Teaching the concept of "Spiritual multilingualism" to children

Field trips are a teacher's best friend. Parents and current textbooks often aren't.
 
A Cup Of Tea said:
Thomas, you must send me what you wrote, it's too mysterious that Edgy liked it and I can't know what it is!
Click to expand...
I don't think he could have read it? It was up and down within a minute!

I just commented that this was another example of 'consumer spirituality'.
 
LOL, I know! I'm no great fan of that too-often equally shallow-minded PC idea 'multiculturalism' either...
 
i think right thing is to have deep roots and broad branches, rather than confused branches and no roots. Deep enough roots will give them access to oneness, while broad branches insight into the condition of others. Pop spirituality is rubbish. Mix some vedic mantra with whirling dervish and christ's shunyata and the end result is this

Spaghetti-with-Tomato-Sauce.jpg


Tastes good, wont take you anywhere.
 
I live in a multicultural area of a large city, but worked in a one-culture suburb. There is little work needed on the topic in the city. My daughter-in-law, a teacher, tells me of her class ... 3 Sikhs, 2 Hindus, 3 Chinese or Vietnamese, a Somali, 4 Middle Eastern Muslims, etc. There is little need to teach anything because the kids figure it out for themselves. Race and religion soon become irrelevant as it's who likes to play soccer, or discuss the latest video game fad. That's what's important.

But out there in the suburb where the kids had no first hand experience, ignorance abounded. One parent asked me In poorly disguised racial overtones, "How can you stand living in THAT place?" (I'm white, and silent about it, so he had no way or recognising I was a Hindu)

So the more interrelating we can do, the better.
 
I believe it good to hear a smattering of all religions....just simply to be conversive in a diverse world. While I don't need to know all the nuances of every religion it is good to have some idea of what they believe.

Reading the original texts....yikes... I've no time to learn sanskrit, arabic, hebrew, latin, koine, aramaic, urdu, japanese, chinese, or any of the restuvthem... I guess I'm just lazy..
 
wil said:
Reading the original texts....yikes... I've no time to learn sanskrit, arabic, hebrew, latin, koine, aramaic, urdu, japanese, chinese, or any of the restuvthem... I guess I'm just lazy..
Click to expand...
Translations are fine. But modern interpretations are not.
 
wasn't every translation once a modern interpretation? as language changes and words change meaning we need to move on from thee and thou and smiting... just as idioms need to be explained once they are no longer in common use...
 
wil said:
wasn't every translation once a modern interpretation? as language changes and words change meaning we need to move on from thee and thou and smiting... just as idioms need to be explained once they are no longer in common use...
Click to expand...
Yes, translations aren't perfect, but they are good enough. My sacred text is the Old Testament, and translating from ancient Hebrew to English is really hard. I would say that a good translation gives you about 80% of the value of the original, which is still far higher than any interpretation.

The basic point is to get as close the source as one practically can. To learn about a religion, read (translations of) sacred texts and attend religious services of serious members of that religion. Don't waste time reading or listening to outsiders' opinions and descriptions of the religion.
 
The idea that one must read the scriptures is a projection from those who are in scripture based religions. My religion, paganism, and several others are not so scripture based as the 3 Abrahamic religions are. I much prefer joining in or watching other religions, and their adherents in action. I think you learn more because there is less disconnect from people. The books themselves aren't directly connected to people in the same way, and we disconnect words from their application.

For example, I invited my Mormon missionary neighbours over a meal last year, and we had a great time, discussing how their church operates, and what a Hindu's daily life looks like. Lets just say the food got doubly blessed, and one chap let me know it was his very first vegetarian meal.
 
fschmidt said:
Translations are fine. But modern interpretations are not.
Click to expand...
So how do you define a translation vs modern interpretation...

Is the version King James had made 1500 years after all the books were written....by scholars who did not have the advantages of any of the past 5 centuries years of archaeological and technological discovery more reliable than anything written in the past 100 years?

I don't understand you distinction...
 
wil said:
So how do you define a translation vs modern interpretation...

Is the version King James had made 1500 years after all the books were written....by scholars who did not have the advantages of any of the past 5 centuries years of archaeological and technological discovery more reliable than anything written in the past 100 years?

I don't understand you distinction...
Click to expand...
What I mean by modern interpretation is a modern book about a religion as opposed to a translation of some original text. So for example, if you want to learn about Ancient Greek culture, don't read a modern book about Ancient Greece. Instead read translations of Ancient Greek writing.
 
ah...so translations like king james, revised standard, the message, the llamsa, and various other modern translations are not an issue.... tis the commentary of other theologians and scholars that you take issue with?
 
wil said:
ah...so translations like king james, revised standard, the message, the llamsa, and various other modern translations are not an issue.... tis the commentary of other theologians and scholars that you take issue with?
Click to expand...
Yes, modern academics being the absolute worst.
 
Why is that? Why is it in science, literature, archaeology, technology, space exploration, math, engineering, history, damn near whatever the latest and greatest information is currently being discovered, utilized, improved upon at an exponential pace in the past 50 years....

But religion and theology in academic circles has faltered at the same time?
 
I think this is actually a good time for religion and theology, in addition to the other disciplines, to continue to expand. Archaeology and technology are allowing scholars to engage in analyses of religious texts in ways that they never have before and these examinations might actually help improve our understanding of what original and early authors wrote and borrowed from one another.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top