The Suburban Agrarian

A Review of Scripture, Culture and Agriculture: an Agrarian Reading of the Bible by Ellen F. Davis: Part 1

2011-04-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

I’m a couple chapters into Ellen F. Davis’s work Scripture, Culture and Agriculture: an Agrarian Reading of the Bible. I fully expect the book to satisfy its claim to examine the “theology and ethics of land use, especially the practices of modern industrial agriculture, in light of critical biblical exegesis.” Christians believe that the Bible is the infallible standard by which our faith and practice are to be guided. Yet Christians of the modern industrial era too often neglect our duties (as outlined in Scripture) in regard to land use and agriculture. For most of us, I guess, this is mainly because we fail to draw the lines between what we eat and where that food comes from and how it came to our plate. We need to be reminded that each of us is intimately and daily involved in the agricultural cycle. In “The Pleasures of Eating” Wendell Berry famously wrote that “eating is an agricultural act.” We need to be reminded that there are biblical guidelines on how land is to be responsibly used. We also need to be reminded that there are consequences if we fail to do so.

Wendell Berry wrote the foreword to Davis’s book. Berry wrote that the Israelites “were given, not a land, but the use of a land, along precise instructions for its good care. They could keep the land only upon the condition of their obedience. By their disobedience they were estranged from the land and the covenant by which they received it, and were removed into exile. . . . the Israelites [were] entrusted with what we would call ecological responsibilities. . .” Berry then reminds us of our tremendous failure as a culture:

“We Americans readily saw the parallel between the Israelites’ entrance into the land of Canaan and our own westward expansion. We adopted the simple nationalism of the old story along with its ‘promised land’ idea of ownership prior to settlement – we called it ‘manifest destiny.’ But we conveniently ignored the elaborate agrarianism and ecological stewardship implicit in that story’s insistence upon the land’s sanctity. The result, still continuing, has been desecration and destruction of the land . . . the dominant theme of our history so far has been opposite to beneficent settlement or responsible stewardship. It has been a thoughtless, heartless, greedy plunge into what apparently is still considered an inexhaustible plenty. The irony and absurdity are not fully apparent except in the context of our claim to be a ‘Christian nation.’”

We all, I think, would like to ignore the reality that we have destroyed the land that God has entrusted to our stewardship. What is more disturbing is that we continue to do so, sometimes even using Scripture in an attempt to justify our actions (and often, also, our inaction). Yet, clearly, Scripture tells us that “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:9,10). In reference to these verses, Charles Hodge in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans wrote, “Love includes all our social duties. . . love delights in the happiness of its object, it effectually prevents us from injuring those we love. . .” Can we love our neighbors, or even our families, while actively destroying our means to live? “It is a contradiction to love your neighbor and despise the great inheritance on which his life depends,” wrote Berry in “The Gift of Good Land.”

In Pollution and the Death of Man: The Christian View of Ecology, Francis Schaeffer wrote that Christians must “refuse men the right to ravish our land, just as we refuse them the right to ravish our women. . . . and the first step is exhibiting the fact that as individual Christians and as Christian communities we ourselves do not ravish our fair sister. . . . [we must] treat with integrity the things which God has made, and treat them this way lovingly, because they are His . . . If I love the Lover, I love what the Lover has made.” The Westminster Larger Catechism informs us that the “Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.” It is from Scripture only that we learn “what duty God requires” of us. Principles of ecological responsibility are interwoven throughout the beautiful fabric of Scripture. If we were to apply the principles of love and stewardship to our own lives -- if we were to set the example of a holy and healthy life -- then our communities would be more fertile ground for the sowing of the gospel seed.

Wendell Berry on Abundant Life

2010-12-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

“In an age of materialist science, economics, art, and politics, we ought not to be much shocked by the appearance of materialist religion. We know we don’t have to look far to find people who equate more abundant life with a bigger car, a bigger house, a bigger bank account, and a bigger church. . . . Abundance, in this verse (John 10:10), cannot refer to an abundance of material possessions, for life does not require a material abundance: it requires only a material sufficiency. . . . Jesus is not proposing to free us by making us richer; he is . . . talking about life. . . . The way to more abundant life is the way of love. We are to love one another, and this love is to be more comprehensive than our love for family and friends and tribe and nation. We are to love our neighbors . . . we are to love our enemies. And this love is to be a practical love; it is to be practiced . . . . To be free of the insane rationalizations for our desire to kill one another – that surely would be to have life more abundantly.” -- Wendell Berry, The Burden of the Gospels (2005)

A narrow fellow . . . on the flower

2010-08-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I found this baby snake curled around a zinnia in the front yard. (Jeremy took the picture.) I was reminded of the Emily Dickinson poem, although this encounter seemed a bit more benign.

Rock City and Wendell Berry

2010-08-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we went back to DeSoto State Park near Fort Payne, AL, having gone there last spring and thoroughly enjoying the canyons and trails. This year there weren't as many waterfalls or flowers since it was later in the year, but it was still relaxing. We stayed there and took a day trip to Chattanooga (less than an hour away) to visit the Tennessee Aquarium and Rock City. Naomi loved Rock City. Although I will admit parts of it were a bit kitschy, it was a beautiful stroll. We went early in the morning to avoid crowds, and it was raining lightly for much of the trip, but that just made things seem more ethereal. Along the trails there were signs displaying quotations from various naturalists and conservationists, among them Wendell Berry (although they spelled his name wrong): "We learn from our gardens to deal with the most urgent questions of the time: how much is enough?" Indeed, our culture is much more focused on excess than on limits. Growing a garden forces us to concentrate on simple questions: how much do I really need? How much is too much for me to handle? What if we asked these questions about everything? I think our society would look very different.

Excellent article on the oil spill

2010-06-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Gulf Oil Spill: a Hole in the World
by Naomi Klein

"This Gulf coast crisis is about many things--corruption, deregulation, addiction to fossil fuels. But underneath it all, it's about this: our culture's excruciatingly dangerous claim to have such complete understanding and command over nature that we can radically manipulate and re-engineer it with minimal risk to the natural systems that sustain us."

Berry Smoothie

2010-06-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

-1 cup blackberries, blueberries, or both
-1/2 cup plain yogurt
-1/2 cup milk
-1/4 cup honey
-handful of ice

Mix in blender and enjoy!

corn, corn, and more corn

2010-06-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we picked, shucked, scrubbed, blanched, scraped and froze a truckload (about 600 ears) of corn. (Jeremy grew it on a generous friend's land, not on our 1/4 acre.)

I'm trying to find new creative uses for it. On Sunday I made creamed corn pancakes, altering the recipe a little since the creamed corn was extra juicy. It was about a cup and a half of fresh creamed corn, 1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, 3/4 cup flour, and 1/2 tsp each baking soda, salt, and sugar. They turned out pretty well, especially covered in local honey!

Tonight's Supper

2010-06-14T16:30:00.003-07:00

Homemade pizza on my new pizza stone

Toppings from our garden:

-Tomato sauce (peeled and pureed tomatoes cooked down to thicken with a pinch of sugar and salt)

-yellow squash

-garlic

-purple onions

-cherry tomato halves

-red bell pepper

-purple basil leaves

From the store:

-flour, olive oil, and yeast for homemade crust

-mozzarella cheese

The crust rose well this time and turned out perfect baked on the stone.

The Decades of Heinrich Bullinger

2010-04-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

Heinrich Bullinger, one of the great Swiss reformers of the sixteenth century, has been identified as one of the most influential, and yet forgotten, figures of the Protestant Reformation. After Zwingli’s 1531 death on the battlefield of Kappel, Bullinger accepted, as successor, the head ministerial position of Zurich, and there, was pastor until his 1575 death. He was the principle author of the Second Helvetic Confession of Faith, 1566. One of his greatest and widely distributed works was the Decades, a collection of five volumes, each volume containing ten sermons. Peter Opitz, wrote the following in “Bullinger’s Decades: Instruction in Faith and Conduct”:

“[F]rom the second half of the sixteenth century until well into the seventeenth century the Decades were one of the best-known theological works, performing a crucial role in the spread of the Reformed faith throughout Europe and beyond. . . . [It] became a familiar resource for countless Reformed preachers in preparation of their sermons. The book was also considered an essential possession for Reformed households . . . termed a ‘housebook’ (Hausbuch) to be read in homes by families for instruction in piety and Christian conduct.”

After impatiently waiting several years (it’s a rather pricey set), now a copy of Bullinger’s “housebook” has been added to my library. My wonderful wife bought me a copy for my birthday. Until now I would read bits and pieces of the work on googlebooks. One of the only irritating things about the set published by The Parker Society is the Table of Contents. It reads: “The First Sermon”, “The Second Sermon”, etc., without including the subject of the sermon. Perhaps that was the method also of the original publisher. So, for my own convenience I wrote the following catalogue of the complete sermon titles. Maybe it will helpful to you as well.

First Decade
Preface – 3
Of the four General Synods or Councils -- 12
Sermon One: Of the Word of God; the cause of it; and how, and by whom, it was revealed to the world -- 36
Sermon Two: Of the Word of God; to whom, and to what end, it was revealed; also in what manner it is to be heard; and that it doth fully teach the whole doctrine of Godliness -- 57
Sermon Three: Of the sense and right exposition of the Word of God, and by what manner of means it may be expounded -- 70
Sermon Four: Of true faith; from whence it cometh; that it is an assured belief of the mind, whose only stay is upon God and His Word -- 81
Sermon Five: That there is one only true faith, and what the virtue thereof is -- 97
Sermon Six: That the faithful are justified by faith without the Law and works -- 104
Sermon Seven: Of the first articles of the Christian faith contained in the Apostles ’ Creed -- 122
Sermon Eight: Of the latter articles of Christian faith contained in the Apostles ’ Creed -- 140
Sermon Nine: Of the latter articles of Christian faith contained in the Apostles ’ Creed -- 157
Sermon Ten: Of the love of God and our neighbor -- 180

Second Decade
Sermon One: Of laws, and of the law of nature, then of the laws of men -- 193
Sermon Two: Of God’s law, and of the two first commandments of the first table -- 209
Sermon Three: Of the third precept of the Ten Commandments, and of swearing -- 237
Sermon Four: Of the fourth precept of the first table, that is, of the order and keeping of the Sabbath-day -- 253
Sermon Five: Of the first precept of the second table, which is in order the fifth of the Ten Commandments, touching the honour due to parents -- 267
Sermon Six: Of the second precept of the second table, which is in order the sixth of the Ten Commandments, thou shalt not kill; and of the magistrate -- 298
Sermon Seven: Of the office of the magistrate, whether the care of religion appertain to him or no, and whether he may make laws and ordinances in cases of religion -- 323
Sermon Eight: Of judgment, and the office of the judge; that Christians are not forbidden to judge: of revengement and punishment: whether it be lawful for a magistrate to kill the guilty; wherefore, when, how and what the magistrate must punish: whether he may punish offenders in religion or no -- 345
Sermon Nine: Of war; whether it be lawful for a magistrate to make war. What the Scripture teacheth touching war. Whether a Christian man may bear the office of a magistrate. And of the duty of subjects -- 370
Sermon Ten: Of the third precept of the second table, which is in order the seventh of the Ten Commandments: thou shalt not commit adultery of wedlock, against all intemperance; of continency -- 393

Third Decade
Dedication to Edward VI -- 3
Sermon One: Of the fourth precept of the second table, which is in order the eighth of the Ten Commandments: thou shalt not steal. Of the owning and possessing of proper goods, and of the right and lawful getting of the same; against sundry kinds of theft -- 17
Sermon Two: Of the lawful use of earthly goods; that is, how we may righty possess and lawfully spend, the wealth that is rightly and justly gotten: of restitution, and alms-deeds -- 48
Sermon Three: Of the patient bearing and abiding of sundry calamities and miseries: and also of the hope and manifold consolation of the faithful -- 64
Sermon Four: Of the fifth and sixth precepts of the second table, which is in order the ninth and tenth of the Ten Commandments, that is, thou shalt not speak false witness against thy neighbour; and thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, &c. -- 111
Sermon Five: Of the Ceremonial Law of God, but especially of the priesthood, time, and place, appointed for the ceremonies -- 125
Sermon Six: Of the Sacraments of the Jews; of their sundry sorts of sacrifices, and certain other things pertaining to their Ceremonial Law -- 167
Sermon Seven: Of the Judicial Laws of God -- 217
Sermon Eight: Of the use or effect of the Law of God, and of the fulfilling and abrogating of the same: of the likeness and difference of the Testaments and people, the old and the new -- 236
Sermon Nine: Of Christian liberty, and of offences. Of good works, and the reward thereof -- 300
Sermon Ten: Of sin, and of the kinds thereof; to wit of original and actual sin, and of sin against the Holy Ghost: and lastly, of the most certain and just punishment of sins -- 358

