Catholic Religious Education in the Post-Truth Era by Justin Joseph Badion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront Identifying Roots and Wings en-us 2018-10-02 08:25:57 UTC 2025-12-07 14:31:01 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/File.png Ephesians 3:14-21 (Intertext 5) jjbadion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287989883 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, 

17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 

18 may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 

19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God. 

20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 

21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
]]> 2018-10-02 08:29:06 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287989883 John 6:1-21 (Text Itself) jjbadion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287990482 1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiber'i-as. 

2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. 

3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 

5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" 

6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 

7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 

9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" 

10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 

11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 

12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost."

13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.

14 When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!" 

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 

17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Caper'na-um. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 

18 The sea rose because a strong wind was blowing. 

19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, 

20 but he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 

21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 
]]> 2018-10-02 08:31:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287990482 Psalm 145:10-18 (Intertext 4) jjbadion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287990851 10 All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O LORD, and all thy saints shall bless thee! 

11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power, 

12 to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom. 

13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds. 

14 The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. 

15 The eyes of all look to thee, and thou givest them their food in due season. 

16 Thou openest thy hand, thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings. 

18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. 
]]> 2018-10-02 08:32:18 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287990851 2 Kings 4:42-44 (Intertext 3) jjbadion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287993469 42 A man came from Ba'al-shal'ishah, bringing the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Eli'sha said, "Give to the men, that they may eat." 

43 But his servant said, "How am I to set this before a hundred men?" So he repeated, "Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left.'" 

44 So he set it before them. And they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the LORD.
]]> 2018-10-02 08:39:58 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287993469 Psalm 14:1-7 (Intertext 2) jjbadion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287993829 1 To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good. 

2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any that act wisely, that seek after God. 

3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt; there is none that does good, no, not one. 

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the LORD? 

5 There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. 

6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge. 

7 O that deliverance for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.
]]> 2018-10-02 08:41:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287993829 2 Samuel 11:1-15 (Intertext 1) jjbadion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287994718 1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go forth to battle, David sent Jo'ab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 

2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking upon the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 

3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathshe'ba, the daughter of Eli'am, the wife of Uri'ah the Hittite?" 

4 So David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 

5 And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, "I am with child." 

6 So David sent word to Jo'ab, "Send me Uri'ah the Hittite." And Jo'ab sent Uri'ah to David. 

7 When Uri'ah came to him, David asked how Jo'ab was doing, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.

8 Then David said to Uri'ah, "Go down to your house, and wash your feet." And Uri'ah went out of the king's house, and there followed him a present from the king. 

9 But Uri'ah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 

10 When they told David, "Uri'ah did not go down to his house," David said to Uri'ah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" 

11 Uri'ah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths; and my lord Jo'ab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing." 

12 Then David said to Uri'ah, "Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart." So Uri'ah remained in Jerusalem that day, and the next. 

13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. 

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Jo'ab, and sent it by the hand of Uri'ah. 

15 In the letter he wrote, "Set Uri'ah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die."
]]> 2018-10-02 08:43:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287994718 On Intertextuality https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287996664 The fundamental conviction of all ancient Christian exegesis was that the Bible could not contradict itself. The theological commitment was not embraced naively or without awareness of the problems it caused; patristic authors were not stupid. They, better than many modern readers, were painfully aware of the problems in the narrative. They knew, for example, that Genesis contained two different accounts of creation and that the gospels contained different infancy stories. In spite of this, they defended the unity of the Bible against, say, Gnostic efforts to excise the Old Testament from the canon and to homogenize the gospels. They also rejected the Syrian Diatesseron, which conflated the Gospels into one contradiction-free narrative, in favor of the complexity of the narrative diversity in four gospels. They did this because they were convinced that somehow God was revealed in the complexity and that problems of interpretation arose because of human limitation, not because of problems in the text. It did not surprise them that God would be difficult to understand or that God would be known in and through a complex textual tradition.

