The alphabet made writing accessible to many more people, thereby spreading existing ideas faster, and encouraged more ideas to form, critical thinking and critiquing were also possible. Before the alphabet other writing systems were very complex and took years of training to learn. There were many rules on when to use which symbols and what has to come before the symbols so that it is not taken out of context. Also there were rules that did not allow the use of certain symbols in certain contexts. Since the alphabet was simple the amount of people able to read and write in a given area was drastically increased and with that came other advancements in technology and the economy. The alphabet is a phonetic language and because of this speech was also standardized with its invention. The alphabet is a well organized way to write and so it made other systems such as trading, grazing and farming more efficient. When you think of a democracy, freedom, majority ruling, equality, and a system by the people for the people comes to mind. So to say that the alphabet have that affect on the ancient world I would say is an accurate assumption. Frank Cross, the author of “How the Alphabet Democratized Civilization” argues that since writing is available to the masses then they too can have an effect on the culture in which they are a part of. He describing the alphabet as having the ability to freeze thought over time since the alphabet better mirrored complete ideas than other forms of writing.

Archaeology helps biblical scholars by giving clues into the lives of biblical character. Archaeologists dig up ancient artifacts from Tels and documenting how they were used where they were found so that a more accurate portrayal of the bible can be discovered. Tels are hill like structures in the Middle East (biblical settings) that ancient people occupied. Different layers often capture a different set of people with new culture. Sometimes the Tels have only one culture while other tells may have a variety. This science is limited though because many of the sites were vital information can be found is rendered holy ground by one faith or another. This leaves holes in the history and makes it difficult to clarify inconsistencies. Archaeologist can confirm or disprove any biblical stories such as if Sarah married Abraham or if David beat a giant named goliath with a stone, most of which are exaggerations of the truth. The goal is to recreate the time period that the bible mention to see the different motivations for particular actions or to find out how life for the people day to day. Pottery is a major player when it comes to archaeology because it tells so much about a culture. One piece of pottery or a big enough fragment can be dated based on the style, color, material, and many other aspects. BY knowing this information you can tell what time period the people lived in, what their culture was like and how they carried out daily routines. Most often than not an account in the Hebrew bible, such as the exodus out of Egypt or the powerful reign of Solomon can be illustrated through archeology.

As I mentioned in the previous blog the tree biggest problems that permeate our world today is media’s influence on public opinion, prejudices and over-priced goods. Throughout the semester I will work on the over-priced goods problem because I can have the greater impact on it than the other two. My project calls for the spread of general information on a mass scale. I will inform Xavier’s faculty, staff and students, as well as my coworkers and family about which goods that are overpriced, when the best time to buy certain goods and where to purchase those select goods. Many corporations increase the price of popular goods and goods that are out of season because of basic supply and demand, but if you how to find bargains then the money you save can be used to treat you or others to a night on the town or a present. Since we are in a recession, saving money is crucial to keeping a balanced budget and college students are the worst at overspending so they are my main target. I will use tools such as emails, flyers and facebook to do my project and some hands-on workshops may follow

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