Fourth Decade
Sermon One: Of the Gospel of the Grace of God, who hath given His son unto the world, and in Him all things necessary to salvation, that we, believing in Him, might obtain eternal life -- 1
Sermon Two: Of repentance, and the causes thereof; of confession, and remission of sins; of the old and new man; of the power or strength of men, and the other things pertaining to repentance – 55
Dedication to Edward VI -- 115
Sermon Three: Of God; of the true knowledge of God; and of the diverse ways to know Him; that God is one in substance, and three in persons -- 123
Sermon Four: That God is the Creator of all things, and governeth all things by His Providence: where mention is also made of the goodwill of God to usward, and of predestination -- 173
Sermon Five: Of adoring or worshiping, of invocating or calling upon, and of serving the only, living, true, and everlasting God: also of true and false religion -- 194
Sermon Six: That the Son of God is unspeakably begotten of the Father; that He is consubstantial with the Father, and therefore True God. That the sameself Son is true man; consubstantial with us: and therefore True God and man, abiding in two unconfounded natures, and in one undivided person -- 238
Sermon Seven: Of Christ, king and priest: of His only and everlasting kingdom and priesthood, and of the name of a Christian -- 273
Sermon Eight: Of the Holy Ghost, the third person in the trinity to be worshiped, and of His divine power -- 297
Sermon Nine: Of good and evil spirits; that is, of the holy angels of God, and of devils or evil spirits; and of their operations -- 327
Sermon Ten: Of the reasonable soul of man; and of his most certain salvation after the death of his body -- 365

Fifth Decade
Sermon One: Of the holy catholic church: what it is, how far it extendeth, by what marks it is known, from whence it springeth, how it is maintained and preserved, whether it may err. Also of the power and studies of the church -- 3
Sermon Two: That there is one catholic church: that without the church there is no light or salvation. Against schimatics. Wherefore we depart from the upstart church of Rome. That the church of God is the house, vineyard, and kingdom of God; and the body, sheepfold, and spouse of Christ; a mother and a virgin -- 49
Sermon Three: Of the ministry, and the ministers of God’s Word: wherefore and for what end they are instituted of God. That orders given by Christ unto church in times past were equal. Whence and how the prerogative of ministers sprang, and of the supremacy of the bishop of Rome -- 93
Sermon Four: Of calling unto the ministry of the Word of God. What manner of men, and after what fashion, ministers of the Word must be ordained in the church. Of the keys of the church. What the office of them is that be ordained. Of the manner of teaching the church; and of the holy life of the pastors -- 128
Sermon Five: Of the form and manner how to pray to God; that is of the calling on the name of the lord: where also the Lord’s prayer is expounded; and also singing, thanksgiving, and the force of prayer, is entreated -- 163
Sermon Six: Of signs and the manner of signs; of sacramental signs: what a sacrament is; of whom, for what causes, and how many sacraments were instituted of Christ for the Christian church; of what things they do consist; how these are consecrated; how the sign and the thing are signified in the sacraments are either joined together or distinguished; and of the kind of speeches used in the sacraments -- 226
Sermon Seven: That we must reason reverently of sacraments; that they do not give grace, neither have grace included in them. Again, what the virtue and lawful end and use of sacraments is. That they are not superfluous to the faithful; and that they do not depend upon the worthiness or unworthiness of the minister -- 293
Sermon Eight: Of holy baptism; what it is; by whom, and when it was instituted, and that there is but one baptism of water. Of the baptism of fire. Of the rite or ceremony of baptism; how, of whom, and by whom it must be ministered. Of baptism by midwives; and of infants dying without baptism. Of the baptism of infants. Against Anabaptism or re-baptizing; and of the power or efficacy of baptism -- 351
Sermon Nine: Of the Lord’s supper; what it is, by whom, when, and for whom it was instituted; after what sort, when, and how oft it is to be celebrated, and of the ends thereof. Of the true meaning of the words of the supper. “this is my body.” Of the presence of Christ in the supper. Of the true eating of Christ’s body. Of the worthy and unworthy eaters thereof: and how every man ought to prepare himself unto the Lord’s supper -- 401
Sermon Ten: Of certain institutions of the church of God. Of schools. Of ecclesiastical goods and the use and abuse of the same. Of churches and holy instruments of Christians. Of the admonition and correction of the ministers of the church, and of the whole church. Of matrimony. Of widows. Of virgins. Of monks. What the church of Christ determineth concerning the sick; and of funerals and burials -- 480

Footnote: Peter Opitz’s “Bullinger’s Decades: Instruction in Faith and Conduct” is the third essay of the 2004 work Architect of Reformation: An Introduction to Heinrich Bullinger, 1504-1575, edited by Bruce Gordon and Emidio Campi.

Dabney on Calling

2010-02-09T17:06:00.000-08:00

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Cor. 10:31

". . . the only condition of discipleship permitted by Christ to any believer is complete self-consecration to his' service. In this the self-devotion of the minister is just the same as that of all other true Christians. If a Christian man proposes to be a teacher, physician, lawyer, mechanic, or farmer, it must be, not chiefly from promptings of the world or self, but chiefly because he verily believes he can, in that calling, best serve his heavenly Master. If he hath not this consecration, we do not say he is unfit for the ministry only, he is unfit to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. If any man think this standard of dedication too strict, let him understand at once that he is " not fit for the kingdom of God;" let him relinquish his delusive hope of salvation; let him at once go back among the dark company of Christ's enemies, on the ground scathed and riven by the lightnings of his wrath, and under the mountainous load of all his sins unatoned and unforgiven. There is no other condition of salvation. For did not Christ redeem the whole man ? Did he not purchase with his blood all our powers, and our whole energies, if we are his disciples? We profess to desire to love him with our whole souls, and therefore what reason is there which demands a part of the exertion and service in our power which does not also demand the whole?"

Dabney, Robert L., Discussions, Vol. III, What is a call to the ministry? (1891)

December Garden

2009-12-20T15:51:00.000-08:00

Osaka Kale

Today's Dinner

C.S. Lewis on Progress

2009-11-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

"If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man."

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

October Garden Pictures

2009-10-27T16:48:00.001-07:00

John Murray on Menial Labour & Vain Ambition, 1957

2009-10-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

“That Adam’s labour consisted in dressing the garden and keeping it informs us that it was highly worthy of man’s dignity as created after the divine image to be employed in so mundane a task. This is eloquent warning against the impiety of despising and judging unworthy of our dignity the tasks which we call menial. And one cannot but suspect that the widespread tendency to take flight from agricultural and related pursuits springs from an underestimate of the dignity of manual toil and oftentimes reflects an unwholesome ambition which is the fruit of impiety. There is warrant for the judgment that economics, culture, morality, and piety have suffered grave havoc by failure to appreciate the nobility of manual labour. Multitudes of men and women, if they had thought in terms of this principle and had been taught in the home, in the church, and in the school to think in these terms, would have been saved from the catastrophe of economic, moral, and religious ruin because they would have been preserved from the vain ambition of pursing vocations for which they were not equipped and which, on sober and enlightened reflection, they would not have sought.”

John Murray, Principles of Conduct: Aspects of Biblical Ethics, 1957 -- Pages 35-36, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI, 1978

Top 10 Most Depressing Books

2009-10-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

So Abebooks released a list of the top ten most depressing books. Not surprisingly, some of my favorites are on here.

Top 10 most depressing books

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)
The first time I read this I sobbed for a solid hour after I finished it. I mean, not just “a single tear trickling down” kinda thing, I mean nearly hysterical boo-hooing. And I don’t cry at books. I’m an English major--we’re desensitized and can approach everything from a “critical distance,” blah blah blah. However, I don’t know that I would describe the book as depressing. I actually found the ending extremely hopeful. I think that was why I cried, actually. The final paragraph can be taken a number of different ways. How one interprets it, I think, can reveal much about that reader’s worldview.

2. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963)
I read this in college and really liked it. I think most young females can identify with Esther Greenwood in some way, even if they aren't suicidal.

3. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (1895)
Okay, this one was a little much. I won’t give it away, but what happens is pretty harsh. But, it’s perhaps a welcome departure from 19th century marriage-plot novels.

4. Nineteen Eighty-four by George Orwell (1949)
This is the book I beat my students over the head with for five semesters, off and on, as Bush was waging his War on Terror and Congress was shredding the Constitution with the Patriot Act. Everyone should read this book. I actually found Brave New World more depressing, since I felt much of it was more realistic.

5. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (1957)
I tried to read it but only got about halfway through (which was itself a hefty 600 pages). I just didn’t get the point. Human beings are portrayed as driven by competition and bereft of any sense of morality (which I guess is pretty accurate considering our fallen state). However, there seemed NO possibility of redemption on the horizon (I don’t know since I didn’t finish it. Has ANYONE actually finished this book???) There just wasn’t a lot there to keep me reading.

6. Night by Elie Wiesel (1955)
Haven’t read it but I guess I should, since Oprah said to.

7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
Read it a long time ago, but I don’t know that I would describe it as depressing. Maybe bleak--but look at the setting.

8. On the Beach by Nevil Shute (1957)
Haven’t read it. Want to now.

9. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970)
Read this in college and it stunned me. Beautiful and horrific. This is another one everybody should read.

10. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)
Read this when I was ten (my grandmother was horrified) and have loved it ever since.

I’m not sure what I would add to this list, as I don’t tend to think of books in terms of “depressing.” A lot of people think my favorite novel, Wise Blood, is depressing, but if you understand O’Connor’s theology, the ending is actually quite happy, at least for the protagonist. Some people think Faulkner is depressing; I think he’s prophetic. Slaughterhouse Five is pretty bleak, but it’s also funny. If more people had read it, Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun would probably be on here. I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t actually gotten around to reading it myself, but I saw the movie (haha), so you’ll have to ask my husband about it.

I’ve had students ask me why I assign such depressing books in my classes, especially since I don’t seem to be have that “dark” of a personality (at least in class I don’t, apparently). I usually respond that 1) “happy” things just aren’t as interesting, and 2), one of the ways we can identify a text as “literature” (that is, a text that invites study and rumination versus a text read for recreational purposes) is that it plunges us more deeply into the world rather than just taking us out of it momentarily. A book that does this can transform its audience. And because readers tend to be complacent and desensitized, to do that, sometimes you have to shake up your audience. As Flannery O’Connor once said, “For the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind you draw large and startling figures.” From a Christian perspective, I believe that a text that forces us to confront the reality of our fallen estate can draw us that much closer to God, even if that effect is unintentional--for example, if the author is an atheist.

Your thoughts? What would you add to this list? Or perhaps it should be re-named . . .

Irresistible Grace

2009-09-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Brenden Camp wrote this article and posted it to facebook. He makes some really good points and has supported the Reformed position with a good collection of Scriptures. He has allowed me to repost his article along with my response to this blog.

Irresistible Grace? by Brenden Camp

What does the doctrine of "Irresistible Grace" mean to you? Generally when one states the doctrine by this name, a common charge is brought against it which states that "people often DO resist God and His grace", in which case this doctrine is incorrect. On the contrary, it is understood that people do resist God, to the extent that ALL people in their lives have done so at one point, even if we were unaware of it, or maybe not so boldly outspoken. However, on the other hand we must realize that there WAS a defining cause as it were, that brought us to the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. In other words, there must be a reason why - if you are a born again believer - you can say from the depths of your heart that you believe, while another will deny Jesus straight to the grave. This is what I hope to show within the doctrine I will rather refer to as "Effectual Calling" [as "irresistible grace" may be too misleading for some].

In order for this to prosper, we must remember that the only way it can be true is if God's word reveals it as truth, where a mere human theory without Scripture should be done away with. With this in mind, we'll begin in everyone's favorite book of the Bible; Romans. Romans 8:30 tells us exactly this; that "whom He called, He also justified." Now right off the bat I want you to understand that Paul's words state the indefinite justification of those who are called. If you are called, you are justified. So is this call resistible? I have heard the view that this particular call Paul mentions is a call of service or duty. For example, God calling one to be a preacher, another to be a missionary, etc. There are a actually a few problems I hold with that view. It doesn't fit the entire context of Romans 8:29-30, which teaches the building up to our glorification from before the beginning of time. Also, Paul mentions this call several more times, even once in the exact same context, one chapter later. In Romans 9:23-24 Paul tells us "He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles." Compare this verse with Romans 8:30: "...and these whom He predestined, He also called..." My point? The entire context of Romans 9 is based on physical Israel [the Jews] being replaced as God's chosen people by the remnant, which is as Paul explains, made up of who God calls from among both Jews and Gentiles alike. This is a call from God that, rather than one of service, is one that must bring about the salvation of the called, which results in the remnant that is now God's chosen people [or Israel].

Possibly my favorite passage of all on God's effectual call [irresistible grace] comes from Jesus Himself in John 6:44-45. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me." The word 'unless' generally shows us one thing in particular. That is, there are two options present. In this passage the options would be, either you are drawn by the Father and can come to Jesus, or you are not drawn and cannot come to Jesus. But if that's not enough, Jesus goes on to explain Himself further. He quotes a prophecy from Isaiah, in which the prophet claims of Zion, "all your sons will be taught of the Lord" [Is. 54:13 / entire chapter for context]. The fact that Jesus uses this statement signifies two things for us. It shows us that the Zion prophesied by Isaiah was God's kingdom. And it also shows us that all of the sons of God's kingdom would be taught of God. [The phrase 'taught of God' is equal to 'taught by God' as is apparent in several other translations including KJV & NKJV.] But again, we see that Jesus doesn't just stop there. He uses Isaiah's words to expand His own teaching of God's drawing; "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me." I want you to catch that first Jesus said that "no one CAN" come to Him, unless the Father draws him; now Jesus states that all who the Father teaches DOES come to Him. Jesus never lied and never misspoke, so we can understand that Jesus didn't mean to say that those who the Father teaches CAN, but rather that they DO [indefinitely] come. Can we say then that those who do not come to Jesus, were never taught by God? I believe we safely can. And who decides to be taught by God, if God's teaching brings you to your very belief?