John O’ Keefe, “The Peril and the Promise of Patristic Exegesis,” in Practical Theology: Perspectives from the Plains, ed. Michael G. Lawler and Gail S. Risch (Omaha, NE: Creighton University Press, 2000), 146-147.]]> 2018-10-02 08:50:16 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287996664 On the Praxial Method https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287997402 The emphasis on education for social transformation has made Catholic schools in the Philippines act as agencies of conscientization and advocacy. Social Action Centers (SAC) in the campuses implement exposure programs and immersion activities as part of awareness-raising activities to help students and teachers become sensitive to the signs of the times. Through the SAC, the material and human resources of the academic community are mobilized and channeled to the less fortunate sectors of society. This helps nurture among the students the sense of solidarity, of sensitivity to the sufferings of others, and of social responsibility in behalf of the disadvantaged. There are usually three components to the “preferential option for the poor” projects: (a) structured learning experiences, which are required outreach activities for students as built in their Christian Living subject or required community service from the teachers to qualify them for promotion; (b) volunteer projects, which are opportunities for direct involvement and service to the poor; and (c) issue advocacy which includes programs and activities on social concerns such as environmental, socioeconomic, and political issues.

Angelina L. V. Gutiérrez, “Catholic Schools in the Philippines: Beacons of Hope in Asia,” in International Handbook of Catholic Education – Challenges for School Systems in the 21st Century, ed. Gerald R. Grace and Joseph O’ Keefe, vol. 2 (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 717.]]> 2018-10-02 08:52:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287997402 On the Havruta Method https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287997821 Like collaborative and groupwork-based learning, havruta text study challenges habits and norms of the traditional classroom. The physical setup of the classroom students are familiar with may not be the most conducive to this new type of learning. Havruta learners are expected to learn new interpersonal and interpretive skills. Instead of being tempted to remain unengaged, the havruta learner is confronted with the need to be actively involved in the dynamic of peer learning. Instead of only being concerned with what the teacher is saying, he is confronted by the need to learn with a fellow student. And instead of only paying attention to her own accomplishments, the havruta learner is expected to take into account her partner’s success as well.

Elie Holzer and Orit Kent, A Philosophy of Havruta: Understanding and Teaching the Art of Text Study in Pairs, Jewish Identity in Post-Modern Society (Boston, MA: Academic Studies Press, 2013), 60.]]> 2018-10-02 08:53:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287997821 Research by Miri et al. on Teaching for Higher Order Thinking Skills https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287998696 Numerous studies show that teachers’ conceptualisation of teaching and learning is mostly that of the transmission-of-knowledge model rather than a constructivist-based approach. This is in line with our findings that only two teachers (20% of the investigated teachers) purposely integrated teaching strategies targeted at promoting higher order thinking skills. Our results reinforce
the assertion that teaching strategies of many of the science (and also non-science) teachers are not always compatible with the fostering and development of students’ higher order thinking. It is well established that conventional teaching is short of preparing students to our ever-changing and challenging world that requires the making of critical/evaluative thinking-based rational decisions. In our study we have found that by incorporating teaching strategies, such as: students’ question asking, self-investigating of phenomena, exercising open-ended inquiry-type experiments, and making inferences, students’ CT skills and related capabilities are significantly being advanced. These results are in accord with previous reported studies which demonstrated that CT involves cognitive activity
applied within a purposeful, inquiry-oriented interpretation of relevant information.

Barak Miri, Ben-Chaim David, and Zoller Uri, “Purposely Teaching for the Promotion of Higher-Order Thinking Skills: A Case of Critical Thinking,” Research in Science Education 37, no. 4 (2007): 366-67.]]> 2018-10-02 08:56:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287998696 On Wonder https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287999670 A final educational function of religion is to acknowledge and celebrate the existence of mystery and wonder. Faith traditions assume that humans do not yet, and never will, know everything about reality. For everyone to some degree, living as a human being means walking by faith and not only by sight. Religion is sometimes critiqued within the academy for precisely this point. Religion’s easy appeal to mystery and wonder seems to undercut the need for hard-headed thinking, logic, and research. The criticism serves as a legitimate warning that the existence of mystery and wonder should never be used as an excuse to avoid
thinking. Instead, mystery and wonder serve as acknowledgements of the complexity and beauty of the world, adding a sense of reverence to the search for truth. Approaching the learning process with a sense of mystery and wonder opens the door to be surprised by discovery and provides a shield against efforts to cram all reality into categories of understanding that are too narrow and limited.

