Donald Sargeant
I worked in education for over 50 years. I taught in many countries, including Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Poland, USA, China, UAE, Russia, Moldova as a teacher, and teacher trainer
Location After wandering the globe I have returned to the UK and am now living in Cardiff
Activity
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This lecture says nothing on exactly how social science can help
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I am not a health professional and at present I live in Cardiff in Wales, where I am sure you know all about antibiotic prescription in this area. However, I have spent most of my life in developing countries where there often was little control of antibiotic prescribing. For example, I lived in the Sultanate of Oman in the late 1970’s where modern medicine...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I have learnt a great deal about vaccines and this led me to decide to join the Novavax trial for a Covid 19 vaccine. It is a double blind trial so though I have had one jab I don’t know whether I had the vaccine or the placebo, which is unfortunate as when I attended the clinic I was exposed to a staff member who the next day tested positive for Covid, so I...
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I was under the impression that all children were given BCG in the UK. I remember having it in the early 1950's. It was three small jabs in the upper arm. I still have the marks. Recently before I went a VSO volunteer to Cambodia I was again given a vaccination for TB.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Poor governance is often at the root of these crises. Venezuela like Zimbabwe are states that had efficient health services and educational services but which are now in disarray due to economic collapse led by increasingly corrupt governments which started off with good records. They are demonstrations how quickly countries can go from healthy societies to...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
It is sad to seem how quickly a disease can erupt and become epidemic in a community. When I visited Syria in about 2008 before the war it seemed to be a state that though repressive was making progress, but it all fell apart so quickly. I wonder how many states will suffer the same fate when the economic effects of this covid pandemic take hold and when the...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
We can still see in Afghanistan and Pakistan resistance to the polio vaccine which results in many children suffering from this disease. Even in the UK there is resistance and according to yesterday's news a young man called Sebastian has fallen out with his mother because she is spreading conspiracy theories that vaccines are sent to give sinister forces...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
The information I have gained will provide me with the knowledge needed to counter the arguments of anti-vaxers who unfortunately are present in many countries especially in some in the third world that I have worked in.
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I think education is very important to make sure that people keep up with vaccinations. As someone who worked abroad I had to get many vaccinations including yellow fever which when I first had it was in 1967 before I went to Kenya when the immunity was supposed to last ten years. Last year I had another before I went to Cambodia. `I said to the nurse well...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Are vaccines only possible against viruses, or can they be used against some bacterial infections? I know antibiotics do not work against viruses, though I am afraid many people don't realize this.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Have vaccines saved more than public health measures such as clean water and good sanitation? Is there statistical evidence to back up this claim?
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
What is the minimum level for herd immunity?
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I hope that this course will give both the pro vaccine and the anti vaccine positions. While I am a believer in the use of vaccines I think that we need to know the arguments of the anti vaccine groups in order to help refute their views.
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It is ironical that it was British laws in the Victorian era that made homosexuality illegal in many now former colonial territories.
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I am gay however if a religion does not want me because of my sexuality that is fine as far as I am concerned as I have no wish to join any religion as I do not believe that there is any greater power, though I am prepared to respect the beliefs of those who have a religion.
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I don't consider it a sin, but it is considered a sin by many religions. The distinction I was trying to make is that a crime is an act that is considered wrong by secular authorities while a sin is considered wrong by religious authorities
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Hi Ahmed I lived and worked in Al Ain for two years
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I am a retired university lecturer and teacher trainer who spent most of my career in development projects in Africa, Far East and Middle East where I saw the devastating results of diseases like polio, measles and smallpox which thanks to the WHO's vaccination campaign has been eradicated. Hopefully, polio will soon go the same way, but conspiracy theories...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I am looking forward to this course as a layperson, but one who tries to keep up with what is happening in the world of medicine. Three members of my family are doctors, while another is a radiologist, so I like to be informed so as to take an interest in their work. One of my nephews and his partner are part of the Oxford trial vaccine volunteers. I am...
