Manchester PGCERE: Session 2

Faith: Christianity Approach: Thinking Skills and Philosophy for Children

• Christianity is the most popular religion in the

world with over 2 billion adherents. 42 million

Britons see themselves as nominally Christian,

and there are 6 million who are actively practising

• Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah

promised in the Old Testament

• Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of

God

• Christians believe that God sent his Son to earth

to save humanity from the consequences of its

sins

• One of the most important concepts in Christianity is that of Jesus giving his life on the Cross (the Crucifixion) and rising from the dead after the third day (the Resurrection)

• Christians believe that there is only one God, but that there are three elements to this one God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit

• Christians worship in churches

• Their spiritual leaders are called priests or ministers

• The Christian holy book is the Bible, and consists of the Old and New Testaments

• Christian holy days such as Easter and Christmas are important milestones in the Western secular calendar

RE Pedgogy: A Reminder

Stage 1: Learning about (what do they do?)

Stage 2: Thinking about (what is similar in my life?)

Stage 3: Learning from (why are these actions significant to me?)

Stage 4: Learning to think from (how might my significances contrast to their significances?)

Stage 5: Learning to think about: (why might they do what they do?)

Stage 2: What is similar in my life?Choose a concept from the list and discuss how

you may contextualise it for children

•Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.

•Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

•Christians believe that God sent his Son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.

•One of the most important concepts in Christianity is that of Jesus giving his life on the Cross (the Crucifixion) and rising from the dead after the third day (the Resurrection)

•Christians believe that there is only one God, but that there are three elements to this one God: God the Father, God the Son, The Holy Spirit

• The history of Christianity begins in first-century Galilee. At that time, the Jews of the Holy Land were living under Roman occupation

• The man we know as Jesus was born in a Galilean village called Nazareth

Luke 2:1-7 describes Joseph and Mary as residents of Nazareth in the Galilee. They would have

had to travel for about a week to cover the approximately 90 miles from Nazareth in the Galilee

south to Bethlehem in Judea. 2 Luke says that they had to do this in order to take part in the

Roman census and taxation. Jesus was born while they were in Bethlehem.

Mark 6:1 contradicts Matthew by identifying Nazareth as Jesus' birthplace, as his "hometown."

!

John 7:41-43 also contradicts Matthew. It has people in a crowd rejecting Jesus as the Messiah

because the Messiah was expected to come from Bethlehem in Judea, whereas Jesus was known

to have come from Galilee. It can be argued that both Mark's and John's passages are compatible

with Luke's account, assuming that Joseph and Mary returned quickly from Bethlehem in Judea

to Nazareth.

!

There are numerous references in New Testament that identify Jesus as coming from Nazareth.

The early Christians were called "Nazarenes." Jesus was called "Jesus of Nazareth" or "Jesus the

Nazarene" or "Jesus the Nazorean" - and never "Jesus of Bethlehem."

Bethlehem, really?

• Baby Jesus - The Life of Brian

History: How did it all begin?

People around Jesus

!Jesus is believed by Christians to be the Christ - the Son of God

!Mary was the mother of Jesus. Christians believe she was made pregnant miraculously by God while she was still a virgin

!Herod ruled Judea from 37 BC. The Bible says he initiated a murder of all the infants in Bethlehem in an attempt to get rid of the baby Jesus

!Jesus' twelve companions were instrumental in spreading his teachings and the Christian religion after his death

People (continued)

!Mary Magdalene travelled with Jesus as one of his followers. She was was present at the two most important moments in the story of Jesus: the crucifixion and the resurrection

!The Passion of Christ is the story of Jesus Christ's arrest, trial, suffering and finally his execution by crucifixion. But it is only an episode in a longer story that includes the Resurrection

!Saint Paul is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of the Western world. Famously converted on the road to Damascus, he travelled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the word of Jesus.

Redemption: The Shawshank Redemption

• Some Christians believe that all decisions are made by God, since God knows everything (predestination)

• Some Christians believe that God has given people ‘free will’ to choose their own path, even if it is ‘the wrong’ path

Choosing Faith - becoming a Christian

Choosing Faith: Sliding Doors

Framework for Thinking and Problem Solving

Strategy Questions Process OutcomesGather / What do I already Knowledge Thought showersorganise know? Lists and labels Definitions Questions

Identify What’s the task? Interpret / Plans clarify Notes Predictions

Estimations

Generate How many ideas Creative / Alternatives

can we think of? Inventive Extensions Patterns Hypotheses

A Framework for Thinking and Problem

Solving

Strategy Questions Process OutcomesDecide Which is the best Order / Modifications! ! idea? Analysis Prioritise Instructions

Implement Do it! Action / Solve Synthesis Experiment

Draw / make

Evaluate How well did we do? Judge / Grade Assessment Comparison

Communicate Let’s tell someone Combine / Talk / video Summarise Podcast / blog

What is God like?

The Life of Brian

What is Jesus like?

• Bruce Almighty

What is the Trinity like?

Father Ted

• Read the text

• Discuss questions that come directly from the text

• Remind the learners how to think about questions that the text brought to mind

! Make a polarised statement about the philosophical question

! All points start with

“ I (dis)agree with X

because…”

! Summarise the discussion

Philosophy for Children: Using texts