King Arthur: Fact Or Fiction

King Arthur is a legendary British leader from the 5th and early 6th centuries.  But was he real, or a made up story by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his book, The History of the Early Kings of Britain, describing his magic sword Excalibur, and the magician Merlin.  It was written in the 11th century, that's 500 years after the time of Arthur.  This book is based on an "ancient Celtic manuscript" that only Geoffrey was able to examine.  Celtic monk Gildas wrote of the Saxon invasion in his book The Ruin and Conquest of Britain.  He wrote about the conflict at Badon hills, and no warrior named Arthur is even mentioned.  He gives someone else's name as the leader of the Brits.  But he does mention an unnamed leader and king of the Britons.  Could this be referring to King Arthur?  He probably did exist but maybe not with all the magic and the holy grail.  He was more likely a successful warrior for the Britons than a king with a magic sword.  England's whole history pretty much has Arthur written all over it.  Why would a country have a mythological history.

But if you think different, comment under this post.

Why It's Important to Study Islam

It's important to study Islam because it's not just a religion it was also a thriving empire.  Even if you’re not a Muslim you should know who Muhammad was and what the Ottoman Empire was. (The Turkish Empire)

The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1299–1923 that's over 600 years!  The majority of the land was the Middle East. But in 1683, the peak of the empire, they covered a lot of Europe! 

The religion of the empire was Islam. They are monotheistic, so they have one god, Allah, which literally translates into, god. Islam has some things that tie in with Christianity. For example, the Muslims claim that the father of their religion is Abraham.  And one of the Muslim’s shrines is said to have been built by Abraham. Also some of the prophets of Islam are the same, like Noah, Enoch, and Abraham. Islam teaches that Jesus was one of the most important prophets of God and was a human being. Muslims do not believe that he was the Son of God. In Islam, Jesus was a human prophet who, like all the other prophets, tried to bring the children of Israel to the worship of One God. Muslims believe that Jesus was miraculously born of the Virgin Mary. Muslims believe the creation of Jesus was similar to the creation of Adam (the first prophet of God); they were both created by God without human fathers. Muslims believe that Jesus was condemned to crucifixion and then miraculously saved from execution. They believe Allah created the world with his commands. The job of every Muslim is to spend a life worshiping Allah. They want to be favorably judged by Allah in the afterlife.

To be clear I am not supporting Islam. But you can’t study European history without studying Islam and the Ottoman Empire. 

A Whole New World

One morning I found myself in a whole new world, aliens all around with three eyes and four feet, and two hands.  It was really strange.  After trying to find out were I was, I finally figured out that I was on planet Zerubbabel.

After I knew where I was, I decided to look around town.  Their customs were really weird; they didn't have electricity, or running water.  This particular day was Zerubbabel day where all day they worshiped their god Zerubbabel.  They wanted me to worship him too.  So after I refused they tied me up with ropes and carried me over to a burning altar.  I thought this was the end.  But then I remembered that they didn't have electricity and probably didn't have a clue what it was.  So I tried to tell them that I was a magician and that if they burned me they would all die.  They put me down quickly in fear, and I quickly gathered some things to make a light bulb, and a circuit.  I put the things together and, ta-da! we had electricity.  They were amazed at what I had done, and quickly made me king.     

The very first thing I did as king was to take away their god Zerubbabel and make the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the God of Planet Zerubbabel. (I told them they could keep the name of their planet.)  Then I put electricity and running water in every home and building on the planet.

And all of a sudden a loud noise woke me up and I realized it had all been a dream.  I was really disappointed, but at least I was back on Planet Earth.

"Were the Wright Brothers the first to fly a powered airplane?"

Matthew Schoenemann                                                                                                                  

Mr. Mullins

6th Grade English
6/3/2015

In 1903, the Wright Brothers were the first to fly a manned, powered, controlled, heavier-than-air, air-craft.  Or were they? This paper is going to talk about the Wright Brothers "First in flight" claim and a challenger to that claim.

The Wright brothers were four years apart in age, yet were very close.  Wilbur Wright once said, "From the time we were little children, my brother Orville and myself lived together, played together, worked together and, in fact, thought together." (Freedman pg.3)  Destined to be inventors, they built sleds, kites, and even a printing press.  When they grew up, their life long job was a bike shop, called the "Wright Cycle Co."

A few years after the shop opened they started experimenting with gliders.  Then in 1903, they added an engine to one of their gliders and flew a powered air-plane, called the Wright Flyer 1.  They didn't want to be credited for the "first flight", which was a hot-air balloon in the 18th century.  They wanted to be credited with the first sustained, controlled, manned, powered, flight. 

There are several items that seem to support this claim.  A picture (Freedman, front cover) was taken of the plane taking off with Wilbur piloting, and Orville on the ground.  The person who took the picture can be counted as a witness.  And the picture shows that they actually got off the ground. 

One person built a replica of the Flyer 1 and it only flew 115 feet. The Wright bros. said they flew 852 feet, which the replica could not duplicate.  But you have to remember that the Wright brothers were in Kitty Hawk.  And for good reason, it is a very windy area, and would help their flight.  

One person who claims to have flown before the Wright brothers is Gustave Whitehead.  Born in Germany, he immigrated to the United States around 1894.  He was also a destined inventor.  As a boy, he showed interest in flight.  His experimenting with kites earned the nickname "The Flyer."  Whitehead supposedly flew a plane in 1901.  But there really isn't any evidence to support this.  We know his plane existed because there is a picture of him next to the air-craft.  And we have pictures of him testing gliders.  One thing that doesn't make any sense is that if he had a successful powered air-craft you'd think he would have improved on it.  But instead he made more gliders.  Some people claim there is a picture that proves that he flew.  The picture is really grainy, because it is blown up 3,500 percent. It basically is a picture of the sky with a shadow in it. (Picture from cnn.com)  Many people, who support Whitehead's case, even say that the Wright bros. were much more successful.

Based on my research I believe that because there is insufficient evidence to support Whitehead's case, that the Wright Bros. were first.  But whoever was first, only 15 years later planes played a major part in World War 1.

Works Cited

www.cnn.com/2013/06/07/travel/wright-brothers-first-flight-fight  

Freedman, Russell   The Wright Brothers: How They Invented The Airplane

            1991 Russell Freedman

My Grandfather: How he impacted my life

My grandpa was a very Godly man.  If it weren't for him, I would not know God as well as I do today.

He showed many people, including my family, the ways of the Lord, and he showed great kindness to me and my family.  He was a pastor at a small church the last few months of his life, and I had the privilege of hearing some of his messages.  He took us on trips to the beach almost every summer, and on one of those trips he baptized me.  That's when my life changed.  After that, I felt like I could talk to God.

Every year now I look forward to God's holy days.  Only because he took the time to tell us about them.  I wouldn't get so excited if it weren't for him.  I'm talking about Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentacost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles.  We probably wouldn't even know what those were without him. 

Even though he might have returned to where he came from, his legacy still lives on.

In loving memory of Gordon Enger