Science – 5

“You’ve obtained private funding to buy land for a local songbird sanctuary. You can buy a dozen small plots of land (about 10 acres each), or a contiguous 10-acre tract. Assuming all of the options provide good habitat for the birds, which purchase would you make? Explain your reasoning.”

Assuming both the contiguous and small plots of land are reasonable options, I would personally choose the 10-acre tract. Due to the fact that maintaining one big piece of land might be a lot easier than keeping up with many small plots of land. Having everything in one place will prevent the wildlife from neglect as a result of the hard work that has to go into sustaining the environment for the birds. Assuming that the small plots of land are not bordering each other, this would make it inconvenient to have to travel between each territory.

Although all of this has been considered, the dozen small plots of land might be beneficial for the migration of the songbirds. Many migratory sanctuaries already exist outside of the US, most residing in Canada. If I were to buy half of the plots in the south where the birds can migrate, it can prove to be promising for the species long term.

Despite both arguments I am still sticking with buying the 10-acre tract. Logically, it will be more sustainable and overall be a safer use of the private funding.

 

English – 15

“Did the Little Flowers provide the common man with confidence about his own life beyond the grave?”

Little Flowers by St. Francis of Assisi is a collection of 53 chapters composed in the late 14th century. Still talked about today, the piece contains life stories of St. Francis as well as glimpses into the grand idea of the afterlife. This is done by explanation through stories of how man should live pure and holy lives therefore being granted access into heaven.

St. Francis was a respected religious figure at the time with many loyal followers, making his views absolutely plausible to the common man. A notable aspect of Little Flowers is the mention of purgatory, a place of suffering for souls after death who have done evil within their lives as mortals. The thought of ending up in purgatory is enough for many to follow the requirements to enter the holy land.

Not only did St. Francis abide by the holy lifestyle but he presented his ideas to the pope and saints of his time. Thus, St. Francis’ ideas spread around the Christian community and it was clear he had gotten his point across. With so many respectable figures behind his perspective it was difficult to disagree, making his word a principal in Christianity for years to come.

Keeping all of this in mind we can now gather that yes, Francis did in fact provide the common man with enough confidence in his beliefs that there was life beyond the grave.

English – 14

“Compare Paul’s concept of God’s sovereignty in Romans 9:1-23 with Justin’s concept of God’s sovereignty in Chapter XLIII: RESPONSIBILITY ASSERTED.”

Paul writes in Romans 9:16; “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”, which alone gives us a broad idea of his perspective of the ethical structure within Christianity. Likewise, Justin writes; “We have learned from the prophets, and we hold it to be true, that punishments, and chastisements, and good rewards, are rendered according to the merit of each man’s actions”. These statements alone provide the concept of Paul (ethical structure relies on God’s mercy) and Justin (ethical structure relies on the action of man).

Comparisons can also be made within the resources used to conceptualize God’s sovereignty. Paul used references from the Old Testament to set the configuration of his views, making it more logical in terms of resources. Whereas Justin used more of his own perspective and outlook to shape his notion.

Either way, both men used the central idea of ethics and sanctions to educate us through their literature. Making the two concepts useful for those who seek the knowledge of Christianity.

History – 7

“What was Christendom?”

The worldwide community of Christians can be referred to as Christendom. Nationality is insignificant to Christendom, especially considering the vast amount of sub groups within Christianity such as Catholicism and Monasticism. Both of which participate in different practices and celebrate a handful of independent beliefs. However, the faith in Christ is what ties each group to one; Christendom.

Examples of early Christendom are displayed throughout the globe; monasteries sent their monks from one country to another, bishops and abbots governed places far from their birth countries, and cistercians agreed that nationality should not be considered when choosing or the acceptance as a university professor.

Now considering all of this and analyzing the broad history of religion, it’s great to see the peace and acceptance of Christendom and what it has done for many people of the past and present.

Government – 2

“Describe family government in terms of the five institutional characteristics: sovereignty, hierarchy (authority), law, sanctions, and succession. Offer an opinion on what the source of the family’s sovereignty is.”

There are five institutional characteristics that shape and define any type of government;

Sovereignty – “Who’s in charge here?”
Hierarchy – “To whom do I report?”
Law – “What are the rules?”
Sanctions – “What do I get if I obey/disobey?”
Succession – “Does this outfit have a future?”

Sovereignty relies on parents, they determine the hierarchy and set the rules (laws) as well as the consequences (sanctions). Children must understand and obey the rules of their household or there will likely be consequences, this is a similar practice for civil governments; when citizens disobey laws they are punished. This ensures that the household/community will keep its stability.

Succession relies on both the children and parents. The future of any family is determined by the relationship as well as the teachings that each child has been given. This is what will drive the future of the family and future children to come as well as the overall well being and stability of the household.

