Avalon Chronicles #41: "My Tribe of Christians"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Upon my awakening this morning I began my meditation and prayers with the "really big picture." I pictured God, my Father, as the Creator of all. I pictured the farthest reaches of the universe and all the stars in all the galaxies. I came down and focused on our "ball," planet earth. I began to think of our richness and beauty, all created by God. I thought about the time all the way back to Adam and Eve and the Old Testament lining up the happenings of history with the Hebrews to bring the Savior, God's Son, Jesus, into our world to live here and set an example for life, behavior, love, and forgiveness in the New Testament. He was crucified so we could all have redemption of our sins and be able to follow Jesus and live holy lives.
I recalled something Linda found in secular history and I relate that from the best-known Jewish historian of Jesus' time:
Josephus Antiquities of the Jews
by Flavius Josephus
Chapter III: 3 page 379
"Now, there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men to receive the truth with pleasure.
He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles.
He was (the) Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us,
had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him,
for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christian, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."
Our tribe of Christians is definitely still not extinct. It has continued to thrive despite persecutions and the works of the Devil to destroy us corporately and personally. But, we have stayed in the fight,our tribe lives on, continues to multiply, and each of us of this tribe knows our ultimate gift is Heaven itself for eternal life.
Merry Christmas and may you and all yours be blessed this Advent season.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #40: "Battlefield Earth"
Avalon Chronicles #40: "Battlefield Earth"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Immediately after my speech Saturday Dec. 6, 2014 to a political group, Billy, the seventh grader son of the host and hostess, came up to me and hugged me and said, "Thank you for your service and sacrifice for all of us." Of course, I was touched immeasurably and he repeated that sentiment again when he assisted me in taking my books to my car. It was a great lift to my spirit after baring my soul again about my wounding in Vietnam and my healing process. It was an extraordinary evening. I speak at political functions and quote some of the remarks by President Ronald Reagan in his second inaugrural speech Jan. 21, 1985. He said, "History is a ribbon, always unfurling; history is a journey....a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air. It is the American sound. It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, caring, decent, and fair. That's our heritage; that is our song." Admittedly I was touched emotionally and the entire passage as I spoke brought tears to my own eyes. I finished my quote and closed my remarks. Spontaneously the audience rose up and sang, "God Bless America." This has never happened in the hundreds of presentations I have made over the decades. This old soldier was touched by that outpouring and by what Billy said. Would that all my fellow combatants could be a recipient of these gifts of the heart!
The struggles of our men and women returning from battlefields in ages past to present are not recognized by many non-combatants. Since the first cave people clubbed each other, humanity has been forced, encouraged, cajoled or paid to wage war on others. Various causes or incitements have been evident or manufactured to incur conflict between tribes, nations, and groups. High-sounding and grandiose schemes, propaganda, and many well-founded grounds and purposes have been utilized to inspire young men and women to take up arms to kill each other. Many were in the name of "religion."
Old members of societies come up with reasons to fight and it is the young ones full of strength, bravado, and grit who march to the sound of the drums and charge with the bugles blaring amid battle flags unfurled. Some return in flag-draped coffins buried in the hallowed grounds of our national cemeteries and small country places of final rest. Others return with visible wounds caused by projectiles, shrapnel, and miscellaneous bits of metal, causing losses, scars, broken bones, and amputations. Yet others return with unseen wounds carried in their souls and spirits from the traumas of their fields of battle. These experiences on battlefields coupled with the wounds of life before and after military service compound to significantly impact the lives of our warriors.
Many of our combatants speak only to each other and not to those who were safely tucked in to warm beds at night while they sacrificed, sweated, bled, and suffered the traumas of war on faraway fields, sands, and mountains in places where the people did not always like us. Then they returned to homes where their own did not, nor could not, always understand what they experienced, nor the pain they endured.
The only hope for ultimate healing of our warriors is to recognize that they were strong enough to qualify for military service, were disciplined enough to serve, and were courageous and balanced enough to be a part of something way larger than those protected here and there could ever fathom. It was not voiced, but, in truth, we represented as American military what Presiden Reagan described as the American heritage. Their identity as a loyal patriot must be coupled with a strong identity of faith in understanding that from beginning of time to end of time there will be a continuous battlefield on earth, a struggle between good and evil. Some of us are called into that fight. Only in a belief in a Creator who loves us all can we even attempt to be resilient enough to achieve healing. Jesus, the Son of our Creator, is the reason for my healing. The least we all can do at this season of celebration is to reach out to the warriors we know and offer them our gratitude and respect and not wait until the next Veterans Day.
