Author: Surts

You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become. (Bhagavad Gita)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 21: Rest…Relax…Reflect…

I would submit to you that rest is as important as work…

And play…

And family life…

And more.

However, once that day of rest is complete, and the sun rises on a new work week, whether it is a Monday, Sunday, or any day in-between, eventually, it is time to get back to…

Work.

I would submit to you that for billions of people over thousands of years, Hinduism has been an important and impactful belief system for them.  I will also say that once you dig a little deeper into Hinduism, there are some basic, logical conclusions that don’t seem…

Logical. 

What Hinduism does prove logically is the fact that…

Someone Upstairs Runs The Show.   

So, is Hinduism a logical belief system? 

I would submit to you that Hinduism, without question, mimics in a lot of ways the polytheistic/animism belief system.

For example, a Hindu may bring up the idea that they have a single god, who is a supreme being, that is formless and impersonal, which could qualify Hinduism as a monotheistic belief system. 

However, not all Hindus believe that.

Depending on which Hindu you talk to, the range of the additional gods and goddesses that are ranked under the supreme being, can range from 1…to 3…to 33…to hundreds…to 330 million. 

In addition, as explained by a Hindu saint, it is possible for a Hindu to worship a theoretically unlimited amount of gods and goddesses, who may be, (or may not be), worshiped based on the, “moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees.”  

So, if we were to apply syllogism, based on our findings from Day 11: There Has To Be A Way To Make It All Make Sense…Right?, the logic would flow like this:

PART A – Due to moods, feelings, emotions and social background of individual 1, that Hindu has decided to worship a single god;

PART B – Due to moods, feelings, emotions and social background of individual 2, that Hindu has decided to worship 330 million gods and goddesses;

PART C – If these two Hindus met, then they would most likely tell each other about their own god(s) and would most likely both accept the fact that they can both Coexist because of their, “moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees.”  

If you follow the logic based on syllogism, a potential question to follow would be this: 

How could both believers of Hinduism, one who believes in a single, formless god, and the other 330 million gods and goddesses, ultimately guarantee each other that their soul will make it to Moksha? (Covered in: Day 20: The Basics Of Hinduism.) 

Consider the following…

If the single, formless god Hindu believer doesn’t make it to Moksha, but the 330 million god Hindu believer does, does that mean then that the worship of the 330 million gods would have been the correct outcome for the atman, (soul), to achieve Moksha, (heaven)? 

Or how about this additional question:

If some Hindus believe that all 330 million gods all have the same, exact blueprint on how to achieve Moksha, then why are all 330 million gods necessary in the first place? 

A second item to ponder is a unique fact about Hinduism that separates them from all of the other major religions:

It does not have a single founder.

So, applying syllogism again, the logic would flow like this:

PART A – Hinduism does not have a single founder;

PART B – Hinduism has at least two or more founders;

PART C – Since Hindus acknowledge that there is no single founder, multiple founders may not agree on all things regarding Hinduism.

Applying syllogism to this second fact regarding no single founder is especially frustrating to me.  I do very well in life when I am able to position personal situations with a binary outcome. A simple “if…then” scenario is the perfect scenario.  I also have a very awful memory and I am not very good at math.  How then, under a non-binary situation, am I supposed to remember the right god or goddess, out of 330 million, (or more), when I really need them to pull through for me when I need them most? 

Here is another item to consider when your memory and your skills regarding math are thrown into the mix.

Since there are 31557600 seconds in a year, it would take almost 10 and a half years to spend 1 second meditating, thinking, or praying, about each of the 330 million gods or goddess.

For me personally, considering the fact that I needed a calculator to do this math, combined with my memory issues especially since I turned 50 a few years ago, keeping track of which gods and goddesses I already prayed to in a year, and need to pray to for the rest of the year, for almost 10 and a half years, would become a logistical nightmare.

I mean, when would I have time to eat…or sleep…or take out the trash, if I am spending every second, literally, of 10 and a half years, literally, meditating, thinking, or praying, about each of these 330 million gods or goddess?

(Full disclosure: I would rather meditate, think, or pray, rather than take out the garbage.)

A final concept that must be addressed is this…

What about the concept of reincarnation? 

This is really a concept that I cannot wrap my head around.  Again, back to syllogism to try to come to a logical conclusion regarding reincarnation:

PART A – Hindus believe that their atman is never truly at rest until it is one with Moksha, (Heaven); 

PART B – Hindus believe that reincarnation is necessary for the atman to be free from all ignorance and desire, including desiring Moksha itself;

PART C – Once the atman has realized these goals, then it achieves Moksha and the atman can settle peacefully in Moksha for all of eternity.

I know myself personally and how I deal with sin that comes my way.  I encounter sloth, gluttony, greed, pride, jealously, anger, and lust…multiple times a day, every day…without fail.  Most of the time, I am able to shut these desires out of my consciousness and go about my day to day activities. 

However, sometimes one, (or several), do rear their ugly head(s) and stop me in my tracks. 

What happens if, as a practicing Hindu, I use a bad word when I am frustrated? 

What happens if I decide to wait until tomorrow to accomplish a goal that needs to be done today? 

What happens when I pass my neighbor’s house with the brand-new car in the driveway and I go home and start researching new cars knowing I cannot afford to do so at this stage of my life?  

How do I get through the rest of the day if all 3 of those situations happen within the first hour after waking up?

Is my atman already doomed to another lifetime here on Earth because my desires overtook me and my atman couldn’t resist? 

All within the first hour after waking up?

Here is another example.  I have a Facebook account.  I scroll through it from time to time.  Every single friend, acquaintance, or complete stranger that I have seen post on Facebook has at least once, posted something either something ignorant or that has induced desire. 

Every.  Single.  One.

As for those practicing Hinduism, for every single one of these individuals, after pressing the enter button and posting online, have they just doomed their atman to another round of reincarnation? 

For a single post?

At the end of the day, to me, Hinduism is just too vague of a belief system.  Let alone keeping track of potentially 330 million gods and goddesses.

There is way too much left to chance, too many variables, to navigate ones atman though life with in order to achieve Moksha. 

For me personally, the idea of following Hinduism as the best avenue for getting my soul to where I want it to be for eternity, is a shaky proposition indeed.  

Do not feel discouraged if you may or may not have figured out the Hindu belief system. Do not feel discouraged if you are still trying to process the Hindu belief system.  Instead, embrace the idea that you are gaining background knowledge to come to your own, logical conclusions.

³ You shall have no other gods before Me.⁴ You shall not make for yourself any graven idol, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below the earth. (Exodus 20:3-4 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 22: The Validity Of Hinduism.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. (John Lubbock)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 20: The Basics Of Hinduism…

I would submit to you that it is important to take some rest. 

