Jews, Gypsies, North Africans, Mexicans

    I remember one of my first weeks in Rome.  I immediately loved the city, with its historical and religious connections.  I was witnessing some of the most revered areas in the world.  I told Laura one day that I preferred smaller cities to Rome, however, because I couldn't understand why anyone would be okay with Rome's dangers.  The gypsies that were always present at popular sites and the threat of having my things stolen were "ruining" my enjoyment of Rome.  I was especially upset at the gypsies outside the Colosseum, who were always so pushy.  They made me nervous, especially because I am typically accepting of people.  Barzini noted that Italians are naturally suspicious, but I am not that way.  However, I took all of Danilo's lectures to heart: for my safety, I would have to suspend compassion and use stereotypes to my advantage.  I began to act like an Italian; I judged others on basis of both their nationality and their appearance.  This stereotyping is negative and affects Jews, Gypsies, North Africans, and Mexicans, among other minority groups around the world. 
    
     When I made that comment to Laura about how bothersome I found the gypsies to be, she explained to me the lives they lead.  She said that most of them come over from North African countries and become gypsies because they have no other opportunities.  They are brought over out of poverty and are kept below decks in overcrowded boats.  Many do not survive the journey over and die of unsanitary conditions or of hunger.  Begging or selling roses or other trinkets are the only ways that they can make a living.  A small irritation of mine was someone else's only way of making money to live.  I began to feel silly at my former ignorance.  I began to feel compassion for these people.  I was upset by what had happened, but I did not choose to perpetuate the problem or endanger myself by giving them money.  I now advocate the need for institutional change.  Programs should be in place to help these people re-enter society.  In the same way, I hope for institutional change for the Mexicans, especially in America. 

   Mexicans in America are facing some of the same stereotypes as North Africans and other gypsies.  In America, the illegal immigrant battle continues.  The new Arizona law enfores a previously-passed-but-never-enforced federal law that allows police officials to demand identification documents from people who have a "thick foreign accent" or who look "out of place" (factcheck.org).  This law can be said to encourage racial profiling, but others argue that the profiling is needed to eliminate the 500,000 illegal immigrants that live in Arizona (a 2008 survey, factcheck.org).  I think that this kind of law is discriminatory and that it does not address what our true objective should be. Our proper objective should be a way to get illegal immigrants on the path of legality and citizenship.  Instead, we continue to stereotype them based on their race.  Just because they are Mexican does not mean we should be able to treat them differently. 

    Similarly, many Jews have been discriminated against in the past. We recall the 1555 Papal Bull that santioned, from the seat of the Church, no less, the sequestering of Jews into ghettos.  Ancient Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, and with it, destroyed the center of Jewish culture and life.  The stories from the Holocaust are the crescendo, only the tip of the iceberg, of the discrimination that Jews have been suffering over the centuries for their nationality and religion.  An especially cruel attack on civilians was the bombing of Jews at Fosse Ardeatine by German Nazis.  These civilians were innocent, and this incident is one of the most atrocious moments of World War II; it was a war filled with discrimination against those not of the "Aryan" race.

    Whether it's Jews, Gypsies, North Africans, or Mexicans, no one has the right to treat a human as less than a human.  Gaudium et Spes constantly affirms the inviolable dignity of each and every human person.  I hope that I can make my life a testimony to this dignity; I want to find a career that helps to raise awareness of the world's injustices.  I want to do something to remedy some part of this broken world.  The presentation on immigrants by Monsignor Giancarlo only reinforced this desire and made it stronger. Considering the increasing numbers of immigrants daily, it is necessary to do something to help.  These changes must not occur in Italy alone, but throughout the world.  Our greatness as a civilization should be measured by the way that we treat our minorities.    

