Dominos

The scientific revolution reminds me of the game of dominos, after one thing is discovered it paves the way for the next.  What is quite startling is how little we still to this day know about the surrounding area we live within, the solar system, even the extent of our own seas.  It is exciting to read about the scientific revolution and the journey it has lead us on even today.  As I read about Copernicus leading to Newton etc... it is amazing how these brilliant minds have paved the way for us to realize the world as we do now.  Still we have quite a bit of work to do, but extremely interesting regardless.

Fascination

I have always been fascinated with the path that Galileo took.  He was a man who revolutionized the way we view our position in space, and the consequences of this finding.  Also to add to the incredible feat that he set out and accomplished was his limited tools from todays standard.  With a little math, and extremely close attention to detail he was able to discover that the earth was rotating based on the positions of the stars, furthermore he was able to understand that the sun was set in a fixed location (we now know it as moving around the galaxy) and the earth was rotating around the sun.  Along with how amazing this all has become and the implications of his discovery, was his ability to get the word out to other people.  When there has been a discovery, it is interesting how relatively quickly a discovery spreads from one country to another.  Galileo having essentially to apologize for his discovery is a sad event in my mind.  It is my hope that we as a human race can strive to seek scientific discovery without the fear of mass rejection.  Of course that discovery must have proofs, but it is important to allow new findings shape and mold our future.

A different approach

In the essay entitled Poor Law there is a much different approach to looking at the poor.  When I come across a beggar in modern society I find much of myself sympathizing with this individual.  In fact I think most people would feel the same that I feel.  In this article they portray beggars as a lineage of harmful citizens.  These people are feeding of of the commonwealth ruining the economy by asking for something for doing nothing.  Today I see this act of begging as one of desperation, not of some act of choice.  Although there is much choice to be had in the act of begging even today, most beggars I would imagine are trying to get off of the streets begging as soon as possible.  This article addresses that these beggars in this day of age are making a complete living off of the trade, teaching their children the same craft.  The times may not be as different as I am thinking, perhaps this still is the way it is, however, still I will have empathy regardless it is a tough situation to put people in whether it is a form of living or not.  There is something to be said for their willingness to be exposed to the fact that they have nothing and there is no hope but to ask others for assistance, perfect strangers at that.

Civil War in England

I found an interesting parallel between our civil war in America and the civil war that occurred in England from 1642-1649.  One of the main parallels that I could derive was the fierceness of people to protect their way of life.  Many of these battles were over what the people thought to be moral grounds.  As these individuals went to war they were destroying their own civilizations, devastating their own people.  Yet because it was so tough for them to come to a compromise on how to properly run and control their governing body (members of parliament, and the King) war inevitably erupts.  In America one of the key factors for the South was to hold onto their way of living.  Large plantations fueled by black slaves.  England suffered a very similar threat on moral obligation.  As the North began to push back on the South, southerners realized this to be a direct threat on their economy, and way of life.  As there is much more detail in both the English civil war, and the American civil war, one main similarity I found was how we are not too different from our cousins across the pond. 

Wikipedia assignment #3

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Search Term: Martin Luther; Article Title: Martin Luther

Disambiguation Link: There is Martin Luther references as diplomat, musician, 1953 film, and resources, also linked is Martin Luther King

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This article highlights the life of Martin Luther the founder for the Lutheran church.  Martin Luther was a noted christian theologies who translated the bible for common people to read.  He shook the foundation of the modern church of his day by allowing those who typically did not have the opportunity to read the Bible the ability to read this profound book.

Schleitheim Confession

It is interesting how many separations there have been since the early formation of the church.  We have read a little bit about the prominence of the Catholic church, but now as the Calvinists, and the lutherans emerge there are more divisions rising amongst the church.  As differing views on the same text begin to rise, the words are not just simple words, but something to live and die for.  Because of the importance of the message to the nations of Europe, and the affiliation of their leadership to a certain religious affinity there is a lot of hostility towards groups who do not agree upon particular issues.  In the Anabaptist article they go into depth on certain critical issues to the church and their interpretation of the scripture.  One example being the practice of infant baptism.  As these questions become more hotly debated in this time, issues such as these begin to create a wedge between various sects of the church as we see within the 30 year war this type of conflict can easily get mixed with a political power, their quest for dominance, and their views on the Bible.

A Reforming Belief

Through the reformation it was interesting to see how many variables existed within debatable texts of Bible scripture.  It seems to me that when something was unclear people would simply insert their own opinions including that of the Pope.  This of course was quite dangerous due to the legitimacy of the Pope and how many people his views effected.  Even though there were quite a few disagreements there still was consistency in the text itself.  The Bible can be vague on certain pieces of scripture, however, that was most likely the intent.  For example when it is said render to Caesar that which is Caesars and to the Lord that which is the Lords.  This was referring to the question of taxes, and the validity of taxes.  Jesus did not state on all issues what is Caesars (government) and on all issues what is the Lord's so there is some variance in opinion.  One of the key points I derived from this section was the importance of the reformation and how crucial it has been even in our day that each person is able to read the Bible for themselves.  There is not an overruling power dominating the way scripture must be read, after all if that was only left up to the Pope some of the truth of the text would not arise.  The value and beauty of the Bible from a literacy stand point is how problems of text inevitably arise, but by talking about it the text comes to life just as much as it did to the first church.