This week focus on how the implementation of your project is proceeding. What makes a good king according to the Deuteronomistic Historian? Would the Deuteronomistic Historian approve of George W. Bush? Why or why not? What is the worst thing David did? Describe the Jerusalem Temple. What is the history of the first and second temples?

I would just like to say that after a long drought of nothingness and no results from my project, I am finally making way! Before starting this project, I never knew that I would actually really care about what might happen as a result of it. Before, I was just worried about getting a decent grade on these blogs since the majority of our grade comes from this. I wanted to think of a project that could and would change our campus and the New Orleans area for forever. Blogging over and over again about the topic of alcohol abuse and drunk driving has made me realize that perhaps I am as passionate about the subject as I say that I am! Being from a family with a history of alcohol abuse I know that this disease (yes, I called it a disease) is a very destructive and a very debilitating one. A couple of months back I was watching an episode of Intervention, a show that documents people and their addictions to various things and ultimately get an intervention from the family and the counselor to seek help for their addictions. On this particular episode their was an older woman on their who was an alcoholic. She had already lost her husband and her two children, and was on the verge of losing her job as well. This lady gave up all hope in her life and continued to drink everyday of her life because the alcohol became her only moral support. To make a long story short, she ended up sobering up but the moral of the story is that at one point in the woman’s life she had everything, but lost everything in one downward spiral after another due to her alcohol abuse. I want students at this university to see that alcohol is no joke and no laughing matter. Once again as I said when I first started this project, is that I am not trying to stop people from drinking (because in the end, people will make their own decisions), but I would like people to look at it from another perspective and slow down. I believe that life goes by fast already and there is no need in accelerating your life or death for that matter, by over drinking. The pledge cards that were implemented in the first half of the project form week 3 have been really doing well. These pledge cards are like the backbone of my project because they tend to be attention getters being plastered on the wall. I am happy that they have really grown to an enormity in the past two weeks because these cards are one of the most important things in my project. When a person pledges not to drink, not only are they saving their life, they are also saving other people’s lives as well. So far my luck with this project is going well and I am still looking forward to the good results that are coming out of doing this. I hope that this good luck with this project continues.

According to the Deuteronomistic Historian a good king is someone who follows and worships God. He had complete devotion towards God He is a religious leader whose sole purpose is to lead people to Christianity. The king also was supposed to administer justice as well as bring protection to families that had no adult male figure involved. The last thing that the king was supposed to do was be the commander in chief for his city. He had to lead the city to war and makes the decisions in war. I do think that the Deuteronomistic Historian would approve of President George W. Bush. First and foremost he claims to be a follower of God (although people’s views of being a Christian are different now) which was a sole requirement. He also is the commander-in-chief for the country and although I do not think that he is doing a very good job at leading this country in war, he is leading a war nevertheless. King David did a lot of things that were ungodly as well as things that were not in accordance with what the Deuteronomistic Historian considered a good king. Although all sin is considered equal, one of the worst things that I thought David did was fornicate with Bathsheeba, which was the wife of Uriah. He first had lust for her when he saw her in the bath and then “laid” with her while her husband was away at war. When Bathsheeba got pregnant, David panicked and commanded Uriah to come and also lay with his wife so that he could think that the baby was his. When Uriah refused, David had Uriah’s army abandon him and left him to die in battle.
The Jerusalem temple was built by Solomon on the Temple Mount and was destroyed in 586 BCE by the Babylonians. This temple was considered to be God’s place where people came and worshipped him. There was a worship area where animals were butchered for sacrifices and altars were made for burnt sacrifices. This area also had a table of showbread and contained the Holy of Holies. On each of the different sides of the temple there were gates. The North side had 12 gates, the South side had 4 gates, and the West and East side had 2 gates. After the First Temple was destroyed in 586 BC a Second Temple was built around 6th century BCE and was finally completed after almost 30 years of buliding. This temple was also destroyed but by the Romans in 70 CE. Another temple wanted to be built in its place but most likely that will never take place because of all the dissension between religious groups and other various parties involved.

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