God and Man in the Orthodox Church. Mozhaisk deanery Theme man and god in Orthodoxy
Commentary of the Protodeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church Father Andrei Kuraev:
- This is a scenario lesson. The narrative in it goes through a scene from school life. The children ask their classmate to explain the word God he mentioned. 10-year-old Vanya, of course, cannot do this. But then, at the behest of the author, a piano emerges from the bushes. That is, a physics teacher leaves the school.
For me, it is important that children receive new knowledge for them (in this case, about religion) from a school teacher. At the same time, the physics teacher is an almost unfamiliar character for them. He is a teacher - but not theirs. Accordingly, the attitude towards him and his words is the same as that of a soldier to a comrade major from a neighboring regiment: the commander, of course, is the commander, but not mine. Therefore, honor must be given to him, but it is not worth rushing to fulfill any of his orders.
In this way, confessional pressure on children is mitigated. The conversation about God is not on behalf of the textbook and not on behalf of their real class mentor, but on behalf of the character. In many teaching aids, a character has a learning conversation with children. I did not dress up Cheburashka in the cassock of a theologian. Therefore, I just have a half-alien-half-my teacher: from my school, but not from my class. I can listen to him, I don't have to agree.
Oddly enough, atheists were outraged by this presentation of material. Like, a physics teacher cannot be a believer. Strange. First, it is not necessary to speak for all physicists. Professor A. Moskovsky, who taught me a course in physics at Moscow State University in 1979, is an Orthodox believer.
The next argument of those who cut with scissors from my physics teacher's textbook is that children in the 4th grade do not know what physics is. It's right. They don't know what physics is. But they know what a physics teacher is. For four school years, they managed to climb the entire school. And they know that it has three forbidden rooms for them and therefore the most interesting rooms: unusually equipped rooms for physics, chemistry and biology. And unlike sixth graders, they still want to know what physics is.
So for a 4th grader, a physics teacher is the one who kicks you out of the physics classroom. The character is familiar and mysterious.
A physicist in a textbook speaks complicatedly about the relationship between the Creator and the world. His speech may not be fully understood by children. This is not my oversight. That's how it was intended. The idea of God is by no means primitive. Theology is the world of virtuoso thought and dialectics. Let the children understand that they are on the threshold of a very complex world. Let them just get used to the sound of this new word for them and to the contexts in which it can sound.
And then a teacher of the Russian language of the Russian language, already native for the 4th grade, leaves the school, who admits:
“Honestly, I have never met God in my life. But I know that faith in God has always inspired people to create beauty: temples, icons, paintings, poems, music...
This is how children learn about different attitude to God. This softens the confessional pressure on them now, and in the future will help to understand why it is so different people received the preaching of Christ.
Alas, you will not find any of this in the published textbook. The atheists could not convince me, and therefore they simply grossly mutilated the textbook. You see these textbook pages - they look like a first grader's primer. 90 percent of the area is a picture. Five lines of text per page. A clear sign that censorship has worked here.
Oh, they would not have dared to correct the textbook of Muslims or Jews so shamelessly. And with the Orthodox, it turns out, you can demonstrate such a “culture” of editing!
The Prosveshchenie publishing house declared that it would not publish anti-scientific propaganda and talk about God as the Creator of the world. “We will tell something different in the lessons of the world around us!”. And what? I don't edit your natural history textbooks. Why do you consider yourself entitled to ideologically stop a textbook explaining the beliefs of Christians? The most striking thing is that this clear violation of the Constitution, which prohibits the establishment of one ideology as mandatory, was justified by my censors by referring specifically to the Constitution.
Well, if so, I asked the Constitution itself: "Does it contradict you or not?" The Constitution directly told me: “No, it doesn’t contradict! Everything is fine, Father Andrei, a normal lesson, a good one! More precisely, I turned to the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation A. Konovalov, and that my request was redirected to the author of the text of the Constitution, Sergei Shakhrai. Shakhrai's written response I handed over to the publishing house. Did not help.