As the final day of the third week of school winds down, I spend a few minutes at the end of class helping them to determine what their focus should be going into their first weekend of no classes.  Usually, I will provide them an item-task analysis, ranked in order of importance, of the items that should be completed over the weekend in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming week of class.  I end with the quote:

“I will give you Sunday’s off, it’s a God thing….”

The more I think about it, I don’t really know if it is really just a ‘God thing’.  I mean, don’t animals, insects, birds, plants, the rest of Mother Nature and even Atheists, believe in the importance of rest? 

Whether you believe that it is a ‘God thing’ or not, rest is necessary for all of us. It is necessary for all on this Earth, to be able to rest and relax and restore, as this valuable combination helps to reset our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. 

Personally, I think rest is important on a Sunday, because Monday’s for high school students, (and the rest of us for that matter), can be brutal, even on a good Monday…

As an aside, is it even possible to have a good Monday?

Bottom line no matter where you stand on the issue of God, get some rest…

And relax…

And reflect. 

For example, spend some time to do some reflecting on the week that has just ended.  To be mindful perhaps of the following from last week:

Day 15: Are You Guilty Of Presentism? – When given the choice to live as royalty around the year 1900, or to live as yourself in today’s world, the choice appears to be quite clear…however, what may not seem to be as clear is, how slavery and ziggurats are connected to that royalty and you today;

Day 16: Does Presentism Affect The Way You View The World? – After considering all of the: planning, land, resources, finances, time, labor, and bedtimes needed to build a ziggurat, the concept of slavery, at least back then, becomes an absolute necessity;

Day 17: The Dangers Of Presentism. – 20 structures from 2560 BCE to 1939 CE were presented and the one thing they all had in common was the fact that they were all built by slaves.  If we were to impose our presentism on how we in the US currently feel about American monuments and memorials, what would be the consequences if we applied presentism to all monuments and memorials built by slaves around the world?  It brings into question the unintended consequences of applying presentism in this manner; 

Day 18: The Basics Of Polytheism/Animism. – 7 belief systems are discussed that are brought up with the earliest human civilizations.  The first of which with some basic facts is known as Polytheism/Animism;

Day 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism. – Drilling down a little bit deeper into some of the facts relating to Polytheism/Animism, when applying syllogism to address some issues regarding these facts, and in particular, the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker;

Day 20: The Basics Of Hinduism. – A second belief system that came about during the Foundations period of mankind, this religion has over 1 billion followers in the world today, including a religious book with 3 core beliefs;

Are you ready to get some rest?

Do not feel discouraged if you don’t know how to rest. Do not feel discouraged if you power down your mind and body that wishes to forge ahead, so many things to do, so little time.  Instead, embrace the idea that rest is rejuvenating.  Embrace the idea that rest restores and recharges.  10-15 minutes.  Do nothing regarding the upcoming workweek…for 10-15 minutes.  Then, 7 days later, extend your rest time out 5 minutes.  Deep breathing exercises.  Simple yoga poses.  Watching cute little puppies on your social media feed.  All unrelated to work and your job(s).  Something, some things, to clear your mind.     

² On the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He had rested from all His work which He had created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 21: Rest…Relax…Reflect.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

The essence of Hinduism is that the path may be different, but the goal is the same. (Manmohan Singh)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism…

I would submit to you that the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker in theory is intriguing, and, on the surface, believable.  However, I would also contend that once you learn the basic facts about Polytheism/Animism, then the theory of the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker comes into question when applied in the real world.  Hopefully, there was enough information in both Day 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism and Day 18: The Basics Of Polytheism/Animism, to encourage the life-long learning, researching, and questioning yourself, the world around you, and the universe we all live in.  

After all, Knowledge Is Power….

The next, major belief system that we cover in class is Hinduism. 

Just under 4,000 years ago, a group known as the Aryans crossed eastward from present-day Iran, past the Indus River Valley, and settled in the sub-continent of South Asia, or present-day India.  Below is a current map of where Hindus live today, with the greatest concentration living in South Asia:

One of things that the Aryans left behind were the Vedas, or four great books, that comprised of religious texts that form the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.  Hindus refer to the Vedas as ‘apauruseya’, which basically translates to, “not of a man, superhuman”.  The concept of ‘apauruseya’ makes sense for someone applying syllogism, which was covered on Day 11: There Has To Be A Way To Make It All Make Sense…Right?. The concept of ‘apuruseya’ also makes sense if you are someone who believes in the basic, universal concept of…

Someone Upstairs Runs The Show.

Consider the following:

Part A – Hindus believe in the concept of ‘apauruseya’ or a ‘superhuman’;

Part B – To believe in a concept of a ‘superhuman’ is to believe that ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show;

Part C – A believer of ‘apauruseya’ or a ‘superhuman’, (Hindus), would agree that ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show’.

However, there is also a secondary meaning for the Vedas as well.  The Vedas can also be interpreted as: “impersonal and authorless”.  This second interpretation makes sense on the surface because Hinduism is unique in one basic aspect when compared to all of the other belief systems….

Hinduism does not have a single founder. 

Who is the author of Hinduism?  It is difficult to truly answer that question when the Vedas can be described as “impersonal and authorless”. 

I would suggest to you that the Vedas contain 3 core beliefs:

1) There are hymns and poems, religious prayers, magical spells, and the lists of their gods and goddesses.  How many gods and goddesses?  Well, that depends on which website you go to, or which expert you talk to, as the numbers have a wide range indeed:

1A) 1 god: a supreme being who is formless and impersonal, (and thus, Hinduism can claim monotheistic, or a single god, status);

1B) 3 gods: Brahma, (the creator); Vishnu/Krishna, (the preserver/organizer); and Shiva, (the destroyer), (and from here to point 1F, Hinduism can be thus be defined as a polytheistic belief system);

1C) 33 Vedic deities found in one of the four Vedas, the Yajurveda;

1D) Hundreds of ‘puranas’, (ancient or old);

1E) 330 million, the most common number that many believe the Hindus ultimately worship, and finally;

1F) According to the Hindu Saint, Sri Ramakrishna, “There can be as many Hindu Gods as there are devotees to suit the moods, feelings, emotions and social backgrounds of the devotees”.

As of 2018, there were an estimated 1.1 billion followers of Hinduism. 

2) The Hindu’s believe in an atman, a spirit that is trapped inside all living creatures.  This is your inner self, or soul. The atman detests your sins and would love to escape all of your drinking, smoking, cursing, petty arguments, etc., ultimately, to be free…to be one with the universe. 

