1

FIRST GRADERS

INTRODUCTION RE

2

3

CHAPTER AN INTRODUCTION TO THE VIEW OF LIFE

PARAGRAPH 1 INTRODUCTION

image 1

Assignment 1

1.1 What’s Re got to do with you? Explain your answer.

image 2

1.2 Image 2: Describe what you see. Your answer starts with: I see ….

1.3 Image 2: What do I think this image is about? Your answer starts with: I think this image is about …… because ……

1.4 What do you believe in? Write three statements in your notebook you believe in.

1.5 Tell your neighbor your statements and have a conversation about them.

4

PARAGRAPH 2 ORDINARY QUESTIONS AND LIFE QUESTIONS We make a distinction between ordinary questions and life questions. Ordinary questions are questions for small pieces of life. Such as: Example 1: How late does the first lesson start at school? Example 2: What sweater do I want to wear today?

These are questions where you want to know something about one particular aspect of life: one particular component. You do not ask for the larger whole in which this little part fits. For example: Example ordinary question number 1 fits the following life question: what is the meaning of going to school? Example ordinary question number 2 fits the following life question: How important is my appearance?

The questions we have thought about in paragraph 1 are special questions. They are not ordinary questions but life questions. That difference is important to understand what this subject, RE, is about.

2.1 ORDINARY QUESTIONS

Ordinary questions are questions about things that don't really touch you personally. These are the questions of everyday life. They are practical questions. An example. You ask your mother: "Where is my clarinet?" The moment you ask such a question, it can be important to you because you have to go to a rehearsal in ten minutes. But it's not that your life depends on it! As soon as you have the clarinet, the question and the answer are no longer important. Regular questions are questions you can give a fixed answer to. That's because it is often about facts. An example: where is Almelo? Answer: Almelo is located in the region of Twente, in the province of Overijssel. That is a fact. It is not possible to have a different opinion about that. The answer to such a question is therefore the same for everyone. In other words: Ordinary questions are questions that you can give a clear answer to. An example of an ordinary question is: what time is it? For a clear answer you can watch a clock. Another example: What is the capital of France? The answer to that question is clear: Paris is the capital of France, which is a fact.

An ordinary question can be easy to answer, but there are also ordinary questions that are difficult. Think about a difficult calculation for mathematics.

5

Regular questions with the characteristics in a list: The three characteristics of an ordinary question:

1. They are questions about small parts of life. 2. They are questions that do not touch you personally. They are not

special. They are questions that can be asked every day. 3. They are questions with a clear answer. The answer is a fact. You cannot

discuss it.

2.2 LIFE QUESTIONS

Life questions are very special questions. We speak of life questions if the following three characteristics are met at the same time:

1. Life questions are about the big whole We have seen that ordinary questions often deal with one particular aspect: one particular part. For example: How late does Jan Smit's performance begin? What do you want to drink?

In life questions you ask for the larger whole in which this little part fits. Such as: How would my life be without music?

How important is healthy food?

In life questions you are interested in the 'why' of something. You ask for the ultimate meaning of something, for example, of music or of (healthy) nutrition. Life questions can also be asked about the ultimate meaning of life.

2. Life questions are about really important things Life questions touch us personally. Life questions are questions about issues that really touch us. Some examples: Who am I actually?

Do I believe in God?

How do I see my future? Life questions are very basic questions: they touch the foundations of your existence. They are therefore also called ultimate questions.

6

3. Life questions do not have a fixed answer A third characteristic of a life question is that there is no fixed answer to give. With a 'fixed answer' we mean: An answer that everyone agrees with and that you can also 'proof'. Just look at the question: 'Is money the most important thing in life?' One person will say, 'Yes, with money you can buy anything'. The other will say: 'No, money does not make happy, love does' and a third person will say: 'l am in doubt about this question. Money does not make you happy, but it makes your life easier.’

Life questions with the characteristics in a list: A life question has three characteristics:

1. They are questions about the big whole. 2. They are questions that touch you. They are about the most important thing in

life, in your existence. These are questions that you usually don't ask every day. 3. They are questions that ask for opinions. You can discuss it or change your

mind.

About a few life questions, we have already been thinking in paragraph 1. Here are some more: 1. What is the origin of everything that lives?

