Excerpt from a class discussion on suicide, responsibility and religion after completing Romeo and Juliet.:
Kid A: Jews don't believe in hell, right? Does that mean that everyone goes to heaven?
Me: I suppose so, but Romeo and Juliet are Catholic, not Jewish.
Kid B: So, does that mean that they're both going to hell since they killed themselves?
Me: That's the belief, yes. Catholics, and most Christians for that matter, believe that suicide is a unforgivable sin.
Kid A: But if they were Jewish, they'd be free and clear?
Me: Again, they aren't Jewish, so your point is a bit mute, but - yes- they would be free and clear since Jews don't believe in hell. Hell was created by Christians.
Whole Class: (a mix of uncomfortable laughter, confused stares and some shaking heads of Christian disapproval)
Me: Or, rather, Christians discovered it...or popularized it...or...oh hell, you know what I mean.
Kid A: Jews don't believe in hell, right? Does that mean that everyone goes to heaven?
Me: I suppose so, but Romeo and Juliet are Catholic, not Jewish.
Kid B: So, does that mean that they're both going to hell since they killed themselves?
Me: That's the belief, yes. Catholics, and most Christians for that matter, believe that suicide is a unforgivable sin.
Kid A: But if they were Jewish, they'd be free and clear?
Me: Again, they aren't Jewish, so your point is a bit mute, but - yes- they would be free and clear since Jews don't believe in hell. Hell was created by Christians.
Whole Class: (a mix of uncomfortable laughter, confused stares and some shaking heads of Christian disapproval)
Me: Or, rather, Christians discovered it...or popularized it...or...oh hell, you know what I mean.
2 Comments:
Funny stuff. But why the discussion of Romeo & Juliet being Jewish? Did you also have to explain what would happen to them if they were Buddhist, Islamic, or Wiccan?
Nope, thankfully - I have no idea what Wiccan's believe the afterlife holds.
They're obsessed with Judaism for some reason. Perhaps it's because they just finished studying Night. Or perhaps its the pervasive xenophobia. One of the two.
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