That is when your atman can truly be at peace. 

And that is where reincarnation comes into play.

3) The Hindu concept of reincarnation is quite simple.  In the west, the idea of death has come to mean that all of your bodily functions have permanently ceased to function.  No more heartbeat, breathing, or thinking from your brain.  It all stops. 

Sort of.

Yet, for several billion around the world, who believe that just because these bodily activities cease to function in this world, doesn’t mean that a part of the body continues to function in another world or dimension.  With that being said, the Hindu believes that death is not the end, (remember that interaction with Gandalf and Pippin in Day 10: OK…So Who Is This Someone?), that death is just a path that the…atman must take. 

It is more than likely that in this lifetime, your atman didn’t quite make the grade to achieve one with the universe due to all of the drinking, smoking, cursing, petty arguments, etc., you accumulated over your lifetime.

Since your atman didn’t pass the ‘life course’ it was attending while in your body in the current lifetime, it gets reincarnated into another body for the next lifetime.  Eventually, once your atman figures it all out, and earns a 100% grade during a lifetime, it then can enter Moksha, which is the release from the cycle of rebirth. 

Moksha is the release from reincarnation.  To be one with the universe.

To achieve Moksha is considered true liberation for a Hindu, as the atman has broken the cycle of: birth, death, and rebirth, and can settle peacefully in Moksha for all of eternity. It is important to note that there is no literal heaven or hell for the Hindu, just eternal peace and freedom for the atman once the cycle of reincarnation has been broken.

How do you apply Aristotle’s syllogism in order to come to a logical conclusion that the Hindu belief system makes sense when trying to figure out the universe and your role in it? 

Well, that will be covered next time.

Do not feel discouraged if you are having a difficult time understanding the Hindu belief system. Do not feel discouraged if you are still undecided as whether or not the Hindu belief system is valid or not.  Instead, embrace the idea that you are truly motivated to find out the answers to the questions you have always wondered about.  Embrace the idea that to continue researching these early belief systems of humanity is time well spent.

¹² There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 20: The Basics Of Hinduism.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

God did not create evolution–evolution created God. The evolution of religion is as follows: animism–polytheism–monotheism–agnosticism–atheism. As history progresses, people worship fewer and fewer gods, and the one God becomes the incredible shrinking god. He shrinks and shrinks until he becomes insignificant. More and more theists go about their business as if God isn’t there. Some even become agnostics or atheists. (G.M. Jackson)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 18: The Basics Of Polytheism/Animism…

I would suggest to you that without question, humans thousands of years ago left behind enough evidence for archeologists to conclude that in fact, ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show’.  I would also suggest that in the end, regardless of where or when they existed, humans have been consistent in acknowledging that…

Someone Upstairs Runs The Show.

I saw this bumper sticker and have always wondered about its meaning:

Below is what each letter represents:

C: Islam (The crescent moon is a symbol for Islam);

O: Pacifism (The peace sign really gained popularity in the US in the late 1960’s);

E: Gay Rights (The male and female symbols are both fused together);

X: Judaism (The Star of David could be interpreted to like an X);

I: Pagan (The 5-pointed star that represents the dot in the letter i);

S: Taoism/Daoism (The Yin and Yang symbol forms the basic structure of the letter s) and;

T: Christianity (The cross is a symbol for Christianity)….

I guess in a way, all of the belief systems represented on this bumper sticker can in fact be considered a form of Polytheism/Animism.  After all, the definition of polytheism is the worship of more than one god.  There is a case to be made that the individual who created this bumper sticker is in fact promoting Polytheism/Animism through the letter ‘I’. (A Pagan or a Heathen follows a polytheistic religion). 

The bumper sticker implies that all these belief systems can ‘Coexist’, regardless of what each individual belief system represented believes regarding the fact that ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show’. 

With that being said, there is a question that I cannot logically find an answer to regarding this idea that all of those belief systems can in fact ‘Coexist’. 

I get the theory behind the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker, but how about the reality of the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker when applied in the real world?

In other words, if Polytheism/Animism is a logical belief system, then the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker would be validated and everyone who owns a car should put it on their bumper as well.

Let’s say for sake of argument, that you run into 2 individuals who both believe in Polytheism/Animism.  The first individual, has a river that runs right outside their house.  This individual however, has no ocean within hundreds of miles of his home. 

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, a second individual, can see an ocean right outside their house. However, this second individual has no river within hundreds of miles of his home. 

So, applying syllogism, the logic would flow like this:

PART A – Due to geography, individual 1 believes in a river god, but due to location, cannot possibly know about an ocean god;

PART B – Due to geography, individual 2 believes in an ocean god, but due to their location, cannot possibly know about a river god;

PART C – If the two individuals met and began exchanging information about their gods, they would both walk away agreeing that the other, newly discovered god is in fact able to ‘Coexist’ equally with their own god….

I think. 

PART C is where I am having the most difficulty coming to a logical conclusion regarding the Polytheism/Animism belief system. 

For example, below are 7 potential questions that need to be asked, to determine whether or not both individuals would in fact walk away believing that both could ‘Coexist’ with each other:

1) Would the first individual who worships a river god deny the existence of an ocean god because they do not live near an ocean? 

2) Would the second individual who worships an ocean god deny the existence of a river god because they do not live near a river? 

3) Would the first individual who worships a river god rank it higher than the ocean god because they are more familiar with it?

4) Would the second individual who worships an ocean god rank it higher than the river god because they are more familiar with it?

5) Is it possible that the first individual may not even accept the ocean god?

6) Is it possible that the second individual may not even accept the river god?

7) Once learning about the characteristics of a river and an ocean, what are the odds that both individuals are willing to accept that both the river god and ocean god, are equal in every way?

Anyone familiar with the geography of planet Earth knows that we have much more than just rivers and oceans.  If fact, planet Earth is filled with many more geographic features. 

Here is a pretty comprehensive list that I was able to track down:

Archipelago, atoll, badlands, bay, beach, butte, canal, canyon, cape, cave, channel, cliff, delta, desert, dune, fjord, forest, geyser, glacier, gulf, hill, iceberg, island, isthmus, jungle, lagoon, lake, marsh, mesa, mountain, ocean, peninsula, plain, plateau, prairie, river, sea, sound, swamp, tundra, valley, volcano, and waterfall.

Based off of this extensive list of geographic features on planet Earth, go back and re-read the 7 potential outcomes of those two individuals with the river and ocean gods.  If those questions seemed confusing or no simple answer exists, what would happen when believers of a canyon, desert and mountain god join the conversation?

Would they all walk away at the end of the conversation thinking that their gods are all equal and thus can all equally Coexist?