325 Journal: Urbi et Orbi

            The Catholic Church today is both Roman and global, in different ways.  Before this trip, I would have thought that the church’s history was only Roman, and the modern church was only universal.  Granted, the church is Roman in the area of history.  The history of Rome connects the saints and early martyrs, who expressed a uniquely Catholic worldview, to the church today.  However, the history of the Catholic Church is also cosmopolitan.  We recall today’s class in which we discussed St. Paul’s acceptance of the Gentiles into Christianity at the Council of Jerusalem.  In the same token, there are aspects of the Catholic Church that are both distinctly Roman and universal today.  Before this trip, I viewed the Church as solely universal because I have studied Catholic social encyclicals, which assert the dignity of every human throughout the world.  However, an element of Roman connection in the Catholic Church is the location of the Vatican and the contents of its museums.  Through its presence in Italy (even though it is a sovereign state), and its collection of Roman art, the Vatican connects Catholicism to its roots.  The history of the Catholic Church is both Roman and global, just as the present time of the Catholic Church is both Roman and global.    

           

            Roman history pervades the papacy.  Since St. Peter is believed to have been martyred in Rome under Nero, he, as the first pope, connects this city to the emerging religion.  The alleged bones of St. Peter and the place where he was crucified make Rome a religious pilgrimage.  In the pilgrimage sense, Rome is probably the undisputed Catholic center of the world.  At San Giovanni, we saw the table that St. Peter likely would have used, and across the street we saw the sacred stairs that Jesus is said to have ascended before his crucifixion.  Many martyrs of the Catholic Church are included in Michelangelo’s fresco, The Last Judgment.  Catholicism is by no means only powerful in Rome, or only created for Romans, but Rome is a focal point of Catholic history. 

            We have read about the life of St. Paul, and he is a good example of the cosmopolitan sense of Catholicism.  Before he converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus, as depicted by Caravaggio in The Conversion of St. Paul, he was a Roman citizen who persecuted Christians.  When he converted to Christianity, he became a main figure of Christianity, which includes Catholicism.  He wrote many epistles of the Christian Bible, including Romans, Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.  These documents are now part of the church that is universal in the Christian Bible that is read throughout the world.  At the Council of Jerusalem, Paul is also universal in that he fought for Gentiles to be able to become Christians without adopting the principles of Jewish law into their lifestyle.  In another example of Paul as a representation of the Church’s universal nature, Paul traveled on many missionary excursions to evangelize and to spread the Gospel message.   

            The location of the Vatican imbues Roman Catholicism with a distinctly Roman character.  Though the Vatican is a separate, elective monarchy, many elements of Italy are connected to the Vatican.  For example, the Vatican shares Rome’s wealth of history.  Many sculptures and other artifacts that are not necessarily Christian, such as the sculpture of Laocoön and His Sons, which depicts a scene from The Aeneid that leads up to the fall of Troy.  There were also many tapestries that depicted maps of Italy’s regions.  Obviously, these things are not religious.  They may represent the wish of the Vatican to tap in to the religious heritage of Rome.  Thus, through the example of the Vatican Museum’s possession of non-religious art, we can see that the Vatican contains a Roman sense.  This history is alive today in the thousands of pilgrims that visit the Vatican each day.  It was alive when we attended the papal audience with Pope Benedict XVI and saw the many nationalities present.  This is an example of a global aspect of the Roman Catholic Church.

    

            The Church is global today in its expression of Catholic social doctrine.  I love the Catholic social encyclicals, which are documents that the popes have released on the dignity of every human being.  According to the Catholic Church, every human person is valuable and has inalienable rights.  This idea is universal and is directed at every person.  It is accepted as truth in all Catholic institutions around the world.  Caritas Internationalis is one of the many Catholic social justice organizations that are working to eliminate the affects of poverty and relieve places that were destroyed by national disaster.  In this sense is the modern Catholic Church global.  The Catholic Church is also global today in the sense that all of the readings are synchronized.  If I attend mass in Italy or in America, Canada, or Australia, the Catholic mass will have the same readings for any given day, and the mass will generally be performed in the same way.  This provides the church with a sense of unity, and is a global element of the faith. 

            The Catholic Church, upon investigation, began both as a Roman and a global faith, and it continues to be both a Roman and a global faith.  Through the power of St. Peter and the continuation of the papal succession, Catholicism is a city connected to Rome.  St. Paul also opened up Catholicism to non-Jews, which created a universal element to the faith. The Vatican is a modern-day connection to a Roman sense, and Catholic social justice is a global element of the faith today. 

