1. Explain how the natural surroundings and history of Mesopotamia contributed to the worldview of the people. Include their view of ultimate reality, the nature of the world, humanity, morals, and government. (20 points)
Their gods were intolerable, capricious, malevolent, and vindictive. Since there were over 15 hundred gods, they always fought with each other. Their purpose was to bring security and prosperity, but there was an only ever violent war against each other. Gods inhabited nature, and were very influential to a person’s fate. Mesopotamians depended much on these gods to control their natural surroundings. Since the Mesopotamians wanted to live their lives their own way, they worshipped these carnal gods instead of the true God …show more content…
This led into them being a more independent, peaceful, and prosperous nation. However, since they were isolated, they did not have any good influence of other cultures to follow and they became resistant to new ideas and change. The Egyptians were polytheistic and pharaoh was one of their gods. Nature and animals were also gods and they adored the creation, not Creator. Although the Egyptian gods were powerful with authority of everything, they struggled with human temptations, needed humans, and were not everlasting. Since the gods weren’t personal, the Egyptians had no superior power that cared deeply about them. The Egyptians wanted a since of balance and order, and that’s exactly what the government provided for the people. Egyptian government protected the citizens from evil, and united the people. Because they looked at the world with rhythm and stability, they got the idea in their heads that history just repeats itself and would not except the idea of change. They would however look to the past for answers. Sadly, since they had this cyclical worldview, they felt like they could not make a difference in the world and they just tried to fit in. humans weren’t very important. Even nature was had more value than them. Egyptians looked to the “Book of the Dead” as their guide of how to get into heaven. It allowed them to cheat …show more content…
It is rational, logical, appeals and satisfies the intellect. On the other hand, the scientific worldview is based on observable data, and is also rational and logical. This worldview also appeals to the intellect but does not satisfy the longing in every human’s soul like the theistic worldview can. It also, is certainly not based on tales or feelings. On the contrary, a theistic worldview inspires imagination and is even emotionally satisfying, unlike the scientific worldview which leaves no room for emotional satisfaction. The theistic worldview has so much evidence of for its facts and beliefs. For example, universal laws can explain the existence of the natural world. It also allows for natural occurrences, but makes sure they stay within the boundaries of a just and loving God. This is a dramatic difference between the two worldviews. Although the scientific worldview studies and does not worship nature, it still denies any reverence to a creator. It focuses so much on facts and observations that it forgets there is a whole other aspect in nature, just like it forgets about morality and the existence of a God or gods. Theism, however, is simply revealed; it gives humans a perfect moral code and a purpose in life. When studying the scientific worldview, one finds that it leaves very little room for answering the deep questions of the human heart. It is only able to interpret experiences and resolve questions that do not explain
Their gods were intolerable, capricious, malevolent, and vindictive. Since there were over 15 hundred gods, they always fought with each other. Their purpose was to bring security and prosperity, but there was an only ever violent war against each other. Gods inhabited nature, and were very influential to a person’s fate. Mesopotamians depended much on these gods to control their natural surroundings. Since the Mesopotamians wanted to live their lives their own way, they worshipped these carnal gods instead of the true God …show more content…
This led into them being a more independent, peaceful, and prosperous nation. However, since they were isolated, they did not have any good influence of other cultures to follow and they became resistant to new ideas and change. The Egyptians were polytheistic and pharaoh was one of their gods. Nature and animals were also gods and they adored the creation, not Creator. Although the Egyptian gods were powerful with authority of everything, they struggled with human temptations, needed humans, and were not everlasting. Since the gods weren’t personal, the Egyptians had no superior power that cared deeply about them. The Egyptians wanted a since of balance and order, and that’s exactly what the government provided for the people. Egyptian government protected the citizens from evil, and united the people. Because they looked at the world with rhythm and stability, they got the idea in their heads that history just repeats itself and would not except the idea of change. They would however look to the past for answers. Sadly, since they had this cyclical worldview, they felt like they could not make a difference in the world and they just tried to fit in. humans weren’t very important. Even nature was had more value than them. Egyptians looked to the “Book of the Dead” as their guide of how to get into heaven. It allowed them to cheat …show more content…
It is rational, logical, appeals and satisfies the intellect. On the other hand, the scientific worldview is based on observable data, and is also rational and logical. This worldview also appeals to the intellect but does not satisfy the longing in every human’s soul like the theistic worldview can. It also, is certainly not based on tales or feelings. On the contrary, a theistic worldview inspires imagination and is even emotionally satisfying, unlike the scientific worldview which leaves no room for emotional satisfaction. The theistic worldview has so much evidence of for its facts and beliefs. For example, universal laws can explain the existence of the natural world. It also allows for natural occurrences, but makes sure they stay within the boundaries of a just and loving God. This is a dramatic difference between the two worldviews. Although the scientific worldview studies and does not worship nature, it still denies any reverence to a creator. It focuses so much on facts and observations that it forgets there is a whole other aspect in nature, just like it forgets about morality and the existence of a God or gods. Theism, however, is simply revealed; it gives humans a perfect moral code and a purpose in life. When studying the scientific worldview, one finds that it leaves very little room for answering the deep questions of the human heart. It is only able to interpret experiences and resolve questions that do not explain