History notes for last week

Servus Servorum Dei

Gregory bridged the world between Ambrose and Augustine and their contemporaries and the world of the Medieval successors. Augustine worked out what it mean to be a Christian in a pagan culture. Gregory worked out what it meant to be a Christian in a Christian culture. It comes down to what you truly believe, how your faith is actively worked out in your life. For the strength and integrity of the church, as well as the strength and integrity of the souls under his pastoral care, Gregory knew there should be guidelines so people could know and see how we should advance in a biblical model of what it means to be truly a Christian in a culture in which it was expected to be so.

In 542 AD, there were a great many number of plagues and famines that swept across the Roman Empire. It is said that 1/3 of the population died during that time. Also, because of the weakness of the Empire, many different barbarians came and invaded. Because of this, many pagan beliefs had to be blocked...a work done by great defenders of the true faith. You can never ever take peace and security for granted. Justinian found this out when his lands became targets from warring tribes. Previously, he had tried to re-conquer the Vandals in North Africa, but failed. At the time of the famines and pestilence, there was inflation and low-production. It wasn't long after this that the people began to flee to Constantinople in the East. There, they all learned that there was no such thing as a leisure class any longer. This was definitely not a stable time for the Empire as a whole.

There is no precise date when Gregory the Great was born, but it is said to have been sometime between 540 and 550 AD. When Gregory was young, he attended a school set up by his uncle. He was very well educated in grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, natural science, history, mathematics and music. It is also rumored that he studied some in law. Later on, he was elected the Prefect of the City.

In this position, he had control of the city and jurisdiction as well as authority over many working and political groups. He was known for his great governing skills. He was, however, involved with many worldly affairs and was concerned over it. He realized that true charity had to come from a true intention and a heart founded within God. Outwardly, things were doing just fine, but inwardly, he was lacking and he knew it. He had a dramatic conversion, much like Augustine or Ambrose. He turned all his estates into monasteries, especially his largest one on Caelian Hill (one of the seven hills of Rome) which he named St. Andrews. It was already filled with a great deal of classical art. All his money was turned over to the Church to distribute to the monks for food and provisions.

You can't just go to church, get married in the church, live as such, and claim to be a Christian, yet act and speak otherwise. Both the objective and subjective must be in place for true Christianity within your life.

Pope Benedict forced him to be a deacon of Rome in 578 AD. A few years later, the Lombards began to invade once again. Gregory was sent to the to court and church of byzantium to help hold it all together and to be an advisor to the rulers there. He hated it there because it was such a worldly court, filled with things that weren't uplifting to a spiritual life such as he'd been used to. He greatly missed his quiet and peaceful monastery. He did, however, try to keep as much of a monastic life as could be possibly be lead in such a place as that. The emperor and empress were taking over as much of the ecclesiastical realm as was possible. This began a State and Church conflict. Gregory kept several monks with him from St. Andrews in order to help him remain grounded while being surrounded by an evil world without the luxury of a monastery. He wrote a book while there called "Moralia" speaking to this subject.

When he got back to his monastery sometime in 586-589, instead of his solitude that he had hoped for, he was proclaimed the Abbot of St. Andrews. This was not what he had wanted. He was appalled by the amount of worldliness that had crept into his monastery while he was away. One example of this was a monk who confessed on his deathbed that he had hidden three gold coins under his bed. To us, it would seem like nothing, but to the monks, who had to take a vow of poverty, it meant a great deal. He died friendless and alone and was thrown in a dung heap along with his coins. This shows how much of a big deal it was to them for the monks not to have buried him in the monasteries cemetery. It was considered a huge crime.

In 589, many floods and plagues began again. The water from the floods swept into the granaries for the monks. Because of this, famine became an issue also. Along with all the horrible things that were happening, the Pope died. Rome was without a protector. All eyes turned to Gregory. The Clergy chose Gregory to be Pope. He did not want to take that role and made it very obvious. He wrote a letter to Marius who was in charge of the role of Pope. At the same time, the people wrote to Marius asking him to overlook Gregory's letter and to make him Pope anyways. In 590, it became official that he was Pope.

He served for 14 years. At one point when there was plagues and famines, and he had all the people divid into groups and they would march around the city with candles and pray to God for their sins. During the time that they marched all around the city, 80 people dropped dead because of the plague. Finally, it all ended. What Gregory told the people to rouse them was, "Let us storm the gates of heaven with prayers for forgiveness and for relief." They believed that all the bad things that happened because of their sinfulness.