Week 6, 225: The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica

 The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel, which features Michelangelo’s art from the high Renaissance at the end of the 15^th century, depicts scenes from Moses’ life on the south side and the life of Christ on the north side, an idea “aimed at restating papal authority by showing Moses and Christ as the eternal lawgivers” (Blue Guide 442).  Perugino’s St. Peter is depicted as entrusted with the authority that continues that of Moses and Christ, and which lives on through each successive pope.  The south wall of the Sistine Chapel shows that connection to Jewish roots plays an important part in the history of the Christian faith.

In the Pantheon, Christians subsumed a pagan area and imposed Christian art in place of shrines to the various gods and goddesses of Roman mythology.  When we visited, I was a little disappointed to see that most of the original Roman art was gone and replaced by Christian monuments.  Unlike the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel does not try to cover up the Jewish faith, a fact which I found unique.  The south wall, and the ceiling for the Sistine Chapel, both involve depictions of stories from the Hebrew Bible.  On the South wall, various panels depict the journeys to and from Egypt, the killing of the Egyptian from Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the tablets of the law, among other stories (Vatican.va). 

            The importance of Moses can be viewed through a historical art lens as well.  The Renaissance period was one of rebirth and rediscovery of Romanesque art.  High renaissance art depicts “nobility and grandeur in ... figures involved in actions of depth and significance” (vlib.iue.it).  Artists sought to imitate architectural forms of ancient Rome.  We recall that ancient Roman art was based upon the artistic influence of ancient Greece, which exalted the beauty of man as perfect in form.  Thus, if Moses was painted in a high Renaissance time period, and the Renaissance recalls the grandeur of man in ancient Rome, then Moses will be painted to reflect grandeur.  Moses is presented as a grand, imposing form in Botticelli’s “Punishment of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram” (1482).  On the way to the Promised Land, some Jews complained against Moses, and God punished them by allowing the ground to swallow them (Numbers:16, vaticanstate.va). Moses points to the left diagonal corner of the sky in a gesture of power.  The Renaissance emphasis of the line can also be seen in this fresco, with the diagonal line of Moses’ arm pointing towards the sky as a prime example.  The Arch of Constantine in the background is another example of the use of line, albeit a horizontal one.  The crowds on the right are vertical lines, and the lines cause the eye to scan from areas of order to the focal point of disorder, which is the men that are being swallowed by the ground.     

Blue Guide       

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Sud.html  

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/The_Vatican_Museums/Sistine_Chapel--p--2.htm

http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/07.html

St. Peter’s Basilica

            The Pieta statue of Michelangelo Buonarroti, from 1498-1498, is another example of Renaissance art.  The marble sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary holding her limp son after his death.  It depicts redemption through suffering, which is a common theme of Italian Renaissance art.  Mary is the model of enduring suffering; even though her face is serene, we know the pain she is enduring.  Jesus’ body is sprawled over her lap, and even his face has the serene expression.  This is unusual because he has just been tortured and crucified.    

            Even though another Renaissance characteristic is the presentation of things as they actually are, Michelangelo does not portray Christ as brutally wounded.  Rather, he is barely maimed in this depiction.  The Virgin is similarly calm in face, with a “serene dignity” (finearttouch.com).  However, their bodies are realistic in the sense that the contortions and lines resemble human limbs and facial expressions accurately.  Another anomaly in the presentation of reality is Michelangelo’s decision to portray the Virgin Mother as almost younger than her grown son.  Michelangelo, well-versed in theology, would have not erred accidentally; the Blue Guide urges us to consider Dante’s Paradiso: “‘Virgin mother, daughter of your son’” (414).  Ross King notes that Michelangelo reported that abstinence from sex prolongs life.  When confronted by critics who thought that Mary was portrayed as too young in this sculpture, Michelangelo simply said, “‘Don’t you know…that women who are chaste remain much fresher than those who are not?  How much more so a virgin who was never touched by even the slightest lascivious desire which might alter her body?” (The Smiles of Rome 109).  According to Michelangelo, Mary remains youthful and vigorous because she remains a virgin.  She has never lost that innocence.  This statue helps us to understand that the Christian adoration of the Virgin, which continues today, has a history that dates back to Renaissance times and earlier.  The Pieta statue’s popularity today indicates that the same level of honor that is bestowed on Mary during Renaissance times is still practiced today.     

