PHIL 3310. Exploring the philosophical, ethical, spiritual, existential, social, and personal implications of a godless universe, and supporting their study at Middle Tennessee State University & beyond.
That is quite a challenge. Teach me to think for myself. When you consider that some of a baby's first sounds are already influencing her or his mind. From the documentary that you mentioned with Liam Neeson, the ability to begin to making rational determinations begins some time around three to four years of age. How can we teach a child without imposing our culture on them. A child born in Tennessee and one born in Tehran will have a very limited exposure to each others culture. I understand the sentiments, but I wonder if we wouldn't be better to try to help children think critically on all issues and not just religious ones, politics, for example.
I love the very last image! Teaching people HOW to think is incredibly important and often overlooked, particularly in early education. The great thing about philosophical thinking is that it naturally starts from an early age already (think of the little kid always asking "why?"). Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is not always encouraged, and many of us stop asking "why," eventually.
The idea of hell has always perplexed me because why would the "devil" punish us in hell, if we did what he wanted us to do on earth (sin)? Also, I found that being raised as a christian was beneficial for me, because I became well informed about the religion and then as I started to think for myself I realized that I did not believe the teachings and no longer wanted to follow the religion. I say it was beneficial, because it allowed me to be exposed to that faith and the beliefs, but thankfully after I decided I did not want to follow that, my parents no longer forced me to go to church. I realize not everyone feels that way though... sorry if that was random :)
The image of the child asking his parents when they were going to tell him about hell resonated with me. One of my housemates is part of a group that gets together to organize Sunday school lesson plans. I will never forget one woman's lesson plan being rejected because it introduced the concept of hell too early. The reasoning of the group was that the children would rebel against the churches teachings if fear was used as a motivator that early in their theological education. I will never forget how unnerved I was by deceitful tactics used by religious institutions to indoctrinate young children before they can critically examine the ideas being presented to them.
That is quite a challenge. Teach me to think for myself. When you consider that some of a baby's first sounds are already influencing her or his mind. From the documentary that you mentioned with Liam Neeson, the ability to begin to making rational determinations begins some time around three to four years of age. How can we teach a child without imposing our culture on them. A child born in Tennessee and one born in Tehran will have a very limited exposure to each others culture. I understand the sentiments, but I wonder if we wouldn't be better to try to help children think critically on all issues and not just religious ones, politics, for example.
ReplyDeleteI love the very last image! Teaching people HOW to think is incredibly important and often overlooked, particularly in early education. The great thing about philosophical thinking is that it naturally starts from an early age already (think of the little kid always asking "why?"). Unfortunately, this kind of thinking is not always encouraged, and many of us stop asking "why," eventually.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of hell has always perplexed me because why would the "devil" punish us in hell, if we did what he wanted us to do on earth (sin)? Also, I found that being raised as a christian was beneficial for me, because I became well informed about the religion and then as I started to think for myself I realized that I did not believe the teachings and no longer wanted to follow the religion. I say it was beneficial, because it allowed me to be exposed to that faith and the beliefs, but thankfully after I decided I did not want to follow that, my parents no longer forced me to go to church. I realize not everyone feels that way though... sorry if that was random :)
ReplyDeleteThe image of the child asking his parents when they were going to tell him about hell resonated with me. One of my housemates is part of a group that gets together to organize Sunday school lesson plans. I will never forget one woman's lesson plan being rejected because it introduced the concept of hell too early. The reasoning of the group was that the children would rebel against the churches teachings if fear was used as a motivator that early in their theological education. I will never forget how unnerved I was by deceitful tactics used by religious institutions to indoctrinate young children before they can critically examine the ideas being presented to them.
ReplyDelete