History and Political Science; A Response to Historical Cases - Essay Example

History and Political Science; A Response to Historical Cases Response to part one; Response to part one: Pericles’s funeral Oration Funerals following the Peloponnesian battles became public rituals where Pericles, the Athens’ ruler, took advantage of the occasion in making classical statements on democratic values. Despite the fact that many Athenians were good orators, a lot of emphasis is placed on Pericles’ speech because they carried more weight in the Peloponnesian War and, more important, his role as a leader in the Athenian society. Of particular interest is to understand the implications of the Pericles’ oration (Thucydides 34) with respect to what is known of Athens. In evaluating Pericles’ speech, it is imperative to decipher the underpinning points in the speech, as depicted by Thucydides (pp 34-46). First, Pericles begins by acknowledging the need to hold ceremonies for those who dead for the country. He proceeds to assert that all that had happened was necessary. He was in line with the law, as well as the democracy requirements. In elucidating his point, he pays tribute to the ancestors, acknowledging them for creating a worth-celebrating history for the Athenians. He cites how the empire and its possession would have been without the sacrifice of the ancestors and that it was only justified for him to uphold the legacy. Pericles presents Athens as exceptional, in terms of its laws, justice, social equality, mobility and inclusivity of migrants, and that everyone had an equal opportunity to serve the nation. The aspect of Athens to offer social refreshment, such as games is not also overlooked. He affirms Athenian determination to shun all the challenges, as well as respecting the neighbors. He eventually justifies the point that the fallen men should not be the cause of any consolation. Instead, such a point brings comfort to the Athenian community. The crucial question is whether Pericles’ insight holds any validity. In particular, does Athens fit into the doctrine of exceptionalism, as presented? Moreover, is Pericles’ point about the fallen justified? In my view, whereas there are certain aspects of exceptionalism that could be justified about the historical Athenian society, others cannot. For instance, it is agreeable that the ancestors had a crucial role in creating history for posterity, considering that imperialism was the order of the time. The affirmation of respect of law and democracy also reflect the historical nature of Athens. This is because Athens historical government is widely cited as the mother or even the correlate of the sophisticated and desired contemporary democracy. Indeed, one avenue of viewing at Pericles’ forefather reference could act as a base the role which Athens played in Greek history. Perhaps he was referring to the growth of the government of Athens as well as the role which the forefathers played. Pericles next statement is that the city of Athens was great and served as a symbol of inspiration as the pioneer of true democracy (Halsall 39). Thucydides uses parallelism whereby Pericles talks of Athenian s’ reputation compared to other armed forces, as well as the Athenian self belief. However, the theme of imperialism cannot be left out of his speech. One questions whether this could also be an aspect of exceptionalism. Doesn’t it contravene the affirmation to respect the autonomy of the neighbors? I infer that whereas Pericles stand reflect the interest of the Athenians, it is advanced on the basis of nationalism, which can be dismissed as a thesis of societal selfishness. Response to part two: Robert, the Monk's account of Pope Urban II's call to crusade During the 11th century, when states like France and Britain had not emerged, Christianity united the states of Europe. All European states took part in religious wars against Muslims in what was known as the Crusades. Both Christians and Muslims committed atrocities against human beings although each side claimed to be fighting for a just course. At the Clermont conference, Urban spoke to a huge crowd and requested all of them to join hands with the people of Greece in order to liberate Palestine from Islamic rule (Tyerman 553). In reading Robert, the Monk's account of Pope Urban II's call to crusade (cite the article), of interest is to understand why Christians in the West would be moved to embark on a dangerous journey to fight in the Holy Land after hearing Pope Urban's speech at Clermont. More, what does this tell us about medieval values and the role of religion in that society? Before critiquing Monks account of Pope Urban 2 crusades, it would be imperative to look at what underlies his account. Numerous factors contributed to the great journey to liberate the city of Jerusalem between 1095 and 1096. Although such concerns should be met with an audience that is prepared as was the case in famine infested France in 1096. This places unnecessary emphasis on the contemporary concept of viewing wealth as an entity that can be expressed in monetary terms. Apart from wealth there were other forms of material acquisitions availed to the people who took part in the crusade. The most notable being that of status. The repetitive reference to renown and victory in the story of the crusaders, coupled with the denial to those people that deserve, illustrates this significant point in hard terms. This assumption must be omitted from the discussion of motives because when crusaders forfeit monetary gain the value cannot be quantified. However, this was arguably the most significant luxuries in the world, since glory goes hand in hand with status and status cannot be delineated from power. Monks account of Pope Urban 2 suggests that people who did not sacrifice for the Lord risk being locked out of the European system of patronage. In reading Monks account of Urban 2 nit can be established that, status as well as following can bring wealth and recognition to those who aspire to get positions (Kallis 723). However, if the wishes of the crusaders were expressed in monetary terms or treasure, but this notion cannot stand alone. This is because those people who responded to the call to take up arms were driven by other motivations too. Some people might have responded to one aspect than others. However they took into account one perfect reason for opting for the other. In respect of Monks account of Pope Urban 2, It would not make sense to say that those Christians who aspired to acquire wealth and status were outraged by the persecution of Christians (Kallis 721). The crucial question is whether the speeches made by Urban 2 carried a lot of weight.. Furthermore, is Urban 2 justified in his arguments concerning the wars with Muslims? In my view Urban 2 speeches were valid to some extent given the looming threat from Muslims and the repercussions that would follow if no action was taken. However, to a large extent these speeches were unjustified because they infringed on the rights of human beings. is because he was able to mobilize the Christian masses to successfully thwart the