The story is told of a moment in the North Carolina mansion of Richard Joshua Reynolds, American businessman and founder of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. One of the family’s small children was staring intently at an extremely large canvas in the family parlor. His mother asked him what he was admiring in the painting. He responded: “I’m looking at the church.” Indeed, he was staring at “The Andes of Ecuador,” a painting by the great artist Frederic Edwin Church. Thinking the child had become aware of the great artist at such a tender age, she joined him in examining the artwork—only to discover the red-tile-roofed chapel that was a tiny detail in the vast painting. That was the “church” the child was drawn to. Frederic Church’s epic paintings ended up in the grand homes of wealthy patrons, who probably missed much of the detail in the paintings they had purchased. The sheer volume of subtly rendered detail probably required “a little child [to] lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). Truthfully, Church was a very spiritual person, and his work reflected a sense of the unseen hand behind the scenery he so beautifully rendered. (read more)
On a ridge overlooking the Hudson River, artist Frederic Church composed his last, and perhaps grandest, work: a home and grounds for his family. He purchased the land above his first home, “Cosy Cottage,” before his trip to the Middle East and Europe. “I have just purchased the woodlot on the top of the hill. I want to secure if possible before I leave every rood [measure] of ground that I shall ever require to make my farm perfect.”(read more)
When the United States of America was young, the established cities of New York and then Philadelphia served as seats for the country’s government. (read more)
The Capitol ought to be upon a scale far superior to anything in this Country.” —George Washington to Thomas Jefferson in 1792
James Hoban was born in 1762, in Callan, Ireland. As a boy, he was an apprentice to a carpenter and a wheelwright. He later trained in the neoclassical style of architecture at the Dublin Society School. Just after the Revolutionary War, Hoban immigrated to South Carolina. There, he designed the old state Capitol building in Columbia. (read more)
In 1862, arguably one of the darkest and most uncertain years for our republic, President Abraham Lincoln pressed Congress to pass the Pacific Railway Act. As North and South were being ripped apart, Lincoln, a former railroad attorney, sought to use the rails to tie East and West together. America was still involved in the process of recovering from her terrible civil war, when on May 10, 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was celebrated as complete. The railroad had been constructed in a mad dash, as the two competing lines, Union Pacific and Central Pacific, raced to complete as much track as possible. The prize, 6,400 acres of land and $16,000 for every mile of track completed, led to a spirited competition. Union Pacific’s Thomas Durant and Central Pacific’s Leland Stanford pushed their crews on. When they met in Utah, they kept on pushing right past each other. (read more)
Truesdale Marshall, in Henry Blake Fuller’s 1895 novel, “With the Procession,” had this to say about Chicago: A “hideous monster, a piteous, floundering monster too. It almost called for tears. Nowhere a more tireless activity, yet nowhere a result so pitifully grotesque, gruesome, appalling.” This was the assessment of the great city that had risen so rapidly in the plains of America’s Midwest. The young nation had barely survived its civil war just decades before. Chicago was still recovering from its great fire. Railroads rushed to cross and crisscross the fruited plain, building quickly. There was no time for building beautiful arched bridges. Wooden trestles were thrown up in a matter of weeks. Track was measured in miles laid per day. “Hell on Wheels” was the order of the day. Midwestern cities were ugly, smelly, and chaotic.
But then, in the summer of 1893, a gleaming city appeared on the shores of Lake Michigan, something that didn’t seem to belong to this boisterous time. It only stood for a brief season, but it would change the course of a nation’s development. (read more)
A Bird's Eye View of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
Indomitable perseverance in a business, properly understood, always ensures ultimate success.” — Cyrus McCormick, inventor and industrialist. (read more)
In 1843, young Richard Morris Hunt and family traveled from America to Europe, where he gained his formal education. Initially, Hunt pursued training in art, but at the encouragement of his family, he took up architecture. Hunt studied under Geneva architect Samuel Darier and later joined the Paris studio of architect Hector Lefuel. In Paris, he studied for the entrance examinations of the École des Beaux-Arts and became the first American to be admitted to the prestigious school. (read more)
George Washington Vanderbilt II, the youngest child of William Henry Vanderbilt, first visited the mountains of North Carolina at the age of 25. He fell in love with the highlands near Asheville and returned the following year, with his mother Maria Louisa Vanderbilt, to begin purchasing land for a country home. Maria Vanderbilt was seeking a place with a mild climate and healing mountain springs, and George was looking for a “place in the country.” When most people think of a country home, they think of a modest dwelling that requires minimal upkeep. When you are the son of the richest man in America, and the grandson of one of America’s most prominent entrepreneurs, you might have grander visions. (read more)
I was painfully distressed at the ruin and desolation of the home of Washington, and the thought passed through my mind: Why was it that the women of his country did not try to keep it in repair, if the men could not do it? It does seem such a blot on our country.”—Louisa Bird Cunningham (read more)
Opened to the public in 1924, Thomas Jefferson’s beloved home of Monticello in Albemarle County, Virginia, is one of the most recognized buildings of early America. Its unique façade is reproduced on our nickel. Monticello (Italian for “Little Mountain”) is still a favorite destination for adults and youth, as all are treated to a look into the amazing gifts of America’s third president. (read more)
No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth.”
—Thomas Jefferson
Polyface Farm lies gently among the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, near Little North Mountain and Elliott Knob, in Augusta County. (read more)
To-day gladdens the hearts of all true Americans, the spectacle of a re-united country, knit together in real brotherhood of its citizens and in the bonds of an honorable, cordial and lasting pacification—and not least, the spectacle of veterans of the Army of the Potomac joining hands with veterans of [the] Army of Northern Virginia, to establish, as we here to-day establish, this “Lee Camp Soldiers’ Home.”
