An issue that has come up more than once in class; is it only religious people that can get into heaven?
This article does one side, drawing on God’s mercy and also putting an emphasis on the conscience for humans.
But I’d love to ask the Pope what conscience means to him; is he an Aquinas man or an Augustine of Hippo. I think I know but won’t put words in his mouth…
Female deacons could lead to female priests – and the Vatican knows it
Slippery theological slope or exactly what the saviour ordered….
Tom Cruise will feel right at home in East Grinstead, Britain’s strangest town
Before reading this I would like to say that the sentiment and views portrayed in this article are not necessarily my own. Just in case anyone wants to get grumpy at me.
However, lots of students ask me about scientology and East Grinstead isn’t a million miles away. Who knew it was so diverse religiously speaking.
Pope Francis to dismay reformists with ‘modern families’ document
There should be mercy. A positive message and a big step for catholicism but still a nod to divorce and alternative family life being flawed.
Is it enough? Does it go against traditional catholic beliefs?
I just know I like this pope’s efforts.
Why do people believe? An evolutionary angle!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35651301
Do wishes made verbally before death hold any value after? Is having this child a right in order for potential life to be realised or an emotional reaction for a grieving mother?
Alternatively consider the future impact this could have on you if you were the child. Would it be a beautiful act of true family love or something you could never cope with?
http://time.com/3714056/pope-francis-lent-2015-fasting/
Pope Francis is such an interesting man for RE teachers. Here he is shedding a new perspective on fasting for lent, which echoes some aspects of Virtue Ethics. For him sacrifice is pointless if you help no one and that it is the ‘globalisation of indifference’ that means that we no longer look outwards.
In a world where I admit to rather not knowing details to save myself from some of the deep injustices occurring, this highlights a wider issue that people sometimes have. I recently discussed with my yr13s Tondeur’s approach to living an ethical life with business and he said we must seek to be informed. Many of us admitted to not wanting to know about the ethical practices of our favorite companies for convenience. This is potentially the exact indifference that influences us all.
Not being a Christian, I shall be sacrificing nothing for Lent, but I can’t help but think how the advice speaks to us all.
http://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/demise-of-intelligent-design/
Very interesting piece marking a very famous trial in America.
Watch the ‘controversial’ advert of the weekend. Celebration of faith and diversity in Britain or forcing a religious agenda on a largely secular society?
I’d heard it said by a man of faith, that you can never call yourself truly faithful if you have never doubted or questioned.
Here is a very interesting insight from the Archbishop of Canterbury. “I’m in the middle” is how God responded to his questions in the light of the Paris attacks.
This is an issue currently being studied by my GCSE students, the inconsistent triad. How can an all loving and powerful God exist in a world with such evil and suffering? The biggest question.
It fills me with pride that students begin discussig the idea of free will and acts being trials from God. And it’s true that many messages of strength and love come out of an act of hate from a minority, but as my yr13s came to discover in philosophy, surely a most powerful God could have made a world of such creation that acts of love did not need to come from such hate.
As an RE teacher, I applaud the openness of the Archbishop’s questioning. No one should blindly follow, either as an atheist or theist, always unpack and analyse for themselves.
colourblindethics 