The last point I'll make is in accordance with Jesus' words in Matthew 22:14. "Many are called but few are chosen." This is not the same calling that Paul mentions in Romans or that Jesus mentions in John. Rather, this is the call of the gospel. Paul and Jesus [especially] understood that the gospel call would not save everyone it reached. This is in fact a sad reality for us, and if it's not, it should be. Our hearts should be conformed to the image of Christ and we're told that "Jesus wept." Does this mean that we can't come to an understanding that perhaps God the Father does choose to effectually call or teach whom He pleases? Of course not! God's ways are NOT our ways. [Is. 55] In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 Paul says "We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that in verse 14, Paul states two important truths. First, he makes a clear distinction between the gospel call and God's call. "He called you through our gospel..." Second, he explains what the purpose of this call is. "...that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." So you see that not only is this calling separate from the gospel call, it is a calling separate from one of service as well. The purpose of this particular calling of God is for salvation [justification] unto glorification. James also uses this same kind of language in James 1:18. "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." Again, the clear distinction is made between the call [or drawing] of God and the call of the gospel. First James tells us why God would call us, "In the exercise of His will"; that God DID in fact call [or draw] us, "He brought us forth"; God's way of presenting His call to us, "by the word of truth"; and what the purpose of this particular calling is, "that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." I'll leave you with a few more thoughts from Paul on why you believe and others don't, and the difference between the gospel call and God's effectual call. 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul refers to his recipients as "saints by calling". Verse 9 "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Verse 18 "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." And then what the difference is between the perishing and those being saved, in verses 22-24; "For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." Notice that those who are "the called" are the ones Paul mentions are being saved, while the others are perishing.

Your thoughts?

------------------------------

My response to Brenden Camp’s Irresistible Grace?

Brenden, You certainly begin from the correct approach, Sola Scriptura: “the only way it can be true is if God’s word reveals it as true.” You have a good collection of Scriptural evidence to support the doctrine of effectual calling. You distinguish between the three Scriptural usages of the word “calling” – vocation or service, gospel summons or external calling, and effectual calling. That’s very important. The church of today usually ignores or confuses those distinctions. I think you would like Thomas Watson’s A Divine Cordial. It’s an entire book on Romans 8:28. He writes of effectual calling: “It is an irresistible call. When God calls a man by His grace, he cannot but come. You may resist the minister’s call, but you cannot the Spirit’s call.” Charles Hodge in his Commentary on Romans wrote: “The word calling . . . is never, in the epistles of the New Testament, applied to those who are recipients of the mere external invitation of the gospel. It always means effectually called.” In another place Hodge wrote a similar statement but added that the effectually called are “those who are so called as to be made obedient to the call. . . . [it] is applied to Christians, since they are drawn by grace, and do not come of themselves.” That’s most certainly language of irresistibility.

On this subject I found helpful the guidance of Arthur W. Pink. In The Sovereignty of God, Pink looks at Acts 13:48, “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Pink makes four observations: (1) “believing is a consequence and not the cause of God’s decree.” (2) “a limited number only are ordained to eternal life.” (3) “this ordination of God is not to mere external privileges but to eternal life, not to service but to salvation itself.” (4) “all . . . not one less . . . will most certainly believe.” This is consistent with our confession: “These angels and men, thus predestined, and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed, and their number so certain and definite, that it cannot be either increased or diminished” (WCF 3.4) And in chapter 10: “All those whom God hath predestined unto life, and those only, he is pleased, in his appointed and accepted time effectually to call . . .”

If effectual calling could be resisted then that foreordained number of men would fluctuate based on the will and faithfulness (and more often unfaithfulness) of men. Therefore, by necessity, “predestination” would be contingent not upon God’s foreordination, but upon God “foreseeing” those who would believe and choosing to save them. That idea strikes at the very heart of free grace and the nature of God’s sovereignty. Also, Christians would have absolutely no assurance that they are, in fact, saved. And that, of course, leads us into the subject of perseverance, and, I think more importantly into an examination of the nature of the atonement.

It’s important for Christians to understand that the doctrine of irresistible grace does no damage to the will of man, which is actually in bondage, but instead frees it. We are not reluctantly coerced into believing, but as the Canons of Dort explain, the Holy Spirit “revives, heals, reforms, and -- in a manner at once pleasing and powerful – bends it back . . . It is in this that the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consists.” Nor does this doctrine nullify the use of means, i.e. the external gospel call. It is a sincere and universal promise. Cornelis P. Venema in But for the Grace of God wrote that there is nothing in the “description of irresistible grace that would lessen in any degree the gospel summons to faith and repentance, together with the promise of salvation and blessedness to all who heed this summons.” However, as you note in your last point, not everyone who hears the gospel will be saved – to some it will be stumbling blocks and to others foolishness. Thomas Watson wrote: “This external call is insufficient to salvation, yet sufficient to leave men without excuse.” So then the gospel call always accomplishes the purpose God intends. Likewise, effectual calling always accomplishes its design – it saves all who are ordained to eternal life. Inseparable from the unchangeable decree, effectual calling is irresistible in the sense that all who are predestined will in time be justified and will afterwards be glorified.

The Amazing Millie

2009-09-18T06:38:00.001-07:00

So this is the gigantic egg laid by one of our hens, Millie. The top picture shows it in comparison to one of her normal (but still large) eggs. Jeremy was hoping it would turn out to be a rare double egg (not just a double-yolker but an actual egg inside another egg--it actually happens) and that we would make it to the front page of the local paper. (That is why I am posing like a crazy person in the second picture.) Well, we boiled it and cracked it open and no such luck--it's just a big egg. Jeremy ate it with gusto anyhow. Just had to share, especially seeing as how it was probably rather painful for Millie, and she deserves recognition for her accomplishment.

Grace is a flower

2009-09-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

"Grace is a flower of eternity. . . . Death does not destroy grace but transplants it and makes it grow in better soil." -- Thomas Watson, Heaven Taken by Storm, 1669

He Performs What Is Appointed For Me: Some Thoughts on Predestination

2009-08-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Andress, 2009

Upon crossing paths with the ninth chapter of Romans, a Bible study group decided to just skip ahead to the less controversial more “practical” chapters -- leaving behind “He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.” I have a few thoughts on this matter I wish to convey to my fellow Christians. It is not my intention that this article be an exhaustive defense of the doctrine of predestination; for throughout the two millennia of Christian church history there are ample books by competent churchmen that have successfully defended the doctrine. Nor am I writing a new and enlightened explanation of the doctrine. This will be apparent as you continue. It is my prayer that Christians are encouraged to examine the doctrine, and instead of bypassing this difficult and important subject they come to an understanding of predestination grounded firmly in Scripture. This will only result from the intimate study of the Word of God. Essential doctrines, wrote B. B. Warfield, “stand at the root of the Christian life . . . [it is] the duty as well as the right of the Christian man to study them, to seek to understand them in themselves and in their relations, to attempt to state them with accuracy and to adjust their statement with the whole body of known truth” (Warfield 24). Pray with the psalmist:

Make me know Your ways, O LORD;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation.

-- Psalm 25:4, 5

We are not only directed to study the Scriptures, but also to defend the faith. Whether you’re dealing with the infallibility of Scripture, the Trinity, original sin, the virgin birth, the divinity of Christ, the nature or extent of the atonement, the resurrection, the sacraments, etc, know that all Christian doctrines are controversial. If we stand firm on the fundamental doctrines of our faith we will be in the midst of controversy. Should we stand firm? J. Gresham Machen wrote: “The type of religion which . . . shrinks from ‘controversial’ matters, will never stand amid the shocks of life. In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are least worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight” (Machen 1-2). Upon the text of 1 Thess.5:21, J. C. Ryle wrote that each Christian “must do their part in contending for the truth. Each should work, and each should pray, and each should labour as if the preservation of the pure Gospel depended upon himself or herself and upon no one else at all. . . . If we would hold fast that which is good, we must not tolerate or countenance any doctrine that is not the pure doctrine of Christ’s Gospel. . . . . There is an intolerance which is downright praiseworthy: that is the intolerance of false teaching in the pulpit” (Ryle). True love for God, wrote Thomas Watson, “infuses a spirit of gallantry and fortitude into a Christian. He that loves God will stand up in His cause, and be an advocate for Him” (Watson 57). I encourage you not to avoid those doctrinal subjects that are difficult to understand or controversial. Instead, stand firm upon the Rock of our Salvation. Stand vigilantly and hold fast “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone, is an underpinning and primary doctrine of the Protestant Reformation. It is a fundamental of our faith. William Ames wrote in 1623: “All things necessary to salvation are contained in the Scriptures and also those things necessary for the instruction and edification of the church . . . Therefore, Scripture is not a partial but a perfect rule of faith and morals. And no observance can be continually and everywhere necessary in the church of God, on the basis of any tradition or other authority, unless it is contained in the Scriptures” (Ames 187). In addition to Scripture being the only guide to our Christian life, each and every Scripture is inspired by God and has been given to us for our instruction in doctrine and practice: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

It is our responsibility and privilege to understand what has been revealed in Scripture. However, there are secrets or mysteries which God has not unveiled to us: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us” (Deut. 29:29). Undoubtedly, there are aspects of predestination that are reserved within the mind of God alone. But does Scripture reveal something of predestination? Certainly, numerous Scriptures speak of God, for His own glorious purpose, choosing (or electing) specific people to everlasting life before the world was even created: “You did not choose me but I chose you” (John 15:16); “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44); “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9); “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation” (2 Thess. 2:13); God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:9); “as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48); “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love: He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of His will . . . we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:4-12); “And we know that God causes all things to work for good for those that love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. . . these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30). And of course there’s Romans 9:11-24:

“[T]hough the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to his choice would stand, not because of works but of Him who calls . . . Just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. . . . . I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. . . . So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will? On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this’, will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”

Therefore, based upon the Word of God, election is defined as “the eternal and unchangeable decree of God, by which he has graciously decreed to convert some to Christ, to preserve them in faith, and repentance, and through him to bestow upon them eternal life” (Ursinus 297).

While unswervingly declaring and thankfully accepting what has been revealed to us about predestination, we must nevertheless be cautious that we don’t inquire beyond what has been revealed in Scripture: “The preaching of election,” wrote Cornelis P. Venema, “must be carefully disciplined by the Word of God, declaring neither more nor less than God has been pleased to reveal to us . . . . we are not to pry ‘inquisitively’ into the subject of election beyond the limits of Scriptural revelation” (Venema 30-31). Upon this caution John Calvin explains further:

“The subject of predestination, which in itself is attended with considerable difficulty, is rendered very perplexed, and hence perilous by human curiosity . . . when they inquire into predestination, let them remember that they are penetrating into the recesses of the divine wisdom . . . For it is not right that man should with impunity pry into things which the Lord has been pleased to conceal within himself . . . Those secrets of his will, which he has seen meet to manifest, are revealed in his word -- revealed insofar as he knew to be conductive to our interest and welfare . . . Let it, therefore, be our first principle that to desire any other knowledge of predestination than that which is expounded by the word of God, is no less infatuated than to walk where there is no path, or to seek light in darkness. . . . There are others who, when they would cure this disease, recommend that the subject of predestination should scarcely if ever be mentioned . . . in order to keep the legitimate course in this matter, we must return to the word of God, in which we are furnished with the right rule of understanding. For Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which nothing useful and necessary to be known has been omitted, so nothing is taught but what it is of importance to know. Everything, therefore, delivered in Scripture on the subject of predestination, we must beware of keeping from the faithful . . . allow the Christian to unlock his mind and ears to all the words of God which are addressed to him, provided he do it with this moderation, i.e., that whenever the Lord shuts his sacred mouth, he also desists from inquiry. . . . This is clearly expressed by Moses in a few words, ‘The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children for ever’ (Deut. 29:29) . . . I wish it to be received as a general rule, that the secret things of God are not to be scrutinized, and those which he has revealed are not to be overlooked, lest we may on the one hand, be chargeable to curiosity, and, on the other with ingratitude” (Calvin 607 – 609).