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@MartynCoram Yes, I agree the scenarios do not give very much detail.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
This scenario does not say who is saying this. Is it a non-Muslim who is putting forward what he believes the Qur'an says, or is it a Muslim who is quoting from the Qur'an. First, I would in either case look at a Qur'an to find the relevant verse or verses. If the colleague is a Muslim I would ask him to explain it to me. If a non-Muslim I would suggest that...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I think that first I would want to find what was happening in the school. Many fairy tales contain what to many are imaginary beings and the child may be using her imagination to extend this and many children do create imaginary friends.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I think we need to be careful with what we say. When I was in my late teens I caused distress to my grandparents by advocating my atheistic views that there was no life after death. This is what I still believe but pressing these views on my old grandparents was unkind and unnecessary.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
One should always in my opinion try to understand the other person's point of view and not get into confrontational situations however much you disagree with their beliefs.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I have looked up on the internet and found a lot of information on Hassidic Judaism. When I attended a conference on English as a Foreign Language Teaching in Jerusalem in 1996 I had a number of Orthodox Jewish women attend my workshop. They were all very cooperative and in many ways had similar attitudes as far as I could see to the Muslim women I have taught...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
When reading you need to know the perspective from which the writer is looking at the subject.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
The internet can be a very bad choice for research, unless you know whether the source is reliable.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
What about male circumcision? Certainly adult males should have it done if they wish, but shouldn't male infants be given the choice?
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Donald Sargeant replied to Lynda White
@SarahLaneCawte When a schism happens you could claim that a new religion is formed
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I was in Sabah recently where the highest mountain in S.E.Asia, Mt. Kinabalu, is situated. This mountain is considered sacred by many of the local indigenous tribes. While I was there some Western climbers thought it would be fun to climb the mountain and strip and take photographs of themselves naked. This was very disrespectful of local customs and when an...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
As a teacher and teacher trainer in many countries I have had to make sure that I do not get involved in sensitive areas to discuss. I made it a policy to never discuss politics, religion or sex with my students.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I think one has to be very careful using the internet. These days it is so hard to tell what is fake news and what is as far as possible reliable and unbiased. You need to know the provenance of any item. For example, is it written by a name who you trust, is it a reputable website, like a respectable university. These days there is so much rubbish on the...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Female circumcision is banned in many countries, but infant male circumcision is allowed. As someone who was circumcised as an infant I would like to have had the opportunity to have a say in the matter.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
It must be very hard if you are brought up in a small closed community where most of the people are your relatives to break away. I am surprised that members were allowed to go to local schools as often cults like this one do try to keep their members sequestered from the wider world.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I don't see that all religions are dynamic. Some religions seem to have very rigid non changing rules. If religions are rigid they may split with the more rigid members breaking away to stick to the old rules. They are certainly examples of this, for example the split in the Roman Church after Vatican 2, where some members who were followers of Archbishop...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
The Jehovah Witnesses have many beliefs that put them into conflict with wider society. In Poland students at University had to take an oath to the State. Jehovah Witnesses are forbidden to take oaths. I had a student who worked with me in Poland who was not allowed to take his degree because of this. I tried to help him, but the authorities were adamant and...
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@DavidMast presumably you were invited to dinner with his family, in which case one would have expected him to treat you with respect. If he felt non Jews should not be at a Shabbat meal he should not have invited you.
