I have been  wondering why the term sin has almost died out in our language and I think  for many of us who were brought up in a very strict version of Christianity it became too painful  for us to think about it.
We were made to feel ashamed  of our failures so much so that we abandon the whole idea of sin.
We don’t know as children that it is very difficult to live without making mistakes and our emotions run away with us so that we hurt other children….
But now looking at the world as it is,maybe it would be better of more adults admitted making dreadful mistakes.And we know  free will may not be as free as we think.But if we accept we do sin then it makes us more tolerant of others around us…If we were perfect it might make us self righteous and judgemental which to me seems a perversion of religion.Yet this is happening  in the world today.
I have read that it is very hard for Catholics,even lapsed one,to be able to  have a successful psychoanalysis because the conscience is so harsh.We cannot easily alter it.
So it is not surprising we don’t like the word sin.
It is interesting that being thought of as sinners means we are quite powerful,If our errors are caused by human weakness it is more painful to see ourselves as weak and vulnerable yet we are.We all need others.

We used to learn from talking to our friends
Our neighbours in communities now gone
Gone too are the preachers and the saints
And there’s gap to fill but how’s that done?

Oh,  buy a tabloid like the  Daily Wail
It’s full of gossip lies , crude images
Like  the words we swapped by village wells
Lies and truth and problems that enraged

Now the people we live by are  who?
We know not of their work,religion,place
We see their faces as they pass at speed
We see no smiles, no love, just a strained face.

There is a gap  but we must keep it clear;
For sometimes grace will  enter, conquering fear

 

We

Who should speak, which people have a voice?
Can we trust the ones who’ve told such lies
Post-truth, post-God, post meaning, post remorse?

If we’re wounded, who shall give recourse?
Does it matter to them what we’re tortured by?
Who should speak, which people own their voice?

If we hear bad news, what is its source?
See the bodies  hear the babies cry,
Post-truth, post-God, post meaning, post remorse?

Can we spread democracy by force?
Is it still democracy post-war?
Who should speak, which people own their voice?

Which of all the methods is the choice?
What is politics the reason for,
Post-truth, post-God, post meaning, post remorse?

If I speak, will you believe I lie?
The tongues of angels whisper, what of Troy
Who should speak, which people have a voice?
Post-truth, post-God, post meaning, post remorse

 

 

A line will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought, Our stitching and unstitching has been naught. —  William Butler YeatsA

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2000/feb/23/tefl2

 

“Given these difficulties, is poetry worth the effort? What can a good poem offer the language learner that a good newspaper article or authentic dialogue can’t?

The answer has to do with things such as richness of meaning, diversity and ambiguity. In ELT textbooks students are usually presented with oral and written texts whose meaning can be fairly confidently ascertained: these texts have a meaning and you, the learner, can discover it. Poetry is different. The reader is a much more active participant in working out the meaning – or rather the range of meanings – of the text. The reader brings his or her own experience to the poem. The idea that the meaning of a text can vary according to the person reading it will be a new and refreshing one for many students.

A well-chosen poem encourages teachers to ask questions such as, “What do you think this means?” When students realise that “I’m not sure” is an acceptable answer to such questions, a whole new way of thinking about meaning is opened up.

So using poems in class encourages a diversity of views and a healthy debate about meaning. What else? Well, good poems deal with issues and concerns that are important to students – growing up, love and loss, the animal world and our relationship to it, perhaps even (sadly) war and peace.

The key phrase here is “well-chosen”. You’ve got to find poems that are at the right level for your students, both linguistically and in terms of content. This isn’t easy. On the other hand, there’s no point in feeding students an unrelieved diet of whimsy.”