Blue Guide   

The Smiles of Rome

http://www.finearttouch.com/The_Pieta_by_Michelangelo,_A_Study_of_Redemption_Through_Pain.html

Week 5, 314 Journal: The Ghetto of Rome then, the Ghetto of Akron Now

            When we visited the Rome ghetto, it was a powerful moment for me to see the buildings that the Jews were sequestered in and the gates that Jews were forced to stay behind.  We can date discrimination against the Jews to events in much earlier eras, such as the Babylonian exile and the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans.  However, the racial anti-Semitism of the previous centuries can be dated, in a way, back to 1492.  The Spanish reigning couple, Ferdinand and Isabella, issued an edict of expulsion for the Jews of Spain.  They wanted to have an all-Catholic nation.  In yet another diaspora, the Jews spread themselves to neighboring countries; many of these Jews settled in Rome.  This brings us to the scene of the Jewish ghettos in Rome in the 16^th century.  The impact of discrimination against the Jews in this ghetto was a terrible disconnect and division between people.  This disconnect can be seen in today’s ghettos of Akron.    

            After seeing the 1555 Papal Bull in class that called for strict rules regarding Jews in the Roman ghetto, I was shocked.  I was especially awed that the papal bull said that God would help the Catholics to enforce these laws.  The Catholicism that I know today is so far from this discrimination, at least in the doctrine, if not fully in practice by the believers yet.  This modern Catholicism is one of openness and solidarity, one that calls for a respect of the dignity of every human person.  However, during the 16^th century, the Church sanctioned discrimination against the Jews by forcing the men to wear yellow hats and the women to wear another form of yellow identification.  The Jewish people, those on the inside of the ghetto, are forced to attend Sunday masses and their ears were checked to make sure that they had not been stuffed with cotton.  Many other laws prevented the Jews from thriving, simply on basis of their religious beliefs.  Christians, the people on the outside, probably feared that the Jewish religion would be competition for their own faith, so the Christians sequestered the Jews as a solution.  The impact of the ghetto on the Christians is that it allowed the practice of discrimination and hate to breed in its religion.  I reacted with disappointment at the dirty underside of my own faith when we visited the ghetto, while at the same time being immensely grateful for the interfaith dialogue of Pope John Paul II and the other popes to Jews today. 

            Some parts of Akron, Ohio, can be considered a ghetto.  Downtown in Grace Park, many homeless people linger by church steps, on park benches, and in clumps of trees.  At my high school, Walsh Jesuit, I participated in the Labre project.  This really enforced for me the Catholic idea of social justice for every human being.  This project involved passing out food and sharing fellowship with the homeless of Akron every Monday night.  Some of the homeless here have committed crimes and cannot pursue jobs because they have a record, and some simply have mental problems or addictions.  Whatever the case, this ghetto reflects the same discrimination as the Jewish ghetto of the 15^th century.  Even though this ghetto is not enforced by law and the people are free to move about, it is almost impossible for some of them to reintegrate into society.  We have erected a gate of our own, an invisible fence of prejudice and hate.  In this ghetto, many lack the basic rights of life that we all have: to have employment, to provide for one’s needs, to be a part of society, and to raise a family.  The people outside here suffer from loneliness and a lack of acceptance, as well as poverty.  The people outside, those of us who allow this to continue, are rendered slightly less human as we allow these injustices. 

            To be human is to recognize the inherent dignity of another person, according to the Catholic Church.  This idea directly opposes the racism and discrimination of ghettos.  Whether in the Roman ghetto or in today’s ghettos in Akron, we must strive to eliminate discrimination and promote connectedness between other humans.   

