Time line of change
Heidi Wyman
3-20-08

Abstract: In this paper, I will show how the contact between the Native Americans and Europeans between the founding of Jamestown and the outbreak of the American Revolution constituted a continuous cultural revolution for the Native Americans. I will support this thesis using The Earth Shall Weep by James Wilson. This theses is important because it shows how the Europeans really changed the lifestyle of the Native Americans.

Contact between Native Americans and Europeans between the founding of Jamestown in 1607 and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776 constituted a continuous cultural revolution for Native Americans. The Europeans had such an impact on the Native Americans that it caused great change in their religion, culture, tools and trade. These changes either killed the Native Americans or brought them closer to the European culture. Although the Europeans had a huge impact on the Native Americans, there were some aspects of the Native American life that they could not change.

Trade has been a major part of the relation between the Native Americans and Europeans, it was the basis for there interaction and relationship. The Native Americans started trading with French settlers in the 1500's trading fur from fox, marten, mink and otter, for tools and weapons from the French. This trade changed the Native American culture by the introducing of weapons that were not hand made from natural materials. Prior to this Native Americans relied on what htey could produce from their own environment. When the Jamestown settlers came, the Native Americans trading was altered again. Native Americans were no longer just trading fur but also fresh meat, maize, berries, other foodstuffs and beaver pelts with the Europeans. The Native Americans traded their goods for cloth, trinkets, iron tools and utensils. This altered the Native American culture because they were no longer just hunting food for themselves, they were also hunting the food they needed to trade to gain European goods. A move away from only hunting what they needed to survive. The Native Americans saw this trade as a ceremonial gift exchange that allowed them to bring the Europeans into their world of equality. For the Europeans, these ceremonial gifts made for a very profitable international trade. The trading of tools led Native tribes who were not trading with the Europeans to fear those who were. Trading meant new weapons for those who were trading, this put the tribes who were not trading in danger. The nature of trading again changed when the Pilgrims came. The Native Americans would trade their surplus of land, fur and pelts for the Pilgrims steel blades, farming tools, trim clothing, warm blankets, glass and metal containers and ornaments. At the time of the Pequot war, the Native Americans stopped trading with the Europeans and relied on other countries for trade. As more and more settlers came to America, there were more groups of settlers from different countries to trade with. This was beneficial to the Native Americans because it gave them a constant source of people to trade with. If they went to war with a group, they would shift their trade to another. At first, some of the trade was helpful for the settlers. They needed help from the Native Americans to learn about the their new environment and primarily to trade food for survival in the beginning. However, soon the Native Americans were a large group of people to trade with for profit, and trade was used to manipulate tribes to get land. The Europeans also used trade to kill the Native Americans. James Wilson show us this in his book The Earth Shall Weep in an example of retaliation from the English on the Native Americans. " In response, Amherst resolved to 'punish the delinquents with entire destruction,' instructing that 'no prisoners' should be taken and initiating a primitive kind of germ warfare with the order 'to send the small pox among the disaffected tribes.'" [5] The English attempt was successful they "gave them smallpox-infected blankets from the fort hospital as a token of esteem." [5] The small pox would spread through the tribe killing all of their people. This weakened the tribe so their land could be taken.

The Native American were a group of people who survived off the land and with a religion that focused primarily on nature. They had many traditions and ceremonies in their religion. These traditions and ceremonies honor certain times of the year and their gods. Ceremonies include "feasts, music, dances and other performances" [4 ] by the tribes. Another part of Native American religion before the Europeans, include symbolism that represent certain ideas, characteristics and spirits of the tribe. Animals were often used for these symbols. Native Americans religion was based on oral myths that are passes down from one religion to another explaining how their society had come to be. Some Native American Tribes lived together in one house, these tribes would work as one and are all equal. When Jamestown came to be, it changed the culture of the Native Americans. Native Americans started to use tools from the Europeans changing their way of living off the land. Most of the Jamestown settlers were Christians and they wanted to convert the Indians to Christianity. They were partially successfully and some Native Americans converted into the European ways and were put in Praying Towns. They were taught the English language and had English schooling. The settlers realized that not many of the Indians wanted to convert to their culture and they started to push them from their land. Again, altering the Native American culture by stripping them of the land they were once a part of. Trade with the Jamestown settlers effected the tribes they were trading with and other tribes around them. The metal tools being traded affected enemies and neighbours who were at a disadvantage because they did not have the new tools. When an outbreak of small pox swept through the Native American tribes, many Native Americans converted to Christianity because the Europeans were not getting sick. James Wilson gives and example of this in his book The Earth Shall Weep, he states that the Native Americans " interpreted the epidemics as a proof of the Europeans' greater spiritual power.... This belief in the newcomers' religious potency - reinforced by the fact that so few Europeans seemed to be affected by the Epidemics - led to a number of deathbed conversions to Christianity." They believed that their culture was pleasing their god and he was rewarding them because of their behavior. However of course this was an inaccurate belief as the Europeans had an immunity to small pox having nothing to do with pleasing a god. The Native American lives were again changed when the Pilgrims came to America. The Indians now would work with the tools provided from the Pilgrims, pulling them farther away from there original tradition of simply just living off the land. The Pilgrims again made the attempt to convert the Indians to Christianity. They were more successful then the Jamestown settlers but again not completely successful. The Native Americans had a positive relationship with the Pilgrims causing them to adapt and change their culture to work with the Pilgrims culture. The Native Americans now learned part of the English language and culture. Their stories and Myths were more and more becoming like the English Myths and stories. The next major change in the Native American culture and religion came with the Pequot wars. These wars pushed the Native Americans to establish a form of currency. The Native Americans had a great loss and realized that the only way of surviving was to accept and mold to the European culture. This again made their religion and culture more and more like the Europeans. These were the major changes in the Native American culture during the time between the Jamestown settlement and the American Revolution caused by the English Europeans.

During the late 1600's and early 1700's the Hotinonshonnie, a League of Five ( later six) Nations, were changed by the French and British settlers. The Hotinonshonnie had peace treaties and traded with the French. In 1636 because of contact with the French, the tribe got a disease which killed at least half of the Hotinonshonnie tribes. This disease killed both the elderly, who contained the knowledge of the tribe, and the young who were the future of the Hotinonshonnie. The French tried to change the Hotinonshonnie by attempting to split the 5 nations. This was unsuccessful and the Hotinonshonnie people converted to Catholicism and moved to French missions in Canada. Not only were the Hotinonshonnie creating peace with the French, they were in good relation with the British and the English. Their culture was changing again as they learned to manipulate the settlers around them. They used the French against the British to keep their peace treaty. The positive relation between the British and Native Americans helped them maintain their culture as long as they could.

