Friday, January 24, 2020

authors who wrote first five books of the Bible Essay -- essays resear

Documentary hypothesis says that there were several authors who wrote first five books of the Bible. In my essay I will try to discuss J, P, and E - authors of Genesis, Exodus and Numbers. I must admit that all these authors had lived after the division of the kingdom. AUTHOR J This author was identified as J for using word Yahweh or Jehovah for the name of God. Also there is an interesting theory that author J was a woman. Of course, there are statements that prove it. First of all I want pay your attention on the fact that we are speaking about patriarchal society where a man was a head of the family and the role of a woman was to give a birth to children. But in the Bible we can find verses and even whole chapters that tell us about women and sometimes show that these women are smarter than patriarchs. There are several examples. The first one is creation of the Earth (Gen.2:4b-25). The author tries to show that culmination of the creation was a woman – Eve. J writes that Adam could not find a helper among the animals and birds so God decided to create a woman from his ribs. In Gen.2:7 J plays with the word Adam which is related to the Hebrew word Adamah (ground). She points out that a man, animals and birds were created from a mud while a woman – from a man. In Gen.3 the author indicates that Eve is more intellectually curious than Adam because the serpent speaks with Eve and she makes a decision to taste a fruit. Second example is Rebekah. The whole chapter (Gen.24:1-67) dedicates to finding Rebekah. Then in Gen.27:5-17 J shows Rebekah as intelligent and sly person. She teaches his beloved son Jacob how to overreach Isaac. One more thing about J’s sense of humor: she plays with names of Isaac’s sons in Gen.25:25,26,30 - the first one is Esau (may mean hairy) and his second name is Edom (red), and the second is Jacob (he deceives). We can see J does not like Esau/Edom and we can make a conclusion that she is scion of Jacob. One more example is in Gen.38 - J describes a story about clever and successive woman Tamar, wife of Judah’s son Er. She wants to have children but her husbands Er an Onan died and she was not given to Shelah as his wife. So she decided to outwit Judah. At the end of the story she has children, husband and Judah identifies that she was more righteous than he (that is very unusual for patriarchal society). After reading J’s passages ... ...ng is the fact that in this story we can see how the redactor put together passages of two authors. So in Gen.37:28a it is said that â€Å"Midianite merchants came by† but in Gen.37:28b – â€Å"sold him †¦ to the Ishmaelites†. The second is that E author names Moses’s father-in-law Jethro in Ex.3:1,18:1,2,5 (not Reuel – J). One more thing that proves that Moses is not the author of first five books of the Bible is that in Num.12:3 it is said that Moses is a very humble man. So, if he is humble, he could not write these words about himself, it has sense if it is written by E author. MY OPINION ABOUT USEFULNESS OF DOCUMENTARY HYPOTHESIS To my mind, documentary hypothesis is very useful because it answers many questions. How can we imagine that God who †so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life† (John 3:16) could give such commandments as †eye for eye, tooth for tooth and hand for hand† (Ex.21:24) or â€Å"kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD† (Num.25:4)? All these things are result of peoples’ interpretation. Also documentary hypothesis has good explanation of the origin of doublets and triplets.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Capetian Kings of France

What factors promoted the authority of the Capetian Kings of France in the Twelfth century? France in the eleventh century had been a fragmented land, divided into federal principalities, or mini-states ruled by princes or dukes. Though they recognized the King of France’s authority they did not expect him to exercise it in their individual territories. Feudalism increased the power of these mini-states in the twelfth century, and was the tool used by the Capetian Kings of France to advance their influence and wealth.Why and how the Capetian dynasty sought to establish and then successfully utilize this particular system will be the main focus of my essay. Feudal law was the customs and relations between lord and vassal in regards to the most valuable medieval commodity; land. Under the ‘oath of fealty’ the lord protected the vassal and gave him land to hold in return for produce, labour services, or military services. The feudal lord could acquire a substantial s um of money if his vassal’s son wished to retain his deceased father’s fiefdom.The potential heir would pay a ‘relief’ to the lord to secure his succession. Other advantages in the feudal arrangement were in cases of the land reverting entirely back to the lord if its vassal died without any successors. The benefits of a feudal society were significant in terms of power and profit for a feudal lord. Therefore, a King who was also feudal lord of his kingdom would hold a strong