— Colonel Archer Anderson, Address on the opening of Lee Camp Soldiers’ Home, May 20, 1885 (read more)
When the United States of America was young, the established cities of New York and Philadelphia, respectively, served as seats for the country’s government. While Alexander Hamilton and many northerners were content with that, Thomas Jefferson and a lot of southerners were not, and so a seat for the federal government was established in what was then a central location. In Federalist Number 43, James Madison expressed the need for a “federal district,” subject to Congress's exclusive jurisdiction and separate from the territory, and authority, of any single state or municipality. (read more)
When the 1893 Columbian Exposition opened on the shores of Lake Michigan, visitors to the fair were treated to a glimpse of the future. Chicago, the great classical “White City” by day, at night became a magically illuminated world of colored lights. (read more)
Volume XVIII, Issue XXIc: Return to the Final Frontier
A Clearer View of History
A week or so ago I made the decision to pull away from social media as I saw it get very ugly while remaining very shallow. Some might interpret it as an unwillingness on my part to ‘engage the issues.’ I assure you, that is NOT the case! I am appalled by the evil seen in the murder of a citizen in the custody of a ‘peace officer.’ I am equally appalled by the unbridled rage that has now harmed the lives of thousands! I cannot condone a lot of the rhetoric that is flying about – mainly fueled by emotion and very little by fact. I love my country and am distressed to see it being torn apart. I am appalled at intellectual movements that are happy to tear it apart. To that end I suggest that we take a collective deep breath and look at the history of our land. We’ve had endless arguments abut systemic racism. In the 1960s it was very real. Candice Owens and Larry Elder do not think it all that prevalent today but I listened to South Carolina Senator Tim Scott talk about the fact that he, a United States Senator, has been stopped numerous times by District of Columbia Police. He says that he’s had a few ‘turn signal/flasher violations.’ Remembering the days when I first got my license and drove a 1965 standard VW Microbus (the preferred vehicle of hippies in the early 1970s), I recalled a few traffic stops I had experienced. Indeed DWB (driving while black) stops are still a thing. Driving a VW Microbus with long hair gave you a small window into the world of presumptive policing albeit a small one.
But on the flip side, most of us live in, or are at least friends with biracial families and have more connections with different people than we did in mid-Twentieth Century America. We’re not as segregated as we were back then. Have we reached Dr. Martin Luther King’s Dream for His Children? No, but have we progressed? I’ll let history weigh in on that. To that end, here are some resources for a clearer understanding of our past and present.
Good history presents an accurate picture of what happened in the past with a sympathy for those who lived before us. Studying the birth, growth, and survival of America—one of the most significant events in human history—provides foundational knowledge that we can apply to the challenges of our day. (read more)
1776” is an assembly of independent voices who uphold our country’s authentic founding virtues and values and challenge those who assert America is forever defined by its past failures, such as slavery. We seek to offer alternative perspectives that celebrate the progress America has made on delivering its promise of equality and opportunity and highlight the resilience of its people. Our focus is on solving problems.
We do this in the spirit of 1776, the date of America’s true founding. (read more)
Since the New York Times introduced its 1619 Project last summer, the paper has touched off a series of debates about the role of slavery in American history. Although the exchanges that followed haven’t revealed much about our nation’s past, they have told us a lot about state of modern U.S. journalism.
Named after the year that the first slave ship arrived in America, the 1619 Project aims to recontextualize slavery as the dominant factor in America’s founding, supplanting discussions more focused on American ideals such as freedom and natural rights. Obviously, not everyone is enamored of this approach -- there have been numerous critiques of the paper’s attempt to blame slavery for everything from America’s obesity epidemic to our lack of socialized medicine.
One interesting rebuttal is coming from the newly formed 1776 Project, which seeks to “uphold our country’s authentic founding virtues and values and challenge those who assert America is forever defined by its past failures, such as slavery.” The group of predominantly black scholars and writers was organized by anti-poverty crusader and MacArthur “genius grant" winner Bob Woodson, and features thoughtful essays rebutting the 1619 Project from heavyweight intellectuals such as John McWhorter, Clarence Page, and Shelby Steele. (read more)
Who is the most influential historian in America? Could it be Pulitzer Prize winners Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. or Joseph Ellis or David McCullough, whose scholarly works have reached a broad literary public? The answer is none of the above. The accolade belongs instead to the unreconstructed, anti-American Marxist Howard Zinn, whose cartoon anti-history of the United States is still selling 128,000 copies a year twenty years after its original publication. Many of those copies are assigned readings for courses in colleges and high schools taught by leftist disciples of their radical mentor.” – Daniel J. Flynn. Howard Zinn, widely hailed as a ‘historian’ once stated “Objectivity is impossible, and it is also undesirable. That is, if it were possible it would be undesirable, because if you have any kind of a social aim, if you think history should serve society in some way; should serve the progress of the human race; should serve justice in some way, then it requires that you make your selection on the basis of what you think will advance causes of humanity.” And so it goes that millions of young minds are being selectively fed Zinn’s view of history which highlights the sins of our great nation while largely ignoring her noble beginnings and aspirations. History according to Zinn must serve a “a social aim” other than the preservation or interpretation of a historical record. A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn’s 776 page book attempts to do just that. (read more)
The world has witnessed violent protests and peaceful demonstrations for nearly two weeks following the death of George Floyd.
But we've also seen testimonies of faith and love among Christian brothers and sisters, revealing that there is no racial division in Christ.
Now the streets of Minneapolis where Floyd was killed have become the site of an outpouring God's love and salvation as hundreds of people have gathered to glorify God through worship, evangelism, and baptism.
Videos and photos of this move of God have been posted across social media. Joel Bomberger, a preacher with Circuit Riders, shared an image of a baptism that occurred on the street while bystanders cheered during the joyous occasion. (read more)
In the end, the state of the Union comes down to the character of the people. I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there. In the fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there. In her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits, aflame with righteousness, did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. -- Attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, though it is not a direct quote from his work: Democracy in America. In the quest to restore and revitalize our great land, one often hears great solutions proposed but often very little in the way of addressing the real problem. We can create all the great economic models we want to, but if we allow greed and self-serving policies to prevail, we will see ever more of the type of destruction we saw in the mortgage crisis. If we attempt to spend our way out of our problems by creating more money, we will end up as a vassal to China. We need Revival! THYME has looked at the problem of Restoring the American Dream [click to read] before. Whether or not we can definitively find the quote in de Tocqueville's writings, the work of Alvin Schmidt[1.] and others documents well the evidence for Faith as a force in making better the human condition.