Nothing taught in Scripture is unnecessary to our growth in Christ. But what is the practical value of the doctrine of predestination? To answer this it must first be established that doctrine and practice are inextricable. “[D]octrine is the very base of the practical life,” wrote Arthur W. Pink, “There is an inseparable connection between belief and practice. . . The relation between Divine truth and Christian character is that of cause to effect” (Pink 261). Machen wrote that “the Christian movement at its inception was not just a way of life . . . but a way of life founded upon a message. . . . In other words it was based upon doctrine. . . . Christianity for Paul was not only a life, but also a doctrine, and logically the doctrine came first” (Machen 21, 23). “The assertion often heard in our day, that Christianity is not a doctrine but a life, may have a rather pious sound . . . but is after all a dangerous falsehood” wrote Louis Berkhof. He continues: “Participation in the life of Christianity is everywhere in the New Testament made conditional on faith in Christ as He has revealed Himself, and this naturally includes knowledge of the redemptive facts recorded in Scripture. Christians must have a proper understanding of the significance of these facts. . . .They who minimize the significance of the truth, and therefore ignore and neglect it, will finally come to the discovery that they have very little Christianity left” (Berkhof 28-29). What about predestination? What is its value as a doctrine? I return to the words of A. W. Pink:

“The doctrine of God’s sovereignty [which includes predestination] then is no mere metaphysical dogma which is devoid of practical value, but is one that is calculated to produce a powerful effect upon Christian character and the daily walk. . . . [It] is a Divine cordial to refresh our spirits. It is designed and adapted to mould the affections of the heart and to give a right direction to conduct. It produces gratitude in prosperity and patience in adversity. It affords comfort for the present and a sense of security respecting the unknown future. . . . it ascribes to God . . .the glory which is His due, and places the creature in his proper place before Him – in the dust” (Pink 263-264).

The doctrine of predestination, wrote R. L. Dabney “exalts God, his power, his sovereign, unbought love and mercy. . . [It] humbles man in the dust. . . while it lays man’s pride low, [it] gives him an anchor of hope, sure and steadfast, drawing him to heaven; for his hope is founded not in the weakness, folly, and fickleness of his human will, but in the eternal love, wisdom, and power of almighty God” (Dabney 79-80 ). Our salvation is secure. Charles Hodge wrote, “the plan of God cannot fail; those whom He has called into this state of reconciliation . . . He will certainly bring to the glory He has prepared for his people” (Hodge 257). Let us draw comfort and assurance from knowing that we have “been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” Let us boldly declare with Job the absolute sovereignty of God: “what His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me” (Job 23:13, 14).

Sola Dei Gloria.
----------------------
Ames, William. The Marrow of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997.
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.
Dabney, Robert L. The Five Points of Calvinism. Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle, 1992.
Hodge, Charles. Romans. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1993.
Machen, J. Gresham. Christianity and Liberalism. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990.
Pink, Arthur W. The Sovereignty of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1975.
Ryle, J. C. “Hold Fast”. Sermon. http://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/hold_fast.htm .
Ursinus, Zacharias. The Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1954.
Venema, Cornelis P. But for the Grace of God: An Exposition of the Canons of Dort. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformed Fellowship, 1994.
Warfield, Benjamin B. The Right of Systematic Theology. Edinburg, Scotland: Clark, 1897.
Watson, Thomas. A Divine Cordial. Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace, 2001.
New American Standard Bible, http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-American-Standard-Bible-NASB/.

Dabney on John Knox and God-less Compulsory Public Education

2009-07-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

“Were that iron man to return to the earth just now, and to hear these pretended successors to his creed quoting him as authority for the educational rights of a State which they have stripped of all Christian character and of every right of Christian inculcation, one can imagine the thundering disclaimer which would come from the roughest side of his rough tongue. He would declare that such a State, giving such an education, was a conception of the devil himself.”

Robert Lewis Dabney, The Practical Philosophy, Book IV, Chapter III.1 (1897)

The Good Life

2009-07-13T04:19:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post about this for some time, but a little while back some friends lent us the complete series of the 70's BBC sitcom The Good Life (known as Good Neighbors in the U.S.). Have you ever seen it? The show concerns a couple, Tom and Barbara Good, who set out to make their home in suburban London completely self-sufficient. Tom quits his meaningless job as a designer of little plastic toys that come in cereal boxes and he and Barbara plow up their lawn to plant crops, raise livestock in the backyard, power the house with methane, and brew their own peapod wine. Much of the show concerns their interaction with the couple next door, the Ledbetters, who are thoroughly entrenched in the modern industrial society and whose incredulity at the Goods' preposterous lifestyle makes for some interesting conflicts--the wife, Margot, is a very proper English lady and a social climber and is particularly nonplussed at the Goods' choices. However, the Ledbetters grow sympathetic to the Goods' cause and while they maintain their own values, they often help Tom and Barbara out in their quirky and quixotic agrarian endeavors. I admit the show is unrealistic in some technical aspects and some may find it corny (especially the first episode), but it was truly a delight for us to watch. (By the way, we are very picky about TV; in fact we have declined to make the digital transition and have not had access to broadcast TV in a while). The interplay between the Goods and the Ledbetters is hilarious, and you can't help but get attached to these characters. While the Goods' attitude is extremely perky and optimistic, the show does not exactly sugarcoat their way of life--Tom and Barbara have their share of hardships and frequently need bailing out by the mainstream Ledbetters. I would argue that the show depicts marriage very positively and explores friendship in a way that is rare in light comedies. Some viewers may object to some slightly off-color references in the show, but they are comparatively mild by today's standards.

Here is a link to the first episode.

In case you think the premise of the show is completely ridiculous, you need to check out the Dervaes family of Pasadena, California, if you haven't already heard of them. On a tiny lot just feet from a freeway, they grow almost all of their own food. Here is their introductory video and a link to their website, Path to Freedom.

The Dervaes family

How to Tell if You Have a Homestead (or, Why My House Is a Mess)

2009-07-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

In this post, Sharon Astyk makes me feel better about our constant state of disarray here. I have often dreamt of someday having at least an approximation of a home and garden that might grace the pages of a magazine (albeit, the home would be artfully furnished with treasured hand-me-downs and quirky thrift store finds and the yard densely planted with edible ornamentals). Amid my clutter of books, papers, toys, dishes, half-finished renovations and a sprawling summer garden full of weeds, I maintain (with a bit of self-righteousness, I’m afraid) that people who have clean, uncluttered, and beautiful houses and don’t actually live in them. They use their homes as one uses a motel on vacation--as a place to watch TV and sleep in between the main attractions that occupy the rest of their time. (Of course, there are those rare folks who manage both to use their homes and to keep them beautiful--but I neither pretend nor aspire to be superhuman.) Astyk makes my point in her recent post:

How can you tell if you have a homestead, rather than a showplace home?
Well, first of all, you are there a lot. Whether you own or rent, have a private
place or a collective one, a homestead is a place where you really live.

At a minimum, this means that you invest your time and energy into the
place, to adapting it to you and you to it. In aesthetic terms, that means
there’s almost always a project getting done, and the accoutrements of that
work-in-progress about. Your hoes and shovels don’t come out once in a while,
there are tools and sawdust about, furniture being moved about, and most of your
home tours include the sentences “eventually that will be…” or “that’s a work in
progress.”
The other reality is that you probably use your home more than
most people. Maybe you work full time, but you spend your evenings gardening and
cooking and building things. Or maybe you have a cottage business, or work from
home. Maybe you homeschool, or your kids spend more time at home and playing in
the neighborhood than they spend at camp and more structured programs, because
they are learning home-based skills.

That also, frankly, means that your home does not look like a magazine
spread - remember, in those pictures, people are always lounging around or
having a barbecue - I’m sure you do some of that too, but the reality is that
you are going to have your office full of work, or your barn full of boards,
homework spread all over the dining room table, tomatoes on the counter - not a
bowlful, decoratively laid out, but buckets of them, waiting to be canned.

The major feature by which a homestead differs from a home is that more
and more of one’s needs are met at home, rather than elsewhere. That does not
mean we live in caves and never come out into the light - but it does mean we’re
more likely to eat with our friends at our own table than at restaurants, or
replace trips to the store with trips to the garden, the fabric stash or the
accumulation of “potentially useful salvage.” . .

All of which means there is exactly no chance that that your house will
look like a magazine - some people’s do, of course, but except for those with
that instinctive gift for beauty, most of the ones that do look like they do
because no one is home - adults work, kids go to school and to activities if
they are middle or upper class, or to jobs if they are older and not. (read
more)

Her homestead example is pretty much us, despite the smallness of our homestead. We both have jobs, but our lives are centered in the home. We are here a lot. At any given moment, there are multiple projects in progress indoors and out. There is a garden in the front yard and a small assortment of animals in the backyard, along with a compost pile. I cook most of our meals at home and try to use many homegrown ingredients and few convenience foods. I recently used my kitchen to put up 600 ears of corn, and last night my husband mixed up our first batch of mead in it (we’ll let you know how it turns out). We don’t have a dishwasher, so dishes are usually visible, either waiting to be washed or waiting to be put away. I dry our laundry on a line and use cloth diapers--speaking of diapers, did I mention the toddler (who doesn’t attend day care)? Her toys and books are scattered everywhere, and my careful color scheme now includes the playful primaries utilized by Little Tikes and Fisher-Price. We plan to home school her later, so of course the associated paraphernalia will only increase the clutter of books, papers, and general chaos that surrounds us.

So I guess we have a homestead, and that’s my excuse for having a work-in-progress home that is far from picture-perfect (although my lack of organization and time-management skills and my tendency to be easily distracted probably has something to do with it as well). But at least it’s a home--we truly live here. It is a home-based (along with a God-centered, I might add) existence that industrial culture has made great progress in abolishing. As Wendell Berry points out,

According to the industrial formula, the ideal human residence (from the Latin
residere, "to sit back" or "remain sitting") is one on which the residers do not
work. The house is built, equipped, decorated, and provisioned by other people,
by strangers. In it, the married couple practice as few as possible of the
disciplines of household or homestead. Their domestic labor consists
principally, of buying things, putting things away, and throwing things away,
but it is understood that it is, "best" to have even those jobs done by an
"inferior" person, and the ultimate industrial ideal is a "home" in which
everything, would be done by pushing buttons. In such a "home," a married couple
are mates, sexually, legally, and socially, but they are not helpmates; they do
nothing useful either together or for each other. According to the ideal, work
should be done away from home. When such spouses say to each other, "I will love
you forever," the meaning of their words is seriously impaired by their
circumstances; they are speaking in the presence of so little that they have
done and made. Their history together is essentially placeless; it has no
visible or tangible incarnation. They have only themselves in view. (from “Men
and Women in Search of Common Ground,” 1987)

Industrial society has done a lot to ensure that the family is not rooted to the “common ground” of the home. Men, and more recently women, are expected to work long hours outside the home to provide enough disposable income so that in their “free” time, all family members can escape the home to spend it (even if it’s imaginary) on the overabundance of shoddy consumer goods and low entertainment that sustains our (now failing) economy. Because everyone spends so much time working, child care is outsourced to professionals, education to the State, and domestic skills once taken for granted are lost in favor of fast food, labor-saving gadgets, and hired help. Divorced from the context of the home in its pursuit of affluence, the family disintegrates. As Astyk points out, even this vision is ultimately illusory since this type of wealth is fundamentally “unsustainable” as the recent economic malaise highlights.

What may in fact be sustainable are relationships based in shared experiences that are built together in a common place. To me, that is what marriage is about. Our home is far from ideal. Better Homes and Gardens is probably not going to call us to do a photo shoot. Moreover, we’d like way more acreage and a house that is not necessarily bigger, but more energy efficient and better suited to our activities. And, it would be nice to have more good neighbors who were neither drug dealers nor child abusers.

However, this is our home because we truly live here, and the work that takes place here --even if most of it is haphazard and unfinished--defines our relationship as a family, roots us in the common ground of place. And that is why my house is such a mess.

Independence Day Goats

2009-07-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Naomi’s first close encounter with goats went well. She smiled, laughed and called them “gits.” She loved feeding them too, until one grabbed a hold of her fingers and tried to pull her through the fence. I guess I was supposed to console her while she shed a few tears, but I couldn’t stop laughing. Afterwards she smiled, laughed and called them “gits.”

Helpful Reformed Systematics

2009-07-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

In the Reformed Theology links column to the right of the screen I’ve added links to the systematic theologies that have most influenced my thoughts on religious matters: The Systematics of R. L. Dabney, C. Hodge , and L. Berkhof . These are books in my library that I often reference concerning theological questions. In addition to these volumes I appreciate Calvin’s Institutes and Bullinger’s Decades as well as The Marrow of Theology of William Ames. The Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism by Ursinius has also been very helpful. Also, the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms, primarily those of Westminster, have guided my understanding of God’s Holy Word. If you object to the usefulness of Systematic Theologies please read The Right of Systematic Theology by B. B. Warfield, 1897.

Clyde N. Wilson on History and Historians

2009-07-04T06:34:00.000-07:00

“History is not an expression of abstract laws, or the record of progress. It is a description of the actions of men, of life, which in turn is an expression of the (partly unknowable) mind of God. A historian who does an honest and competent job of narrative or description has created something permanently useful to everyone, whether they agree with him or not. The historian who claims to have found the final explanation is a fraud.”

Clyde N. Wilson, “Crackers and Roundheads” a book review published in
Defending Dixie: Essays in Southern History and Culture, 2006.

