The Way the World Looked When Jesus Was Born
So the birth of Christ is not a fairytale, it is factual. Some do not believe that the baby born was the Savior of the world, but there are few who still dispute his birth. So, take a look at this map, and read the article. This transports us to a time when things were very, very different. How does reflecting on the world as it was at the time of Jesus's birth give credence to the argument that it is imperative that we learn Literature, History and Religion together? Use examples from the text. Your entry must be at least 350 words. You may use outside sources if you wish.
There has always been much controversy as to wether the biblical stories are true tales of events that has occurred many many years ago. In school we always learn of the history of America or the world but that is always in the American point of view and never the other countries. I can't help but wonder what history class would be like if we heard the other side of the story to WWII or the stories of the Berlin Wall. In World Cultures we learned of the Roman Empire and how that prosperous empire thrived and eventually declined. We learned of the philosophers and how they changed the Roman Empire for the better and expanded learning. Yet we do not learn of people like Strabo who lived in Amasia, read Aristotle, and wrote about our savior being born in truth and facts. He wrote of not only Jesus's birth but also of Moses by stating "He easily obtained possession of it, as the spot was not such as to excite jealousy, nor for which there could be any fierce contention; for it is rocky, and, although well supplied with water, it is surrounded by a barren and waterless territory." This shows the truth of the story of Moses to be factual in Strabos literature. I believe that literature, Religion, and History should be taught together in certain areas of study. Literature and Religion are huge parts of our faith because we are given many different versions of the Bible and of different works of literature that can show us the many ways Jesus lived. History can tell us what the different countries were like during Jesus's life and how the country might not have been stable for living at that time. These all taught together can give us a new perspective on the subjects and new perspectives on the way Jesus lived those 2000 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI like how you analyzed the literary significance of the Bible. And your interest in learning both sides to a story is really interesting. Well done
Deletenichole, i agree with you and have the same ideas of this piece. I enjoy how throughout your blog, you mentions and incorporated Jesus into just about everything. Good blog.
DeleteFirst, a disclaimer: I know that Jesus was a legitimate historical figure. We have records of his existence and we can never deny that a man by the name of Jesus was born historically in Bethlehem. The world he came from was so large and vast, yet so oddly contained. When I looked at he map of he area that Jesus lived in, it immediately reminded me of the map of Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings films. It just felt that that time period because of how everything was laid out and different types of people were contained to certain areas. And in reality, there was a biblical type story to those films. Their was sacred artifacts and a powerful being that was central to everyone's lives. When I see the map of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, I feel like I'm immediately transported to that area, much like I am with Lord of the Rings. The location is so vital, and it gives way to many other important aspects of life. Among these are literature, history, and religion. Religion and history go together in some very important ways. When we study where and when religions were born and those who started them (Martin Luther, Jesus, Muhammad the Prophet), we gain another piece to a huge puzzle that helps us better understand how everything came to be. The other imperative tie in to these to subjects is literature. Ancient writings and texts are everywhere, and a motorist of the time they revolve around a religious custom that belonged to an ancient civilization. When we take the historical facts combined with the religious customs of a certain area we can better understand the language of the texts and what they try to tell the people of the future. We have to teach people all three subjects, whether they are religious or not. No matter which denomination you belong to, it is imperative that you acknowledge the existence of other faiths. Their accuracy to you is not your business, unless you can express your opinion without denouncing the faith as a whole. When we learn this three things together, we become a step closer to truly understanding the planet we call home. There are so many things we have yet to understand, and hour historical and religious texts are the key to helping us gain more knowledge of the world.
ReplyDeleteNick, although your beliefs differ from others of this class, I enjoy your take of this weeks blog. Your experience between this map and that of Lord of the Rings added a nice touch to your point about the biblical relations to the series. Well done.
DeleteI can definitely agree with Emily! I can appreciate that you took this blog in a different approach.
