are also looked into. The story ‘Meeting Jesus’ is based on a real life event and considers the possibility that we are meeting Jesus in our daily lives. But before we get to that we explore the many different faces of Jesus in the Gospels: from baby to rebel, from carpenter to superhero. We can find examples of Jesus in many forms in scripture; which one relates to us can be useful in our relationship with Him. The story ‘The King’s Armour’ is an analogy for God becoming Jesus. For the King to interact with the people, he has to become one of them, and as a result suffers at the hands of those who won’t accept him. This illustrates the Gospels assertion that God became human to interact with us; ‘Word made flesh’ (John 1:14) There are two worksheets for this unit; ‘The coming of Jesus was a good thing’, and ‘Jesus is the Son of God’, children agree or disagree and explain why. This can give an indication of their standpoint of faith at this time in their lives.

This unit links to the P2C unit ‘Who is God?’?

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Who is Jesus?

Objective: To gauge children’s perspective on how they view the nature of Jesus.

Explain vocabulary: Philosophy, Theology, Apologetics, Deism, Theism Reflect on previous learning: ‘Who is God?’ from P2C is a good place to start Warm up: ‘Love Song’ Children discuss the meaning of song titles ‘All you need is Love’ and ‘Love is a wonderful colour’. This opens the children to ‘love’ being a concept as well as a thing; or a strange force that seems to pervade life.

Show power-point: Children look at lots of slides with Jesus depicted as different characters from the Gospel: baby, worker or king. Children can respond to how or why Jesus is like these characters.

The Name Game: from a list of 200 names for Jesus, children choose one or two that stand out as ones they particularly like. This will lead them to thinking about Jesus as different characters.

Share the story ‘Meeting Jesus.’ Children annotate the hand out of this story which tells of someone meeting Jesus in the face of a homeless old man. Sister Helen Prejean is a good example of this kind of meeting. Share the story ‘The King’s Armour’. Discuss how this analogy works for Jesus being the Son of God or Word made flesh.

Children complete worksheet: ‘The coming of Jesus is a good thing.’ And ‘Jesus is the Son of God’ giving a reason for their answer; agree or disagree.

Children have a break and answers analysed. Particular response picked up or further questions created.

Summing up of the project, make links back to the following: What is truth?

What is Faith?

Who am I?

Why am I here?

Who is God?

Who is Jesus?

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The coming of Jesus was a good thing.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesus is the Son of God.

agree

disagree

What arguments are there to support this?

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

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

Show how this unit links back to our ideas around belief and to the P2C unit Who is God?

Have an enquiry around the Love Songs titles, it can be in the form of agree/disagree.

In this sequence of slides we look at depictions of Jesus from the Gospel in many different guises.

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

As in His death; Jesus at His most vulnerable and most human. A gift of joy like all babies.

Jesus the rebel; the overturning of the tables in the temple is a good example. (Matt:21:13 )

The example of John Lennon can be an interesting contrast as his song Imagine can be seen as an atheist anthem.

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

Following Jesus can be seen as an alternative lifestyle choice. ‘So they pulled their boats onto the shore, left everything and followed Him.’ Luke 5:11

Jesus is described as a fisherman, a carpenter and a shepherd; carpenter is literal the others need exploring.

Jesus got in a lot of trouble because of this definition.

(John 18) The depiction of Elvis shows how people worship celebrity.

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

This is not a Gospel reference but it makes for interesting discussion around how we might define someone with His nature and powers.

For Islam, Jesus is seen as a prophet but not the Son of God. John the Baptist was the last prophet to Christians and related to Jesus.

Like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr; Jesus stood up for the rights of the poor and underprivileged, he was also killed because of it.

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

Jesus has over 200 names in the Bible.

Reflecting on which name connects with you, can open up the relationship you have with Him.

A real event that made me think.

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

A very cold night makes the setting inhospitable.

I had plenty of money as I got on the metro, but I wasn’t ready to share it.

The old homeless man is a common sight and how quick are we to judge or turn away?

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

We are very judgemental of lots of people not of our social group.

A firework was used to attack the homeless man.

To us a sleeping bag may be a little thing but to that man on that night imagine how valuable it was.

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Who is Jesus? PowerPoint Presentation

It is better to judge people by their actions rather than by our assumptions.