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@AndrewWebb Listen to Alan Bennett's wonderful satire of a sermon on an obscure Biblical text. "My brother Esau was a hairy man, but I am a smooth man"
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Donald Sargeant replied to Sebastián Yuste
Some religions have killed people in the name of religion. The Inquisition in Spain.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Religion is often hijacked by unscrupulous politicians. One example is Trump who is supported by the Evangelical right wing in the USA. The irony is that Trump rarely attends Church, has been divorced twice, and certainly breaks the commandment about covetousness. Others are Modi in India. Blair could also be accused of hypocrisy in that he didn't convert to...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
As other participants have already said followers of these Abrahamic, or Ibrahamic religions have said their religious texts are seen as divinely given by their followers.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
The rise of the Ayatollahs in Iran owes a lot to the support the US and UK gave to the Shah's regime with its murderous Savak secret service that ruthlessly suppressed any dissent. My understanding is that throughout Iranian history the Shias were often tolerant, but the Shah's relentless pursuit of Western values and the rampant corruption of officials...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I think most major religions have got militant and more tolerant wings. Unfortunately, it is the militant fundamentalists who by their violent actions who get the publicity. Examples are the extremist Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, the few Isis militants, the right wing evangelicals in the USA, who support the NRA, the Orange Order in Northern...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I asked a Muslim friend of mine, an Ibadi Omani, whether Ibadis were Shia or Sunni and he said he just considered Muslims to be Muslims. Certainly Oman, an Islamic country is a very tolerant state, largely due to the rule of his late Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
What is the picture? I presume it a religious meeting house, perhaps Quakers or Mennonites.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Sunday 6th September. I have just been listening to the BBC Radio 4 'Sunday' programme which is 50 years old. This programme was designed to look at the role of religions in the world. Professor Simon Schama in a talk recalled that when he was an undergraduate a history professor said that one thing we could be sure of was that religion would not have a large...
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Donald Sargeant replied to Marybel MM
Alas there are some in the Jewish community in Israel that do not want to grant equal right to Palestinians, though I know that some of the harshest critics of the Netanyahu regime are Jewish both in Israel and outside.
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It is only recently that Christianity has become private and personal. If we go back to the Treaty of Westphalia we find that the Prince of the State in the Holy Roman Empire you lived in had the right to enforce his religion on his subjects.
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@AmjadMohamed-Saleem Martin Luther with his anti-semitic views and his support of the Princes in the Peasants Revolt was, in my view, certainly an extremist.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Christianity has a long history of killing those who were seen to be heretics. The Catholic Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand went back on their promise to the Moors of Andalusia that after the Christian conquest they would be allowed to practice their religion. Sir Thomas Moore, the author of Utopia, was an enthusiastic burner of heretics, yet he was canonized...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I would attend any religious ceremony if I was asked as long as it did not involve animal sacrifice, which might seem a little hypocritical as I do eat meat.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I taught women teachers in Saudi Arabia. As a man I couldn't teach them directly. I was in one room and was filmed and it was broadcast to the women in another room. I could hear them as I had an audio connection with them, but no video connection. They could see me, but I couldn't see them. In OMan where I also taught teachers I had both males and females in...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
When I lived in Muslim countries I was always careful to dress appropriately, which meant not showing too much bare skin. I also was careful to keep my distance from the opposite sex. I taught in the Sultanate of Oman where few women covered their faces and in class I could ask a woman to remove a complete face covering, but I never did this. In fact only one...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I am afraid that if many religious buildings were to be forbidden to tourists they would not get enough money to keep the buildings in a good state of repair. In the UK now many cathedrals charge admission to tourists, though you can still worship there for free though of course you are encouraged to make a contribution.
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I understand why someone might say 'Christianity is not for us'. I worked in Kenya and Papua New Guinea where missionaries sometimes destroyed cultural objects because they considered them pagan.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
All of them may have their roots in religious practice, but now most would appear to be cultural. Many people who practice these rituals or festivals may have no idea of their roots. How many people who practice Christmas these days have any knowledge of the Christmas story? I have celebrated Christmas in many countries and with friends who were Christian,...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I practice meditation but do not believe that it links me with any greater power other than my own mind. It is a time for me to be quiet and contemplate on my past present and future. At 75 I know that the future is necessarily limited and then there is nothing.
