Volume 6-Lesson 14: The Story of Daniel Includes: Chain, Shining Figure Plaque, Golden Statue, Great Tree with Animals Plaque, Lion's den, Two wooden Lions, Daniel's Four Visions Plaques, Basket, Underlay, Icon mounted to wood w/velcro, wooden medium tray, control sheet.
BACKGROUND This lesson extends the lesson called ‚"The Exile and Return‚" (The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, Lesson 12). The despair that denies its own reality is impossible to cope with directly. Teaching "facts," biblical or otherwise, cannot accomplish the transformation of despair to hope when all the facts conspire to reinforce the unacknowledged despair. The hero stories of chapters 1-6 in Daniel and the apocalyptic visions of chapter 7-12 are ways to indirectly and symbolically present a whole new system of meaning to provide permission for the repressed despair to be named and the false goals of society to be challenged by a bright vision of the future. "Pie in the sky" and other utopian schemes, religious or secular, will not touch such despair, but hero stories about being true to one's deepest values despite the unworthy values promoted by political leadership, and visions of a hopeful future, might.
Information on changes: Dr. Cheryl Minor writes, "This story featured a long section describing Daniel's visions. We have beautiful images of the visions so felt we could greatly shorten those sections making this story much easier to learn".