What happens when you throw in other gods that are non-geographic, like: thunder, marriage, war, science, love, wisdom, music, the sun, the moon, and others, like the ancient Greeks and Romans, and others, did?

Would they all come to the same conclusion that the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker makes logistical sense?

After applying Aristotle’s syllogism to Polytheism/Animism, and more specifically a single river god and single ocean god within that system, is it truly possible for them to ‘Coexist’ with someone who does not believe in the Polytheism/Animism belief system?

In order to have a logical discussion with someone else, let alone coming to a logical conclusion about any topic yourself, shouldn’t consistency matter? 

If that answer is yes, then the next question is, does the belief system of Polytheism/Animism seem consistent when syllogism is applied in order to determine its reliability? 

If the answer is no, then is Polytheism/Animism a belief system that makes logistical sense to believe in?

If the answer is no, can the ‘Coexist’ bumper sticker…exist?

If I had a second belief system to compare with Polytheism/Animism, would I still come to the same conclusions that I currently have after reading the above information?

Hinduism will be covered next time.

Do not feel discouraged if you are having a difficult time applying syllogism to the Polytheism/Animism belief system. Do not feel discouraged if you are still undecided as whether or not Polytheism/Animism lacks consistency as a belief system.  Instead, embrace the idea that you have a brain that can input all of this knowledge and can come to your own conclusions, conclusions that no other species on the planet can come to.  Embrace the idea that Reading Is Fundamental and Knowledge Is Power and applying these concepts to question the logistical validity of the Polytheistic/Animistic belief system is a good sign. 

¹³ And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. (Exodus 23:13 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 19: The Validity Of Polytheism/Animism.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

They watch us all
They’re only making sure that we
don’t trip and fall
Now they look so hard
But they can’t tell us why they’re
here and just what for
Because they don’t know
Who opened up the door. (Jackson Randolph Lynch)

Thinking about the musings from Day 17: The Dangers Of Presentism….

I would suggest to you that presentism is a very powerful concept that can alter one’s view of the world, both past and present.  I would also suggest that once a person understands how presentism works, that person can then begin the process of trying to overcome it, especially when dealing with anything relating to history.

Somewhere towards the end of the second week, I begin the process of taking my concept of ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show’ and begin integrating it within the parameters of the CollegeBoard, AP World History expectations, (at least, before their last re-design of the course back in 2019). 

The seven belief systems that students were ultimately responsible for during the Foundations/Classical units of 8,000 BCE to 600 CE were:  

1) Polytheism/Animism;

2) Hinduism;

3) Buddhism;

4) Confucianism;

5) Taoism/Daoism;

6) Judaism and;

7) Christianity;

Before diving into the 7 belief systems, I let the students know the following going forward using syllogism:

PART A – I do not have a masters or doctoral degree in any of the 7 comparative belief systems;

PART B – My students do not have a masters or doctoral degree in any of the 7 comparative belief systems;

PART C – We don’t have class time to impart our own case of presentism as a means to declare why one belief system may or may not be better than the others, because among other things, our course is an AP World History class, not an AP Comparative Religions class;

With the basic ground-rules set, I begin the process of delivering the basic content regarding the first of these belief systems:

Polythesism/Animism….

I bring up the idea that I believe that the human continuity of ‘Someone Upstairs Runs The Show’ started on Day 1 of humanity.  It doesn’t matter what they believe in regards to how humans got here: Adam and Eve, Monkeys, Aliens or ‘All Of The Above’.  What matters more is that archeologists have found overwhelming evidence around the globe that humans who pre-dated ‘civilization’, (3,500 BCE, with the rise of the Mesopotamians in the Middle East), believed that there was a spiritual realm that controlled their destiny.  There are six elements that archeologists believe humans demonstrated before civilization, (for our purposes, referred to as ‘hunter/gatherers’), was formed:

1) Animism (that all plants, inanimate objects and natural phenomena all have a soul);

2) Shamanism (a practice that involves a priest or Shaman, who through achieving an altered state, can interact with the spirit world);

3) Ancestor worship;

4) Gods and goddesses;

5) Worship of ancestors or gods and goddesses who are active in human affairs and;

6) A belief in an afterlife.

Originally this belief system began with the concept of, at least theoretically, an infinite amount of spirits. Once people began to settle down to form civilizations, from around 3,500 BCE onward, humans began to form gods from these spirits. The main God they all had in common was the sun god, which makes sense due to the fact that the sun dominates our lives from dawn to dusk.  All humans had the ‘major’ gods covered in two ways:

1) They had their own name and;

2) Their own purpose/power(s). 

For example, during the Classical Era, (600 BCE – 600 CE), the 16 most well-known gods of the Greeks and Romans (in parenthesis) are as follows:

Who:	Purpose:
1) Zeus (Jupiter)	King of the Gods, thunder and heavens
2) Hera (Juno)	Goddess of love and marriage;
3) Poseidon (Neptune)	God of the sea;
4) Demeter (Ceres)	Goddess of the harvest;
5) Ares (Mars)	God of War;
6) Hermes (Mercury)	God of commerce, science and doctors;
7) Aphrodite (Venus)	Goddess of love, beauty and fertility;
8) Athena (Minerva)	Goddess of wisdom and war;
9) Apollo (Apollo)	God of music, archery, prophecy, healing, light;
10) Artemis (Diana)	Goddess of hunting and the moon;
11) Hestia (Vesta)	Goddess of the home and hearth;
12) Hades (Pluto)	God of the underworld and dead;
13) Persephone (Proserpine)	Goddess of the underworld;
14) Hephaestus (Vulcan)	God of fire and metal-working;
15) Dionysus (Bacchus)	God of wine and festivity;
16) Eros (Cupid)	God of love;
17) Pan (Pan)	God of wild beasts and the forests;

According to godchecker.com, the pantheon listed there contains almost 400 Greek gods and goddesses, with 113 of them beginning with the letter A.  According to Wikipedia, the Romans had over 200 gods and goddesses.

Geographically speaking, those who practice(d) Polytheism/Animism reside in arguably the most remote areas of the globe, in pink and labelled ‘Animism’ on this map:

1) The jungles of Africa;

2) The tundra of Russia and;

3) The desserts of Australia.

In other words, it appears that humans in these remote regions never got the text message about other religions coming after them. (I suppose it was because there are no cell phone towers in these regions….

So how does Polytheism/Animism work in the real world today?

Can Polytheism/Animism ‘Coexist’ with other belief systems?

That is a discussion best left for next time….

