Women's Scripture Study tonight

For the past two years, I have led our parish's Women's Scripture Study. It is something I really love to do and feel a little guilty for always volunteering to lead it, as I think I get much more out of it when I'm tasked with its preparation.

So, tonight begins our 2007-08 study. We will be finishing up Stacy Mitch's "Courageous" Series.


This year, we are covering the final book shown above, Courageous Virtue. It should be a very interesting topic as lately virtue is portrayed as antiquated behavior left only to goody-two-shoes, who when it comes right down to it (according to society today) are really just don't know how to have a good time. What is interesting, in my research about virtue in society today, is that schools in America are clamoring to instruct children about virtue and living a virtuous life, but wish to do so without the slightest mention of the scriptural origin of virtue. So now, we pander programs such as *character* education to grade-schoolers, with no moral compass attached. I understand where these programs are trying to go, but I'm not quite sure they ever get there.

What do you think? Can virtue be extracted from faith and still have meaning and understanding for children today? Or does it leave them with a half-baked notion of that virtue was crafted out of thin air? Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.