That is not to say that we don't need to seek and consider better ways to conduct our affairs. There is a practical side to problem solving that cannot be ignored. Consider how George Müller changed the lives of thousands of orphans in Bristol, England. First let us set the stage. The elimination of the slave trade by William Wilberforce in the Nineteenth Century destroyed not only a vile institution, but as an unintended consequence the city of Bristol, a major slave port, was thrown into decline. G-d had two chosen instruments to revitalize Bristol. There was Isambard Kingdom Brunel, [2.] who built bridges, railroads and great steamships to link Bristol to the world! But Bristol needed more than just economic development!
The city's decline had led to thousands of children either losing their parents or being put out on the streets by their desperate parents. George Müller was G-d's next instrument in the revitalization of Bristol. YoungMüller came to the city as a minister of the Gospel. As he sought to minister to the soul of a great city, the plight of her orphans tugged at his heart. He, depending on G-d alone, was able to provide five large houses for these unwanted children. He apprenticed all the boys in various trades but took great pains to educate the young women as office workers, nurses, teachers and housekeepers. They stayed at the homes until they were seventeen. This was a practical policy that kept them from being exploited by those engaged in viler trades.
Those who seek to revitalize our own nation would do well to do no less. We must first address the poverty of our national soul before we set into the very necessary business of restoring her fortunes!
A Case for Faith
On page 563 of his latest biography — John Quincy Adams: American Visionary — author Fred Kaplan (biographer of Abraham Lincoln, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Gore Vidal among others) cites this insight of the sixth president:
Christianity had, all in all, he believed, been a civilizing force, “checking and controlling the anti-social passions of man.”
That insight is pretty much all an American needs to know in order to understand why the American Founders considered religion — specifically ethical monotheism rooted in the Hebrew Bible — indispensable to the American experiment; and why the America we have known since 1776 is in jeopardy." -- Dennis Prager.
It is easy to respect secular Americans who hold fast to the Constitution and to American values generally. And any one of us who believes in God can understand why some people, given all the unjust suffering in the world, just cannot believe that there is a Providential Being.
But one cannot respect the view that America can survive without the religious beliefs and values that shaped it. The argument that there are moral secularists and moral atheists is a non sequitur. Of course there are moral Americans devoid of religion. So what? There were moral people who believed in Jove. But an America governed by Roman religion would not be the America that has been the beacon of freedom and the greatest force for good in the world."
Here Dennis Prager is spot-on in his analysis of the nature of man. The academy may tell us that we can effectively control the passions that drive us, but history, honestly pursued, tells us otherwise. Prager points out that: "Our prisons are filled with people whose consciences are quite at peace with their criminal behavior. As for reason, they used it well — to figure out how to get away with everything from murder to white-collar crime.
But our prisons are not filled with religious Jewish and Christian murderers. On the contrary, if all Americans attended church weekly, we would need far fewer prisons; and the ones we needed would have very few murderers in them."
Prager goes on to describe the wreckage of the great socialist experiments of the Twentieth Century, and the wreckage of "anything goes" philosophies that encourage casual sex and tell us that fathers are "unnecessary!" Indeed, if the academy would produce more honest studies of the results of the philosopies they have espoused, they might recoil at the burden they have placed on society.
Prager concludes with this sobering thought: "For proof of the moral and intellectual consequences of the secularization of America, look at what has happened to the least religious institution in America, the university. Is that the future we want for the whole country?"
The film: 'Expelled' is a pretty powerful documentary. G-d is getting some pretty bad press these days from esteemed writers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. The Intelligent Design movement, though it is not specifically theistic, is uniformly vilified in the academy. Why is an inquiry into the observable order of the universe so dangerous, especially when open inquiry is such a cherished part of scientific investigation? Perhaps such 'open inquiry' inevitably leads to the 'wrong' conclusions.
Theodore Dalrymple writes in City Journal: "What the New Atheists are Missing." Himself a non-believer, he points to a time when a teacher's hypocrasy led him to question. Dalrymple does not, however, reject the realm of faith as a force in creating and ordering societies. He see's naturalistic explainations and philosophies quite insufficient for dealing with all of human existence. Richard Dawkins' assertions that religious education is tantamount to child abuse, for example seem to Dalrymple no more than the rebellious ranting of a child who's just learned that his parents are not perfect. All of us have experienced some sort of disillusionment in our youth. I remember a time when a nun of the 'Sisters of Mercy' punished me for some infraction I had not [at least in my recollection] committed. I too questioned a lot of things. The Cuban missle crisis fueled more unanswered anxiety as I careened into adolescence.
But something happened in my teenaged years that is etched firmly in my memory. It was a dark and stressful winter day when I decided to walk in the woods near Triadelphia Reservoir. Something spoke to me that afternoon that was more eloquent than the ranting of hormones and the perceived unfairness of life. The buds of the trees were growing fat. here was the hope of spring and new life. Clearly spring would come. The buds gave evidence of an event hoped for. They were indeed the substance of something yet unseen!
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"-- Romans1:20 KJV
Holy writ makes the point that the order and beauty of the creation speaks eloquently of the creator. Thus Intelligent Design, though it merely points out the complex mechanisms of nature, leads one to seek the source of such wisdom. I look to that time in the trees as an affirmation of personal faith in a creator. Though at that point it was pretty detatched and intellectual at best.
"...for he that cometh to G-d must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligenly seek him." Hebrews 11:6b KJV
As a young adult I embraced faith in Christ as redeemer and rewarder. The journey of faith had begun with the fat buds years before though.Therefore I must conlude that those who consider the design of the universe dangerous information have good reason if they fear that others may follow the path I have walked. Dawkins would prefer me to credit space aliens with seeding life to this planet and thus push the hard questions of origin to another world.
