Great Britain :: essays research papers

Britian and the colonies had tensions between each other from the time that the adventurous 1colonists wanted to branch out away from the powerful grip of Britian. Although Britian did not want to let the colonists start there own country they still believed that an extension to their country would be very beneficial to their economy and power. Britian had laws and taxes on the colonists that seemed unfair to the colonists; and they were, but they benefited Britian a great deal by extending their power further into the world. Now that the British had set up their colony and set down their rules and regulations the colonists felt that they were being treated unfairly and believed that they deserved more freedom than the British gave them. After such things as the Sugar Act, Stamp Act and the brutality of the Boston Massacre the colonists began to get restless and striving toward freedom from the higher power that ruled their every day. Protest groups began to rise from the disgruntled people, groups like the Committees of Correspondence. This group gave the people something to believe in. This group clearly told them that they had more rights than the British told them. Inevitably the colonists waged war on the mighty British government. This may have seemed to be a good choice; the British were unfair, so it seemed that the colonists had a right to declare their independence from Britain. And of course it seems to be a good dicision because the United States is now the most powerful country in the world. However was it a smart Christian dicision, what does the bible say about war and going against your own government. In the book of Romans it directly tells the reader that going against your government it is going against Gods will because the government was put there by God. So if this is the case the colonists were all heathens and the whole economy, society and culture of the United States was based on an unjust sinful idea. Yes, that would be true if the Bible did not have another portion specifically handling this sort of situation. In another section of the Bible it reads that a person must only follow a government if it is not leading the person away from God. So if a government directly disobeys Gods word then it is not right to follow its rule and teachings. Did the British do this? Yes, the British passed many different laws that would go against the biblical things like the Quebec Act and the many other unfair taxes and rules. When the British killed