Even though the Europeans greatly influenced the Native Americans there were some aspects of their culture that the Europeans could not change. The first cultural aspect that was unchanged by the Europeans was sacred ceremonial cycle and other aspects of the Native American traditional life. [5] James Wilson tell us that Skanyadariyon, a Native American leader, was able to reserve these rights for the Native Americans through a new code, the Gai'wiio or good message. [5] Today we see this still in the Native Americans who have been forced onto reservations, they still work to maintain their beliefs from their traditional life. The second cultural aspect of Native American life that did not change was their leadership. Through this time period the Native Americans never became citizens of the King, they kept their traditional leadership and social structure with everyone staying equal. A third aspect of the Native American culture that remained unchanged was their oral history. Native Americans never had a form of writing and always learned their history from their elders who carried their oral history. They maintained this practice throughout this time period. We would have known more about the Native Americans point of view if their experiences had been documented by them. Although the Europeans caused revolution for the Native Americans, these aspects listed above remained unchanged leaving us with a picture of how the first people of America lived.



Sources
1.http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h27-am.html
2.http://emayzine.com/lectures/furtrade.html
3. http://www.pcmaf.org/fur_trade.htm

4.http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-religion.html

5. Wilson, James. The Earth Shall Weep. New York: Grove P, 1998. 1-131.

Jamestown Vs. Plymouth
Heidi Wyman
2-4-08

Abstract: This paper will discuss the similarities and differences between the Jamestown and Plymouth/Massachusetts colonies interactions with the Native Americans. I will source Wikipedia, The Earth Shall Weep by James Wilson and Encarta. This topic is very important because these similarities and differences led to how we see the founders of our country.

When looking at the foundation of America, we look at the Pilgrims. We see a group of people who traveled from England to form a new world where they were free from English rule. We see these people as our founders but in fact they were not the first permanent settlers in North America. The Jamestown settlement was established thirteen years prior to the pilgrims landing in North America. We do not see these settlers of Jamestown as the founders of our country primarily because of different relationships each colony developed. We want to think and believe our country was based on the more peaceful relationship the pilgrims developed with Native Americans.

The foundation of Jamestown in 1607 signified the first permanent English settlement in North America. Three ships, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery all led by Captain Christopher Newport, brought 105 English settlers to Virginia, where they would soon find Jamestown. These settlers were looking for the same success in America that Spain had previously in South America. The main reason for the settlement in North America for these people was profit. They wanted to find gold and other valuable goods, they wanted to locate a north passage to Asia, trade with the indigenous population and force them into a pliant labor force, as the Spanish had done. [3] They chose to land in Jamestown for its position, it provided a good area of defense from other European forces that would come by water. After they settled, they found out why the land was unoccupied by the Native Americans. There was an abundance of mosquitoes, the water was undrinkable, hunting was very limited and the animals were all quickly hunted leaving them with no food. The land did not provide them with any soil that could be farmed again creating a lack of food. These conditions led to saltwater poisoning, infection, fevers, disease and starvation, killing half of the settlements people. A second factor that contributed to the high death rate was their inability to do manual and skilled labor, again leaving them with no food. The Native Americans first reaction to the English settlers was hostility. However, eventually they offered their food and hospitality to the English. The Jamestown settlement became very dependent on the Native Americans for there food supply. When the Native Americans stopped providing them with food cooperatively, the English took what they needed by force. The Native Americans again showed hostility toward the English and eventually started to attack the settlement, killing animals and burning the crops. Through the next ten years the English returned attacks on the Native Americans, carrying out search and attack raids, burning Native villages and crops and capturing natives. This pattern of relationship with native Americans was repeated throughout Native America leading to the demise of the Indians.

In 1620, a second group of English people came to North America to form the next permanent settlement. These people are known today as the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims fled from England because of religious persecution, they felt the church violated biblical principles of true Christians. The Pilgrims first went to the Netherlands where they could establish their own church that would be supported and enforced by their own state. They brought only their culture and spiritual beliefs to the new world, making it their own. One hundred and two English people set sail for North America on the Mayflower hoping to reach Virginia. Due to storms during their voyage, the Pilgrims ended up in Cape Cod where they established the Plymouth settlement. The settlers were unprepared and did not know how to live through the winters in North America, causing over half of the population to die before the spring. By the next winter, the Native Americans and the Pilgrims had a very peaceful relationship. Squanto helped the Natives and Pilgrim communicate with each other. The Natives taught the English settlers how to build homes that would stand the cold winters, how and when to plant maize and how to cook that maize. With the good relationship that developed between the Pilgrims and Natives they were able to set up a peace treaty. In the treaty, each side promised to live in peace and support the other if attacked. [8] The good relation between the Pilgrims and the natives also let three natives live among the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims had a much better relationship with the Native Americans then any other colony. Even though they had a better relation with the natives they still ended up at war. King Philip's war started with Sassamon bringing word of the Native American plan to attack the English. Sassamon is murdered and three Native Americans were arrested. The first action was taken by the Pokanket who attacked Swansea, a small English settlement. The war spread and included both the Podunk and Nipmuck tribes. There were many battles between the Native American tribes and the colonists some included the attacks at Middleborough, Dartmouth, Mendon, Brookfield and Lancaster. The war continued until 1677, over 600 colonists and 3,000 Native Americans were killed during war, several hundred Native Americans were captured and executed or sold to slavery.

These two groups of people may have come to the new world from the same country but they had many differences. The Pilgrims and the Jamestown settlers had very different reasons for coming to North America. The settlers from Jamestown came to the new world mostly for profit; they wanted to be successful like the Spanish. The Pilgrims were never thinking about money when they came to North America. The pilgrims came to the new world for a place where they could establish their own church away from England. These motives greatly show how much the two civilizations were different. A second difference comes with the relations between the natives and the settlers of the two colonies. Jamestown never had a strong relation with the natives. One of there intentions when coming to America, was to force the natives into labor like the Spanish had before them. Once on the settlement, they stole food from Natives causing a hostile environment with the Native Americans. The pilgrims had a mutually accepting relationship with the Native Americans. They worked with the Natives to learn how to live off the land in Plymouth; they also allowed Indians to live with them to help them live in the new world. The pilgrims also had a good enough relation with the Indians to have a peace treaty. This treaty stated that both groups would live in peace and support the other if ever being attacked by and outside force. Jamestown settlers were never able to acquire a peace treaty with the Indians. These differences greatly set the Pilgrims and Jamestown settlers apart from each other.