What summer's all about

2009-07-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

C. S. Lewis on Bureaucrats

2009-06-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

“I like bats much better than bureaucrats. I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of ‘Admin.’ The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern.” -- C. S. Lewis, Preface to 1959 edition of The Screwtape Letters

New chicks on the block

2009-06-05T09:45:00.001-07:00

We got chicks yesterday, ten black sex links. We have not yet retired the old girls, since it will be quite some time before these are laying--but the breed is supposed to be excellent layers. Mimi thought they were ducks at first, but now she is saying "Chick! Chick!" We will try to get some cute pictures with her to post.

Tonight's Supper #3

2009-06-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

I actually made this Monday night, but oh well.

-Ratatouille--eggplant, zucchini, garlic, onions, tomatoes, banana peppers and herbs--all homegrown.

-Sweet corn--grown on a friend's plot

-Green beans and new potatoes--grown at The Farm

-Garnished with nasturtium flowers and leaves from the front yard

The only things not homegrown were a couple slices of bacon for flavor and the butter we put on the corn. And salt :)

More Pictures of the May Gardens: Part 2

2009-05-18T19:27:00.001-07:00

Parsley, Swiss Chard, Redbor Kale, Nero de Toscana Kale, Red Russian Kale

More Pictures of the May Gardens: Part 1

2009-05-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Some of the late Broccoli

Mimi helping pick the squash

Kohlrabi

The first of this year's squash

Silver Queen Corn, a few weeks from harvest

Kentucky Wonder Bush Beans

2009-05-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Red Pontiac Potatoes

2009-05-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

I dug up two rows Saturday

Potatoes about one month ago

May Garden

2009-05-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Still producing: Romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, green onions, radishes

On its way: zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, blackberries, blueberries

I'm helping!

Romaine and chard

Shallots and zucchini

Romaine

After the flood

2009-04-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

We’ve had storm after storm for a few weeks now. The forecast has rain heading this way next week as well. Currently the Blackwater River and its tributaries are flooded. Many homes are being flooded. Last week my garden at the farm where I work was under a foot of water. I was worried about the beans. They had only been up about four days. The corn was about eight inches tall. The potatoes were well established so I wasn’t as concerned about them. When the water receded I could see that I didn’t lose much at all. Some of my bush beans and lima beans were washed away or covered with mud, but the majority still stood. I lost some squash and cucumbers and peas. The potatoes and corn are fine. Below are some pictures of the garden after the water receded.

Click the photos to enlarge.

Bush Beans and Lima Beans

Red Pontiac Potatoes

Water was up a little more than a foot over the garden

A survivor

Silver Queen Sweet Corn

A Poem for Naomi's Birthday

2009-03-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

The Risk of Birth

by Madeleine L'Engle

This is no time for a child to be born,

With the earth betrayed by war and hate

And a nova lighting the sky to warn

That time runs out and the sun burns late.

That was no time for a child to be born,

In a land in the crushing grip of Rome;

Honour and truth were trampled by scorn—

Yet here did the Saviour make his home.

When is the time for love to be born?

The inn is full on the planet earth,

And by greed and pride the sky is torn

Love still takes the risk of birth.

Happy Birthday, Mimi

2009-03-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

1 year

9 months

5 months

3 months

1 month

1 day

Some March Garden Pictures

2009-03-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Pom Pom Loose-Leaf Lettuce

Flat Leaf Parsley

Loose-Leaf and Romaine, with some Mustard in the back

My Beautiful Garlic Bed

Green Onions and some Spinach

Tonight's Supper (2)

2009-03-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

Pizza on homemade crust with shallots (grown in front yard), spinach (grown in front yard), and mushrooms. Green salad with romaine and looseleaf lettuces, radishes, and green onions (all grown in front yard).

Tonight's Supper

2009-03-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

I intend to start blogging about meals made using homegrown or locally produced ingredients, especially when summer arrives and along with it (hopefully) its bounty of veggies. Tonight, I made a rather interesting conglomeration: a stir-fryish medley of sorts using several homegrown components.

2 cups broccoli florets (grown by Jeremy at the Farm)
1 small cabbage (grown by Jeremy at the Farm)
2 kohlrabi (grown in the backyard)
2 green onions (grown in the front yard)
2 boneless chicken breasts (I feel bad about this, since they were processed and industrial, but they were on sale and cheap. This could have easily been a vegetarian meal.)
1/2 package maifun (rice noodles)
1/2 bottle Thai chili peanut sauce

I pan fried the chicken in olive oil until partially done and then added the veggies, simmering all the ingredients in the sauce, and then mixed in softened rice noodles. We had oven-baked sweet potato fries on the side (coated with olive oil, salt and pepper, baked 20 minutes). Note to self: make these more often. Unfortunately the taters were from the store, but we hope next year they won't be.

This was pretty delicious for something so impromptu (I am not good at planning meals or following recipes). We had tried kohlrabi raw in salad and it was just blah, but simmered in the sauce it was tender and sweet.

Kohlrabi

Why I Love the Internet

2009-03-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

I was having a rather lousy day (or maybe it was just my attitude that was lousy), but then I stumbled upon Mia's blog via The Deliberate Agrarian. It was such a blessing. It is one of the most beautiful blogs I have encountered. Every once in awhile, I am reminded that amid the dross of our culture exist gems like this. For someone who works with teenagers most of the week (and loves it by the way), this young Christian lady's wisdom and attitude are so refreshing, as is her commitment to faith, family, femininity, and frugality. Mia, you are truly an inspiration.

Quick thoughts on the ending of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”

2009-02-20T19:13:00.000-08:00

I loved the ending -- “She would talk to him sometimes about God.” The family “carrying the fire” reminds me of Thomas Cahill’s book How the Irish Saved Civilization. Even through the darkest of ages and the chaos associated with collapsing civilization one of the greatest tasks that the remnant must perform is the preservation of humanity. I would argue this is done by preserving not only civility amid anarchy, but the preservation of the arts, the skills of writing well, the definitions of words and ideas such as liberty and tyranny, and the morality and doctrinal integrity of the church. The Road also reminds me of the movie The Children of Men. Humanity must be preserved. The torch must be carried. I’m reminded that there is hope even if we ourselves don’t see the sunshine. No matter the circumstances we have our duty. There’s a story that Alexander Stevens wrote in Book II, Chapter 3 of History of the United States: Among the chaos of the War for Independence, with the pastors and prophets declaring Armageddon -- with the armies of the Anti-Christ (the redcoats) burning down homes and churches, murdering wives and children, on the 19th of May 1780 “the heavens became darkened by a dense vapor . . . . It was the opinion of some that the Day of Judgment was at hand.” A motion was made in the Connecticut Legislature that they adjourn. A Colonel Davenport opposed the measure declaring that: “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I desire to be found doing my duty.” The following night, of course, the “extraordinary phenomenon” passed and the next day was beautiful. Stevens writes: “Hope again revived in the breasts of the desponding.” The Revolution continued and we won our independence.

(I'd like to expand on these thoughts later.)

Garden report: 15 Feb. 09

2009-02-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

Spring’s just around the corner. In the raised beds we’ve planted more Bloomsdale Long-Standing Spinach and Vivian Romaine. We’ve also planted a bunch of Evergreen Onions and Cherry Belle Radishes. In seed trays, which are warming in our small greenhouse, we planted the following varieties of lettuce, nightshades, and herbs: Vivian Romaine, Red Sails Lettuce, and Bibb Lettuce, Neon Lights Swiss Chard, Tah Tsai, Dark Opal Purple Basil, Bush Spicy Globe Basil, Common Thyme, German Chamomile, Sorrel, Rose Orach, Burpee Hybrid Eggplant, Sweet Banana Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Volcano Peppers. Chinese Giant Peppers, Taxi Tomatoes, Costoluto Genovese Tomatoes, Super Suncherry Hybrid Tomatoes, Lemon Boy Hybrid Tomatoes, Giant Tree Tomaoes, and Jetsonic Hybrid Tomatoes. I planted far more than usual. What I can’t use here at home I will be able to plant in the large garden at the nursery where I work.

Over the years I’ve had a hard time germinating and growing spinach. I haven’t had much luck directly planting into the ground nor with seed trays. I’ve tried several varieties. A few months ago I tried planting into a small crate filled with potting soil and compost. The crate is about two feet by three and about a foot and a half deep, with plenty of drainage all around. I just scattered the seed and turned under by hand . The seeds germinated with amazing success. I thinned the plants and began cutting leaves for dinner about a month ago. Recently I added to my garden several raised beds with potting soil and compost. Yesterday I planted a lot of spinach there. We’ll see what happens. Below are pictures of the spinach project.

Little Caeser Romaine

Various Lettuce in a raised bed

Bloomsdale Long-Standing Spinach

Spinach growing in a plastic crate

Great Depression Cooking with Clara

2009-02-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

Evidence that there is still good stuff on YouTube. I came across this series of nine videos and really, really, wish that someone had thought to do this with my great-grandmother before she passed in 2000 at the age of 98 (although no one was ever able to duplicate her chicken 'n dumplings even when shown multiple times). Clara reminds us that simple, cheap food can be wholesome and good. It got me thinking again of how the Internet has become a repository for cultural lore that used to be passed down in families and circulated among (physical) communities. In Episode 4, she mentions that back then, everyone had backyard gardens and chickens, but she doesn't think it's allowed anymore. She also tells of when she caught an uninvited neighbor picking produce from her garden. I'm thinking that very soon, her memories are going to become much more than just quaint little stories.

We have eggs!

2009-01-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

We unexpectedly discovered that the four scavenged chickens my dad brought us had started laying. We had intended to order chicks last spring, but MiMi got us sidetracked a bit from that endeavor. The eggs are a decent size and a lovely pinkish color once washed--not bad for random feral chickens. Store eggs pale in comparison to home-grown. I am looking forward to many omelets, quiches, and fried egg sandwiches--who knows, maybe I will even attempt a soufflé!

Fall Garden Pictutes

2009-01-18T17:12:00.000-08:00

Soon after planting

Parris Island Romaine Lettuce

Cauliflower

Mid-December

2008 Garden Report

2009-01-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

With the birth of our first child and an unusually difficult year at work it’s been a very busy year. We have been able to keep up the gardening and have expanded quite a bit, but until now I haven’t had the time to write about it. Naomi was born in March and the Spring garden, I admit, took second place. However it grew well. We had much more squash and peppers than we could eat or give away. The eggplants also did very well. The tomatoes were stunted severely by root knot nematodes. But we started with over sixty plants so we still did okay. We planted some blueberry and blackberry bushes and built a large chicken pen. Soon after it was built some friends of ours gave us a couple of turkeys followed by roosters. All were fed well and then eaten when too noisy for our neighborhood. Finally we got four young hens. Just this week they started laying eggs. This year I plan to raise rabbits. My father-in-law has been raising rabbits for many years and will be able to assist us in getting started. The fall garden grew well considering the limited time I could devote to it. As space in the front yard garden was available I added raised beds made from salvaged cedar planks. That project is almost complete. I was able to secure from the nursery in which I work a large amount of ground to plant upon. Beginning in September, with the help of the managers and my fellow employees, we planted over 5,400 square feet with the following crops: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, collards, bulbing onions, and romaine and loose-leaf lettuce. That garden has been producing very well and we’ve been able to give food to many of the nursery’s employees. Last week we planted seven eighty foot rows of Green Arrow English Peas. Within the next week or so we will plant a fifty pound bag of Red Pontiac Potatoes. My last garden report was in June. My next post will be pictures from the garden at work. Below are some pictures of our gardening efforts of 2008.

Ruby Swiss Chard

They're not hot, I promise

Mimi with Pawpaw and his piggies

Chianti Hybrid Sunflower

New Year's Resolutions: Walking away from Omelas

2009-01-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

By Sara Smith Andress

This past semester, I taught “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” a short story by science fiction writer Ursula K. LeGuin, and it sparked a lively class discussion, prompting me to revisit it. Like all good fantasy writing, LeGuin’s story forces us to confront the hard questions instead of allowing us to escape them.

The scenario is this: A wonderful shining city exists, a utopia called Omelas. We are given a description, but its exact characteristics remain indeterminate because Omelas is whatever the reader wants it to be. It is not a monarchy, and seems neither capitalist nor fascist; we are told “there was no king . . . As they did without monarchy and slavery, so they also got on without the stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb.” Omelas has religion, but no clergy or temples. It may have drugs, if one chooses, but no addiction. There is no war, but simply a “boundless and generous contentment” in place of a sense of victory. The narrator, knowing we are by nature skeptical of perfection, asks, “Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing.”

The one more thing is the thing that sustains the happiness of the inhabitants of Omelas: a small child languishes in a squalid closet, isolated and malnourished, crying out mournfully and filthy with its own excrement. We are told that the greatness of Omelas rests on the suffering of this helpless individual: “their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child's abominable misery.”

Upon coming of age, everyone learns of the child; many young people go to view the child in its dungeon. Some are deeply disturbed; the image of the child haunts them into their older years, but most eventually find a way to rationalize this uncomfortable reality in their minds. Some, however, are compelled to leave Omelas forever. The narrator tells us that this is the most amazing thing of all: “They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.”