Do not feel discouraged if you don’t know much about the concept of Polytheism/Animism. Do not feel discouraged if you are not sure whether or not this ancient belief system makes sense in today’s ever-changing world.  Instead, embrace the idea that we have archeologists who have dug through the layers of time to bring these people to life in the present world.  Embrace the idea that maybe it’s not such a bad thing to believe that Someone Upstairs Runs The Show. 

¹¹ Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 18: The Basics Of Polytheism/Animism.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

Truth is incontrovertible.  Panic may resent it.  Ignorance may deride it.  Malice may distort it.  But there it is. (Winston Churchill)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 16: Does Presentism Affect The Way You View The World?…

I would submit to you that of the three concepts that I teach in the opening weeks of class: Bias, Syllogism and Presentism, the greatest danger when learning to learn from our past is, presentism.  While there are inherent issues and shortcomings potentially when using both bias and syllogism, when trying to learn about history, it is presentism that can have the greatest negative impact overall.  There are five major reasons why I would suggest to you that presentism is the greatest danger of the three when trying to learn about the history of humanity:

1) You may interpret how individuals in the past felt about historical norms by applying your modern values such as independence and individuality;

2) You may disregard the economic challenges of the past based on your current economic situation;

3) You may view individuals in the past as irrational and ignorant as you may assume that people of today are more intelligent and wise;

4) You may judge people of the past with the modern ideas of morality of today and;

5) You may tend to believe that a past decision was foolish and irrational due to the poor outcome while ignoring that the decision at the time based on the information that was available;

Why do these five dangers of presentism, applying present-day ideas to help you to interpret the past, a bad idea when looking back at our history?

The history of slavery is an excellent example of how presentism can quickly lead you away from the truth.

Historically speaking, there are many concepts that humans have in common, regardless of the who, the where, or the when. 

One of these concepts is slavery. 

A simple question I ask to the class early on in the semester is:

“How long has slavery been around in human history?” 

The response is usually quick and uniform and said aloud by a large majority of the room:

“Since Day 1!” 

“Correct.”  is my reply.

Since the obvious has been reveled, I then show them a series of pictures of structures that have been built by humans from around the world throughout time.  Before showing them the slides, I tell them to think about the following:

“What do all of these structures or places all have in common?”

I then show slides and structures from the following civilizations.  (The approximate dates of beginning construction are listed as a reference point chronologically):

1) 2560 BCE – The Pyramids of Giza – Ancient Egypt, Giza, Egypt;

2) 221 BCE – The Great Wall of China – Qin Dynasty (China);

3) 312 BCE – Roman Aqueducts –  Roman Empire, Europe, Middle East and North Africa;

4) 300 BCE – Roman Roads – Roman Empire, Europe, Middle East and North Africa;

5) 70 – 80 CE – Roman Coliseum – Roman Empire, Rome, Italy;

6) 400’s CE – The city of Chichen Itza – Mayan Empire, Yucatan, Mexico;

7) 1609 – 1616 The Blue Mosque – Ottoman Empire, Istanbul, Turkey;

8) 1660 – Wall Street – New York City, New York, USA;

9) 1672 – 1695 Castillo de San Marcos – St. Augustine, Florida, USA;

10) 1749 – Washington and Lee University – Lexington, Virginia, USA;

11) 1758 – Mount Vernon – Alexandria, Virginia, USA;

12) 1772 – Monticello – Charlottesville, Virginia, USA;

13) 1789 – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA;

14) 1792 – The White House – Washington D.C., USA;

15) 1793 – 1800 US Capitol Building – Washington D.C., USA;

16) 1819 – University of Virginia – Charlottesville, Virginia, USA;

17) 1828 – The railroads owned by: Norfolk Southern, CSX, Union Pacific and Canadian National – USA;

18) 1839 – 1846 Trinity Church – New York City, New York, USA;

19) 1889 – Clemson University – Clemson, South Carolina, USA;

20) 1939 – The Jefferson Memorial – Washington D.C., USA;

After finishing the slides, I ask the question again:

“What do all of these structures or places all have in common?”

The answer is simple once you put all of the pieces together.

They were all created by in part, or from beginning to end, by slaves. 

I then bring up a topic that has been quite emotional as of late especially in the United States:

“What should we do with Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States that have been built by slaves and/or glorify slavery?”

To my students the answer seems overwhelming:

It would be in the best interest of all to remove these monuments and memorials.   

Never mind the fact that for the past 100 plus years, overwhelmingly public opinion polls clearly oppose these removals.  Never mind the fact that the states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, have laws that have been enacted and passed, to prevent the removal of these monuments and memorials. (At least as of this writing). 

To have a discussion today regarding slavery, it goes without question that slavery is all of the following and more:

Bad, wrong, immoral, unethical, hateful, demoralizing and hurtful. 

Using syllogism, the logic for removing monuments and memorials seem indisputable, at least from the student point of view:

Part A – Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States were built by slaves and/or to glorify slavery;

Part B – Slavery is bad, wrong, immoral, unethical, hateful, demoralizing and hurtful;

Part C – The removal of these monuments and memorials built by slaves and/or glorifying slavery in the United States would be the right thing to do;

So at first, it appears that the science is settled, the logic, morality and justice seem to be on their side…The right thing to do is to remove monuments and memorials in the United States that have been built by slaves and/or memorializes slavery. 

It is at this point that the students seem to be in complete agreement with what appears to be obvious facts.       

I explain to them that their logic seems pretty solid.  And if this logic is pretty solid, why not go beyond the classroom…

Why not go beyond the United States?

Why not introduce these logical conclusions regarding slavery to the world, and convince everyone, everywhere, to follow through and remove all monuments and all memorials that were built by slaves and or glorified history throughout human history? 

At the time of this writing, the United States is still the world’s global leader in many ways.  Wouldn’t it make logical sense to carry this through regarding buildings and structures built by slaves around the world? 

Shouldn’t they not also be dismantled as well? 

Well…do you remember those 20 structures that I mentioned earlier? 

All of them were built by slaves. 

Are we sure we want to do follow through and remove all of them? 

If we apply presentism to all of human history, and be consistent about it, then we must remove all of those structures around the world that were built by slaves.  If we remove all of those structures from around the world, then we remove the history behind all of those structures.  If we remove all of that history behind those structures, how can we learn from our history?  After all, if they are removed, haven’t we then erased all of that history? 

How are we supposed to learn about the evils of slavery throughout history if it is all taken down and removed? 

Are we as humans sure we want to do that?

I close with this part of the class discussion with this:

Beware applying your morals, ethics, viewpoints, bias, and personal experiences as a 15 or 16 year-old, upon those around you and more importantly, those who lived before you. 

Can we agree that recognizing presentism and how to inhibit its influence can help us to better understand human history?

