Tapestry of Faith: Amazing Grace: A Program about Exploring Right and Wrong for Grade 6

Introduction

Part of Amazing Grace

As a single, unified thing there exists in us both life and death, waking and sleeping, youth and old age, because the former things having changed are now the latter, and when those latter things change, they become the former.

— Heraclitus

Session 10 explores the ways that right and wrong often seem mixed up with each other as well as the idea that determining right and wrong often depends on circumstances and perception. This is the second in a series of four sessions focusing on spirituality.

The session begins with a discussion of two Conundrum Corner items that indicate everything is always moving, always changing. The central story and the discussion that follows demonstrate that deciding who or what is right or wrong often depends on your point of view. In small groups, youth imagine stories that show how ethical decisions often depend on circumstance. A spiritual moment presents meditation as a way to clear the mind of distractions that can prevent good decisions. Through Faith in Action, participants become better acquainted with each other and experience how mutual understanding can promote mutual respect and tolerance and acceptance of diverse ideas and actions.

By pushing gently against youth's tendency to think in absolutes, you can help participants toward more complex and abstract understanding. Use concrete examples when possible to give youth solid and familiar ground from which to view the "clouds."

Goals

This session will:

  • Provide examples of the ever-changing nature of life and matter
  • Present examples of the sometimes-complex relationship between right and wrong
  • Explore ways that circumstance, detail, and perception affect ideas of right and wrong
  • Expose youth to meditation
  • Ask youth to design new gods for the modern age.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  • See that everything changes and grows
  • Understand how perception affects ethical judgments
  • Explore actions that can be right or wrong depending on situation, circumstance, and detail
  • Learn definitions for polytheism, moral absolutism, and moral relativism
  • Experience a spiritual moment based in meditation
  • Optional: Find sameness and differences in themselves and other youth.