Darwinism, in its purest form, rejects the idea that this world is some sort of intentional creation. Of course this leads to the rejection of theism and ultimately the rejection of certain absolutes. 'Expelled' takes a good look at 'eugenics' and how it is supported by a darwinian world view. In the first half of the Twentieth Century certain proponents of eugenics sought to speed evolution along by eliminating the reproduction of certain undesirable types of persons. The results were forced sterilization of the mentally ill and the holecaust. Contrast that movement with Dorethea Dix and others who, motivated by Christian faith, improved conditions for the mentally ill.
Alvin Schmidt makes a good case in his book 'Under the Influence' that faith is a builder of society rather than a force to destroy it. Dalrymple the non-believer would concur. Thus the danger of Intelligent Design leading to dangerous conclusions is much inflated. One might even conclude that the free discussion of order and design,wherever it is found, is wholesome. Certainly there is no basis for its exclusion from the academy.
The argument will no doubt be made: "what about the crusades, what about jihad, religion is dangerous?" Yes, it is certainly something that may be misused, but that must be countered with an honest look at how the so-called "good" science of evolution was the foundation of eugenics. Millions of people were killed in this misguided attempt to improve humanity. Ironically, such brilliant men as Albert Einstein met the criteria for elimination. We reduce the world to only naturalistic explainations at our own peril. The argument for open inquiry stands.
Autumn Leaves. Photo by Bob Kirchman
When through the woods,and forest glades I wander, and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees; when I look down,from lofty mountain grandeur, and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze"
-- "How Great Thou Art" Verse 2
A Case for Summer Vacation By Bob Kirchman
How does one nurture the creative genius of a Brunel, or the vision of a Wilberforce or a Müller? I would suggest that men and women of that ilk are often found walking on the "road less traveled!" Walking home alone from a prayer meeting along a quiet street, the great designer, R. G. LeTourneau says he was inspired with the design for a rather complex machine that had stymied his most brilliant designers for weeks. Could it be true that not only should we hold off on 'formal' education a bit, but we should make sure children are not scheduled to the point of losing free, creative time.
If indeed the creative muse shows up in the quiet times, if problems are indeed solved through the exploration of play, wouldn't it make sense for us to esteem these times in the sense their descriptive originally suggests: re-creation?! The 'other'Weekly News Magazine [click to read] once argued that Summer Vacation is over romanticized and merely stands in the way of the kids retaining all that book-learning they'll need so they can work for the Chinese some day. OK, I'll give you the point that a certain amount of knowledge is 'lost' as kids pursue other activities... but as one who's life and career was shaped by Summers of 'other activities' I'll raise a clear protest: "Not so fast!"
I spent my Summers drawing, building things, going to camp and playing for hours in the woods. I was Lewis and Clark when I set off to explore the woods surrounding Triadelphia Reservoir... with no Sacajawea to help with directions. Mom got a big bell to ring when it was time to come in for dinner. Sometimes I actually heard it. More often than not my appetite finally brought me back to a plate of cold food. Now I loved my groceries as much as any young boy, but didn't Simon Kenton eat cold biscuits while he was exporing the Ohio Valley?
When my younger siblings were old enough, Dad loaded us in Mom's VW Microbus [Mom was there first when it came to the minivan] and we took road trips. Man, I loved road trips. We'd go to places like Gettysburg and crawl into sniper's nests. We'd imagine what it must have been like rushing up the hill in Pickett's Charge. Then we'd go to Antietem and wonder some more. When I turned sixteen, Dad actually let me drive on the trips. Oh the white-knuckle thrill of the Capital Beltway! The endless perspective of NC Route 12 heading to Hatteras and the rollercoaster ride down US 29 to Grandma's. Life was good in the Summer. I hired myself out to the local farmers to bale hay and other jobs. Hot, nasty work is good for the teenaged soul.
One farmer had a wife who'd make us grape juice and lemonade. I've never found sweeter refreshment in all my life.
One Summer Dad decided I needed to build a greenhouse. He let me draw up the plans and he took them to the county... I was thirteen at the time. He gave me a budget and set me loose. I learned to lay block, build walls, buy old storm windows and pretty much whatever it took. The guys at Talbott's Lumber Yard in Ellicott City gave me lots of free advice. They pretty much convinced me I could do it. I wonder how much Dad was paying them?
I was not a licensed electrician... that presented a problem for hooking up the power. Dad said it wasn't a problem. He had a buddy who was licensed and came out and did the whole job in exchange for a bottle of Jack Daniels [Black Label] that Dad cheerfully 'donated' to the building fund. In addition to the electric heater, we got the brilliant idea that it would benefit the plants with both heat and moisture if we ran the dryer vent in there.
What to do about lint? Well, here's where it got really interesting. When we discovered that a discarded nylon stocking fit over the vent and caught the lint while allowing air to flow, we had our problem solved. Dad enjoyed the 'conversation piece' that resulted too.
The greenhouse, built of redwood, served our family for many years. Finally it succumbed to termites after I was gone and married. It's lessons are still with me today.