This story has been interpreted in numerous ways: as a rant against capitalism or utilitarianism, an allegory of Christian redemption, an ode to Vietnam draft dodgers fleeing to Canada. Another debate has been whether the ones who walk away are heroes of passive resistance or cowards for not staying and fighting to free the child.

I have considered all of these approaches and more, but when I think of this story, I keep returning to one overwhelming and general question: who is suffering as a result of my desire to live as I wish?

Unlike the citizens of Omelas, we are not often forced to acknowledge that the American way of life in many ways depends on the suffering of others for its continuance. For example, when I drive to Wal-Mart, my vehicle consumes oil--a nonrenewable resource over which wars are fought and people--some of them innocent non-combatants--die. Not only do my purchases from Wal-Mart contribute to the annihilation of small local businesses, but many of their goods are manufactured in China, in squalid factories where workers are subjected to long tedious hours in unsafe working conditions. The merchandise and food sold at Wal-Mart is often shipped across the country, if not across the globe, consuming more precious resources and contributing to the collapse of ecosystems and therefore to the collapse of human communities that depend on those systems (and, most likely, contributing to global warming as well, but we’ll not get into that here). In fact, employees just trying to do their jobs are sometimes trampled during Black Friday sales--how’s that for sacrifice? So much of the cost of our lifestyle is paid not at the cash register, but in the form of what economists call “externalities.” In order to obtain cheap consumer goods, we give up things like clean water, clean air, topsoil, a sense of community, and even human lives.

This all may sound very sanctimonious. I am not advocating communism, nor asceticism of the sort displayed by Jainist monks, who sweep the ground in front of their feet so as not to crush bugs and eat only fruit that has already fallen from the tree (and yes, I do visit Wal-Mart--rarely, but on occasion). Indeed, because we live in a world that is fallen, all life inherently includes suffering. Even a well tended garden bears testimony to the fact that death and decay bring forth life and abundance. And, intentionally or not, because it depicts the suffering of an innocent, LeGuin’s story points to the ultimate truth of the Cross, which may lead many readers to conclude that the child represents Christ and Omelas is Heaven, therefore rendering the child’s sacrifice necessary and desirable and making fools of those who walk away. However, Omelas looks more like Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights than Heaven. Christ suffered and died so that we could acknowledge, repent, and be forgiven of our sin and be with Him in paradise, not to give us permission to continue cavorting in an earthly paradise of our own making. To look at the child’s suffering as a necessary sacrifice for the good of the many ignores the focus on those who walk away and implies an ethic similar to that expressed by Mao Zedong when he said, “To make an omelet you must break a few eggs,” in defense of the slaughter of millions. The same totalizing rhetoric has been found in mass emails circulating the Web for the past six years or so, urging people to “support the troops” (i.e., the war) because sacrifice is necessary so that we may remain “safe” and “free.” And, while they may imply it, rarely do these emails mention the sacrifice not only of the soldiers and their families but also of those who just got in the way--those who remain invisible and numberless.

We might compare this line of thinking to the rationale of the abortion-as-birth-control movement. Like the tiny victims of abortions, the victims of our military-industrial complex are often unseen strangers to us. We often do not recognize them as human, and even if we do, we maintain that our right to live as we wish is more important than their right to live at all. And, like the victims of abortion, anything that gets in the way of our quest for self-actualization is dismissed as collateral damage. As Dick Cheney stated soon after 9/11, “the American way of life is non-negotiable.”

I think the sentiment of those who reject this mindset is most poignantly expressed by--you guessed it--Wendell Berry. In his essay “The Failure of War,” he answers the question that modern warfare implies:

How many deaths of other people’s children by bombing or starvation are we
willing to accept in order that we may be free, affluent, and (supposedly) at
peace? To that question I answer: None. Please, no children. Don’t kill any children for my benefit.

“But,” one might object at this point, “the war is no longer popular. We will have a new President in a few days. There are other things to worry about, like the economy.”

The Bush reign is indeed at its end. But how much of Obama’s administration will be devoted to delivering life support to an empire in its death throes--an empire (regardless of who its President is) whose economy is fundamentally based on violence, whether in Iraq or elsewhere, through war or other means? How much of Obama’s rhetoric has already focused on assuring Americans that yes, they will basically be able to continue living as they had, despite some setbacks and small sacrifices? How many of our tax dollars will continue to prop up corrupt and destructive (and now failing) industries?

Our American Omelas is looking less and less utopian. Now, even our “freedom” to buy things we can’t afford is diminishing. Free? Affluent? At peace? These luxuries seem more illusory by the minute. Our non-negotiable way of life is crashing down around us as we speak. Omelas is crumbling, and many will continue to suffer amid its destruction.

So, the second question the story prompts us to ask is, once we have seen the child, will we stay or go? Will we accept the suffering of another being or will we refuse to comply in a system that requires this sacrifice? If we choose to be one of the ones who walk away, how, exactly, does one walk away?

More and more, when I consider the character of mainstream American culture, I find myself thinking, “I want no part of this.” Moreover, I do not want my child to be part of it, either. Some days it seems as though just existing means being complicit in the system. I would like to think that walking away can be accomplished step by step, that gradually, we could, as Wendell Berry says (in "The Mad Farmer, Flying the Flag of Rough Branch, Secedes from the Union") “secede”

From the union of power and money
. . .
From the union of ambition and ignorance
. . .
From the union of anywhere and everywhere
By the purchase of everything from everybody at the lowest price
And the sale of anything to anybody at the highest price;
From the union of work and debt, work and despair;
. . .
Secede into care for one another
And for the good gifts of Heaven and Earth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, in the spirit of a new year, I ask myself, what will I do to walk farther
away? What will you do?

More posts on this later.

Should Christians Fight? Some Thoughts

2008-12-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

As a veteran (who’s opposed to our aggressive foreign policy and the often illegal use of our military) and also an ardent reader of the peaceableness writings of Wendell Berry , I‘ve often asked the question: should Christians fight? In searching for the answer I discovered that the responsibilities deduced from the sixth commandment require us to preserve, when we are able, our life and the lives of others. I find helpful the following: Question 107 of the Heidelberg Catechism asks: “But is it enough that we do not kill any man in the manner above mentioned?” Answer: “No; for when God forbids envy, hatred and anger, he commands us to love our neighbour as ourselves; to show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, and all kindness towards him, and prevent his hurt as much as in us lies; and that we do good even unto our enemies.” In the answer to question 105 read: “Wherefore the magistrate is armed with the sword, to prevent murder.” The following books have also been very helpful to me on this subject: The Commentary of the Heidelberg Catechism, by Zacharias Ursinus, commentary on questions 103-107, on the 5th and 6th commandments; The Institutes of the Christian Religion , by John Calvin, Book 4, Chapter 20:10-12, On Civil Government; Politica , by Johannes Althusius, who writes often on defensive and just war (especially in chapter XVI:1-17) and expounds the political and social duties contained in the second table of the Decalogue (especially in chapter XXI:22-29); The Marrow of Theology, by William Ames, Book II, Chapter XVIII, Humanity Toward Our Neighbor; Systematic Theology, by Robert L. Dabney, Lecture XXXIII, 5th and 6th Commandment; Systematic Theology, by Charles Hodge, Part III, Chapter XIX: 10, The Sixth Commandment.

(A discussion post on the www.facebook.com group: Calvinism: The Group That Chooses You.)

White Christmas

2008-12-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

We found a little reindeer wandering the beach. Apparently, Santa decided to let her go (we are in a recession, after all) because she keeps ripping open the presents and eating the paper. Oh, and she won't let any of the other reindeer get a good night's sleep . . .

Here she's thinking, hmm--could this be potentially embarassing when I'm a teenager?

Politics in a Post-Literate Society

2008-12-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

"Forget Red vs. Blue -- It's the Educated vs. People Easily Fooled by Propaganda"
By Chris Hedges

In our post-literate world, because ideas are inaccessible, there is a need
for constant stimulus. News, political debate, theater, art and books are
judged not on the power of their ideas but on their ability to entertain.
Cultural products that force us to examine ourselves and our society are
condemned as elitist and impenetrable.
. . . It feels good not to think. Full article here.

End of semester reflections

2008-12-16T08:45:00.000-08:00

As a horrible, horrible semester draws to its close I thought I would make a list of good things that happened to remind myself of why I still teach.

-After submitting a paper in which she expressed her distaste for freeganism, a student decided to investigate for herself and went dumpster diving with a friend. They had great fun and found a perfectly good file cabinet, a set of John Deere tools, and a large bag of unmoldy bagels, among other things. The student enthusiastically showed a video of her adventures to the class.

-For the first time, I taught the story “The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas” by Ursula K. LeGuin. We had a meaningful discussion about America’s “non-negotiable” lifestyle and a former Wal-Mart employee suggested we stage a protest. This was even before the Black Friday trampling tragedy. An article about the story is forthcoming.

-Amidst much groaning and grumbling, I forced students to act out scenes from Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House. Duplicating the scene in which Nora dances a frenetic tarantella for her domineering husband, a middle aged mechanic/Army vet (male) rolled up his pants to show some leg and proceeded to sachet around the classroom shaking my daughter’s toy tambourine. Uproarious laughter ensued. Ah, for the good old Shakespearean days when men played the female leads . . .

-A student cited Ron Paul as a source in a research paper without any prompting, coaxing, or threats from me.

-I taught three Flannery O’Connor stories--as always, some “get” her and some don’t. Flannery (we’re on a first-name basis) always manages to make me laugh, not take myself so seriously, and reminds me that so much of human machination is hogwash. A wise person on the Internet once said that reading Flannery is like waiting at a railroad crossing catching glimpses between train cars of the scenery beyond--you can’t quite make it out, but you know it’s something wonderful and mysterious. Although it wasn’t this semester, one of my finest Hallmark-shed-a-single-tear moments of past ends-of-semesters occurred when a student who was wise beyond her years simply said, “Thanks for the Flannery.” If I meet Flannery in heaven, I doubt I’ll be able to say much except “Thanks for the stories.”

Girls' day out at the beach

2008-12-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here MiMi is at St. Andrew's State Park over Thanksgiving weekend. We went with Granny and Auntie. She especially liked sitting and standing on the jetty rocks and raking her fingers in the sand. She wasn't quite sure what to think of the waves (can you say, "sensory overload"?). It was slightly cold, but we caught it just before the rain. I had forgotten how pretty it is out there.

Rod Dreher on Wendell Berry

2008-12-04T09:53:00.001-08:00

"Crunchy Con" Rod Dreher talks about why Berry is more relevant than ever:

The root of our collective crisis is as old as humanity itself: We've been
overcome by a colossal sense of pride, which entails the Luciferian belief that
we can be as gods. "The problem with us is not only prodigal extravagance," [Berry]
writes. "but also an assumed limitlessness. We have obscured the issue by
refusing to see that limitlessness is a godly trait."

In the months and years to come, we all will have to learn the meaning
of limits. Wendell Berry is no dour scold who preaches a joyless austerity. To
the contrary, he tells us that what we truly seek in life is not comfort, but
meaning – and that you don't have to live a life of rigorous asceticism to find
it. Rather, we only need to order our lives around the ancient idea that
happiness depends on virtue – virtue lived in community. We can only be
fulfilled by living within the bounds prescribed by our nature, and in fidelity
not to our selfish desires but to the greater good of our families, friends and
communities.
Full article here.

Happy Reformation Day

2008-10-31T15:31:00.001-07:00

From Eugene Genovese, 1994

2008-10-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

“Whatever slim hopes the Agrarians may have had of arresting the industrialization of the South sixty years ago, their successors have none. John Shelton Reed has said it all in two sentences: ‘It is no longer a matter of defending a Southern way of life against industrialism. Increasingly, that way of life is industrialism.’ Hopes for the maintenance or restoration of cherished values now rest with the possibilities for the growth of new types of communities in cities and suburbs. Bradford even suggested, regrettably without elaboration, that the technological revolution in communications might be turned to advantage by those who value privacy and a responsible individualism that resists state intervention in community, family, and personal life.”

The Southern Tradition: The Achievement and Limitations of an American Conservatism by Eugene D. Genovese, Harvard University Press, 1994, page 19.

Baby and Mum

2008-10-19T14:18:00.001-07:00

Birthday present

2008-10-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

Another addition to my arsenal: Flannery O'Connor: Unmasking the Devil by Regis Martin. Anyone whose obsession with Flannery borders on idolatry will enjoy this brief and readable ode to her greatness. A few gems from Martin:

"In short, to read Flannery O'Connor with an adequacy of attention is, as someone once suggested, on the order of Horatio seeing the ghost of Hamlet's father: 'It harrows me with fear and wonder.' How well, in other words, she could separate out the sentimental syrup, the cloying treacle of so much contemporary literature, seeing right to the bone and marrow of real meaning. Not to have understood this, of course, and thus to be pulverized and never quite know why, is the fate of all sentimentalists" (45).

"Her preferred way to persuade the godless that God had better not be dead . . was to spin tales which truthfully rendered the consequences of their belief that He was. Here she would unfailingly flesh out for her readers what surely must remain the most ludicrous aspect of our fall from grace, to wit, our persisting and sentimental refusal to acknowledge that we had and have" (42).