2. Is there life after death?

3. Should you always be honest?

The answer to a life question is not fixed. You can therefore disagree on the answer to a life question. This is not possible for ordinary questions. For ordinary questions you can give a precise answer. There is another reason why there are no truly fixed answers to life questions. That is because the answers you give to life questions are always temporary. You can experience certain things, which will make you look at life differently. And therefore you may also give other answers to life questions.

Life questions are not asked because of facts but because of opinions; opinions on what is very important in life. We have talked about these questions and discovered that no one can give a definitive answer to those questions. In a life question you can never say that only one correct answer can be given.

Because life questions are about opinions, not just one answer is right. Answers to life questions often start with ‘I think...' or 'My opinion is...'. For a regular question like ‘How much is 4 plus 4? ' is your answer: '4 plus 4 is 8'.

7

In such a question you do not say: 'I think that 4 and 4 are 8 together ' or 'My opinion is that 4 and 4 together are 8'. Instead of 'life questions' you may also speak of 'ultimate questions'.

Assignment 2

Which sentences are correct and which are not?

Write a cross behind every sentence. True False

1. Life questions are difficult questions, ordinary questions are not.

2. Ordinary questions are questions about facts.

3. Ordinary questions are always easy questions.

4. Life questions are about life, ordinary questions are not.

5. Ordinary questions can be both easy and difficult.

Assignment 3

On this page you'll see some figures asking a question. Draw the figures with their question in your notebook. Color the figures that ask a life question blue and the ones that ask a normal question red. Think of an ordinary question that has not yet been asked. Write it down in the text box of the red figure (girl) that still has no question. Think of a life question that has not yet been asked. Write it down in the text cloud of the blue figure (boy) that does not yet ask a question.

What is the capital of Belgium?

Will I ever be happy?

When did the earth come into existence?

Is there life after death?

Why is lying wrong?

How many percent of our body exists of water?

8

Assignment 4

A life question has three characteristics. Explain the three characteristics using the life question you wrote down in assignment 3.

Assignment 5

"How many Christians are there in the world?" Is this a life question or not?

Give reasons why it is or why it is not.

Assignment 6 What is not right in the sentences below? Give reasons for your explanation. 1. I think that Paris is the capital of England. The fact that others think differently

is their choice; I am entitled to a personal opinion.

2. The one who has lived well after his death goes to paradise: that is a fact because it is in the holy books.

Assignment 7

"What is the meaning of life?" is a frequently asked life question. Below are six answers.

If you agree with an answer, let the face laugh through a laugh by drawing a 😊. Are

you disagreeing than a draw a sad face like this ☹. You can also draw 😐: This way you leave your answer in the middle. 1. Life is for me the time between two great nothings: there was nothing before

my birth and there will be nothing after my death. The time I have to live, I want to enjoy.

2. My family and friends make life worthwhile for me. 3. God has a reason for everything that exists. We must make the world a good

thing, that is the meaning of life for me. 4. In the existence here on Earth God puts people to the test. If we do well on this

test, we will be rewarded with eternal life after this life. 5. People should not only be good for each other but also for animals and actually

for the whole nature. We also have to take into account the people who will live after us. That way you really make something of your life, I believe.

6. Everything in nature arises, grows, dies and is reborn. l think that animals and people are also born again and again. I feel that I am a piece of a great whole, that is the meaning of life for me.

Assignment 8

Which of the six answers do you decide to disagree with? Please indicate why. "I definitely disagree with answer number.... because I think .................................................................”

Assignment 9 Draw a postcard about ‘the meaning of life’

9

Assignment 10

Complete the diagram below: put a cross for what kind of question you think it is: Ordinary question Life question 1. What is the meaning of life? 2. Where do my earrings lie?

3. Where is Woerden exactly?

4. What does ballet mean in your life?

5. Why has Manon been so sad for a while?

6. Can you actually trust people?

7. Do you believe in a life after death? 8. At what time does the history lesson begin tomorrow?

Assignment 11. Below you see two illustrations. Write an ordinary question and a life question with each illustration.

Illustration 1

Illustration 2

10

PARAGRAPH 3 HOW DO PEOPLE GET LIFE QUESTIONS How do you get life questions?