position of authority. King Louis VI (the fat) sought to establish himself as a feudal monarch, perhaps to regain some of the distinction that had been enjoyed by his predecessor, Charlemagne.Louis VI’s reign was from 1108 – 1137 AD, during which time he sought to consolidate his power as a feudal lord in his demesne. The Capetian King would then have established a base from which to further expand his royal authority in the Kingdom of France. Louis VI felt that he shoul d protect the lands of his vassals well and not appear to be seizing them for himself. It appears that he hoped this would establish a mutual confidence between lord and vassal and would be a great incentive for other subjects in the kingdom to become his vassals voluntarily. Ceaseless vigilance† was required by the king to assert his royal power and prevent its loss if it was not exercised. Louis VI therefore spent a great deal of his reign travelling from one end of his demesne to the other, quashing petty disputes with vassals and granting permission for festivals and markets. All this was in pursuit of respect for his feudal authority, which he painstakingly achieved. Consequently, the respect of other nobles in the kingdom for Louis increased and with his authority.Evidence of the King’s increased power can be seen in the invasion of France by Emperor Henry V in 1124. Nobles from all over the territory obeyed Louis VI’s summons to stand against the Emperor e . g. those from Soissons, St Denise, the Count of Flanders, the Count of Anjou, and the Duke of Aquitaine. Louis’s grandson, Philip II ‘Augustus’ would continue this practice of exercising royal control over his demesne. Philip invested a great deal in drawing up thorough and precise agreements with vassals old and new.By the time Philip II ‘Augustus’ was in power, the territory under Capetian control had grown significantly. This was due in part to the labours first carried out by Louis VI in first consolidating the royal demesne before enlarging it. Both kings knew the value in treating their subjects justly, as dishonesty or greed was sure to provoke a feudal rebellion and destroy any possibility of a feudal monarch. The relationship between the crown and the church also played a part in promoting Capetian authority. The church lent support to the king in return for protection.The idea of a feudal monarch in Latin Christendom appealed to the clerg y who favoured order and obedience which would allow ‘Christian life’ to flourish. The church even supported the claim that the king possessed a healing touch which he passes on to his son. This claim gave rise to the notion that the position of king was ordained by God and should be accepted as his will. This made way for another advance in solidifying royal power by helping to make the crown hereditary. The king’s son was permitted to be crowned during his father’s lifetime in order to preserve the healing touch.The church gave the monarch a higher degree of moral credibility and in return the church gained more prestige. One therefore increased the standing of the other in medieval France. Louis VI’s chief minister and ecclesiastical advisor was Abbot Suger of St Denise. He held his prestigious office from 1122 to his death in 1155, during which time he recorded a history of his king, The Life of Louis the Fat. As a result of this great power he held in France, he was very much involved in French politics and â€Å"virtually ran the Kingdom while King Louis VI was away on crusade. This aspect of Suger’s career would explain his proximity and involvement in the monarch’s progress in gaining a more prominent role in European affairs, and as a result of this proximity, why he was in a position to chronicle Louis’s life. He seems to play a significant role in promoting Capetian authority in how he portrays Louis as a most pious and worthy king to serve under. He states in the introduction of his biography that â€Å"with my pen I describe his devotion to the church's worship of God† and implores his contemporaries and readers not to forget Louis VI’s â€Å"marvellous zeal for the good of the kingdom. Perhaps Suger may be slightly guilty of exaggerating Louis’s piety in an effort to promote his image as a moral leader and help consolidate his power. The enlargement of the royal demesne was the essential aim of the king and his advisor and Suger’s account seems to support this view. Suger may have also wanted to record the events in the life of Louis VI that involved the French Church in order to emphasise the strong bond between the crown and the clergy. The King was forced to move against Thomas de Marle who was claiming land unlawfully.True to form, Louis acts quickly to prevent loss of royal authority by handling the matter personally. Suger reports that the clergy move with him [the King] to excommunicate de Marle and strip him of all honours for his crimes. This is described by The Abbot as â€Å"yielding to the prayers of the great council†, to whom Louis VI â€Å"was always very strongly attached. † The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis was also known as the Royal Abbey of France as many Kings