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Immediately after my speech Saturday Dec. 6, 2014 to a political group, Billy, the seventh grader son of the host and hostess, came up to me and hugged me and said, "Thank you for your service and sacrifice for all of us." Of course, I was touched immeasurably and he repeated that sentiment again when he assisted me in taking my books to my car. It was a great lift to my spirit after baring my soul again about my wounding in Vietnam and my healing process. It was an extraordinary evening. I speak at political functions and quote some of the remarks by President Ronald Reagan in his second inaugrural speech Jan. 21, 1985. He said, "History is a ribbon, always unfurling; history is a journey....a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air. It is the American sound. It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, caring, decent, and fair. That's our heritage; that is our song." Admittedly I was touched emotionally and the entire passage as I spoke brought tears to my own eyes. I finished my quote and closed my remarks. Spontaneously the audience rose up and sang, "God Bless America." This has never happened in the hundreds of presentations I have made over the decades. This old soldier was touched by that outpouring and by what Billy said. Would that all my fellow combatants could be a recipient of these gifts of the heart!
The struggles of our men and women returning from battlefields in ages past to present are not recognized by many non-combatants. Since the first cave people clubbed each other, humanity has been forced, encouraged, cajoled or paid to wage war on others. Various causes or incitements have been evident or manufactured to incur conflict between tribes, nations, and groups. High-sounding and grandiose schemes, propaganda, and many well-founded grounds and purposes have been utilized to inspire young men and women to take up arms to kill each other. Many were in the name of "religion."
Old members of societies come up with reasons to fight and it is the young ones full of strength, bravado, and grit who march to the sound of the drums and charge with the bugles blaring amid battle flags unfurled. Some return in flag-draped coffins buried in the hallowed grounds of our national cemeteries and small country places of final rest. Others return with visible wounds caused by projectiles, shrapnel, and miscellaneous bits of metal, causing losses, scars, broken bones, and amputations. Yet others return with unseen wounds carried in their souls and spirits from the traumas of their fields of battle. These experiences on battlefields coupled with the wounds of life before and after military service compound to significantly impact the lives of our warriors.
Many of our combatants speak only to each other and not to those who were safely tucked in to warm beds at night while they sacrificed, sweated, bled, and suffered the traumas of war on faraway fields, sands, and mountains in places where the people did not always like us. Then they returned to homes where their own did not, nor could not, always understand what they experienced, nor the pain they endured.
The only hope for ultimate healing of our warriors is to recognize that they were strong enough to qualify for military service, were disciplined enough to serve, and were courageous and balanced enough to be a part of something way larger than those protected here and there could ever fathom. It was not voiced, but, in truth, we represented as American military what Presiden Reagan described as the American heritage. Their identity as a loyal patriot must be coupled with a strong identity of faith in understanding that from beginning of time to end of time there will be a continuous battlefield on earth, a struggle between good and evil. Some of us are called into that fight. Only in a belief in a Creator who loves us all can we even attempt to be resilient enough to achieve healing. Jesus, the Son of our Creator, is the reason for my healing. The least we all can do at this season of celebration is to reach out to the warriors we know and offer them our gratitude and respect and not wait until the next Veterans Day.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #39: "Holiness is Happiness"
Avalon Chronicles #39: "Holiness is Happiness"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Reference: Hutson, James H.. Religion and the Founding of the American Republic. Library of Congress. 1998. (RFAR).
About a year ago I became introduced to a series of biographies originally published by Cumberland House in Nashville, Tennessee. The series is titled Leaders in Action. Eleven of them were ordered, read, and have a special position on my book shelves. The stories relate outstanding men of faith in history and I was struck by the lessons of leadership of each, but more importantly of their goodness and virtue, in spiritual terms, their "holiness," the subject of my next few messages.
In my church worship service this past Sunday my minister refreshed us on the Ten Commandments (which require millions of laws and ordinances in our country to expand on for our behavior). Also, one of the hyms was Savior of the Nations, Come, one of whose verses is, "Wondrous birth! O wondrous child of the Virgin, undefiled!" We have all been defiled by others or by our own actions or inactions, but a belief in Jesus the Christ, whose coming procured mankind redemption of our sins and allows us through confession of our own sins to leave defilements behind spiritually, wherein we can be restored to a state of "holiness." We must hold fast to that state despite all the outside temptations and unhealthy inward behavioral choices which we face.
The messages will flow from great men of faith in the Middle Ages such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox to later men such as George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Patrick Henry, William Wilberforce, C.S. Lewis, and Derek Prince.
In our America of today political correctness has the upper hand and in our increasingly secular and Godless society the mere mention of anything spiritual, and especially Christian, brings down disapproval from many circles of society. However, history relates, during the early years of our nation after the American Revolution, that there was decidely a different attitude toward expression of faith in our land. Some may call it related to a civil religion, but I will call it a bugle call to virtue.
