I need a reflection paper about 900 words for humanities. I have also attached instructuons and summary of chapters if you might need it. The book that is being taught in the class is the creative impulse 8th ed.

Judaism and Early Christianity

At the end of this unit, the student should be able to achieve the following student learning outcomes:

A. Become familiar with the chronological flow of the early history of the Hebrew people.

B. Know the major components of the Hebrew Bible and how it was organized.

C. Be able to discuss the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. D. Identify the major components of the Christian New Testament. E. Discuss how the Roman world changed after Constantine’s legalization of

Christianity. F. Be able to identify the symbolism in early Christian art. G. Discuss the teachings of the Apostle Paul and how he transformed

Christianity from an Eastern, mystical religion into a Western, intellectual one.

Open your text to page 140 and look over the KEY TERMS. It is always good for you to talk about things as it increases your ability to remember things and to connect them to what you have already covered. First read the material on page 140 and then try to define the term out loud. Don’t let your colleagues at work hear you saying "The Torah includes the Old Testament books of the Bible and they are ‘Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy’" unless you are willing to start teaching classes in religion. However, if you will do just that, I mean say things out loud, not teach religion, then you will be better able to plug that information in to the assignment.

Good! Now read pages 142 – 169. That is a lot of reading but this description of the background of Judaism and Early Christianity is an interesting one. Many readers will come from backgrounds of Judaism and Early Christianity and it will help to provide some information about their "roots." I certainly encourage you to compare these explanations with other sources from your personal experiences. Others of you will have different perspectives and I will get your "roots" a little later. Please remember that the objective here is to provide information and not to convince anyone of anything. I

provide information. You make decisions as to how this information will be utilized in your lives.

Spend some time reading and digesting the information about the division of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms following the death of King Solomon. Important developments took place because of this division and the conquest that led the Southern Kingdom into what has been called the "Babylonian Captivity."

One of the reasons the Persian emperor, Cyrus, is so important to the developments is that he conquered Babylon and freed the Jews thereby allowing them to return "home." This returning home has played a role in Jewish history ever since. Remember that the Palestinians occupied these areas before the original entry of the Jews and the controversies surrounding the ownership of these lands has shaped history up to and including the present time.

The chapter discusses the compilation of the sacred scriptures known today the Bible and so many values held by Jews and Christians today are based on or had their beginnings with these scriptures. The development of the Synoptic Gospels, the basis of what is known as The New Testament and the Islamic Koran (one of many spellings) will be developed in later chapters. There are, for examples, scriptural injunctions against graven images and/or personal likenesses in both the Old Testament and the Koran. The importance of this class is to help us to make connections with their comparisons and/or contrasts between different ages and backgrounds.

The two Temples at Jerusalem are very important and their remains, located so close to the Dome of the Rock, are critical to an understanding of any solution to the problems in today’s Middle East. Here, in this chapter, are the roots. Be sure to look at the information about the building of the Temple of Solomon on pp.164-65. Like the Greek temple, this temple was also considered the house of God and an altar was built out front for worship purposes. Only the high priest could enter the part called the Holy of the Holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant.

How different are the roots of the Shinto religion from those of Judaism and how do the exaggerations of the human anatomy by the early Japanese differ from those of the naturalism of Roman painting and sculpture? Read about that in the chapter as well.

Now you need to take a step back and remember that this course does not profess any one religion. Let’s all be as objective as possible. My next question relates to comparisons and contrasts between Judaism and Christianity. How do the two religions differ relative to the teaching of Jesus Christ? How and why did Christianity and the Christian church grow so rapidly? What part did the Apostle Paul play in this growth and spread of that faith? What role did the Emperor Constantine play in this spread?

Look at the material on architecture on pages 162 – 167. Be able to discuss the basic structure of a basilica. That basilica is a very important form in architecture in early Christianity. The Emperor Constantine built several around the Roman Empire, and

they were used as public administration buildings. The early Christians saw Constantine as a hero because he legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. This may be one of the reasons that they decided to use this type of building in addition to the fact that it is just a really practical type of building to hold many people. Below is another view of the floor plan of Basilica of Constantine in Rome. Not much of the original building is left. This floor plan will evolve some in the next couple of chapters and eventually will become a cruciform plan (shaped like a cross).

Make sure you look under "Assignment" for the exercise related to this unit. Also, be certain to study over the Outline, View, and Key Terms at the beginning of the chapter. The test will cover Chapters 5-9, but here are some items to study in Chapter 5.

1. Hebrew history, religion and writings. 2. The development of Christianity and Christian writings. 3. The later roman emperors and their treatment of Christianity. 4. Early Christian art, symbolism and music. 5. The art and artifacts illustrated in the book, such as fig. 5.24 Reconstruction

drawing of Solomon’s Temple. 6. The important terms in italics in quotations and with pronunciations. 7. The “Our Dynamic World” section.