Christian suggestion

[David Bergdahl]

The anecdote about Christian business practices reminds me of an
experience I had teaching  Conrad's Heart of Darkness my first
year--1963--and we naturally explored what it meant for Marlow the
interior narrator of the tale to be compared to the Buddha.  One student
volunteered that just because he was a Buddhist that that  didn't mean
that he wasn't a Christian.  I explained that the Buddhists wouldn't
probably object to dual loyalties but that Christians certainly would. .
. but what I didn't understand was that for her Christian merely meant
"ethical person" and had little if any identification with any
institution.  In this manner the beginning teacher learns not to confuse
dictionary citations with what people mean. . .
____________________________________________________________________
David Bergdahl          http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~bergdahl
tel:  (740) 593-2783
366 Ellis Hall     Ohio University  Athens, Ohio 45701-2979       fax:
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