The result is insanity! I read: “Vanya answered: I can’t explain what the word God means, it’s just that when I remember God, I feel good! The word "God" in Orthodoxy means the creator who created the whole world and the human race. Is this a 4th grader's answer? What me was the teacher's phrase when the teacher was eliminated became the phrase of a 10-year-old child. As a result, I look like a bigger idiot than the author of a textbook on secular ethics.
So I have a request to teachers, please lead this lesson according to its electronic author's version.
Description of the presentation on individual slides:
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You probably paid attention to the fact that people sometimes, after listening to someone or doing some work, say: “Glory to God!”. Or, observing someone's unworthy behavior, they exclaim in annoyance: “Oh, God!”. Maybe your mother or grandmother, sending you to school, to training or just to play in the yard, says after: “Well, go with God!”.
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The origin of the word God In the Russian language, this word came from a very ancient language, which seven thousand years ago (that is, up to the fifth millennium BC) was spoken by the ancestors of ours and many other European and Eastern peoples (including Hindus). In this ancient Indo-European language, “baga” or “bhaga” is a share, portion, lot, part. Then this word began to denote the one who distributes these gifts, that is, God himself.
5 slide
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Let each of you make a daisy with long petals. In the center of the flower, the word GOD will be written large
6 slide
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On the petals of a chamomile, write down the words that you think denote phenomena, concepts, objects that are somehow connected with what is written in the center of the flower. Color your daisy.
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Many children's hands were stroking the kitten, which Vanya had just saved from a dog in front of everyone: - Weren't you scared? - At first it was ... - And then? - And then I remembered something... - Remembered? What? About what? Whom? - friends yelled at each other. - I remembered that with God there is no need to be afraid. The guys were dumbfounded. Helen responded to the new word faster than anyone else: - Who is God? Uncle in a black dress and a beard? I saw him on TV! But he wasn't here! Everyone laughed, including Vanya. But then he became serious: - In a black dress and with a beard, it must be a priest. This is a person who serves God. And God… Vanya was confused again. And then he said quietly: - Well, I can not describe it. It's just that when I remember God, I feel good. Well, as happens when you make something with your father. Or when mom hugs. But I can see my mother. But I don't see God. But I still feel something... A physics teacher left the school. The guys rushed to him with the question - "What is God ?!"
9 slide
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The teacher answered according to the scientist: - The word God means the Creator who created our whole world and the human race. He gave the world the laws of nature. He gave the laws of goodness to man. Stones simply obey the laws of nature. They do not need freedom for this. But if a person is forced to do a good deed, will such a forced deed become good? A person who does good on orders is like a stick with which Vanya drove the dog away. This is good for the kitten and for Vanya. But did the stick get any better from that? Only if a person freely chooses his act, he becomes good. Therefore, God gave man more freedom. But a free fool can be dangerous. Therefore, freedom also relies on reason. But if there is neither conscience nor love next to the mind, then it can turn out to be just a cunning criminal. Therefore, even people are given conscience, kindness, love. Well, the one who gives such gifts, of course, possesses them himself. So, we can say that God is a free and intelligent Creator who created the world and loves His creation. Therefore, He is also called the Creator. Then the Russian language teacher came up and joined the conversation:
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To be honest, I have never met God in my life. But I know that faith in God has always inspired people to create beauty: temples, icons, paintings, poems, music… The great Italian poet Dante said about God that it is “Love that moves the sun and the luminaries.” It's good that you're interested. And Vanya is great. A person who believes in God very often, thanks to his faith, performs bright, kind and courageous deeds. And if he believes in love and in God, then this gives him strength, and he himself becomes kinder. And everything that is connected with the name of God, - the teacher continued, - even on the letter is drawn up in a special way! Check out our Knowledge Box. Does God see us now? The physicist authoritatively confirmed: - Perhaps, yes. The children began to anxiously look around ... - So God is watching us! Accustomed to precision, the physicist disagreed:
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No! To peep means to do something in secret. And God does not hide from people that He is always here. To help someone, you have to see what is happening and be there! In addition, strangers peep. And when the one who loves you and the one you love is looking at you - this is not espionage! How can we know that God loves us? Everything about love cannot be explained in just words. But people somehow know how to feel it. Probably, if Vanya did not believe and did not feel that he was loved and protected by God, he would not even dare to approach the dog. Really, Van? Nobody heard the answer. Vanya was so embarrassed that his secret came out that he quietly ran away. It looks like he took the kitten with him.
