Reflection on Timeline-Map project

The Timeline-Map project we did last week in class at first seemed to make no sense.  When the idea of this project was presented, my first initial reaction was to figure out a way where all of these religions actually had a way in intertwining.  When we got in our groups, we split up the four topics in our group of three.  I had buddhism, which was always an interest for me because of my past camp consular who was buddhist.  The hardest part about this project wasn't finding a way they all intertwined, I soon discovered.  The hardest part of this project was finding and picking the best important event to be labeled on the timeline-map.  I finally picked the events that corresponded the most with the rising and decreasing events of buddhism.  When we combined our tags to set up our timeline, we discovered a smooth path of events that trailed after each other, braiding the different religions together.  The process of this project was stressful at times, but once you got hold of a idea of a tag you were set.  Putting time and effort into finding the best tags pays off in the end when you present with the other religions no doubt.  I don't think this project should change if done again because it really made us think in a different mind frame.  I would possibly change the amount of class time dedicated to explaining the project, so kids wouldn't be as confused at the start of it.

Issues that would come from modern day taoism and confucianism in america

In class today we made a diagram showing that different ways in which taoism benefits and how confucianism benefits and aspects in common.  A question that was brought up and stuck out to me was how would these beliefs effect modern day America, if they were believed in.  This is what I came up with:

Confucianism in America:
What I assume would happen would be a society where people were pushed very hard to maintain proper quota.  It would be a lot more stricter for various reasons and I do not think it would be a free country like it is today.  The whole idea becoming a good person with helping others would fall apart in some areas at the end.  If the people were restricted too much, there is bound to be a riot or demonstrations against the belief. In which, the leader of the society would inflict violence to contain the excitement, which would ruin the reputation of being generous and helping the community.  How can inflicting pain and asking so much from people help the general community?

Taoism in America:
Taoism is a much easier way to live by and overall wouldn't effect the community negatively as large as confucianism would.  Because of it's ideas not being at strong as powerful and life devoting like a religion would,  I think America would actually gain more freedom rather then loose it.  This could become a issue because of the order that would be lost.  A large part of a strong powerful nation and creating a working system is to have order within the community.  If everyone keeps to themselves what can you do?  So if Taoism could be a factor of one part of your life and the other held order, like confucianism, and believed in working as a society.

Taoism and Confucianism

I have read about these two different viewpoints for a while now but their differences still didn't seem clear to me.  Recently I referred back to previous readings and poked my nose into some new ones to figure out what are the differences between Taoism and Confucianism.  I found out that they disagree on several points on worldly functions and idealistic people within those functions.  

Confucianism                                                                                                                            Taoism

Tends to dislike nature                                      (nature)                                    Taoism finds beauty in nature

actions towards other people                  (Measurement in goodness)             The world should be left alone

providing food, arms, and trust               (Important to rule)                            Enjoy time, basic needs, untouched

No time away from society                   (Gaining Knowledge)                             Understanding oneself

_____

To me Taoism sounds more like Buddhism .  The whole idea of seeing things how they really are and understanding oneself is a larger factor for Buddhism and Taoism.  Confucianism is very strict about their lifestyles within a community.  I think that taoism would be much more beneficial to a society because the idea of being alway in with society for everything is going to drive people to riot.  That has already happened.  I'm glad i finally figured out how to distinguish the two.

Why did Christianity grow and become so popular?

In class today we had a heated (i'd like to think so) argument about two different readings that had different ideas of why christianity grew and became popular.  My reading reasoned that it became popular because of the social ease and acceptance provided to all social classes.  The reading mostly touched on ideas about how the pagans were outcasting and accusing the christians of being atheist, but there were some points you could pull out from the text.  One of the major points being presented in the text was the idea of how christianity was such a open armed religion.  People who were young, not as wealthy, and questioning their beliefs favored it because it provided so many benefits and was a quite simple understanding.  It also was branched off of Judaism so people interested in the were assuming that christianity was the modernized version.  The idea of this religion grew so fast because of the ways in which the disciples enforced the idea of how you could tell your friends, family, neighbors, whoever about this religion and they could participate. The idea of passing through people was the number one way of getting something spread around, just like the black plague idea (except no constant deaths) In the other group it talked more about the idea of the beliefs being strong, like the actual idea of the religion was appealing to people. I think that that was a factor in the spreading of it, but it was not the full deal. Overall I think that people give into beliefs when it offers them so many appealing advantages. Why wouldn't you want to be in something simple and giving feelings of being within something greater.