The two colonies also had some similarities. Both of these colonies were unprepared for the climate and land conditions of North America. Due to the settlers not being prepared, over half of both civilizations died from starvation and disease. The starvation led the English to rely on the Native Americans for their food supply. Some people may argue that the Plymouth settlers were not dependent on the Indians, but in truth the Plymouth settlers were very dependent on the Wampanoag ’s for many things including not only food but knowledge as well. They created a good relation with the Native Americans so they could learn how to live in their new world. The Native Americans reaction to the English settlers and the attack on the Native Americans in both colonies were very similar. There were four stages to this process that occurred over and over again throughout the history of English and Native American relations. First the settlers come to North America, the Natives come to resent the settlers dependency upon them. Then a highly respected native would receive a vision where they saw their tribes brought back to life and thriving again. The native and his vision would connect with the tribes military force which led to a pan-Indian war where the Native Americans would be completely destroyed.

Jamestown and the Pilgrim colonies have a variety of similarities and differences based on their relations with the Native Americans. These similarities and differences lead to many questions on how we see these two groups of people today and how we associate them with our foundation. When we look at the founders of our country we look to the Pilgrims, when really the Jamestown settlers were the first to have a permanent settlement in North America. In kindergarten students are taught about Thanksgiving, they make turkeys from hand prints and are told the story of how the Pilgrim came over on the Mayflower to form a colony and eventually the United States. They are shown the relation between the Native Americans and Pilgrims to be completely accepting leading to a great feast we know now as Thanksgiving. We are not taught that the Jamestown settlement was the foundation of our country, primarily due to the unpleasant relationship they had with the Native Americans. The Pilgrims created a peaceful relation with the Native Americans supporting our belief of our country being peaceful and accepting. We also identify with the Pilgrims because they came for a religious reason. The Pilgrims came to America to find a place where they could practice there own religion without English laws. Our society has always had a strong religious background that relates us more to the Pilgrims then the Jamestown settlers. The Pilgrims had a strong set of beliefs and values that were incorporated into our society again deferring our attention away from the Jamestown settlers as founders for our country.





SOURCES
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown,_Virginia#Historical_overview_1508-1705
2. http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/colonial/indians/indians.html
3. nchs.ucla.edu/NH116-preview.pdf
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown_Settlement
5. http://www.historyisfun.org/History-Jamestown.htm
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims
7. http://www.allabouthistory.org/pilgrims.htm
8. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761557909
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Philip's_War

Note all sources were used to make this paper.

Four Functions of Myth

Heidi Wyman

2/14/08

Abstract:

This paper will discuss how the primary conflict between the Native Americans and Europeans was due to conflicting myth narratives. I will support this thesis with examples and information from James Wilson's, The Earth Shall Weep and interviews with Joseph Campbell. This is very important because it shows you where the two cultures varied in life style and beliefs.

Native Americans and Europeans have had many different conflicts. One the primary conflicts between these two cultures was due to conflicting myth narratives Myth narratives give you an idea about the lifestyle and culture of a civilization. Myths also provides you with the beliefs and rules of the culture. Joseph Campbell states that, "myths have four functions." The first is, "realizing what a wonder you are and what a wonder the universe is, and experiencing awe before this mystery." The second function of myth is, "cosmological dimension, the dimension with which science is concerned - showing you what the shape of the universe is but showing it in a way that the mystery again comes through." The third function of a myth is, "sociological, supporting and validating a certain social order." The fourth function of a myth is, "pedagogical, how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances." It does not take all of these functions to cause conflict between cultures, differences in any of these four functions could cause conflict conflict between the two cultures.

Campbell states that the first function of a myth is realizing what a wonder the universe is and what a wonder you are and experiencing awe before this mystery. This function is the only one out of the four functions that does not conflict. Both the Native Americans and Europeans used myth to explain the wonders and the unknowns of there worlds. A prime example of myths that exhibit this similarity, from the two cultures would be the creation myths. These provide stories that explain the greatest wonder and unknown of the world, how we got here. Native American tribes had a variety of different creation myths but they were all very similar. James Wilson provides a Native American creation myth that starts with an Old Man Above whom is called Chareya. Chareya lived in the sky and always wanted to reach the earth. He creates a hole in the sky and throws ice through the hole creating a pyramid. He uses this pyramid to climb down to earth. When the ice on the ground melts, Chareya bored with his finger into the earth planting and creating streams, animals and people. Chareya created the Grizzly bear of which caused him great fear. This fear made Chareya hollow out the pyramid to the sky and live the rest of his life in his tepee. This was very similar to the creation story of the Europeans. There story starts with God creating light on earth, creating day and night. God then creates the heavens above, earth and sea. God then creates birds and sea creatures and commands them to be fruitful and multiply. He then creates man, women and plants and animals for them to eat. These two myths show no conflict they both show one man creating with his own powers earth, man kind, creatures and nature. Both cultures saw the wonder in the universe and themselves and expressed this through their myth narratives.

The second function of myths is the cosmological dimension the dimension which science is concerned - showing you what the shape of the universe is but showing it in a such a way that they mystery again comes through. In other words, describing the meaning and significance of the universe; every corner, every rock, hill, stone and flower has its place and its meaning in the cosmological dimension. The Europeans had turned to the world of science to tell us the shape, significance and meaning of the universe. They wanted to know everything there was to know about the universe. During the period of Enlightenment, Europeans had been discovering news ways to examine the world through technology and science. They were creating a new way of living. They wanted to dissect all animals, examine all of nature and find out what it is made of and what its place in the universe was. The Native Americans were one with the land, their approach to the world was different they did not want to harm any part of there world. They saw themselves as the rock, the bluff, the pine tree, the shore and the water of which they were from. They were not interested in the scientific ways of examining the universe. This caused conflict between the two cultures. The Europeans wanted to progress, to innovate, improve their society and discover. The Native Americans were content with how they were living, they did not care to change or progress from where they were. The Europeans saw this as a set back of about six thousand years and the Native Americans did not want to change. Creating huge conflict between the two cultures.