12 slide
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1. Why is God called the Creator? 2. Why do people compare God's love for man to a father's love for his children? 3. Is it possible to call Vanya a religious person? How did his religious beliefs show up in his act? 4. Ask your parents, other adults to tell you about Orthodoxy. Think together about the question: What does it mean to be an orthodox person?
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If we are talking about gods in the plural (for example, when we retell legends and myths), then in this case we write this word with a small letter. If believers speak or mention God as the Creator of our world, the word God is capitalized. This also applies to pronouns. If there is a line written like this: “Then He said,” then it is immediately clear that this is about God. Or: "the man turned to the One Who ...". Interesting
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“Thought of a little Christian about a man” K.D. Ushinsky “Now I am not very big and strong. I will grow up and become an adult. Then I will get old. Someday I will have to die. But my soul will never die, because God gave me an immortal soul. The body grows, feels and moves because it is endowed with life. I understand what is said to me and can express my thoughts and desires. I have a mind, a gift for words. If I listen carefully, I remember. I have the ability of memory. I imagine very vividly what pleasures I will have when summer comes. I have the ability to imagine. I love my parents and many comrades. When they do good to me, I feel gratitude. I get angry when I am annoyed; I laugh when I'm having fun; I cry when I'm sad. I have many spiritual inner feelings. When I complete the lesson, my heart is light. When I am lazy, I do not obey, my soul is worried and dissatisfied with my actions. I have a conscience. Sometimes I don't want to study. But I can force myself. I sometimes don't feel like doing what I'm told, but I can force myself to do the will of my parents or mentor, knowing that I must obey them and that they want me well. I have a will.
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I have not seen and cannot see God, because He is a Spirit. But I believe that He exists, sees all, knows all, governs all, loves us and wishes us well. I have faith in God in my soul. Sometimes I'll fool around, sometimes I'll be lazy, sometimes I won't listen, sometimes I'll say stupid things. But I have a desire to be smart, to know a lot, to be obedient, truthful, kind. And I can be if I try. I have the desire and the opportunity to become smarter and kinder. All these abilities: the gift of speech, memory, imagination, faith in God, desire and opportunities to become better are called spiritual abilities. An invisible soul lives in the human body, without which the body would be dead: it could neither feel nor move, despite all its beautifully arranged organs. The human soul is endowed with many abilities, some of which are also found in animals. But animals have no gift of speech, no conscience, no free will; they cannot have a concept of God, they do not have the desire and opportunity to become better. Man is gifted with a beautifully arranged body, gifted with life, gifted with a free, rational and immortal soul, desiring good and believing in the Creator of the Universe.” K.D.Ushinsky.
Lesson 3
The purpose of the lesson: Acquaintance with the ideas of believers about God
Lesson objectives:
Educational: to learn the ideas of believers about the properties of God and understand what they mean. Learn to explain the relationship of human ideas about God with the laws of good
Developing: to learn that the world is permeated with the love of God, and God loves and keeps every person living on earth.
Educational: to develop an attitude towards words of gratitude, to master ideas about the laws of goodness.
Key concepts: thank you Creator
The purpose of the lesson. Start with students making sense the most important concepts on which is based Orthodox culture, the logic of the formation of this culture
Lesson equipment: drawing paper, colored pencils or markers
During the classes
I. Students' answers to the questions placed under the heading "Questions and tasks".
The tasks placed in the textbook under this heading can be supplemented by the following.
1. You probably paid attention to the fact that people sometimes, after listening to someone or doing some work, say: “Glory to God!”. Or, observing someone's unworthy behavior, they exclaim in annoyance: “Oh, God!”. Maybe your mother or grandmother, sending you to school, to training or just to play in the yard, says after: “Well, go with God!”.