Southern’s Middle Ages

Southern’s Middle Ages In the novel, â€Å"The Making of the Middle Ages,† author, R. W. Southern, calls attention to the events during the years of 972 and 1204, and how they  influenced the intellectual, religious and cultural traditions of our modern era. This period, lasting well over 200 years, is usually associated with waring knights and starving peasants rather than highly developed intellect and great innovation.However, Southern explains that there were considerable academic and sociological advancements made during this period, that go relatively unnoticed. He refers to these events as a â€Å"secret revolution† and explains that, â€Å"The significant events are often the obscure ones, and the significant utterances are often those of men withdrawn from the world and speaking to a very few. † (Pg. 13)   He reiterates this theme throughout the book, focusing primarily on Christianity, society, and thought.There can be no dispute that the pr ominence of Christianity, during the Middle Ages, has done more to shape the world, as it is today, than possibly any other religion. This is primarily because Christianity offered a unifying, stabilizing force throughout Europe, where a majority of areas had an â€Å"incoherent jumble of laws and customs, difficult to adjust to each other and hard even to understand. The survivals of barbaric codes of law jostled with varying mixtures of Roman law, local custom, and violence†. pg 15) Christendom provided Europe with a unified identity in language, government, and education. It is no great mystery that language plays an important role in the creation of personal relationships between individuals. So when applied on an international stage, language can mean the difference between war and peace. The church’s use of Latin acted as a merging factor in areas where people spoke in diverse and various dialects. As stated by Southern â€Å"This broad similarity of language fr om the lowlands of Scotland to Sicily was a real bond between men. (pg 17) The unifying quality of Latin not only bound men together linguistically, but also allowed those from different countries to move about freely with little or no language barrier. â€Å"The likenesses of language over this broad area were sufficiently pronounced to facilitate ease of movement both of men and of ideas: it took relatively few alterations to make a Provencal song intelligible in England, and a member of the English baronage could, without uch difficulty, make himself at home in Italy† (pg 20). As a side effect of the church being the one constant variable of the European continent, individual governments became subjugated to the power of the church. Christendom had developed such a loyal following that the peoples of the European nations, including those in power, were dependent on the church for moral and political authority. In this way, Christianity helped to unify countries that would otherwise be at odds with each other.Through the unification of these nations, the church grew to be the most commanding institution of Europe, enforcing that â€Å"all paid a form of tribute known as Peter’s Pence, which was the foundation of more or less determined claims to Papal overlordship; and when Bohemia finally became a kingdom, its new status was guaranteed by a Papal confirmation† (pg 27) The influence of the church was so great that all countries were reliant upon it, and were only recognized as sovereign nations, when determined as so, with the expressed confirmation of the Pope.Above all though, the most distinguishing impact that Christianity had, was a result of the crusades. Southern states that, â€Å"Even the Crusades only touched the fringe of this hostile world. But they had one great effect: they opened men’s minds to the size of the uncovered world. † (70) These wars brought people to the edges of their culture and introduced to th em to thier neighbors of the Muslim world where there was a literal collide and infusion of new thought, which Southern calls â€Å"The great period of acquisition†. pg 68) At this time, the advancement in the Muslim’s refined scientific knowledge and mathematic skills, which â€Å"had been intensively cultivated by Moslem Scholars† (65) were transferring and even being sought after by those in academia. The Jewish culture was instrumental as well in that they were effective in the translation of the two different languages. Maribel Dietz, author of â€Å"Wandering Monks,Virgins and Pilgrims† writes on the effects the journeys of the pilgrims had on not only the institutional church, but on society and thought.As stated in her novel â€Å"In an environment of religious, political, and social change, movement itself was now open to a multiplicity of meanings, interpretations, and purposes. †(pg 42) The crusades resulted in a surge of material and in tellectual wealth coming back to Europe from the front lines. Southern discusses the transfer of Muslim knowledge during these wars, Throughout his novel Southern looks at society and the individual. He writes about the importance certain groups and individuals within a particular community as well as the growth of society global scale.One particular group he writes about is women. Women, during this time period, were often given very little recognition. However, the power they wielded during the middle ages was far greater than many have been led to believe. Henry Chaucer often wrote on the subject of women. In his famous poem â€Å"The Canterbury Tales† he gives an in depth look at the power that women held. In one particular section of the poem the wife of bath describes a great deal of her life, omitting very little detail.She describes herself as being a strong woman who makes a habit of manipulating her husbands. â€Å"I will have a husband who will be both my debtor a nd servant, and have his tribulation upon his flesh, while I am his wife. As long as I live I, and not he, have the power over his body. † Regardless of the fact that history shows men as having all the power, in reality women held a great deal of power often through the manipulation of men. While Southern does not address the manipulation of men by women as Chaucer does, he does address the binding nature of marriage.He states in one passage â€Å"the way for this diffusion of rules of conduct and guides to statesmanship was prepared by something less tangible than ideals – it was prepared by the bond of marriage. † During the time in which Southern is writing about, marriage was more that just an expression of love by two individuals. It was an event that could mean the literal difference between life and death. The marriage of a couple was a binding of two families and often two nations if the individuals being married were nobles. In particular he focuses on the influence women have in marriage.Women during this time were married to men for many reasons, each having some sociopolitical ramification. Often times they would leave their home country as a result of a marriage which meant that they were immersed in a new culture, absorbing new ideas as well as spreading ideas from their own homeland. Southern makes a point of this by stating â€Å"Women were less rooted in the soil than men; they brought new influences from distant parts and established bonds between men of little or no identity of purpose or of interest. † This bonding of men from different cultures through women could and did have vast ramifications on society as a whole.One such example is that of Agnes of Aquitaine who was married the King of Germany, and the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry the 3rd. 13 years after their marriage in 1056 Agnes was left widowed and became regent for her infant son. Her reign lasted for 6 years at the end of which she was run out by an upr ising. After her reign ended she became well known for her religious devotion and was the chief ambassador between the Papal court and her son, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry the 4th. She was well known and had considerable influence in the political world. The case Agnes is just one of many that show the power women held during the this time period.Southern moves from the world of women and marriage into the world of men and the nuances of class that men could hold. A common term used when talking about class in the middle ages is the term serf. A serf was a person who was essentially a volintary slave who worked for a lord or religious institution, often working the land and paying a portion of their harvest to their master. It was also possible to be born into serfdom if one was born to parents who were serfs or were promised by their parents to a lord or institution. Education during the middle ages is often seen as something that was essentially non-existant.While it is true that it was more difficult to learn, as a result of geographic restrictions, the enthusiatic pursuit of knowledge never ceased or deminished during this time period. St. Augustine wrote the De Doctrina Christiana, which Southern refers to as â€Å"the most comprehensive syllabus of Christian Studies. †(pg 170) Augustine’s book outlines the way that science is too be used to better understand the bible. It is at this time during the middle ages when science and religion not only go hand in hand, but are practically indistinguishable from each other.And it is not until Boethius attempts to revive the ideas and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome that this system began to change. Boethius’s dream to translate Greek science and philosophy into Latin, was the precurser to the renaissance and inspired others such as Gerbert, who revived the art of rhetoric. It is at this point that one can begin to see the shift from Augustine’s combination of science and religion i nto a new era when the two begin to split. Southern calls itâ€Å"the divorce between Divine and Secular learning† (pg 173) .What started out as a way of understanding religion was becoming a secular endevoure. Southern, R. W. The Making of The Middle Ages. Fredericksburg, Virgina: BookCrafters, Inc. , 1953. (accessed November 4, 2012). toatinthe Ancien Early in the period covered by this novel scientific knowledge was something that went hand in hand with the search for biblical truth. St. Augustine was wrote on this subject stating that clergy should use science to better interpret the meaning of the bible, and theological studies where indistinguishable with scientific.This changed later on when (insert name here) began to draw a p The majority of the european continent consisted of a rural and uneducated society, with diverse political and religious practices, besieged by violent invaders. Conclusion â€Å"Countries which , in 972, appeared so menacing had become by the end of our period an integral part, and to all appearances a permanent part, of Western Christendom† (pg 27) education the popes kings and emperors united in defensive of the perceived threat of islam and roaming tribes

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins - 1991 Words

The Will of Trust Trust is well-defined to be as to having assurance, reliance or confidence in someone. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins takes place in the ruins of what use to be North America, which they call their land Panem. The Capitol consists of twelve districts and every year one male and one female â€Å"tribute† between the ages of twelve and eighteen are chosen to perform in an annual live event called Hunger Games. All participants must engage in a deathly battle and kill each other until one remains standing, achieving a great amount of fame and food. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem,†¦show more content†¦Gale assumed she was trying to steal it and ever since then they became friends, Katniss taught Gale how to shoot a bow and arrow and he taught her how to make snares. They have a close bond and partnership as well as putting up strong foundations for their families who rely on them. â€Å"They’re not our kids, of course. But they might as well be. Gale’s two little brothers and a sister. Prim. And you may as well throw in our mothers too, because how would they live without us?† (Collins 9). Both Katniss and Gale are young adults but they both bear a weight of their respective family, they have to provide and become the head of the household at such a young age. Gale gives Katniss a sense of security and because of this she knows she can trust and depend on him for anything especially providing for her family. At first it was hard for Katniss to trust Peeta but this is understandable. Imagine being forced to like and love someone you barely even know, how would you know to trust them? Katniss and Peeta first encountered when she was younger and looking for food, Peeta was told by his mother to throw away a piece of burnt bread but instead he gave the burnt bread to Katniss. That was the last interaction Katniss had with him before the Games and ever since then she has felt like she owes him something for helping her while she was struggling. They’re both brought into the Games and know very little about each other but