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History Unwrapped – March 2005

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Harvard University was founded in 1636 with one instructor and nine students with the goal of establishing a school to train Christian ministers. The school was named after John Harvard, a 31-year-old clergyman from Charlestown, Massachusetts, who died and left his library and half his estate to the fledgling institution. In accordance with its original vision, Harvard adopted a set of “Rules and Precepts” in 1646 that stated the following (spelling has been modernized):

2. Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only gives wisdom, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him (Prov. 2:3).

3. Every one shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in theoretical observations of language and Logic, and in practical and spiritual truths, as his Tutor shall require, according to his ability; seeing the entrance of the word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).

In 1692, Harvard adopted the motto Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae—“Truth for Christ and the Church.” The phrase was embedded on a shield and can be found on many buildings around the Harvard campus and various dorms in Harvard Yard.

The books on the shield represent revelation and reason. The top two books that are shown face up represent the Word of God revealed to us in the Old and New Testaments. The book on the bottom of the shield, which faces down, symbolizes the limits of reason and the need for God’s revelation.1

A second and earlier (1650) Harvard motto carried the Latin phrase, In Christi Gloriam, “For the Glory of Christ.” Samuel Eliot Morison, in his history of Harvard,  writes, “Like the Medieval schoolmen, [the founders] believed that all knowledge without Christ was vain. Veritas to them, as to Dante, meant the divine truth. . . .”2 What once was Harvard is no more. Harvard, like so many of our nation’s earliest colleges, has left its “first love” (Rev. 2:4).

1 http://hcs.harvard.edu/~gsascf/shield.html

2 Samuel Eliot Morison, The Founding of Harvard College (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935), 250.

March 30, 2005 – "Klaatu Barada Nikto"—UFO Saviors From Space

Science fiction movies have always done well at the box office. Probably the most noteworthy is The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), adapted from the 1940 short story "Farewell to the Master" written by Harry Bates. Like so many movies of the era, their storylines were often set against the backdrop of the Cold War. The Day the Earth Stood Still is no exception. But there is another element that is often missed by moviegoers. There's a great deal of religion mixed in. Probably the most overt example can be found in the Star Wars movies and its use of the Force. George Lucas admitted that he "put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people. . . . I think there is a God. What that God is and what we know about God, I'm not sure."1 There's a more subtle expression of religion in The Day the Earth Stood Still in addition to Klaatu's stated belief in "the Almighty Spirit":

Scriptwriter Edmund H. North transformed the alien emissary Klaatu into a Christ-figure, implying that extra-terrestrials would be the true saviors of mankind. He did this in a subtle manner, having Klaatu adopt the earth name Carpenter and through the alien’s death and resurrection.2

North considered it his "private little joke" hoping "the Christ comparison would be subliminal."3 So the next time you sit down to watch Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Billy Gray, who played "Bud" in Father Knows Best, see how many New Testament, Christ-like allusions you can find in The Day the Earth Stood Still.4

1 "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace—The Force of Myth or Pop-Culture Hype?," Time (February 9, 2003). Quoted in Gary Bates, Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2004), 44. Alien Intrusion is the best UFO book available. One of its shortcomings, however, is seeing the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 as a description of end-time events in our future. He does not spend a great deal of time on this, so it does not spoil the overall approach of the book. Also see Gary DeMar, “Lost in Space,” Thinking Straight in a Crooked World: A Christian Defense Manual (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2001), chap. 14 for slightly different perspective on UFOs.

