Teenage Girl Exorcists

The casting out of demons was a power given by Jesus to his disciples. There are numerous accounts of Jesus performing exorcisms and it has forever remained a fascinating part of Christian life. Earlier in the year, Pope Francis was accused of making an exorcism in public (see <here>).

However in the latest tale of exorcisms, Brynne Larson (18) and Tess (18) and Savannah Scherkenback (21) claim to be able to cast out demons and indeed have dedicated their lives to it.

There is a certain 'performance' that goes with these exorcisms, "The teenage exorcists are greeted on stage as if they were celebrities. There is applause and they announce to the audience that they look forward to "kicking some demon butt". They see themselves as "freedom fighter" and hold up silver crosses and Bibles on stage while confronting the demon to make it return to hell.

They have already travelled to over 20 countries casting out demons and performing exorcisms.

Do you think it is right that these girls have been trained up by on of their fathers to perform exorcisms? Do you think that the 'performance' is necessary? Do you think that it is okay for them to ask for donations for doing this (a few hundred dollars reportedly)?

Teen Exorcists will be broadcast on Thursday 12 September 2013 at 21:00 BST on BBC Three. Or catch up later on BBC iPlayer.

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23986595

Buy A Priest A Beer!

Monday 9th September marks International Buy A Priest A Beer Day. According to The Catholic Gentleman blog: "On this festive day, faithful Catholics all over the world take their priests out for a beer and get to know them better. It’s a beautiful Catholic tradition that goes back to the time of St. Hopswald of Aleyard, the first man to take his priest out for a beer."

In the write up of this day, it reminds people that priests are normal people too. It suggests inviting your priest out for a beer, or round for dinner. Despite their often hectic schedule, it is often a welcome break for the dedicated clergy.

I'm not sure how well-known this special day is, or indeed St Hospwald of Aleyard is, but it seems like a good reason to pop to the pub with a priest!

Read more <here>.

Syria: "We Cannot Just Stand By"

The phrase "we cannot just stand by" is often used by the general public and politicians alike as a justification for going to war with Syria.

It is hard to argue that the images and stories emerging from Syria are nothing short of horrific, but the UK parliament have already voted against military action and the US are still awaiting a decision from Senate.

A blogger pointed out this phrase, "we cannot just stand by", is particularly dangerous as an excuse for military action because:

1) Standing by might be better than poorly thought-through action.
2) Diplomatic options are not just 'standing by'.
3) People who say it 'stand by' various other human rights violations day after day.

Do you think it is wrong to 'just stand by'? A well know saying is "Evil exists because good people do nothing", could this be used against the UK's decision? Do you think people are selective in what action they want to take?

Inspired by Alex Higgins

Tweeted by @StanCollymore

Good Riddance or Cowardly?

On Tuesday, Ariel Castro, the man who kept women captive at his home in Cleveland, Ohio, has died after being found hanging in his cell.

He had been sentenced on to life imprisonment without parole plus 1,000 years on 1 August 2013.

The prosecutor who had tried him responded by calling him a "coward" unable to withstand "a small portion" of what he had inflicted on the women he had raped and kept captive for 10 years.

Reports suggest he used his bedsheets to hang himself and was discovered during a routine 30 check. Doctors were unable to resuscitate him.

Such a long sentence, in a country where the death penalty is still legal and used, was always going to be controversial. This comment from Facebook makes it clear:

It is indeed costly to keep someone in prison for their whole lives. However in this case where Castro kept young women as captives, it was a small dose of revenge in the eyes of many.

In the UK, killers such as Harold Shipman and Fred West have committed suicide rather than live out their life sentences. Both cases caused controversy with one group saying good riddance, while others claiming that prisons should do more to prevent such criminals gaining and 'easy way out' from their punishment.

Do you think suicide is an 'easy way out'? Is it a sign of absolute remorse? Do you think it is better or worse for the victims? Do you think prisons need to do more to prevent suicides?

Read more:Here
Papers Divided After Shipman Suicide

The Conscience of Guide Leaders: God or Not?

In June it was announced that Girls Guides would drop an allegiance to God in their oath. The Queen was to remain, but it was decided that to mention God was inappropriate; read more <here>. However a number of Girl Guide groups have close ties to churches and are run by Christians, as such they have decided to keep the 'to God' part and risk being expelled from the Girl Guides.

The promise to “love my God” has been scrapped and replaced with a pledge to “be true to myself” and to “develop my beliefs”. The idea being it allowed all Guides to make the promise with sincerity.

However a group of leaders from Harrogate, North Yorks, have decided that they plan to defy the change and continue to use the old pledge at the groups which meet in their church and are supported by a Christian community.

Adding to the situation, a volunteer leader, Jem Henderson, who is an atheist has accused the group of forcing her to take the old promise, against her conscience.

The Harrogate Guide leaders' response to this was, "No one need join Girlguiding, so removing the reference to God in the interests of inclusivity removes much of what we stand for."

They added: “Girlguiding has God at its core and anyone who has issue with this is free to start their own organisation.”

However the Girl Guides HQ have made it clear that the leaders risk expulsion from the guiding movement.

Do you think the group is right to use the old oath given they are part of, and supported by, a church community? Do you think the oath should include Christian links? The Guides has always had a Christian foundation, is it right to abandon it? Do you think it would be right to expel these Guide leaders?

Read more <here>

We're Back!

It's the start of a new year and TalkingDonkeyRE is back from his summer holidays!

Hopefully there will be a couple of posts a week to help students and teachers of RE. We have just had our 80,000th visitor which is truly amazing; thank you all for your continued support.

Please do continue to give feedback, adding comments and sharing the links.

Make sure you are following @TalkingDonkeyRE on Twitter to get the latest updates. If you are a teacher, please also follow @iTeachRE and visit www.iTeachRE.co.uk.

Mr Lewis & the SHoM RE Dept 

Indulgences for Following on Twitter

The Catholic Church has always granted indulgences to reduce the time Catholics will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins. Now, indulgences are available to followers of Pope Francis' tweets.

However senior Vatican officials were quick to warn Twitter addicted Catholics that indulgences still required a level of faith and commitment to the teachings of the Church.

Catholic World Youth Day begins in Rio de Janeiro on 22nd July and lasts for a week. As many people can't get to Brazil, the Vatican has offered indulgences to those who follow the "rites and pious exercises" of the event on television, radio and through social media too.

It is important to remember that an indulgence would hinge on the beneficiary having been to confession, as well as being "truly penitent and contrite".

As well as Pope Francis using Twitter, the Vatican has launched an online news app, a Facebook page, and it plans to use the online social networking site Pinterest.

"What really counts is that the tweets the Pope sends from Brazil or the photos of the Catholic World Youth Day that go up on Pinterest produce authentic spiritual fruit in the hearts of everyone," said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli.

Do you follow the Pope? Is this a good way for young people to engage with their Catholic faith? Do you think it is right to grant indulgences for following on Twitter?

Read more <here>
Follow Pope Francis <here>