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Lorri
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| Posted: Oct 18 2007 at 8:17am | IP Logged
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I found some questionable statements made in my dc's catechism books and I wanted to get additional opinions.
The first one is from a 1st grade book:
"But we must be good to go to Heaven."
There is absolutely no mention of Jesus on this page.
The second one is from a 2nd grade book:
"Together, they [parents and children] should try to live like the Holy Family.
If they do so, then God will bless them with a life of peace and happiness."
Am I being overly sensitive or are there some very big problems with what is being taught. I realize that I am taking the statements out of context for the purposes of posting here, but the rest of what is written in both books is acceptable.
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Lorri
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dollylima
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| Posted: Oct 18 2007 at 8:52am | IP Logged
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Lorri,
You know, my fiance and I were talking about something similar to this issue during our morning devotional...the whole idea that exists in some belief sets that we are going to receive some sort of physical, material reward for following God's word and walking the path He has chosen for us. We both immediately identified that in our way of understanding, the peace and happiness that comes from following God is not necessarily something that is externally manifest (ie your life will be free from trial or difficulty or you will have material wealth) but that your internal perspective will be such that no matter what the conditions, you will have the peace that surpasses understanding, and you will have a life that is filled with joy even in the midst of trials, because your family is together of one mind and walking together in love and faith.
These concepts may be a little bit complex for many seven-year-olds to grasp, but I agree that stating it so simplistically as you have quoted is swinging completely in the other direction and might set a child up for some serious misunderstanding and potential guilt (Am I not living as the Holy Family? Is that why my dog died?)for
...and as far as the "If we are good, we go to heaven" Wow, I dont know where that comes from. It is certainly true that we "know a tree by its fruit" and that good works are an important manifestation of our internal relationship wiht God, and Im no scholar, but it seems to be in direct opposition to doctrine to present the concept of salvation as being by works alone.
I cant help but wonder what this quote looks like in context, but I take your word for it that it stood out even in context.
I would be much more comfortable attempting to work through the more complex ideas with my seven year-old than presenting over-simplified statements that are, at their core, contradictory to what I hold true.
My son attends the Faith Formation classes at our parish,even though we do a lot with regard to faith as we homeschool. Maybe I should take a closer look at the materials they are using...and maybe someone who is well-informed about the catechism and the methodology in teaching it to young people will be able to shed some light on the subject and help us to understand why things are presented in this manner. I have to believe there is a pedagogical reason.
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Lorri
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| Posted: Oct 18 2007 at 1:12pm | IP Logged
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I'm surprised that I didn't get more opinions on this!
What makes matters worse to me is this isn't from parish RE books, this is from Seton religion!
I'm so disappointed in them.
I asked my dc what they thought about those statements. The older one was quickly able to state that even though God does NOT promise us a peaceful happy life on Earth, He does promise us everlasting life if we believe in Him.
My younger child needed more prodding, but was able to tell me that we do not get to heaven on our own, based on our good behavior. She understood that we needed Jesus to save us and that when we know and love Jesus, we desire to do His will, in other words, be good.
The whole gist of that lesson (be good to go to Heaven) was that God created us and wants us to be with Him in Heaven, "but we must be good to go to Heaven." God gave us rules to follow to help us be good. Not one mention of Jesus.
Sadly, my dc do know first hand that trying to live like the Holy Family does NOT guarantee a peaceful and happy life. They understand that our reward is not in this life, but in the next.
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Martha
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| Posted: Oct 18 2007 at 1:54pm | IP Logged
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Seton? Hmm, I'll go grab them off the shelf. They are excellent materials, but maybe you could refer to the page/chapter in question here?
I can tell you that what you quoted is not wrong by itself. We are not "saved by faith alone".
We are supposed to emulate the Holy Family as much as we are capable and we are told this will give peace and happiness. HOWEVER peace and happiness in God is NOT the same as peacefull and happy in life neccessarily. There are many, many, many saints who led absolutely miserable and horrible lives, but they found peace and joy in spiritually by imulating the Holy Family (Mary, Joseph, and/or Christ).
For example, they may have been cruelly treated by their spouse/parents for their faith, but they offerred that up and found peace in doing so. That doesn't mean they were suddenly treated better.
Now, there is a prot standard of "prosperity gospel" in which they claim if you have faith god will bless you with anyting you want, namely financial prosperity to make you happy. THAT is not correct or what the church teaches. I have not found that to what Seton espouses in their religion materials.
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Lorri
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| Posted: Oct 18 2007 at 2:59pm | IP Logged
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Martha, I totally agree with what you are saying. I have quoted the Seton books exactly as written. In Religion 1, page 15, it's the 4th sentence.
To me, the problem with teaching children that "we must be good to go to Heaven" is that it leaves Jesus out of the equation. Even though this lesson focuses on God Our Creator, it also says, "if we are good, we can go to Heaven to be with God when we die." It leaves too much out. I don't want my dc confused by "I'm a good person, so I'll go to Heaven". This lesson would have been better if it had said that we are all sinners, so God sent us a Savior. When we love God and His Son, our Savior, we want to please him and do his will. When we try to do God's will and follow His rules, when we die, we will go to heaven.
For the other quotation, it's in Religion 2, page 135, the last sentence before the questions.
It doesn't talk about spiritual peace or happiness in God. It's a lesson about Holy Matrimony and at the end tells us to emulate the Holy Family and if we do, "then God will bless [us] with a life of peace and happiness." End of lesson.
I'm usually very happy with Seton, except "Leading Little Ones to Mary" which needs updating desperately, but that's another post!
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Lorri
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Problem with Catechism Books