The actions of the ladies were like that of angels, and the old man like Jesus. ‘I was a stranger and you took me into your home’. Matt 25:35

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Meeting Jesus It was a cold December night and I was going out for a Christmas night out. I dressed in my best clothes and a warm coat and caught the metro into town.

At the next stop two ladies got on. They were dressed in cheap clothes and spoke in rough voices. I found them a bit brash and I was glad they weren’t sat any closer to me; they weren’t my sort of people.

A couple of stops later a scruffy and dirty man got on the metro. He was clearly homeless and as he walked down the carriage I felt uncomfortable; hoping he wouldn’t sit next to me. He went from person to person asking for some money. When he got to me he asked the same thing, I had fifty pounds in my pocket but I wasn’t giving anything to him. Who knows what he was going to spend it on? I had worked hard for my money and could see no reason why I should give any to him so I lied and told him I had no money on me.

He thanked me any way and I was glad when he moved further down the carriage. He then got to the two ladies and asked them for some money. They wasted no time in opening their purses to find whatever change they had to give him. He was glad of their kindness and then sat down next to them. They asked him how he was doing and he began to tell them about his evening. He said he was homeless and was sleeping rough; in a sleeping bag. Some teens had come across him and began making fun of him and bullying him. They had fireworks and thought it would be funny to fire them at the man. The man escaped injury but the fireworks set fire to his sleeping bag; his only protection from the winter’s cold.

The women listened and gave comforting words to the man, wishing him better luck for the future before they got off at their stop. The man got off at the following stop.

It occurred to me then that although I had judged the man and two women as being beneath me, I had been the one who had lied, not given money when I clearly had a lot to give, and had not even taken the time to listen to a person in need.

It wasn’t the man or the women who were in need of improvement it was me.

I believe I met Jesus in that homeless man, and I witnessed the work of angels in the two women. It has been a real lesson to me and motivated me to serve Christ through serving others I meet.

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The King’s Armour There once was a mighty warrior king. He was fair and just, yet feared throughout his kingdom for once scorned he was known to wreak havoc on those who crossed him. He rode upon a mighty steed called Spirit and created his kingdom in a battle that lasted six days. People recognised him by his amazing suit of gilded armour. It was always gleaming and spotless and as he rode the sun shone and reflected around him. Those who neared him were almost blinded and had to turn their gaze away from him. His helmet had a visor that masked his face. For most of his subjects all they knew of their king was the thunder of Spirit’s hooves approaching and a blinding light from his gleaming armour.

The King had everything he needed but he grew lonely. All his life he had fought for his kingdom and he did this out of love for his people to keep them safe. Now he wanted to share his love in a different way. He rode through the land and went from village to village, but every time he neared, people would run inside their houses, or cover their eyes from his brilliance. They would fall to their knees and tremble; he got no sense of love or even friendship from his encounters.

He realised that to be loved he needed to be known. He took off his beautiful armour and dressed as one of his subjects. He set out to meet his people. He was naturally gifted and a wonderful communicator and people were drawn to him. When he revealed who he really was many went to bow but he stopped them pointing out that he lived to serve them. His popularity began to grow as he travelled from village to village and people seemed delighted with their king.

One day he entered a big town, and as usual was greeted with cheers, but something was different. Some leaders of the town didn’t like his popularity and decided to challenge him.

“If you are the king where is your armour? Where is your mighty steed?” they asked. “If you were the king you would command us to do your will and it would be done. We would not even be able to gaze at your face. It is clear you are just a man and what’s more you should be punished as an imposter.”

With that they took him and beat him; without his armour and weapons he could not defend himself.

After his ordeal the king left to return to his royal palace, vowing to return in judgement with his armour and steed to punish those who rejected him and to reward those who had loved him.

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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 and 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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Elements of the RECD used in the project: Life in Christ 4.1. The Dignity of the Human Person 4.1.1. Dignity of the human person made ‘In the image of God’ A God’s plan for us (302-314, 1692) B God creates us to share eternal love and happiness with him in Heaven C God created us in his image and likeness a The dignity of the human person b Endowed with reason, intellect, and free will 4.1.2. The desire for happiness A Happiness in this life b Willingness to believe and trust in what God C The unity of the whole human race (842, 1877) i The social nature of the human person D The need for others 4.1.5. The Church and Other Non-Christians A The Muslim people: d Many common elements of moral life and practice with Catholics B The Catholic Church seeks to engage the Muslim community in dialogue.