There is accumulating evidence that mindfulness—a sense of interior peace and oneness with life’s mysteries—is crucial to learning. At its best, higher education nurtures this very mindfulness about learning and the search for truth. Mystery and wonder are reminders that what we think we know about the world and how the world is actually put together are not identical. This humility drives learning and sparks a person’s willingness to question what is currently known in response to wonder-inducing encounters with reality itself. A sense of wonder and an appreciation of life’s mysteries can reset the purposes of education to something far more compelling than mere socialization into current ways of thinking and acting. Cultivating a sense of mystery and wonder encourages
students to become lifelong learners who will never be satisfied with partial understanding and who will always seek a deeper and better grasp of reality. Such attitudes are utterly different from post-truth reflexivity, which squashes all sense of wonder from the universe with ill-informed confidence.

Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, “Faith and Learning in a Post-Truth World,” Journal of College and Character 19, no. 2 (May 2018): 98-99.]]> 2018-10-02 08:58:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/287999670 On Transformation https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288000613 Education necessarily involves personal transformation. There are some aspects of reality that will never be understood unless people change and grow and become in some way different than they were before they gained new knowledge and insights. On university campuses, transformation typically occurs through a
process of “critical unsettling.” In the dorm or in the classroom, students are exposed to viewpoints that challenge their previous assumptions and that open them to new ideas and perspectives. Often this is an intentional process, and it assumes that immature ways of thinking need to be deconstructed in order for
intellectual growth and maturation to take place. Colleges and universities excel at this task of challenging and critiquing inadequate thinking, but they often are less adept at supporting students personally as they try to develop better ways of thinking and living.

Faith traditions offer a different model of personal transformation that can be utilized in tandem with other educational approaches. Unlike critical unsettling, which aims to unmoor students from their previous foundations, faith traditions transform people by inviting them to become something more than they
currently are. This is a process that we have termed “transcendent unsettling.” Transcendent unsettling happens when students are introduced to people, stories, or events that reveal the smallness of their current self-understandings and visions of life and that encourage them to grow into someone better. Whether it is reading the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malala Yousafzai or
religious scriptures, or studying in a different country, or meeting an artist or activist who wants to make the world a better place for everyone, this type of encounter can change lives permanently, calling students to new ways of being human and adding depth to their varied and diverse quests for truth.

Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, “Faith and Learning in a Post-Truth World,” Journal of College and Character 19, no. 2 (May 2018): 98.]]> 2018-10-02 09:01:45 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288000613 On Compassion https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288004455 Compassion means to “feel with”—to be connected to the emotions of other people—and compassion defines another significant educational function of faith. Compassion is a virtue in almost every religion on Earth, encapsulated in the moral adage known as the “Golden Rule,” which calls for all humans to treat
other people as they would want to be treated. This tenet is found in variant forms in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and other religions and in various secular traditions.

Compassion-inspired awareness of the similarities and differences in human experience makes us aware that people are not meandering their way through the world solely on their own steam. People encounter challenges that cannot be overcome by individuals acting alone. We are dependent on each other. We all literally rely on one another for our survival. Most of the world’s religions accept this truth with humility and a touch of relief. In contrast, post-truthism is passionate but not compassionate. Rather than seeking to feel with others, it celebrates one tribe’s success in opposition to all others.

Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, “Faith and Learning in a Post-Truth World,” Journal of College and Character 19, no. 2 (May 2018): 97.]]> 2018-10-02 09:13:15 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288004455 On Rationality https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288005969 Proclamation by itself does not establish any claim of truth, and many religious traditions augment proclamation with a parallel appeal to rationality. While it is true that most historic religions contain a subset of fundamentalists who will respond to all contrary evidence by demanding tighter adherence to reigning orthodoxies, other members of those same religious traditions affirm the importance of logical analysis and empirical research as a means of bolstering, and sometimes modifying, their proclamations.