Every day all sorts of things happen to you. Many of those things don't really touch you. They are just very normal: in the morning you dress up, every day you eat a few times and occasionally you go shopping. We call these experiences ordinary experiences. Experiences that will touch you deeply, we call existence experiences (existential experiences). A few examples: You have a good conversation with a friend. You are in love with a boy or a girl.

Life questions are therefore based on the existence experiences. The answers a person gives to life questions, together form his or her view of life.

Assignment 12

Are the following experiences ordinary or existential experiences? Always motivate your answer. A. Your best friend rejects you. B. You have studied for a test for French. c. You have become champions with your team (e.g. hockey, handball).

3.1 AN EVENT THAT RAISES LIFE QUESTIONS In the classroom, we think about life questions and about answers you can give to those questions. But also outside school, in everyday life, you can think about life questions. This is certainly the case if an event touches you deeply, for example when your grandfather dies. Then life questions can arise, such as: "Would grandpa somehow live on?", "Where would he be now?" ' Or: ' Why did grandpa have to die now? ' Such a dramatic event can spontaneously raise life questions. Questions you think about just because that event happened.

Assignment 13

Have you ever experienced something that made you ask a life question?

The event: ..... The life question that came up to you: ....

3.2 WONDER THAT RAISES LIFE QUESTIONS

Maybe you'll be reminded by a catchy image, an interesting movie or good lyrics. Sometimes you can even start worrying about things you always just found normal but that are now suddenly not normal at all anymore; Things you never wondered about but now all of a sudden you do. And that's why you're really going to think about it now. For example, the fact that in spring nature will come to life again, that everything will grow and bloom again, you may have always found normal and you hardly ever thought about it. Until the surprise strikes: suddenly you ask yourself where all that life eventually comes from. Perhaps it was created by God, but that also raises questions again, because if you suppose that there is no God, where does life come from? Out of lifeless things? But where do those lifeless things come from? Because you are amazed, you suddenly have a lot of life questions.

11

Assignment 14

On the page below are five images. What image stimulates you most to think about a life question? What is the life question you are thinking about? Do not forget to explain your choice. Image: .... The life question that the image makes me think about: .... because ….

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

Assignment 15

Perhaps you've also been thinking about a life question because of an engaging movie or a song text. Please write it down below. You can also paste your own image here. In all cases, indicate which life question you think it is about.

In short

After a dramatic event such as someone’s death, people start to think about life questions. But also by wondering about things that so far seemed very common you can ask life questions and think about these for a long time. In these lessons we think about life questions and about the view of life. We try to get an answer by talking to other people and or talking to yourself. You can start looking for reasons (arguments) for your answers. So you could say that if you think about life questions, you become wise!

earthquake,Haïti https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjt-9nF6frkAhXRbVAKHcG-

CasQjhx6BAgBEAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.time.com%2Ftime%2Fphotogallery%2F0%2C29307%2C1954087%2C00.html&psig=AOvVaw00a2pnLC2sgCXNdfuUaMrd&ust=1570011073115585

12

Assignment 16

Why do you think many people in the hospital suddenly think so deeply about their lives?

Assignment 17

In the English verb 'to wonder' you can recognize the Dutch word ‘een wonder'. What does 'een wonder' have to do with the verb 'to wonder/wondering'?

Assignment 18

Do you think 'intelligent' has the same meaning as 'wise'? In other words: Is someone who is intelligent automatically a wise man? If necessary, look it up in a dictionary.

3.3 THINKING ABOUT LIFE QUESTIONS TOGETHER Think carefully: You are the one who needs to come to an answer to a life question, you must have an opinion. But while thinking, you can be helped a lot by the opinion of others. You can think about arguments from others, which will help you sharpen your life questions and get better arguments for your point of view.

Dialogue is a difficult word for a good conversation. But what is a good conversation?

1. In such a conversation, those who are talking tell what their point of view is and why they think about something in that way. Participants exchange their opinions with arguments. By listening to the opinion and the arguments that someone has, you can become wiser. This way someone can say something smart that you have not yet thought of. But another might also learn something from you.

2. Those who are talking react to each other. For example, to ask for clarification. Or by making clear what someone does not like about what the other person says. This way you can come together to get a better answer to an important question.

A good conversation is not the same as talking a lot. A good conversation also involves listening to each other. Only then can you speak of a good conversation, in other words: a dialogue. Having a dialogue with others is very important to us in our society. People differ in their view of life: that’s why it is good to understand each other, to have understanding for each other, and to learn from each other.

