Ajah's Blog

Hallmark 1: We Proclaim By Our Lives Even More Than By Our Words That God is Good This is a picture of a letter my mom's coworker sent me along with a care package. Her care package included snacks and self-care things. In the letter, she included helpful tips on how to manage the stress of college. I included this in my portfolio because I received this package at a very crucial time in the semester. The package came to me during the midterm week which was very stressful for me and I deeply appreciated this thoughtful gift. This belongs in the section of Hallmark 1 because the care package was an act of kindness. I connected this act of kindness to the first hallmark because her action to me was another reminder that God is good. To me, receiving this package at a very stressful time was a sign for me to stay strong and keep going. It’s one thing to have the idea of a kind act and it’s another to actually follow through with the action. I am extremely grateful for the ide...

Chapter 11 was about Pastoral people on the global stage. This chapter discusses the Mongol people. The Mongol people had a smaller population than agricultural societies and lived in small encampments. Families were based upon clans that had a common ancestry.  Women had higher status and fewer restrictions. All women were involved in productive labor while still having domestic responsibility for food and children. Unlike the Chinese, the Mongols didn't believe the remarriage of a widow was negative. Also, women could get a divorce if they wanted to. Many Mongol women were political advisors and were even active in the military. Women weren't looked at as delicate. They were allowed to participate in active activities like horse riding and archery. Unlike many other civilizations, women fared very well in Mongol society. This is important because it was rare for women to be put near the same status as men.

Chapter 10's reading was about the worlds of Christendom. Christianity became the state religion in Rome after the fall of the Roman empire. In Arabia the main religion was Islam. However, it was Christianity. It began to die off quickly after Muhammad's death in 632 and only a few groups were left. In the middle east, Islam began to take over Christianity. Jerusalem was taken over in 638. Muhammad's successor Abd al-Malik came to let Christians know that Islam will be taking over. Like Asian Christianity, African Christianity also had to defend themselves from the powerful forces of Islam. In Egypt, Christianity was already the main religion by the time the Muslims came on their conquest. In the thirteenth century, Christian crusaders threatened Egypt. The outcome of the crusades was burnt curches, violent anti-Christian and forced removal of Christian's.

Chapter 9's reading was about the world of Islam. Islam's home region was Arabia. Arabia sat along with the Indian Ocen trade network. The location of Arabia to the Indian Ocean gave rise to the city Mecca. The Kaaba was the main religious shrine in Arabia. The seminal thinker in Arabia was Muhammad. They worshiped a God called Allah in the written texts called the Quran. The main message of the Quran was the remembrance of God. There were five requirements of the Quran that were categorized into five pillars. The first pillar was the message: "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God." The second pillar was ritual prayer, performed five times a day. The third pillar was almsgiving which required believers to give to the poor. The fourth pillar was a month of fasting during Ramadan. The fasting included food, drink, and sex for purification. Lastly, the fifth pillar was a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Chapter 8's reading was about China. An interesting thing I learned about China while reading was that China had a Golen Age. During the GoldenAge China created an examination system to staff their bureaucracy. The examination system was a merit-based system. However many people of higher status till got jobs regardless of failing the exams. China's population skyrocketed to 60 million to 120 million by 1200. This boom in population was one cause for China's advancement. Another cause for China's advancement was the new strain of rice they were getting from Vietnam. The rice they got from Vietnam ripened faster and was drought tolerant. With the increasing population, the rice played a key role in feeding their growing population. China's large population consisted of many people from different cultures and backgrounds. There were many forms of entertainment for the people of China. Large markets that sold meats, vegetables, rice, herbs, and etc were very popular to...