The process of trying to coordinate religious beliefs with science and reason is still ongoing, and one of the places where it is often visible is in biology departments, where students who identify as creationists sometimes dispute the claims of evolution. Typically these students are trying to proclaim their faith in
opposition to what they see as mistaken science. But on this particular issue, religion seems generally to be ceding ground to science, as many Christian churches and other religious groups now consider evolution to be a valid theory and have adjusted their theologies accordingly.

Some academicians assume this is how progress always occurs, with religions backing away from their claims as science advances. But sometimes it is science that is corrected. At the beginning of the twentieth century, for example, some scientists were advocating a eugenic theory of human development. Relying on the best evolutionary science of the time, some eugenicists argued that advancing the human race required sterilization of those whom they regarded as inferior individuals for the good of humankind in general. It was only a short step from this posture to the horrors of Nazism, and conservative religious
voices provided some of the loudest and most effective criticism of the movement.

Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, “Faith and Learning in a Post-Truth World,” Journal of College and Character 19, no. 2 (May 2018): 96-97.]]> 2018-10-02 09:18:46 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288005969 On Proclamation https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288006166 Academic disciplines and historic religions are both dependent on followers who share a commitment to a particular set of values and missions. For example, one school of economists claims that an unregulated free market will boost prosperity for all. Existentialists, one school of philosophy, declare that life is absurd
and meaning can only be provided by the person alone. Other individuals believe in God, and they do so in many different ways. Some of them proclaim that Jesus is the savior of the world (Christianity), some say there is no God but Allah (Islam), and others assert that desire is the cause of all human suffering (Buddhism).

Almost everyone possesses deep-seated hopes and convictions that they express as proclamations. Such proclamations do not end the search for truth, but begin it. They serve as initial assertions of truth that then must be pondered, analyzed, and eventually accepted, rejected, or modified. Rather than being a hurdle to learning, expressing such deeply-held convictions in public—proclaiming them—can be a critical step in the educational process. When convictions are not articulated, they cannot be assessed, and unassessed convictions are precisely what give rise to post-truth claims that seem impervious to evidence
and reason.

Many educators worry about the conflicts that might occur if religious views are voiced openly. Red flags might be raised when students proclaim their beliefs too energetically or emphatically. Many administrators seek to manage religious expression on campus, just as they manage and control other potentially disturbing exposures that might make students unhappy. An avoidance of religious topics might succeed in making classrooms and student discussions more placid, but reining in proclamation too tightly can yield an educational environment so thin and disconnected from the real world that it is irrelevant.

Faith is about the deepest, most comprehensive values that inform the behaviors of individuals and the norms of societies. Faith accordingly intersects with all of life and learning. If colleges and universities are genuinely preparing students for life in the world as it actually exists—a world in which deeply held and often unarticulated convictions shape how people act—then colleges and universities must intentionally welcome all varieties of proclamation, including those that arise from religious perspectives. Though it may be messy, making space on campus for competing faith proclamations (whether traditionally religious,
spiritual, or secular in orientation) helps to prepare students for life in the real world and undermines the intellectual isolationism that breeds post-truthism.

Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, “Faith and Learning in a Post-Truth World,” Journal of College and Character 19, no. 2 (May 2018): 96.]]> 2018-10-02 09:19:28 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288006166 On Community-Forming https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288007408 One explicit concern that animates much of current Practical Theology is the formation of a community for transformation, according to God’s salvific reign revealed in Jesus Christ. This is called by many the foundational praxis around which all other pastoral practices cohere. Christian conversion always takes place in a specific social situation that demands specific renunciations and commitments. Practical theology, in a nutshell, seeks to inform, form and help transform that praxis of both the members of the community and of the community itself.

Joseph L. Roche, “Practical Theology’s Contribution to Religious and Theological Education,” Landas 23, no. 2 (2009): 72-73.]]> 2018-10-02 09:24:13 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288007408 On Inculturation https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288007587 Inculturation means that the gospel must be allowed to take root in the various cultures of the world. The preaching, worship, and spiritual life of the Church must incorporate the best elements of each culture. At the same time, the whole Church must criticize elements in any culture that are incompatible with the gospel message.