Have you ever thought about why people give each other such parting words? Explain your opinion on this matter.
2. Let each of you draw a daisy with long petals on a clean and neat piece of paper. In the center of the flower, the word GOD will be written large.
On the petals of a chamomile, write down the words that you think denote phenomena, concepts, objects that are somehow connected with what is written in the center of the flower. Color your daisy.
3. Now attach the drawing to a stand or wall. Tell your classmates about what in your mind is closely related to the concept of "GOD", that is, imagine your drawing through verbal judgments.
4. Pay attention, are there any words that were repeated in stories and drawings, yours and classmates?
So, in your opinion, GOD is ..... (write down repeated words) Are there any words in the list that are the key words of the topic of the lesson?
II. Work with the text of the textbook.
1. Reading a textbook article to yourself.
2. Rereading the textbook article based on the performance of the listed tasks.
2.1. In the textbook article different characters one way or another express different ideas about God. How God is imagined by Vanya, Lenochka, a physics teacher, a teacher of the Russian language. Find the answer in the textbook article and write it down in the table:
God for Vanya | God for Helen | For a physics teacher God | For a literature teacher |
God for you....... |
2. Discussion of answers to the following questions:
Is power necessary to do good? What kind of strength is this: physical, willpower, spiritual strength?
Will your behavior change if you know that someone who loves you is constantly watching you?
What feelings guided Vanya when he rushed to save the kitten?
Who is stronger, smarter, more reasonable: Vanya or a kitten?
What could prevent Vanya from saving the kitten? Were there any internal forces that could prevent saving the kitten?
III. Working with additional information (sidebar).
Making sense of this in additional information
To whom did a person turn, if about the One to whom he turned, it is written like this: "And the man turned to the one who ...".
Work with additional material can be supplemented by the following materials.
Origin of the word God
This word entered the Russian language from a very ancient language, which seven thousand years ago (that is, up to the fifth millennium BC) was spoken by the ancestors of ours and many other European and Eastern peoples (including the Hindus). In this ancient Indo-European language " bug" or " bhaga"- This share, portion, lot, portion. Then this word began to denote the one who distributes these gifts, that is, God himself.
Do you know?
The word "thank you" – This is an abbreviated pronunciation of two words: SPASI And GOD, GOD - save God (same). With these words, people express gratitude to God: “Save, Lord!”.
What is thanks? - word of politeness, ritual, wish? If desired, then what?
What synonym can you choose: God save you -.
When is it appropriate to just say thank you, and when will the Lord save you?
I.Y. Reading a poem
Understanding the poem on the following questions:
Reread the poems, underline the lines you do not understand, ask questions, the answers to which will help you understand the meaning of the poem.
Why word Word Is the poem capitalized?
How do you understand the phrase "Everything that is born of the Word... yearns to return to it again"?
How do you understand the phrase "All worlds have one beginning»?
What, according to the poet, is the purpose of creation? Find a line that would answer this question.
What laws of nature can you observe around you? How does nature obey these laws?
Y. Summing up the lesson. Student answers to textbook questions and additional questions.
– What power did the teacher of the Russian language mean
- Try to understand the connection between the words God, rich, poor. What is their contemporary meaning?
– Do you agree that good that is done under duress ceases to be good? How can this be explained?
- Talk to your parents, relatives: maybe they will be able to tell you about people (their acquaintances or historical figures) who have done some kind of deed, really good, necessary not only for their relatives, but also for complete strangers, and did it selflessly, for God's sake.
The task is aimed at mastering the following topic of the lesson:
What do you think, can a person communicate with God, and if so, how does he do it?
Workbook. Lesson 3
God and Man in Orthodoxy
God is the Creator of the world.
