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TOPIC 1: FAITH
Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.
Importance of faith to us,
It enables us to;
- do great things
- fulfill promises
- have hope
- be patient
- be courageous
- be obedient
- be trustworthy
- believe without seeing
Faith with the following values
- Perseverance-continuing to do something in spite of the problems.
- Trustworthiness-being honest and sincere.
- Reliability-the state of behaving in away one is expected of.
Faith in Christianity is based on the work and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Faith is an act of trust and reliance.
Activity
- What is faith?
- Give four ways how faith is important to Christians
- Mention three values of faith
- Why do people believe that God exists yet they have never seen him?
- What aspect did Thomas lack when he doubted Jesus’ resurrection?
Some people of great faith in the Bible
Abraham
- His first name was Abram and his wife’s was Sarai
- His father was Terah
- God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah after calling them.
- The name Abraham means father of many nations
- Abraham’s wife Sarah was barren for a long time so she gave her maidservant called Hagar to Abraham.
- Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Later Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac.
- Hagar was sent away when Sarah got a baby.
- Isaac married Rebecca and got two sons Esau and Jacob.
- God tested Abraham’s faith in him in different ways and he accepted to do everything God had told him to do.
- He accepted to sacrifice his only son Isaac.
- He accepted to leave his land of Haran and go to the promised land of Canaan.
- He made a covenant of circumcision with God
Promises God made to Abraham
- To make his name great
- To bless him
- To give him many descendants
Activity
1. Who was the father of Abraham?
2. What was Abraham’s first name?
3. What does the name Abraham mean?
4. What problem did Abraham and Sarah face in their marriage for long?
5. Who was the first born son of Abraham?
6. Mention three ways how Abraham demonstrated his faith in God
7. Identify tree promises God made to Abraham
8. Give two lessons Christians learn from Abraham
Moses (Exodus 3-7)
- The Israelites had gone to Egypt due famine in Israel during the time of Joseph
- They became very many and made Egypt over populated
- The king of Egypt (pharaohs) tried to control the population growth of Israelites.
- They ordered the midwives to killany boy child born by a Hebrew mother.
- The midwives did not act according to these orders in fear of annoying God
- It was during this time that Moses was born
- His parents were Amram (father) and Jochebed (mother).
- The put Moses in a basket and placed it in the reeds along R.Nile
- The king’s daughter who had come to bath picked Moses
- The name Moses means pulled out of water
- Moses later escaped to Median after killing an Egyptian. He took care of Jethro ‘s sheep and married Zepporah(daughter of Jethro)
- While in Median, God called him to lead his people out of slavery from Egypt.
- God appeared to him in form of a burning bush on mt. Horeb and Moses wentcloser to it, removed his sandals and followed all instructions God gave him as he spoke from a burning bush.
- He accepted to leave Midian and go back to Egypt where he was wanted for killing an Egyptian.
- God assured him that he would be with him and would give him what to speak and when.
- His faith and courage made him to go and face the king to lead the Israelites to the promised land
- Moses was a stammerer and was given Aaron his brother to speak on his behalf.
Reasons why God chose Moses too lead the Israelites out of Egypt
- He knew Egypt and the language of Egyptians.
- He was a good leader.
- He was himself a Hebrew, so the Hebrews would obey him.
He died before reaching the Promised Land on mountain Nebo because he disobeyed God.
He was succeeded by Joshua who led the Israelites across river Jordan into the Promised Land.
Only Joshua and Caleb managed to reach the Promised Land from Egypt
Activity
1. Why had the Israelites gone to Egypt?
2. Why did the king of Egypt order the mid wives to kill the baby boys born by any Hebrew woman?
3. What does the name Moses mean?
4. What was the work of Moses before he was called to lead the Israelites?
5. How was Aaron helpful to Moses?
6. Give three reasons why God chose Moses to lead the Israelites
7. How did Moses demonstrate his faith inGod?
8. Name the two people who reached the Promised Land from Egypt?
9. Give one way how Moses disobeyed God during Exodus?
DANIEL (Dan 6:1-28)
Daniel was a man who loved God very much. As a result, king Darius of Babylon appointed him one of the supervisors of his governors. Later, the king made him the administrator of the whole kingdom. All that happened because Daniel had faith in God and was reliable. The governors and the supervisors, however never liked Daniel. This was because he was an upright man. The governors and supervisors planned to have Daniel persecuted falsely. They advised he king to sign an order which said that no one would be permitted to request anything from God or from any man except king Darius.Whoever would disobey that order would be put in a den of lions.