As James Hutson wrote, the sanction of certain religious initiatives by the federal Congress (plus an even wider latitude for state legislatures) meant that both:
"....politicians and the public had an unarticulated conviction that it was the duty of the national government to support religion, that it had an inherent power to do so, as long as it acted in a nonsectarian way without appropriating public money. What other body, after all, was capable of convincing a dispersed people that a 'spirit of universal reformation among all ranks and degrees of our citizens,' would, as Congrees declared on March 19, 1782, 'make us a holy, that so we may be a happy people?' This conviction----that holiness was a prerequisite for secular happiness, that religion was, in the words of the Northwest ordinance, 'necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind'---was not the least of the Confederation's legacies to the new republican era that began with Washington's inauguration in 1789." (RFAR).
As I was conceiving and writing this message a short verse only from some song of my childhood kept coming to mind, "If you wanna have a happy life,..." which I complete it with "live a holy life." It is my personal proposition that the best legacy to pass on to our descendants, our nation, and our world is one wherein we reflect holiness and virtue, and perhaps the happiness which emanates will keep us off pills, out of hospitals, and more attuned to all we influence.
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Reference: Hutson, James H.. Religion and the Founding of the American Republic. Library of Congress. 1998. (RFAR).
About a year ago I became introduced to a series of biographies originally published by Cumberland House in Nashville, Tennessee. The series is titled Leaders in Action. Eleven of them were ordered, read, and have a special position on my book shelves. The stories relate outstanding men of faith in history and I was struck by the lessons of leadership of each, but more importantly of their goodness and virtue, in spiritual terms, their "holiness," the subject of my next few messages.
In my church worship service this past Sunday my minister refreshed us on the Ten Commandments (which require millions of laws and ordinances in our country to expand on for our behavior). Also, one of the hyms was Savior of the Nations, Come, one of whose verses is, "Wondrous birth! O wondrous child of the Virgin, undefiled!" We have all been defiled by others or by our own actions or inactions, but a belief in Jesus the Christ, whose coming procured mankind redemption of our sins and allows us through confession of our own sins to leave defilements behind spiritually, wherein we can be restored to a state of "holiness." We must hold fast to that state despite all the outside temptations and unhealthy inward behavioral choices which we face.
The messages will flow from great men of faith in the Middle Ages such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox to later men such as George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Patrick Henry, William Wilberforce, C.S. Lewis, and Derek Prince.
In our America of today political correctness has the upper hand and in our increasingly secular and Godless society the mere mention of anything spiritual, and especially Christian, brings down disapproval from many circles of society. However, history relates, during the early years of our nation after the American Revolution, that there was decidely a different attitude toward expression of faith in our land. Some may call it related to a civil religion, but I will call it a bugle call to virtue.
As James Hutson wrote, the sanction of certain religious initiatives by the federal Congress (plus an even wider latitude for state legislatures) meant that both:
"....politicians and the public had an unarticulated conviction that it was the duty of the national government to support religion, that it had an inherent power to do so, as long as it acted in a nonsectarian way without appropriating public money. What other body, after all, was capable of convincing a dispersed people that a 'spirit of universal reformation among all ranks and degrees of our citizens,' would, as Congrees declared on March 19, 1782, 'make us a holy, that so we may be a happy people?' This conviction----that holiness was a prerequisite for secular happiness, that religion was, in the words of the Northwest ordinance, 'necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind'---was not the least of the Confederation's legacies to the new republican era that began with Washington's inauguration in 1789." (RFAR).
As I was conceiving and writing this message a short verse only from some song of my childhood kept coming to mind, "If you wanna have a happy life,..." which I complete it with "live a holy life." It is my personal proposition that the best legacy to pass on to our descendants, our nation, and our world is one wherein we reflect holiness and virtue, and perhaps the happiness which emanates will keep us off pills, out of hospitals, and more attuned to all we influence.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #38: Martyrs of the Faith-Part Two"
Avalon Chronicles #38: "Martyrs of the Faith-Part Two (John Wickliff)"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Sources: Foxe, John. Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Whitaker House, 1981. (FBM).
Coffin, Charles C. The Story of Liberty (1879). Reprinted 1987 by Maranatha Publications (SOL).
After my previous message on the martyrs of the faith, one of my dear friends and loyal readers informed me thusly in addition to what I wrote, "There were more Christians executed under Constantine. While Constantine legalized Christianity, the next emperor, Diocletis, oversaw the most vigorous persecution of Christians, as he sought to restore the pagan religion of Rome as preeminent. It wasn't until Theodosius (347-397) that Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. The state church is described as the 3rd of the 7 churches in Revelation 2 as the Church of Pergamum. The word "Pergamum" literally means married, as in church and state wed!" (End input).
The "wedding" of church and state was one of the major issues that caused so much downtrodding of the common people in the Dark Ages. It is a major challenge in all societies throughout history and is exemplified today in the combination of religion/political/governmental aspects of Islam in the sharia law propagation and the reinstitution of the caliphate of old. Our Founders were well aware of the pitfalls of a church/state combination and took heed for its separation in our founding documents.