An op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times entitled “We Have Ruined Childhood” offers disheartening data about childhood depression and anxiety, closely linked to school attendance, as well as the disturbing trend away from childhood free play and toward increasing schooling, standardization, and control. “STEM, standardized testing and active-shooter drills have largely replaced recess, leisurely lunches, art and music,” says the writer Kim Brooks, who is the author of the book, Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear. (read more)
Many people associate stress with the struggles of adult life, but often forget that children also deal with stress. On this classic broadcast, Dr. Dobson talks about this subject with renowned author and psychologist, Dr. Arch Hart. They examine the pressure on our kids and identify the various physical, emotional, and mental indicators of anxiety. (read more)
In this fast-paced society, many children struggle to keep up and can develop severe anxiety problems. On this broadcast, Dr. Dobson continues to talk about our kids and stress with best-selling author and psychologist, Dr. Arch Hart. They discuss how trauma, hostility, overstimulation, and drastic change can intensify a child's stress level. (read more)
Reigniting the Dream
Lois M. Tupyi’s ‘Redemptive Compassion’
People who live in chronic need often lose their ability to hope, dream and make plans for their future.” – Lois M. Tupyi
Sometime around 1933 the United States government entered the business of meeting human needs. As the Great Depression drag on, Government found that it could indeed provide necessities and build houses. Eleanor Roosevelt’s planned community of Greenbelt, Maryland provided clean and new (albeit uniform) houses and apartments to replace the old ‘substandard’ housing of the previous century. In the surrounding fields of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, modern chemical dependent agriculture was being developed to assure we’d never have another ‘Dust Bowl.’ While the intent was indeed noble, the result was that people no longer depended on neighbors. Churches ceased to be the primary engine of compassionate care, called ministers being replaced by caseworkers. People became trapped in what would become known as generational poverty. Living from government check to government check, they lost the spark of IMAGO DEI – the ‘Image of God’ that really defines each one of us. Living in chronic need (or chronic dependency) can alter a person’s thinking. If we do not see the roots of it it may look like laziness or mental incapacity. People in the church who want to help become frustrated. Ministry is ineffective at best because there is no real connection between people.
Lois Tupyi is the Executive Director of Love in the Name of Christ, Treasure Valley, Idaho. She’s a Renaissance woman and the author of Selah: Pause and Consider, a devotional that goes beyond the short reading format to encompass Bible reading, praise music and beautiful photography. She’s all about restoring Christian ministry as the Defining Difference, bringing its impact to the local community. Seeing that the church often struggled with trying to provide relational ministry to people in need, Tupyi developed her Redemptive Compassion curriculum. So many of our commonly used methods seem so ineffective in reducing or alleviating ongoing need, and Redemptive Compassion addresses that deficiency by seeing the total person. Scripture shows us that humankind exists in body, soul and spirit. Love in the Name of Christ indeed begins by providing material help but begins immediately to bring disconnected individuals into relationship.
On Thursday evenings in Fishersville, Virginia, the Love Your Neighbor time begins. Church vans from area churches bring ‘Neighbors’ from Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County together for a meal and encouraging fellowship. If it looks a bit like the Biblical coming together for “Prayer, Teaching and Breaking of Bread,” that is by design. We begin arriving a few minutes before six and there is much lively conversation between Neighbors and ministry volunteers. Karen, our leader, calls us to prayer as her little daughter socializes with people in the room. A dinner is provided each week by a different local congregation. After dinner, Neighbors gather in small classes that teach Godly self image, basic finances and how to have a relationship with God. A whole group of local churches are involved in the ministry and the goal is to bring Neighbors into ongoing relationship, not only with God, but with His people.
When a Neighbor has completed all of the classes offered, and that may take a couple of years, they graduate from the program. They often offer stirring testimonies on the graduation night and by then have hopefully developed relationships in one of the local churches represented. Love in the Name of Christ is not a church, but it is an arm of THE Church to bring compassion and healing. Many former Neighbors do continue to volunteer in the program which has many opportunities. There is a warehouse for meeting physical needs, a thrift store and of course the Thursday night program. The real ministry is that a person moves from simply being a recipient of help to someone who dreams of making a difference in the world – a person fully alive!
Why Beauty Matters
Roger Scruton
Belmar, New Jersey Remembers
A sand sculpture on the beach in Belmar, New Jersey honors the memory of those who perished in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Cover Photo: Dark Hollow Falls Rainbow by Bob Kirchman.
Laney’s Palette Art Show
Saturday September 14th, 2019 in Crozet, VA
Works by Kristina Elaine Greer will be on display at the gallery space of Tabor Presbyterian Church, 5804 Tabor Street, Crozet, Virginia 22932. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, September 14th, 2019 from 1:00 to 4:00pm at the church. All are invited. The show will feature Laney’s Acrylic Paintings and Pencil Drawings from 2004 – 2019.
Dietrich von Hildebrand(1889-1977), born in Florence, was the son of renowned German sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand. A leading student of the philosophers Edmund Husserl and Max Scheler, he took up the “great questions” – about truth, freedom, conscience, community, love, beauty – with a freshness that allowed him to break new ground, especially in ethics, but also in epistemology, social philosophy, and aesthetics.
His conversion to Catholicism in 1914 was the decisive turning point of his life and the impetus for important religious works. His opposition to Hitler and Nazism was so outspoken that he was forced to flee Germany in 1933, and later across Europe, finally settling in New York City in 1940, where he taught at Fordham University until 1960. He was the author of dozens of books, both in German and English. He was a major forerunner of Vatican II through his seminal writings on marriage, on Christian philosophy, and on the evil of anti-Semitism.” – The Hildebrand Project [1.]
To have the wickedest man of the Twentieth Century label you his worst enemy has to be a signature honor. As the publisher of an anti-NAZI publication in Austria Dietrich von Hildebrand indeed found himself under Hitler’s scrutiny. Hildebrand was a great defender of the reality of objective truth. He also reminded us of the place of the objectively beautiful in describing Faith.
He was a rare kind of philosopher: he was not just a thinker who aimed at formulating truth — he was also a witness who testified to the truth. Let me explain what I mean by giving you some background to his Vienna years.
