3 twentieth
century Christian martyr stories (Maximilian Kolbe, Manche Masemola
and Oscar Romero) raise big questions about commitment.
Themes
Commitment,
world Christianity, key inspirational leaders.
This strand gives the teacher three stories based
upon the lives of three of the Christian martyrs
commemorated in the statues unveiled at Westminster
Abbey in 1998. The martyrs reflect some of the global
settings in which Christianity has been found in
the last 100 years, and raise interesting questions
relevant to our own time about commitment and values.
· Manche Masemola - South Africa
· Father Maximilian Kolbe - Poland (Holocaust Europe)
· Archbishop Oscar Romero - El Salvador (repressive
regime in Central America).
They are all controversial, challenging stories,
told in video diary formats lasting just five minutes
each. They are stimulus for some good learning in
RE and aim to provoke skilful, thoughtful responses
from pupils in the 11-14 age range.
The concept of martyrdom is well illustrated by
these three short films, and can be the focus for
work by pupils which relates to the example of Jesus
and the teaching of the Gospels and of the church
on commitment and self sacrifice.
When might you use this?
When studying questions of commitment, key figures
in Christianity, martyrdom, the influence of Jesus'
example or the global Christian community.
What pupils will be able to do at the end of
this module
· describe the influence of Christian beliefs and
commitments on the lives of three exemplary individuals.
· reflect on their own ideas about questions of
purpose and commitment in the light of the examples
examine what martyrdom means, and explain the concept
with examples.
· consider the question: Have I found ideals to
live for? To die for?
Relevant QCA Units
7B What does justice mean to Christians? 9C Why
do we suffer?
Keystage
3
