Live Simply

If you have looked at the CAFOD site, you might have seen the Live Simply promises being mentioned. Have a look at the Live Simply webpage to find out more ... Is there a promise there that you could keep during Lent?

More Fairtrade Fortnight resources

You can find out more about Fairtrade Fortnight at the CAFOD website. Year 9s can use this to help with your homework over the next two weeks; GCSE students will find info on here to help with Unit C5, Religion: Wealth and Poverty. There is even a student-friendly page that I have just found, as part of the Big Deal site.

Fairtrade Fortnight

Fairtrade Fortnight starts tomorrow ... what can you do to help? Well, for a start you can buy Fairtrade bananas, coffee, tea, chocolate, hot chocolate ... Most, if not all, major supermarkets stock a variety of Fairtrade Products. If you can't find what you are looking for, why not ask? You can also fill in a card at most stores saying how they can improve - why not ask for more fairly traded products?

Hangman

There are less than fifty teaching days until the exams start, if I remember correctly. And you need to know your key words ... GCSE Bitesize has a hangman game to help you practice these keywords. They do cover many different aspects of Religious Studies, including religions other than Christianity, and Philosophy, and won't necessarily have the words you need to know for those 2 mark questions. But they are useful, and it's another way to revise.

CAFOD Big Deal Homework Help

Another great site that will help you in loads of ways, with RE, Geography, Citizenship ... Click on the Big Deal Homework Help link and find out about CAFOD, Debt, HIV and AIDS, Trade, Fairtrade Fortnight, Conflict, Aid, Emergencies, the Environment ...

That Religious Studies Website

I've found another useful website. That Religious Studies Website has lots of articles on different topics that may be relevant to GCSE students and A Level students.

GCSE Podcasts

I'm all for new technology, and I know that many of you have iPods or mp3 players, so you may find the resources at GCSE Podcast helpful. I found a couple of podcasts on euthanasia (free) and abortion (£1.50). These sound very useful for revision purposes. Check them out!

Ash Wednesday

It's Ash Wednesday today ... have you been to Church to receive ashes?

Shrove Tuesday

Find out more about Shrove Tuesday at the BBC website. Have you had your pancakes yet?

Legal Battle over "Right to Die"

Right to die? Read this article, and watch the clip, to find out more about Kelly Taylor's battle to force doctors to end her life.

Listen to Kelly's story ... should she be allowed to be helped to die? Or is it right that euthanasia remains illegal in the UK?

Vegetarianism or Happy Pigs

(Image from bbc.co.uk - website below)

I read this interesting article about a man who was a vegetarian but now farms his own pigs, which he eats.

Tom Welch, the farmer, said that his reasons for being a farmer were ethical farming ones - he believes it is wrong to keep animals in poor conditions, and that there is no clear link between the meat we buy in the supermarkets and the animal it came from.

One comment by a reader at the end struck me:
"Tom Welch has clearly never been a true vegetarian. His reasons for being so were out of concern for animal welfare during farming. But the true reason for being vegetarian is that you believe it is morally and logically wrong to kill other creatures in order to eat their flesh when it is possible to live off grains, pulses, fruit, vegetables, and nuts."
- Neil, County Antrim

Is there are "true reason" for being a vegetarian? What do you think? Should people be vegetarians? If so, why? Are some reasons better than others?

TV and Radio Listings

There are often very informative and interesting programmes about religious and ethical themes on TV and on the radio. Year 11s learnt a lot from the Beyond Belief discussion on conversion - there was an ideal answer to the question "In a multifaith society, people should not try to convert others to their religion." Do you agree?

In order to have a better idea of what's on TV and radio this week that might be relevant and interesting, click here. The RE Directory has compiled a short list of programmes for this week and the next. If you've missed something on Radio 4 (which I've mentioned before!) then you can often use their "listen again" service. Very useful.