However, Daniel refused to obey the king’s order; he knelt down and prayed to God three times a day. As a result, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den as a punishment. When Daniel came from the den unhurt, the king was overjoyed and instead he ordered for the governors to be thrown into the den with their wives and children. It was Daniel’s faith that saved from lions. It was again Daniel’s faith that made him to disobey the order to worship the King.
Activity
1. Name the king who ordered for Daniel to be thrown in the den of lions
2. Why was Daniel thrown in the lion’s den?
3. Why did the governors and supervisors hate Daniel?
4. How did Daniel demonstrate his faith in God?
5. How did Daniel’s faith save him from lions?
6. How did the king punish the people who had accused Daniel falsely?
Famous saints and martyrs of great faith
A saint is a person honored by the church after death because they have been very good or holy. A martyr is a person who dies because of his faith in God.
St. Stephen (Acts: 6; 8-15, 7)
- He was the first Christian martyr in the Bible.
- He was a man of full faith as well as the holy spirit
- He was a very good preacher of the word of God.
- However, some people did not like his sermons because he was preaching in Jesus ‘name. They lied that he was talking badly about Moses and God.
- He was arrested and stoned to death
- Before his death, while being stoned he continued to pray and asked God not to hold sin against them.
St. Perpetua
- He was born in Carthage today found in Tunisia
- Carthage was under the Roman Empire.
- The Romans blamed problems like foreign attacks, poverty, and high prices on Christians’ failure to worship the Roman Emperor and gods.
- The Roman rulers decided to imprison all Christians who continued to worship God. Some were killed.
- Although Perpetua knew that Christians were killed and imprisoned he continued being committed to God.
- She accepted to die other losing her faith in God
- She was imprisoned and later thrown in the den of lions that ate her up.
ACTIVITY
1. Give the meaning of the following terms
- A saint
A martyr
2. Who was the first Christian martyr in the Bible?
3. Why was Stephen stoned to death?
4. How did Perpetua meet her death?
5. Identify ways how the following people demonstrated faith in God
a) St. Stephen
b) St. Perpetua
St. Mbaga Tuzinde
- He was born in Wakiso district.
- His father was a great friend of Mukajjanga (king’s chief executioner) and grew at Mukajjanga’s home.Mukajjanga helped him to become a page. A page is a young man employed in the king’s palace to do different things.
- -Tuzinde converted to Christianity.
- When the Christian converts were bound and taken to Namugongo to be burnt, Mukajanga tried to persuade him to reject Christianity so that his life is spared but he refused. His relatives were also brought to persuade him but he refused
- He was separated from his friends at Namugongo with the hope that he would denounce his faith but he didn’t change his mind.
- He continued to pray alone and joined his colleagues happily and was burnt alive with others.
Uganda Martyrs
- The first Christian missionaries arrived in Uganda in 1877 and another group in 1879 to preach the word of God.
- The first people to convert were the pages in the palace of the kabaka of Buganda.
- After converting to Christianity, they started to refuse to obey some satanic orders from the king which were against their faith.
- They were regarded as being rebellious to the king’s orders.
- They were told to denounce their faith in God or else would be killed.
- However, they refused and decided to die for their faith.
- Some converts were killed in different places but the massive killing was done at Namugongo on 3rd June 1886.Kabaka Mwanga ordered for their death because they disobeyed his orders.
- Because of the strong faith they had, they were singing as they were being burnt. Today these are Uganda martyrs.
- The Uganda martyrs were canonized (made saints) by Pope John Paul VI who visited Uganda in July 1969.
Activity
1. Who is a page?
2. How did Mbaga Tuzinde show great faith in God?
3. Why were the Uganda martyrs killed?
4. Name the place where the massive killing of the Uganda martyrs took place
5. Name the king of Buganda who ordered for the killing of the Uganda martyrs
6. Who was the chief executioner of the Uganda martyrs?
7. Why is 3rd June celebrated in Uganda every year?
8. What lesson do we learn from the Uganda martyrs?
FAITH IN AUTHORITY
Authority is the power to give orders or enforce rules to people. This power is held either by an individual person like President, groups of people like the police, teachers and parents or written documents like the constitution
The Constitution as an authority
- A Constitution a set of laws governing a country
- All people in the country, be it in government, military, police and civilians must obey the constitution.