13

Assignment 19

What is the difference between ‘a lot of talking' and 'a dialogue'?

Assignment 20

What is the meaning of the word 'miscommunication' do you think?

14

3.4 WHAT IS A VIEW OF LIFE?

Introduction

At school you have different subjects, such as history, geography, biology and mathematics. Each school subject looks at reality in its own way. With reality we mean everything there is in life. We now take as an example Park City Life (PCL). Each school subject looks at that festival in a different way. Each school subject asks other questions.

Assignment 20

Which school subject fits the best with the following questions: 1. When did PCL take place?

2. How many tickets are sold?

3. Where did PCL take place?

4. How was the weather during PCL?

5. What did an entrance ticket cost?

6. Did visitors find the concert worthwhile?

7. How important is the music to the visitors?

You see that each subject poses its own questions. Each subject looks at PCL in its own way. Each subject looks through its own glasses, each subject has its own approach to reality. In the subject geography the question can be asked where PCL took place. In the subject view of life you wonder if it was worth it. So the subject view of life has its own approach. It poses questions about, for example, happiness, suffering and living together. These are life questions: questions about things that are very important in life. We summarize all these life questions in one question: the existential question: ‘what is the meaning of life?’. View of life is about giving meaning to life.

15

In addition, we come across the word ‘meaning’ in expressions indicating what significance and value people assign to certain events or experiences. We give a few examples: ' I feel like dancing. ' ' I find it pointless for those two lessons to go to school. ’ These statements are about the meaning or nonsense of certain acts or experiences. When you think that something makes sense, you can that it has meaning for you. You find something or someone valuable. Also think of expressions like 'find something worthwhile' and find something 'nice'. If you find something 'meaningful', you will also long for it. You will want it with the result that you also want to do something for it. An example. You will find it useful to find a good job later and make money. This leads you to get motivated for school, to learn well and to get a diploma. Vice versa it works exactly the same. If you don't see the importance of going to school, you won't make any effort.

THE MEANING OF LIFE So far, we have mainly talked about the meaning and nonsense of pieces of life, such as whether or not to go to school. But the question of meaning or nonsense can also be asked about the whole life, for everything you do and you don’t do. You may ask:

• What is the meaning of my life?

• What do I do it all for in my life?

• Do I like to live?

View of life is about the meaning of individual experiences or of the whole life. If people are happy, they are not consciously thinking about the big question of meaning. We tend to think about the meaning question / existential question during negative experiences of existence. Think of a serious illness, big misfortune or the death of someone who is near. As soon as the meaning of life becomes smaller, or there is no longer meaning of life for someone at all, people consciously start thinking about the existential question, about the meaning of life. People who have a lot of misfortune to deal with can still find life worthwhile. For a person who wanted to build up a sports career and now sits in a wheelchair, life can still make sense and be meaningful. Why? Because she has good friends, a happy relationship or a rock-solid faith.

Marlou van Rhijn © Friedemann Vogel; https://www.gelderlander.nl/sport-nijmegen-e-o/blade-babe-krumins-en-foppen-starten-bij-nga-in-nijmegen~acefd381/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

16

SUPPORT OF THE VIEW OF LIFE

Most people continue to find life worthwhile despite the inevitable painful or sad moments. How is that? First, many people find support with family and friends. In addition, a view of life can also be a support for them. Therefore, people who believe in God find support and comfort with God. But also people who do not believe in God find support in their view of life. For instance, one can find that despite all the hard moments, there are also good things in life. It remains worthwhile to live or keep on living. The positive sides of life weigh heavier than the negative sides.

Assignment 21

Sometimes people are doubting the meaning of their lives, for example during hard times in their lives. The text above contains some examples. Give another example of a very hard moment in life.

VIEW OF LIFE

Life questions are about the meaning and meaningfulness of everything that exists. You keep thinking about these questions. You will also come up with answers to those questions and form an opinion. So you can find that having fun is more important than doing your best at school. You can believe that God exists, but you can also believe that no God exists. You may think that every person needs to solve their own problems, but you can also think that people should help each other. You may or may not think that there is life after death, etc. This is the concept of 'view of life'. Your view of life consists of the life questions you ask and the answers you give to them. Your view of life is your opinion about everything that exists and what you ultimately find important.