Walter H. Principe, “Catholicity, Inculturation, and Liberation Theology: Do They Mix?,” Franciscan Studies 47, no. 1 (1987): 28.]]> 2018-10-02 09:24:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288007587 On Integration https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288007772 The first feature of Catholic religious education in the Philippines is integration. Integration in religious education means the complex yet holistic approach to the faith that aims interrelate the Christian message and the actual living out of that same message in the daily life of the people. This approach can be achieved through a structural approach that looks into the various dimensions and sources of the faith, applying it to specific environments and contexts.

One example of integration is Source Integration, referring to the interweaving and interrelating of the three basic sources of theology, namely the primary sources of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, concurrently with the secondary source of human experience. “Scripture and Tradition together, [make] up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God entrusted to the Church” (DV 10). The primary sources are then integrated into the concrete human experience of the believers, inclusive of daily life experience, the economic social- political situation of the believers, as well as the concrete cultural experience of the people.

Taken from Conference Paper by Justin Joseph G. Badion

Also cf. Joseph L. Roche, A Companion to CFC (Manila: ECCCE/Word & Life Publications, 1998), 37–51.

]]> 2018-10-02 09:25:32 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288007772 Review of the National Catechetical Directory of the Philippines https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288009054 The National Catechetical Directory for the Philippines {NCDP), issued by the Catholic Bishops' Conference and approved by the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy in October 1984, provides the official guidelines and directives for the proper exercise, coordination and organization of the Catechetical Ministry in the Philippines. It was written and composed through the joint efforts of a number of specialists in the field under the direction of the Episcopal Commission for Education and Religious Instruction (ECERI).

The NCDP is divided into three sections. The first section has three chapters: chapter I describes the social, economic, political, cultural and reli- gious context of the Filipino Catholics. Chapter II analyzes the nature, goals, sources and forms of catechesis; and Chapter III deals with those two realities which the Directory calls the "Foundation of Catechesis," namely Revelation and Faith.

The second section (chapters IV, V and VI), concentrates on the basic content of the Church's Catechesis. Chapter IV, titled "Catholic Doctrine," presents a popular synthesis of the Christian message contained in the Creed. Chapter V deals with "Catholic Morality" or Code with appropriate reflections on "General Moral Catechesis" and "Special Moral Catechesis." Chapter VI is on "Catholic Prayer and Worship" or Cult , a last chapter that treats successively of "Prayer, Worship, Liturgy and the Liturgical Year" followed by a study of "Word and Sign in the Liturgy of the Worshipping Community." It ends with the catechesis on the Sacraments and a few remarks on the "Sacramentals and the Liturgy's Mission."

Finally, section III, entitled "Channels and Means of the Church's Catechesis," concentrates in chapter VII on methodology in catechesis. After a short reference to the Philippine catechetical scene, we are given some fundamental directives in view of a "Pedagogy of Faith for the Filipino Today." Chapter VIII, the last chapter, focuses on "Organization, Personnel and Resources of Catechesis."

The NCDP ends with a very useful Analytical Index, Index of Biblical Quotations, Index of Biblical References and a Comparative Table of Paragraph Numbering.

The book shows the tremendous efforts that went into its making, and the laborious attempts made by the authors to strike the right balance between the different catechetical perspectives, while paying due attention to all levels of Religious Education, and to the diversity of catechetical situations in the country. Obviously, not all these attempts were successfully achieved. Nevertheless, those involved in the ministry of catechesis will find the guidelines and orientations of the NCDP very helpful. In particular, the trainers of catechists have here an official document which, read critically, can very well serve as the basis for a quite comprehensive and systematic training program.