Beware of the siren call of presentism when learning about history….

Do not feel discouraged if you are a proponent of the removal of American monuments and memorials that have been built by slaves and/or memorialize slavery in general.  Do not feel discouraged if you believe that your morals, ethics, viewpoints, bias, and experiences led you to this conclusion.  Instead, embrace the idea that presentism with all of its dangers and pitfalls, can be used to help us to better understand and appreciate those who have lived before us.  Embrace the idea that by recognizing and denying presentism, you can not only learn history as it actually happened but can perhaps share this knowledge with someone else. 

⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 1:4 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 17: The Dangers Of Presentism.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

The study of history is an antidote to the hubris of the present – the idea that everything we have, everything we do and everything we think is the ultimate, the best. (David McCullough)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 15: Are You Guilty Of…Presentism?…

I would submit to you that the concept of presentism just might be the most important concept that a student can ever take away from their history class. Presentism is also perhaps the most important concept ignored by their history teacher. In the teachers defense however, it is possible that they themselves may have never been taught about presentism in the first place, let alone teach the concept to their students.

After all, if you don’t know what to look for…how will you know when you find it?

The tardy bell rings and class begins.

“Alright guys, remember that I was going to ask you the same question that I asked you at the end of the last class period? The question was: So, how did the ziggurat get there?”

Nothing.

Usually, if the first time that I ask that question was asked on a Friday, the odds that any of the students will remember much relating to what was discussed back then, to answer correctly on a Monday, is quite slim indeed.

Teachers are always fighting with weekends for the students attention, especially on Mondays.

“Okay, I know that most, if not all of you, have slept since then, so I will do a quick recap from our last class.”

“There were two lifestyles that I offered you to select, based on your life experiences you have had so far: Would you wish to live around the year 1900, as a king or queen, or would you rather be living today as yourself.”

The confusion on many faces now have vanished and it appears that they do in fact remember the end of class the day before.

Sometimes, it seems that all of this is just a game. The students have to be messing with me…I know they are.

I think.

But I digress.

As we review the more obvious answer, living as themselves in today’s life, I then shift back to Sargon of Akkad, and his unification of the Sumerian City-States, (Akkadian Empire), as the picture of the ziggurat in present-day Iraq is showing on the screen.

“Do you remember when I asked you what time you went to sleep last night?”

Many heads move up and down in the affirmative.

“And do you also remember when I asked you that if there are 25 students in the classroom right now, how many potential bed times were there last night?”

“25!” is uttered from at least one student before I have a chance to call on anyone.

Now, for the most part, the majority of students are now up to speed from the information we discussed from class the day before.

I restate the question that ended the class period the day before:

“So, how did the ziggurat get there?”

Before answering the question, I encourage the students to think about all that would be needed to build that ziggurat they see on the screen.

The planning. The land. The resources. The finances. The time.

And…

The labor.

Sargon and his Akkadian Empire did not have access to…the One Ring…or the Elder Wand…or the Infinity Gauntlet. In fact the only thing that he did have access to, was labor to build it.

And that took time. Years at least. A couple of decades were needed in most instances, to complete a ziggurat.

I explain to them that at this time, if they were not farming they were most likely assisting in the building of the ziggurat.

I ask them a simple question:

“If we already know that there would most likely be 25 different times you all woke up every morning, do you think that the ziggurat would be completed sooner, later, or at about the same time, that the ziggurat in Iraq was completed, which was approximately 20 years?”

The answer is clear, it would take longer to complete.

And if that answer is absolutely not acceptable to the leader of the Akkadian Empire.

What is acceptable for Sargon of Akkad to complete the ziggurat in Iraq, or any other ziggurat in his empire for that matter, is to have access to: government, laws, and slaves.

Sargon of Akkad is the leader, he is the one who wants a ziggurat to be built…preferably before he dies, so that he can enjoy it, and perhaps brag about it, while he is still alive. As the leader, he is commanding that it be built. As an aside, he is also in command of the military…

There. He just created government.

If there are 25 students and they go to bed potentially at 25 different times, that may work…in their homes. However, as I explain to the students, the reason why the bell rings at 8:00am Monday through Friday is because it is an expectation that they are in their first period class. If they arrive late, consequences range from a Wednesday night detention, to Saturday school, to ultimately truancy, depending on multiple factors.

So, for the most part, the expectation is that my students are at school Monday through Friday by 8:00am or face consequences…

Or, if we go back over 4,000 years ago to Sargon of Akkad and the building of the ziggurat. That will require far more than 25 people to create it in two decades or less.

The workers need to be on site to work on the ziggurat by 8:00am Monday through Friday.

There. He has just created a law.

I explain to the students that building a ziggurat in Iraq over 4,000 years ago, and earning a high school diploma today in the United States are quite similar, at least from a time perspective.

Both will take years to complete.

Do the students all want to be at school by 8:00am Monday through Friday for at least 9 months, in order to earn their diploma?

No.

Do the students all want to take AP World History with me as their teacher, in order to earn their diploma?

No.

Do the students all want to willingly: read articles and textbooks, color-code maps, write essays and answer multiple-choice questions, for months, in the hopes of earning a passing grade, in order to earn their diploma?

No way.

Would you if given the choice?

The same can be said for those working to create and complete that ziggurat.

Do you think they wanted to do that work, for the most part from dawn to dusk…5 days a week, (at least), all year round, with no days off for holidays, to build a ziggurat?

Snow days of course, are out of the question since Iraq is in the desert.

No. Way.

This is how a student in the United States public school system can be compared to a worker working on a ziggurat in Iraq over 4,000 years ago.

Well, how then does the ziggurat get built?

Someone has to build it for Sargon of Akkad…

There. Now, you have slaves.

Can you imagine a world without slaves?

The concept of presentism will be wrapped up next time….

Do not feel discouraged if you still are not understanding the significance of presentism. Do not feel discouraged if you do not see the connection between what happened over 4,000 years ago in the Akkadian Empire and how it relates to you today.  Instead, embrace the idea that knowledge is power and you gained some more knowledge that you had before reading this.  Embrace the idea that by truly understanding the significance of presentism, the world around you may make more sense no matter what your history grade was back in school. 

¹³ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:13 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 16: Does Presentism Affect The Way You View The World?

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

The historian, like everyone else, is forever trapped in the egocentric predicament, and ‘presentism’ is his original sin. (Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 14: Rest…Relax…Reflect…

I would submit to that we can all agree that humans have walked, and continue to walk, on planet Earth.  The issue is, how did humans get here? 