DeleteWhile growing up in a catholic school, it is inevitable that students learn the (true) story of the birth of Christ. However, as stated not everyone believes or takes the time to comprehend the faithful change in our world that has saved the human race. While reading the article from Sarah Laskow on "How The World Looked When Jesus Was Born According to Roman Geographers", it struck me as odd as the map looks nothing like it does in the 21st century. Although, while reviewing this map, I recognized a few places such as Roma, Sicilia, Carthago, Italia, and Celtica due to my three years enrolling in Latin. During class we discussed the certain historical occurrences of this time, place, and religion. Further, it's extremely important that the integration of foreign languages into a school curriculum is necessary. Not only does a foreign language, Latin for example, allow individuals to learn the culture and words of this time, but in situations such as this, it allows people the opportunity to relate topics like the birth of Jesus to a language such as Latin; the language of the Roman Catholic Church. A few months ago, I debated on the importance of catholic classical education and why it should be the selection of curriculum for ECC. While reading this article and stumbling upon Strabo learning rhetoric, grammar, philosophy, and mathematics, it made me realize that the important aspects of learning he focused on, are the same aspects classical education does as well. Incorporating these subjects into learning provides the curriculum to build a well rounded student with a vast variety of knowledge that can be called upon during necessary times. While studying the importance of our history, we can also involve the religious standpoint and focal points of a particular era. It is nice attending a catholic school because we can freely discuss how the importance of faith and religion had an impact on our worlds adaptations and advancements in history, literature, and language arts. For my two real life examples are proof. Through enrolling in Latin, I have learned about the religious importance of the language as well as the historical background of the era and how it still has an impact of this century. Also, by studying a curriculum that focuses on the academic importance of relating history, philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, and religion as a whole.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I really like your personal approach at the beginning by telling a little bit about yourself, and then you got into the rest of the blog! Great job!!
DeleteIt is pretty amazing to see how different the world has become since the time of Jesus. I find it even more amazing to that there was someone like Strabo who was able to record the world at that time. Strabo recorded historic Jewish people and the geography of the world. To do his research on geography, Strabo spent some time in Egypt, around the south to Ethiopia, west to Italy, and to Armenia. He was the "most widely traveled geographer" during his time. Not only was Strabo was a geographer, but he also taught Aristotle while he studied the art of rhetoric, grammar, and philosophy. Strabo was an extremely well rounded in his education, and he is a great example of why learning history, religion, and literature all together helps to better understand the world around us. Literature helps researchers write down their findings just like Strabo did. Without literature, we would have had no idea what the world was like before our time. Literature also helps us become stronger in our faith because the Bible, the Ten Commandments, and the lives of the saints are all tied into literature and are all crucial parts to our religion. Even though history is one of my least favorite subjects in school, it is still a very important aspect of life, and can be learned and taught with the help from literature and religion. Just think about our Cultures class. Many of us neglect our textbooks, but they are our main resources to learn about the past. In class, we are actually learning about religion and how it helped the development of the world. Religion is not only for theology class, but it also helps us to fully understand a different time periods. Religion is a major aspect to history and cultural development because it is the foundation for everything. I was just talking about this with my mom last night and I realized that there are not many things in life that can not go back to religion. By learning literature, history, and religion together the world will make more sense and will help us fully understand how world is all connected.
ReplyDeleteI like how even though you say you're not a fan of history, you still see the importance. Many people take a subject they don't like and just call it useless. I like the optimism
DeleteConsidering the low level of technology in the time before and during the period Jesus was alive, it is amazing the level of detail these people could record about he land. They could not type out a detailed essay or draw a detailed picture and save the results to an iCloud account for later reference. People like Strabo had to be well educated in all aspects. The article tells us, "Strabo would have learned rhetoric, grammar, and philosophy, the most commonly taught subjects of the time; read Aristotle; and studied mathematics." Being educated in this time was no easy feat. Everything was handwritten on special paper or taught by word of mouth alone. For us today, knowing the type of literature the people of a certain time period were exposed to will help us understand what knowledge they were exposed to. Along with literature, we have history. Without people like Strabo, we wouldn't have information to learn about the way people lived and the different geography they were surrounded by. Through the way Strabo wrote his information down, we have an insight into the way people looked at the world back then. The people of that time looked at the globe as if it was "divided into five sections, with two cold bands on either end, two temperate bands, and one hot and “torrid” band at the very center." There are also places during the time of Jesus as one name, and we know the area as something else today. During the time of Jesus, "the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, modern-day Israel and Palestine, barely rated." The last piece of this puzzle is religion. Religion is connected to the literature and history of the certain time period. According to the article, "Essentially, Jesus of Nazareth lived in an unstable place, far from any center of power–just the sort of place where people might be particularly interested in a new religious vision for how to navigate the turmoil of the world." With this piece of information, we learn about why certain groups of people may have had the feelings they did. Without typing religion, literature, and history together, we cannot fully understand the events and actions of people.
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