had been educated and buried there. The old abbey church of St.Denis was partially dilapidated by the early twelfth century, having been built i n the late eighth century by Charlemagne, and required renovation as an important symbol of French Capetian royal power. Suger was overseer of the rebuilding of the abbey. Though Suger’s involvement in its reconstruction was of more religious significance, the project was nevertheless just as much a political and architectural an event. The new building marked the beginning of Gothic architecture which would spread with the expansion of the House of Capet’s royal demesne as they came closer to becoming a feudal monarch.The family’s connection to Charlemagne also increased the perception of their glory and power. Their glorified ascendancy was highlighted by the restoration of the Cathedral the great emperor had first commissioned. The church aided the promoting of royal authority throughout the twelfth century as more vassals and land came under Capetian control. After establishing him-self as a respected feudal lord within the kingdom, Louis VI’s court b ecame the place other lords turned to settle their disputes.This was an automatic assertion of Louis’s power in the kingdom. The nobles’ â€Å"submission to [Louis’s court’s] judgement necessitated the recognition of the King as one’s feudal lord. † Advantageous marriage was also a method employed to acquire territory for the crown and increase its power. Though it was not always a successful method, it is evidence that alliances with the Capetian house were not undesirable by rulers of the other mini-states. It also suggests that the consolidation of power into a feudal monarchy was not widely resisted.In 1137 Louis VI married his son, Louis VII to the daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine and thus acquired the extensive territory in western France through marital bonds. However, Aquitaine was lost to Henry II of England when Louis VII’s marriage fell apart. Philip II was slightly more successful than his father in regards to political m arriage. He wished to marry the daughter of Canute VI of Denmark, Isabella of Hainault, in 1193, in the hopes that the alliance would give him the man power he needed to remove the English from the Kingdom of France. He was unsuccessful in this endeavour.He soon wished to have the marriage annulled but it was not permitted by Pope Innocent III. Philip obtained the district of Artois through this marriage. This acquisition marked the beginning of the northern expansion of the royal territory. Philip II soon found himself in a position to continue expanding north by claiming various districts of inheritance. These included Amiens in 1185 and St Quentin in the beginning of the thirteenth century. The continual expansion of the royal demesne to the north was not just to acquire land but to acquire particular land in the district of Flanders.Flanders would be a significant gain to a potential feudal monarch as it was one of the wealthiest parts of northern Europe. Its cities would dispen se a considerable amount of money into the pockets of its feudal lord. The growing willingness of French nobles to submit to the Capetian kings throughout the twelfth century indicates that the idea of a feudal monarchy was neither unpopular nor unwanted. Louis VI’s demesne was seen as a prime example of order and a strong body, capable of wielding power over the rest of France and other European empires.Louis VI proved his worthiness to govern France as both king and feudal overlord. Philip II ‘Augustus’ built on his grandfather’s reputation and had accumulated a considerable amount of land and prestige for the crown by the beginning of the thirteenth century. The church also aided Capetian propaganda by emphasising the dynasty’s most prestigious member, Charlemagne. The restoration of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis was symbolic of the Capetian celebrity that would have been well known in France. Suger and Louis VI the fat sought to utilize the connection for the advancement of Capetian power.This suggests that the monarch and the clergy were quite intertwined in the political events of France in the twelfth century, each shaping the power and the role of the other in the Kingdom’s progression of authority in Europe. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Marc Bloch, Fuedal Society, Volume 1,. (English translation, 1962) p. 60 [ 2 ]. R. H. C Davis, A History of Medieval Europe from Constantine to Saint Louis, (London, 1957) p. 327 [ 3 ]. Ibid. [ 4 ]. Ibid. P 329 [ 5 ]. Fordham University (http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/sbook1m. sp) [accessed 29 October 2011] [ 6 ]. Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p. 325 [ 7 ]. Jean Dunbabin, France in the Making (London, 1983) p. 256 [ 8 ]. Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p 325 [ 9 ]. Paul Halsall, Medieval Sourcebook:  Abbot Suger: On What Was Done In His Administration (New Y ork, 1996) p. 2 [ 10 ]. Halsall, Medieval Sourcebook:  Abbot Suger (New York, 1996) p. 2 [ 11 ]. Abbot Suger, The Life of Louis the Fat, (translated Paul Halsall) (New York, 1999) p. 1 [ 12 ]. Ibid. [ 13 ]. Suger, The Life of Louis the Fat, (trans.Paul Halsall) (New York, 1999) [ 14 ]. Halsall, Medieval Sourcebook:  Abbot Suger, p. 2 [ 15 ]. Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p. 341 [ 16 ]. Ibid. p. 333 [ 17 ]. Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p 339 [ 18 ]. C. N. L Brooke, Europe in the central Middle Ages, 962-1154, (Essex, 1987) p. 266 [ 19 ]. Davis, A History of Medieval Europe, p 339 [ 20 ]. Fordham University (http://www. fordham. edu/halsall/sbook1m. asp) [accessed 29 October 2011] [ 21 ]. R. W Sothern, The Making of the Middle Ages, (London, 1953; latest edn London 1993) p. 151

