Comenius

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Nostradamus (1993)

Watch the film and comment on these aspects:

- Conflict Inquisition and Science

- Influence of religion in the role of women at that time

- Hypocrisy in religion.

Please write your first name, class and country under your comment.

Dangerous Beauty (AKA The Honest Courtesan, 1998)

Comment about these different aspects:

The Holy Inquisition.
Role of women at that time.

Please write your first name, class and country under your comment.

Monday, January 12, 2009

A trip to Turkey

Enlarge map

Istanbul

1) The capital of Turkey is ...

a) Ankara b) Istanbul c) Izmir

2) The largest city in Turkey is ... Find the answer here.

a) Ankara b) Istanbul c) Izmir

3) Look at the interactive map above and read here. Which city unites Europe and Asia?

a) Ankara b) Istanbul c) Izmir

4) What transport can you see in the Bosphorus? Read here.

a) boats b) cars c) bicycles

5) What is the old name of Istanbul? Find the answer here.

a) Macedonia b) Constantinople c) Cyprus

6) Are there any Roman ruins in Instanbul? Find the answer here

a) No, the Romans didn't get there to Istanbul.

b) Yes, Istanbul was very important in the Roman times.

7) Where in Istanbul can you visit the Sultan's harem? At the ... Click here.

a) Haghia Sophia church b) Topkapi Palace c) Blue Mosque

8) Which place in Istanbul has over 4000 shops? Read here.

a) Taksim square b) the Grand Bazaar c) the Bosphorus

9) What was this temple in the past? Read here

a) The cathedral of the Roman emperor.

b) A military construction.

10) Look at the map. What separates Eastern Istanbul from Western Istanbul?

a) the sea of Marmara b) The Bosphorous c) The Black Sea

11) What are the must sights and activities in Istanbul? Tick the correct answers:

a) Galata Tower b) the Blue Mosque c) the Haghia Sophia d) the Bosphorus trip e) the Basilica Cistern f) Taksim square g) travel by tram h) Archaelogical museum

12) Istambul is about ... away from Kilis. See interactive map.

a) 570km b) 370 km c) 870 km

13) The name of this beautiful mosque is:
a) Beyazit Mosque b) Sultanahmet, the Blue Mosque c) Suleymaniye Mosque

14) This place contained ... in the past.
a) cereals b) arms c) water

15) This hotel in Istanbul is ... from the Blue Mosque.
a) very near b) not very near c) very far

16) The highest temperature in Istanbul today is:

a) cold b) warm c) hot

Now, let's find out information about Kilis:

17- Look at the map above. Kilis borders with...
a)Greece b) Syria c) Iraq d) Azerbajan

18- The weather in Kilis is similar to the weather in ... Read here.
a) Moscow b) New York c) Barcelona d) London

19- Today the weather in Kilis is:
a) cloudy b) rainy c) sunny

20- The nearest airport near Kilis is ... away. Read here.
a) 40 km b) 100 km c) 10 km d) 2 km

21) The name of this place is
a) Kuzeyne or Kuzuini b) Oylum Tumulus c) Ravanda Castle/Fortress

22) This place in Kilis is: (Read here)
a) a picnic area b) Roman theatre

23) This temple in Kilis is a:
a) church b) sinagogue c) mosque

24) This place in Gaziantep is called a:
a) Turkish bath b) bazaar c) museum

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Religion in everyday life

The aim with this task is to explore what similarities, differences and opinions we can see in our everyday religious life within the each country involved in the Comenius project.

Answer this questionnaire. Now look at our answers and the other countries' answers. What can conclusions can you make?

Sign with your complete name, class, school and country.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Interview with Xavier, a Catholic priest of La Llagosta

Students of different levels of ESO and Batxillerat asked some questions to Xavier, the Catholic priest of the church in La Llagosta. We thank him for agreeing to come to our school.

Presentation

Xavier has been priest for three years and now he’s the new priest of the church in la Llagosta. He’s been in this town for two months. He’s 37 years old and he was born near la Llagosta, in Martorelles.
He studied to be an architect but when he was 27 years old he decided to enter the seminar to become a priest.

His education

Student: Why did you decide to be a priest?
Priest: I just felt the need to devote my life to religion, to God, like when you fall in love. You don’t chose it. It just happens.

Student: What did you study to become a priest? When did you study?

Priest: I studied two years of philosophy and three years of theology.

Student: Have you ever been to the Vatican?

Priest: Yes, I’ve been to the Vatican twice and once in Rome.

Student: Do you believe in the devil? Why?
Priest: Yes, I do. It’s obvious that’s there’s evil in everyday life. That’s the devil, not the red monster with horns and a tail.

Student: Do you believe in the Theory of Evolution? Do we come from apes?

Priest: Yes, I believe in the Theory of Evolution. We have to interpret the Bible to understand it., not just read it literally.

Daily work in his congregation

Student: What time do you get up in the morning?
Priest: I usually get up at seven.

Student: Do you offer mass every day?
Priest: Yes, I say mass every day, at 7.30 in the evening.

Student: How many times a day do you offer mass?
Priest: I usually say mass once a day, but there’re also special days when I have two (when someone dies, for example). On Sundays I say mass four times.

Student: What do you do with the money you collect from the church box?
Priest: We give it to charity or make reparations for the church. We also have to pay taxes.

Student: Don’t you get bored of saying the same thing every day?
Priest: I don’t say the same things every day. I read different parts of the Bible in every mass.