They believed that any flood, famine, invasion, pestilence, or death was because of something wrong they did. They took responsibility for their actions. Any good thing was a blessing from God. This is taking to a very extreme side. It doesn't need to be quiet that exaggerated, but it is a good mindset to get into.

There was a story about St. Gregory the Great that shows forth his great missionary skills. He was walking through the market place and saw some boys put up for auction as slaves. When he asked who they were and was told that they were Angles, he said that they were not that but rather Angels. He asked where they came from and once hearing that, he asked to send missionaries to that country to convert them to Christianity. He even went himself, but was dragged back by the people of his monastery.

Gregory the Great along with Augustine and Ambrose are said to be the three most influential men of their times.

Argumentation for this week

Making a good argument:

1) Sources - go to the experts and see what they have to say. You must have reliable sources.

2) Cite your sources. Be ready to back up what you say.

3) Seek informed sources. Just because the source is informed in one area doesn't mean that they are informed about another. Just because they're famous or have letters after their name doesn't mean they are informed either. Your sources could be limited, so make sure to tell your opponent that also.

4) Seek impartial sources. There really is no such thing as impartial at the end of the day, but still, you need to try to find someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight. They can't argue one way or another. Have them be as impartial as possible and as accurate as possible.

5) Cross-check your sources. You will still always have people who argue against you so don't let that stop you, but always make sure to not be limited in your sources...expand as much as possible, but keep an eye out for the opposition.

6) Use the Web with care. Cross check everything you find online. It's not always the most reliable. You must always read a source in context. Often you will see "..." most of which times means that it is out of context. If they cut out words, it will probably be because it doesn't agree with what they want.

Just because there is mere disagreement doesn't mean that you are automatically wrong. You are always going to get people who oppose you. A large part of arguing is physiological.

Church in History Chapter 9

Chapter 9

In 568, Italy was once again conquered this time by the Lombards. They were to eventually be converted to Christianity. The Lombards did, however, push the popes into the arms of the Franks who quickly formed an alliance with them. It soon appeared to many that the church had the power to remove or place a ruler on the throne.

Law and Order = peace

Civilization = knowledge

Christianity = true religion

In the age of Charles the Frank there was a rule of lawlessness. Charlemagne worked all his life trying to establish a well-working community and he even set up a school. The alliance set up between the Franks and the Church soon showed fruit.

I'll get Chapter 8 on here as soon as I get it back from Pastor.

History Class notes - November 17

We are to live in the world, but not of it. One group of people who took this very seriously and acted upon it was the Monastic group. There were different "tribes" of monks and we will look at each briefly.

Anchorites or Eremites stayed in one place and were entirely apart from the community. They were locked in hermits.

Cenobites or Koinobites lived in the midst of fellowship and lived a good life separated from the world yet within a community.

Sarabites believed that they needed to get a fresh start for their previous sins. They were separated for a season.

The Mendicants had no monasteries and were known for their wandering. They had decentralized order.

The monks believed that there were eight primary sins. This was another from of Total Depravity.

1) Voracitas: Greed - always wanting more and very self-centered. An example of this is in Tolkien's work The Lord of the Rings where Gollum wants the ring so he can have all the fishes in the world.

2) Turpitudo: Immorality - being good for bad reasons or impure.

3) Impietas: Impiety - being puffed up and not seeking God by seeking and studying Him.

4) Idiota: Ignorance - we are just plain stupid and we miss the obvious.

5) Ignave: Sloth - We have a disinclination to work and to be lazy.

6) Conflict: causes turmoil and dissension.

7) Supervivere: Survival - you say that the rules apply to others but not to yourself.

8) Licentia: Anarchy - you build communities successfully by going against your tendency of sin.

We must focus upon Christ and his work and not so much on ourselves. Complete Total Depravity will not allow you to look outside, but rather inward on yourself.

Now we will provide the answers to these sinful tendencies.

1) Paupertas: Poverty - provides freedom from greed

2) Prudentia: Chastity - you realize your purity

3) Sanctus: Prayer - you commit yourself to prayerfulness

4) Discendi: Study - overcome stupidity by studying God's Word

5) Sedulus: Industry - by creating businesses you created work

A good motto should be Ora et Labora meaning Prayer and Work. We must also bear witness to the world.

