Christmas: Whose Birthday?

Some stats published by Christian Today:

• 12% of adults know the nativity story
• 36% of children do not know whose birthday is being celebrated
• 51% of people now say the birth of Jesus is irrelevant to their Christmas

As a result The Bishop of Manchester has launched a campaign with these posters:

 

At the launch of the campaign, with various Christian groups and churches in Manchester, Bishop David Walker reminded people of the importance of remembering the true reason we celebrate Christmas in an increasingly secular society. The posters will be distributed to hundreds of other sites around the country. The hope is that they will inspire people to check out their local church and find out more about the Christian faith.

Are you surprised at the statistics? Do you think the posters will work? Are people interested or just concerned with themselves? Is Christmas just an excuse to over indulge? Does this campaign touch upon another serious issues of debt?

Stabbing Baby Hitler

 

Renowned journalist and documentary maker Louis Theroux caused a bit of controversy on Twitter by asking whether, "Give the chance, should you stab baby Hitler?" with the hashtag: philosophicaldilemma.

 

 

This raises some interesting questions about nature over nurture - could we not just raise Hitler differently if we had the chance again? But also about the means of killing... some suggested it would be in some way easier to smother rather than stab!

 

If you can dig out the tweets from <here>, you can see some peoples' responses. The initial tweet is found <here>.

 

They included a full range from: "Not even a dilemma, I wouldn't stab an adult Hitler." or "Too easy... make him suffer!" while many said they would give him, "lots of cuddles, read him lots of inspiring books and encourage him to turn the other cheek."

 

Our Y12 students have been studying utilitarianism recently and some have blogged about it:

• Does the end always justify the means?
• Is utilitarianism relevant in the 21st century?



What do you think? For the 'greater good' what would you do with baby Hitler? What ethical theories could you apply to this? What do you think is more important nature or nurture? Why do you think Louis Theroux raised this?

Nelson Mandela - 1918 - 2013

 

Free after 27 years in prison

Nelson Mandela, one of the few true greats leaders, passed away on the 5th December 2013. Many words will be written about him but this collects a few resources to help understand something of the tributes being made.

 

 

CAFOD often use his speech to remind us to the 'Great Generation'... there is more information on his Make Poverty History speech here:

http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/extras/mandela.shtml

 

There is a further tribute from CAFOD here:

http://www.cafod.org.uk/News/International-News/Nelson-Mandela

 

 

Mary & Joe: 2013's Nativity Videos

Social Media provides a perfect platform for evangelisation and the retelling of the nativity story in new forms through media.

Last year I blogged about a few videos:

• The Unexpected Nativity (the most viewed post on here!)
• The Nativity Told Through Social Networks

This year we have 'Unto Us' a modern interpretation of the story...

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

What do you think of this 'gritty' retelling of the Nativity? Do you think it helps make the story relevant? Why do you think people put time and money into making films like this? What age range do you think they are geared towards?

Child Taken From Womb... Literally!

This a quite an unbelievable story... Essex social services have obtained a court order against a woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and for her child to be taken from her womb by caesarean section.

The visiting Italian had a mental breakdown while on a business trip, but now 15 months on, the baby is still with social services. The woman claims to be fully recovered and lawyers have said this case is unprecedented, especially due to its international nature.

John Hemming MP said: “I have seen a number of cases of abuses of people’s rights in the family courts, but this has to be one of the more extreme."

Despite her now being of sound mind, Essex County Council want to get the baby adopted in the UK in case she has a relapse.

Do you think it was right to sedate this woman and take the baby by caesarean? Do you think her Italian family should have been contacted? Are the baby's needs and care more important than anything else? What could have been a better solution?

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10486452/Child-taken-from-womb-by-social-services.html

UPDATE: A few articles have said the origianl article may be misleading. Read here for more

The Bible: NEW TV Series

"THE BIBLE is an epic 10-hour mini-series that brings to life the dramatic tales of faith and courage in the most widely-read book of all time. Breathtaking in scope and scale, THE BIBLE series features powerful performances, exotic locations and cutting-edge visual effects to create a spectacular television event that will entertain and inspire the whole family. From Genesis to Revelation, THE BIBLE series features some of the most famous stories ever written and some of the most iconic characters: from Noah's Ark, the Exodus and Daniel in the lion's den to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Channel 5 intends to broadcast THE BIBLE series this December (see www.channel5.com/thebible). Free resources are available at www.thebibleuk.org."

This new TV series comes to the UK via Channel 5. It begins broadcasting on Saturday 30th Novemember 2013 at 9pm, presumably fitting perfectly in the run up to Christmas.

The reviews of this have been very positive and picks key events from the Old and New Testaments that cover the whole journey as the People of God to the first early Christians. Watch the trailer here:

 

 

The first episode takes the viewer from Noah all the way to The Promised Land via Abraham and Moses. It should be great viewing for all students and teachers of RE!

Faith In Action

A new part of our General RE for 6th Form course includes an element of 'Faith in Action'. Students are asked to complete one hour a week of voluntary work either in or outside of school. 

As part of this we invited Church of England Pastor from St Luke's in Cranham. He is contactable, as he offered, through the church website <here>.

He spoke about a few projects he was involved in and you may want to find out more:

• Christians Against Poverty - providing debt relief to anyone who needs it
• Above Us Only Sky - a homeless charity that provides a range of services including sleeping bags
• Hope 4 Havering - an organisation that provides shelters for the homeless around Havering 
• Harold Hill Food Bank - providing emergency food for people in crisis

It's quite amazing to see the range of organisations working in our local area and shows the great needs of nearby communities. 

Do we do enough to support local charities? Do you think that enough Christians 'walk the walk'? What could be done to encourage more people to put their 'faith in action'?