Student: Could you offer the mass in Latin?
Priest: Yes, I could. I like classical religious music, and it is usually in Latin. That way I learned Latin faster. I have more problems with Hebrew and Greek.

Student: Do you need any preparation before saying mass?
Priest: Yes, I have to prepare the sermon and make the necessary preparations for certain ceremonies, like baptisms, for example.

Student: Do you teach? Who are your students?
Priest: No, I’m going to classes at the moment to get my master’s degree. I go there in the morning.

Student: What activities does your parish organize?
Priest: Baptisms, burials and other celebrations, as well as the teaching of catechism. We also give assistance to poor people.

Student: Do priests have free days? When?
Priest: We should have, in theory. Monday morning is usually our “free time”, but it depends. You might be needed. You take your time off when you think it’s suitable.

Student: What kind of clothes do you usually wear?
Priest: I usally wear ordinary clothes.

Student: Why do priests wear a clerical collar?
Priest: I’m not wearing it now, but I like to wear it to show I’m a priest, in Lourdes, for example. Someone might need a priest and they can spot me easily with the clerical collar.

Student: Do you watch TV? What do you watch?
Priest: Now I don’t watch TV because I don’t have antenna in my building. However, I didn’t watch it very often before: the news at lunch time and in the evening, that’s all. I also like the Simpsons!

Student: Do you surf the internet?
Priest: Yes, I do, but I’m not very good at computers. I’ve just learnt to upload my picture on Facebook.

Student: Who cooks for you?
Priest: Nobody does. I love cooking. I do it myself.

Student: Do priests get retired? What do you do then?
Priest: We don’t really ever retire. When you’re 75 years old, you are not in charge of a big parish, but you can still offer mass.

Young people’s interest in religious beliefs

Student: Do young people go to church less often than in the past?
Priest: Of course. In Franco’s times, it was an obligation to go to church. Now it’s up to you. Most of the children do their first communion and then they never go to church On the other hand, teenagers who decide to go, are criticized by their classmates. They’re seen as weird people. Now Christians who practice their religion are persecuted (not accepted by their equals), as they were in the origin of Christianism! Young people are not offered a religious education.

Muslim people get stranged with Christians because we don't go to our churches and pray.

Questions about rites

Student How do you explain that most of the rituals or Christian festivities are celebrated on the same days as the pagan rituals?
Priest: I think it’s not most of the rituals, just two or three. Christmas is one of them. It coincides with the winter solstice, when the sun starts to “grow” (the days get longer). Jesus is seen as the light, the sun that is born.

Student: Why do the kings give the newborn Jesus gold, incense and myrrh?
Priest: These were presents given to kings and Jesus was the king of kings. Myrrh represented death, as he was going to die for us.

Student: When did Easter start to be celebrated?
Priest: Easter has always been celebrated, since the death of Christ. Christmas celebration started four centuries later.

Student: Can you explain to us why Easter is on different dates every year? How can we know when Easter is going to be celebrated the following year?
Priest: Easter changes according to the moon calendar, with the first full moon of spring.

Student: why is baptism so important?
Priest: because it’s the first ceremony in church for that person.

Student: What is confirmation? What do the ashes mean?
Priest: ashes represent death.

Student: What is the origin of the prohibition of eating meat on Friday?
Priest: fasting is very common in all the religions. In the past, meat was expensive to buy. The idea was that people gave the money to the poor instead of buying meat on Fridays.

Questions about important ethical issues in society today

Student: What do you think about abortion?
Priest: We don’t say “no” to abortion. We say “yes” to life. All life comes from God, so only God can decide.

Student: Do you think that women should have the right to decide whether to have children or not?

Priest: What about the baby’s rights? We don’t have the right to finish with anybody’s life.

Student: How would you react if you saw a couple of men or women kissing each other in the street?
Priest: I don’t have any problems with homosexual. As a matter of fact, some of my friends are homosexual. They’re normal people, and so the church has to accept them.

Student: Do you agree with the marriage of homosexual couples?
Priest: For the church, marriage is the union between a man and a woman.

Student: Would you accept to marry a homosexual couple?
Priest: The church doesn’t accept homosexual unions, so I can’t marry two homosexuals.

Student: Are the methods of contraception useful for society? What methods do you approve of? Why?
Priest: I think the important thing is education and teaching teenagers to respect people., not just telling everybody to use condoms. There’re lots of young girls who are getting pregnant today. Sometimes sex starts too early. Some teenagers are having sexual relationships at 12.

Student: What do you think about immigration?
Priest: Lots of poor people who come to us for help are immigrants, that’s true. They go to church more often than Spanish people.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Introduction to christianity and catholicism

1- Basic principles of christianism- 3 ESO:

Woodland's Junior School

ReligionFacts

Catholic religion:

ReligionFacts

BBC

2- The main characters in christianism (3 ESO)

List of biblical figures

Bible for Children: stories from the old and new testament (in very nic powerpoint presentations)

Children's Bible lesson: stories from the old and new testament (with games and tests)

3- Common types of praying ad worshiping in christianism (4 ESO)

Where do Christians worship? What is Christian worship like? (Woodland's Junior High School)

What is Christian Worship?

4- Common celebrations in my religion (4 ESO)

Christian holidays. festivals and holy days (ReligionFacts)

Christian festivals (Woodland's Junior High School)

5- What we believe in life after death (4 ESO)

Christian beliefs about the afterlife (ReligionFacts)

What about Heaven and Hell? (Soc. Religion Christian)