Comments on: Religious Education

By: DamnRight

DamnRight — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 17:58:26 +0000

If only we could find teachers who would encourage questioning… I’d love for students to question even the fundamental tenets of science… teacher could no longer simply state “accepted” theories as premises for the days lesson… student might ask “why do we believe that”… teacher would then have to research & discuss how existing scientific experimentation & observation supports the theory… they may have to discuss some opposing theories or even some discenting opinions… this could be eye opening for the children… no more “I believe this because someone told me it was true”…

… I always wondered how children that were constantly lied to (Santa, Easter bunny, the stork brings babies, the tooth fairy, the sandman…) continue later in life to accept these same adult’s explanation for things like the origin of life… is it possiblt that the early teachings of falsehoods opens us up to gullibility later in life?… are we being trained to believe fairy tales?…

By: Atheist Revolution

Atheist Revolution — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 16:59:02 +0000

Solutions to the Problem of Faith: Progress so Fa

Since I suggested that atheist bloggers start working together to identify possible solutions to the problem of faith, some great ideas have been put forward. In my original post, I envisioned a collaborate endeavor where solutions would emerge from …

By: vjack

vjack — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 11:36:05 +0000

When I took a course in Buddhism in college, I realized that there was far more than Christianity out there. Although I was already an atheist by this point, I remember thinking that Buddhism was far more appealing and less destructive than Christianity. I think this idea has merit.

By: UnapologeticAtheist

UnapologeticAtheist — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 19:38:06 +0000

Dub - just like teaching evoultion in places that don’t want to teach it, having testing standards that hold the teachers accountable for a “realistic” (used in quotes because I’m not sure how to teach about invisible pink unicorns in a realistic way, but you get what I’m saying) presentation of the religious beliefs of others. If they’re all shown in terms of where they come from– in the case of the Abrahamic faiths, learning how they descended from Sumerian/Chaldean belief structrues can prove quiet useful in terms of fostering mutual understanding, at least. The real key I think is to make sure ALL the religions have not only their base-message pointed out, but also some of their sillier elements.

It’s a lot harder to snicker at the Muslims for worshipping a meteor when you realize you worship a God who supposedly cared about the smell of burned sacrifices, and whether or not they had fur-spots. For instance.

By: DUB

DUB — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 10:26:58 +0000

Realistic scenario in a typical American classroom:

Teacher: “So, class, this is what ____ believe”

*Snickering from the class*

Student 1: “How stupid. Everyone knows Jesus is God.”

Student 2: “Yeah, that’s why they’re getting bombed. ‘Cause they’re so stupid.”

Teacher: “Well, Jimmy, you have to understand that these are a primitive people…”

And so on.

I grew up in Ohio. I promise this is as realistic scenario as any.