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Learning Objectives
- Understand key concepts about God's nature.
- An understanding of the concept of the Trinity.
- Understanding of the concepts of good and evil.
1. Understand key concepts about God's nature.
World Cup 2010: England vs. Germany View Lesson»
Three Lions on a shirt, but no videos to help the ref. The furore over Frank Lampard's disallowed goal prompts this lesson on Christian belief in God as a right and fair judge.
Students will:
- Consider the importance of fairness in a number of professions
- Reflect upon responses to England's 2010 World Cup defeat by Germany
- Reflect upon Christian belief in God as a just judge
- Analyse the nature of God's just judgement, according to Christians
- Produce written work comparing God's fairness with the fairness shown by humans in specific roles (i.e., football referees)
The Twilight Saga: New Moon View Lesson»
The surprising love between human Bella and vampire Edward helps students to understand what Christians believe about the motivation for Jesus' death.
- tudents will: reflect on the negative aspects of human behaviour
- Reflect on the willingness of a character from Twilight: New Moon to die in someone else's place
- Interpret a Bible passage to determine what the Bible says about human nature
- Interpret a Bible passage to identify the motives behind Jesus' death
- Synthesise learning by writing a newspaper report comparing the events of the film clip with Jesus' death on the cross
Seven Pounds View Lesson»
One man’s quest to find people deserving of his life-changing help prompts the question of what it means to be good.
Students will:
- reflect on ways of judging whether someone is more or less deserving of good things than others
- Evaluate how the concept of ‘deserving’ could be applied to healthcare and other aspects of life
- Synthesise criteria for choosing who deserves life-changing help and who doesn’t
- Reflect on how to decide whether someone is a good person
- Analyse Romans 3:9-16 to determine Christian perspectives on the goodness of humanity
- Analyse and summarise Romans 3:21-26 to determine Christians’ belief about God’s response to the problem of humanity not being good enough
- Understand the significance of grace in the Christian worldview
- Synthesise learning by contrasting the attitude of a character from the film Seven Pounds with a Christian understanding of the concept of God’s grace.
Lily Allen: Him View Lesson»
A song which poses lots of questions about what God is like allows students to discuss those questions with reference to their own views and to the Bible.
Students will:
- reflect upon how they get to know people better
- Analyse questions about God derived from the song Him by Lily Allen
- Reflect upon God’s character and nature
- Analyse Bible passages and interpret them to help answer the questions from earlier in the lesson
- Reflect on how Christians believe God can be known better
- Synthesise learning by writing alternative lyrics to the song Him
Something Happened View Lesson»
Attempts to define love lead in to an examination of what Christians believe about God’s loving nature.
Students will:
- Reflect on the definition of love
- Evaluate the definition of love offered by the song Something Happened
- Analyse Bible passages to determine how the Bible supports the view of a loving God
- Understand the responsibility of Christians to show God’s love to those around them Analyse Bible passages that help explain how Christians reconcile a loving, powerful God with a suffering world
- Synthesise learning by writing additional song lyrics
Social Networking Websites View Lesson»
In the beginning God... blogged? Social networking sites like Bebo and Facebook are compared with Christian belief in a God who reveals himself through the pages of the Bible, and in the person of Jesus.
Students will:
- Reflect on the reasons why people choose to put their personal information onto social networking websites
- Analyse Bible passages to determine what they suggest about how God communicates
- Reflect upon the difference between knowing someone through written communication and actually spending time with them, and apply this concept to the incarnation of Jesus
- Synthesise learning by writing an entry for a social networking site for God
Sunshine (2) View Lesson»
The imagery of light and darkness is used to help explain a biblical understanding of good and evil.
Students will:
- reflect upon the concepts of good and evil, and seek to define those terms
- Evaluate a film character’s assessment of the difference between light and darkness
- Reflect upon the properties of light and assess how this might inform the biblical use of the imagery of light and dark in representing good and evil
- Analyse a number of Bible passages that use light and dark imagery when talking about good and evil
- Synthesise learning by reflecting on a number of media depictions of good and evil, analysing whether they show a Christian or other understanding of the relationship between the two
Sunshine View Lesson»
A scientist’s fascination with the brilliance of the Sun prompts comparisons with Christian belief about God’s glory.
Students will:
- reflect upon the meaning of key terms
- Reflect upon the reaction of a character in the film Sunshine to the overpowering brilliance of the Sun’s light
- Analyse Bible passages to discover what they suggest about God’s nature
- Reflect upon the relationship between God’s overpowering glory and Jesus’ incarnation as a human
- Synthesize learning by rewriting a scene from the film Sunshine
Blood Diamond View Lesson»
Three short clips from the ethical action movie Blood Diamond raise questions about how a loving, powerful God can permit a world of suffering.
Students will:
- Reflect upon the concept of an ideal childhood
- Reflect upon what it might be like to live the life of a boy soldier in Africa
- Evaluate the idea that God should be held accountable for the bad things that happen in the world
- Analyse Bible passages that help explain how Christians reconcile a loving, powerful God with a suffering world
- Understand the responsibility of Christians to show God’s love to those around them
- Analyse the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31) to determine what it reveals about God’s nature and character
- Synthesize learning by writing a parable to illustrate Christian belief about a loving, powerful God and a suffering world
Babel View Lesson»
The movie Babel shows people struggling to cope and communicate with each other. This lesson investigates the reasons for such a struggle before looking at how God himself was prepared to understand people and make himself understood.