We must live by faith through grace, show for the living hope, and walk in love.

The monks had specific hours for their spiritual life.

Morn Watch

Nocturn or Vigils happens before dawn. You gather together and read through a Psalm.

Matins happens at dawn where you have a prayer service to bless the labors and the awakening of the day.

Lauds is after sunrise and was for the purpose of stealing (founding) a resolve to obey Him throughout the day.

Prime was at 7 AM and reminded the monks to live lives prayerfully and focused.

Terce was before the High Mass at 9 AM and was sometimes combined with Prime.

Noon Watch

Sext happened directly before lunch. There was a grace said to remind them that every blessing come from above.

Even Watch

Nones, Vespers, and Compline were all different times during the evening where they would gather together to pray over the day and the things that happened.

Night Watch

Benediction: this was the blessing after the monks went to bed.

There were many different orders of Monasticism. We will list a few and state what each order's specialty was.

Augustinians - teaching and schools

Carmelites - were a separated people

Cistercians - were very ascetic

Franciscans - travelled a lot blessing people, and eventually became more of teachers.

Knights Templar - they were a police order, guarding the holy places. They lead the first crusade and helped pilgrims.

Benedictines - teaching and serving. They helped set up the first hospitals.

Carthusians - often retreated into silence

Dominicans - teaching and serving

Maryknollers and Jesuits were both a missionary order. It is often said that the cause of "every problem" was the Jesuits. They believed that the ends justified the means.

What a Christian must do:

The fortress of first principles shows the purposefulness of the Gospel can be portrayed. A school of the covenant teaches that those who were naturally not connected can be connected. A reset of society's clock will lead to the reset of peoples' hearts. You must center the day around God. A recalibration of society's calendar will lead to a setting of Holy Days - not just state holidays. An incubator of community will teach people about what is necessary for communities to thrive. They must have it modeled and shaped for them.

A hub for trade and commerce is basically good communities attracting other communities.

Everyone bases their days and calendar life off of a belief. We must live out Christianity and must recognize God's Holy Days. This will encourage a community to run smoothly.

People must look outside of themselves and be hospitable and open to help ground a well-run community. You cannot force this or else it will fall apart. It must be a natural feeling given by the Holy Spirit.

These good communities run by Christians would attract other communities. Christians are honest and wouldn't cheat others out of something. This is attractive even to pagans.

Institutions will always become corrupt. Something will always be birthed out of it and that will have its golden age before eventually falling. It is a repeating cycle.

"In the same way that angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly; monasteries can help change the world precisely because they keep all the world's changes in their true and proper perspective." G.K. Chesterton

The least likely people you'd expect to reshape society -- not princes or kings, generals or presidents -- was a group of ordinary people who looked at the world and their own hearts and knew they needed to retool everything if there was to be faith, hope, and love manifested for generations to the world.

Argumentation notes from today

Any generalization must be backed up by at least 2 real facts. For every rule there is always an exception. Here we will state some exceptions.

Arguments by Analogy:
You connect from one example to another: y------x From those examples you draw a point which must also be connect to those examples.

President Barack Obama will give the Medal of Honor to an Iowa soldier for conspicuous gallantry during combat in Afghanistan is like Betty Crocker receiving the award for virtue by Lady Gaga. It's just not comparable. The person giving the award in this case is nearly the complete opposite of the award and so it doesn't make sense that they are giving it out.

Chief of the Indian Chippewa tribe, Adam Nordwall, claimed Italy for the Indian people. The intrepid explorer, in full Indian dress, stood on the tarmac of Fiumicino Airport and took possession of Italy ‘by right of discovery.' He said compared it to Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. It had already been possessed by people, but he still claimed to have discovered it.

The word 'like' is the key word in arguments by analogies.

1) Arguments by Analogies makes a claim about the example used as an analogy.
2) It also claims that the example in the first premise is like the example by which the argument draws its conclusion. Hence, the example must be true.

An analogy requires relevant similar examples
They must fit within each other. They don't need to be exact, but similar.

Teleology argument - the end proves the means and/or the beginning or maker/creator.

Creation proves that there is a God and that He is powerful. A beautiful house proves that there was a good builder and designer.

