Every time you play "The Little Drummer Boy" an angel dies

I bet Jesus would have had a wicked Twitter account

So, are you enjoying our reenactment of eons of religious history? 

Apparently, we Humanities teachers missed our calling and should have gone to seminary. Because, we have this stuff on lockdown! 

I imagine that Moses like his coffee STRONG. 

Keep in mind as we have been discussing this stuff that we are looking at these religions through the lens of HISTORY. Sure, we've gotten into some of the miracles and religious ideas, but that is because of the impact these ideas and practices have on the societies in which they form. Regardless of your own religious beliefs, you must acknowledge the profound impact all of the major world religions have had on so much of human history. 

We also hope we're helping clear up some common misconceptions you've had about some of these religions that we're talking about in class. People have asked some great questions! Keep them coming!

Oooooo... that's gotta hurt!

Today in your class we should have covered Jesus's crucifixion. I'm not wanting to dwell on a horrific subject, but several people wanted to know more about this preferred method of punishment and civic control used by the Romans. 

Here's a good overview from the Catholic Church's education website. Remember, this was NOT a nice thing to do to people. So, proceed at your own risk as far as the description goes on the website. I found it pretty fascinating that it was probably the Persians who invented the whole idea and then passed it to Alexander the Great. 

Wanna learn more? 

There is a museum here in Dallas dedicated to biblically themed art and artifacts. It is the creatively titled, Museum of the Biblical Arts. The museum focuses on art and artifacts with Jewish or Christian themes or relevance. It would definitely count as a Humanities Experience if you're interested. Here's a picture! Here's a link to their website: BIBLE. 

Soundtrack of the Week

While attending a concert this weekend, a friend asked me a difficult question - "what is the best concert you've been to?" I answered that this would be like picking my favorite child and thereby impossible. But, it did get me thinking, which I enjoy doing. 

So, in honor of that question, and Ms. Virdin's inability to actually attend live music shows, I thought I'd share music from some of my favorite bands to see live. I don't think I'll necessarily post actual live performances as these can often not translate too well with a video. I will just tell you that you need to make it a priority to see these bands live at some point. Sure, I love all these musicians and their music, but they all do something in a live setting that transforms their music into something much more. 

Let's kick this off the right way. I'll break my own parameters right away and post a video of a live performance. This is a video of the band, Arcade Fire, performing their anthemic classic "Wake Up" live at the reading Festival in England in 2010. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, seeing this band live, and seeing them perform this particular song, is a transformative experience. You will lose your mind in the best possible way. Please notice how every one of the seemingly millions of people in the audience is singing out every word as though their lives depended on it. That's the way the entire concert feels. I have never been so exhausted and energized at the same time. ENJOY.