Jose M. Calle, Philippine Studies 34, no. 3 (1986): 399-401. ]]> 2018-10-02 09:30:22 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288009054 On Human Experience https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288010470 Jesus reveals God in the setting of human history and culture. An encounter with Jesus, like an encounter with any human being, calls for a response from those who meet him. This suggests that all discussion about Jesus must have a twofold aim: to clarify the identity of the Jesus whom we can meet so that we know who it is in whom we have faith; to elaborate the implications of coming to believe in him, of coming to be a follower, a disciple, of Jesus. In relation to Jesus’ identity, Christian faith, in response to recognising that Jesus’ words and actions make present the mercy and limitless generosity of God integral to the covenants with Israel, declares that Jesus fulfils God’s promises, that he incarnates the kingdom or reign of God, that he is the revelation of God as one like us.

Richard Lennan, “Tradition, God’s Future, Our Past, and the Challenge of the Present,” Australasian Catholic Record 94, no. 1 (January 2017): 18.]]> 2018-10-02 09:35:34 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288010470 On Tradition https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288010707 And so the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time. Therefore the Apostles, handing on what they themselves had received, warn the faithful to hold fast to the traditions which they have learned either by word of mouth or by letter, and to fight in defense of the faith handed on once and for all. Now what was handed on by the Apostles includes everything which contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the peoples of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes.

Dei Verbum 8]]> 2018-10-02 09:36:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288010707 On Sacred Scripture https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288010809 Sacred Scripture, collected in the Bible, is the inspired record of how God dealt with His people, and how they responded to, remembered and interpreted that experience. The Scriptures arose as an expression of the people’s experience of God, and as a response to their needs.  The Bible was written by persons from the people of God, for the people of God, about the experience of the people of God.  Thus, collectively, the Scriptures form “The Book of the People of God, the Church.”

From Conference Paper by Justin Joseph G. Badion]]> 2018-10-02 09:36:44 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288010809 On President Duterte and the Catholic Church in the Philippines https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011128 [Duterte] has long been a polarizing figure in Philippine politics. While a relative newcomer to national office, he is a long-time mayor of Davao City, the largest city on the island of Mindanao. His advocates credit him with improving the quality of life in Davao, especially relative to the crime, traffic and poor infrastructure in other cities. Much of the skepticism about him stems from his way with words, which extends beyond his profane reference to Pope Francis. He has cracked wise about the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary in Davao, threatened to fatten the fish of Manila Bay with the corpses of criminals and boasted about his Viagra-fueled personal life. Mr. Duterte rejects comparisons with Donald Trump, but there is at least a rhetorical resemblance.

David T Buckley, “Duterte’s Tough Talk: Can the Church Work with the Philippines’ New President?,” America 215, no. 1 (July 4, 2016): 22.]]> 2018-10-02 09:38:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011128 On the Impact of the Post-Truth Era on Science https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011327 In our new normal, experts are dismissed, alternative facts are (sometimes flagrantly) offered, and public figures can offer opinions on pretty much anything. And thanks to social media, pretty much anyone can be a public figure. In much public discourse, identity outranks arguments, and we are seeing either a lack of interest in evidence, or worse, an erosion of trust in the fundamental norms around people’s accountability for the things we say. Australia offers its share of examples. Last year, in relation to the Adani coal mine, Anthony Lynham stated that “Queensland taxpayers will not be funding any infrastructure for this project”, when in fact Queenslanders would indeed fund infrastructure via the proposed billion dollar loan to Adani. And when Tony Abbott opened the massive Caval Ridge mine in Central Queensland in 2014, he said “coal is good for humanity.” The overwhelming majority of people who are professionally qualified to evaluate scientific evidence on the matter know otherwise. This cannot end well. We can’t afford to dismiss the testimony of those with scientific and technical expertise. Like the airline pilots who we rightly trust to fly our planes, scientists have knowledge and skills that many of us both lack and need.