- All decisions, orders and laws made in accordance with our constitution must be trusted and respected to be able to develop our country and to maintain peace and security
- Our constitution is called the 1995 constitution of the Republic of Uganda.
- We need to have faith in our constitution as a supreme law of the country.
- The constitution is important in that
- It promotes rule of law.
- It guides leaders
- It protects the rights of people
- It helps in peaceful change of government.
The Electoral Commission as an authority
- It is the body responsible for organizing the national elections in Uganda.
- It is headed by the chairperson (Eng. Hajji Badru Kiggundu)
- As Christians we need to have faith in the electoral commission by obeying the orders and laws that regulate elections. This will enable us have no violence during and after elections
Functions of the Electoral Commission
- To register eligible voters
- To update the voters register
- To create polling stations.
- To declare election results.
- To carry out civic education to the voters.
Our Role As Christians During Elections
- People who have reached the age of 18 should register for Elections.
- Report people who have registered for elections when they are below the age of 18 yrs.
- Never allow to be given money or material items in exchange for your vote.
- Never take part in election rigging like ballot stuffing or voting twice for the same candidate.
- Never remove the displayed electionposters of candidates
Activity
- What is authority?
- What is a national constitution?
- Why should we have faith in our constitution?
- What is the name of the current constitution of Uganda?
- Give two ways how a constitution is important to Uganda
- Mention the main duty of the electoral commission?
- Why should people have faith in authority of the electoral commission?
- Give two ways in which Christians can help the electoral commission in performing its duties
Faith and perseverance
Faith can not exist without perseverance.
To persevere means to continue trying to do something in spite of problems one may face. -faith is like araceand one has to persevere in order to win it
We need to realize that in our day today life there are things which go hand in hand;
-Giving birth and experiencing pain.
-Human life and feeding. Without feeding one cannot have life.
– Working hard to attain education.
Having faith in God may involve some problems and there is need to endure
Faith as a weapon
To Christians faith is both a weapon and protector.
In case of problems Christians should just pray to God (Proverbs30:5, Ps91:1-6)
Types of values people need today
Values refer to the qualities which are considered important and desirable.
There are four common categories of values i.e. universal values, cultural values, family and personal values.
- Personal values;
-decent dressing
-neatness and tidiness.
-co-operation
- Family values:
-honesty
-being God fearing
-obedience
-being respectful to elders
The family is responsible for teaching children what is right and wrong long before there are other influences. Every child is a reflection of his or her parents.
Activity
- What is is perseverance?
- Why is perseverance important to a faithful Christian?
- How is faith similar to a race?
- How is faith a weapon to Christian?
- What are values?
- Mention two
a) Personal values
b) Family values
7. Why is the bad behavior of John a p.3 child blamed on his family?
TOPIC 2; CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
FACTS ABOUT ISLAM
Why do we worship God?
- To worship means having deep respect and honor or devotions to somebody or something.
- Muslims worship one God called Allah.
- The religion followed by Muslims is Islam.
- Islam means total submission to the will of Allah.
Reasons why we worship God
- God commands us to worship Him and Him only.
- God is our creator and provider.
- We worship God to go to heaven(Janna)
History of Islam
- It was the first foreign religion to be introduced in Uganda.
- It was introduced by Arab traders in Uganda in 1844 led by Ahmed Bin Ibrahim.
- These Arab traders were welcomed by Kabaka Suuna 11
- The history of Islam mainly rotates around Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H)
Activity
- What is worship?
- Give the meaning of the term Islam
- Who is the founder of Islam?
- Give two reasons why we should worship God
- What was the first foreign religion to be introduced in Uganda?
- Who was the first Arab trader to come to Uganda?
- How is the coming Arabs connected to Islam in Uganda?
- Name the king of Buganda who welcomed the first Arab traders
The life of prophet Muhammad(PBUH)
- The Islamic religion was started by Prophet Muhammad
- The name Muhammad means the praised one
- He was born in Saudi Arabia in a city called Mecca in 570 A.D.
- His father was Abdullah and Amina was his mother.
- He lost both parents when he was still young.
- He lived with his grandfather Abdul Mutaliib after the death of his mother.
- He lived with his uncle Abu Talib after the death of his grandfather.
- At the age of 25yrs he married Khadijaha rich widow who had employed him to lead her trade missions.
