The spiritual worldview provides another way of finding truth. Scientists who deny this would be well advised to consider the limits of their own tools. (Dr. Francis S. Collins)
Thinking about the musings from DAY 11: There Has To Be A Way To Make It All Make Sense…Right?…
I would submit to you that of all the gifts that Aristotle left behind for us, the concept of syllogism was by far the biggest for not only the Western world, but for all of mankind. It is this 3-step process that the Western world has used for well over two thousand years to help one come to logical conclusions about the world, and universe, around us. I would think that it is important that when obtaining facts and information, Aristotle’s syllogism is extremely helpful when someone needs to come to a logical conclusion….
After showing the two video clips regarding the interaction between Gandalf and Pippin and their potential fate on Middle Earth, along with the opening crawl from the first Star Wars movie depicting life in a galaxy far, far away, the attention comes back to planet Earth. It is time to continue to develop what I would consider perhaps the most important of all human continuities that all humans throughout history share:
Someone Upstairs Runs The Show.
Imagine a graph of human history. On the x axis running left to right, represents the History of Humans. On the y axis, running from the bottom towards the ceiling, represents human progress. Inside the graph there are two lines drawn representing human progression over time.
1) The first shows an even and consistent advance upwards, starting in the bottom left-hand corner and advancing in a straight, diagonal line towards the right of the graph;
2) The second line is quite choppy, also starting in the bottom left-hand corner, this line progresses throughout time more like looking at a mountain range off in the distance…up and down…really up and kinda down…really down and kinda up…showing overall progress over time, throughout human history….
Which line is the more accurate representation of human progress throughout time, the first or the second line?
There is only one correct answer….
The second line.
After presenting this chart of human history to the students, I turn to them and ask them a simple question:
Which set of lines represents your life?
If I were to put your name by one of the lines, would it be the straight line or the rocky and choppy line littered with peaks and valleys, since you were born?
Not a single student to date has ever selected the first line.
Now, in the lower-left-hand corner of the graph, I have a dot labelled ‘Day 1’ there, representing the birth of humanity. Standing to the left of the chart on the board, I ask the students a question:
Which one of these answers is correct regarding how humans first arrived here on planet Earth?
Beneath the ‘Day 1’ black dot, I have 4, multiple-choice answers below:
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);
Why does the answer to my question matter? What is the point anyways?
In the grand scheme of things, the answer really doesn’t matter for my students. The students are not responsible for knowing the answer because it will never come up at all on the AP World History Exam that CollegeBoard gives every May.
I ask the question for a different reason, whatever students may believe Day 1 is for humans: A, B, C, or D, the point is irrelevant…
At least regarding the AP World History exam.
Do not feel discouraged if you are unsure where humans ultimately came from. Do not feel discouraged if you never knew about, remembered, or even care about history at all. Instead, embrace the idea that it’s great to know that you are free to choose one of those 4 ideas, (or maybe you have a 5th that I do not have on the board), of where we came from. Embrace this idea as well: is it, or is it not relevant, to even care about the beginnings of human history in the first place?
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:14 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 12: In The Beginning – Part 1.
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: