Vocal Voices

Michael .... Grandad, this is how you say the sign of the cross in Irish (recites it in Irish and English)
Mr Osc ......That's very good.
Michael .....What is the holy ghost?
Mr Osc ......Well (gulping) to be honest, I am 67 years of age and have never really understood it.
Michael .....Would Daddy know?
Mr Osc ......(Knowing full well that Daddy believes even less than he does) He might, you could ask him.
Michael .....If he didn't know, he could google it, couldn't he

Oh the joys of trying not to say the wrong thing when your unbaptised grandchild is in a school with a catholic ethos, as most are over here.

Us. Dad, Atheist but brought up Catholic. Mum, Anglican but chose to be Agnostic. Children sent to RC primary as it offered the best results in the local area.

We had similar questions.

Michael: Google is the last place to go for answers... Live your life and make your own mind up. Whatever you choose will not be wrong for you.

Love it Osc!!

Ally wrote:Love it Osc!!

Made me laugh

Gosh I wouldn't have had a clue, well fielded Mr O

Personally I would keep all religion out of schooling, but realise that's asking rather a lot in Catholic Ireland xxxxx

It really is difficult, Kaz, most schools here have historically been run by the Catholic church. However, a great number of today's parents are nominally Catholic but don't practise. You see the ridiculous situation where local schools give preference to baptised children, so parents get their children baptised just to get them into school although they have no intention of bringing them up Catholic. Miss Osc and SIL refused to buy into that hypocrisy and there was an anxious wait before they knew Michael would be accepted. Neither of them went to the local primary school, but Miss Osc was very well known locally, both because of us and post office, plus her involvement in Brownies and Guides, it's not as if they were strangers to the area. Michael was on the "third" list, the first being baptised children, second list children with siblings already in the school, and everyone else on the third list - luckily he got in.

Although there are dwindling amounts of clergy and followers here, most schools are still in the patronage of the church and there was a half hearted attempt to get them to hand over control, because of course they are totally state-funded, but to date literally only a couple of schools have been handed over in the whole country. I have no problem with schools having a Christian ethos, but otherwise religion should be kept out of education and religious education as such should be outside school hours.

Its a tough one Osc and well done to Mr and Miss Osc for refusing to play along.

That reminds me of when Luke got into Jesus Christ Superstar

Question 1. Why are they so horrible to Jesus
We looked at each other and between us cobbled a reply

Question 2. And why did they put Jesus on the arrow?
Too helpless with laughter to attempt a reply

Oh Shell!!!!

Osc, you see similar here with parents trying to get children into well performing faith schools Personally I would scrap the lot, schools (like the law) should be secular!

Fortunately my grandchildren have never asked me anything like that. I could just see the discussion.

Grandson: Grandpa, who is God?
Grandpa: Son, some people believe that a supreme being created all there is, all of us and the planet we live on. Then that supreme being gave us the freedom to murder each other, have massive wars and to destroy the habitat of the planet so that everyone on it dies.

Grandson: Why would God do that?
Grandpa: I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps you should ask someone who believes in him!

Yep I could see that I would not be much help to some poor soul going to a religious school....

However the discussion with the minister who married us was much more interesting.
"Tell me [Suff], do you believe in God".
"No Alec, to tell you the truth I don't"
"Tell me [Suff], do you believe in anything?"
"Yes Alec, I believe there are lots of unexplained things in the universe and our normal lives. I just feel no need to have a God to explain them".
"Well just so long as you don't deny and have an open mind".

Two weeks later he married us in his church. I was, of course, christened C/S and it was a C/S church so he had no issues there.... He was a good friend too.