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Week 4-Application-Geography
Three World Religions
In the midst of Southwest Asia lies the birthplace of three of today’s major world religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Despite their close proximity, however, each of these religions has taken separate paths in ideology toward non-believers, and their geographical claims in the realm and in the global community. In this assignment, you will look at scripture that denotes their views on “outsiders,” and reflect on how those elements along with the history and geography of the region impact current events.
Questions about this assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area on the left navigation bar. That way, everyone in the class will see, and benefit from, the instructor’s response.
To prepare for this Application:
Review the Scriptures document located in the Learning Resources.
Review pages 283-288 regarding the discovery of oil and its impact on the region.
Consider the distribution of resources, economic opportunities, political differences, and religious differences of Southwest Asia, specifically around the major cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jersusalem, which are the cornerstones of these three religions.
Reflect on the possible connections that can be made between the scriptures about “foreigners”/”non-believers” and today’s current state of economic and political affairs in Southwest Asia.
The assignment:
Compose a 500-word essay in which you do the following:
Compare the scripture readings on how each religion views “non-believers”/”foreigners”/”strangers.” In what ways are these religions similiar in this respect? In what ways are they different?
How do these scripture quotes relate to the current state of this realm surrounding Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem? How is each religious faction reacting to current events based on their beliefs?
How is the geography of the realm affecting political decision-making of each religious group? Relate the geography to not only land features, but also distribution of natural resources and economic opportunities.
