Norfolk schools told Holy Ghost 'too spooky'

[dr. what]

The world has going totally, utterly mad...

from

"Teachers are being urged to avoid using the words Holy Ghost and Old Testament in religious education lessons under guidelines drawn up for schools in Norfolk.

The education authority thinks that the traditional phrase 'Holy Ghost' implies "a trivial and spooky concept of the third person in the Trinity". Instead it urges teachers to refer to the 'Holy Spirit'. The guidelines also say that the first 39 books of the Bible should not be called 'the Old Testament' because it makes them sound old-fashioned or out of date.

Dismissing centuries of Catholic belief, the guidelines go on to state that Communion bread and wine should not be referred to as 'the body of Jesus' or 'the blood of Jesus' because it suggests "a cannibalistic consumption of human flesh".

The guidelines - criticised by teachers as "modernism gone mad" - are due to be approved this week by Norfolk county council's cabinet and are to be introduced in all the county's schools by September next year. The list of "dos and don'ts" in the Norfolk agreed syllabus for religious education urges teachers to avoid equating Islam with terrorism and violence by showing children photographs of Muslims holding swords or kalashnikovs.

They should not refer to Jerusalem's Wailing Wall in lessons because it implies that Jewish prayer is negative and moaning. Care is also being urged in the use of photographs of Hindu holy men who may be emaciated and caked in mud in case it gives the impression that Hinduism is for "weirdos or masochists".

Tony Mulgrew, Norfolk secretary for the National Union of Teachers, said: "I just think it's a bit daft to suddenly change the name of the Old Testament. They shouldn't be messing about with the names of things. It's modernism gone mad. It does seem to be a bit daft."

Norfolk's religious syllabus was last reworked in 1997. Marian Agombar, chair of the Norfolk agreed syllabus conference, which drew up the list after seeking information from other local authorities in the UK, insisted that teachers would not be forced to follow guidelines. "It's just a useful thing to help teachers prevent making mistakes. You can quite inadvertently say the wrong thing. It really is just a way of creating good practice. It's support material for the teachers in the classroom," she said.

Philip May, headteacher of Costessey high school in Norwich, said: "If a few words are no longer easily accessible to younger people, I would rather lose the words than those people." He said decisions on the content of the religious syllabus were only taken after wide-reaching discussion, and he was sure the guidance would be of use.

Each school in the county will be given one copy of the syllabus and it will also be available to teachers on the internet. Norwich city councillor Hereward Cooke said: "It isn't an easy subject in this modern age to teach several religions to young people. It's important that this report gives guidance to teachers who can, or not, choose to use it."

The guidelines say:

Christianity

Do use the term 'the Holy Spirit' rather than 'Holy Ghost' which suggests a trivial and spooky concept of the third person in the Trinity. Do attempt to organise visits to a church when they are busy. Visiting an empty building can reinforce the impression that churches are a monument to a faith which is no longer relevant. Don't, when exploring the Eucharist, suggest the bread and wine become 'the body of Jesus' or 'the blood of Jesus'. This suggests almost a cannibalistic consumption of human flesh.

Islam

Do avoid equating Islam with terrorism and violence e.g avoid photographs of Muslims holding swords, Kalashnikovs etc

Judaism

Don't refer to the first 39 books of the Bible as being 'the Old Testament'. It suggests that the books are old-fashioned or out of date. Don't use the term the "Wailing Wall". It suggests that Jewish prayer is negative and moaning. The proper term is the "Western Wall".

Sikhism

Do be careful when showing pupils the kachs. Without preparing pupils they seem to some like merely voluminous underpants and can give rise to a poor response.

Buddhism

Do avoid suggesting that all Buddhists are celibate monks or nuns with shaved heads. Do be cautious about asking pupils to "try a bit of meditation". To have a go at Buddhist meditation comes so close to a faith activity that unless one has the consent of everyone it could create difficulties.

Hinduism

Do be selective when using photographs of ascetics and holy men (Sadhu) and attempt to prepare the pupils before disclosing such material. Photographs of emaciated men caked in mud may merely create the impression that Hinduism is for weirdos or masochists.

[Enforcer Talen]

is this serious? I cant tell.

[Rye]

That is so fucking ace I don't know where to begin.

[Castor Troy]

That's pretty damn stupid.
This part, on the other hand...

Dismissing centuries of Catholic belief, the guidelines go on to state that Communion bread and wine should not be referred to as 'the body of Jesus' or 'the blood of Jesus' because it suggests "a cannibalistic consumption of human flesh".

Are they actually that stupid? What kind of religious education are they recieving?

[SirNitram]

That's pretty damn stupid.
This part, on the other hand...

Dismissing centuries of Catholic belief, the guidelines go on to state that Communion bread and wine should not be referred to as 'the body of Jesus' or 'the blood of Jesus' because it suggests "a cannibalistic consumption of human flesh".

Are they actually that stupid? What kind of religious education are they recieving?

Well, technically, consuming the body of christ would be cannabalism. Catholics are understandably adverse to this, but what you see is what you get.

[Castor Troy]

Well, technically, consuming the body of christ would be cannabalism. Catholics are understandably adverse to this, but what you see is what you get.

Hmm...good point, actually.

Then again, this is communion we're talking about.

[SirNitram]

Well, technically, consuming the body of christ would be cannabalism. Catholics are understandably adverse to this, but what you see is what you get.

Hmm...good point, actually.

Then again, this is communion we're talking about.

You do realize for those of us who aren't Christian, that doesn't mean much, right? It's a rather disturbing ritual, to be frank.

I won't get into drinking the blood of Christ. The same ancient mythology that gave rise to this also generated vampires in the modern sense.

[Castor Troy]

Yes, I can understand why there would be concern among non-christians.