In order to understand what is meant by the concept of 'view of life', you can also look at the word 'view of life' in two parts: 'view' and 'life'. The word 'view' means to look at something. But a view also means that you have a judgement or an opinion on what you are looking at. So ‘your view on something’ implies that you take a good look at something, and also say what you think. View of life is about the way you look at (parts of) life.

17

Instead of 'life' You can also say: 'your existence' or 'everything that exists'. That is why you can also describe the word 'view of life' as 'an opinion about your existence and about everything that lives and exists'.

In Short Every person has a view of life. A definition of view of life is: the way you look at life, in which temporary answers are given to life questions. Other words for 'view of life ' are life vision, belief or philosophy of life.

https://huubcs.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/adriverhoevengrnr01.jpg?w=1000&h=

The definition clearly shows that a philosophy of life gives contemporary answers (for the time being, these answers do not always stay the same during your life) to life questions. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that there are no fixed answers to life questions. People think differently about them. The second reason is that a human being is gaining new experiences that will change his view on life.

Assignment 22

In a view of life, ‘contemporary’ answers are given to life questions. One of the reasons for this is that a humans gain new experiences every day. As a result, his/her view on life always changes. We give an example: "Can I still trust people?

Dione has always been one of my best friends. Saturday, however, she abandoned me. I had asked her to come to my birthday party, but she didn't show up. Today she sent a message that she had another birthday party. Last week I also experienced this with Anne. With her I would go to a free concert in town, but she was just not there. Without letting anything know! I always feel trusted my friends but I have more and more doubts. Can you really trust your friends?"

- Antoinette

A. To what life question does Antoinette give an answer To?

B. Write down the sentence in which you see that Antoinette's answer to this question is not fixed.

C. What life experiences does Antoinette have, which makes her ask this life question?

D. Is the answer to the last question a existence experience? Why does/not?

E. Dione and Anne abandoned Antoinette. What do you think about this?

18

Assignment 23

In what way are the sentences in blue different from the sentences that are in green?

A person's view of life is the whole of answers to his or her life questions. A view of life: that is the answers to ordinary questions that people set in life. Opinions about how boys and girls should interact with each other belong to one's view of life. If anyone has the view that no God exists, it has nothing to do with their view of life.

Assignment 24

In assignment 4 You have written down a life question namely: ...... Now give two different answers to this life question. Answer 1..... Answer 2.....

Assignment 25

Someone says, "I believe in nothing, not in God, not in a life after death, I just have no view of life!" Respond to this person. In your response, tell him or her what you've read so far.

19

3.5 PERSONAL AND SHARED VIEW OF LIFE

Your life questions and your answers to them are your view of life. But no one thinks and feels exactly like you. And also no one asks exactly the same life questions and gives exactly the same answers as you. That is why you can say that every person has his own personal view of life.

Typhoon http://spraak-water.com/lobi-da-basi/hemel-valt#lieve-hoe-zou-het-zijn-

People live together: in a family, street, city, country and culture. Where people live together they usually have the same habits. They also often have the same opinion about what is really important in life. They ask the same life questions and give about the same answers. Where many Christians live together, people give roughly the same answers: Christian answers. Where many Muslims live together, people also give about the same answers: Islamic answers. Because one has so much in common (the same), we speak of a shared view of life. Examples of shared views of life are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Humanism.

Assignment 26

Within a shared view of life, people give about the same answers to life questions. About the same answers, so not exactly the same answers. How would that come? Explain your answer.

20

Assignment 27

Six shared views of life are in the pictures below. Write down which shared view of life you can see in the pictures. You can choose from: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Humanism.

Assignment 28

Give other examples of shared views of life.

Assignment 29

Please complete the following schedule. Place a cross at personal or shared.

View of life personal shared

1. The view of life of Sem

2. The view of Eva, a Christian girl 3. The view of Muslims 4. The view of life of Hindus

This philosophy of life is particularly important in India. Supporters believe in the rebirth of all that lives.

These people do not usually

believe in God, think human dignity

is most important and strive for a

humane society.

These people emphasize that suffering and sadness belong to life. Buddha is their great example.

These people emphasize the greatness and almightiness of God. The Koran is their most important book.

This view of life lies at the roots of Christianity and Islam.

This philosophy of life goes back to Jesus.