Categories: just-life
Date: 09 March 2006 15:32:37
On Monday there was a programme on Channel 4 that I decide to tape and watched last night. I was mildly worried by what it showed....... I, as I'm sure you may have guessed by now, have views about the more happy-clappy part of the Envangilistic Wing of the church.....
By which I mean that the clapping/dancing/jumping/shouting/pop bands/tv-esque envangilistic preaching makes me want to wield a big stick. What would they do if there was a power cut??? Ha!!!
But I digress...... this programme (this one) was looking at what these churches were teaching the young people of this country. They looked in on a 'Silver Ring Thing' meeting. The SRT co-ordinator goes to the kids, "I want you to shout out; 'sex is great,' Ok?? 3 - 2 - 1 'SEX IS GREAT!'" and then she adds on; "but only in the context of marriage." While she was being interviewed for the programme she gave out the spiel that the only 100% reliable method of avoiding pregnancy and STD's was abstinance..... when it was pointed out that studies had shown that 88-94% of teenagers who took 'the pledge' failed and were then less likely to use contraception, becuase they weren't taught about them she refused to conceed that teaching both might be the better option.
It makes me very angry (and sad)....... and the show goes on.......
We then head into the North East to look at state schools run by the Emmanuel Schools Foundation (funded by the fundamentalist Christian Sir Peter Vardy). Now these schools do teach Darwin's Theory of Evolution, however when you are using the words 'this is what some people believe, I however believe (hold up a Bible (in a science class!!!)) in what it says here.....' this is not proper teaching..... And remember, these are STATE SCHOOLS..... not private Christian collages or anything....... The kids were told that in an exam, however, they should write what the science textbooks said about the history of the earth, and not what it said in the Bible..... The headmaster was unable to say that men and dinosaurs didn't exist at the same time......
The few teachers that have spoken out talk about Bible bashing in assemblies and a general attitude of 'you will do what you're told'..... There are also rumours of artificially raising exam standards by excluding those undisirables..... an example was a boy who was expelled for smoking.... outside of school time and not on school property.
I have no problem with faith schools, I have no problem with religious organisations funding state schools (they nee dall the help they can get), but I do have a problem when what is the truth is taught as not.....