Exercise: Fill in the table according to the model.
we know that God... | we say that he |
God loves us all and loves us supremely | all-good (God is Love) |
ubiquitous |
|
God has no beginning and no end. God is out of time. | |
God always keeps the truth and judges people fairly. | |
Nothing is impossible for God; He can do whatever he wants. | |
omniscient |
Good Road. What is she? |
Savior Not Made by Hands
(first image of Christ)
Augar V Ukhama - the king of the small country of Osroene, located between the Tigris and the Euphrates, ruled in the capital, the city of Edessa (now Orfu or Rogais). King Abgar, ill with leprosy, sent his archivist Hannan (Ananias) to Christ with a letter in which he asked Christ to come to Edessa and heal him. Hannan was an artist, and Avgar instructed him, if the Savior could not come, to write His image and bring it to him. Hannan found Christ surrounded by a thick crowd; he stood on a stone, from which he could see better, and tried to portray the Savior. Seeing that Hannan wanted to make His portrait, Christ demanded water, washed himself, wiped His face with a cloth, and His image was imprinted on this cloth. The Savior gave this board to Hannan with the command to take it with a letter in response to the one who sent it. In this letter, Christ refused to go to Edessa Himself, saying that He must fulfill what He was sent to do. After completing His work, He promised to send one of His disciples to Abgar. Having received the portrait, Avgar was healed of his main illness, but his face was still damaged. After Pentecost, the holy Apostle Thaddeus, one of the 70, went to Edessa, completed the healing of Abgar and converted him to Christianity. Avgar attached the image to the board and placed it in a niche above the city gates, removing the idol that was there from there. He greatly contributed to the spread of Christianity among his people. But his great-grandson returned to paganism and wanted to destroy Image miraculous. Then the bishop of the city walled up the icon in the city wall with a lamp lit in front of it. Over time, this place was forgotten. But the image was rediscovered when the city of Edessa was besieged by the Persian king Chosroes in 544 or 545. It was found intact by the bishop with a lamp burning before him; The Image not made by hands was not only preserved, but also imprinted on the inside of the tile that covered it. In memory of this, in the Orthodox Church there are two types of icons of the Savior Not Made by Hands: the face of the Savior on the ubrus and the face without the ubrus, the so-called "skull". All that is known about this last image is that it was in Hierapolis (in Syria). There is a legend that Emperor Nicephorus Focas (963-969) brought him to Constantinople in 965 or 968.
(Theology of the icon of the Orthodox Church).
ill. 1. Savior Not Made by Hands. Icon. EndXIIV.
Man and God in Orthodoxy v. What gifts did God give to man? How faith in God can affect people's actions
Read the story in Lesson 3 on page 8 Review the material from last lesson: there are people who have a secular culture; the words of another express the position of a person living in religious culture. What views - secular or religious - does the boy Vanya adhere to in the textbook story?
Our thoughts Evaluate Vanya's act. Explain why you rate it this way? Vanya could not explain to the guys who God is. Can Vanya be considered a believer? With whom does Vanya compare God? Why?
Religion is the thoughts and actions of a person who believes that human mind not alone in our world. Religion says that next to a person and even above him there is an invisible rational and spiritual world: God, angels, spirits
The word GOD in Orthodoxy means CREATOR Engraving. Creation of the world I. K. Aivazovsky. world creation
Creation is first creation by the mind, scientifically or artistically. And then the actual implementation.
Read on pages 8-10 what gifts God has given to man FREEDOM MIND CONSCIENCE KINDNESS LOVE Michelangelo. Creation of man
What do believers think God created? The world and man We are given: What is it? For what? Freedom Opportunity to choose By choosing good, we get closer to God Reason Mind, knowledge, understanding Know what you choose from Conscience Inner voice in a person To distinguish good from evil Kindness Good attitude to others To give joy to others Love Service, self-sacrifice To be happy
To write in a notebook Write the topic of the lesson: “Man and God in Orthodoxy” What gifts God gave to man LOVE FREEDOM CONSCIENCE REASON KINDNESS
How faith in God can influence people's actions Faith in God often inspired people to create beauty: temples, icons, paintings, poems, music. Michelangelo. Ceiling painting in the Sistine Chapel
Key concepts: thank you Creator
The purpose of the lesson. To begin with students to comprehend the most important concepts on which Orthodox culture is based, the logic of the formation of this culture
Lesson equipment: drawing paper, colored pencils or markers
During the classes
I. Students' answers to the questions placed under the heading "Questions and tasks".
The tasks placed in the textbook under this heading can be supplemented by the following.
