Test Day on Religions

Today in class we took a test on the religions we've been learning. At the beginning of class, Mr. Schick let us study our notes for about 5-10 minutes. I like when teachers let us study a little bit before the test because it keeps the content fresh in my mind. I have a hard time with Buddhism and Hinduism and I get them mixed up a lot. The test was more of like a quiz actually and it was pretty easy I would think. It only took me a couple of minutes to finish. I think it was about 30 questions long. The Christianity questions were really easy because I've been learning that religion my whole life. There was one question about what religion was founded in the 7th century and I'm not sure if I got that one right. I couldn't remember some of the actual dates where religions were founded. Even though I thought the quiz was easy I'm sure I got at least 3-5 questions wrong. I never seem to get A's on tests/quizzes even if I think I know everything. Settling with a "B" is fine with me though because atleast I'm not failing.

Absent

I was absent last class. I left school early because I wasn't feeling well.

5 Paragraphs on Religion

Christianity: Christianity adherents to around 2.2 billion people which makes it the largest religion to be practiced. We call them Christians. Their geographic location is Europe, The Americas, and Southern Africa. Some denominations of Christianity are the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Protestants. The founder was Jesus Christ. The holy book Christians read and practice from is the Bible, especially the Gospels. Christians believe that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human, he's the son of God, he was crucified, died, buried, and ressurected. Because Jesus ressurected he opened up the gates of heaven to all people. The clergy for Christianity is the Pope. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and priests and local authorities.

Islam: Muslims have an adherence of 1.5 billion. Their geographic location is Indonesia, The Middle East, and Northern Africa. Islam denominations include, Sunnis and Shiites. The founder of the Islamic religion is Muhammad. The holy book Muslims practice from is the Qur'an. They believe in a monotheism, the Five Pillars of Faith, submitting their life to serving and submitting to Allah. The Five Pillars of Faith include; testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage.

Hinduism: Hindus adherents to about 1.1 billion. Their geographic location is India and Nepal. Their holy book is the Vedal. The Vedal shares eternal truths revealed to ancient sages; composed in verse form to be sung like a song. Hindus have no distinct founder. People think Hinduism is more of a lifestyle instead of a religion. They believe in philosphical points and reincarnation. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions to be found.

Buddhism: Buddhists adherents to about 500 million to 1.5 billion. Their geographic location is Southeast Asai, China, Nepal, and Japan. There are also 1.2 million Buddhists in the Unites States. The founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gauthama. Their denominations include Tibetan Zen Theravada Amidist. The follow 4 Noble Truths; there is no suffering, attachment to desire is the origin of suffering, there is a cessation of suffering, follow the Eightfold Path to stop suffering. The Eightfold Path is right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and dedication.

Juddaism: Jews adheres to about 14-18 million. Their geographic location is Israel and The United States. The founder of Judaism is Abraham. The holy book Jews study and practice from is The Torah. The Torah is the first 5 books of the Old Testament. Jews believe in ethical monotheism, God is one and concerned with actions of human kind, 10 Commandments, and 13 Principles of Faith.

Ski Trip

I was absent last class because I went on the ski trip.

More About Religion

Today in human geo class, we finished talking about the main branches of Christianity and moved on to the other religions. We highlighted the packet more and Mr. Schick told us exactly what to highlight. I learned the different branches of Islam and Buddiasim. I'm really interested in Hinduism because it's actually something I've always personally believed in. I believe in reincarnation even though I'm a Christian. I feel like there are so many rules for being Catholic and Hinduism is so much more laid back and less strict. Sometime's I feel like people just throw out stories and out them in the bible that are fake and never happened. they're all just urban legends that we're forced to believe in. I think reincarnation is really interesting and I might look more up about it tonight.

Learning about the Major Religions

Today in human geography class we highlighted notes on a packet Mr. Schick gave to us. Mr. Schick stood at the front of the room and told us exactly what to highlight from each paragraph. Gabby Gaines also doesn't go to our school anymore and she used to sit in front of me. Now Hank sits in front of me, so that's fun I guess. I learned from the packet many different facts about different religions other than Christianity. I've been learning Christianity for so long that I never really pay attention to what other people believe in. I think it's really hard to have faith in one teaching but I guess that's the whole point in trusting in God.

3 Questions for Section 102

There are four basic Vedic texts used by Hindus,
-Rig-Veda “Knowledge of the Hymns of Praise”, for recitation. 1,017 hymns.
-Sama-Veda “Knowledge of the Melodies”, for chanting. 1,549 hymns
-Yajur-Veda “Knowledge of the Sacrificial formulas”, for liturgy. 730 hymns.
-Atharva-Veda “Knowledge of the Magic formulas”, named after a kind of group of priests. 730 hymns. 
  Works Cited: ancient.eu

An indulgence was a payment to the Catholic Church that purchased an exemption from punishment (penance) for some types of sins. -courses.wcupa
I believe that Martin Luther didn't like or believe in indulgences just like the rest of us. There is no material thing that you can buy that will make you become a better person in God's eyes. God wants us to follow his rules and do the right thing. We should follow in Jesus' footsteps. The only thing you can do to help God oversee your sins is praying to him and asking for forgiveness. 

Hajj is the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place in the last month of the year, and that all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime. -dictionary.com
Hajj is a ten-day journey and it begins on the eighth day of Dhul-Hijjah. Dhul-Hijjah is the 12th month of the Islamic Calendar. It ends with Eid-Al-Adha which is the "Feast of the Sacrifice." -www.socialstudiesforkids.com