Introduction

Part of the human experience is the search for meaning. We experience, and then we try to make sense of our experience. The high school students in our classrooms are asking, "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" "What is the purpose of this life?" and "What must I do?" The Christian Ethics courses we offer provide answers to their questions. By putting Jesus and his message at the core of our courses, we answer that Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)

The aim of Christian Ethics is for students to acquire and develop the knowledge, skills/abilities, and values of Christianity so that they are encouraged to live as followers of Jesus Christ.

The goals of Christian Ethics are for students to:

• grow in faith, hope, and love
• better understand Christian beliefs
• give generously in loving service
• be guided by Christian teachings in making decisions throughout their lives
• find private, public, and communal expression for their faith
• develop a respect for all people as created in the image of God

Foundational objectives describe the essential learnings for a particular grade level. These learnings are to be developed gradually over the course of a unit or a year. The following foundational objectives describe the essential learnings of Christian Ethics (CETH) 10, 20, and 30. It is intended that these learnings will not only be known, but will be lived out in the students’ lives.

The student will:

• understand that one’s life story is interrelated with one’s communities’ stories
• appreciate scripture as the story of the Christian community
• have knowledge of the Christian understanding of Jesus
• realize that the Christian message calls us to serve as Jesus did
• appreciate the impact that one’s values and decisions make on the lives of oneself and others
• cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus

The student will:

• understand the nature of the Christian community
• appreciate what belonging to and living in the Christian community entails
• understand Christian moral guidelines
• see how Christian principles inform various contemporary moral issues

The student will:

• appreciate how the Christian message guides our search for self-understanding
• discover how Christianity gives meaning to life, death, and belief
• understand relationships and commitments from a Christian perspective
• understand and value the contributions of various world religions and spiritualities

Learning objectives are specific descriptions of what the students will do to achieve the foundational objectives of each unit. They are expressed in terms of student outcomes and give focus to daily lesson planning.

1. My Story
   1. The student will be able to understand their life stories by:
      • retelling their personal biographies
      • analyzing their life stories for meaning
      • comparing their life stories to the stories of those around them (family, friends, country, Church, etc.)
      • examining their faith journeys
      
      
   2. The student will be able to appreciate the sharing of their talents and gifts by:
      • assessing their gifts, talents, and limitations
      • searching Christian scripture and tradition for guidance on sharing their talents and gifts
      
      
   3. The student will be able to recognize the needs of others by:
      • listing various needs of people in our communities
      • investigating to find community services which meet people’s needs
      
      
   4. The student will be able to give themselves in service by:
      • offering at least ten hours of service to someone outside their circles of family and friends or of special service to a needy family member or friend
      • building support for their service projects using community resources
      
      
2. Our Story
   1. The student will be able to understand the composition and interpretation of Scripture by:
      • explaining how the Bible came to be developed into today’s written form
      • listing and describing the general contents of the Bible
      • locating scripture passages
      • talking about the different ways to interpret scripture, and understanding which interpretation their own faith tradition recommends
      
      
3. Jesus’ Story
   1. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of Jesus of History by:
      • retelling the stories of major Bible people and events leading up to Jesus
      • describing the life and culture of Jesus’ people
      • telling about Jesus’ life before his mission
      • situating Jesus’ life in history
      
      
   2. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the Christian Testament by:
      • understanding the composition of the Christian Testament
      • talking about the purposes of the gospels, letters, Acts and Revelation
      • indicating characteristics of each of the four gospels
      
      
   3. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the message of Jesus by:
      • summarizing Jesus’ message of love of God and neighbour
      • giving examples from Jesus’ Beatitudes, teachings and parables of how we are to love
      • applying Jesus’ message of love to relationships, both healthy and unhealthy
      • examining how Jesus’ message of love guides our behaviour in the area of sexuality
      • considering the implications of Jesus’ message of love applied to the issue of abortion
      
      
   4. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the mission of Jesus by:
      • understanding that Jesus’ mission was to build God’s Kingdom whereby all people unconditionally love one another
      • giving examples from Jesus’ life (including miracles, teachings, parables, etc.) which encourage the building of the Reign of God
      • giving examples from our world today which show the need to rebuild the Reign of God
      • creating journals, scrapbooks, etc. reflecting on their service experiences
      • locating scripture passages which give guidance about service
      • planning future service projects, both locally and globally
      
