Beyond the blue

Subjects

1.1 Creation

1.2 The foundation of the Christian belief

1.3 A spiritual person

1.4 The objectives of Christian education

1.5 Educational implications in relation to teaching and learning in the religious life world

1.6 Synthesis

1.1 Creation

Human existence and conditions of life — namely, space, time, emotions, and many experiences — give birth to a faith or religion, hence the belief that there is God.

There are a number of faiths or religions. Amongst them are Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and so on.

* Judaism is a belief in God, the Creator — the living, the faithful, and the righteous God. Jews strongly believe that God speaks and listens at the same time. They declare, 'The Lord our God is one Lord.' The law of God, Torah, is captured in the first five books of the Bible, which regulates the conduct of every Jew.

Hinduism maintains that all people are able to move closer to God. In the process of getting nearer to God, man is led to the ultimate goal — that of the soul reuniting with the supreme reality. On the whole, Hinduism is characterised by the following outlook:

* They worship some visible form of the divine for help.

* Theirs is the religion of incarnation; the worshipper has a mental picture of the one he worships.

* They believe in a personal god. Their god, who is personal, is spoken to and listens when they pray. Hinduism also asserts that the true god is unlimited in the sense that he never changes and is available at all times.

* Islam is a way of life. Islam is the driver/pilot of every aspect of life in the social, economic, political, ethical, and aesthetic world. The Islamic creed proclaims that 'there is no other god but Allah'. Mohammed is the prophet of Allah. Allah has power over all things and is a compassionate and merciful god. Faith in Allah, the creator, means a total submission to his will.

* In Christianity, Christians believe in God, the Creator, and that God revealed himself through Christ, who alone is the way, the truth, and the life.

In order to minimise the scope of this text and to facilitate a mellow understanding of religion, Christianity will be used as a point of reference.

God created heaven and earth. Man became the climax of his creation and inherited his image (Genesis 1:1, 27). The inheritance of the image or the likeness of God established a special relationship with him and makes man a reasoning, moral, and creative creature.

Creation was completed in six days. John Taylor (Alexander and Alexander 1973: 127) gives a summary of the perceived sequence of events as follows:

Day 1: Light and darkness (day and night) were created.

Day 2: Earth's atmosphere was created.

Day 3: Dry land (plants and trees) and seas were created;

Day 4: The sun, moon, stars, seasons, days, and years were created. Day 5: Sea creatures and birds were created.

Day 6: Land animals and mankind were created; creation was completed.

Day 7: God took a respite and reflected on the whole creation. In his reflection and evaluation, God was satisfied by the orderliness and simplicity of how he created everything, and he declared that he will continue with the maintenance and sustenance of his creation.

God is a spiritual being, super- and extrahuman. This is the god, the creator, and the sustainer of the universe, whom all mankind believe in. The belief of mankind and his views are based on a supreme value, God. The entire human way of life is determined by faith. Faith is based on trust in God. Our reliance in God is the belief and hope that God is trustworthy and will fulfil his promises.

1.2 The foundation of the Christian belief

Christianity is based on these beliefs:

* Man is a moral being.

* The voice of conscience is a reflection of internalised and external moral laws.

* God reveals the divine truth through his Son, Jesus Christ.

* Man is destined for life beyond the grave; his life is a preparation.

* God is omnipresent; he is present everywhere at the same time.

* God is omnipotent; he has unlimited power, great power.

* God is omniscient; he knows everything (Redden and Ryan 1956: 181).

The power of God to see and know (in advance) all that happens or will happen, good or bad, demonstrates that God is the alpha and the omega. David testified to this fact by saying, 'You saw me before I was born; the days allocated to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began' (Psalm 139: 16).

Apostle Paul corroborates and points out that man has been elected and predestined to eternal life long before the foundation of the world was laid. Man has been chosen to be his through his union with Christ (Ephesians 1:4–5).

1.3 A spiritual person

'Spirituality is a way of being and experiences that comes about through awareness of a transcendent dimension characterised by certain identifiable values in regard to self, others, nature and life' (Elkins et al. 1988: 10).

A spiritual person is identifiable by the following characteristics:

* He endeavours to make life meaningful because he understands and knows that he exists for a purpose.

* He is visionary and committed to social justice.

* He believes that life is infused with sacredness.

* He believes in botho. He is his brother's keeper.

* He can appreciate material things, such as money and possessions, but does not seek satisfaction from them.

1.4 The objectives of Christian education

The objectives of Christian education, amongst others, are to produce true Christians. A true Christian is a person whose aspects of life are driven and based on the belief that God revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ, who alone is the way, the truth, and the life.

Christianity is a way of life to be lived and is a work of authority, a work of love, following Jesus Christ as an example.

Christian churches carry the command of preaching the gospel to all mankind and are therefore dominated by sermons, penitence, the fear of

God, faith in Christ, the righteousness of faith, comfort, prayer, the cross, and so forth.

Finally, Christianity aims at producing a community, society, and church whose thoughts are dominated by:

* bearing one another's burdens

* correcting one another

* comforting

* edifying one another

* togetherness

* humility

* a softened heart for the poor and afflicted

* worshipping with other believers.

These, with God on our side, will lead to the ultimate or desired goals of Christianity.

1.5 Educational implications in relation to teaching and learning in the religious life world

1.5.1 The need for religion in the educational milieu of the adolescent child

A child needs religion, a belief that he can accept, and observances that are...