Persecution from my hippy teacher

[Guest stayingpure815]

Hey everybody!~
I've had my English teacher for 2 years, and I'm very sick of him now. He is constantly calling God a jerk and a hypocrite. :angry: He believes that the Old and New Testaments contradict eachother and that God is contradicting Himself in saying "Thou shall not kill" yet telling His people in the Old Testament several times to kill one another in His name. If anyone has any advice in dealing with him, pleaseeee tell me. EVERY DAY i go in there and have to listen to him make prejudiced comments against Christians, and im really sick of it. -_- i always have to defend myself, and when i do it the rest of the class gets mad because they dont feel like listening to some religious debate. He's very into Buddhism, existentialism, transcendental meditation, etc and believes that everyone holds all of the "truths of the universe" within them. He always speaks of the "energy," "cosmic consciousness," etc. Because i dont accept this my class has called me ignorant. If you have any advice at all please post a reply! Thank you so much!

In Jesus and Mary,
Sara

[phatcatholic]

it sounds like your English teacher needs to stick w/ English. it is very unprofessional of him offend Christians in such a way, especially when he does not have the credentials to discuss religous topics in a classroom setting and because he is straying from his main priority: to teach English.

but i digress........

what if you and a supportive parent were to meet with him and discuss this matter? some teachers may not think twice about offending students, but they are responsive to a concerned parent. you and your parents have the right to request a meeting with him, especially since his conduct is effecting your ability to learn and is even causing you to be somewhat ostracized by your peers.

when you meet with him, your effectiveness will depend on how you approach the situation. first, give him due respect. shake his hand. thank him for taking the time to meet with you. be courteous so that he does not feel threatened. talk in a normal tone without raising your voice. and then, make statements about your feelings.

--"i wanted to meet with you today because i am having problems in your class and i was hoping you could help me. i know that you and i have different beliefs about God and religion, and that is ok. i respect your opinion, but u say things about what i believe that offends me sometimes. i feel the need to defend myself b/c my beliefs are very important to me, but then other students get irritated with me. its just an awkward position for me to be in, and i was just hoping that you could help me in some way."

note that, since you are framing the discourse around asking your teacher for help, he is much more likely to oblige than if you were to approach him with accusations and emotion (even tho both are quite understandable). this seems like the best way to deal with this.

of course, if he is not receptive--as especially if he is offensive--you may wish to approach the principal concerning this matter.

i hope this helps

pax christi,
phatcatholic

[Guest stayingpure815]

thanks a lot for your response! i dont think he would listen if i talked to him just because thats not really his personality, but i might try it. if you have any book suggestions that i could give him thatd also be great, because not only do i want him to stop putting down the faith, but itd also be great if he could get his facts straight haha. i found a great essay by g.k. chesterton but if you know of any others thatd be awesome. thanks sooo much again for all of your help! God bless!