| I do not envy you your position.
First, I'd ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit. I guess that's a given. Also use your resources, like apologetics or the local priest. The others gave pretty good answers for the rest. Once in a while you'll get students who ask razor sharp questions. But I liked that one who answered with reminding the kids about the times that those people lived in. There was no mass media, there was no studies in psychology. There was no democracy. People were guild members, there were SUCH strict rules for them that anyone caught stealing a certain argyle sock pattern was PUT TO DEATH!!!! There were slaves there were servants there was horse buns piled in the streets. There was no sewer systems. People had very peculiar ideas about how babies were formed. They believed in "humours" and did not understand lead poisoning.
Putting it in context always helps. Perhaps playing some music from that era would help too. They had "estampie" and jongulars, troubadours etc who went from town to town. There was the very real danger of barbarians who could come in at any time and steal rape and pillage your town. Times were harsh. Then the plague came, not once, but twice. Almost 2/3's of Europe was devastated.
Oh yeah, and no one mentions that Catholics were persecuted even then. That they worked the land really grated on the nerves of the local pagans. (wasn't that the Albigensian heresy? IDK I'm starting to get out of my league here....
Maybe show them a video of Cadfael. I really liked that series. It may be a tad too grown up for 13 year old though.  |