I do not say grace at meals but if others say it I will be respectful. I think it is good in the... -
Donald Sargeant made a comment
I wonder at the name 'World Religions' . Does this exclude animist religions which are practised probably by many more people than Sikhism, or Judaism. What about Shintoism which is only practised by Japanese but by far more people than Sikhism? What about religions like Manichaeanism or Zoroastarianism which at one time had large numbers of adherents, but...
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Donald Sargeant replied to Martyn Coram
Good advice which I also give to my students. Never use 'Everybody knows, Muslims are..., Jews are..., Christians aren't...' Make sure all your comments are evidence based. Don't make generalizations.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Religious wars nearly always have other roots as well as religion. This was certainly the case in Ireland when in the past he Protestant Ascendancy used the penal laws that were enacted against Catholics to bolster their own political position. Thankfully this is in the past now especially in the Republic, though in Northern Ireland some members of the...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I think that people should be allowed to dress in a way that is comfortable for them and doesn't cause grave offence to others. When I worked in Oman I could have asked women who came to class with full veil covering to uncover it from their face. I never did this as it didn't offend me and if it made the women more comfortable in class then I am happy. When...
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It may be sad but if the churches don't want them that should be their right and the gays would be far better off to steer clear of such homophobic religions
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There should be a difference between what is a sin and what is a crime. Some may be both, like murder or stealing, but sexual relations that are not coercive and are between consenting adults may be sinful but they should not, in my opinion, be considered crimes
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Donald Sargeant replied to Andrew Webb
There was a lot of religious objections to gay marriage. Personally I felt that marriage should be purely a religious matter, but that everyone should go through a civil ceremony. This would mean that gay people who wanted a marriage which was forbidden by their religion could go and form their own religion so that they could be married religiously. However,...
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Donald Sargeant replied to Theo Muller
In most countries female circumcision is banned, but male circumcision is legal and can be performed on male babies who cannot consent to the procedure. I understand that there have been attempts in some countries, Germany, I think is one, to make this illegal. This of course would be resisted by both Muslims and Jews.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I am a non believer who was born in the Republic of Ireland and brought up as a Presbyterian. In those days the Republic had a special place for the Roman Catholic Church, but other religions were tolerated. Now the primacy of the Roman Church has been destroyed by the abuse scandals and the state is much more secular, with gay marriages passed by a referendum...
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Henry would not have agreed with you that he became a Protestant. He always maintained that he was Catholic, but had reformed the Church in England of its abuses
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The Koran states that people of the Book, meaning in effect religions that existed long before Islam should be allowed in private to practice their faiths in private. However, unlike Muslims they had to pay a special tax. Today In the Sultanate of Oman, an Islamic State where the Ibadhi sect is the faith of the majority of Omanis, his late Majesty Sultan...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I worked as a volunteer teacher in Kenya during the 1960's. I was working in a mission school originally founded by the Mill Hill Fathers, a Roman Catholic order. In general the fathers, who were mostly Dutch, were tolerant of other beliefs, though the students, all male, were expected to attend mass every day. Lay members of staff, most of whom were not...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I am not a believer in any kind of greater force outside the laws of physics. However, if religion gives people a sense of purpose and makes them happy I have no objection to that as long as they don't try to force their ideas on me. I would like some definition of what spirituality means, as personally I do not feel I have any sense of this.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
A catchy song it may be but it left me rather cold. I could hardly make out the words before I read the transcript.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
England, not the United Kingdom, has an established religion. The Queen is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Church of Scotland, which is a Presbyterian is described as the National Church of Scotland, but unlike England the Queen is not head of the church. When in Scotland she attends services at the Church of Scotland.
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I find it very hard to understand why a Church like the Anglican Church which was established as a means for its founder, Henry VIII, to get rid of his first wife should have been so opposed to divorce. However, if you look at the history Henry VIII was never divorced. His marriages to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard were...