Arguments

Ok, so these are stolen from Christian Timmis whom I must give all credit to; however, I loved them so much that I asked permission to post them here on my blog and he granted it. These are simply examples of having a conclusion and backing it up with premises or working backwards with the premises and then stating your conclusion. There are two of each; see if you can find which is which. Excellent job, Christian.

Argumentation exercise:

All cookies should be incinerated. They make people fat. They also cause depression when that last cookie in the jar is popped in someone's mouth. It is then that confusion ensues. Not only that, but they have been known to cause fraternal warfare.

Parents tend to limit teenagers freedom and make them stay home and clean house or do school. They also limit their teenagers' consumption of candy and sweets saying that it is unhealthy and and will make them fat. One, "fat" is completely subjective. Two, all they are really trying to do is save the candy for themselves. Three, it is very rude to call someone fat. But most importantly, it somehow slipped my parents' mind to give me that $1000 dollar check on my birthday. Therefore, all parents should be eliminated from the face of the earth.

Flowers are very manly. First of all, girls enjoy them. Therefore, the act of picking flowers and proceeding to present them to girls is undoubtedly manly and suave. Second of all, they make any suite appear more dapper. Most importantly, however, God made them all.

Of any instrument, piano can express the widest range of emotion. It is also used in almost every discipline of music, such as composition, ensembles, and solo performance. Piano is also easy to just sit down. It can also relieve stress. Therefore, piano is the best instrument on earth.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The later Middle Ages open a stage where man is walking uncertainly and
slowly to discover the world. Not only the physical world, but also who he
is...who is man? Religion always remains ingrained on the minds of the
people regardless of how the Church fares. The Church attempted to reform
the world in the thirteenth century using vindication. That great effort was
lost at the close of that century when the old social dualism creeps back in
the picture. There is no room for social dualism or political conflict
between the Church and state. The culture is an expression of the religion.
Christ is seen as a man as a laborer, the Son of Man and the Son of God who
saved His people, and a figure of the Church as a spirtual humanity,
anointed and enlightened by the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

With the freeing of the Church from the imperial and feudal power and the
contention of the spiritual power set at liberty new spiritual forces and
created the new international society of medieval Christendom. The church
had a major helping in the reforming movement in the Middle Ages which had a
huge impact and influence on the surrounding culture. In fact, the culture
owns its unity to this fact. When the connection between the governing power
in the Church and the cultural leadership, broke near the end of the
thirteen century that unity and the creative power slowly dissipated. The
abbey was turned into a whole and not an ends, by the Cluniac movement,
which put all the hierarchy of monastic groups under the complete power of
Abbot of Cluny. This was a cause and effect of the reforming movement. The
victory of the church forced it to make use of temporal means. St. Bernard
condemned the things that were secularizing the Church and placing confusion
between spiritual authority and temporal power. The need for spiritual
reform ran heavily through the twelfth century. The transition from
orthodoxy to heresy was a major factor in the rising and declining of the
culture. The Franciscan movement influenced medieval religion and culture
through its ecclesiastical organization as a new religious Order. There was
also the movement of the Dominicans. "For three centuries the development of
Western Europe had been centripetal towards the unity of Christendom and the
creation of an intellectual and spiritual synthesis. For the second half of
the thirteenth century this movement is reversed and a centrifugal process
begins witch continues throughout the later Middle Ages until it culminates
in the religious devision and social changes of the sixteenth century.

Chapter 10

From the early Middle Age onwards, we can see a marked rise in education and
learning, mainly due to the monasteries. At the end of the eleventh century
and beginning of the twelfth, there was a revival of culture and literature
within the Western providences of France. The leaders were not philosophers
or theologians, but rather poets and humanists who knew the classics and
enjoyed conversing between knowledgeable people. John of Salisbury was a
marked and well known scholar. Bologna was a highly educational university
at the time and was much envied by other schools. It was also very
influential to other outlying cities and countries. There were other schools
similar to this one in Italy and France. A Bologna degree, however,
--especially the double doctorate of Civil and Canon Laws -- was generally
regarded as the highest academic honour in the world. The fourteenth century
was full of division and strife and saw at least one invasion. "It is as
though the spiritual tide which had been steadily making for unity for three
centuries had suddenly turned, so that everywhere in every aspect of life
the forces that made for division and dissolution were predominant."

