Musings of a Teenager

So, what did you decide? Most people in my class said that it was the same. That dropping the daughter off was just as bad as dropping the donkey off. This is actually highly odd. The 'Christian Union' has recently seen a resurgence in our school. I admit that some people truly believe but, being a skeptic, I add that it involves one friendship group, free chocolate and an opportunity to meet people from the girl's school. Great! Anyway, all the Christian Union members said that it was the same. But, in the Bible, it says that humans were made in 'the image of God'. This means that we are on a par with him. It also applies that humans are greater than the animal kingdom. We were created on a different day to them. In Corinthians it says that we are temples of God. Surely this puts us above the animal kingdom. What a load of drivel! But it promotes my atheist point of view so who cares?
So, what do I think? I think it is different. But not, I think and hope, because I believe humans are in any way above animals. The story involves and old, decrepid donkey. What quality of life would it have? It might be a mercy to kill it. Whilst the daughter is young. It has the whole of it's life ahead of it. Also, it has relatives who would be upset by its passing. Do donkey's have family connections in this way at that age? Do they mourn? Do they understand. This obviously raises two interesting questions. Is it ever right to kill, or aid death? What concepts do animals understand, how do they perceive the world? But those are for another time.

I suppose I had better start with an explanation. I walked into the first Religious Studies of this term with some trepidation. I was only taking short course for GCSE and didn't know quite what to expect. I had heard from those taking long course that they were studying only one religion. I felt this would take the enjoyment out of the subject for me. Then the teacher told us the name of the course. 'Christian Perspectives on Personal, Social and World Issues'. I sat back and started to enjoy the lesson. So over the next two years expect a lot of philosophy!
He began the lesson proper with a story. His wife is French and so, every year, in the six weeks holiday, they go to her farm in the south of France and stay with her parents. Whilst they were there this year some friends of the family came round to dinner one night. There was the woman, her husband and their daughter. Over the meal the conversation gradually moved to bullfighting and then spanish traditions in general. One that was brought up was a tradition from one small village. Every year, they would take an old, decrepid donkey up to the top of a tower and through it off. The woman made her feelings quite clear on the issue. She felt it was totally immoral and it was the same as throughing her own daughter off. What, asked the teacher, would you do? Is it the same to through the daughter off as to through the donkey off? I'll let you discuss it for a bit and then I'll say what the class eventually agreed upon.