Meanwhile back to the martyrs. A century after the Magna Carta, the common people of England lived a fairly subjugated and victimized life. Coffin wrote, "They must pay taxes to the King, to the barons, and to the priests...they are ignorant. They have no books...The priests and the parish clerks, the bishops, rich men, and their children are the only ones who have an opportunity of obtaining an education..." (SOL 32). There is a need for liberty, truth, and justice. God raised up people to begin to bring the light of God and the salvation message into the Dark Ages. "...monasteries, abbies, nunneries, convents, and bishoprics hold half the land in England and their revenues are greater than the King's." (SOL 33). The people attributed all misfortune to witches. Many of the priests for the most part even are ignorant. God raised up perhaps the first man to break the mold, to begin to reveal the unholiness of the so-called "holy ones." He was a priest who preached in the churches around Oxford. He believed holiness would be reflected in leading righteous lives. He was John Wickliff.
John Foxe relates Wickliff's time of about 1371 A.D. as, "...at what time all the world was in a most desperate and vile estate, and the lamentable ignorance and darkness of God's truth had overshadowed the whole earth, this man stepped forth like a valiant champion,..." (FBM 50). Foxe continues, "In these days the whole state of religion was depraved and corrupted...was altogether led and blinded with outward ceremonies and human traditions.....The simple and unlearned people, being far from all knowledge of the holy Scripture, thought it quite enough to know only those things which were delivered them by their pastors." (FBM 50,51). He became the enemy of the established church. It became another example of the Pharisees against another of God's chosen men. He was accused of heresy due to the doctrine he espoused.
A Wickipedia entry said he is sometimes called "The Morning Star of the Reformation," as one of the earliest opponents of papal authority influencing secular power. In 1382 he translated the Bible into English, the common language. He was opposed to the worldly possessions of the clergy. He believed firmly in the proclamation of Jesus to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's. He died a natural death in 1384, but later in 1428 his bones were disinterred and burned with his ashes thrown into a river. So this was a posthumous 'burning" example. Wycliffe Bible Translators, one of the world's largest international organizations dedicated to translating the Bible into every living language in the world, takes its name from his sterling example to have the Word of God available to all in their own languager.
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Sources: Foxe, John. Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Whitaker House, 1981. (FBM).
Coffin, Charles C. The Story of Liberty (1879). Reprinted 1987 by Maranatha Publications (SOL).
After my previous message on the martyrs of the faith, one of my dear friends and loyal readers informed me thusly in addition to what I wrote, "There were more Christians executed under Constantine. While Constantine legalized Christianity, the next emperor, Diocletis, oversaw the most vigorous persecution of Christians, as he sought to restore the pagan religion of Rome as preeminent. It wasn't until Theodosius (347-397) that Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. The state church is described as the 3rd of the 7 churches in Revelation 2 as the Church of Pergamum. The word "Pergamum" literally means married, as in church and state wed!" (End input).
The "wedding" of church and state was one of the major issues that caused so much downtrodding of the common people in the Dark Ages. It is a major challenge in all societies throughout history and is exemplified today in the combination of religion/political/governmental aspects of Islam in the sharia law propagation and the reinstitution of the caliphate of old. Our Founders were well aware of the pitfalls of a church/state combination and took heed for its separation in our founding documents.
Meanwhile back to the martyrs. A century after the Magna Carta, the common people of England lived a fairly subjugated and victimized life. Coffin wrote, "They must pay taxes to the King, to the barons, and to the priests...they are ignorant. They have no books...The priests and the parish clerks, the bishops, rich men, and their children are the only ones who have an opportunity of obtaining an education..." (SOL 32). There is a need for liberty, truth, and justice. God raised up people to begin to bring the light of God and the salvation message into the Dark Ages. "...monasteries, abbies, nunneries, convents, and bishoprics hold half the land in England and their revenues are greater than the King's." (SOL 33). The people attributed all misfortune to witches. Many of the priests for the most part even are ignorant. God raised up perhaps the first man to break the mold, to begin to reveal the unholiness of the so-called "holy ones." He was a priest who preached in the churches around Oxford. He believed holiness would be reflected in leading righteous lives. He was John Wickliff.
John Foxe relates Wickliff's time of about 1371 A.D. as, "...at what time all the world was in a most desperate and vile estate, and the lamentable ignorance and darkness of God's truth had overshadowed the whole earth, this man stepped forth like a valiant champion,..." (FBM 50). Foxe continues, "In these days the whole state of religion was depraved and corrupted...was altogether led and blinded with outward ceremonies and human traditions.....The simple and unlearned people, being far from all knowledge of the holy Scripture, thought it quite enough to know only those things which were delivered them by their pastors." (FBM 50,51). He became the enemy of the established church. It became another example of the Pharisees against another of God's chosen men. He was accused of heresy due to the doctrine he espoused.