Campbell states that the third function of myth is sociological, supporting and validating a certain social order. The social orders of the European and Native Americans were very different. The social order of Native Americans was very equal. Native Americans were firm believers in males and females having equal access to power in the supernatural world. Although they had equal power, men and women evaluated there status in different ways. A man could gain status by becoming a good hunter or providing his family with an abundance of meat and furs. A man can also gain status as a successful warrior and a higher status if he killed an enemy of captured a slave. Women gained status not by hunting or warfare but by bearing and raising children, growing a lot of crops and plants and finally a women could gain status by building and maintaining a comfortable home. Native American tribes usually had a chief, who's job was to keep order while staying on an equal status with his tribe, a sort of democracy. They worked to take care of their families and to get food for their families, they were never thinking of an economical society. This was a complete opposite of Europe, who still had but were moving away from feudalism and hierarchy. Europe had different classes, the nobles, merchants and peasants. People had their place in this ladder of hierarchy and it was impossible to change your status. The Nobles had power over both the merchants and the peasants. In the hierarchy, women were always seen below men. The Europeans society was based around their economy. They were excellent traders who could export and import goods and there major focus was to make money. This caused the greatest conflict between the Native Americans and the Europeans. The Europeans saw the Native Americans as very disorganized group of people who were very inefficient. The Europeans lived in a world of growth, progress and innovation. They were not impressed with the lack of innovation, progress and growth of the Native Americans. The second conflict between the two social orders was there levels of power. The Europeans were used to having power over each other, while the Native Americans were a very equal society. The difference between the social classes is by far the biggest conflict between the two cultures.

Campbell's last function of a myth is pedagogical, how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances. The culture you live in changes how a person lives their life, it changes how they think, deal with things and react. Culture teaches us how to pass into and live all the different stages of our life, from birth to childhood then maturing into adulthood and watching your own go through the same cycle and eventually reaching our death. Both cultures provide myths of how to live human life under any circumstance. The Native American culture was one with their environment, they respected it and others around them, seeing them all as equals. They lived off the land and taught their children how to live with only the necessities of life. They were taught by their elders of which they had very high respect for. They were taught of their ancestors and all the stories of their place. The Native Americans taught us that you can live without the technology and science that the Europeans had. Native Americans also lived in cyclical time. They lived in a cycle, they lived their lives the same and never wanted to change. Day by day they lived the same cycle, never progressing. A view of time very different from the Europeans. The European culture had many differences. They revolved around there economy and their science. They taught their children not of how they got there but how to invent and progress to a more material future. They wanted their children to be able to maintain their economy and structure once they were gone. Europeans lived in linear time, they lived for progress and future. Their view of time was very progressive you never moved back you had to keep going. A view of time very different from the Native Americans. These two life circumstances cause both cultures to respond differently towards each other, causing them conflict. The Europeans wanted the Native Americans to change while the Native Americans were content with how they were living. The third difference between the two life circumstances was there view of time. The Native Americans viewed time as cyclical, never progressing, while the Europeans saw linear time, progressing to a brighter future in there eyes. The pedagogical function of myth causes great conflict between the Native Americans and Europeans.
The Native American myths and European myths were very much in conflict. Three out of the four myth functions showed differences between the two cultures. They showed conflict in cosmological, sociological and pedagogical functions of a myth. These differences led the Native Americans and Europeans into violence. The Europeans wanted to change the Native American way of life, they wanted it to be more like their societies and economy. The Europeans saw the land that the Native Americans occupied and saw the potential profit that could be made by it. They wanted the Native Americans to adopt their economic system and be able to trade with other nations. When the Native Americans refused to change and adapt to the European culture, Europeans stuck to their ways and used power to overtake the Native American culture.

The Europeans Wanted to change the Native American Mytes, they wanted them to reflect their own myths.

what is there motovation?

land for economics

Europeans wanted the land that the Native Americans

Changing economy changes everything about the culture.

Explain why they had to eand to conflict, this is why violence had to be the end .

foucus on

Midterm prompt
Heidi Wyman
1-16-08

Abstract: In this paper I will tell you how the lesson of the past 600 years is that we have to keep trying. I will support this with examples and information from, The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, David Lands and the Library encyclopedia. This is very importaint to the society today and the future of society. This message is importaint because it shows what we need to keep going, to keep questioning our current knowledge and faith in things.

Many scholars will tell you that you can learn from the mistakes and success of the past. If this is true, what would the revolutions of the past 600 years tell you that we need to do? Would the revolutions show that we need to keep trying to innovate and learn? David Lands states that we must “cultivate a skeptical faith, avoid dogma, listen and watch well, try to clarify and define ends, the better to choose means.” Is this the message portrayed from the humanism movement to the technological revolution we are currently going

through? The lesson learned over the past 600 years is that we have to keep trying and move forward.
The first aspect that Landes states is essential to the lesson of keep trying is that we have to cultivate a skeptical faith. To cultivate a skeptical faith is to have a scientific, religious, and or political belief but also to be ready to question, explore, investigate and learn from new information and developments. Both the Humanist movement and the Reformation support the need for society to have a skeptical faith. The humanist movement questioned churches traditional beliefs of the meaning of life. By doing this, it created more then one point of view around how people saw themselves outside the church. They questioned the Catholic Churches traditions and polices. They still wanted to practice religion and be active in the church, while having a life, learning and exploration outside of the church. Maintaining a faith in religion but being able to question the traditional way of life. During the Reformation, Martin Luther exhibited skepticism of faith. He practiced religion while questioning through his 95 theses church traditions and polices he did not agree with. Again he wanted to retain a religious background and be part of the church, but still be able to question aspects of the church he felt were wrong and needed to be changed. Keeping a skeptical faith. Without skeptical faith, society will be come stagnant, does not move forward with knowledge, technological and medical treatment instead just accepts information given to them.(1)