Von Hildebrand was aware of National Socialism from the time of its first appearance on the German scene. He must have been a well-known opponent of it already in 1923, for in that year, when Hitler tried to seize power in Bavaria, von Hildebrand's name was on a short list of enemies of National Socialism who were marked for execution. He left Germany for good in March of 1933, just days after Hitler had taken office. He moved to Vienna and founded an anti-Nazi journal. He must have made his voice heard, for in 1937 the German ambassador to Austria, van Papen, denounced von Hildebrand to Hitler as the intellectual leader in Austria of the opponents of German National Socialism, and in fact suggested eliminating von Hildebrand and his collaborators. Von Hildebrand stood his ground until Hitler entered Vienna in 1938. For over four years he lived in constant danger of assassination as he bore witness in the pages of his journal. (read more)
I was born in Florence on October 12, 1889, the son of the famous German sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand, and his wife, Irene Schaueffelen. My parents lived in a beautiful house, a former convent of the Fratres Minimi, situated on the outskirts of the marvelous town of Florence. I grew up in these glorious surroundings, sheltered in the superabundant love of my mother, and of my five sisters, all rarely gifted personalities. Everything was pervaded by the genius of my father who was, not only great as an artist, but also as a personality. My youth was one of the happiest one can imagine. (read more)
To whom will the sublime beauty of a sunset or a Ninth Symphony of Beethoven reveal itself, but to him who approaches it reverently and unlocks his heart to it? To whom will the mystery that lies in life and manifests itself in every plant reveal itself in its full splendor, but to him who contemplates it reverently? But he who sees in it only a means of subsistence or of earning money, that is, something that can be used or employed, will not discover the meaning, structure, and significance of the world in its beauty and hidden dignity.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living
The great mystery of our metaphysical situation, that God is nearer to us than we are ourselves, is manifest in the fact that we cannot even be wholly ourselves—in the sense of individuality as a unique divine thought—until we are reborn in Christ.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Transformation in Christ
Love is not concerned with a person’s accomplishments, it is a response to a person’s being: This is why a typical word of love is to say: I love you, because you are as you are.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Art of Living
For, just as love embodies the life of all virtues and expresses the inmost substance of all holiness, humility is the precondition and basic presupposition for the genuineness, the beauty, and the truth of all virtue.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Humility: Wellspring of Virtue
Humility involves the full knowledge of our status as creatures, a clear consciousness of having received everything we have from God.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Humility: Wellspring of Virtue
Happiness is love’s outcome, never its motive. Where someone is loved he is an end in himself and certainly not a means toward something else. It is therefore of love’s essence, wherever it is found, that the loved one seem precious, beautiful, and worthy of love.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Man, Woman, and the Meaning of Love: God's Plan for Love, Marriage, Intimacy, and the Family
Love alone brings a human being to full awareness of personal existence. For it is in love alone that man finds room enough to be what he is.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Man, Woman, and the Meaning of Love: God's Plan for Love, Marriage, Intimacy, and the Family
Better to be a beggar in freedom than to be forced into compromises against my conscience. —”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, My Battle Against Hitler: Faith, Truth, and Defiance in the Shadow of the Third Reich
The soldier of Christ is obligated to fight against sin and error. His battle against the Antichrist is prompted by his loved for Christ, and for the salvation of souls. He fights this battle for the salvation of those who have gone astray. His attitude is one of true love. But those who flee from the inevitable battle, and treat irenically those who have gone astray, obfuscating their error and playing down their revolt against God, are, fundamentally, victims of egoism and complacency.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand
Anti-Semitism was clearly not just anti-Christian and immoral but also quite foolish.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, My Battle Against Hitler: Faith, Truth, and Defiance in the Shadow of the Third Reich
There were a host of people who viewed my rejection of National Socialism as exaggerated and who perceived my sharp tone as un-Austrian. Even many Austrians whose political views were relatively good found my stance too abrupt and not in keeping with Austrian sensibilities.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, My Battle Against Hitler: Faith, Truth, and Defiance in the Shadow of the Third Reich
The more our life is permeated by God, the simpler it becomes. This simplicity is defined by the inward unity which our life assumes because we no longer seek for any but one end: God.”
― Dietrich von Hildebrand, Transformation In Christ
Who is the most influential historian in America? Could it be Pulitzer Prize winners Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. or Joseph Ellis or David McCullough, whose scholarly works have reached a broad literary public? The answer is none of the above. The accolade belongs instead to the unreconstructed, anti-American Marxist Howard Zinn, whose cartoon anti-history of the United States is still selling 128,000 copies a year twenty years after its original publication. Many of those copies are assigned readings for courses in colleges and high schools taught by leftist disciples of their radical mentor.” – Daniel J. Flynn. Howard Zinn, widely hailed as a ‘historian’ once stated “Objectivity is impossible, and it is also undesirable. That is, if it were possible it would be undesirable, because if you have any kind of a social aim, if you think history should serve society in some way; should serve the progress of the human race; should serve justice in some way, then it requires that you make your selection on the basis of what you think will advance causes of humanity.” And so it goes that millions of young minds are being selectively fed Zinn’s view of history which highlights the sins of our great nation while largely ignoring her noble beginnings and aspirations. History according to Zinn must serve a “a social aim” other than the preservation or interpretation of a historical record. A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn’s 776 page book attempts to do just that. (read more)
Restoring all Things.
G-d's Audacious Plan to Change the World Through Ordinary People
The only two things that can satisfy the soul are a person and a story; and even a story must be about a person. Men... are much oftener led by their hearts than by their understandings." -- G. K. Chesterton
Modern Evangelical Christians often miss the power of the story" -- Warren Cole Smith and John Stonestreet
After I had completed the manuscript for 'Pontifus, the Bridge Builder's Tale in Three Parts,' I discovered Restoring All Things by Warren Cole Smith and John Stonestreet. It was as if these two scholars had seen my feeble attempt to bring redemption into a contemporary (albeit slightly futuristic) narrative. They see the dark and hopeless narrative of the culture and counter it with stories of hope and heroism by quite ordinary people.
The language of the Church often seems like a foreign tongue to those in contemporary culture. Indeed, in the afterglow of great revivals, Christian thought was present in the culture. One would know some Biblical wisdom as part of the narrative. Today the Church is speaking into a culture that has relegated Christian ideas and ideals to a place outside the discussion. The authors note how C. S. Lewis: "...had the challenge of building the bridge between the culture of Oxford and Cambridge and the culture of the Church. These cultures were worlds apart by his time."
Lewis was 'bilingual,' so to speak, understanding the language of the Church as well as the language of the academy. He was able to present a world unseen to those in the secular academy. He and his fellow 'Inkling,'J. R. R. Tolkien opened new vistas to mankind in the Twentieth Century. I am eternally grateful to them.