1. You probably paid attention to the fact that people sometimes, after listening to someone or doing some work, say: “Glory to God!”. Or, observing someone's unworthy behavior, they exclaim in annoyance: “Oh, God!”. Maybe your mother or grandmother, sending you to school, to training or just to play in the yard, says after: “Well, go with God!”.
Have you ever thought about why people give each other such parting words? Explain your opinion on this matter.
2. Let each of you draw a daisy with long petals on a clean and neat piece of paper. In the center of the flower, the word GOD will be written large.
On the petals of a chamomile, write down the words that you think denote phenomena, concepts, objects that are somehow connected with what is written in the center of the flower. Color your daisy.
3. Now attach the drawing to a stand or wall. Tell your classmates about what in your mind is closely related to the concept of "GOD", that is, imagine your drawing through verbal judgments.
4. Pay attention, are there any words that were repeated in stories and drawings, yours and classmates?
So, in your opinion, GOD is ... .. (write down repeated words) Are there any words in the list that are the key words of the topic of the lesson?
II. Work with the text of the textbook.
1. Reading a textbook article to yourself.
2. Rereading the textbook article based on the performance of the listed tasks.
2.1. In the textbook article, different characters in one way or another express different ideas about God. How Vanya, Lenochka, a teacher of physics, a teacher of the Russian language, imagine God. Find the answer in the textbook article and write it down in the table:
|
God for Vanya |
God for Helen |
For a physics teacher God |
For a literature teacher |
|
God for you……. |
|||
2. Discussion of answers to the following questions:
Is power necessary to do good? What kind of strength is this: physical, willpower, spiritual strength?
Will your behavior change if you know that someone who loves you is constantly watching you?
What feelings guided Vanya when he rushed to save the kitten?
Who is stronger, smarter, more reasonable: Vanya or a kitten?
What could prevent Vanya from saving the kitten? Were there any internal forces that could prevent saving the kitten?
III. Working with additional information (sidebar).
Making sense of this in additional information
To whom did a person turn, if about the One to whom he turned, it is written like this: "And the man turned to the one who ...".
Work with additional material can be supplemented by the following materials.
Origin of the word God
This word entered the Russian language from a very ancient language, which seven thousand years ago (that is, up to the fifth millennium BC) was spoken by the ancestors of ours and many other European and Eastern peoples (including the Hindus). In this ancient Indo-European language " bug" or " bhaga"- This share, portion, lot, portion. Then this word began to denote the one who distributes these gifts, that is, God himself.
Do you know?
The word "thank you" – This is an abbreviated pronunciation of two words: SPASI And GOD, GOD - save God (same). With these words, people express gratitude to God: “Save, Lord!”.
What is thanks? - a word of politeness, a ritual, a wish? If desired, then what?
What synonym can you choose: God save you -.
When is it appropriate to just say thank you, and when will the Lord save you?
IY. Reading a poem by A.K. Tolstoy
Understanding the poem on the following questions:
Reread the poems, underline the lines you do not understand, ask questions, the answers to which will help you understand the meaning of the poem.
Why word Word Is the poem capitalized?
How do you understand the phrase "Everything that is born of the Word ... yearns to return to it again"?
How do you understand the phrase "All worlds have one beginning»?
What, according to the poet, is the purpose of creation? Find a line that would answer this question.
What laws of nature can you observe around you? How does nature obey these laws?
Y . Summing up the lesson. Student answers to textbook questions and additional questions.
– What power did the teacher of Russian mean
– Try to understand the connection between the words God, rich, poor. What is their modern meaning?
– Do you agree that good that is done under duress ceases to be good? How can this be explained?
- Talk to your parents, relatives: maybe they will be able to tell you about people (their acquaintances or historical figures) who have done some kind of deed, really good, necessary not only for their relatives, but also for complete strangers, and did it selflessly, for God's sake.
The task is aimed at mastering the following topic of the lesson:
What do you think, can a person communicate with God, and if so, how does he do it?