      
   5. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection, and ascension by:
      • recalling the events leading up to Jesus’ death
      • discussing various meanings of the death of Jesus
      • giving logical reasons for believing in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus
      • recognizing the power of the resurrection in our lives
      
      

1. Christ’s Body: The Church
   1. The student will be able to know about the community called Church by:
      • defining the Church as a community of Christian believers
      
      
   2. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the history of the Church by:
      • summarizing the main events in 2000 years of Church history, including both the negative and the positive
      • exploring the roles of women in the Church throughout history
      • examining the East-West split, the Protestant Reformation and other divisions
      • discussing the ecumenical movement among Churches
      
      
   3. The student will be able to understand the creed of the Church by:
      • knowing the key beliefs as found in the Church creeds throughout history to today
      
      
   4. The student will be able to appreciate the models of the Church by:
      • studying the various models of Church
      • examining which model of the Church best fits each student’s understanding of what the Church should be
      • exploring systemic issues relating to Church as institution
      
      
   5. The student will be able to respect encounters with the sacred by:
      • appreciating the role of symbols in encountering the sacred
      • discussing the history of sacraments in the Church
      • understanding what sacraments mean to the Church
      • studying the sacrament traditions as practiced by various Christian denominations
      
      
   6. The student will be able to value personal and communal practices of faith by:
      • examining scripture’s guidelines to prayer, including "The Lord’s Prayer"
      • participating in various types of prayer used by Christians
      • examining the worship traditions of Christian Churches
      
      
   7. The student will be able to understand evangelization and mission by:
      • talking about various examples of Christians spreading the Good News
      • suggesting ways that they might spread the Good News
      
      
2. Living as Christ’s Body: Christian Morality
   1. • explaining morality’s key concepts: freedom, law, principles, ends, means, authority, etc.
      
      
   2. The student will be able to understand moral development by:
      • discussing various theories of moral development
      • exploring the level of moral development at which one may be operating
      
      
   3. The student will be able to understand moral theories by:
      • examining and critiquing various moral theories
      
      
   4. The student will be able to understand Christian moral principles by:
      • learning how to use scripture to discover Christian principles which shed light on specific decision-making situations
      • surveying Christian traditions which provide moral principles
      
      
   5. The student will be able to understand decision making by:
      • learning how one forms an informed conscience
      • understanding the steps in making a Christian decision
      • indicating how cultural influences (media, chemical abuse, etc.) affect decision making
      
      
   6. The student will be able to understand sin and forgiveness by:
      • discussing the Christian view of sin
      • explaining how and why God forgives our sinfulness
      • discovering how and why we are to forgive those who sin against us
      
      
3. Living as Christ’s Body: Contemporary Moral Issues
   1. The student will be able to value reverence for all created life by:
      • discovering Christian teachings which speak about reverence for all created life
      • locating scripture passages that speak of reverence for life
      • researching various issues about respect for life (suggested topics: suicide, ecology, euthanasia)
      • applying scripture passages and their Christian traditions to various issues and proposing solutions
      
      
   2. The student will be able to value justice and peace by:
      • discovering Christian teachings which speak about justice and peace
      • locating scripture passages that speak of justice and peace
      • finding local, national, and international examples of injustices which have led to disharmony (suggested topics: poverty, prejudice, under-/unemployment)
      • reflecting on their Christian traditions and scripture in order to propose solutions to these international injustices
      
      
   3. The student will be able to value non-violence by:
      • discovering Christian teachings which speak about non-violence
      • locating scripture passages which illustrate healthy, non-violent relationships
      • describing various local and global situations of violence in whichever form (suggested topics: abuse, war)
      • summarizing guidelines, based on their Christian traditions and scripture, for healthy, non-violent relationships
      
      

1. Living as a Christian in a Secular World: Christian Lifestyles
   1. The student will be able to answer the question, "Who am I?" by:
      • considering Christianity’s view of human dignity despite humanity’s sinful tendencies
      • describing the various influences which make them who they are
      • listing various ways to discover who they are and who they are becoming
      • creating thorough descriptions of "Who am I?"
      
