Laying It Down

Without the construction workers who pave the highway, you have no road to follow. In America today, few appreciate the roles many played to gain freedom from tyranny and liberty of conscience for the USA. If it weren’t for the martyrs, the undaunted church leaders, the Puritans, the preachers of the Great Awakening, and more, you can forget about the US and the Constitution that provides the right to be free. Forget about going to the church of your choice every Sunday, the one you often feel obligated to go to, but you feel too worn out or bored to worship God with other believers, a privilege few other countries possess. Have you ever just sat where you are and thought about those who came before you and made sure you’d be free today? Hopefully what you will read now will help you even a little to ponder and appreciate that you are free to be a Christian in the USA.
A man born into a poor German family, Martin Luther seemed an unlikely man to impact as many as he did. You may have heard of his 95 Theses being nailed into the Roman Catholic Church door that would later break open the Reformation, but do you know why he did it? It wasn’t just for getting back at the Roman Catholic church (he had been very angry with how they did things), but for his beliefs in the creator-redeemer distinction and liberty of conscience. The former speaks of God’s laws governing the flesh while he governs the spirit: the latter (liberty of conscience) demands that all men should be free to believe what they want, just what God wants us to do (we are not robots). While Luther ‘paved the road’, the man who took up after Luther was English theologian John Calvin. Surprisingly to some, Calvinism is almost a direct pickup to Lutheranism. Both men believed in the same ideals, which Calvin gathered up and jotted down his famous set of volumes, titled “Institutes of the Christian Religion”. Regrettably, the kings of England at the time were diverted from true Christianity, believing in false doctrines such as “the Divine Right of Kings”.
The Westminster Confession was written to help put away “the Divine Right of Kings”, and to put forth to the people what was right according to God’s word. In the text of the Confession, two sides were presented; “the Divine Right of Kings”, and the Social Contract Theory. Two of the key leaders present were Samuel Rutherford and John Locke. Both were Calvinists and Lutherans, and each was a renowned influential writer; Rutherford created the Lex Rex, a continuation of Calvinistic and Lutheran ideals, and Locke wrote the Carolina Constitution, which was also based on Calvinism and Lutheranism. Another vital Christian theologian, Algernon Sidney, believed in the creator-redeemer distinction and liberty of conscience (yet another to carry Luther’s and Calvin’s cross), and used his beliefs in his work as a prominent politician. His adversaries called him and his followers ‘Whigs’ , short for a group of English horse thieves. Responding in jest, Sidney titled his attackers ‘Tories’, a term used for a bunch of Irish hoodlums. Decades later, these two parties clashed in the American Revolution, separated because of indifferences.
In a leaky tub christened “the Mayflower”, a group of refugees called Pilgrims(the Puritans were only a part of the group) journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean to America. Before arriving on shore at Massachusetts in 1620, the passengers aboard the ship signed a contract titled “the Mayflower Compact” in order to assure a well-organized government. As the settlers spread abroad however, some government issues arose. To counteract problems, Connecticut community leader Thomas Hooker and several others wrote up “The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut” in 1639 (a preview of what the later Constitution would be like). The New England settlers in Massachusetts and the surrounding area had a hard time dealing with truth, and by the 1690’s were conducting the Salem Witch Trials. These horrible shows of manslaughter were comprised of bringing before a judge anyone suspected to be a witch or to be associated with one, unfairly trying them, then, after convicting the suspects, burning them at stake, hanging them, and more ghastly things. Then came the First Great Awakening. America was astonished. Revival fever struck everywhere. God was back in America. Several of the Spirit-filled preachers involved were John Wesley, George Whitfield, and Jonathan Edwards. Many were led to Jesus Christ. The Christian ideals of these preachers were key players in the Constitution and American laws.
There you have it. The story of some of the people who led the way for America. It is incredible that people would sacrifice their entire lives to fight for the truth, is it not? Again, without these people and many more, there would be no America like we know it today. Sadly, the America we know today is also becoming more corrupt both politically and spiritually. All Christians need to take a stand for what they believe, just as their forefathers did for them. Think not about yourself, but put others before yourself.

Greater love has no one than this,
than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
John 15:13 (New King James Version)

A little Late

I am a little late with the Dead Sea Scrolls post, but I hope to get it done soon. I am a little short on time right now.