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Slavery During The Civil War - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 650 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/05/18 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Civil War Essay War Essay Did you like this example? During the civil war in mid-19th century, slavery was one of the particular distributions in the world. Slaves helped manufacture fields by producing tobacco and cotton. Owners treated badly slaves leading them have marks wounds and blood all over the body. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Slavery During The Civil War" essay for you Create order Slave revolts glinted fear among Anglo. The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was planning to reach mass audience against slavery. Understood the conciseness that slavery is an evil viewpoint as it was desecration of human rights. African American slave have the common problems but they began to build a new economic place by facing racial discrimination. The Anglo were scared of losing everything from the African American, so Anglo definite to have leading control over them. Slave trade conceivably allowed a magnificent record by expanding different humanity and becoming a new world economic and social organization. Today, America population has mixed race that provided in civil rights movement created. The role that religion play in the debate over slavery was not perfectly acceptable to Christians. According to the De Bows it stated, Genesis xxvi, 14, Isaac is said to have had possessions of flocks and herds, and a great store of servants. In other places in Genesis, they are spoken of, but always as property. Conferring that slaves are almost similar as preserving animals and property. Bible fails to demonstrate that the message case for owning and abusing slaves for the profit of the wealthy. Also stated, The anti-slavery party maintain, that the bible teaches nothing directly upon the subject, but, that it establishes rules and principles of action, from which they infer, that in holding slaves, we are guilty of a moral wrong. Taking advantage of the poor and weak to enhance their own positions in society. They were treated just like items that can easily sold like items. In the bible, God commanded Abraham to circumcise all his bond-servants. People believe that the savants we re the same as slaves because they were treated like objects. Abraham was chosen to be God servant. In Stephen Symonds Foster, The Brotherhood of Thieves (1843) directed that evidently disrespectful of the agreements of polite society in church services. In the article it stated, the Southern ministers of that body were desirous of perpetuating slavery for the purpose of supplying themselves with concubines from among its hapless victims; and that many of our clergymen were guilty of enormities that would disgrace an Algerian pirate!. This quote purpose of involvement in the evil of slavery. Stephen believed that they should focused how guilty as those who owned slaves. Black slavery was having a hard time getting along with the white southerners and north. That was way to cripple the southern state because slavery was the main source of labor for their farm or fields. This is how north and southern was the way to make money especially the south. Religious and moral arguments impact racial discussions today because it causes African American to dislike Anglo. Slavery is the main reason that racism is still active. Today racism is possible the most difficult for people of different kind of skin color. Anglo discriminates against African America without even being aware of their actions. Conferring to CNN, On April 29, white woman reportedly called police on a few black people who, she said, were using a charcoal grill in an area where it was banned. Since the democrat, Anglo always has advantage of the low-income and low standard by increase their own stations in civilization. At this present, the communitys prevailing return at the location to prevent racism. It resolves on social media that Anglo been calling the police officers on African American for unimportant reason. African American have the horrifying historical. African American shouldnt be treated like this. Slavery cause racism Most America people believe racism is a principal issue that still exists. Migration is being affected. All people should be treated and have better opportunities equally.