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As I mentioned in a previous comment many religions have a sacred language and some of these religions, like the Roman Catholic Church, moved away from the traditional language to the vernacular language. Nevertheless, other religions like Islam have maintained the sacred language as central to their worship and still manage to gain numerous converts.
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I hope this course will look at the difference between cult and religion. If a cult is defined by having a leader who believes himself or herself to be divine, then Christianity could be said to have started life as a cult
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I am not a practising Anglican, but I do like the the traditional services with the use of the Common Book of Prayer as originally written by Cranmer. However, this is a cultural preference, which I find comforting especially in a service in one of the great cathedrals. It seems to me, as an unbeliever, that many believers feel that they have to keep up with...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Yes I believe that religions do change, but change often leads to splits. Thus the reluctance of the Roman Catholic Church to change led to Protestantism, but though later the Roam Church changed especially after Vatican 2, there were some in the church who split away to form the Society of Saint Pius X, led by Archbishop Lefebvre, so you could say some...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
An enjoyable and interesting introduction though I would like to see more on earlier religions, such as those of Egypt, Greece and Rome as well as Celtic beliefs.
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Donald Sargeant replied to Marybel MM
@PaulaHalpin Yes, I agree. I lived in the Republic in the 1950's until I was 14. On recent return visits I have found a very different country. I am just reading 'Normal People', which illustrates to me how much the country has changed.
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Donald Sargeant replied to Theo Muller
I think that this is just what some Christians think and do. I am not religious, though I was brought up as a Christian. My cousin in Ireland is married to a sincere fundamentalist, who believes that the world was created in 6 days and that it is only around 6,000 years old. I have had many good humoured discussions with him. Though I find his beliefs strange...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I was brought up in the Republic of Ireland in the 1950's where it was assumed you were either a Catholic or a Protestant. Though the two communities were not as divided as there were in Northern Ireland, which as we know led to considerable violence though religion was not the only cause. As a protestant in the Republic we were a small minority and I am...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I have lived in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman. All are Islamic countries, but they are very different. Saudi Arabia is far more conservative. When I first went to Saudi Arabia in 1976 I had to provide a certificate of religion as it was forbidden to be an atheist. Yet you were forbidden to practice your own religion. This is...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I think that many religions or their followers anyway would quarrel with the view of the principles put forward here.
Religions are internally diverse
Religions encompass all aspects of human culture and behaviour
Religions are dynamic and changing.
Certainly many Christians would claim that their particular sect is the only true Christianity and this... -
Donald Sargeant made a comment
I was brought up as a Christian, though I no longer believe in it metaphysical aspects though a central tenet of Christ's teaching that you 'should love your neighbour' is I believe a good axion to follow in one's life. However, I cannot believe in the divinity of Christ and the resurrection, or the idea of eternal life. Indeed I remember having nightmares as...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
Yes, I think that the idea of 'World Religions' does imply a kind of hierarchy. As a child I remember reading Arthur Mees Encyclopedias which certainly put forward the idea that polytheistic beliefs were somehow inferior to monotheistic beliefs. Animists were certainly seen as very primitive.
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Donald Sargeant replied to C F
@CF I am not a religious person, though I studied Christianity earlier in my life. Certainly I have found knowledge of the bible a great help when reading a lot of English literature and of course a knowledge of the growth of Christianity is essential to understanding the history of many countries including the United Kingdom. I have also studied Islam but...
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I would suggest that many jobs do not say that you should not act as if your were not religious, rather they require you, in my view, not to let your own religious beliefs influence your judgements and work in such a way that they would infringe the religious beliefs of others. They in general insist that you should not proslytize.
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It is hard to say which religion is the most persecuted. If we count atheism as a religion it is probably the most persecuted as being an atheist is forbidden in some Islamic countries.
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Donald Sargeant made a comment
I found the questions easy and not surprising, though I would suggest that Islam is a rapidly growing faith and in the near future the number of its .followers are likely to surpass those who profess Christianity