"Even at its antiseptic best, ours is an age wrapped in cellophane. Can it not be a good thing, now and again, to pierce the cellophane?" (34)

Pierce away.

New batch of chickens

2008-10-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Four hens--hopefully they will start laying in the spring . . .

MiMi likes the chickens . . .

Film Adaptation of McCarthy's "The Road"

2008-10-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

The movie version of Cormac McCarthy's "post-apocalyptic" novel The Road is scheduled for release on November 26. It stars Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. Can this film in any way do justice to McCarthy's stunning, heart-shattering story? We shall see. If you haven't read the book, please do. Especially if you are a parent. This book will club you over the head with the brunt of its truth and dazzle you with its beautifully wretched descriptions of a scorched earth. The last few paragraphs are among the finest I've encountered.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/0307387895/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223062361&sr=1-2

Swoonin' for Sweet Potatoes

2008-10-02T11:01:00.001-07:00

Yuuummmmmmm . . . . or is it Yaaammmmm ?

Peppers

2008-10-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

The one success of our summer garden--still going strong in October.

Zucchini Mi Mi

2008-06-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

Garden Report: 07 June 2008

2008-06-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

It’s hot and dry and it’s been this way for a few weeks now. The garden, however, is doing well.

We ate the last of the lettuce in mid-May. The Parris Island and Capistrano Romaine grew best into April and May, the other varieties bolting soon after it warmed up in March. The Freckles Romaine did well and looked good in the garden but didn’t grow as large or as thick as the other Romaines.

My garlic bulbed and has been harvested, but never grew as large as last year, and most of my onions have flowered and never bulbed.

We planted five blueberry bushes and three blackberry bushes.

Most of our tomatoes have been potted up into three gallons or are planted into larger containers. We have about sixty plants. Last year that was just about the right amount. The Giant Tree Tomatoes have been planted along the north fence and are trellised. We have two eggplants planted into the garden and they’ve been producing for about three weeks. There are several more eggplants elsewhere that are a few weeks behind. The peppers are doing well. They’re planted into the garden in various locations. The Sweet Bananas, College 64L, and Jalapenos have been producing for a few weeks as well.

We added an eighty square foot raised bed along the south fence. It currently has nightshades and herbs growing in it. Most of the herbs are growing very well: the Basil, Dill, Chives, and Cilantro growing best.

The cucumbers are doing very well. The Bush Champions may be the best variety of cucumbers I’ve tried.

The squash has been producing since mid-May. The Early White Bush Scallop Squash is more susceptible to stinkbug damage than the yellow or the zucchinis. The Burpee’s Hybrid Zucchini is again this year an amazing plant. We only have two plants and that’s more than enough. There have been very few problems from stinkbugs, squashbugs or vineborers. I’ve removed some yellow and white squash plants due to bug damage. Today I planted New Zealand Spinach in the place of the former squash.

That’s about all we’re growing right now except for the flowers all over the place. Pretty soon I guess we’ll start thinking about the fall garden.

Pardon Me Daylilly & Aztec Gold Hybrid Sunflower

2008-05-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Insight from Rev. B. M. Palmer, 1876

2008-05-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

“The original curse, pronounced upon the first transgression, wraps up a promise in the bosom of the denunciation, ‘in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread.’ The language certainly implies that, if man be doomed to labour, he shall at least live by that labour. With the multiplication of the arts by which labour is cheapened, nay, by which iron arms and hands are made the substitute for human muscle and strength, wealth is more and more accumulating in the hands of the few, and the distance is widening betwixt capital and labour. The great peril of our modern civilization lies in this direction; and the specter which is haunting the mind of the statesman, is the gradual and steady approach to that crisis when labour shall be utterly unable to procure a bare subsistence. Nothing will stand when the point of starvation is reached by the masses in society. The only remedy is found in this law of equity which the Bible lays upon the conscience of the master. The servant is entitled to maintenance, and wages cannot be reduced below the point of a decent support. If this fundamental law be disobeyed, the retribution may be slow, but it will be only the more terrible in its fury when it breaks upon society at the last.”

Palmer, B. M., The Family in its Civil and Churchly Aspects. Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications, 1991 (1876); pp 140,141.

The Squash Arrival

2008-05-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

Florida Blue Lisianthus

2008-05-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Purplette Onion

2008-05-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Naomi's Baptism

2008-04-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

Naomi Jean Andress was baptized on the 13th of April 2008 at Covenant OPC in Pensacola. “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.” (Acts 2:39) “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” . . . And immediately he and all his family were baptized.” (Acts 16: 30-33) For more information on paedobaptism please read Rev. Herman Hoeksema's The Biblical Ground for the Baptism of Infants

Stella De Oro Daylilly

2008-04-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

20th April Planting

2008-04-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I pulled up the remaining English Peas, saved a few hundred for seed. In the their place were planted the eggplant and peppers that were started on the 5th of February indoors and some squash and cucumbers. I also mulched heavily with the leaves of live oaks and some straw.

Lettuce Photos: 21 April 2008

2008-04-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

Parris Island Romaine

Freckles Romaine

Giant Red India Mustard
(Not exactly lettuce, but it’s great in salad.)

Black Seeded Simpson

Naomi's First Worship Service

2008-04-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Gardening Report: 06 April 2008

2008-04-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

Spring is here. With a small-scale suburban garden it’s vital to not have too many of last season’s crops scattered around when it comes time for spring planting. We’re getting better and probably the best lesson learned over the fall and winter was figuring out how to maximize the winter garden without negatively affecting the space available for the spring’s earliest planting. Almost two days of well needed rain poured upon our soil. This is great except my lettuce is well beaten up. The rain even ripped many of the leaves right off the stems of the Giant Red India Mustard. Except for their rain beating, the lettuce and various other salad greens are growing well. Despite the few aphid attacks, I expect to have lettuce, in the ground and containers, into late May. We’re now out of carrots. Last year we did much better in the planning and growing of carrots, but the few we did have were much better than anything bought in a store. The english peas are about done; considering the limited amount of growing space we had a few to eat and I’m pleased with the result. The squash, zucchini and cucumbers are established and reaching for the spring sky. The radishes are still growing well and the various types of onions are doing real good. The garlic is looking good too. I’m expecting bulbs in May. The oldest of the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are potted up in our little greenhouse and awaiting next month’s transplanting.

Knight English Peas

Various Lettuce in one of our porch containers

Nightshades in our greenhouse

Gardening Report: 29 March 2008

2008-03-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today we harvested the last of the Nero DiToscana Kale and transplanted a tray of Freckles Romaine and Parris Island Romaine Lettuce into the front yard garden. We also planted into a container some more Crimson Giant Radishes (29 days) and planted into a tray some Bush Champion Cucumbers (55 days) and some Early White Bush Scallop Squash (50 days). A cluster of Black Pearl Peppers emerged from the compost pile and we transplanted them into a tray. So we now have over twenty plants of that very hot variety of pepper. I’m sure we can figure out something to do with them. From the compost pile (and from the compost that was mixed into our beds) we also have tomatoes and potatoes popping up.

Nero DiToscana Kale

Day Five

2008-03-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

2008-03-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Raising the next generation of rEVOLutionaries.

Birth Photos: Naomi Jean Andress, 25 March 2008

2008-03-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Naomi Jean Andress

2008-03-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Announcing the birth of our beautiful gift from God, Naomi Jean Andress. Seven pounds, three ounces, she was born at 2:08 in the afternoon on Tuesday the 25th of March 2008. We thank everyone for their prayers and support.

Knight English Peas

2008-03-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

Knight English Peas (56 days) planted Jan. 11

Radishes & Carrots

2008-03-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Crimson Giant Radish (29 days)

Short 'n Sweet Carrots (68 days)

19 March Planting

2008-03-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we transplanted two trays of Lettuce and Pak Choi into one of the beds in our front garden. These were the seeds planted into trays on 11 Jan. Also we planted into the front garden along the walkway the following varieties: Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard (60 days), Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce (45 days), Common Chives, Sweet Basil, Coriander, Sage, True Lavender, Cosmos, Shirley Poppy, Texas Bluebonnet, Magic Fountains Delphinium, First Ladies Snapdragon, Digitalis Foxglove, Crakerjack Marigold.

Today we planted into a tray the following varieties: Mammoth Sunflowers, Sweet Basil, Mammoth Dill, Early Golden Summer Crookneck Squash (55 days), Burpee’s Hybrid Zucchini (50 days), Cool Breeze Cucumber (45 days). We also planted into the south east garden the following varieties of Sunflowers: Mammoth, Aztec Gold Hybrid, Cutting Gold, Chianti Hybrid.

Thirty-Seven Weeks

2008-03-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thirty-Six Weeks

2008-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

March First Planting

2008-03-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

The following varieties were planted today into trays and are inside our small greenhouse: Patio Hybrid Tomatoes (65 days), Costoluto Genovese Tomatoes (70-80 days), Yellow Taxi Tomatoes (58 days), Giant Tree Tomatoes (85 days), Sweet Banana Peppers (70 days), Jalapeno Peppers (75 days), Chinese Giant Peppers (80 days), Burpee Hybrid Eggplant (70 days), Parris Island Romaine Lettuce (68 days), Freckles Romaine Lettuce (70 days).

The following varieties were directly planted into the garden: Bush Champion Cucumbers (55 days), Burpee’s Hybrid Zucchini (50 days), Early Golden Summer Crookneck Squash (53 days), Early White Bush Scallop Squash (50 days). I also planted more Evergreen Bunching Onions and Crimson Giant Radishes.

Thirty-Five Weeks

2008-03-01T16:10:00.000-08:00

Fountainhead of Federalism, a Review

2008-02-11T17:17:00.000-08:00

By Jeremy Andress

I would like to recommend and introduce a book to you. It’s a short work, only about a hundred pages, called Fountainhead of Federalism by Charles S. McCoy and J. Wayne Baker. There are many good books, essays and articles that trace political federalism (contractualism) to federal (covenantal) theology, and specifically to the Protestant Reformation in Zurich under the leadership of Heinrich Bullinger. Some of the contemporary authors I’ve read on this subject include J. Wayne Baker, Charles S. McCoy, Andries Raath, Shaun De Freitas, and Daniel J. Elazar.

Baker’s book Heinrich Bullinger and the Covenant: The Other Reformed Tradition is an excellent analysis of Bullinger’s theology. Baker elaborates on Bullinger’s understanding of a bilateral conditional covenant (compact) between God and man. Baker then contrasts this to John Calvin’s doctrine of a unilateral unconditional covenant (testament.) This is very interesting especially in how their covenantal ideas are expressed in the realm of salvation. Bullinger presented a doctrine of single predestination infra-lapsarianism, Calvin a double predestination supra-lapsarianism. I disagree with Baker’s conclusion, however, that Bullinger’s Covenant Theology was so different from that of the Genevans that it should be identified as “The Other Reformed Tradition.” I agree with John V. Fesko that there was Diversity Within the Reformed Tradition. Cornelis P. Venema also argues for the diversity theory in his Heinrich Bullinger and the Doctrine of Predestination.

What is most interesting is how Bullinger’s idea of a bilateral compact influenced political theory. The aforementioned contemporary authors have traced the development of political federalism from Bullinger’s 1534 The One and Eternal Testament or Covenant of God. Bullinger directly influenced his fellow reformers, including the Marian Exiles who carried covenantalism back to the British Isles later developing Presbyterianism and Puritanism. In England, politically, their federalism played out in the Civil Wars of the 1640s and again in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Upon arrival in the New World they established the colonial confederal societies, which of course led to the United States. Bullinger’s federal theology also influenced the Dutch Reformers who helped in the establishment of the United Provinces in the 1580s. (In reference to the United States and the United Provinces, John Adams wrote “the originals of the two Republics are so much alike that the history of one seems but a transcript from that of the other.” Compare our Declaration of Independence with the Dutch Declaration of Abjuration.)

In Fountainhead of Federalism Baker and McCoy explain that many political historians have been unable to properly identify the source of James Madison’s political theory. It is wrong to assume that his source is John Locke. Raised in a covenantal Puritan household, Locke was an inheritor of the federal tradition. His contributions to federal political theory were monumental; however, Baker and McCoy argue, Locke was not the primary source of thought for the “Father of the Constitution.” Long before reading this book I noticed some clear differences between Locke and Madison. One example is in the remedy against tyranny. Locke does not allow for the secession of a state or province (which was the course of action taken by the American colonies in 1776); Lockean revolution is an overthrow of a tyrannical regime, not a territorial withdraw from it. The authors argue that Madison learned his federalism from “the federal tradition embedded in the colonial institutions and experience surrounding Madison and exemplified in John Witherspoon, who taught Madison theology and political philosophy at Princeton.” The “colonial institutions” they examine were established years prior to Locke’s publishing of the Two Treatises of Government. Think of the Pilgrims in 1620 and their Mayflower Compact.

The book explores Bullinger’s federal theology and its relationship to federal political theory from Mornay and Althusius to Cocceius and Madison. Part Two of the book is an English translation of Bullinger’s The One and Eternal Testament or Covenant of God. This is valuable since much of Bullinger’s writing hasn’t been translated into English and what has been is difficult to obtain.