Chapter 9

During the Dark Ages, the Carolingian, and post-Carolingian ages, Western
Europe had moved on from being a city-society and had become more of a
agricultural society. But beginning with the twelfth century onwards, it
returned to a city-oriented culture. This new medieval culture, however, was
something very different. "The late Ernst Troeltsch, following Max Weber,
went so far as to maintain that it was the medieval city which first
provided the favorable conditions for a thorough-going Christianization of
social life such as had existed neither in the city culture of the ancient
world, which was based upon slavery, nor in the feudal agrarian society
which had been built up so largely by the strong at the expense of the
weak." The new medieval society which arose out of the ashes of the ideas of
feudalism was ultimately a better road for advancement. In fact, it has been
said that for the political and economical point of view, the eleventh
century began the paving for our modern world as we know it. The city was a
place of security and peace in a war filled with insecurity and war. It was
in many respects, it was extremely similar to the Church. It has been said
that many cities in the Carolingian age owed their existence to the Church.
Soon, however, the merchant class became so independent and powerful, that
they plotted to take over the political, juridical, and military functions,
which once belonged to the bishop, count, or representatives of the feudal
state. This was the first official union. At the beginning, it was ruled by
consuls, but eventually led to nobles leading it. The jealousy that went on
among the classes or individuals was so great, that they finally resorted to
having elections and votings. Commerce began to expand and widen its
borders. It was in this culture that Christianity began to flower and come
out into the open. It was with this new city that developed a new people and
a new art. The medieval mindset was one of unity. Each person has a specific
role he or she must fill to make that unity complete. There had to have
subordination at every level to progress, but not necessarily slavery to
authority.

"If the bond of love and friendship is laudable among mere rational men,
then how much more is that which is between Christians, who are tied by the
strongest bond of faith and religion; but above all by those Christians who
form one fraternity bound and linked together by a solemn oath."

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

*
In the eleventh century, reformation had begun to spread to the wider
cultures and was not limited to just the monastic life. This created a huge
spiritual change transforming the Western Church and the spirit of Western
culture. Because of this, it was not so reliant upon the Empire, and had its
own authority.

The new feudal states created out of the ruins of the Carolingian state were
created by war and for war. Their whole structure evolved around the
military aspect of life. The rising of feudalism shows us a mark in the
return of barbarianism, which had previously disappeared. After the feudal
principalities were firmly established, the population went up, the roads
became more traveled by traders, and towns and markets were revived once
again.

The anarchy of the feudal system was balanced by the vitality of the new
type of society. From the beginning of the eleventh century, the Western
feudal society showed extraordinary power of expansion.

"According to the Foucher of Chartres, the Pope associated his appeal with
the ideas of the peace movement and the Truce of God, and called on the
peace-breakers and men who lived by the sword to win pardon for their sins
by becoming soldiers of Christ and shedding their blood in the service of
Christendom."

"So long as the Crusades continued, the unity of Christendom found
expression in a dynamic militant activity, which satisfied the aggressive
instincts of Western man, while at the same time sublimating them in terms
of religious idealism."

Every great world civilization have had to answer to the problem of
reconciling the ethos of the warrior with the ideals of a religion.
*

Chapter 7

The breaking down of the empires, and the diminishing rule of the state due
to barbarian invasion and feudal anarchy eventually turned into a similar
crisis for the Church. It was not just monasteries getting attacked now, but
the real worldview underneath. Secularism was being brought into play. In
the fifth and sixth century, Christianity is seen to be independent when the
world is falling. It brought forth real reformation, regeneration, and
renewal along with its new found power. This movement began as a monastic
one, but each monastery was lead differently and so lead to different yet
unifying beliefs. Every monastery held the responsibility of its missionary
function very highly and seriously. We can see from the writings of St. Odo
that even within the Church there was great evil. The monastic age was
decaying rapidly. But St. Odo also realizes that this cannot help but
happen. Within every culture and every individual there lies a nature that
wills to create evil and wrongdoing. This will come out, but the glory of
the Lord will reign in the end. He knew the Church would not disappear
completely.



“The only remedy is to be found in that spiritual force by which the
humility of God conquers the pride of the evil one. Hence the spiritual
reformer cannot expect to have the majority on his side. He must be prepared
to stand alone like Ezekiel and Jeremy. He must take as his example St.
Augustine besieged by the Vandals at Hippo, or St. Gregory preaching at Rome
with the Lombards at the gates. For the true helpers of the world are the
poor in spirit, the men who bear the sign of the cross on their foreheads,
who refuse to be overcome by the triumph of injustice and put their sole
trust in the salvation of God.”