Islamic revolution. Furthermore, the speeches led to atrocities which claimed lives and destruction of property. As a result,, it can be said that Urban 2’s speeches were motivated by selfish rather than spiritual interests. This portrays Christianity as a religion that is tainted by corruption and immoral values and which can rarely meet the ethical threshold. Arguably, it can be said that Christian and Muslim skirmishes in medieval days had some moral and cultural implications on contemporary religious structure. Both religions were justified in their courses. Muslims were of the belief that consolidation of religious take over in Europe would free mankind from social and cultural evils that was being perpetuated by Christians. On the other hand, Christian feared Muslim domination on the fact that it could disorganize European culture and create a religious vacuum that would create social discord in Europe. In Monks account of Pope Urban2,it can be said that medieval societies were driven by materialistic and selfish interests in their courses of religious liberation. This aspect had a huge impact on the structure and role of the modern religion. However a lot of caution must be taken into account when reviewing the conflict that separated the two religions. Above board the religious conflicts played a crucial role in defining the functions of modern religion thus helped reduce social and cultural conflicts. Response to part three: Luther’s Propositions In the ancient period of Christianity, the Holy Bible was published in two major languages; Greek and Latin. However, priests were the only people who were allowed to read these Bibles. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, some scholars made efforts to translate the Holy Bible to enable ordinary citizens read it as well. With the availability of the Bible, laymen started to realize that the powers of the Pope had been exaggerated. This discovery led to massive criticism against all church leaders including the Pope. The outcome of this altercation led to the formation of a movement called the ‘Reformation’. Prominent leaders of the Reformation Movement included Martin Luther from Germany, John Calvin from Switzerland, John Knox from Scotland, Ulrich Zwingli from Switzerland, Thomas Cranmer from England and Ulnas Perini from Sweden. In reading Luther Proposition (Omwoyo 59), one may understand how the issues that Luther presented for debate illustrate the problems in the Church of his day. In this regard, it is important to shed some light on Luther’s historical background. Martin Luther was born at Eisleben, Germany in1483. He joined the monastery while aged twenty one years. His attitude towards the Catholic Church was influenced by John Huss, an earlier reformer who originated from Bohemia and who was torched to death for failing to renounce his ideologies. Luther quit the monastery to join Wittenberg University as a lecturer. While at the University, Luther got an opportunity to travel to Rome, which was the epitome of the Catholic Church. It is while he was in Rome that he came across the evils being committed by church leaders (Omwoyo 45).The 95 theses were letters of protest written by Luther to express his displeasure with the Catholic Church. These ninety five theses sparked a theological row that culminated in formation of Protestant churches. It should be noted that Luther’s intention was not reforming the church or attacking the Pope but his borne of contention lay in the indulgences. Luther proposes that all human beings were equal and Pope was no exception. Furthermore, Luther suggests that the inadequacies in the Catholic church amounted to abuse of power by the Church hence the need to form Protestant churches.(Omwoyo 62). The crucial question is whether Luther was justified in his actions. To a large extent he was justified because of a number of reasons; first the church leaders of the day namely clergymen and laymen used their wealth to buy church positions of cardinals and bishops. This implied that people of questionable integrity acquired high positions thus leading to inefficiency. Secondly, the principle of celibacy was not followed to the letter this is because some church leaders had wives and even children. These church leaders led exorbitant lives compared to those of their followers to whom simplicity formed the basis of preaching. Thirdly, the church collected huge amounts of money through the sale of indulgences. Indulgences refer to letters of pardon or remission of sins which the Catholic Church sold to the wealthy people. Furthermore, apart from possessing spiritual power Popes also had a lot of wealth. In Rome, there was growing discontent against the Pope but Italians were afraid of the repercussions if the Pope found out. In addition, the church had the power to hear and pass judgment on cases. It should be noted that the church had separate courts where priests could be prosecuted. In a nutshell, all parts of Europe were subjected to the jurisdiction of the church in marriage matters, divorce as well as writing of wills. This implied that the church was above the state. However, to some extent Luther had no justification for his actions this is because people had a right to follow the religion of their choice (Omwoyo 78). Luther was more concerned with the upright nature of the Roman church and the policies of giving indulgences other than penance. Luther’s activities were not cinematic or groundbreaking. The message in the ninety five theses gives a summary and also expresses the ideas of his predecessors who were already aware of the tainted teachings of Christ. Luther illustrates the spiritual, materialistic as well as the psychological truths that cause abuses during the exercise of purchasing and selling of indulgent letters. His ambition was not conflict, but justice, for the sake of Christians. In this regard, it can be said that the Reformation movement helped reduce the excesses of the Catholic Church. In addition, Luther’s ninety five theses had a huge impact on the doctrines that are used in contemporary churches. Therefore, it would be imperative to say that Luther’s ninety five theses reflected spiritual aspirations and not mere selfish interests. (Blake 87). Work cited Blake, Keith. Origins and Development of Christianity. Organization of Christian Church, 3.1(1985):78_97. Kallis, Stephen. The Motives of the Earliest Crusaders and the Settlement of Latin Palestine, 1095-1100? in English Historical Review. London, London University Press.1983. Vol. 98, pp. 721-736. Omwoyo, Freddy. The Reformation and Split of the Roman Catholic Church, Nairobi. Nairobi University Press, 1987. Print. Thucydides. Ancient History Sourcebook: Pericles’ Funeral Oration from the Peloponnesian War, c460-c.399BCE.Book2, p34-46. Tyerman, Catharine. Were there any Crusades in the Twelfth Century?” in English Historical Review London. Oxford University Press, 1995, Vol. 110, pp. 553-577. Thucydides. “Peloponnesian War, Book 2.34-46. c.460/455-c.399 BCE”. In Paul, Halsall. Pericles’ Funeral Speech from the Peloponnesian War. 2000.Web. March 30th, 2013from Read More