      
   2. The student will be able to understand philosophies of life by:
      • discussing various philosophies of life
      • applying Christian principles to these philosophies of life
      • discovering which life philosophies aid in living a Christian lifestyle
      
      
   3. The student will be able to appreciate beliefs by:
      • explaining why beliefs are essential to life
      • giving reasons to believe in God
      • exploring various images of God
      • describing some basic Christian beliefs about God and life
      
      
   4. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of relationships and love by:
      • searching scripture and one’s Christian traditions for guidance in relationships and love
      • listing the ingredients of healthy, loving relationships
      • describing many ways that relationships become unhealthy (using one another, dishonesty, etc.)
      • seeking out scripture and one’s Christian tradition for ways of healing unhealthy relationships
      
      
   5. The student will be able to respect sexuality by:
      • understanding sexuality as a good gift from God
      • examining and suggesting ways to order one’s sexuality
      • discussing various issues of sexuality and Christian responses to those issues: homosexuality, birth control, reproductive technologies, etc.
      
      
   6. The student will be able to know about commitment and vocation by:
      • discovering that commitment can be an outgrowth of a loving relationship
      • studying various life commitments people make (e.g. marriage, religious life, ordained life, single life)
      • reflecting on possible life commitments they might make
      
      
   7. The student will be able to know about marriage and family life by:
      • discussing the Christian view of marriage
      • explaining the basic rite for a Christian marriage
      • exploring the Christian view of family life, including the gift of children
      • describing the characteristics of a healthy family
      • examining Christian responses to divorce, separation, family breakdown, etc.
      
      
   8. The student will be able to show some understanding of life/death and brokenness/healing by:
      • exploring the mysteries of pain, suffering, life, and death
      • pondering their future deaths and the meaning that gives to life now
      • suggesting the message of hope and healing which Christianity gives, even amidst brokenness
      
      
2. Living Out One’s Faith in a Secular World: World Religions and Spiritualities
   
   1. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of religion and spirituality by:
      • analyzing the elements of religion and spirituality, including wisdom, works, and worship
      • comparing and contrasting a religion or spirituality and a cult
      
      
   2. The student will be able to respect various religions and spiritualities (Aboriginal Canadian Spirituality, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, etc.) by:
      • studying the wisdom, works, and worship of various religions and spiritualities
      • appreciating the truths that all religions and spiritualities can offer
      
      

Christian Ethics is an academic subject like any other, yet unlike any other. Christian Ethics courses require fully qualified Christian religious educators capable of delivering the curriculum. A curriculum is a guide to instruction in the classroom. As all good teachers know, various student questions and needs arise which must be addressed at the time, even if another topic is under study. These may be referred to as teachable moments. Beyond the proficiency as educators who know their subject matter and how to best deliver it, Christian Ethics teachers must model Christian living, knowing that they are living models of Christ for their students.

Sacred scripture is to be used throughout CETH 10, 20, and 30. Specific study topics address the composition and interpretation of scripture; however, scriptures should also be used to shed light on all topics throughout the curriculum. Once again, the teacher is in the best position to decide when, what and how to best incorporate the use of sacred scripture into a particular course.

This curriculum guide will be used in schools of various Christian denominations, a fact which has been reflected in the curriculum itself and in the accompanying bibliography. While there may be times for a school to focus on its own particular faith tradition, many subjects under study would be greatly enhanced by examining the traditions of other Christian denominations. More understanding on the part of our students as well as greater unity and co-operation among Christian Churches could be the fruits of study of various Christian traditions. Research, dialogue, and exchanges among Christian denominations could foster this spirit of ecumenism.

Going one step further, Christian Ethics should include the study of world religions. Gone are the days when Christians isolate themselves from other religious influences. Christians now recognize that their answers to life’s ultimate questions are not the only answers. In Canada, the increasing variety of religions and spiritualities calls for greater understanding, compassion, and community among all Canadians.

The study of world religions can open students up to truth which enlightens people everywhere. This study can provide a fresh look at Christianity, often revealing facets which can enrich one’s own religious practices and values. As Christian religious educators, we have a responsibility to properly prepare our students for the future. We do this by guiding them to know their faith more profoundly, to understand the faiths of others more accurately, and so to live more fully.