This week in class we learned about the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates was put on trial for not worshipping the Greek gods and “corrupting the youth.” The trial was in the year 399 B.C., after the Peloponnesian War. The prosecutors were Lycon, Anytus, and Meletus. Socrates conducted his own defense. Socrates was found guilty of the charges brought against him and drank poison as his punishment.

As an assignment this week, we had to summarize the two readings that we read in class about Socrates and his trial. We divided the information into four parts and presented the summaries as descriptions for episodes of a Netflix show. We used a Google Slides template to put in our own pictures and write the descriptions of the episodes. Then we published our slides to the web, embedded the code in a Canvas discussion, and posted our finished “show.” As I was summarizing, I realized the need to convey the important information in as few words as possible. Many times I had to go back and reword phrases so that the summary would not be too long. When there were multiple pieces of information that I wanted to include, I had to prioritize what was most necessary to include in the summary. It was definitely a different type of assignment than we typically have in this class, but it was good to have some variety.

Regarding the trial of Socrates, something stood out to me about the jury. “Corrupting Athenian Youth,” one of the two readings from class, says, “…in addition to the three formal prosecutors, there existed a vast body of hidden accusers in Athens, who had influenced the climate of opinion against [Socrates] for the previous 20 years. These detractors… created a steady drip of prejudicial opinion against Socrates.” This quote makes it seem like the atmosphere of the trial was not unbiased. This does not automatically mean that the jury was biased, but I wonder how the trial would have been different if Socrates did not have such a reputation before the trial began. I also noted that one of the prosecutors’ main arguments was about Critias and Charmides. They were pupils of Socrates who led the Spartan overthrow of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. The prosecutors were using this to say that Socrates had “corrupted the youth” since he had worked with them in the past. It seems like this argument worked because Socrates was already disliked by so many people. He also did not agree with the democratic government of Athens. It may have been believable, but this still brings up the question of how Socrates’ reputation may have played a role in the outcome of the trial.

In seventh grade history, I learned a little bit about the Peloponnesian War, but I had never learned about Socrates or his trial. It was interesting that there was a reading about Socrates in our religions unit since what we learned was not to teach us about a specific religion. Even still, it helped to broaden my knowledge about Socrates’ famous trial in 399 B.C.

This week in class we were introduced to a new project. The project is a conclusion of our unit where we learned about the religions of the world. There are three options for the project: a “This I Believe” option where we explain our own beliefs in a podcast or video, an option to build a visual representation of our beliefs, and an interview option where we make a video of interviewing two people of different religions and discuss our findings.

For my project, I am going to do the “This I Believe” option. This project appealed to me the most since it requires thinking about how religion is a part of my life and effectively putting these thoughts and feelings into a podcast with a video. I think this project will be an appropriate challenge for me without being overly stressful. There were example projects available to look at for inspiration. I looked at them briefly, but I do not want to have them in the back of my mind as I work on my project. I want my project to come from me without being influenced to match any particular examples.

Another reason why this project will be good for me is because it is a way to learn to use another tool called WeVideo. WeVideo is a video making website that allows people to create videos with visuals, audio, text, transitions, and more. I was first introduced to WeVideo in middle school when I had a technology class in 8th grade, but I haven’t used it since then. With this project, I hope to become used to WeVideo again and use it beyond the introductory level from my middle school technology class. This is similar to how the Silk Road project helped me learn to navigate and utilize Google Earth as a means to complete my final project. It is good that this class, along with learning about world religions and major revolutions, is meant to increase our knowledge of how to use technology to present information to an audience. This will definitely be a valuable skill in the future since technology is becoming a more and more integral part of our everyday lives.

So far, I am brainstorming what I want to include in my project. I want to take the time to make sure I include just the right things to accurately represent my religion and how it influences my life. I do not want to rush through the brainstorming phase to get to the writing phase. In this case, the brainstorming seems like it may be the most crucial aspect in the success of the project. It will be the base I work with to create what I will say in the video.

Since this project marks the conclusion of our religions unit, I plan to complete it and turn it in before the start of Winter Break. That way, when we come back from break, I can be fully ready to start our unit on revolutions!

This week in class we began to conclude our learning about religions with a wrap-up of Islam set for next week.

At the beginning of the week, we read part of the Qur’an in class and analyzed it as we went along. One main idea of the part that we read is that the most important thing for a person to do in order to be rewarded in the Hereafter is to have faith in Allah which involves prayers. I noticed how the text says, “Those who believe in the unseen and perform the prayers…and are certain of the Hereafter.” Believing in the unseen especially speaks to faith since it involves believing in an invisible God. This quote was also towards the beginning of the excerpt we read, and that may speak to its importance. Another main idea is about why people should worship Allah. The Qur’an says, “Worship your Lord who created you and those before you, that you may attain piety. He who made the earth a habitat for you… and sends water down from the sky, and brings out fruits thereby…”  The section we read gives two characteristics of Allah: “…the Gracious, the Merciful…” Based on these quotes, in addition to providing for people, Allah is also kind to people and should be worshipped for both reasons.

There was a video we watched about how Islam began. Something that stood out to me was how Islam seemed to shift the power in and around Mecca. The prophet Mohammed was from the city of Mecca, where many idols were being worshipped at the time. When he started spreading his belief in only Allah, the “powerful” people from Mecca were unhappy with this belief because it shifted the power away from them. This reminds me of the persecution of Christians in Rome that we learned about a few weeks ago. In both cases, people in power did not like the spread of a new religion that they thought may diminish their power and social influence.

We were asked to compare and contrast Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam to find things that they share and things that are unique to each individual religion. In this blog, I am going to focus only on the things that the religions share.

 

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all share:

Monotheism – All three of these religions are monotheistic. Believers of these religions believe in only one God.

Abraham – Abraham is considered the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three of these religions can be traced back to him.

Adam and Eve – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all believe that God created people, and the first man and first woman were Adam and Eve respectively.

Each have a specific holy book – The holy books are called the Tanahk, Christian Bible, and Qur’an in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam respectively.

 

Judaism and Christianity share:

Tanakh/Old Testament – Judaism and Christianity have some scriptures in common. In Judaism, these scriptures are called the Tanakh, and in Christianity, they are called the Old Testament.

Ten Commandments – Both Judaism and Christianity believe in Moses and the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the laws that God gave to Moses and the Israelites for them to follow.

 

Judaism and Islam share:

Not eating pork – In Judaism, kosher says that Jews are not to eat pork. Muslims do not eat pork either.

No images of God – Neither synagogues nor mosques have images of what people think God looks like.

 

Christianity and Islam share:

Jesus – Christianity and Islam both involve Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Muslims believe that Jesus was a great prophet.

Belief in an afterlife – Christianity and Islam both believe in an afterlife where people are rewarded or punished based on their actions. (Some Jews believe in an afterlife, but belief in an afterlife does not seem to be part of the core beliefs of Judaism like it is in Christianity and Islam.)

 

Over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot about all three religions. It is helpful to know the beliefs of these religions and where their beliefs overlap.