I recommend this book but also encourage you to read the essays written by the authors I named in the beginning of this review and then dive into the books written by the federal political authors of the Reformation Era. Johannes Althusius wrote Politica in 1603. Elazar in Althusius’ Grand Design for a Federal Commonwealth wrote that Althusius built “a systematic political philosophy out of the Reformed experience . . . Politica was the first book to present a comprehensive theory of federal republicanism rooted in a covenantal view of human society.”

In the preface of his third edition in 1614, Althusius wrote, “I have attributed the rights of sovereignty, as they are called, not to the supreme magistrate, but to the commonwealth or universal association. . . . I recognize the prince as the administrator, overseer, and governor of these rights of sovereignty. But the owner and usufructuary of sovereignty is none other than the total people associated in one symbiotic body from many smaller associations.”

The beauty of the Althusian federal system is his structuring of society by the “many smaller associations” beginning with the family, a political unit, as the base of a federal commonwealth. Husband and wife covenant with one another and with God, entering into union forming a covenant family. Families form villages. Villages form provinces. Provinces form the commonwealth. “All came together into a certain public body that we call the commonwealth,” wrote Althusius, “and by mutual aid devoted themselves to the general good and welfare of this body.” Althusius, throughout Politica, reinforces the contractual nature of the various federal levels of the commonwealth: “The people and the supreme magistrate enter into a covenant concerning certain laws and conditions that set forth the form and manner of imperium and subjection.” The laws and conditions of the covenant must be clearly expressed in the contract. All rights and powers not explicitly delegated to the supreme magistrate are reserved by the people of the commonwealth: “The supreme magistrate exercises as much authority as has been explicitly conceded to him by the associated members or bodies of the realm. And what has not been given to him must be considered to have been left under the control of the people or universal association. Such is the nature of the contractual mandate.”

In explaining the duties of the ephors, or “representatives of the commonwealth,” Althusius is clear that one of their primary duties is to restrain a tyrant who is in the process of destroying the commonwealth. There are two types of tyranny. The first is “the overthrow and destruction of the fundamental laws of the realm.” The second is “when the supreme magistrate like an enemy plunders, perverts, and upsets the church and commonwealth.” He also makes it clear that “Subjects and citizens who love their country and resist a tyrant, and want the commonwealth and its rights to be safe and sound, should join themselves to a resisting ephor or optimate. Those who refuse to help the resisting ephor with their strength, money, and counsel are considered enemies and deserters.” Theodore Beza held a similar view in regard to the duty of the representative. He wrote in De Jure Magistratum that the subordinate magistrates “are certainly bound, even by means of armed force if they can, to protect against manifest tyranny the safety of those who have been entrusted to their care.”

Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion warned representatives of not doing their duty: “For when popular magistrates have been appointed to curb the tyranny of kings” and neglect their duty, or even conspire with a despotic magistrate, they are “not free from nefarious perfidy, because they fraudulently betray the liberty of the people, while knowing that, by the ordinance of God, they are its appointed guardians.” The same idea is conveyed by Althusius: “For the ephors either abolish or overcome the wicked actions or tyranny of the supreme magistrate. . . . Unless the ephors have done all this, they themselves are held liable and are rightly said to be betrayers of the commonwealth, especially when they secretly conspire or connive in the wicked and impious actions of the king.”

There are “just remedies” against tyranny. It is our duty to be able to properly identify tyranny and then, wrote Althusius, “each and all ought to move quickly against a tyrant as against a common fire, and eagerly carry water, scale the walls, and confine the flame so that the entire commonwealth does not burn.” Protestant Christians have understood these principles in the past. A long held motto was “Resistance to Tyranny is Obedience to God.” In 1878 R. L. Dabney wrote in his Systematic Theology concerning the civil magistrate: “To Americans whose national existence and glory are all founded on the right of revolution, slight arguments would probably be needed to support it.” How times have changed! Most American Christians have a very distorted perspective of our political inheritance and responsibilities. Why else would they not vote for Ron Paul? With a better understanding of the theological roots of federalism, in my opinion, one is left with the conclusion that complacency in the political sphere of society is sinful and we will be held accountable before God for our political actions and in-actions.

Revised: 18 Feb. 2008

First Nightshades

2008-02-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

We planted our first tray of nightshades: Jalapeo Peppers (75 days), Chinese Giant Peppers (80 days), Sweet Banana Peppers (70 days), College 64L Peppers (75 days), Black Pearl Peppers, Burpee Hybrid Eggplant (70 days)

Arcadia Mill

2008-01-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

Within a short walk from our home is the Arcadia Mill archeological site. The mill began as early as 1817 and is claimed to be “the first and largest Early American industrial complex in Florida.” Arcadia Mill seems to have met its greatest enterprise during the 1830s. The Arcadia complex lasted until 1855 and several years later the Pond Creek dam was destroyed during a skirmish with the Yankee invaders. The site remained in ruins and abandoned until 1964 when it was rediscovered. In the 1980s the site was purchased by the Santa Rosa Historical Society and the University of West Florida and the recovery of the site commenced. In 1987 the Arcadia Mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. A few years ago, during the two crazy hurricane seasons a lot of damage was done to the site. Arcadia Mill reopened last year. For more information on the history of the Arcadia Mill visit UWF’s website

Turkey!

2008-01-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

The garden in the rear yard is for much of the year shaded by live oaks during most of the day. By mid to late summer there’s enough direct sun to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant successfully. In the spring it’s hot, but the shade cools the garden air to still grow lettuce well. We had romaine and loose leaf into late April. But we’ve steadily expanded the front yard garden where there’s now enough room to accommodate many of our vegetable needs. So we’ve decided to try our hand at suburban chickens. About a hundred and twenty square feet of our rear garden area has been converted into a chicken coop. That should give a dozen or more laying hens plenty of room and perhaps will be the best use of that space. We’ll be obtaining chickens, hopefully, within a month or two. In the meantime however, the pen will be occupied by a turkey we obtained from a friend. The pen was built with mostly salvaged materials and was finished last weekend.

The Abbeville Institute

2008-01-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

The lectures from the Abbeville Institute’s 2005 and 2006 Summer Schools are available on-line. The subject of 2005 was “Re-Thinking Lincoln: The Man, The Myth, The Symbol, The Legacy" and is a series of fifteen lectures. My wife and I attended the conference and highly recommend listening to the series. The 2006 subject was “The Southern Agrarian Tradition” We were not able to attend the summer school that year. I thank the Institute for making the lectures available. All of the lectures are very informative, but Professor Tobias Lanz’s “The Agrarianism of Wendell Berry” is probably one of the best introductions to Wendell Berry that I’ve heard. The lecture ends, like Berry often does, with examples of practical application. The 2008 Summer School “Northern Anti-Slavery Agitation” is scheduled for June 10-15. For more information about the Abbeville Institute please visit their website.

15 Jan. Planting

2008-01-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I planted the following varieties in the large containers on the front porch: Early Scarlet Globe Radish (25 days), New Red Fire Lettuce (29 days), Hyper Red Rumple Lettuce (50 days), and Gourmet Blend Lettuce.

Garden Guardian

2008-01-12T19:41:00.000-08:00

A scarecrow would work but we’ve recruited the assistance of an ass. We purchased our garden guardian from Affordable Art, 6383 Banyan Dr., Milton, FL 32570, (850) 623-0362

The Year's First Planting

2008-01-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

Today we planted our first seeds of the year. We directly planted about four ounces of seed of Knight English Peas. They are scheduled to mature the first week of March (56 days.)

We also planted seeds of the following varieties into trays; they should be ready for transplant in about three to four weeks: Freckles Romaine (70 days), Parris Island Romaine (68 days), Black-Seeded Simpson Lettuce (45 days), Pom Pom Lettuce (46 days), Hyper Red Rumple Lettuce (50 days), New Red Fire Lettuce (29 days), Red Giant Indian Mustard (30 days), and Brisk Green Pak Choi (50 days.)

Our Suburban Garden Varieties

2008-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

We planted our garden about twenty months ago. Currently our garden, scattered over three plots and even mixed into the ornamental beds, encompasses over a thousand square feet. What follows is a list of some of the varieties we’ve grown here in the Florida Panhandle.

Peppers: California Wonder, College 64L, Cowhorn, Habanero, Sweet Banana, Tabasco, Jalapeno, Black Pearl

Tomatoes: Solar Fire, Patio Hybrid, Raad Red VF, Heatwave, Jubilee, Lemon Boy, Sweet 100, Roma

Eggplant: Burpee Hybrid

Loose Leaf Lettuce: Black Seeded Simpson, Burpee Gourmet Blend, Burpee Mesclun Salad Mix, Pom Pom, New Fire Red, Hyper Red Rumple

Romaine Lettuce: Capistrano, Outredgeous, Winter Density

Kale: Red Russian, Nero DiToscana, Redbor

Spinach: Olympia, Teton Hybrid, Bloomsdale Long Standing

Various Salad Greens: Arugula, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard, Kyoto Mizuna, Tah Tsai, Malabar Spinach, New Zealand Spinach

Cabbage: Bonnie Hybrid, Ferry’s Round Dutch

Broccoli: Waltham 29, De Cicco, Fall Blend

Summer Squash: Dixie Hybrid, Early Golden Summer Crookneck, Burpee’s Fordhook Zucchini, Burpee’s Hybrid Zucchini

Cucumbers: Marketmore, Cool Breeze Hybrid

Beans: Kentucky Wonder, Royal Burgundy

Carrots: Danvers #126, Oxhart, Short and Sweet

Radishes: Early Scarlet Globe, Cherry Belle

Onions: Evergreen Long White Bunching, Purplette, Dutch Valley White, Dutch Valley Red

Shallots: Dutch Valley

Garlic: Red Russian

Liberty is Brewing

2007-12-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

The time is upon us. It is time to prove your love for Liberty and the Constitution. It is time to stand and be counted among the defenders of liberty both ancient and new; for the freedom of those yet born. Quite often revolutions require the blood of patriots. Starting at midnight tonight true patriots will give their treasure in defiance of tyranny. We’ve already, this quarter, raised more money than any other Republican presidential candidate. Today we’ve almost reached our goal of twelve million dollars this quarter. Tomorrow, on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, let’s blow the tyrants out of the water. Liberty is Brewing! Go to Tea Party 07 to pledge your treasure. Then tomorrow go to RonPaul2008.com and donate whatever amount you can. Join your local meetup group and get in the fray. Get out there and do something. If your state’s primary election is restricted to registered Republicans, be sure you register or change your party affiliation before the deadline. Make sure you know your state’s primary election date and when that day arrives proudly vote for Liberty. Vote for Ron Paul. The future depends on you.

Sic Semper Tyrannis,
Jeremy Andress

Brassica Harvest

2007-12-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight we ate the first of the cabbage and broccoli for this season. It was absolutely wonderful. I planted seedlings of Bonnie Hybrid Cabbage the first of September. So that took about a hundred days. The broccoli came from a package of “fall blend.” This might not have been such a great idea, because I don’t have a clue which variety of the blend is doing so well. However, whichever it is, it’s ready much earlier than the Waltham 29, which was planted at the same time, the first week of September.

Garden Photos: 01 Dec. 2007

2007-12-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Tah Tsai

Outredgeous Romaine

Nero Di Toscana

What Can City People Do?

2007-12-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

“What can city people do?” is the question Wendell Berry responds to in his 1989 essay “The Pleasures of Eating.” He begins with the suggestion to “Eat responsibly” because “eating is an agricultural act. Eating ends the annual drama of the food economy that begins with planting and birth.” Towards the end of the essay he adds the following list of very practical examples that we can follow in order to further participate in the reclamation of a healthy food economy.

1. Participate in food production to the extent that you can. If you have a yard or even just a porch box or a pot in a sunny window, grow something to eat in it. Make a little compost of your kitchen scraps and use it for fertilizer. Only by growing some food for yourself can you become acquainted with the beautiful energy cycle that revolves from soil to seed to flower to fruit to food to offal to decay, and around again. You will be fully responsible for any food that you grow for yourself, and you will know all about it. You will appreciate it fully, having known it all its life.

2. Prepare your own food. This means reviving in your own mind and life the arts of kitchen and household. This should enable you to eat more cheaply, and it will give you a measure of "quality control'': you will have some reliable knowledge of what has been added to the food you eat.

3. Learn the origins of the food you buy, and buy the food that is produced closest to your home. The idea that every locality should be, as much as possible, the source of its own food makes several kinds of sense. The locally produced food supply is the most secure, the freshest, and the easiest for local consumers to know about and to influence.

4. Whenever possible, deal directly with a local farmer, gardener, or orchardist. All the reasons listed for the previous suggestion apply here. In addition, by such dealing you eliminate the whole pack of merchants, transporters, processors, packagers, and advertisers who thrive at the expense of both producers and consumers.

5. Learn, in self-defense, as much as you can of the economy and technology of industrial food production. What is added to food that is not food, and what do you pay for these additions?

6. Learn what is involved in the best farming and gardening.

7. Learn as much as you can, by direct observation and experience if possible, of the life histories of the food species.

The entire essay “The Pleasures of Eating” by Wendell Berry can be found here