A Wickipedia entry said he is sometimes called "The Morning Star of the Reformation," as one of the earliest opponents of papal authority influencing secular power. In 1382 he translated the Bible into English, the common language. He was opposed to the worldly possessions of the clergy. He believed firmly in the proclamation of Jesus to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's. He died a natural death in 1384, but later in 1428 his bones were disinterred and burned with his ashes thrown into a river. So this was a posthumous 'burning" example. Wycliffe Bible Translators, one of the world's largest international organizations dedicated to translating the Bible into every living language in the world, takes its name from his sterling example to have the Word of God available to all in their own languager.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #37: "Introduction to the Dark Ages"
by Allen B. Clark www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Reference: The Story of Liberty by Charles Carleton Coffin (originally written in 1879) republished in 1987 by Maranatha Publications, Inc. Specified in footnotes by (SOL).
In the beginning of a series of my messages about the "Dark Ages," it is critical to specify that as I write and recount the tragedies of those horrendous centuries therein that I render equal credit for denunciation to Protestants as well as Catholics, not their religions, but members of those faiths. Mr. Coffin wrote, "Facts of history only are given. Catholics and Protestants alike have persecuted, robbed, plundered, maltreated, imprisoned men and women for not believing as they believed. Through ignorance, superstition, intolerance, and bigotry; through thinking that they were right, and those that differed with them were wrong; forgetting that might never makes right; honestly thinking that they were doing God service in rooting out heretics, they filled the world with woe." (SOL 8).
In the interest of full disclosure I worship in the Anglican Communion, the Church of England-founded tradition of faith, that evolved as a separation from the Church of Rome due candidly to the passion of Henry VIII for Anne Boleyn. So there you have it up front about me. As I proceed in future messages to inform, illuminate, and educate (as I have myself been likewise over the past year since my 2013 visit to England), about the evolution and sometimes revolution from the combined church and state institutions of the European kingdoms, be aware of the thread that proceeded to bring liberty to the masses, bought by the blood of martyrs and the testimony of those who served Jesus the Christ.
History is related as learned by me for the first time. The abuses of members of the Church of Rome and the Church of England truly happened, but from those arose advances in the history of the world in the arenas of "Justice, Truth, Right, and Liberty." (SOL 9). These were events and movements and conditions that emanated to bring freedoms never before known in secular history. The freedoms for humankind were laid out in the New Testament in the teachings of Jesus, but man's pride and selfishness exhibited in acquisition of wealth and power kept a lid on the rights of the individual to appropriate and live those freedoms. After Christ's sacrifice slowly a light began to shine, but the forces of evil soon took over and the Dark Ages came about. Slowly, through the courageous actions of many, light began again and today the "Exceptional" native land of mine, the United States of America, is the result, the ultimate expression of an idea of civil freedom and government by us. (SOL Note).
When the Bible began to be translated in native languages, read, and studied, make no mistake, that transformed individual lives and, in turn, the world has become transformed. Stay tuned!
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Reference: The Story of Liberty by Charles Carleton Coffin (originally written in 1879) republished in 1987 by Maranatha Publications, Inc. Specified in footnotes by (SOL).
In the beginning of a series of my messages about the "Dark Ages," it is critical to specify that as I write and recount the tragedies of those horrendous centuries therein that I render equal credit for denunciation to Protestants as well as Catholics, not their religions, but members of those faiths. Mr. Coffin wrote, "Facts of history only are given. Catholics and Protestants alike have persecuted, robbed, plundered, maltreated, imprisoned men and women for not believing as they believed. Through ignorance, superstition, intolerance, and bigotry; through thinking that they were right, and those that differed with them were wrong; forgetting that might never makes right; honestly thinking that they were doing God service in rooting out heretics, they filled the world with woe." (SOL 8).
In the interest of full disclosure I worship in the Anglican Communion, the Church of England-founded tradition of faith, that evolved as a separation from the Church of Rome due candidly to the passion of Henry VIII for Anne Boleyn. So there you have it up front about me. As I proceed in future messages to inform, illuminate, and educate (as I have myself been likewise over the past year since my 2013 visit to England), about the evolution and sometimes revolution from the combined church and state institutions of the European kingdoms, be aware of the thread that proceeded to bring liberty to the masses, bought by the blood of martyrs and the testimony of those who served Jesus the Christ.
History is related as learned by me for the first time. The abuses of members of the Church of Rome and the Church of England truly happened, but from those arose advances in the history of the world in the arenas of "Justice, Truth, Right, and Liberty." (SOL 9). These were events and movements and conditions that emanated to bring freedoms never before known in secular history. The freedoms for humankind were laid out in the New Testament in the teachings of Jesus, but man's pride and selfishness exhibited in acquisition of wealth and power kept a lid on the rights of the individual to appropriate and live those freedoms. After Christ's sacrifice slowly a light began to shine, but the forces of evil soon took over and the Dark Ages came about. Slowly, through the courageous actions of many, light began again and today the "Exceptional" native land of mine, the United States of America, is the result, the ultimate expression of an idea of civil freedom and government by us. (SOL Note).