Landes states that as part of the western history we must avoid dogma. Dogma is defined as a principle, belief, or idea especially one authoritatively considered to be absolute truth; avoiding this would be to stay away from accepting a belief, information because someone in charge told you to do so. We see examples of avoiding/fighting dogma during the Renaissance/Humanist Revolution, Scientific Revolution and the Technological Revolution. In the Humanist Revolution the Catholic Church faces serious problems with the society. The society began to question the traditional system of beliefs and the translation of the Bible. Martin Luther, a German monk and professor of

theology, recognized the corruption within the church and started to address them. His first act was to write a list of complaints against the church, the “95 theses”. Martin Luther’s second act was to post his theses on the Cathedral door in Wittemburg, Germany. These were taken and copied by the printing press and posted on many other churches. Luther’s stand led to many priest including Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, a French born scholar, to preach against church dogma, ritual and pomp.(1) The fight against the church led to different religious beliefs and church dogma. A second fight against dogma is seen during the Scientific Revolution. The church’s traditional belief was that the stars and sun revolve around the earth. Kepler was the first to challenge this traditional belief by publishing his theory that the sun was the center of the universe, with the planets revolving around it. Though Kepler had a theory he did not have evidence to prove his theory and was ignored by the society. During the Scientific Revolution, Galileo was able to prove that the sun was the center of the universe using his invention of the telescope. Galileo published his findings in a book called, Dialogue Concerning The Two Chief World Systems. Galileo was challenging societies dogma around the setup of the universe. Which led others to further investigations, knowledge and a continuation of challenging traditional beliefs (dogma). In today's Technological Revolution, societies beliefs about how to do business and be successful is currently being challenged by the growth and changes in technology. Our new technology has made major strides in communication and cooperation, changing the way businesses work in a global society. Businesses that do not embrace this global economy are going to suffer. Freidman points out businesses that have been very successful at adapting and growing in the new global economy. All of these businesses are fighting dogma. These three revolutions all avoided/ fought dogma in different ways. (4)

Another issue when deciding message of history is that we need to keep trying, to consider is if society “listens and watches well” as stated by Landes. Does society learn from and pay attention to the past to help them make today's choices? We see two examples of this in the Industrial and current day Technological Revolutions. The Industrial Revolution started in Britain ahead of the other countries. Britain had industries, machines and a growing economy wanted by many other countries. Britain was “ a country with lots of private wealth and well-funded merchant banks, able to finance enterprise with family resources, small loans and reinvestment of profits.” ( Germany watched the advancement of Britain and learned from them to create a better business economy. Germany took the aspects of the British industries that worked and built on them, also adding schools that would educate their people. Germany listened and watched well, to get ahead and become a strong country. This is also seen in the Technological Revolution of today. People and businesses of today have to attend to and embrace modern technology. Freidman gives us two good examples of this from his book, The World is Flat. The first is the growth of the UPS company. They were an company that dealt primarily with one business aspect, shipping. They watched the world economy and technology changing and realized they has to diversify if they were going to survive. Now instead of only shipping, they went inside your company; analyze its manufacturing, packaging and delivery processes; and then design, redesign, and manage your whole global supply chain. If nessisary they'll even finance parts of it, such as receivable and COD payments. They paid, listened and watched well using what they saw to be more productive and successful. The second example was personal to Freidman. He talks about arriving at the airport early so he could pick up his e ticket for an A seat. He was disappointed when he received his ticket and it was not among the A seats. Upon boarding the plane Friedman discovers that the people who had the A seats were customers who had printed their tickets in the comfort of their home at 12:01 the night before. This new procedure was beneficial to both customers and the airline because customers saved time and got the seats they wanted , while the airline benefited because they no longer had to pay labor to print and handout the tickets. Because Freedman did not pay attention to the technological advancements he missed out on his preferred seating. (3)

The goal of all revolutions is to clarify and define ends; changing how we think and how we live. Each of the revolutions over the past 600 years have changed the way society thinks and lives. The Renaissance Revolution clarified how people saw themselves. People pre-revolution only saw themselves through the church. After the revolution, people saw themselves as individuals. The Scientific Revolution changed the way people saw the truth. It made it acceptable to find new knowledge and not get everything from the church beliefs. The Industrial Revolution changed the world from an agricultural society to an urban society. The Industrial Revolution also changed the rate of production bringing about mass production which greatly increased economic growth more than ever before. The current Technological Revolution has improved how businesses collaborate around the world. It has also improved the supply chains of the world. The technological revolution is still currently happening so we have yet to see the full effect of this revolution.

Finally, Landes says that we need to use all of the pieces he discusses to better choose means. Thus, the challenge for society is to use the knowledge from history to better choose means. Have we used the lessons of the past 600 years to improve our lives? When you bring together the examples from the revolutions over the past 600 years you have support for Landes statement that the lesson of the last 600 years is the need to keep trying. “No miracles. No perfections. No Millennium. No apocalypse. We must cultivate a skeptical faith, avoid dogma, listen and watch well, try to clarify and define ends, the better to choose means.” The revolutions have combined to continuously change the world in some opinions for the better and some for the worst. Overall the lesson from the past is to keep trying. The challenge for all societies is to use the knowledge of the past to create a better future by continuing to try.

Biographies-

1."Cultures in Transition." Volume Library. 3 vols. Nashville, Tennessee: Southwestern, 2006.

2. Landes, David S. The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. New York: Norton & Company, 1999. 168-291.
3.Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.

4. Honors History class

Palmyra Episcopal Church

Heidi R. Wyman

Ms. Lind & Mr. Viles

Honors English / History

1/9/08

Throughout the development of the little town of Palmyra Maine, the Episcopal Church has been a lasting influence on the society for 169 years. Through this 169 year the Church has developed from the Grange hall to different church denominations, to its current denomination of the Episcopal Church. This church’s influence on the society can be seen throughout their charitable work within the community.

The church building currently occupied by St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, was built in 1838. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The building started as the Palmyra Free Meeting hall, a place where the community could meet for free to worship and discuss as they please. The land for the meeting hall was sold to the church by Stephen Robinson who only charged the church one pew. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The church also sold 52 pews to fund the building of the church. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) Each pew buyer would hold the right to choose a minister who would preach on the week corresponding with the number on their pew. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The total construction cost of the church was $1800.00. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The building was constructed by George Lancey. He hired a building crew with Lewis Williams the head carpenter. In 1871 the church was in need of repairs. Pew owners re-organized and were able to tax the pews to raise $350.00. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) This money was used to paint the outside, repair the blinds and to shingle the roof.In the next 124 years the church was home to three denominations, the Methodist, Baptist and Christian’s. They worshiped in this one church at different times on service days. Some ministers of the Christian denomination include, Mr. Stackpole, Mr.Tibbetts and Mr. Webster. Baptist elders included James Langley and Virgil Sweetland, son of one of the town’s initial settlers. Methodist preachers included Jesse Harriman Springer, La Marsh, Southard, Tingliny Brooks and Charles H. Johonnett. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197)

In 1962 the building which was currently owned by the Union church, a group of Jesus Christ followers who provided choir services to the community, was bought for $1 by the St. Martin’s congregation. (Breau, Beverly 12/15/07) The St. Martin’s group has formed in Pittsfield in 1959, originally meeting at Shorey’s Funeral Home and the former Jaycee Hall. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) This price was set by the townspeople to make the price low enough so it would be bought and put into use. The building was then renovated in preparation for the first Episcopal service in May 1963. The purchase and renovation of the free meeting hall restored regular Sunday services to the town. (Mack, Sharon K. Bangor Daily News.) A community church had been absent from the town for many years.