Week 4, Hum 325, Piazze: the Centers of Italian Life

The Piazza is where Italians are accustomed to what Americans would call 'loitering.'  In the American version of the piazza, the mall, loitering is prohibited in many cases.  You must be actively shopping to continue to be there, because of the solely mercantile function of the mall.  The piazza, however, has many functions: it is a place for relaxation, it showcases beauty in nature and sculpture, it houses businesses and places of worship that are central to the town, it offers gelato and other foods, and it is an open-air area of living.  Just as the American mall provides a lens for viewing our culture, as one focused on economics, the piazze in Italy shed light on their own cultural values.  

Piazze are places of both rest and beauty.  Piazza di Spagna is an example of an area in which people rest, especially next to Bernini's Fontana della Barcaccia.  Travelers can fill up their waterbottles at this fountain, and simply rest their aching feet while sitting around it or on the Spanish Steps.  Italians practice this rest every day, when they close their shops from about 1:30 to 4:30 for the siesta.  This is a cultural practice that involves resting, talking with one's neighbors or friends, and eating.  When I think of beauty in piazzas, I can only think of the marvellous Basilica di San Marco and the Clocktower in Venice in Piazza San Marco.  I am sure the Italians who live there have no problem with relaxing in the piazza when they have a view of such a gorgeous basilica, the clocktower, and the the ocean.  Barzini notes that Italian life is a show; "the first purpose of the show is to make life acceptable" (75).  The beauty of their surroundings, especially in public piazze, is meant to balm the ills of human life.  Because the Italians incorporate elements of rest and beauty into their piazze, we know that these elements are important to the Italian lifestyle.  The piazza is the heart of the Italian way of life. 

Every piazza, even the smallest, houses stores that are essential to the life of the town.  Castel Gandolfo's main mini-piazza contains a gelateria, a church, and many places to eat lunch, as well as a fountain and beautiful scenery of the pope's summer home.  In Piazza Navona, artists make the city come alive with their renderings of famous Italian monuments.  The piazza can be just as much of a shopping center as a relaxing, beautiful center.  In Piazza della Rotundo, the Pantheon exists as the major attraction, but the piazza would not be the same without the eateries and shopping areas.  Italians come together through good food, and they can relax while shopping with friends.  Another factor of the piazza is the "open-air" aspect.  Since most Italians have small living rooms, Barzini notes, their 'living rooms' are the piazze.  Everything that an Italian needs to have a pleasant afternoon is located in this open-air public space.  The piazze as the supplier of everyday needs tells us that Italians are very comfortable living among others.

The piazze is a lens for Italian culture because it shows us many aspects of Italian lifestyle: rest, beauty, shopping, eating, and sharing an open air public space.  Our American malls can only claim a few of these elements at best, and one could argue that it is not an accurate representation because only certain types of people regularly attend the mall.  From what I know, I would say that most types of Italians use the piazze, and that the sample is fairly stratified.  Thus, we can glean an accurate portrait of Italian culture by looking simply at the functions of the piazze.      

314- Georgio Perlasca- Courage and Humility

In what way is Georgio Perlasca an "Authentic Italian Hero?"  What does 'authentic hero' mean to you?  What is an authentic hero?  Are there other people in today's world that you would consider to be a hero?

An authentic hero is one that succeeds in two areas: courage and humility.  I can think of countless other qualities that might factor into the idea of heroism, but these qualities seem most important.  Indeed, The Courage of a Just Man is an often-used subtitle for this movie.  Georgio Perlasca possesed the qualities of courage and humility, as compared to other heroes of the present and the past. 

A hero must have the courage to admit that he or she was wrong.  Though the need for this admission may not arise in every case, I am more likely to view the person who can admit to personal faults as a hero.  Both Saint Paul and Georgio Perlasca were able to do this.  St Paul was previously a Pharisee (Saul) who had persectued Christians (Blue Guide, 477).  When he converted suddenly to Christianity, Paul had to admit to his faults.  His history as a persectuor of Christians would always trail behind him, but he had the courage to move on.  Paul realized his wrongs and then did the hard thing; he admitted his wrong by completely re-orienting his life around the Christian community he had once persecuted.  St. Paul is credited for the universal nature of the church; he first realized the importance of preaching to Gentile people, or non-Jews (477).  Just as St. Paul had the courage to admit his wrongs and turn his life around, so did Georgio Perlasca, who had previously fought on the side of the Fascists on two occasions.  Perlasca heroically moved past his former self and aligned himself with the Jews when he impersonated the Spanish ambassador. 

