This morning I had a listening lesson with my 1st year (18-20 year old) class. Generally my listening classes go smoothly; I will explain certain pieces of vocabulary, play the tapes, then help the students correct their answers. But, as I am sure you can imagine, these classes do not usually prove interesting or insightful enough to write about.
However, today was different as the topic of discussion turned to religion. Among the words I was expected to explain were 'Christian', 'holy', 'prophet' and 'the Bible'. Usually when I put forwards a question i.e. 'what is a dog?' to the class and wait for a response the vast majority of the students hang their heads and try to avoid eye contact with me. This time when I asked 'what is a Christian,' a quiet student, who I would normally class as a head-hanger, confidently rose out of his seat with a glowing smile and responded 'a Christian is somebody who believes in the god.' Let me make it clear that he did not mean 'a god' but 'the god' as if this was a universal truth.
Usually if I asked this kid if he knew how to tie his shoe laces, his response would be to nervously look around at his class mates, wonder how much face he is going to lose by looking stupid in front of the foreigner and then proceed to look stupid in front of the foreigner.
It was then that I knew who's work I had been confronted by.
Ingrid.
Ingrid is a seemingly nice old lady who works with me at Shengli College. She happens to teach this particular 1st year class 'Oral English' a.k.a Bible Studies depending on your interpretation of the phrase.
Monday morning listening with 1st year had just become very interesting. How far had this mad woman indulged in her sinful desire to indoctrinate my students? The vocabulary sheet offered me the way to find out. 'What is the bible?' I asked eagerly, knowing this would be a crucial question.
The response was unambiguous, instantaneous and slightly shocking: 'the Bible is the word of God.'
There is one question I would like to leave you with. How many people would freely choose to be religious in a world where there was no social pressure to be religious, no missionary hospitals or schools and no foreign teacher who will be more willing to befriend you if you go to Church with them, but only 'the word of God,' freely distributed all over the world, for everyone to listen to, but only if they really wanted to?
-Mark Livsey
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