In 1964 the St. Martin’s congregation purchased the Palmyra Grange hall, a building residing next to the church. This building was constructed in 1896, by the grange. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The grange was a group of seventy members organized by their master F.L Brown on November 13, 1893. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) This group first held its meetings in the upper town house until they had the Hall built. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The grange hall and group sponsored the Palmyra band, which provided music for the town and other neighboring towns. The grange hall was also known for holding old time fairs with exhibits of cattle, horses, vegetables, foods and needlework. Since 1922 the hall has also housed Farm Bureau or Extensions and 4-H clubs. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The congregation purchased this building for $300, a price that would pay off the mortgage of the Grange hall. The congregation then turned the Grange hall into the Parish hall for the church. The parish hall would be used for community activities, public suppers and Sunday school.

In 1985 Janet McAuley was installed as the priest as St. Martin’s. McAuley had two bachelor’s degrees, three master’s degrees and a doctorate degree in religion. McAuley was a well known priest in the community. She oversaw many new programs in the church. The first program was the start of the library in 1988. The library started by Beverly Breau was held in the attic of the church. The library along with the literacy program taught around 200 adults how to read. Janet McAuley served the church up until her death in 2005. (The Northeast. June 2006)

In 1991 the Church lit on fire, destroying the steeple of the church. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) This fire was started by a lighting bolt that struck the bell in the tower. The great ring drew many townspeople to the church to see what had happened. Local fire departments from five towns were able to control the fire and secure the rest of the church. The church in itself was saved but the steeple had to be replaced, new siding had to be installed and some restorations were needed inside the church. The fire did not harm any of the surrounding buildings and left the parish hall as it had always been.

The church again strived for the next 14 years until April 19, 2006 whey yet another fire ripped through the church. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) The efforts of the six area fire departments did not pay off, the fire was unable to be controlled and the church damage was too severe to be repaired. There were few items saved from the fire including the alter, pews, crosses, candle sticks and the door that led to the basement of the church. The door was old and wooden with a vintage latch and hinges. On the door the dates including 1854, these dates represented when the church had been painted.

The burning of the church did not stop the worshiping; as planned the church installed Reverend Levering Sherman Jr. as their new vicar and priest-in-charge five days after the fire. On April 30, 2006 Reverend Levering Sherman Jr. celebrated his first Eucharist as vicar in the parish hall. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197) He is currently still at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church.

Since the fire, the congregation meets, prays and cooks in the church hall. The church continues all of its regular services such as Sunday school, service and the community suppers in the parish hall. Beverly Breau says that the church lines up the pews to have Sunday service and then has to take them off and put up the tables for the suppers at the church. (Breau, Beverly 12/15/07) The church holds turkey pie suppers twice a month, on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 4:30 to 6:30pm. These suppers provide for an average of 70 people and have been a tradition of the church for over 20 years. The profit made during the community suppers goes to the fund to rebuild the church and the literacy program at the church. The suppers provide dinner for an average of 70 people With the community suppers, literacy program and donations to the county food band, the church is more involved with the community. (Palmyra Bicentennial. 188-197)

This church has affected society with its charitable works throughout the history of Palmyra. During the war they provided special support services for families of those in the war. These services provided memorials for the men and women who were lost during the war. There was also a church choir that brought community members together. The church also provided a meeting place for church and community services. Currently the church provides a literacy program for families in the community. They also hold turkey suppers twice a month and also contribute food to the county food bank. The growth and development of Palmyra Maine, has been positively influenced by the existence of the church in the town. This church has come a long way from a Grange hall to becoming a full time Episcopal Church in the community.

Work Cited

• Breau, Beverly. Dec. 15 2007

• Mack, Sharon K. “Palmyra pies bring town together.” Bangor Daily News. 14 Nov. 2007. 3 Dec. 2007. <htt[://bangordailynews.com/news/+/lifestyle.aspx?articleid=156476&zoneid=14>.

• Palmyra Bicentennial. International Standard Penobscott P, 2007. 188-197.

• Saintmartins.sebasticookvalley.net/images/church.html

• Seekins, Brenda. Images of America Sebasticook Valley. Portsmouth: Arcadia, 2004.
• "St. Martin's Already Rebuilding in Palmyra After April 19 Fire." The Northeast June 2006. 20 Dec. 2007.

Work Consulted

• “Episcopal Church.” Infoplease. 2007. Columbia Universiitypress. 2 Dec. 2007. <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0858019.html>.

• "

  Protestant Episcopal church.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD 2 Dec 2007.

• “History of the Episcopal church.” Christ Church. 3 Dec. 2007. <http://www.christchurchmonticello.com/history.htm>.

Mental or Physical?

Abstract:
In this paper, I will show how the industrial revolution was a material revolution. I will support this thesis with David S. Lands’ The Wealth and Poverty of Nations and Eric Hobsbawm’s The Age of Revolution. This thesis is important because the Industrial Revolution changed the way people worked and earned a living.
David S. Landes states that, “revolution is an instance of great change or alteration in affairs or some particular thing.” The Industrial Revolution caused changes due to huge numbers of developing industries, new machinery, a population in need of jobs, inventions, increasing population and the beginning of a middle class coming together to create constant, rapid and unlimited multiplication of man, goods and services. A goal no previous society had been able to obtain. Unlike the Renaissance period that was primarily based on the change in knowledge and beliefs, thus a mental revolution, the Industrial Revolution was a material revolution based on goods and economy.
There were many inventions and improvements in machinery that aided the development of industries, pushed toward mass production and improved agriculture. Some of these machines included the spinning wheel, reverberatory furnaces, the steam powered engine and steam powered plow. These machines helped increase the productivity of goods and agriculture.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution people used a system called the cottage industry to produce fabric. This was an industry where people would spin and weave wool at their own house and at their own pace. There were constant issues between bosses and weavers involving accusations of stealing and misuse of materials. Thus when the industrial revolution eliminated the cottage industries employers were happier to have the weavers under their roof and more control over the materials, rate of production and products. The cottage industries were replaced with spinning wheels in factories. The spinning wheels increased the efficiency of carding, twisting, spinning and rolling the wool into yarn which then increased the supply of yarn that supplied the weaving industry. By the end of the revolution, steam power was used to power the machines creating mass production of yarn for weavers.

