Be careful birds aren’t watching you too closely—they might report back their findings to the government.
“How is it possible for birds to spy on you and share their findings?” you might ask.
Come on . . . isn’t it obvious? It’s because birds aren’t real!
Okay, just about everybody knows that birds are real animals created by God. But there are actually a few people in the world who think birds are instruments used for government surveillance. In fact, they’ve recently used marketing devices such as billboards to spread their message.
BBC News sent a camera crew to the conference to learn about the people who believe our planet is shaped like a frisbee instead of a globe.
Show your students the following video [4:01; stop at 0:57].
“Birds Aren’t Real” Campaign
- Suppose you met someone who believed birds aren’t real. What evidence could you present to convince them that birds are real? (Accept all reasonable answers, but try to keep the discussion from getting too silly.)
Let’s pretend for a minute that you’re the one who believes birds aren’t real. One of the best ways to overcome your doubt would be to do some research. What evidence is there for the belief you’re questioning? For example, can you find information about a bird’s anatomy in a science textbook? Yes—and this offers strong proof that birds are real creatures. Has anyone ever eaten chicken, a kind of bird? Yes, that happens all the time.
If time permits and your students are interested, let them check out the following website:
Digestive Anatomy and Physiology of Birds
People doubt many things—in fact, having doubts is part of being human. Some people question everything from whether men really landed on the moon to whether God is real.
- What are some doubts that you have? They can be about anything. (Allow your students to voice doubts about various subjects—including God and faith—without comment. This is a good time to evaluate where your students stand spiritually. You may want to voice a doubt of your own just to get things rolling. Saying something like “Sometimes I doubt God is listening when I pray” can help students understand that your classroom is a safe place to share.)
Today, we’re going to talk about some questions that a great man of faith had about Jesus. Let’s see what Jesus did to help him overcome those doubts.