D Common elements with Christianity: a As human beings we share a common origin and end c These religions contain elements of truth and virtue, which can help orient their members toward reception of the Gospel.

4.2. Freedom, Responsibility and Conscience 4.2.1. Freedom & Responsibility A God created the human person a rational being, and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts a Definition of Freedom b Perfection of Freedom c Free choice, blame and merit 4.2.2. Conscience A Definition of conscience 4.2.3. Morality of human action A God rules the universe with wisdom and directs its divine fulfilment a Eternal law B Natural moral law a Reason participating in eternal law b Basis for human rights and duties (1956) c Found in all cultures, basis for moral rules and civil 4.4. The Human Community 4.4.1. Human vocation and society: A No vocation is lived in isolation a Human beings exist in relationship with others; give of oneself in order to find oneself b There are many levels and types of relationship B Teaching and example of Jesus — his commandment of love a An unselfish gift of self to God and others b Service to our brothers and sisters in the Church and world D Social justice 4.4.3. Human solidarity B International Solidarity a Responsibilities of wealthy nations b International Aid and its limits c Proper role of the laity 4.6. Love of Neighbour 4.6.3. Respect for human life A The dignity of human life a All human life is sacred b Dignity due to being an image and likeness of God 4.6.8. Living in truth: A Eighth Commandment a Promote truth in society and media b Lies, detraction, perjury, rash judgment, violation of professional secrets c Seal of confession d Bl. John Paul II’s encyclical Splendor Veritatis 4.7 LIFE IN CHRIST: APOLOGETICS 4.7.1. If God created me free, doesn’t that mean that I can decide what is right and wrong?

4.7.4. Why can’t we make up our own minds and be in control over everything?

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Elements of the RECD used in the project: Revelation 1.1 KNOWING AND LOVING GOD 1.1.1 The Nature of Revelation: How Do We Know About God? A The human appetite for God a Within all people there is a longing for God B God revealed in different ways a Natural Revelation mentioned in Scripture b Old Testament references: e.g. Genesis and Wisdom e Arguments for the existence of God from Scholastic theology especially St. Thomas Aquinas and the ‘Five Ways’ f Vatican I: we can grasp with certainty the existence of God through human reason g Contemporary arguments based on the human person’s openness to truth, beauty, moral goodness, freedom, voice of conscience D The transmission of Divine Revelation c The Deposit of Faith and the role of the Church 1.1.3. Faith: the response to God’s self-Revelation A Faith in general b Willingness to believe and trust in what God has communicated to us c Relationship with God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit B Faith in Jesus Christ leading to discipleship c Faith has practical implications for daily life and one’s relationship with Christ C The relationship between faith and religion b Faith is different from religion D The fullness of Revelation is reflected in the life and teaching of the Catholic Church d The Magisterium guards and hands on the deposit of faith and is entrusted with the authentic interpretation of Revelation 1.3 CREATION 1.3.1. The Creation of the World and our First Parents A Revelation as found in the book of Genesis. b Genesis 1–11 conveys religious truth rather than science c The book reveals truth about which science and history can only speculate d Scripture’s use of figurative and symbolic language in Genesis 1–11 C God created all that is, seen and unseen a Unseen or invisible world: angels b Seen or visible world D Human beings as the summit of creation a Created in the image and likeness of God ii Dignity of both men and women: similarities and differences b Human persons are a body-soul unity; this reflects the physical and spiritual realities in the world c God’s plan: original holiness c and original justice 1.5. JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD 1.5.1. Jesus Christ, Son of God A Mystery of the Incarnation: Emmanuel (God-is with-us) (Jn 3:16-17; 484) a Jesus Christ is the Logos, the Word of God, the fulfilment of God’s promise to Adam and Eve and to the people of ancient Israel b Son of God from all eternity and Son of Mary from the moment of the c Christ continues his presence in the world through the Church 1.6. REVELATION: APOLOGETICS 1.6.1. How can we know God exists?

1.6.2. How can we say that God loves us amidst such human suffering?

1.6.3. How can people say that God is good if suffering and evil are present in the world?

1.6.5. There are some who say that the beliefs and doctrines taught by the church have been made up by members of the Church. How can we be sure that what the Catholic Church teaches has come from God? 1.6.7. Why would God the Father allow his Son Jesus, to suffer and die the way he did?

1.6.12. Is the Bible literally true?

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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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