Satan's Motivation for Betraying God

"After Satan's rebellion, Satan was motivated more by his envy of God than his jealousy of God: true or false?"


What led to Satan's rebellion was a desire for God's power. He sought/does seek to overthrow the Almighty, and he is thus led by what I might say is a possible combination of both jealousy and envy. Jealousy lies in hostility towards a rival/potential rival, and envy lies in wishing for what the other has. He certainly wished for what God had/has! Perhaps jealousy is what eventually would lead him to envy? Satan showed signs of both jealousy and envy, but overall I do think that it was mostly envy that led Satan to commit his rebellious atrocities against God.

Don Quixote's Knight Errant Oath Compared to the Future Deathbed Oath

"How was Don Quixote's knight-errant oath in conflict with his deathbed oath?"


Don Quixote's knight-errant oath and deathbed oath conflicted due to their complete and tremendous opposite nature. His knight-errant oath claimed that he would search out adventures, righting all wrongs, and proclaiming his love for Dulcinea. His deathbed oath claimed that he had been completely and absolutely insane in swearing the knight-errant oath.

On his deathbed, Don Quixote changed his ways, came back to sanity/reality, and denounced chivalrous books. Before this he had been living under an illegitimate oath, an oath of chivalry. This is how the two opposite oaths (knight-errant and deathbed) conflicted with one another.

Thanks for reading!  

Utopia: Why a Sensible Reformer?

"Why does More present the traveler as a sensible reformer early in book 1, but not later?"



I believe that More is attempting to ease into Utopia. In Utopia, there are a great deal of highly controversial topics, and it would be rather difficult for the reader to immediately dive into them.

Allow me to use horseback riding as an example. Generally, when you ride a horse you don't begin by immediately going into your canter (the main speed a horse can go between a walk and gallop). You ease into it. First with a walk, then with a trot. This is what I believe More is attempting to accomplish by representing the traveler in this manner.

Luther's Thoughts on Pope Leo X, and His Knowledge of the Indulgence Salesmen's Words

"Do you think that Luther really believed that Pope Leo X did not know what the indulgence salesmen were saying?"


As to this topic, I have two main hypotheses.  The first is that he honestly thought he was defending the pope by saying that the pope didn't know what the indulgence salesmen were saying.  The second is that he simply hoped that he was correct in assuming as much.

Truthfully, I am unsure as to what Luther thought at this time in my study.  I will need to dive further into this topic in the future, and I highly suggest that you do the same.

Thank you so much for reading, and please give me some feedback on this essay!

The Conflicts Between the Holy Roman Emperors and the Popes

The popes and Holy Roman Emperors engaged in many different conflicts time and time again, but the main reasons behind the conflicts are really quite simple.  The conflicts arose generally out of hunger for power.

For example, the emperors would sometimes completely throw the promises that they made to the popes out the window.  Likewise, on several different occasions we see the Holy Roman Emperors attempting to downsize the power of the pope.

Many desired to assert their power over vast areas, and this concerned the popes.  The popes feared that the Holy Roman Emperors would try to gain some amount of control over the papacy, and this was unacceptable in the minds of the popes.

Like I said, the reasons for the conflicts between the emperors and popes were quite simple.  The lesson that we should take from these conflicts, is that a quest for power usually stands in the way of peace, and it is unfortunate that the emperors didn't pay attention to this major truth.

Thank you very much for reading this essay, and please give me some feedback in the comments section below!  I would love to hear from you!    

Identifying the Diet of a Deceased, Unidentified Animal

"Suppose you found the bones of an unidentified animal.  How could you learn about what the animal ate?  What specific structures would give you clues about the creature's diet?"



If you were to find the bones of an unidentified animal, your first thought probably wouldn't be, "I wonder what this animal ate when it lived among us in space and time."  But lets pretend that this was your first thought regarding the animal.  How would you find the answer to the question?  Well, you would look at the teeth.  What kinds of teeth are among the bones?  If they are mostly molars and premolars, then that would mean that the animal generally ate a diet which would require it to grind and crush the food in it's mouth.

A good example of this sort of animal is the horse.  The horse's diet is made up of foods such as oats, grass, grain, and hay.  All of these require the horse to grind and crush the food using it's molars.

Likewise, if the animal's teeth are mainly incisors and canines the animal was probably be a flesh eating, ferocious best from the underworld.  Either that, or it could be a harmless little chihuahua that generally wore little booties and doggy dresses...both work I suppose.  My point is that incisors and canines are characteristics of meat-eaters.

This is one of the fascinating ways that you can identify an animal's diet.

I hope that you have found this essay informational, as well as enjoyable!  Please leave me some feedback; I would love to hear from you!      

Different Ways That the Body Maintains Optimal Temperatures

The body maintains optimal temperatures in several different ways.  Among these ways are shivering when you are cold in order to heat you up, sweating when you are hot in order to cool you down, growing hair/fur/feathers depending on what kind of creature you are in order to keep warm, and having a layer of fat to protect you from the cold.

Isn't it fascinating how the body is able to come up with such creative ways to protect itself?  I think it is amazing how often we take for granted these things!  We tend to completely disregard the fact that our bodies are able to cool themselves in the hot summer months, or warm up in the dead of winter.  It's certainly a huge blessing that our bodies know how to do these things!  Think about it.  If our bodies weren't able to produce something as simple as sweat, it would be terribly hard to handle those 90 degree days!  Likewise, if we couldn't shiver, it would be difficult to warm up after swimming in the lake!   These are definitely some big things to be thankful for!  Don't ever take for granted the ways that your body takes care of itself!

The body maintains optimal temperatures in such interesting ways, and I hope that you understand them a bit better!