I would suggest that it is important that when we question these types of issues, the following must be strongly considered before searching for an answer(s). These are in no particular order:

1) History does matter;

2) History Repeats Itself, Just Not In The Same Frequency Nor Intensity;

3) Knowledge Is Power;

4) Reading Is Fundamental;

5) Detecting bias does matter;

6) Detecting reliability does matter;

7) Using Aristotle’s syllogism and;

8) Presentism.

As I mentioned in my Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?, Dr. Gary North has had a great impact in motivating me to create this blog, (and website), in the first place. In addition, Dr. Gary North brings up an interesting point that I think has been an invaluable tool to give my students. 

Stop for a moment to reflect upon your life up to this moment. Consider the life events that you would consider to be…the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

Now, with those good, bad and ugly moments still in your head, consider the following question:

“Which of the following 2 lifestyles would you prefer based on your life experiences to date?”

Lifestyle 1):

Living around the year 1900, as a king or queen, with the following at your disposal and your beckon call:

A) Large estates invisible to the public;

B) Large staffs to care for you and these estates;

C) Untold amounts of jewelry and;

D) Yachts, for lavish entertaining…or;

Lifestyle 2):

Living today as yourself.

(Make sure that before you make this choice you put your cell-phone down…and your television remote as well…and no typing away on your computer either…no Google, no Wikipedia, no Siri, and no Alexa to help you answer the question….)

The answer appears to be rhetorical.  Living now, despite all of our bad and ugly experiences we may already have accumulated in our lifetime, would surely outweigh the benefits of being a monarch around the year 1900. 

I mean, how much jewelry can your wear on your body at the end of the day anyways?

The point in bringing up this hypothetical set of questions is to introduce the concept of presentism.  Presentism is basically an attitude.  The attitude of using your current experiences in your lifetime and imposing these experiences on those that have lived before you, including the first humans, no matter how long ago you may think they first appeared on Earth. 

I would suggest to you that presentism is perhaps the most important of the 8 considerations when looking for the truth. 

Without applying presentism when gathering data to help you answer life’s most impossible questions, I would submit to you that the truth you are seeking…

Will never be found.

How about this for another example of how the concept of presentism works:

Slavery.

Around 3,500 B.C., historians have concluded that the world’s first civilization began, in Southwest Asia. Southwest Asia contains Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is known as the land between two rivers, containing both the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers. It is here where the world’s first civilization began…the Sumerian city-states.

What makes the Sumerians the world’s first civilization?

Among other things, the beginnings of written history can ultimately be traced back to them.

One of the city-states of the Sumerians was named Akkad. From the city-state of Akkad rose a leader, Sargon…of Akkad. It is Sargon of Akkad who united the Sumerian city-states of both northern and southern Mesopotamia about a thousand years after they were created.

In other words, Sargon of Akkad created the world’s first empire…the Akkadian Empire.

I now go back to my classroom and ask the students a couple of questions:

“What time did you go to sleep last night?”

The answers vary, ranging from right after school, to the early morning hours.

I ask a follow up question to one of the students:

“If there are 25 students in the classroom right now, how many potential bed times did all the students get to bed last night?”

The answer is always the same…25.

I then ask them how they are feeling right now in class. The answers always are the same, although over the years, they may come out in a different order:

“Tired…sleepy…hungry…and finally the answer that usually comes last…wide awake.”

I tell them that no matter how they feel that day, we are all going on a trip. This is not just any run of the mill school endorsed field trip…

Our trip requires that we are go into a time machine.

I can tell by some of their faces that they are disappointed in the fact that I am not actually taking them on a school-sponsored trip.

Moral of that story…you can’t always get what you want.

Back to Sargon of Akkad and the world’s first empire….

After entering our time machine, we are transported back 5,000 years, and fly half-way around the world…Where we are dropped off in the land of Mesopotamia, walking around now in the Sumerian city-state of Akkad, during the reign of Sargon of Akkad.

I have their attention again.

There are two items of note that dominate the landscape of Akkadian Empire, land suitable for farming due to irrigation ditches and ziggurats. Here is what a ziggurat looks like. This one in fact can be found in present-day Iraq:

I explain to the students that for sake of argument the people seen in the picture are 6 feet tall, to help give the students a sense of the size of this Sumerian ziggurat.

The ziggurat, based off of its sheer size alone, is a testament to its overall importance to the society, politics, economy and culture, of the Sumerian city-states. Consider for example, the reasons for the creation of the ziggurat:

1) Although not showing due in large part to the erosion of time, a shrine used to be on the top for the priests to have access to their gods;

2) It was necessary for the priests to have this access so that they could receive instructions and conduct initiation rituals and sacrifices to their gods throughout the year;

3) Finally, there were multiple rooms located inside and out, all of which became the epicenter from which that particular city-state grew around….

It sounds like a very important structure indeed.

So, the next question I ask the students is:

“How did the ziggurat get there?”

It is usually about this time that the bell rings and class ends for the day….

Do not feel discouraged if you have never heard of the term presentism. Do not feel discouraged if you use presentism to justify why you are or are not getting what you want out of life.  Instead, embrace the definition of presentism and how it applies to your life.  Embrace the idea that you can use presentism to your advantage, to change the current trajectory your life-path is currently on. 

¹⁰ Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. ¹¹ There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. (Ecclesiastes 1:10-11 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 15: Are You Guilty Of Presentism?

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

Rest when you’re weary.  Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit.  Then get back to work. (Ralph Marston)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 13: In The Beginning…Part 2…

I believe that it is important to take some rest. 

Just like the second week winding down at school, week 2 is winding down here.  I end with the quote:

“I will give you Sunday’s off, it’s a God thing….”

The more I think about it, I don’t really know if it is really just a ‘God thing’.  I mean, don’t animals, insects, birds, plants, the rest of Mother Nature and even Atheists, believe in the importance of rest?  Whether they think it’s a ‘God thing’ or not, rest is necessary for all of us on this Earth, to restore, and to rejuvenate, our hearts, minds, bodies and souls.  I think, most importantly, because Monday’s can be brutal, on a good Monday….

Bottom line no matter where you stand on the issue of God…get some rest.