- At the age of 40yrs, duringRamadhan, while praying on Mt. Hira he received the revelation of the Qur’an from Allah through Angel Jibril. This night when this happened is called the night of power or Laylat-ut-qadr.
Activity
- What does the name Muhammad mean?
- Name the country where Prophet Muhammad was born
- Who were the parents of prophet Muhammad?
- Name the city in which prophet Muhammad was born
- How was Abu Mutalib important in the life of prophet Muhammad?
- Who was the first wife of Prophet Muhammad?
- How is mt. Hira important to the history of Islam?
- What was the work of Muhammad before he became a prophet?
- Why is angel jibril important in Islam?
The beginning of Islam
- As soon as Muhammad received the revelation, he started to preach to the public
- However, most people refused in Mecca refused join the new religion and continued to worship their gods.
- He preached against their gods and was hated by the Meccan pagans wanted to kill him.
- He fled to Medina in 622 AD in a journey called Hegira. It marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Medina became the first Islamic state.
- Muhammad later introduced Islam in Mecca through military force.
- He died in 632A.D and was buried In Medina
- Today is a holy city each ableMuslim must visit at least once in her/his life time.
- A man who has visited Mecca is called Hajji while a woman is called Hajjat.
- The headquarters of the Muslim faith in Uganda is at old Kampala hill.
- The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) unites Muslims in Uganda.
- The UMSC is headed by the person with a title of Mufti.
- The current Mufti is Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje
Activity
1. Why did the people of Mecca hate the message of Prophet Muhammad?
2. How did Muhammad prevent persecution in Mecca?
3. What is Hegira?
4. What historical event marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar?
5. Name the city where Prophet Muhammad was born
6. What title is given to a Muslim man who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca?
7. How is the UMSC important tomuslims in Uganda?
8. What title is given to the leader of Muslim community in Uganda?
9. How did Muhammad introduce Islam in Mecca?
Muslim beliefs and practices
Muslims have got a set of things (pillars) that they religiously practice.
THE QUR’AN
- The Quran is a holy book for Muslims and it is compared to the Bible for Christians.
- The word Quran means recitation.
- The Qur’an is filled with God’s direct speech and is a source of divine guidance.
- The Qur’an has 30 chapters with 144 surahs and 6666 verses.
Other religious books in Islam
- Tauret/Torah; was revealed to Musa/Moses
- Saur/Psalms; was revealed to Prophet Dauda
- Injir(Gospels); This is the holy book revealed to Prophet Isa(Jesus)
The Dos and Don’ts about the Qur’an
- Nothing should be put on top of it.
- It should be covered and kept away from dust.
- Its content must not be despised.
- Before touching it one must have washed his/her hands.
- A woman in menstruation must not read it.
The Pillars of Islam
- Daily recitation of the creed (shahadat).It is the same as the apostle’s creed in Christianity.
- Praying five times a day(swallah)
- Paying alms(Zakat)
- Fasting during the month of Ramadhan(saum)
- Making a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Activity
- Name the holy book for Muslims
- What does the word Qur’an mean?
- Name the Prophet to whom the Qur’an was revealed
- Which holy books were revealed to the following people;
- Musa
- Isa
- Prophet Moses
- Write down two dos about the Qur’an
- Which pillar in the Islamic faith talks about helping the needy?
- Why do Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca?
- Why is a woman in her menstruation period exempted from prayers?
- What title does a man attain after visiting making a pilgrimage to Mecca?
- How long is the fasting period for Muslims?
Common beliefs and practices
Similarities between Christianity and Islam
Practices
- Both fast as a sign of sacrifice.
- Both make holy journeys or make holy pilgrimages.
- Both give zakat/alms.
- Both celebrate holy days e.g. Christmas, Idd-Aduha.
- Both communicate to God through prayers.
Beliefs
- Both believe in one God.
- Both believe in angels e.g. Gabriel.
- Both believe in holy books.
- Both believe in prophets.
- Both believe in the Day of Judgment.
- Both believe in life after death.
Differences between Christian and Islam
- The holy book for Christians is the Bible while Muslims ‘holy book is the Qur’an.
- Christian believes that Jesus is a son of God while Muslims believe He was a prophet.
- The church/chapel is the holy place for Christians while the mosque is for Muslims.
- Christians fast for 40 days while Muslims fast for 29 OR 30 days.
