Update Oct. 24

Writing Portfolio
We took a small quiz to review what we learned during Term 1 about semicolon and colon usage.
We reflected on what we have learned about ourselves as writers from the experience of writing the Hamlet essays. Students wrote written reflections, based on a handout, on their writing.  We will finish these during the first 15 minutes of Writing Portfolio class on Tuesday.

Core
Bellwrite: How did the Renaissance prepare the way for the Protestant Reformation? (Think of Renaissance Humanism.)

We spent 40 minutes discussing the Bellwrite. We considered each of the key Humanist values in light of this question:

• Rationalism (The belief that reason is the way to understand the truth.)
• Reformers taught the doctrine of Word Alone, focusing on a study of the Bible.
• Reformers reasoned that translations of the Bible distorted original meaning, and so focused on studying the Bible in it's original languages.
• Reformers wanted to get the Bible into the hands of every individual so he/she could reason about it.
• Reformers questioned long-held traditions of the Catholic religion.
• Individualism (The belief in the value and potential of individual human beings.)
• Reformers taught the doctrine of Universal Priesthood: any man who comes to Christ can be his own priest. Men don't rely on priests as intermediaries between them and God.
• Reformers followed their individual consciences in spiritual matters, rather than relying on the authority of the Church.
• Reformers taught that salvation was an individual matter of personal faith, not dependent on traditions of the church such as the sale of indulgences which relied on priestly intercession.
• Moral Relativity (The belief that what is right or wrong depends on circumstances.)
• Reformers relied more on the authority of God as revealed through their individual consciences than on the canonical laws of the Church.
• Reformers were willing to break the law to bring about what they deemed to be a better work.
• Secularism (A focus on man's activities, including his civil government, in this world, as opposed to a focus on spiritual realities or the role of the Church--meaning the Catholic Church.)
• Henry VIII in England declared the monarch of England to be the head of the Church, reversing the tradition order of power in Europe under which the Pope crowned emperors and monarchs.
• Because of Luther, German princes began asserting their independence and declaring their own state religions for their small princedoms.

We talked about how these core Humanist values could be very important in promoting God's work, but when pushed to extremes result in the cultural problems of 2013. Rationalism becomes a belief that truth can only be established scientifically. Individualism results in the breakdown of families and communities, and afflicts society with a number of ills rooted in selfishness, entitlement, and indulgence. Moral relativity becomes a belief that there are no moral standards. Finally, secularism becomes the complete removal of God as states support not freedom of religion but freedom from religion.

Students worked in groups to prepare to debate the question of free will from the points of view of Luther and Erasmus as expressed in our history reading packet, Renaissance & Reformation Topic 6: Christian Humanism.

Homework:
Answer all the questions on Topic 6 (Reason and Record & Relate and Record).
Continue practicing your Hamlet monologue. We will perform next Tuesday.