Nick Enfield, “We’re in a Post-Truth World with Eroding Trust and Accountability. It Can’t End Well,” The Guardian, November 16, 2017, sec. Opinion, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/17/were-in-a-post-truth-world-with-eroding-trust-and-accountability-it-cant-end-well.]]> 2018-10-02 09:38:50 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011327 On Symptoms of Historical Revisionism in the Philippines https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011685 The persistent pattern of enforced disappearances around the world provides a critical backdrop for historical revisionism in the Philippines. Nearly 30 years after Ferdinand Marcos and his family fled the country—the climax to the first modern 'People Power' revolution—the consensus on the dictatorship seems to have become diluted […] Yet as the world marks the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance on August 30, post-1986 generations find it hard to grasp what it meant to express dissent or join opposition groups when Marcos was president. Some now assert that, compared to the current standard of governance and politics, life must have been better under Marcos. Such perceptions are validated when trusted institutions invite Imelda Marcos as guest of honour. She appeared in July at a dinner hosted by the Ateneo de Manila University scholarship foundation, ostensibly due to the fact that the foundation began with proceeds from a Van Cliburn concert that she had organised in 1974. Students posted jocular 'selfies' with her on Instagram. The optics caused considerable pain and outrage. There are staff members at the Jesuit university and its institutes who went 'underground' during the dictatorship. One of its former students, Edgar Jopson, was summarily killed along with many activists. Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr, the opposition senator who was assassinated at the airport on his return from exile, was also an alumnus. After the dinner, a faculty member posted a Facebook update—widely shared—in which he points out the incongruity of teaching Catholic social values while giving Imelda Marcos a place at the table.

Fatima Measham, “Imelda Marcos and the Seduction of Time,” Eureka Street 24, no. 16 (August 18, 2014): 3.]]> 2018-10-02 09:40:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011685 On the New Normal of Journalism in the Post-Truth Era https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011874 In the midst of growing distrust of traditional news sources, the balance of power between news media and the audience has been altered, with a power shift from ‘journalist as gatekeeper’ to the citizen as editor. Due to the 24/7 news cycle, news is immediate; with information consumers (users) at the heart of content delivery. Users can generate their own content (UGC) and upload it to social media channels, controlling what content they want to view and when they want to view it. UGC includes news stories, blog posts, as well as consumers sharing news links and commenting on the news. This impacts on journalistic practice as news companies ‘need to compete with this variety of information to reach readers.’

Nora Martin, “Journalism, the Pressures of Verification and Notions of Post-Truth in Civil Society,” Cosmopolitan Civil Societies 9, no. 2 (2017): 43.]]> 2018-10-02 09:40:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288011874 On Trolling https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288012007 Trolling is… a specific kind of political activity that is marked by a refusal to participate in the kind of productive exchange of ideas that marks democratic politics. Instead of engaging in activity marked by democratic principles of reciprocity, accommodation, and inclusion, trolls actively work to dominate and control the conversations on any given site. Their actions, though ostensibly done “for the lulz,” are clearly intended to disrupt—even end—discussions. While disruption is not always a destructive act […] it is the hallmark of a troll to refuse to utilize its creative possibilities. Trolls are not simply opponents or critics of a particular position. Instead, trolls work to silence; in so doing, they close off future possibilities for political action instead of opening them. Distinguishing trolls from activists, however, can be difficult; the challenge of preventing the former while remaining open to the latter is one that democratic theorists have yet to adequately address.

Jennifer Forestal, “The Architecture of Political Spaces: Trolls, Digital Media, and Deweyan Democracy,” American Political Science Review 111, no. 1 (February 2017): 150.]]> 2018-10-02 09:41:31 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288012007 On the Post-Truth Era https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288012175 The 2016 Word of the Year selected by the editors of the Oxford Dictionaries was post-truth, defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” The term came to prominence in connection with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and his penchant for making assertions at his rallies that seemed disconnected from any factual foundation. His supporters seemed totally unconcerned with this lack of evidence. They liked what Donald Trump said because his description of America rang subjectively true for them and that was enough. Even if Trump’s statements were not grounded in facts, they were deemed to be more truthful at an emotional and affective level than the so-called “fake news” being disseminated by the mainstream media.

Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, “Faith and Learning in a Post-Truth World,” Journal of College and Character 19, no. 2 (May 2018): 93.]]> 2018-10-02 09:42:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jjbadion/EducFront/wish/288012175