Katie Taylor, World History Period 6 April 17, 2014
Thoughts and reflections on: The Human Story by James C Davis
1) What did the Indus Valley leave behind that archeologists believe has connections to Hinduism, and more specifically, Shiva?
Indus Valley civilization left behind seals which contained a god with an erection which had a strong resemblance to the Hindu god, Shiva. Archeologists recover phalluses which is one of the symbols for shiva today.
2) How did sacrifices play into what the Aryans believed about the state of the world?
The Aryan's believed in a fragile world which could be either reborn or thrown in to chaos by re-enacting the sacrifice of Prajaptati correctly or incorrectly.
3) Where did the religion known today as Hinduism remerge from?
Hinduism was combination of the belief systems belonging to the Upanishads and the Aryans and originated in the Indus Valley
4) What was Siddhartha's journey to become the Buddha?
Siddhartha was a prince with all he could ever wish for and was sheltered from the evils of the world. Eventually he began to wonder about the world so Siddhartha left to find enlightenment and through meditation and after eating a bowl of curds he found the answers he searched for and be came the Buddha.
5) What man made the largest contributions to, and essentially created Christianity? How did he do this? Why was his approach appealing to others?
The man who made the largest contributions to, and essentially created Christianity was Jesus.
He did this through his teachings and miracles and spread them via the travels of him and his disciples. His approach was appealing because unlike many religions and communities even, Jesus was excepting and willing to talk to anyone no matter what there backgrounds or social standings were.
6) How is Islam different from Christianity? Who started Islam? How did his leadership come about?
Islam and Christianity are different in the sense that Islam was the platform for their military and Christianity was spreading, however not via conquest. Muhammad was the founder of Islam and his leadership came about when an angle named Gabriel came to him and told him that he was the messenger of God.
7) What role did Muhammed's time in Mecca play in the development of Islam as a religion?
Muhammad's teachings were not initially welcomed by the people of Mecca, but after Islam peacefully conquered the city many people converted to this new religion. This was the first major step toward their goal of converting millions and the rest is history.
8) How did the Arabs conquer so much land so quickly? How did this contribute to the spread of Islam? Did the Arabs force Islam on the conquered peoples?
The Arabs were inspired because the believed it was their mission to spread the word of god and their conquests seemed to be the result of some sort of domino effect because once they concord a city the Arabs could use the captives and new converts to feed their growing army.
The Muslims constant victories made it look like the power of God was on their side, which was a very convincing reason for people to convert to Islam. The Arabs did force their religion on people despite the fact that their main purpose was to spread the word of god, because they believed that it was easier to rule people who were split by several religions.
9) What two events stopped Islam from spreading throughout Europe? How did these victories for the Europeans help the spread of other faiths?
The two events which stopped Islam from spreading throughout Europe were getting defeated by France and loosing the invasion and the uneventful blockade at Constantinople. These two European victories not only stopped the spread of Islam, but they also allowed other religions to expand, because the Muslims stopped their conquests allowing other religions to develop in this new safety.
10) How are Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam similar and different?
They are similar in the sense that they all believe in a creation and afterlife, they all have codes or morals or standards to follow, and they all have become major religions of today.
The differences are that Hinduism did not have a set prophet and Hinduism and Buddhism are polytheistic where as Christianity and Islam are mono theistic. Additionally they differed in where they originated, along with the views on life's purpose and their views on the creation of the universe.