But then again, these are christian schools that are adopting this.

[Darth Raptor]

Don't refer to the first 39 books of the Bible as being 'the Old Testament'. It suggests that the books are old-fashioned or out of date.

This is truly bizarre. Even the most rabid fundies I know consider the Old Testament to be "old-fashioned" and "out of date" namely because that's not the way salvation is supposed to work anymore. This is like some fucked up modernist PC spin on the OT to make it sound like it's not the OT. New, but extremely wierd. If they were going for PC (as the rest of this article seems to imply), they would do everything they could de-ephasize the OT. Unless it's all to avoid stepping on Jewish toes.

*dies laughing*

[wolveraptor]

I've got a name for the OT: Xtreme! Jewish History: With roxxor God-based action!!!!111oneelevenone

[Morilore]

"Bible, take 1"

You know, silly as this is, it's rather more harmless-silly than insane-silly.

[Civil War Man]

Don't refer to the first 39 books of the Bible as being 'the Old Testament'. It suggests that the books are old-fashioned or out of date.

True, but other names may not project the image of experience that Old Testament does.

[Stofsk]

What's the big deal? I've never heard of 'Holy Ghost' until I learnt how other people say it in other parts of the world; from my catholic/anglican school experience, it's always been 'Holy Spirit'.

Spirit sounds better than Ghost, from an aesthetic POV. Though if you've seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghost seems more apt a descriptor.

[Molyneux]

Don't refer to the first 39 books of the Bible as being 'the Old Testament'. It suggests that the books are old-fashioned or out of date.

This is truly bizarre. Even the most rabid fundies I know consider the Old Testament to be "old-fashioned" and "out of date" namely because that's not the way salvation is supposed to work anymore. This is like some fucked up modernist PC spin on the OT to make it sound like it's not the OT. New, but extremely wierd. If they were going for PC (as the rest of this article seems to imply), they would do everything they could de-ephasize the OT. Unless it's all to avoid stepping on Jewish toes.

*dies laughing*

...It appears to be a religious education class on religions in general, rather than about any single one - the 'Old Testament' statement is in the section on Judaism, not the Christianity section.

And Jews most definitely do NOT consider the Torah to be out-of-date - we consider the "New Testament" to be the longest-standing hoax in history.

[Flakin]

<--- is a product of the Norfolk School System.

I'm not surprised. The amount of doublespeak and new-think that went on in the schools even while I was in them was outstanding. It was like the "Right on, kids!!!" capital of the country. Now, apparently, to avoid scaring the 'yungins' we're going to get even more PC.

[General Zod]

so what happens when they get to the part of the bible where god starts slaying all the firstborn of israel, and commands his people to kill everyone in a valley or three? this is pathetic, despite the fact that it's incredibly amusing for some reason.

[General Zod]

edit: goddammit. that should be first born of egypt.

[Durandal]

That's pretty damn stupid.
This part, on the other hand...

Dismissing centuries of Catholic belief, the guidelines go on to state that Communion bread and wine should not be referred to as 'the body of Jesus' or 'the blood of Jesus' because it suggests "a cannibalistic consumption of human flesh".

Are they actually that stupid? What kind of religious education are they recieving?

What kind of dictionary are you using? Catholics believe that the communion wafers and wine become the actual, literal body and blood of Jesus. So consuming it would be (according to the Catholic belief system) cannibalism.

[Quadlok]

I love the part where they imply children will assume Sikhs are incontinent due to their clothing.

In other news, the facial hair of Hasidic Jews is so tough that all known materials are incapable of cutting it.

[felineki]

I loved how suggesting Buddhist meditation should be approached lightly because it is a "faith activity" that not everyone might be comfortable with, yet visiting a Christian church during a full service is OK. Heh.

[Molyneux]

I loved how suggesting Buddhist meditation should be approached lightly because it is a "faith activity" that not everyone might be comfortable with, yet visiting a Christian church during a full service is OK. Heh.

Heh...that one completely slipped by me...
And I notice that they apparently don't teach the kids about paganism at all. Odd, especially when England is the origin of most of the traditions that have been integrated into Wicca and neopaganism.

[DPDarkPrimus]

You'd think they'd have a disclaimer about Jesus not being a zombie after rising from the grave. The last thing you want is little children having nightmares about that. "Graah! I'm Zombie Jesus and I'm gonna eat your BRAINS! Repent!"

[Rye]

What kind of dictionary are you using? Catholics believe that the communion wafers and wine become the actual, literal body and blood of Jesus. So consuming it would be (according to the Catholic belief system) cannibalism.

Actually, I was told that was one of the justifications the Romans used in their persecution of the christians; they were seen as a subversive cult (since they denied the state gods) with worrisome cannibalistic tendencies. I don't recall whether it was an early propaganda technique or genuine fear, or both, but there definately was fear about them eating people and not recognising the gods/power of the state.

[fgalkin]

*sigh*. What is the world coming to? These people should be paid a visit by the Stupidity Police.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Nick Lancaster]

Let's add the following:

- Do NOT use the terms 'school spirit' or 'team spirit,' to avoid the perception of disrespect towards the aforementioned Holy Ghost, er, Holy Spirit.

- Do NOT allow the airing of old 'Batman' episodes, as Robin's use of the exclamatory 'Holy <fill in the blank>' could be seen as potentially blasphemous.

- Do NOT allow students to read Rudyard Kipling, particularly Gunga Din, which portrays the caste system in the Afghanistan region. Without preparation, students may not understand the term, 'untouchable'.

- Do NOT refer to the New Testament as 'New,' since previous guidelines have established that there is no 'Old' Testament.

- Do NOT have Judas greet Christ with a kiss, since this may imply homosexual themes. We recommend Judas give Christ a hearty handshake instead.

====

Any others?