As I’ve said throughout this essay, I personally believe that the parents are the source of sovereignty in families. As they are the ones we ask for permission and the ones who have the right to give orders. Hate it or love it, parents shape the next generation that will inhabit our society and it all starts in the home.

Government – 1

“Is the Family a Legitimate Form of Government?”

Yes I do believe family is a legitimate form, based on the terms and questions given regarding the fundamental basis of any government. These questions and terms can easily determine the behavior and charge within the authority, whether that be through civil, self, church, or family government.

Sovereignty – “Who’s in charge here?”
Hierarchy – “To whom do I report?”
Law – “What are the rules?”
Sanctions – “What do I get if I obey/disobey?”
Succession – “Does this outfit have a future?”

If we take a look at each pair of terms and questions while referencing them to the structure of both government and family it is clear that the answers create a format of ranking and order. Each term is defined in families by the parents meanwhile in civil government it is defined by the president. Just by analyzing this and thinking about the overall similarities after assessing the questions above we can conclude that family can in fact be a form of government.

Science – 4

“What is a keystone species? Give an example of one keystone species and describe its environment. Speculate on changes to the environment which could occur if that particular species disappeared. Give specific reasons for each change.”

A keystone species is an organism that plays an important role in their ecosystem. There are different types of keystone species including; predators, modifiers, prey, mutualists, and hosts. However not every animal that identifies with these categories can be considered a keystone species.

The sea otter for example lives in shallow coastal waters and thrive in kelp forests. The kelp forests are underwater ecosystems that house many aquatic animals and even house benthic creatures such as sea urchins. However, these sea urchins eat kelp at an alarming rate, making them a big threat.

Sea otters play the important role of feeding on these sea urchins which controls the population of their herds. In turn, this keeps the kelp forests from diminishing.

If sea otters were to disappear for one reason or another, the organisms that depend on the kelp would untimely disappear as well. All except for the sea urchins who have minimal predators within the kelp forests and will likely overpopulate. However, it is not likely that the sea urchins will thrive for long due to the fact that sea urchin herds decimate the kelp by 30 feet per month. At this alarming rate, the sea urchins will not have much to eat once overpopulated.

Keeping all this in mind, it makes sense why the sea otter is a keystone species. Not only are they cute but they are very important in their ecosystem.

 

 

History – 6

How would you compare the teachings of Christianity, as described in the New Testament passages, to the values cherished by earlier civilizations we have discussed (particularly the Greeks, and the values expressed in Homer’s works)? Conversely, can you see anything in common between Christianity and some of the great ancient thinkers we have discussed?

Christianity and Greek religion were vastly different. For starters, in the Christian religion there is only one true, divine, and pure God whereas Greeks believed there were multiple. Even the Gods themselves were complete opposite being that the Old Testament paints God to be good and just. Using this, we can compare it to the Greek Gods and Goddesses who were many times more sinful than the humans.

However, where the two religions do compare is their devotion to the Gods. Art is a great example of this, we see the Gods depicted heavily in art of both Christians and Greeks. As well as the concept that humans are corrupt and ultimately destroy everything they are given.

Lastly, both Christian and Ancient Greek thinkers have thoughts and beliefs that I can compare and contrast but I find it best to talk about the literature that has come from the minds of these early thinkers. All of these great people had the ability to write very thorough and persuading pieces based on their own unique thought processes and beliefs. All of which we still read today.

English – 13

“Compare the ethical behavior of Zeus with the ethical teaching of Jesus.”

Zeus is a greek god who is most notably known for being very cruel. He is extremely vengeful towards humans and despite his angry nature he is the most powerful greek god of them all. On the other hand, Jesus Christ is the son of God in the Christian religion and is known for his kindness. His main focus is guiding humans in the path of faith and divine nature.

Zeus is infamous for many actions such as wiping out the human race on multiple occasions as well as taking power from all who dare to question his authority. By nature he is pretty cruel, even being depicted committing sexual assault.

Jesus Christ taught many important ethics to his followers. Many of them circling around the idea of treating others the way you wish to be treated. This is the complete opposite of the entire basis of Zeus’s behavior in my opinion. I mean, just by comparing their personalities alone without judging actions there is a clear difference in their ethical practices.

History – 5

Why did Tiberius Gracchus attract so much suspicion from the Roman Senate?

In the second Punic war, Roman soldiers came home to find that their land was destroyed and useless for farming. Due to this they sold their land to the rich and moved to the city where there was a scarce amount of jobs. This was a big issue because now the soldiers could not rejoin the army due to the fact that you had to be a landowner to do so.

Tiberius Graccus who was a Roman politician in the second century BC, wanted to pass a land reform that would distribute land to the veterans and make them eligible for the military. However, he did not have enough support in the senate, so he went straight to the counsel of the plebs. This didn’t look good because it was an unwritten law that you first had to get the consent of the senate before a bill was taken to the any of the assemblies. This is what made the Senate suspicious of Tiberius.