Pagan Customs & Christianity

"Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you" (Deut.6:14 NIV).

http://godkind.org/pagan-holidays.html

... Customs are handed down from generation to generation sometimes without thought or questioning. I have made it a point in my Christian walk to proof and challenge these practices.

 Let the Holy Spirit be your guide. You will find that one simple question will start you on the path to Biblical truth: 

Where is that in the Bible?

Consider these Bible verses:

2Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Could you possibly be practicing pagan customs and thinking that this is what Christians do? I ask you to consider or re-examine , or verify for yourself that you are practicing  Christian beliefs.

There are many free studies available for you to study.

What happens when you separate yourself from Pagan practices? 

You become closer to God!

 Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

1Cor 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

 Ps 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

 "Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you" (Deut.6:14 NIV).

"Be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, . . ." (Deut.12:30-31 NIV).

"Do not learn the ways of the nations [heathens] . . ." (Jer.10:2 NIV).

 "Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; . . ." (Jer.25:6 NIV).

 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Heb.13:8 NIV).

 I encourage you to start questioning what is of God, and more importantly what is NOT of God. Let the Holy Spirit and the Bible be your guide. 

 1Pet 3:11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
See More

Pagan Christian Holidays

godkind.org

Pagan Christian Holidays - unbiblical

 

Andragory

One subject that is kind of a side bar to instructional design and assessments is the concept of andragogy. When we combine elearning, such as instructional designers construct, and the adult learner (like ourselves), our assessments are aimed at self-directing individuals. This learner-centered approach to learning causes us to reflect upon how we connect with our learner and what is gleaned from that experience.

“ Since Malcolm Knowles introduced andragogy to North America in the 1970's, it has gained wide acceptance as a set of assumptions designed to guide the development of programs for adults. At its core is "the idea that the attainment of adulthood is concomitant on adults' coming to perceive themselves as self-directing individuals" (Brookfield, 1986, p. 92). Andragogy facilitates a learner-centered, humanisticly oriented approach and has served to produce much information regarding program planning and development for adults” (Simonson, 2007, p. 4).

If you have experience in the traditional face-to-face classroom (like me), then you use: body language, social/cultural traits, visual and auditory cues to make assessments without really thinking about it. When we adapt our instructional methods to the elearning experience, we compensate for the lack of non-verbal cues and body language. This also applies to the types of assessments that are effective in this format.

“ The psychological climate is even more important the physical climate. Adults must feel secure and safe within any learning situation. They must be treated with respect and dignity. In distance learning settings, the facilitator must work diligently to assure that learner responses are valued and are not belittled. This is particularly important in settings using asynchronous discussion forums in which learners post responses to facilitator questions or post responses to the responses of other learners. In an environment in which the written word is the primary means of communication, it is easy for words to be misinterpreted as non-verbal cues, a powerful form of communication, are not available” (Simonson, 2007, p. 6).

According to Kirkpatrick, in Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, his system of evaluating teaching and training came be applied to instructional design and assessments.

“ Kirkpatrick’s (1998) evaluation approach with its four levels of evaluation, supplemented by Phillips’ (2002) fifth evaluation level— return on investment (ROI)—seems to be the preferred approach of many trainers, and some educators” (Simonson, 2007, pp. 7-8).

Here are the four levels in the evaluation approach suggested by Kirkpatrick, supplemented by Phillips’ fifth evaluation level:

LEVEL 1: REACTIONS (i.e. - Did they like it?)

LEVEL 2: LEARNING (i.e. - Did they learn it?)

LEVEL 3: TRANSFER (i.e. - Will they use it?)

LEVEL 4: RESULTS (i.e. - Will they use it?)

LEVEL 5: RETURN ON INVESTMENT (i.e. – Monetary value vs. costs?)

“ Kirkpatrick’s evaluation approach has been traditionally used to evaluate classroom training and teaching, especially in the private, government, and military sectors. It is a straightforward approach that produces usable information for the trainer. The four levels of the approach are designed to obtain answers to commonly asked questions about training: Did they like it? Did they learn it? Will they use it? Will it matter?” (Simonson, 2007, pp. 7-8). I think this may get us looking out of different windows concerning assessments and instructional design. Learner-centered adult students are a good portion of the market that we will work in be it an institution of learning or a corporation doing training. How do you think these concepts apply to our discussion?

References

Brookfield, S. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kirkpatrick, D. (1994). Evaluating training programs: The four levels. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Phillips, J., Phillips, P., Duresky, L., & Gaudet, C. (2002). Evaluating the return on investment of elearning. In A.

Rossman, M. H. (2000). Andragogy and distance education: Together in the new millennium. New Horizons in Adult Education, 14 , (1).

Simonson, M. (2007). Evaluation and distance education: Five steps. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 8(3), 191–194.