After years of home-schooling, my oldest son will embark into the NZ school system next year. And the very first thing he will be subjected to is a Maori religious ceremony, called a Powhiri.
Related links: Pōwhiri – the Māori welcome ~ NZ.com
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT ~ The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The pōwhiri signifies two groups coming together, negotiating the terms of their engagement and finishing with guests joining their hosts as one.Considering that we only believe in one God, this acknowledgement of "gods" disturbs me. I don't know if I can allow my son to participate as acknowleging other gods goes against the First Commandment:
It is a spiritual or religious journey where gods, heaven and earth are acknowledged, ancestors remembered and kinship ties reinforced. It is also when intentions are ascertained, issues debated and lobbying carried out.
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.Well, this is getting our entry back in the state schooling system off to an interesting start.
Related links: Pōwhiri – the Māori welcome ~ NZ.com
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT ~ The Catechism of the Catholic Church