When the Bible began to be translated in native languages, read, and studied, make no mistake, that transformed individual lives and, in turn, the world has become transformed. Stay tuned!
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #36: "A Christian History of Hawaii-Part One"
Avalon Chronicles #36: "A Christian History of Hawaii-Part One"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Hawaii. Awesome scenery. Waikiki Beach. Surfboarding. Magical islands. Unparallelled relaxing vacations in the tropics. Hawaii is all that and much more. I had been there seven times before, four times as a West Point cadet when my parents were stationed there, once in 1967 on a medical airlift flight, stopping only with wounded from Vietnam, once as a vacationer in 1979, and once at the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in 1991, when I made remarks at the Punchbowl, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific for a memorial service.
Linda and I travel often and we have begun to pray that we would experience "divine encounters" on our trips. This we were not denied in Hawaii. On Kauai we stayed on the western side at Barking Sands Navy Base and I had read about a former Congregational missionary church (now United Church of Christ) nearby at Waimea and named the Waimea Church. As we drove up to tour the church, a Bible study was just finishing and the choir director and a local gentleman just "happened" to walk over to our auto and happily opened the church and gave us a tour. The gentleman was a local island literary figure, "Kit" Cook, who just "happened" to be the author of a soon-to-be published book about a Hawaiian, Henry Obookiah. Obookiah actually originally inspired the introduction of Christianity to the islanders because he had been taken from Hawaii as a youth to Connecticutt, became a Christian, and from there an effort began to send the original missionaries to Hawaii. Meeting Cook started me on my quest to learn about the Hawaiian pioneer missionaries. This Waimea church was originally founded in 1820 (two years after Obookiah died at age 26) by two Congregational missionaries, the Reverend Samuel Ruggles and Samuel Whitney and their wives, who had taveled from New England. MissionariesWilliam and Mary Alexander in 1834 left Waimea Church by double canoe and founded a church at beautiful Hanalei Bay on the north side of Kauai. The Waioli Huuia Church still stands in this picturesque old town. A wedding was just finishing when we arrived to visit this church.
This trip, my eighth to Hawaii, was to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Linda's and my wedding on Sep. 11, 2004. The night before our anniversary on Sep. 10th we had attended a Dinner Theatre play of "South Pacific" and on our anniversary we dined at the St. Regis Resort Princeville perched above Hanalei Bay and looking across to the movie scene of the mysterious "Bali Hai." Another "happening" was our waiter was a fellow Vietnam veteran, Tom Hamilton, who was the real-life father of the real-life young woman, Bethany Hamilton, who had been attacked by a shark while surfing. She lost her arm and her story was depicted in the movie "Soul Surfer." Dennis Quaid had played the father in the movie. A writeup for the movie said this, "Rushed to the hospital, she remains calm, and maintains her faith in God." Her father told us she lived only due to her faith in God because she had lost so much blood. These things happen to us! Originally we had been at another table with another waitperson before I had us relocated to have a better view of the bay and the sunset.
We were privileged while in Honolulu to worship on two Sundays at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Andrew, an imposing and historic cathedral on Queen Emma Square in downtown Honolulu. King Kamehameha IV and his Queen, Emma, were responsible for introducing Anglicanism to Hawii. The King and Queen donated the land for the cathedral site. It was not completed until 1886 after both had died. The Queen had purchased its stone building material from Caen in Normandy. During the greeting period a member of the pastoral staff came down the aisle to greet us and I noticed her ring. It so "happens" she is a fellow graduate of West Point.
The first Sunday we worshipped at the cathedral there was a communion service in the Hawaiian language and we just "happened" to be there for the annual service to celebrate the birthday of Queen Lili'uokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, who was deposed in 1893 in a coup of businessmen. On this special occasion a splendidly colorful group of Hawaiians were in the processional as members of the Royal Society (I believe officially the Royal Order of Kamehameha I). The women were elegantly gowned in black and white and the men wore dark suits with colorful short back capes. This organization today continues to guard, maintain, and preserve the rituals and the memory of the ruling chiefs of Hawaii. It was quite a ceremony harkening back to earlier days of Hawaii before the transformation it is today of a tourist mecca.
Prayers for "divine encounters" were answered and always are for us.
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Hawaii. Awesome scenery. Waikiki Beach. Surfboarding. Magical islands. Unparallelled relaxing vacations in the tropics. Hawaii is all that and much more. I had been there seven times before, four times as a West Point cadet when my parents were stationed there, once in 1967 on a medical airlift flight, stopping only with wounded from Vietnam, once as a vacationer in 1979, and once at the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack in 1991, when I made remarks at the Punchbowl, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific for a memorial service.
