I guess cheaters always find a way to justify what they do. Today I did homework for my exchange student. Now I will justify it.
The student's religion teacher required her, for a quiz grade, to obtain a bulletin from any church of her choosing. The student didn't even know what a bulletin was, and a translator is only so much help with a word like that.
Anyway, I offered to get a bulletin for her, because the local RC church is right down the block.
I have literally never attended a Catholic Mass that wasn't a wedding or funeral. Never too old for a "first."
So I went down at Mass time, grabbed a bulletin and a seat in the very back row. It was interesting to see that this church bulletin had advertising in it, two whole pages in color. There was also a damn good screed against the lottery on page three.
Mass got under way with hymns and stuff. It was less ostentatious than the Snobville United Methodist by more than half. But I noticed that punctuality didn't seem to be very important to the congregation. After about ten minutes, with folks still trickling in, it was easy to sneak out the door through which I came.
I gave the following reasons for getting the bulletin to my student:
1. Her parents are paying tuition to the school. Part of this tuition supports the missions of the Roman Catholic Church. Part of it helps subsidize scholarships for kids who are religious. That should suffice the school, regarding my student's involvement with the Catholic faith.
2. Can you imagine China with orthodox Catholics who didn't practice birth control?
I don't care how many times I have to pretend to go to Mass this year. The church is a block away, and no one slobbered over me like they do in so many of the Pentecostal denominations when they see a stranger.
What do you think? Am I committing a sin here?
7 comments:
Nope, no sin at all. You are helping out your fellow (wo)man.
I doubt that she would have learned much by doing that herself. What did the teacher intend her to learn from it? Maybe you could discuss that with Chair, and she will get something from the discussion.
--Kim
I admit up front to being negatively biased about Christian sects, Roman Catholics specifically, having been raised most thoroughly Catholic.
For Spare, you are the Acting Parent. You would act to protect her from accident, disease, muggers and used car salesmen. While some might not think the Catholics dangerous, I certainly do. I think you did right.
Furthermore, (having been trained by Jesuits, who are more slippery and dangerous than lawyers) the assignment was to get bulletins. Did the assignment say how, or from whom?
I detest commenting on religion, most leaders in the faith industry are a bunch of well heeled pikers.
Gotta disagree with you on this, Anne. I agree that religion shouldn't be forced on anyone. But while her parents may indeed be godless communists (and good for them), they have chosen to send their daughter abroad to a Catholic school and so presumably understand that she will be exposed to religion. If they were not okay with that (or thought she couldn't see through it), they would have sent her to a secular school. If she's taking a class about religion, I think she should do her own homework as assigned. Her parents have chosen not to shield her from religious instruction so I don't think it's really your call to do otherwise.
I'm not at all sure what her parents have told her about her school and the religious aspects of it.Absolutely they know it is a Christian school, and that the teachers there will talk about Christianity. What I'm not sure about is the extent to which the parents know how much proselytizing goes on. The assignment was to procure a church bulletin, which to a timid kid means having to spend an hour or more at a church service. She certainly does see through the dogma, but she's shy about expressing her godless views, needless to say.
And for the record, I haven't discussed my religion with her either. Halloween will be interesting, because I don't intend to hide my Practice. But I won't ask her to join in. She has made it very clear to me that she doesn't believe in god, which also means gods and goddesses. I'm fine with that.
No prob with what you did but you could have just as easily asked Chair to come with for the experience.
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