- Christianity does not support polygamy while Muslims may marry up to four wives.
- Christians enter the church with shoes while Muslims remove their shoes before entering the mosque.
- Christians do not have special wear for prayers while Muslims have special wears for prayers.
Practices of democracy Uganda
Democracy is a system of governance based on the principle of majority decision making.
The word democracy comes from a Greek language meaning people
Ways how democracy works in Uganda
- Public involvement in politics.
- Rule of law which means that everyone is under the law.
- Free ,fair and justified elections
- Respect for human rights
- Having checks and balances of people in authority.
- Multi party politics
Islamic and Christian beliefs in comparison to the principles of democracy
- Human dignity is very important in providing guidance for the right way of life.
- Islam also supports having several candidates just as Caliph Umar nominated six people from whom the followers had to choose a caliphate to succeed him.
- The legislature serves like the Qur’an and sunna that provide general principles and certain rules.
- Political parties are important in politics as they help people form different political views.
Relationships
- -Both Islam and Christianity value relationships.
- -relationship means the connection between two or more people or groups and their involvement with one another.
- -We relate with people as friends, relatives, tribe mates, school mates.e.t.c.
Behaviours that destroy relationships
- Being abusive
- Being selfish
- Being a hypocrite
- Being unfaithful
- Considering yourself superior.
Ways of sustaining good relationships
- Be honest with your partner(s) at all times.
- Communicate whenever something is bothering you.
- Always insist on win-win solutions
- Keep communicating until the problem is successfully resolved.
- Deal with problems well before they get worse.
Activity
- What do we mean by the word relationship?
- Write down two ways of maintaining good relationship
- As a primary five pupil, what things can you do that can destroy you relationship?
- Write down two activities that strengthen relationships in;
- Islam
- Christianity
- What is democracy?
- How is democracy practiced in your school?
- Write down two common practices among Christianity and Islam
- Write down two common beliefs among Christianity and Islam
TOPIC3: GOD”S WORDS FOR US.
The Bible and different ways of teaching the truth.
-The Bible is the holy book for Christian.
– it has two parts i.e
- The old testament
- The new testament
-The are 66 books in the Holy Bible.
-There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.
-testament means an agreement or covenant.
- Pentateuch/Torah/The law
These are the first five books of the Old Testament namely;
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
These books were written by Moses.
- History books
- Joshua Chronicles
- Judges Ezra
- Samuel 1 &2 Nehemiah
- Kings 1 & 2 Esther
- Poetry and wisdom books
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of songs
- Books of Prophets
Isaiah, Jeremiah,Lamentations,Ezekiel,Daniel,Hosea,Joel,Amos,Obadiah,Jonah, Micah,Nahum,Habakkuk,Zephaniah, Haggai,Zecharia and Malachi
- The new testament
-It starts with the Gospel books.
-These are the first four books of the New Testament and they are;
- Matthew written by St. Matthew
- Mark written by St. Mark
- Luke written St.Luke
- John written by St. John.
The Epistle
Epistles are letters that were written by different authors.
-They were written by some apostle in the Bible.
-They are 22 in number and were written to solve problems amongst the early Christians in different parts of the world.
-Most of these letters were written by Paul
-The last book in the New Testament is known as Revelation.
Some ways in which the Bible is unique (different) from other books.
- It was written by different authors.
- It was written at different times
- It is one book with the same religious beliefs.
- It has salvation content.
- It is a word of prophecy.
A prophet is a person who foretells God’s messages to His people. He is inspired to proclaim the truth.
Reasons why we need to read the Bible
- To get knowledge about God.
- To get guidance and advise on different daily aspects.
- To get protection from Satan.
- To get right spiritual direction to flow.
- To raise God our creator.
- To follow the examples of the Bible saints.
Ways of reading the Bible
- Silent individual reading.
- Individual loud reading.
- Group silentreading.
- Group loudreading.
- One person reading while others listening.
Ways of studying the Bible
- Attending Bible studies.
- Reading the Bible daily.
- Attending church services or mass.
- Meditating from what you have read.
- Praying for God’s guidance in studying the Bible.
Our response to the Bible
Ways of applying what we have read
- Our daily action should be guided by God.
- We should love other people as we love our selves.
- We should love God with all our hearts and soul.
- We should live a prayerful life.
NPPS/TERM ONE/2017/ WILSON & MUGWERI