Random Notes, No. 83
I have seen many changes in American life in my 83 years. A preeminent one is the loss of shame among many.
- R. J. Rushdoony
- I have seen many changes in American life in my 83 years. A preeminent one is the loss of shame among many. This shamelessness is very evident in television, films, and modern novels. It has met with a ready reception by many. It comes with a price. The shameless sooner or later are put to shame. This is God's universe.
- American Indian families were broken by the federal government's reservation policy. When tribes were forced onto the reservations, to prevent them from leaving to hunt for food, they were, in the early years, supplied with food, blankets, etc. to make them dependent on the federal government. Their children were sent to far away boarding schools to Americanize them and to break the link to Indian life. If a father refused and hid his children, he was arrested and chained to a rock near the agency building until he agreed to surrender his children. Indian character was shattered by two devices: welfarism, and public or statist education - exactly what is being done to the non-Indian population now.
- A new century faces the same problems as the old, sin, man's rebellion against God and His law. The solution remains the same, Jesus Christ.
- When I was quite young, lone prospectors were still common. When they came to town for supplies, merchants often gave them supplies freely or on credit, usually not expecting repayment. Very few found gold, or whatever else they sought. With the New Deal and welfare, they soon disappeared. So much has changed since then. Free men can be very poor and needy, but freedom is their wealth.
- In 1971, J. Marcellus Kik's An Eschatology of Victory, edited by me, was published (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co.). It was a collection of writings on the doctrine of the last things. It is an important work, and I have been amazed at its poor sales. I wrote a three-page introduction to it, one of my better writings.
- Recently, David Hurd gave me a bound volume of Golden Book Magazine, July-December, 1926. I first read it in 1926, when I was ten years old. My father subscribed to it for me. I read also all the periodicals he subscribed to: Literary Digest, World's Work, Recent History, and much, much more. At age 10, I was in expectation of a college education.
- My brother Haig's missionary work, Macedonian Outreach, is now independent of Chalcedon and thriving. Besides their evangelistic work, they distribute food and clothing to the needy in Kosovo, Bulgaria, and elsewhere.
Haig and Vula also brought back an Oriental rug, made in Armenia 1940-45. Armenia was where oriental rugs were first made, and they were in origin totally Christian in symbols and intent. They were, in part, Christian wall hangings.
Indian character was shattered by two devices: welfarism, and public or statist education - exactly what is being done to the non-Indian population now. - We are all very grateful to you for your generous giving of late, enabling us to catch up financially. Paper and printing as well as postage have increased greatly in price in recent years. This is why we limit carefully the number of pages in the Chalcedon Report.
- I have been blessed with godly children, and the daily care my son, Mark, gives me is wonderful. I thank God for him. I was blessed when young with very godly parents and relatives and, now, with children and grandchildren.
On December 23, 1999, my second great-grandchild, a son, Chase Gerrit Aardema (the name is Dutch), was born to Dean and Christine Aardema. Christine, our oldest granddaughter, was herself a very wonderful child and is now a very wonderful woman. - We live in an age of inflation. In November 1999, I fell (through my own reckless stupidity), and broke a bone in my elbow. The sling cost me $39, and the bill for the x-ray came to over $250. That should cure me of falling.
- All my life, since I began Chalcedon, people have been predicting its death. But things have never looked better than now! There is a superb staff to carry on when I am gone, and dedicated supporters like you.
- John Lofton is selling very reasonably priced, high quality used books. For a list, you can contact him either by phone (301/490-7266), fax (301/953-3423), email [email protected], or by mail at 313 Montgomery Street, Laurel, Maryland 20707. He will also help you find a book you are looking for.
- R. J. Rushdoony
Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916–2001), was a leading theologian, church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical law to society. He started the Chalcedon Foundation in 1965. His Institutes of Biblical Law (1973) began the contemporary theonomy movement which posits the validity of Biblical law as God’s standard of obedience for all. He therefore saw God’s law as the basis of the modern Christian response to the cultural decline, one he attributed to the church’s false view of God’s law being opposed to His grace. This broad Christian response he described as “Christian Reconstruction.” He is credited with igniting the modern Christian school and homeschooling movements in the mid to late 20th century. He also traveled extensively lecturing and serving as an expert witness in numerous court cases regarding religious liberty. Many ministry and educational efforts that continue today, took their philosophical and Biblical roots from his lectures and books.