A second piece of machinery that was essential in the Industrial Revolution was the reverberatory furnace also known as a cupola. This was a machine that melted coke pig iron into cast iron goods. This produced pots, pans, fire backs, pipes and kettles that were thin and cheap. Therefore, the cheaper iron became a major material used to produce goods during the revolution. The cheap iron also helped development of steam engines and railways.

A third revolutionary machine was the invention of the steam engine. The steam engine took about two hundred years to completely develop. Until the 1800’s, the steam engine was only used to pump water from mines, this allowed mines to ascend deeper into the earth. The steam engine was invented and a solution was found for the pistons that were limiting the power of the machine. This solution allowed the steam engine to be put into ships, such as the Dreadnought. These ships were faster, cleaner and they rarely had to stop into port for more than a day.

The fourth invention that was extremely effective was the steam engine plow. These plows had two engines on each side of the field with a plow connected by a cable to the engines. These new plows reduced the cost of plowing and the number of people needed to run the farm. These four machines all worked together to create mass production of goods such as yarn for weaving, cast iron goods for cooking and agricultural goods. The machines were the base of the industrial revolution, without them there would have been no need for factories and industries. These machines and many others worked together to produce a material change in society.
The Industrial Revolution rapidly fed the supply and demand economic cycle. This cycle started with the idea of new machines an idea worthless unless acted upon. This led to the creation of new machinery. The new machines are the base for factories, where there would be mass production of all sorts of goods. These factories would create a need for people to run the machines, creating new job
opportunities. The advancement in farming machinery allowed farms to produce crops more cheaply with less labor, freeing people to work in the factories. All of the people who were unemployed, not only from the farms but also the people who were on the streets moved to the city where there was an abundance of jobs that needed filling. These workers now had money to spend on goods, creating higher demand. This causes the cycle to start over with the need for machines and products, to creating even more jobs and production of goods.
Every revolution has an effect on all parts of P.E.R.S.I.A. The political, economic, religious, society, intellectual and aesthetics of a society. The materials in the Industrial Revolution effected all parts of PERSIA. First, the machines had an effect on the political power of nations. The countries of which took part in the revolution of machines and factories had the most money, therefore giving them power. The countries that did not take part in the revolution fell to the bottom of the economy and political power. Spain for example, showed this with their power from wealth found in the Americas before the revolution. When the revolution hit, Spain’s money was gone, they were not able take part in the revolutionary inventions, materials and fell to the bottom. The economics were effected greatly by the new machines and industries. The first economical change was the change from a feudal to an industrial society with huge economical growth. The industries introduced mass production and more jobs for society. In return, it gave people more money to buy products and demand more. The effect on religion was that employment of the people took them from their religious studies. The impact on society was huge. There were many new opportunities for jobs in the factories which brought more people form the country to the city in search of work. This also changed the lifestyle of society, they changed from agricultural extended families to city dwellers. The machines changed the intellect of the people. Before the revolution, people had to know how to spin or weave wool by hand. With the new machines of the revolution, the people no longer had to know the art of spinning or weaving but simply knew how to use the machines that spun and wove the wool for them. The last part of P.E.R.S.I.A. is aesthetics, the machines had great effect on the aesthetics of society. The picture of society changed tremendously from the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the revolution in the picture you saw little homes where people worked and farmed. In the new picture of society, you see industries, increased factories, major cities and agricultural land; all caused by the joining of industries, development of machinery, inventions and the beginning of a middle class.
The Industrial Revolution was primarily a material revolution. When you have a revolution that changes the way people think, it would be considered a mental revolution such as Humanism. When thinking of a material revolution, it relates to tools, machinery and the money that is available and brought about changes. What came from the Industrial Revolution is a change in machinery, mass production and industries bringing more work not a revolution of philosophical thinking. The revolution built the economy of anyone who took part, it produced goods using the economic cycle of mass production and increase in jobs and income of society driving the supply and demand. There is no question that this revolution was driven by material and physical changes of Europe.

What is Truth?
By Heidi Wyman
11-19-07

Truth, what does this word mean? Some people will tell you that truth relies solely on proof that comes from science or fact. Others will tell you that truth is what your traditional beliefs are. Webster tells us that truth is the body of real things, events and facts. Or is truth a compromise between science and faith /traditional beliefs. Throughout history we see many examples of conflict between the church and science over what is true. Even though many of these issues have been resolved, today there continue to be conflicts between religion and science.

In the scientific revolution from 1600-1800 (the Enlightenment), there were many conflicts between science and religion. One major conflict was between Galileo and the church over the Copernican theory. This theory stated that the earth revolved around the sun. Galileo took the position of supporting the Copernican theory. Galileo proceeded to build a telescope and is the first to use it in astronomy. He uses the telescope to observe the Milky Way, his observations lead him to believe that the Earth moves around the sun. The church however takes the opposing side supporting the traditional belief that the sun revolves around the Earth. The church supports this belief because it has always been the traditional church belief that we are at the center of the Universe and the Universe revolves around us. The Earth as the center had been accepted as the truth for hundreds of years. At first, the Pope compromises with Galileo allowing him to publish his findings in a book as long as he states that his work is only a theory and not proven true. Galileo took this opportunity and wrote a book called, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems that outlined his theory. Eventually this issue was resolved with the scientific evidence provided by Galileo. People accepted the proof of Galileo's work and eventually began to believe that the Earth revolves around the sun. Of course today, this is the accepted truth of the rotation of the galaxy.