Students will:
- Reflect upon cultural differences (including language) which create barriers between different people
- Reflect on the biblical story of the Tower of Babel and its significance re: cultural division
- Evaluate the cost of someone genuinely integrating with an alien culture
- Analyse two ancient world views (Gnosticism and Judaism) and contrast them with Christian teaching about God’s interaction with humanity
- Synthesize learning by writing a three way discussion between a Christian, a Gnostic and a Jew.
Click View Lesson»
A clip about a man who discovers a remote control for his own life leads students to consider what Christians believe about God’s control over the world.
Students will:
- Reflect on the people and things that have a degree of control over their lives
- Reflect on the impact of a universal remote control on the life of a character from the film Click
- Evaluate whether such a device (if it were possible) would make a difference to their own lives
- Analyse a Bible passage to determine what Christians believe about God’s control over the world
- Evaluate different responses to the apparent contradiction between belief in God’s sovereignty and belief in human free will
- Reflect upon the way that belief in a sovereign God might influence the way Christians live their lives
- Synthesize a discussion between a number of characters to demonstrate understanding of Christian belief about God’s authority over the world
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song View Lesson»
The single from The Flaming Lips prompts an examination of abuses of authority, contrasting them with the Christian ideal as demonstrated by Jesus.
Students will:
- reflect upon their own attitudes to the use and abuse of power
- Reflect upon the difficulties in exercising power responsibly
- Analyse what the Bible says about Jesus’ use of power and his attitude to other people
- Analyse specific Bible passages to draw comparisons between Jesus’ behaviour and others in positions of influence and power
- Synthesize a discussion about the differences between the Christian ideal of selfless leadership and the practice of authority in the modern world
The Way View Lesson»
Christians believe that in the face of human change, God is unchanging yet remains relevant to our daily existence. Starting from Daniel Bedingfield’s claim that Jesus is unchanging, this lesson will explore and challenge this apparent contradiction.
Students will:
- Examine their own attitude to change
- Consider what is good and bad about change
- Explore what the Bible says about God’s unchanging nature
- Consider if God’s character can be reconciled to an ever-changing world
Keep This Fire Burning View Lesson»
A comparison between the extravagant claims of love in Beverley Knight’s song Keep This Fire Burning and the claims the Bible makes about God’s love.
Students will:
- Reflect upon the extravagant nature of true love
- Reflect upon how someone might back up an unusual claim
- Discuss the limitations of human love
- Analyse what Christians believe about the respective roles of the three persons of the Trinity in expressing God’s love
- Evaluate their own views on Christian claims about God’s love
Wrap My Words Around You View Lesson»
When a man expresses his love for his beloved, how can she be sure he means it? This lesson uses Daniel Bedingfield’s latest song to explore how true love expresses itself – and how God matches up.
Students will:
- Reflect upon their own understanding of what God is like
- Reflect upon the nature of true love
- Use the lyrics of Wrap my words around you to consider the nature of human romantic love
- Analyse Old Testament imagery of God as a lover
- Examine how Christians understand Jesus’ life, death and resurrection show God’s love
- Rewrite the lyrics of Wrap my words around you to reflect Christian belief about God’s relationship with his people
Petr Cech and Graham Poll View Lesson»
A contentious referee’s decision and an accusation of bias lead into this lesson on the Christian belief in God as a right and fair judge.
Students will:
- Consider the importance of fairness in a number of professions
- Reflect upon Christian belief in God as a just judge
- Analyse the nature of God’s just judgement, according to Christians
- Produce written work comparing God’s fairness with the fairness shown by humans in specific roles (i.e., football referees)
Bruce Almighty View Lesson»
A lesson about God’s omniscience based around a scene where a sacked TV reporter finds himself face to face with God.
Students will:
- Consider the good and bad aspects of somebody knowing everything about them
- Reflect on what Christians believe when they say that God is omniscient
- Analyse the different responses to the idea of God’s omniscience, and the reasons for them
Road to Perdition View Lesson»
Two gangsters driven to desperate lengths to protect their sons are used to consider the image of God as a perfect loving father.
Students will:
- Reflect upon the Christian understanding of God as a father
- Consider the implications and impact of this belief for Christians today
2. An understanding of the concept of the Trinity.
Keep This Fire Burning View Lesson»
A comparison between the extravagant claims of love in Beverley Knight’s song Keep This Fire Burning and the claims the Bible makes about God’s love.
Students will:
- Reflect upon the extravagant nature of true love
- Reflect upon how someone might back up an unusual claim
- Discuss the limitations of human love
- Analyse what Christians believe about the respective roles of the three persons of the Trinity in expressing God’s love
- Evaluate their own views on Christian claims about God’s love
The Trinity View Lesson»
Various attempts at understanding the Christian concept of God being three persons and one God at the same time.
- To have produced brief definitions of The Trinity and then the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3. Understanding of the concepts of good and evil.
Sunshine (2) View Lesson»
The imagery of light and darkness is used to help explain a biblical understanding of good and evil.
Students will:
- reflect upon the concepts of good and evil, and seek to define those terms
- Evaluate a film character’s assessment of the difference between light and darkness
- Reflect upon the properties of light and assess how this might inform the biblical use of the imagery of light and dark in representing good and evil
- Analyse a number of Bible passages that use light and dark imagery when talking about good and evil
- Synthesise learning by reflecting on a number of media depictions of good and evil, analysing whether they show a Christian or other understanding of the relationship between the two
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring View Lesson»
The scene-setting at the beginning of the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is used for a consideration of what Christians believe about evil, and how a loving and powerful God could permit it to exist.
- Students understand the meaning of good and evil for Christians, and also understand how Christians reconcile the existence of evil with belief in a loving, powerful God.