I hope it worked

Did you hear the song "Everlasting God" when you opened this page? Let me know.
Thanks

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Part 2

In part 1 of the Dead Sea Scrolls, I shared a bit of history about the area they came from and the scribes who wrote them. Today I'd like to tell you about the scrolls themselves. And, what you are about to read, is that ... shhhh...I have seen these scrolls in person! No way, you say. I say yes. I saw these scrolls at the Union Station Exhibit in Kansas City. Yep, they were everything they cracked up to be. The exhibit was amazing, with the only glitch being the secular presentation, with things like "millions of years ago" and blah blah blah. The story goes like this. In 1947, some Bedouin shepherds (Arabian desert dudes), lost some sheep among several cliffs near the old village of Qumran. One particular shepherd named Mohammed Ahmed el-Hamed (nicknamed edh-Dhib, "the wolf"), threw a rock into a cave, attempting to find his lamb, but instead he heard some pottery shatter. By the way, that picture is of the Damascus document, which will be explained later. Back to the story. The Wolf went into the cave, which had a very small opening, and found several jars with scrolls in them. This marked the beginning of the quest for the scrolls. By 1956, around 850 scrolls had been found in 11 caves. The ancient site of Qumran was discovered as well. Many artifacts from the lives of the Essenes were disovered in Qumran's digging site. Sandals, water vessels, candleholders, haircombs with lice filters, money, among other things. But this is about the scrolls, remember? These documents proved the accuracy of the Bible as we see it today. No other document has withstood such fine sifting and picking apart. The Bible is the only book that has overridden any opposition in the history of mankind. You tell me any other book that has remained unchanged after 2000 years of reprinting. You can't. That is because it was inspired by God. He is the truth, as the header for this blog states. Another interesting fact is that were these scrolls uncovered say, even just 20 years earlier, man would have destroyed them, as we had no instruments to preserve these scrolls. Scientists successfully preserved the majority, thanks to God's special timing. I also feel that He revealed these scrolls at the time He did so that man would be reminded that God still exists, that His word is true. As well as biblical documents, several others were uncovered, such as this Damascus scroll in the picture above. This particular one was about 2 things, the first "an admonition imploring the congregation to remain faithful to the covenant of those who retreated from Judea to the 'Land of Damascus' "; and the second part about "statutes dealing with vows and oaths, the tribunal, witnesses and judges, purification, Sabbath laws and ritual cleanliness". This is the story of the scrolls. This is just one more thing Christians can show to the world as proof that God is greater than time. Thanks for reading. I have one more part about the actual experience I had, as well as a few more facts about the scrolls , which will be published sometime in early March.

Next Post

The Dead Sea Scrolls 2 will be posted by Friday, March 2.

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Part 1

Welcome to the Veritas Numquam Perit website. In case you are wondering what this phrase means, it is in Latin, and it says, "Truth never dies." In the case of Christianity, it never does. God, our Heavenly Father, is the Truth, and He has always existed and always will. So that makes my blog title true. Hey, what do you think that picture is of? That's why I'm here today. It's a scroll. One of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Never heard of them you say? Should I tell you a bit about them? OK. Even if you just said no, I'm going to anyway. You can't stop me. I'm the writer, you're not, get the picture? I'm just kidding around, by the way.

Anyway, these scrolls were written 2,000 years ago in Israel, in a small village named Qumran (Kwum-run). This village was located near the Dead Sea. Click below for a map. http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ancient-israel/israel-first-century.html Scroll down and you will find it near the upper left of the Dead Sea.

Qumran's geography meant that it was in a very low spot in the ground. The Dead Sea is the earth's lowest point. More facts about it include that it is very salty, poisonous, and it smells like the Dickens. Actual salt crystals form on the beaches of the Dead Sea. The air is very dry, which is one big reason the scrolls survived this long. Getting back to Qumran, it was a village of mostly men, a sect called the Essenes. Although some of these men may have been married, women were almost completely exempt from the area, as it was a monkish society. Thus, you can tell the obvious, these guys copied Scripture. Isolation was key for concentration, and also for separation from the Pharisees, as neither group got along well with each other. To some extent, Essenes believed in similar laws referring to ritual purity like the Pharisees, but other things, such as the yearly calendar, were very hot topics. The Essenes came up with the solar calendat of 364 days, but the Pharisees liked the moon orbit calendar, of 354 days.

As far as ritual purity, each Essene monk had his own dishes, drinking cups, and silverware, although I can assure you it was not silver. These dishes were made out of fired clay, and were revolting things to eat off of. And the baths were all separated, with several man-made areas that were irrigated with river water. Clothes were made from linen, as plant based items were considered purer than animal based items, such as wool. These Essenes wove their own clothes as well. Most of these men spent their whole lives as isolated monks copying and studying Scriptures among themselves.

Now that I have given you the basic idea of the culture of Qumran, you are ready to read about the scrolls themselves, and how they were found again. Read on next time, at the Veritatem Dies Aperit blog where the Truth never dies.