Linda and I travel often and we have begun to pray that we would experience "divine encounters" on our trips. This we were not denied in Hawaii. On Kauai we stayed on the western side at Barking Sands Navy Base and I had read about a former Congregational missionary church (now United Church of Christ) nearby at Waimea and named the Waimea Church. As we drove up to tour the church, a Bible study was just finishing and the choir director and a local gentleman just "happened" to walk over to our auto and happily opened the church and gave us a tour. The gentleman was a local island literary figure, "Kit" Cook, who just "happened" to be the author of a soon-to-be published book about a Hawaiian, Henry Obookiah. Obookiah actually originally inspired the introduction of Christianity to the islanders because he had been taken from Hawaii as a youth to Connecticutt, became a Christian, and from there an effort began to send the original missionaries to Hawaii. Meeting Cook started me on my quest to learn about the Hawaiian pioneer missionaries. This Waimea church was originally founded in 1820 (two years after Obookiah died at age 26) by two Congregational missionaries, the Reverend Samuel Ruggles and Samuel Whitney and their wives, who had taveled from New England. MissionariesWilliam and Mary Alexander in 1834 left Waimea Church by double canoe and founded a church at beautiful Hanalei Bay on the north side of Kauai. The Waioli Huuia Church still stands in this picturesque old town. A wedding was just finishing when we arrived to visit this church.
This trip, my eighth to Hawaii, was to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Linda's and my wedding on Sep. 11, 2004. The night before our anniversary on Sep. 10th we had attended a Dinner Theatre play of "South Pacific" and on our anniversary we dined at the St. Regis Resort Princeville perched above Hanalei Bay and looking across to the movie scene of the mysterious "Bali Hai." Another "happening" was our waiter was a fellow Vietnam veteran, Tom Hamilton, who was the real-life father of the real-life young woman, Bethany Hamilton, who had been attacked by a shark while surfing. She lost her arm and her story was depicted in the movie "Soul Surfer." Dennis Quaid had played the father in the movie. A writeup for the movie said this, "Rushed to the hospital, she remains calm, and maintains her faith in God." Her father told us she lived only due to her faith in God because she had lost so much blood. These things happen to us! Originally we had been at another table with another waitperson before I had us relocated to have a better view of the bay and the sunset.
We were privileged while in Honolulu to worship on two Sundays at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Andrew, an imposing and historic cathedral on Queen Emma Square in downtown Honolulu. King Kamehameha IV and his Queen, Emma, were responsible for introducing Anglicanism to Hawii. The King and Queen donated the land for the cathedral site. It was not completed until 1886 after both had died. The Queen had purchased its stone building material from Caen in Normandy. During the greeting period a member of the pastoral staff came down the aisle to greet us and I noticed her ring. It so "happens" she is a fellow graduate of West Point.
The first Sunday we worshipped at the cathedral there was a communion service in the Hawaiian language and we just "happened" to be there for the annual service to celebrate the birthday of Queen Lili'uokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, who was deposed in 1893 in a coup of businessmen. On this special occasion a splendidly colorful group of Hawaiians were in the processional as members of the Royal Society (I believe officially the Royal Order of Kamehameha I). The women were elegantly gowned in black and white and the men wore dark suits with colorful short back capes. This organization today continues to guard, maintain, and preserve the rituals and the memory of the ruling chiefs of Hawaii. It was quite a ceremony harkening back to earlier days of Hawaii before the transformation it is today of a tourist mecca.
Prayers for "divine encounters" were answered and always are for us.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #35: "They Rode to the Sound of the Guns"
Avalon Chronicles #35: "They Rode to the Sound of the Guns"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
"Oz," "Tig," and "Tanto," sat before the crowd of upwards of one hundred or more, seated and standing, squeezed into a narrow space at the Plano, Texas Barnes and Noble. As I walked in, I spotted the uniformed security guard. Upon noting my limped gait, an observant and thoughtful employee directed me to be seated in a chair in the front section.
The three, definitely "warriors" as I had known them to be beforehand, during the presentation, and definitely as depicted in their book they were there to publicize, displayed no bravado or outsized pridefulness. They were jocular with each other, as only men who had served in combat with each other can be. They were humble, open in answering questions with candor, very regular, and definitely likable, not cold, callous killers. As I commented to "Oz" as he signed my book, I said, "It is good to be around real men."
In the 1969 movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the two bank robbers were played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, relentlessly pursued in Bolivia by a posse. I recall one of them saying, "Who are those guys?" I knew before I arrived who were these three "guys." They were in a band of six brothers, "...a band of elite warriors who'd left the United States military and had joined a clandestine organization that protected American covert intelligence operatives abroad." (Zuckoff 4). "Oz" and "Tig" were Marines and "Tanto" was an Army Ranger. On Sep. 11, 2012 when the U.S. State Department Special Mission in Benghazi was attacked, "Tig" and "Tanto" and three other members of the Global Response Staff of the CIA rode to the sound of the guns to extract five Americans who had basically become hostages after the terorist attack on the besieged Mission. They had been based at the CIA Annex complex a little over a mile away.
