Sacraments, Indulgences, and the Great Schism

"What was the Great Schism?  What factors brought it on?"



The Great Schism was a split between the Catholics in the west and the Orthodox Christians in the east.  The Orthodox Christians and the Catholics had different views on who had authority.  One thought that the pope in Rome should have religious authority, whereas one thought that the church in Constantinople should have the authority.

Those in the west and those in the east also had different ways of worship, spoke different languages, etc..  These differences only made the rift forming between them even larger.

Another big problem occurred in 1054 when some of the deceased pope's legates excommunicated a man named Michael Cerularius.  In the end, the churches in the east and in the west ultimately split, with only a small few wishing to rejoin.




"What are the sacraments?"



The sacraments are seven religious rituals of the Catholic church.  Baptism ("Christian rite of admission and adoption") (This practice generally includes water.), Confirmation ("sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit"), Holy Communion ("a gift of God made effectual by the preaching of the Word and the response of faith"), Penance (the confession of sins to a priest in order to receive forgiveness), Matrimony (I think you know this one.), Holy Orders ("the sacrament or rite of ordination as a member of the Christian clergy"), and Anointing of the Sick ("the sacramental anointing of the ill or infirm with blessed oil") are what these seven sacraments are called.  Each one of these plays an influential role in the lives of Catholics, and all have their place in history.



"What is an indulgence?"



Despite popular belief, an indulgence is not the buying of having your sins forgiven.  An indulgence is used when someone is attempting to remove their temporal punishment.  You see, in Catholicism there is both eternal and temporal punishment.  Eternal punishment is canceled out by the sacrament of Penance.  In other words, you are no longer in danger of being sent to Hell upon death.  You are however left with the temporal punishment which can be shortened or altogether removed by the use of indulgences.  Indulgences can also be used to shorten or eliminate a person's time in purgatory (a place between Heaven which you are sent to after death if you have any temporal punishment left to make up for).

 Indulgences are received when you do a worthy deed.  They do not require a monetary sum, nor are you "buying" the forgiveness of your sins.  Your sins are already forgiven through Penance, so why would you pay to have them forgiven when they already are?

Anyways, I hope this helps you to understand indulgences a little more.


Thanks for reading this essay, and don't forget to let me know what you think!

How do Fungi and Animals "Eat"?

"Compare and contrast the ways that fungi 'eat' with the ways that animals digest, and absorb their food."


The ways that fungi and animals eat have many similarities and differences that make this an interesting topic.  I would like to start it off with a non-similarity though, which is that animals have a stomach and intestines inside the body which certainly aid in digestion.  Fungi rather do not have these assets.  They actually digest food outside the cell wall since they don't have the luxury of a stomach.

Mushrooms growing on a log

Now I'm going to mention a similarity that is quite intriguing, which is how even though animals and fungi are extremely different, they still share this ability to digest their food sources.  I find it weird (but kind of cool) that fungi and animals share this trait even though their body structures are so different!

Even the way that that they absorb food is somewhat similar!  What I mean by this is that fungi and animals are both heterotrophic (they can't make their own food through photosynthesis), so they have to absorb there own food from their surroundings.  They both break down the matter using digestive enzymes, and absorb the nutrients.  

These are the fascinating similarities and differences that I have found between these two classifications.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!     

Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Moderate Reform, and Christendom

"What were the problems besetting the Church in the tenth and eleventh centuries? What was 'moderate reform'?"


The problems that the Church was facing during this time, is that instead of church officials appointing bishops, popes, etc., we see laymen (people other than church officials) appointing these people.  This results in the laymen sometimes appointing rotten individuals to church office.

Moderate reform came about when Pope Leo IX decided to put emphasis on papal authority.  He said that laymen should choose morally good candidates instead of those who would do harm.



"Describe the events that took place during the conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV.  What was at stake?"



The conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV came about when the Pope decided that kings had no right at all to appoint people to church positions.  The king did not agree with this, and hence went against the Pope.  Pope Gregory ultimately removed the king from power, and eventually Henry came begging for forgiveness.  Grace was bestowed, and then the king went against the Pope all over again.  Henry was removed from authority by Pope Gregory, but Henry was powerful enough to come back and send Pope Gregory into exile.  The Pope then died while he was still exiled and it is said that these were among his last words,

                    "I have loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile."

What was at stake in the conflict between these two men was church authority.  Who had the jurisdiction to make church decisions, the Pope or the king?



"What was Christendom?"


Christendom was the idea of an international church society.  This is why church officials were able to enter Christian lands even without their nationality being that of the country.  Nationality was of no concern, for it was a society of the Christian religion, not a society of "who came from what place".  This was Christendom.


Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!  



   

How Fungi are Helping us in Our Busy Lives

Fungi are helping us in several fascinating ways.  Fungi are helping our bakeries through yeast which is used in allowing bread to rise, they are assisting in cleaning up the environment by acting as decomposers, and some can even be eaten as food by us.  I will give an example.

There is a kind of mushroom called a truffle that is extremely valuable to those who harvest it, and it is considered a delicacy to those who buy this mushroom.  In this way the mushroom is both helping people to get something to eat, but it is also helping our economy as a source of income.

Fungi are even helping us to collect important medical information that will help us in our lives.  

As you can see, fungi are helping us in absolutely amazing ways everyday, just as they have throughout the history of our ancient world.  The world is filled with strange, intriguing, disturbing, and beautiful things, and although each of these things only makes up a small part of the picture, when they are put together they make a brilliant painting filled with wonders nearly beyond our comprehension.  My point is that although fungi may seem small and insignificant in the makeup of our world, they play a vital role in the survival of nature.

I hope that you have found even a small portion of enlightenment from this essay, and I hope that you have a lovely day enjoying our magical planet!  

Ethics: Zeus and Jesus

"Compare the ethical behavior of Zeus with the ethical teaching of Jesus."



The ethics between Zeus and Jesus are extremely different from one another!  I can't stress enough how different the ethics are.  Zeus is a rather lawless individual.  Zeus cheated on his wife, Hera, and he turned the woman, Io into a heifer!

The teachings of Jesus vary greatly with the behavior of Zeus.  Jesus taught that adultery was a sin, and he taught that you are to love one another as you love yourself.  Jesus' ethical teachings are the complete opposite of Zeus' anti-ethical behavior.

Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you think!        

Paul: Adoption and Inheritance

"How were adoption and inheritance related in Paul's thought?"



In Paul's thought, they were related by the fact that they were both spiritual matters.  The adoption was an adoption into the church, and the inheritance was that of the Kingdom of God.  Both of these are matters of the heart and have to do with salvation.  You are not adopted into the Lord's church without salvation, nor do you inherit the blessings that come along with it.  You need one in order to have the other.  This is how I believe that he thought the two were related.

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think!

The 9th-and 10th-century invasions, and how they affected life in the West.

"Describe the ninth-and tenth-century invasions.  Apart from the physical destruction involved, how did they affect life in the West?"


The 9th-and 10th-century invasions were brought about by the Norsemen/Vikings, Magyars, and the Muslims.  These forces caused much fear and loss to the people of the 9th-and 10th-century.

The Vikings (mixture of Scandinavians/raided the coastal river cities of France) would burn down countless villages, destroyed many churches and monasteries, took innocent people into slavery, and of course looted.  I think it goes without saying that the Vikings were a treacherous people.

The Magyars (attacked Germany, northern Italy, and parts of France) would burn down French monasteries and suburbs, and they also took part in despicable looting and pillaging.

The Muslims ( based in Africa and Spain) took part in looting and plundering the places in which they were attempting to conquer, and they would even go about the horrible deed of kidnapping.

As far as how the invasions affecting life in the West goes, it is safe to say that they caused much distress.  Beside this though, they also brought upon two very important things called feudalism and manorialism.  If you would like to learn more about these two aspects of life in history, please proceed to the section of this essay dedicated to them below.


"Describe feudalism and manorialism."


Feaudalism and manorialism came about as a creative response to the outside invasions of the 9th-and 10th-century.  The victims of the Vikings would try to find protection through people called lords by becoming the lord's vassal.  The vassal would be given land and protection from the Vikings in exchange for service to the lord.  These are the basic ideas of feudalism and manorialism.


I hope that you have enjoyed this essay, and please let me know what you think!
     

Soil: An Intricate Community of Life

"Someone says, 'Soil is just dirt to hold the plant up.'  Would you agree or disagree with this statement?"


I would never agree with this statement in a million years!  I see soil not only as a plant support, but also as an intricate community of life.  You could say something like, "How can dirt be a community?"  I would respond by saying that dirt/soil is a home for worms, voles, bugs, bacteria, etc..  Soil is even helping those of us who live above the ground by storing water for our crops.

You could then say, "How does the dirt get the resources to do these things?".  You see, whenever you throw a piece of fruit or a vegetable on the ground it will eventually decompose if left where it is.  Once it decomposes, the good stuff from the food will go into the soil.

As you can see, the soil is an amazing network of life and prosperity.  Without the soil, where else would worms live, or how would water reach the roots of a tree?

Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know what you think!