A second area of conflict between science and religion during this time period was around the encyclopedia and the underlying concepts in the encyclopedia. The encyclopedia was the circle of teachings for the eighteenth century. It was a place for scientists and philosophers to

put their findings into one place where anyone could access the knowledge easily. The church reviewed the encyclopedia and were appalled. The church believed that the encyclopedia was giving people false information about them. One example of this comes from the Encyclopedia article on consecrated bread. This article states that, "some will find my estimate to low. Still 40,000 pieces of bread for communion will cost 80,000 livers which, multiplied by 52 Sundays adds up to more then 4 million livers. Why can't we be spared this experience? We are to childish and slaves to custom to see that there are more truly religious ways of worship." This of course infuriated the church and is one example of why they were opposed to the encyclopedia. Even though the church was against the encyclopedia, it was very popular in the general society. People liked the accessibility of knowledge and truth in one place. The church wanted to resolve this issue by condemning the volumes already printed, however the author and scientists were tipped off to the churches plans and were able to collect the manuscript and send it away to continue the work in secret. Eventually, Diderot completed twenty eight volumes and a second editor added seven volumes for a total of a thirty five volume encyclopedia. This issue was eventually resolved by the church not fighting the publishing and spread of the encyclopedia. The editors and scientists did not back down or stop publishing their ideas, studies and opinions that were eventually accepted by many people. In 1775, Charles Joseph Pankoucke gained the rights to reissue the encyclopedia in.


The conflict between science and religion is still seen today in many ways. One current issue is the conflict between the story of creation and Evolution. The religious belief is that God created the world, mankind and all living things in seven days. The church believes this because it is written in the first five books of Genesis and it is their tradition. Scientists believe in Evolution, a theory proposed by Charles Darwin which stated that "we came into existence through a process in which organisms adapt to their environments by natural selection or interactions of their genetic makeup with the existing environmental conditions." Natural selection and changes in genetic makeup cause species to change and develop as they need to constantly improving and adapting over long periods of time. Scientists believe this theory based on fossil record and the research done by Charles Darwin on the Galapegos Islands. All of his research provided evidence and proof for the theory of Evolution. This conflict has not been resolved and I believe that it will never be resolved. There will always be religious people who rely totally on faith, people who will not be open minded to physical scientific evidence. Though there have been no solutions for this issue, there have been many proposed compromises but only two commonly known. The first is the belief that evolution and the creation story can both be true. There are those that believe that the seven days that it took for God to create the world as described in the bible are not seven days as we know them to be. The seven days from the story represent a longer period of time such as eons which will allow both the creation story and evolution to exist together. The second compromise, is the theory of intelligent design. This theory states that various forms of life began abruptly, through an intelligent agency, with their distinctive features already intact, such as fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks and wings. This theory is not as accepted as others because it is inferring that God is the intelligent agent and is just another copy of the creation theory. This issue is not currently resolved but the minds of society may be changed if more evidence and proof is discovered.

Another modern disagreement between religion and science is about stem cell research. The religious belief is that an embryo has life as soon as it is fertilized. On the other hand, scientists believe that a cluster of cells that is only five days old in not yet life. They believe that it is a pre-embryo, a cell that can not live on its own. The churches belief/position is based on their belief that taking any life is morally wrong. They believe that these embryos have the potential to become human beings so it is wrong to use them in research. The scientists position is that this cell is only five days old and does not have any way of living on its own. They also see that the cell is not guaranteed to develop into a living organism. In this situation, science faces impediments with stem cell research. The primary impediment is that there are laws forbidding stem cell research. On two occasions scientists and researchers have tried to pass legislation to allow stem cell research but each time have failed. However, since there is still an interest by scientist to proceed with stem cell research the issue is not resolved. Scientists continue to propose different compromises that abide by the law.

There are many similarities between the scientific time period of the Enlightenment and modern conflict between science and religion. First, in both times the conflicts were to determine who had the actual truth. Both parties believe that they had/have the truth then and now. Secondly, the way we resolve the issues in the past are similar to how we will eventually resolve modern issues. The issues in the past were resolved with time, knowledge and evidence. We will find resolutions for the modern issues using the same three factors. Based upon historical conflicts between religion and science my prediction for the resolution of modern conflicts will be very similar. Most of the conflicts from the past have been resolved using science and the proof provided by science. Science and scientists have been the ones who have held the truth and proven that truth with evidence and observations that you can not deny. You can see that the modern conflicts between religion and science should follow with the same resolution with science eventually providing evidence and proof to show what they had hypothesized was the truth.

Although these two time periods have similarities in the conflicts between science and religion there are also differences. First, current scientists do not have to worry about being excommunicated from the church. Scientists in the 1600-1800's worried about the church banning them. Galileo gave up on his findings in fear of being banned from his church. Secondly, with modern conflicts we have more technology and freedom to prove scientific theories true. During the Enlightenment, they had to invent technology that was used to gain scientific knowledge. In modern times, we have a huge amount of technology available to use at anytime. A third difference from the Enlightenment conflicts and modern conflicts is the churches power. In the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, the church had the power to stop the spread of knowledge, such as Galileo's finding and the encyclopedia. In modern conflicts, knowledge is not restrained by the church. It is easily accessible to anyone who would like to have it. You can post your ideas, beliefs and scientific theories online and in book found all over. No one has the power to restrain information.

You may still be wondering how you determine truth? The answer to this question is not what is actually true but what your belief of truth is. Do you believe that truth is something you can see and prove? Or do you believe that truth is based solely on your faith in something? With religion, you have your faith and the teachings from the bible to defend your idea of truth. With science, you have an abundance of proof and evidence to defend your idea of truth. Religion is based solely on the bible, when looking at evolution religion looks to the creation story in genesis, a story that you have to put your faith into to think that it is true. For a scientist to believe something is true they have to go through a process. The first step to this process is to take observations and then collect evidence from their observations. The next step is to create a hypothesis explaining their evidence. The scientist then designs a plan to prove or disprove their hypothesis. The test is then conducted and if their hypothesis is incorrect they must go back to step two and create a new hypothesis. If their hypothesis is correct the scientist published his finding for other scientists. If other scientists can conduct the same test and get the same results, the information is published for everyone. This is called the scientific method. This is a precise way of finding the truth, you have to prove something with evidence and you have to prove it more then once. Many of the conflicts between science and religion are solved using proof and evidence from science. In the end, I can not tell you what truth is, I can tell you what I believe truth to be but each person has to determine what their own truth is going to be.