But the real beauty of this little book is that it is NOT merely a catalyst for intellectual discussion, but a call to action. Smith and Stonestreet show how Christians, ORDINARY Christians, ministered to those in their own communities. It was Christians who cared for their neighbors during plagues. History is full of the stories of the Church meeting human needs. The Saints of the past lay out a pattern for compassion today!
It is the Church that will continue to make the case for the value of all lives... making the case that if we want to protect children from abuse, we will protect them in the womb as well. The authors quote the oft repeated statistic that divorce rates are about the same for Christians as for Non-Christians and dig deeper, finding a significant difference for those who actually adhere to Scriptural authority. The oft quoted statistic includes ANYONE who merely identifies as a Christian. The reality is where Scriptural principles are the benchmark, there is significantly LESS divorce.
In fact, the Church can do the world a great service by 'Giving Marriage to the World Once Again.' Indeed, a world that has cheapened and discarded the institution simply needs to see more of the lovely thing it was created to be.
My favorite chapter is: 'Coloring Outside the Lines,' and it describes how Christians have cherished learning and innovation through history. The Church can provide meaning, purpose and foundations for the acquiring of knowledge. Though we often associate Christian curriculum today with notions such as: "color the grass green, the tree trunk brown..." the truth is that the Church historically has led in education, even establishing the great universities.
Today the Church must reengage in G-d's work to Remake the world. Smith and Stonestreet provide the workbook; and illustrate it profusely with stories of ordinary people doing just that.
Morality without G-d?
'Moral Atheism', A Conundrum Suppose I should stumble upon a beautiful house in the woods. Is the architect merely a device I conjure to explain how post and beam arranged themselves over billions of years?" Such an argument would seem foolish to most, yet that is essentially the argument that occurred as NPR interviewed Phil Zuckerman, professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College. The titles of his books tell you where he is coming from; “Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions,”“Faith No More” and “Society Without God.” The argument is essentially this: As more and more Americans seem to be turning away from G-d, the fact that most of us still believe in the Golden Rule... is some morality simply built into us as a species? [2.]
Barbara J. King writes: "In a book called The Bonobo and the Atheist, primatologist Frans de Waal argues that morality is built into our species. Rather than coming to us top-down from God, or any other external source, morality for de Waal springs bottom-up from our emotions and our day-to-day social interactions, which themselves evolved from foundations in animal societies.
For 30 years, de Waal has authored books about apes and monkey that open our eyes to the bottom-up origins of our human behaviors, ranging from politics to empathy. In this, his 10th volume, he extends that perspective by writing, "It wasn't G-d who introduced us to morality; rather, it was the other way around. G-d was put into place to help us live the way we felt we ought to."[3.]
And so, is this some great new revelation. Is Faith now rendered obsolete because morality is indeed visible outside of its boundaries? If 'evolution' gave us our morality programmed in, who's the PROGRAMMER? Much like the idea life on earth seeded by space aliens, one must simply ask: "How did THAT life come to be?
But is the house of Faith caught speechless? Centuries ago the Apostle Paul wrote these lines, which squarely address the matter:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of G-d unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of G-d is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of G-d is manifest in them; for G-d hath shewed it unto them.For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and G-dhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew G-d, they glorified him not as G-d, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible G-d into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore G-d also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of G-d into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause G-d gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain G-d in their knowledge, G-d gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of G-d, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of G-d, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." -- Romans 1:16-32 KJV
Evident in the "new" morality apart from G-d there is indeed at least a surface compassion, yet the push to marginalize Divine texts as a source for moral instruction has led to a 'civil morality' that must redefine marriage and personhood to incorporate non-traditional marriage and consequence-free sexual expression (through the employment of abortion). Those who would ask that we consider the rights of the unborn or the rights of conscience of those who adhere to traditional definitions are indeed excoriated as the 'heretics' of the new moral state.
Nowhere is this more evident than the academy. Lutheran college student Bethany Woelmer writes: "As college students, we swim in a sea of worldly lies and deceptions, whose roaring waves bring fear and doubt upon our consciences and whose subtle currents attempt to carry us farther from the truth. We swim in a culture that redefines marriage, misinterprets G-d’s Word and promotes intolerance against the fundamental reality of family and its blessing to society and the Church. Yet there is a wave of truth, that is, G-d’s Word, that transcends the wisdom of man, and it brought hundreds of college students to the Taboo conference in St. Louis, Jan. 5-7, to answer questions that many of us encounter today."[4.] The campus ministry conference addressed, as its name suggests, many topics the new atheists wish Christians would not. Woelmer's Report [click to read] on the conference is worth reading.
Ironically, Woelmer points out a great problem. While atheists may insist that 'family values' are 'programmed in,' so to speak; their philosophies actually are at odds with the preservation of family. Intellectuals like Sam Harris say things like: "If I could wave a magic wand and get rid of either rape or religion, I would not hesitate to get rid of religion." Thinkers like Harris and Richard Dawkins see religion as a greater evil than truly defined evils. Citing the 'reasonableness' of science (it always invites free inquiry, right)?, they engage in an all-out attack on Faith as they seek to create a 'reasonable' society.
But is science really dogma-free? Consider the matter of "Global Warming." Even as the East Anglia emails [4.] showed climate scientists were forming the data to fit their desired narrative, the 'scientific community' continued to brand skeptics of the theory as 'heretics.' Popular culture fanned the flames through spokespersons such as Leo DiCaprio, who's passion for the narrative verges on fanaticism. Removing Divine Revelation from the discussion of morality has not resulted in a world without dogma. In fact, it has resulted in a new dogma, based on the sketchy evidence of computer models. Humans are "destroying the planet.""Zero Population Growth" and carbon credits are the new law to be delivered from the mount, not of Sinai, but of 'science.'
Casting aside the wonder of Imago Dei, the wonderful concept found in Genesis that man is created in the image of G-d, we are now seen by 'reasonable' men as nothing special. The theological implications are staggering. Man is just another species with no special place and if his presence unsettles the planet, reduce the population. In a profound irony, Self Actualization, as described by Abraham Maslow, becomes all-important in this new G-dless world.