Within the sea of feudal anarchy, monasteries of peace and tranquility were
forming and spreading the Gospel. Not only that, but they made great
progress. Many faithful and Godly abbots exercised great influence upon the
rulers of their times.


The temporal authority in the Church was its temporal ministers. If these
ministers lead the Church astray, it was the duty and calling of the Church
and of the Christian people to either correct their ways, or replace them.


F.W. Maitland said, "It is impossible to frame any acceptable definition of
the State which would not include the medieval Church."

Chapter 6

The conversion of the Scandinavian people was a large step to Christianity
because they were the largest and most severe threat to the existence of
Western Christianity at one time. At the time of their conversion, Eastern
Europe was also converted. The Byzantine influence spread to the east to
Armenia. Justinian II was a cruel and ruthless tyrant. For a long time, the
highest civilizations of the East and West have ignored the other's
presence, but the barbarians realized the downfall of this, and brought them
together. The relation of the Byzantine empire to its barbarian neighbors
was of empire to empire. Soon, it was Bulgaria that posed the most threat to
the Byzantine empire, but by being established in the Eastern Balkans
impacted its culture. Christianity in Eastern Europe led to religion getting
mixed up in politics. The Bogomils were a quiet and passive culture who
dealt with concealment. In the Middle Ages, it was often difficult to tell
the differences between a trader and a warrior, especially with the Vikings.
Often, the only way to make a profit was to kill or attack. The conversion
of Russia created a passageway by which Christianity could spread to the
North. The conversion of Hungary opened the way for Christianity to Eastern
Europe even more than Poland. At the beginning of the 11th century, we see
Christians arising from Eastern Europe. These people were in geographical
and cultural contact with each other. The foundation of the Latin Empire of
Constantinople was a downfall and a blow to Christian unity and the cultural
unity of Eastern Europe.

"Every day we see men who go to death in thousands for their lords or their
fellows, but those who fear God, few as they are, think only of their own
souls and forget their brethren."

A conflict of ideals was brought in the Empire where the Carolingian
tradition was strong and where the church and bishops in it were the
mainstay of the imperial system.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Once the founder of the Carolingian Empire died, it turned into absolute
chaos. Monasteries were prone to the barbarian attacks. Many great
monasteries were completely destroyed. The monastic cultures of Ireland and
Northumbria never recovered. Christianity was even more taken back, however,
by the large threat of an organized invasion from Denmark by way of Frisia
and South-East England. In 845, Hamburg was destroyed. The main attack,
however, was in 850 and went on for another 50 years. These attacks were
highly thought out and organized. This was the fall of the Carolingian
Empire. This was the war that most threatened the existence of the Western
Christendom as a whole so seriously. No Christian land had suffered more
severly than England from the disaster of the ninth century; no where do we
see the monastic culture so completely destroyed. King Alfred had a library
of translations. In the West, the fall of the Empire was soon followed by
the fall of the authority of the State. The Eastern Christendom, however,
flourished greatly. Christianity was heartily accepted in Norway and Denmark
which greatly shaped the Scandinavian culture.

Chapter 4 from that book I was reading a while ago

The Christian tradition was very dualistic: a kingdom of God, and a kingdom of Caesar. It was reinforced in the West by the Augustinian philosophy of history. His book, City of God, speaks about the struggles between two worlds, which are separate, but do intertwine and mix here on earth. The Christian people were the second Israel. To the barbarians, kinship was the most important aspect of life. It was what held together their social lives. The new barbarian kingdoms had double purpose. 1) They'd inherited some traditions of heroic races and 2) they were allies of the Roman Empire. They made excellent rulers; ruling with justice and leading their countries in wise decisions. Nevertheless, it was cities and kingdoms like these who would get wiped away in 711-13. Throughout the ages, we can clearly see the different tribes and cultures continuing to preserve their traditions and origins. It was not always the ruler that defined the culture, but rather the people and how well they held together. The king was merely the one who held the strands together somewhat. The coming of Christianity brought a revolution socially. "However small was the political power of the king, he was the keystone of the social structures and his conversion to Christianity was the symbol and pledge of the conversion of his people." "All the faithful must know is that the universal church is the body of Christ who is its Head, and in it there are two figures which stand out supreme - the priest and the king." the people are bound to obey the king and the king is bound to obey God. The priest and the king were often in tension with each other because they each wanted the ultimate power over the people.

