Jesus Compared to Earlier Religions

Jesus was preaching to his listeners that if they did good to others, they would be rewarded with Heaven after death.  This was similar to the moral teachings of Zoroastrianism, Buddhist karma, and Hindu karma because they all taught that people would be rewarded after death for being an overall good person in their lifetime.  In Daoism, people are told how to be good people and to follow the path of righteousness, whereas Jesus is not explicitly saying how to be a good person and is making them think for themselves.  Jesus was not telling people to give up worldly pleasures as Daoism did, either.  Socrates questioned truth throughout his lifetime.  Jesus preached that the truth came from God.  These two individuals differed in the fact that, Socrates, who never fully believed in the truth, is the opposite of Jesus, who received the truth to spread from God.

Revised

Brutus and Cassiuss killed Caesar for  power. Augustus glorified himself to show power. The Roman emperors were not called monarchs, but it is how the empire was run.

Why Empires Form

Empires form after a case of turmoil or chaos within the region or state.  What sometimes happens after the anarchical period is that a person gaining power steps in and declares rule over smaller territories.  They then proceed to continue their expansion to obtain more power.  For example, Qin Shihuangdi of China did this in the late 200's BCE.  He took control over China because he was able to step into power and enforce his family's rule.  Another example of a man uniting a common people is Chandragupta Maurya of India.  He came to power to fill the power vacuum left by Alexander of Macedon after he and his troops left India.  Chandragupta became the first Indian Emperor, and spread Indian influence by conquering neighboring peoples.  Rome followed a different course in becoming an empire; instead of there being a power struggle, there was a lack of one.  The lower class plebs refused to fight for the rest of the Romans.  Therefore, the Roman ruling class decided to have delegates to voice the issues of the lower class citizens.  Because of this, Rome became more united.  With their unity came a spread of their power to neighboring peoples.  Thus, the Roman Empire was formed due to a sense of unity among people of all social classes, providing power to the city to expand outside of Italy.

Brutus and Cassiuss killed Caesar who was gaining power. Augustus is glorifying himself, showing the mindset of rulers. The Roman emperors were not called monarchs so there was no total power, but that is how the empire was run.

Roman Expansion 146BCE-117CE

The PowerPoint shows the expansion of the Roman Republic. Within 260 years, they conquered almost all of the Mediterranean region.

The Murder of Tiberius Gracchus

The empire is being illogical in this passage. He tried to help the farmer class by trying to out land, but the ruling class saw this as an attempt to gain power.

The Twelve Tables, c. 450 BCE

The Twelve Tables provided the structure of The Roman Republic. It was more reasonable in punishments than other areas of the world, but would be difficult to enforce on an empire.

Wikipedia vs. Textbook: Buddhism

Wikipedia and the textbook both had there advantages and disadvantages in researching the origin, dharma, and goal of Buddhism, along with the role that karma plays.  With Wikipedia, my partner, Josh Rosenberg, and I were able to search for key words with the toolbar and find what we were looking for without having to read or skim through the whole page.  It was harder to look for certain information in the textbook because searching for key words can not be done the way it is on computers and iPads.  The facts that we used from Wikipedia were very similar, if not the same, as to what was in the reading from the textbook.  The major problem with Wikipedia was that there were not sufficient details about dharma, the guidelines for Buddhism; however, the textbook was able to fill in any missing details.  I would not recommend or prefer either source over the other.  Wikipedia is much faster and easier than the textbook.  It also is much more convenient than the textbook.  The textbook goes into greater detail about all the factors of Buddhism.  Also, with the textbook, everything will be there and major points will not be left out.

Caste System, Confucianism, and Zoroastrianism

According to the Bhagavad Gita, a person in society should live to their fullest potential and do as they please, while still remaining in their designated place in society.  Somebody in the caste system must battle and die honorably, or they will become a victim of infamy.  Knowledge and understanding, not material and worldly possessions, bring power and happiness.  In Zoroastrianism, people should do good unto everyone else and followers of Zoroastrianism believe in free will, the ability to do as they desire.  Confucius beliefs include that humans are able to be taught to take a path of righteousness through self-cultivation and should be altruistic, or help others than are needy.  All three of these belief systems follow the idea that people should always do good.  The caste duties mainly follow that people should not be attached to material items, while the other two do not touch upon this idea.  Zoroastrianism gives the idea of free will, which is weaker in the Bhagavad Gita, and not mentioned in Confucianism.  Confucius beliefs are about bettering oneself through teaching, while Zoroastrianism does not refer to this and the Bhagavad Gita just believes in being able to better themselves without the use of a sage or instructor.

Blog Grading

Blogs should be graded by you, the teacher.  A blog should not receive a better grade if it is longer than another person's.  They should be graded on the quality, not quantity.  If a blog is really long compared to others, all of it should be completely relevant, as opposed to somebody who may write a shorter blog but gets to the point clearly.  Grammar should not be taken into consideration if the blog is still fully comprehensible.  Writing a blog on this does not show punctuational errors, and not everybody would want to have to write it in a Word document then copy and paste it here.  Once the blog is no longer understandable due to these errors, it should be marked down.  A 3 on a blog post should be a post that: answers all parts of the question, is backed by evidence, and gets the point across clearly.  A 2 would answer the question with some proof, and occasional grammatical errors that might alter the reader's understanding of the post.  A 1 would strictly answer the question, and be very simple in structure without evidence or reasons why.  The only time a 0 should be given is if a blog is not done or if it is an overall mess of what is supposed to be done.

Confucious on Leadership- Effect on US Government Today

Book I. 5          The Master said, “In guiding a state of a thousand chariots, approach your duties with reverence and be trustworthy in what you say; avoid excesses in expenditure and love your fellow men; employ the labor of the common people only in the right seasons.”

This passage shows how the US government could be improved today.  By "a state of a thousand chariots," it means a large nation with a high population to go along with it.  It then goes on to say that you should be respectful when doing anything and honest when you are speaking.  The excerpt continues to warn against excessively spending and to also be kind and sympathetic to others.  The last phrase says to help the commoners with their financial standing by giving them jobs if there are jobs available.  The message from this passage can easily aid the current American government.  Government officials should be more cautious with such a vast nation.  The government needs to be more honest with the citizens of the United States and tell them about any issues that they are facing.  The government also needs to cut back on spending unless it is completely and utterly necessary and be more open to other countries and their people.  If there are no open jobs, then people should not be hired.  The government needs to create more job opportunity if they want more people in the work force of this country.

Confucious on Leadership- Effect on US Government Today

Book I. 5          The Master said, “In guiding a state of a thousand chariots, approach your duties with reverence and be trustworthy in what you say; avoid excesses in expenditure and love your fellow men; employ the labor of the common people only in the right seasons.”


This passage shows how the US government could be improved today.  By "a state of a thousand chariots," it means a large nation with a high population to go along with it.  It then goes on to say that you should be respectful when doing anything and honest when you are speaking.  The excerpt continues to warn against excessively spending and to also be kind and sympathetic to others.  The last phrase says to help the commoners with their financial standing by giving them jobs if there are jobs available.  The message from this passage can easily aid the current American government.  Government officials should be more cautious with such a vast nation.  The government needs to be more honest with the citizens of the United States and tell them about any issues that they are facing.  The government also needs to cut back on spending unless it is completely and utterly necessary and be more open to other countries and their people.  If there are no open jobs, then people should not be hired.  The government needs to create more job opportunity if they want more people in the work force of this country.