Spend some time if you want to do some reviewing, reflecting, and/or meditating, on the week that has just ended.  To be mindful perhaps of the following from last week:

Day 8: Someone Upstairs Runs the Show Part 1. – The Foundations of human history begins, (according to CollegeBoard), around 10,000 years ago.  Eventually, all humans die.  Is that it?  There must be more.  There is because Someone Upstairs Runs The Show;

Day 9: Someone Upstairs Runs The Show Part 2. – Humans are constantly progressing over time.  This progressing is in an upward direction.  The history of human architecture is filled with physical evidence of mankind trying to attain this Someone Upstairs Who Runs The Show; 

Day 10: OK…So Who Is This Someone? – The grey rain-curtain…silver glass…white shores…a far green country…a swift sunrise.  A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….the Force.  Wizards.  Hobbits.  Jedi.  Sith Lords.  Mankind.  All trying to find out and be a part of Someone Upstairs Who Runs The Show;

Day 11: There Has To Be A Way To Make It All Make Sense…Right? – The Father of Western Philosophy whose legacy, among others, was syllogism: All men are mortal…I am a man…I am mortal.  It is Aristotle’s syllogism that can be used to unlock many doors;

Day 12: In The Beginning…Part 1. – Where ultimately do we come from?  Regardless of the answer you believe in regarding the beginnings of where humans came from, what is important is that humans do not progress in a perfect, upward trajectory, but rather, in a series of ups and downs…ultimately leading up in the long run;

Day 13: In The Beginning…Part 2. – Again the question needs to be asked, where ultimately do we come from? Adam and Eve? Monkeys? Aliens? All of the above? Regardless of where you stand, hunters and gatherers can at least be considered ‘civilized’ in one regard: they had an elementary belief system. So the question to that is what does that have to do with the concept of Someone Upstairs Runs The Show?;

Do not feel discouraged if you don’t know how to rest. Do not feel discouraged if you power down your mind and body that wishes to forge ahead, so many things to do, so little time.  Instead, embrace the idea that rest is rejuvenating.  Embrace the idea that rest restores and recharges.  10-15 minutes.  Do nothing regarding the upcoming workweek…for 10-15 minutes.  Then, 7 days later, extend your rest time out 5 minutes.  Deep breathing exercises.  Simple yoga poses.  Watching cute little puppies on your social media feed.  All unrelated to work and your job(s).  Something, some things, to clear your mind.      

²⁵ For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. (Jeremiah 31:25 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 14: Rest…Relax…Reflect.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?

We must have been hunters and gatherers but some of us were just waiters and hopers. (Eddie Izzard)

Thinking about the musings from DAY 12: In The Beginning…Part 1…

After presenting the graph on the board showing the history of humanity and our progress over time, and the four potential answers of where humans came from beginning on ‘Day 1’:

A) Adam and Eve, (A/E);

B) Monkeys, (Monkeys);

C) Another world and Aliens put us here, (Aliens) or;

D) A combination of All Of The Above, (AOTA);

I transition back to the content that they are responsible for by exam day.

The seed has already been planted….

With that explanation in place, I then bring up the point that for AP World History, CollegeBoard is more concerned about beginning the course for at the ‘Foundations’ era.

So what is considered the ‘Foundations’ era?

Prior to the fall 2019 school semester, students were taught that the beginnings of humanity date back to around 8,000 BCE*, or approximately 10,000 years ago.

(*It is important to note that we as teachers are encouraged to express historical dates and their significance using the terms BCE and CE, instead of using the terms BC and AD. BCE stands for Before Common Era, and CE is short for Common Era. The reason for using these terms to refer to historical dates is to present a more neutral approach than using the terms BC, (before Christ), and AD, or Anno Domini, which is Latin for “in the year of the Lord”. Both of these terms refer to the birth and death of Jesus Christ. By using BCE and CE instead of BC and AD, it appears to be a more neutral approach to teaching world history, where only approximately 2.4 billion or 31% of the worlds 8 billion people, are followers of Jesus Christ, known collectively as Christians, as of the year 2020…CE.)

It is generally accepted by historians that the 8,000 to 3,500 BCE time period, or the ‘Foundations’ period, is where the ‘Foundational’ blueprints of humanity began. These blueprints can be categorized into Social, Political, Economic and Cultural components, many of which we take for granted today. 

So, up until the fall 2019 school semester, the time period of around 8,000 BCE to 3,500 BCE is where we ‘officially’ begin the course.  It is during this time period where we as humans transition away from hunting and gathering, and begin to settle down to form what we know today as…

Civilization. 

Known collectively as ‘Hunters and Gatherers’, these were humans that predated our current concept of ‘civilization’, which historians agree began in the Middle East region, and more specifically by the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, or Mesopotamia, around 3,500 B.C). 

I tell the students to keep in mind that no matter which belief system you think is correct as to how long humans have been around, what matters for the exam is that the overall trajectory of human achievement from 8,000 BCE to 3,500 BCE was basically a flat line, until the Mesopotamians began the ‘Foundational’ building blocks of humanity.

Relatively speaking, once 3,500 BCE begins, the line on the History of Mankind graph that I have on the board, now begins to ‘accelerate’ to the upside, especially when comparing this time period to the 8,000 BCE to 3,500 BCE hunter and gatherer time period.  

I would submit to you that there is a case to be made that those humans that began as hunters and gatherers had some degree of civilization after all. There is a consensus among historians today that Hunter-Gatherer groups during the 8,000 BCE – 3,500 BCE time period had access to the following:

1) Hunters and gatherers ‘probably emerged’ and spread due to an ample availability of: food and favorable weather and climate;

2) Hunters and gatherers began the process of domesticating animals and plants;

3) Hunter and gatherers gained ever increasing skills in capturing and killing animals, (the same can be said regarding those gathering plants and fruits), as well as determining which were edible and nutritious for human consumption;

4) Hunters and gathers continued to gather increasing skills using more advanced tools, helping to make point 3 more efficient;

5) It is generally agreed that hunter and gatherers eventually spread to the 6 continents of today: North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia by 8,000 B.C.E.;

6) It is generally agreed that hunters and gatherers had a basic social structure and…

7) An elementary belief system.

Of the 7 items addressed above, I believe that point 7 is the most important point in regards to the hunter-gatherer groups.  It is point 7, the hunter-gatherers believing in an ‘elementary belief system’, that helps me to reinforce the significance of the Someone Upstairs Runs The Show continuity. 

In other words, why do these people, the hunter and gatherers, believe in an ‘elementary belief system’?  Why do they bury their dead instead of leaving them out for the animals and birds to feast on?  Why this respect after death for their fellow hunter-gatherers? 

Doesn’t sound like those hunter-gatherers were uncivilized, does it?

Do not feel discouraged if you are still unsure where humans ultimately came from. Do not feel discouraged if you still feel overwhelmed regarding the beginnings of humanity.  Instead, embrace the freedom that we have to research and question and come to our own conclusions regarding where we ultimately come from.  Embrace this idea as well: why would the hunter-gathering humans pay their respects and bury their dead, if they did not believe in an afterlife for the dead? 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV)

Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?

Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 13: In The Beginning – Part 2.

If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.

Please feel free to go back to where all of this began:

Day 1: What Is A Mid-Life Crisis?