Lately...

phew I have work tomorrow morning...bright and early for that. Also, my mom starts her work tomorrow afternoon. I have all my homework for Wednesday classes done except one tiny thing which I will accomplish tonight in bed along with math, science, and Latin.

It feels so much like winter that I expect to look out the window and see snow! The wood-stove is going and it smells so cold outside! Bundle up, it's chilly out there.

I got my music for Lansing Symphony Orchestra today (thank you, Papa) and hope to practice a bit tonight on that. My back is hurting some, but maybe after laying down for a bit and having some water, I will feel better.

The weekend is coming and I will be at Aristocats at Mount Hope on Friday for their last rehearsal (which will be longer than usual). After that, I will go to L'Abri (you should too!) and hopefully we'll bring Victoria home with us to stay the weekend! The kids have the Aristocats performances at McDonald Middle School at 2pm and 6pm (you should def come to that!) and after that Rachel and my mom have their Mason concert. I am still unsure if I will go to that. Sunday we have church (duh) and that about sums up my week.

Have a good one, y'all!

Hey...

I would just ask for a little bit of prayer from anyone who cares to take a moment to do so. I've been struggling with some faith issues, and turning from God. Please pray for me to become strengthened in my relationship with Him and to make all my decisions glorify Him.

Thanks.

More Vocabulary words

Vocabulary for Lesson 6:

anchorite - a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion; hermit.

hermitage - the habitation of a hermit

hermit - a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion

reclusive - a person who lives in seclusion or apart from society, often for religious meditation

stylite - one of a class of solitary ascetics who lived on the top of high pillars or columns

mendicant - begging; practicing begging; living on alms; pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar

perversity - the state or quality of being perverse

blights - the state or result of being blighted or deteriorated

impiety - lack of piety; lack of reverence for god or sacred things; irreverence

chastity - the state or quality of being chaste

ascetic - a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons; a person who leads an austerely simple life, esp. one who abstains from the normal pleasures of life or denies himself or herself material satisfaction; a monk; hermit

Vocabulary words

Haha, I know a lot of you wonder why on earth I post vocabulary words. It is in hopes that maybe one of you will learn one new word while browsing through them all! :D

Kleptocracy - a government or state in which those in power exploit national resources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves.

dialect - a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language, esp. when considered as substandard.

uncouth - awkward, clumsy, or unmannerly; strange and ungraceful in appearance or form

provincial - belonging or peculiar to some particular province; local

migrations - the process or act of migrating

homogeneous - composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind; not heterogeneous

stymie - a situation or problem presenting such difficulties as to discourage or defeat any attempt to deal with or resolve it

amnesty - a general pardon for offenses, esp. political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction

ingrained - firmly fixed; deep-rooted; inveterate

reversion - the act of turning something the reverse way; the act of reverting; return to a former practice, belief, condition, etc.

Machiavellian - characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty; of, like, or befitting Machiavelli

subvert - to overthrow (something established or existing); to cause the downfall, ruin, or destruction of

periodic - recurring at intervals of time; repeated at irregular intervals; intermittent

engender - to produce, cause, or give rise to; to beget; procreate

veneer - a superficially valuable or pleasing appearance;

polarization - a sharp division, as of a population or group, into opposing factions; the production or acquisition of polarity

urbane - having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities; reflecting elegance, sophistication, etc., esp. in expression

steppes - the vast grasslands, esp. those in the south and eat European and west and southwest Asian parts of Russia.

deficit - a lack or shortage; deficiency;

garner - to gather or deposit in or as if in a granary or other storage place; to get; acquire; earn; to gather, collect, or hoard

symbolic - serving as a symbol of something;

feudal - of, pertaining to, or like the feudal system, or its political, military, social, and economic structure; of or pertaining to the Middle Ages;

fiefdoms - the estate or domain of a feudal lord; anything, as an organization or real estate, owned or controlled by one dominant person or group

autonomy - independence or freedom, as of the will or one's actions; the condition of being autonomous; self-government, or the right of self-government; independence; a self-governing community

elitist - practice of or belief in rule by an elite; consciousness of or pride in belonging to a select or favored group.