Jesus' Teachings

Like most of the teachings from other religions in the past, Jesus gives his followers a certain code to follow. However, unlike the others, it is less specific. There are some basic requirements - don't steal, lie, kill, etc - but beyond that a follower is simply to live a good life. The kingdom of heaven is open to any type of person who is good. Jesus is also one of the first religious leaders to directly encourage the poor. He acknowledges that they are people too, and let's them know that they are worthy of getting into heaven along with the wealthy. Another new aspect he brings up is that revenge is not good, and evil should be repaid with kindness. "...love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you..." He very directly said that you will be rewarded by living a good life on earth. Other religions suggested that it was right to take revenge, and that the poor were inferior. Jesus taught his followers to treat every person equally and with respect. Don't treat others the way they treat you; treat them as if they're your best friend.

Why Do Empires Form?

Empires form when civilizations want to expand, when powerful leaders gain power, and when culture and ideas spread. In Rome, there were many people fighting for power, so when Caesar gained power, his urge for control grew and his empire expanded.The wealthy had a lot of power, which led to an empire being built.
In China, many wise and powerful leaders rose to power during the Period of Warring States, which unified China and made it into a large and successful empire.
In India, leaders were born after Alexander the Great had came and went. His legacy was famous, and people rose to the occasion in hopes of ruling a strong empire.

Passage 4

Caesar had a lot of accomplishments, but Brutus and all Caesar's haters ganged up and stabbed him to death.

Passage 3

In 146 BCE, the Roman Empire expanded to Iberia, modern Italy, Macedon, Ionia, and Carthage in Africa.

Passage 2

Tiberius said people to have a Limit to how much land they own. When explaining the owner could defend their land, people thought he said he wanted a crown so the Roman senators killed him.

Passage 1

If you commit a crime, you'll be punished equally. Deformed babies are killed. Basically if you get killed for a crime you deserved it.

Textbook vs. Wikipedia

I think both the textbook and Wikipedia are useful resources for what we're studying, but they both have their pros and cons. Wikipedia is much easier to navigate, I think, and is good if you have something specific to find about the topic. On the other hand, there is that never ending debate about how valid the information on there is. The textbook is a little harder to break into sections than Wikipedia, and no offense Mr. Whitten, but reading it makes my eyes glaze over. But it's good for getting a good look at the topic in general, and all the basic knowledge you need to know about it. It also has a lot more pictures, and things like charts and maps.
So as we go section to section, I would probably prefer using the textbook, to make sure I have the basis of everything down correctly. But I like using Wikipedia for looking up specific facts or a summary of something.