Therefore, in the muddy new world of G-dless 'morality,' if I love the unborn I may be branded as a hater for denying someone the 'right' to kill her unborn child. Yet it is the Inspired Writings that tell us to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us. It is the Christians who rescued unwanted babies who were cast into the Tiber River. There is a level of sacrifice that is unnatural, that goes far beyond sacrificial protection of our young. Consider the actions of the 'Righteous Gentiles' during the Holocaust. Consider the great stories, the stories of heroism and sacrifice. I do not feel you can dismiss them as simply 'programmed in.' [6.] Lee Strobel offers More Evidence [click to read]ofthe work of the Divine.
Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." -- Isaiah 58
A special thank-you to Carl Tate for pointing out this scripture. As the 'other' weekly news magazine celebrates the 'Me' Generation's potential to become the next 'Greatest Generation' a number of great messages have been preached about dying to self and seeking to "decrease that G-d might increase." Indeed, men and women such as Jeremiah Lanphier, George Müller and Florence Nightengale began their journeys in prayer with a recognition of the heart of G-d.
This led them to minister to the pain of people around them. Then, realizing their own inadequacy, they redoubled their laboring in prayer.G-d met them and did amazing works through them.
Such is the hope that we should have as we begin a season of earnest prayer... that G-d will shine forth in the world, and that we will be open to His Spirit doing so.
Jeremiah Lanphier's Journey of Prayer How A Nation Was Turned to G-d and Restored
Jeremiah Lanphier discovered the power of prayer in his own life.
A Milestone Monday Feature:
America found herself at a crossroads. Wild speculation and greed had built a house of cards. While a few became incredibly wealthy, the gap between haves and have-nots grew ever wider. The economic crash had put 30,000 men out of work on the streets of New York City. Churches languished as people explored Spiritism and other "new" ideas. We, of the Twenty-first Century, would find the condition of the culture strangely familiar.
Political corruption, shady dealings in business and a general moral decline were the norm. "Atheism, agnosticism, apathy and indifference to God, to the church, and its message abounded on every hand. The decline was fourfold: social, moral, political and spiritual." -- Tom Shanklin
Then came the crash! Factories were shuttered. Banks failed and merchants were ruined. Thousands were destitute. Winkie Pratney, who chronicled the great revival, says: "A near socio-economic collapse jolted America away from her apathy into a national cry for spiritual reality."Chuck Balsamo presents a wonderful concise history of this revival in his book Make Me a Legend [click to read]. The story does not begin with a mighty move and thousands of conversions, rather it begins in a rather small way.
Jeremiah Lanphier was a middle-aged businessman caught in the crossroads. Having no children and no family, he was drawn to minister to the needs of those living in the dark slums of Hell's Kitchen. Leaving his business, he became a lay missionary with the North Dutch Church in Manhattan. Pouring his life into the lives of those he saw caught in hopelessness, he soon came to the end of his own strength. Physically and mentally exhausted, Lanphier discovered that just as the body needs food, the soul and spirit of a man need to be nourished in prayer.[1.]
Each day at midday, Lanphier would seek solace in the Church Consistory Building, where he would cry out to G-d for spiritual strength. He experienced G-d in a mighty way in these times and felt that others would benefit from prayer as well, especially the city's businessmen. He printed up and distributed 20,000 flyers advertising his first noontime prayer meeting, on September 23, 1857.
That day he prayed alone for thirty minutes before six others joined him. The next week there were twenty. The week after that forty people showed up. In time over 100 churches had noonday prayer meetings going throughout the city. G-d's powerful move was felt far beyond New York City. Newspaperman Horace Greeley wanted to get a count of the number of men praying in New York so he sent a reporter out to the meetings. Racing around the city in a horse-drawn buggy, the reporter was only able to get to twelve meetings in the noon hour, but he counted 6,100 in attendance.
Spiritual awakening followed and Americans found strength in G-d for the turbulent days that followed. This Third Great Awakening not only revitalized the spirit of America's people, but led to missionary outreach around the world. [2.]
The Prayer Meeting that Touched the World Moravians Prayed Around the Clock for 100 Years
The village of Herrnhut in Saxony.
A Milestone Monday Feature
The Moravian Brethren Church was born in the 1720's when Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf gave refuge to persecuted Hussites from Moravia and Bohemia. The village of Herrnhut, Saxony, now a part of Germany, was built by them.
Count Zinzendorf started a round-the-clock prayer meeting in 1727. It lasted one hundred years. People in Herrnhut signed up to pray for an hour a day.
What G-d did as a result of that prayer meeting is amazing. In an era when travel was difficult and dangerous the Moravians became a major force in reaching the world with the Gospel. Their ministry took them to many parts of the world. Moravians settled in the new world in Pennsylvania. The cities of Bethlehem and Nazareth are Moravian settlements. Count Zinzendorf secured a large tract of land in North Carolina where the Moravians established Bethabara. From here they began outreach to the Native Americans around them.
In 1753, Moravians from North Carolina travelled into the Cherokee Nation, which extended into North Georgia and Alabama from Western North Carolina. The nonacquisitive Moravians eventually developed a long standing ministry among the Cherokee. Since unmarried Moravian men and women lived in communal houses, one house for men and another for women, they may have been philosphically closer to a long house people than other Europeans. The New Georgia Encyclopedia states of them:
Generally, the accomplishments of the Moravians lay in the fact that their missions not only opened their doors to all visitors, including African slaves from nearby Cherokee plantations, but also functioned as model farms for European agricultural techniques. Particularly, the Spring Place Mission served as an exemplar for other missionary enterprises to emulate."
The Moravians certainly were lovers of innovation in agriculture and craftsmanship. Visit the restored Moravian settlement in Salem, North Carolina today and you will see some of the first water pipes in America -- hollowed logs with metal couplings -- that carry water inside the Single Brothers' House.
The War Room New Film Explores the Power of Prayer