Courage can also be seen as the ability to put one's life on the line for others.  If one risks potential suffering for the benefit of other people, it is a courageous act.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a modern-day example of this acceptance of personal suffering to protect others.  Though King knew that his revolutionary ideas about civil right for African Americans were dangerous for him to espouse, he surrendered personal wishes to help a group of people.  "He lived with danger and had premonitions of an early death, but he carried on, firm in the faith that he was meant to" (ppu.org).  This persistence with a dangerous way of life to help others resulted in his assassination.  In the same way, Georgio Perlasca put his own life on the line to help the Jews with forged documents during World War II.  Perlasca was militarily savvy; he could have ignored everyone else and saved himself, but he stayed and sacrificed himself every day.  Each letter that he wrote for a Jewish family to help them to escape only increased the danger to his person.  Luckily, Perlasca did end up escaping, but not after years of witnessing intense suffering from his vantage point.   

A hero must have humility, that is, the goodness to perform deeds without recognition.  Mother Teresa is a famously-cited example of this humility for her work with the poor of Calcutta, India.  She tirelessly saw the face of God in every person, but did not expect a reward for it.  Similarly, Georgio Perlasca did not even tell people the good deeds that he did during the war.  He wrote down his story and sent one to the Vatican, one to the Spanish government, and kept one in his coffee table drawer.  Not even his family knew of his heroism.  This is a true hero for me. 

Heroes in my eyes notably exhibit the qualities of courage and humility.  However, one does not have to face a large-scale problem to be a hero.  Small problems of the community can be resolved with heroism.  The challenge is for all of us to emulate these heroes in our daily lives. 

http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/people/pst_mlk.html

Hum 225-3 St. Peter and Fosse Ardeatina

What I find most memorable from San Giovanni in Laterano were the statues of apostles and evangelists.  I had never been a big saint person before this trip, and I had never understood their significance in Christianity.  I am beginning to realize just how many role models that we have in the faith.  Among them, Peter stands out to me, particularly because we read excerpts from his writings this week.

 

This statue of St. Peter was created in the time of Pope Clement, which was 1701-1721 C.E.  It is made of marble and it is 425 cm high.  St. Peter can be found on the left side of the Church as you walk in, and is parallel to the Altar of the Holy Sacrament, which is said to be the table Christ used at the Last Supper (sacred-destinations.com).  Étienne Monnot, a famous artist of the era, sculpted Peter.  Peter's right hand is extended in the pose of a Classical orator (wga.hu).  The keys in Peter's left hand refer to the Gospel passage about St. Peter's role in the church.  Jesus calls Peter to found the church in Matthew 16:18-20,“'You are Peter, the Rock; and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall never conquer it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.'” (conservapedia.com).  Peter unlocks the Kingdom of Heaven for believers on earth through his role as the first pope.  It was cool to look at this statue, which represents such an influential figure of Catholicism.  Peter is a true embodiment of his words in the letter to the Romans: "Work for the Lord with untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit" (Cahill 84).  Because of Peter's foundational work , the church thrived and became what it is today.            

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-san-giovanni-laterano

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/monnot/st_peter.html

http://www.conservapedia.com/Saint_Peter

The second place that I found interesting this week was the Fosse Ardeatina.  On the right, I found a picture that depicts the events of March 24, 1944.  I couldn't find the artist's name, but I think it's important because it helps one to imagine the atrocities that occurred and allow them to become a part of us. 

When we visited this war memorial, it was hard for me to imagine the level of violence that occurred.  When the Germans retaliated a partisan attack, they killed 335 innocent Italians; about 1/3 were Italian-Jews (Cahill 296).  Not only did they shoot them in the caves, but they blew the caves up.  This memorial serves as a tragic reminder that civilians should in no way be a part of war.  To think that this happened 66 years ago, as did the horrific events of the Holocaust, sends a shiver down my spine.  In the grand scheme of history, 66 years is nothing.  In 1944, the world truly hadn't gotten away from the pagan violence of ancient Rome: the countless deaths in the Colosseum and the constant need to conquer and coerce other peoples.  Just as these are examples of a disrespect of human life in ancient Rome, this modern example at Fosse Ardeatina sheds light on the possibility of modern horrors.  I only hope we have today moved far from these atrocities. 