ICIRR immigrant workshop reflection

blog post:
Today I had a oppuritunity to attend a workshop lecture hosted by Malcon X college.  The theme of the workshop was the issues related to protecting and educating immigrants and refugees. in the morning, it started off with a openning ceremony, in which, Congressman Luis Gutierez, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Governor Pat Quinn, Senator Richard Durbin, and House Speaker Michael Madigan spoke at.  They all shared personal stories about how immigration effected them and they invited some people with family experiences to come up and talk with them.  Something they really were pushing on was not just the rights for immigrants, but for them and others to reiceve proper education and opportunities to take them somewhere in their lives.  After the opening ceremony closed, about ten workshops all on different topics opened all around the school.  We were given the chance to go and look at all of the rooms and topics and decide on which we would want to sit in on.  As I visited the different rooms they all had similar themes that were very broad.  I finally came to a room with less people with the topic of Early Childhood development.  This seemed odd, it didn't really seem to tie into the common theme that the workshops were based off of.  I decided to sit in.  What it was discussing was the idea of creating jobs for parents who are immigrants who had not received a good education to go to school with their young kids (jk-4th grade) and become parents mentors in the classes.  The classes were overcrowded, so the mentors would serve as a extra pair of hands in teaching and helpings the kids.  Because of the programs that have started this, these mothers and fathers are soon taking classes and studying to become teachers and then graduating as one.  This program first started in about three schools in  the Logan Sqaure neighborhood.  Classroom reactions were first very unhappy with the idea of having parents sit and help with their classes.  But by the end of the school after the firs year of having the mentors, every classroom was asking for mentors.  I had never heard about this idea and job, and I found it so interesting.  This program has now expanded to seven schools, and soon to eleven.  The most interesting part to me was how they actually had a mentor from one of the schools come up an speak about it.  They also had a kid from one of the 4th grade class speak about having one.  I really appreciate visiting this event and I'm thrilled to have learned about something completely new. 

Reflection on, "Akhenaten"

Before this reading, I had never heard of him.  I had never even known about a spark of monotheism in egyptian history.  In the reading, " The Hymn to Aten," it lists a set of ideals created by Akhenaten.  Basically in everything he lists, he is creating a perfect lifestyle to live by, where you are protected and nothing can go wrong.  Also, in one section of the reading, he speaks about how before the sun god, Aten, was addressed as the only god as oppose to all of the gods, how the human's eyes were covered and they didn't know anything.  So, in a way Akhenaten is sort of trashing polytheism is a classy manner.  Now something that i was interested the we discussed is how when Akhenaten declared there only being one god, how everyone followed his way, then switched back to polytheism after he died.  I think that mostly comes from the way he projected his beliefs.  If he wasn't doing a very good job, they obviously it didn't stick with the people.  To conclude, In my opinion i think of Akhenaten as being a not very persuasive and good pusher of his religious ideas, and that is what made the whole monotheistic idea at the time suffer.

Polytheism/monotheism pros and cons argument

In class, we were recently asked to be split up in different groups and to discuss and bullet point to positive and negative facts of monotheism and polytheism.  On the monotheistic positive side, there was a overall unity of sharing one god to believe in in a community, which polytheism does not have.  On the monotheistic down side, it is a more restricted and more against competing over religions.  For polytheistic positive side, it's a more open religion where you can decide which of the certain gods you wish to pray to. It has a more freedom feel to it.  On the downside, it is not as unified and it runs into the problem of organizing religious leaders for each of the gods and which god possess the most power.  My personal opinion, being a questioning atheist, I think the idea of monotheistic religion is for the better.  It's a more modern aspect of looking at things, and it really has the power of bringing people together.  My issue is what religions cause people to do.  It could be something amazing, or something completely awful.  When i think of religion, I don't think of a superpower trying to gain power over the world.  What my understanding, or what i think, a religion is supposed to be is a much more personal belief and view upon things.  I may be wrong in some peoples opinions, but how can you tell what is the right answer is in religion.  In politics, government, and economy for example, everything comes down to helping the better good of the community.  But religion is much more complex, it dominates the mental aspect of all of those.  I may just be ranting on about something pointless but how can i write on the right and wrong ideas of two different sides of religion where i don't even understand ones values of their belief.  It's complicated.  To conclude, my idea of a more organized religion remains with the belief of monotheism.