By the time they arrived at the Mission Ambassador Stevens' body was not found. State Department communications officer Sean Smith was dead, asphyxiated by the smoke after the compound had been set on fire by the attackers. "Oz" had arrived back at the Annex after having been in Benghazi and began to prepare the defense of the CIA facility, which later that night also came under attack. The book I was there to purchase was 13 HOURS The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff and published by Twelve of the Hatchette Book Group. I had previously read three other books on Benghazi, renditions of what I would personally term, and what may eventually be called by history, "The Battle of Benghazi, " but this is the first one to personalize the combatants, combatants whom I had assumed were permanently "muzzled" by non-disclosures.
"Oz" was Mark Geist, "Tig" was John Tiegen, and 'Tanto" was Kris Paronto. Two days later my speedreading capability or lack thereof being what it is, I have not yet read their story, but I know it will be educative, engrossing, and inspiring. It will go to the top of the stack of approximately fifty other books awaiting my attention. The question and answer with the three was illuminating and I got three questions in. They were open, affable, and sincere. One of their six, Tyrone Woods was killed later in the Annex battle along with fellow SEAL Glen Doherty, who had come from Tripoli later that night. All of us filed by their table to obtain their signatures. I am sure their publishing company "handlers" would have preferred a more speedy signing process, but these gentlemen would have none of that. They chatted casually with all and paused for photos. They were my kind of Americans, members of that special fraternity of those of us who have served our country in uniform.
When the three had signed my book, I circled around behind them for the most important signature of all, that of Sean Smith's mother, Pat, seated off to the side. I thanked her for her contribution. She said she gave nothing. I said, "You gave everything, you gave your son."
P.S. They have signed a movie deal I believe they said with Paramount. So stay tuned to see these "guys" on the big screen some day.
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
"Oz," "Tig," and "Tanto," sat before the crowd of upwards of one hundred or more, seated and standing, squeezed into a narrow space at the Plano, Texas Barnes and Noble. As I walked in, I spotted the uniformed security guard. Upon noting my limped gait, an observant and thoughtful employee directed me to be seated in a chair in the front section.
The three, definitely "warriors" as I had known them to be beforehand, during the presentation, and definitely as depicted in their book they were there to publicize, displayed no bravado or outsized pridefulness. They were jocular with each other, as only men who had served in combat with each other can be. They were humble, open in answering questions with candor, very regular, and definitely likable, not cold, callous killers. As I commented to "Oz" as he signed my book, I said, "It is good to be around real men."
In the 1969 movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the two bank robbers were played by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, relentlessly pursued in Bolivia by a posse. I recall one of them saying, "Who are those guys?" I knew before I arrived who were these three "guys." They were in a band of six brothers, "...a band of elite warriors who'd left the United States military and had joined a clandestine organization that protected American covert intelligence operatives abroad." (Zuckoff 4). "Oz" and "Tig" were Marines and "Tanto" was an Army Ranger. On Sep. 11, 2012 when the U.S. State Department Special Mission in Benghazi was attacked, "Tig" and "Tanto" and three other members of the Global Response Staff of the CIA rode to the sound of the guns to extract five Americans who had basically become hostages after the terorist attack on the besieged Mission. They had been based at the CIA Annex complex a little over a mile away.
By the time they arrived at the Mission Ambassador Stevens' body was not found. State Department communications officer Sean Smith was dead, asphyxiated by the smoke after the compound had been set on fire by the attackers. "Oz" had arrived back at the Annex after having been in Benghazi and began to prepare the defense of the CIA facility, which later that night also came under attack. The book I was there to purchase was 13 HOURS The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff and published by Twelve of the Hatchette Book Group. I had previously read three other books on Benghazi, renditions of what I would personally term, and what may eventually be called by history, "The Battle of Benghazi, " but this is the first one to personalize the combatants, combatants whom I had assumed were permanently "muzzled" by non-disclosures.
"Oz" was Mark Geist, "Tig" was John Tiegen, and 'Tanto" was Kris Paronto. Two days later my speedreading capability or lack thereof being what it is, I have not yet read their story, but I know it will be educative, engrossing, and inspiring. It will go to the top of the stack of approximately fifty other books awaiting my attention. The question and answer with the three was illuminating and I got three questions in. They were open, affable, and sincere. One of their six, Tyrone Woods was killed later in the Annex battle along with fellow SEAL Glen Doherty, who had come from Tripoli later that night. All of us filed by their table to obtain their signatures. I am sure their publishing company "handlers" would have preferred a more speedy signing process, but these gentlemen would have none of that. They chatted casually with all and paused for photos. They were my kind of Americans, members of that special fraternity of those of us who have served our country in uniform.
When the three had signed my book, I circled around behind them for the most important signature of all, that of Sean Smith's mother, Pat, seated off to the side. I thanked her for her contribution. She said she gave nothing. I said, "You gave everything, you gave your son."
P.S. They have signed a movie deal I believe they said with Paramount. So stay tuned to see these "guys" on the big screen some day.
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