Hum 325- 3 History and Faith

The major religions of the West, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all promise some sort of future salvation. However, all are inextricably linked to the past. Does history contribute/bolster faith, or does the past limit faith?

I feel that history both bolsters and limits faith.  In Christianity, many stories of the lives of saints help to strengthen modern faith.  When rituals are performed, such as in Islam and Judaism, history works in the favor of faith. By this I mean that rituals which call back to historical times strengthen modern faith.  However, negative forces in history also limit faith.  The Roman Inquisition of believers to promote sound orthodoxy forever marred the faith in the eyes of nonbelievers.  Terrorist attacks ruined the name of Isalm for many Americans, and the Israeli-Palestini conflict, on a smaller scale, portrays Jerusalem in a negative light.  From what I've learned about this conflict, which is by no means extensive, it has been a source of conflict in Jerusalem for years.  In Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, history strengthens faith in some ways and limits it in others. 
 
Faith is bolstered by history at times.  For Christians, the story of St. Paul's conversion is a historical event that helps to bolster the faith.  Because St. Paul originally persecuted Christians as Saul, but turned his life around on the Road to Damascus, we can apply his persistence in our own lives.  No matter what wrongs we have committed, God has the grace to transform us into instruments of his Word.
 
The ritual that Muslims must pray facing Mecca five times a day is another example of history bolstering faith.  This ritual likely brings Muslims close to God because it has been done for so many years every day by Muslims all over the world.  Visser explains the power of ritual.  Though she is referring to the ritual of attending a Christian church, it can be applied to rituals of many faiths.  She relates the purpose of religious rituals: "the whole point of the proceedings is to help them (believers) change the orientation of their souls, even though they are also confirming the foundation of their beliefs" (Cahill 94).  

Similarly, when the circumcision ceremony is performed in a synagogue, I would posit that this ritual helps to bolster the faith of the believers.  By recalling a ceremony given by God to his people, Jews can strengthen the faith of everyone present and inaugurate the baby's life in the faith.  God told his people: "'This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised'" (Genesis 17:10).  God also promised Abram that he would have many descendants.  The history of circumcision and the covenant with God enriches the Jewish faith in this way.      
 
History limits faith in the sense that sometimes people judge a faith negatively on basis of that religion's past.  For example, the Roman Inquisition is  cited as an example of the scandals of the Roman Catholic church.  Pope Paul III in 1542 began the Inquisition to combat Protestantism (galileo.rice.edu).  The Church would seek out improper orthodoxy and punish the perpetrators of it.  Many people feel that the Roman Catholic faith is controlling and coercive as a result of this historical event, when in fact the modern Church has moved far away from its inquisitorial activities.   

People continue to judge the Muslim faith as one of violent terrorism due to the attacks of September 11th. However, we know that the group responsible for these attacks is a radical extremist group that in no way represents the true doctrine of the Islamic faith. Because these attacks were committed in the name of Islam, it will be a long time before many Americans can see the Islamic faith in a positive light. History is limiting the tolerance and flourishment of Islam.

The modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict might similarly present Judaism in a negative light (cfr.org). Though it is not really history yet, as the violence still continues, I would imagine that it does not promote the spread of Judaism. The continuing conflict from the late 19th century to the present day can potentially limit the acceptance of Judaism throughout the world, just as America's wars with Afghanistan and Iraq continue present America in a negative light. 
 
While stories of the faith and rituals are examples of history that bolsters faith, other events of history hinder the spread of faith.  Inquisitions, terrorist attacks, and war cause faith to be limited by history.  History, in this way, can act to either strengthen or limit faith. 
 
http://galileo.rice.edu/lib/student_work/trial96/loftis/overview.html
http://www.cfr.org/publication/13850/crisis_guide.html

Hum 314-1 Freedom Ain't Free

When I think about the parallels between the Rome/Jerusalem reality and America today, the popular phrase "freedom ain't free" comes to mind.  This phrase refers to the fact that sometimes freedom is not pure; it is tainted by restraining factors.  All of these societies, ancient Rome, ancient Jerusalem, and modern America have an element of impure freedom in them.  In ancient Rome, true freedom for all members was hampered by the social distinctions of each class, especially the slaves.  Though similar freedoms were extended to all citizens from Augustus to Vespasian (Guided Tour of Palatine Hill), not all people were citizens, and freedom was not made available to all members.  Jerusalem had a more equal approach to social classes, but also wasn't free from domination by foreign powers.  The Babylonians' destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, and later, the Romans' destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE are examples of this lack of authentic freedom.  In America today, wage slaves are the least free citizens.  When people do not have the opportunity to make their lives better, freedom is not truly available to them.  In each of these cities, freedom is being violated in some way.      

   Rome had numerous slaves to support its structure.  The emperors prevailed at the top of the pyramid, followed by the upper class Roman citizens, and then the citizens in varying levels.  The slaves occupied the largest portion of the pyramid and did all the grunt work for those above them: they built monuments, scrubbed people at the baths with the stirgil, and even lost their lives for the entertainment of the masses in the Colosseum.  Rome was stratified socially in this sense: certain classes were given more freedoms than others.  A million slaves were needed to support 50 members of the royal household (Guided Tour of Palatine Hill).  During our guided tour, Laura said that Roman citizens were mostly endowed with the same rights in an egalitarian society.  However, these rights most certainly did not apply to the slaves.  This is an example of the "freedom ain't free" concept.  Though Romans believed all people deserved these rights, they did not extend them to slaves, and freedom is not free for them.    

    There are also many examples of Jerusalem not being completely free, though the rich and the poor lived beside one another in Jerusalem.  As we talked about in class, a person's function in society in Jerusalem didn't give that person power over others.  This clashes culturally with the Roman social pyramid.  However, Jerusalem was similarly not completely free because its inhabitants were cruelly persecuted over the centuries. A good example of this is the Babylonian destruction of the Temple in 586 BCE.  Goodman calls this "the gravest blow to this (religious) future" (48).  Jerusalem's power as a religious city was temporarily negated during this destruction. Many Jews were subsequently taken into exile in Babylon.  When this first major assault to Jerusalem occurred, it foreshadowed many years of the "freedom ain't free" idea.  Though Jerusalem could function as its own entity at times, it was never far from being seized again.  Another such example of the loss of freedom was in 63 BCE when the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem.  Josephus is quoted in Goodman, saying, "For we lost our freedom and became subject to the Romans, and the territory which we had gained by our arms and taken from the Syrians we were compelled to give back to them" (52).  While under Roman control, the Jews were not truly free.  In 70 CE, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem because the Jews would not show submission to Florus's rule.  Because the Romans tried to force the Jews to obey, and the Jews refused, Jerusalem was destoyed.  Freedom for Jerusalem in this sense was not true freedom because the Jews were threatened and coerced.
  
    In America today, there is a similar clash between the principles our country was founded upon and the social reality of our country.  Granted, unlike Jerusalem, we are free of foreign dominon.  We are free to practice our laws the way we wish and we are free from the horrors of exile.  Though we do sometimes deport people who are not American citizens.  This can be a less cruel form of exile; we are not exiling them from their homes, but from a land of opportunity.  What can be said about Jerusalem and modern America is that both exemplifty the phrase "freedom ain't free"; Jerusalem through the violation of rights by foreign dominators, and America through social distinctions between classes.  I believe American citizens are not as truly free as our Constitution declares.  Just as Roman society distinguished the rights of certain people based on their class, America also gives certain people rights based on their class.  Many people work as wage slaves; they are only paid enough to squeak by the next month's bills and are not given opportunities to create a better life for themselves.  This is an example of how similar ancient Rome and modern American society is.  Though ancient Rome, ancient Jerusalem, and modern America differ in the ways in which freedom is violated, all of them can identify with the phrase "freedom ain't free."