2 Bobby Maddex, “The Gospel According to E.T.,” Rutherford Magazine (October 1996), 22.

3 Dave Walsh, “Klaatu Barda Nikto” (October 2, 1998): www.blather.net/archives2/issue2no21.html

4 www.blather.net/archives2/issue2no21.html

March 29, 2005 – The Men Who Would Be Kings: Masons in Washington

Freemasonry claims to have a long and connected history. Some of America’s most famous and influential leaders have been Masons—from Benjamin Franklin to Douglas MacArthur. Several recent movies have had a Freemasonry theme.1 The Man Who Would Be King (1975), based on a Rudyard Kipling story and staring Michael Cain and Sean Connery, uses the brotherhood of Masonry as the backdrop of the film. It’s foundational to the storyline. Of course, last year’s  National Treasure was a fictional account of the search for a massive treasure hidden somewhere in Washington that been collected and protected by the Knights Templar and then by Freemasons. The Masons charged with this responsibility were some of our own founding fathers. This brings us to George Washington, the first president of the United States, and the biggest Mason of them all. Many have downplayed Washington’s association with Masonry, but the evidence shows that he often functioned in his official capacity as a Mason. The Washington Monument is laden with Masonic symbolism. The Colombian Mirror and Alexandria Gazette of September 25, 1793 chronicled in detail the ceremony of Washington laying the cornerstone of the United States Capitol dressed in Masonic garb, including the Masonic apron made by Madame la Marquise de Lafayette and claimed to have been presented to Washington of Fredericksburg Lodge. Washington’s own words describe his view of masonry: “[T]he great object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race.” The overweight Adams was given the title of “His Rotundity.” The Bible that Washington used to be sworn in as president was his own Masonic Bible. Some historians conjecture that there was a Masonic conspiracy to secularize the Constitution of the United States. While the delegates were sent to Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, they scrapped the document and drafted our Constitution. Did a coup take place by a secret society hell-bent on secularized power? Some think so.2 Even today we hear of a conspiracy of power by the super-secret Skull and Bones Society of Yale,3 that America is being run by a cabal of privileged elitists who have no regard for the welfare of Americans. 

1. The following site lists movies, TV shows, books, and music that include Masonic elements: www.bessel.org/culture.htm

2. This is the view of Gary North, Political Polytheism: The Myth of Pluralism (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1989). Also see Steven C. Bullock, Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1773–1840 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996).

3. Antony C. Sutton, An Introduction to the Order (Phoenix, AZ: Research Publications, 1983.

March 28, 2005 – God and the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was America’s first national constitution.1 On July 21, 1775, Benjamin Franklin presented the Continental Congress with a draft of the Articles for the colonies to consider. It wasn’t until March 1, 1781, that the thirteenth state, Maryland, ratified the document. The principles found in the Articles rest on the belief that God is the Sovereign administrator of the world:

Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congress assembled did on the 15th day of November in the Year of Our Lord One thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America, agree on certain articles of confederation and perpetual Union between the States (Art. 1). . . . And whereas it has pleased theGreat Governor of the World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation and perpetual union (Conclusion).

The Articles of Confederation closes the same way it opened: “Done at Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania the ninth day of July, in the Year of our Lord. . . .”

The charge has been made that our founders were Deists. Certainly some were, but their influence was minimal. A Deist would never have described God as “the Great Governor of the world” or believed that He could or would move an individual’s heart to do anything.

1 www.usconstitution.net/articles.html#Article4

March 24, 2005 – Lucky Number 13

If you’ve ever been in a hotel with more than 13 floors, you will notice that there is no thirteenth floor. Of course, there is, but it’s not numbered 13. Many people recoil at the number 13, so builders accommodate their superstitions by fooling them. Unlucky 13 has even found its way into fiction with Agatha Christie’s mystery novel, Thirteen at Dinner. You know people have got to die.Here’s some of the history behind the aversion to the odd number. There were 13 people at the Last Supper, Jesus was crucified on a Friday, and that particular Friday was the thirteenth day of the month. From this cockeyed logic, Friday the 13th is considered unlucky. If any of this were true, we would see unlucky 13 everywhere, but we don’t. Here’s an example of a bunch of 13s—the Great Seal of the United States—that didn’t seem to bring bad luck to America:

• 13 stars
• 13 stripes
• 13 arrows in the eagle’s talon
• 13 clouds of glory
• 13 letters in the motto
• 13 laurel leaves
• 13 berries on the branch
• 13 feathers in left wing
• 13 feathers in right wing
• 13 feathers in the tail
• 13 x 3 letters in “The Coat of Arms of the United States of America.”1

We can add 13 original colonies, thirteen original stripes and stars on our flag.

1 Robert Ripley, Ripley’s Big Book—Believe It or Not! (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1934), 230.

I don’t mean Dr. Doom of the classic comic book The Fantastic Four (which will be in theaters July 8, 2005)1 or the game Doom of blood, guts, and mayhem. I have in mind Doom, the Society for Secular Armageddonism, or simply Doom, Inc. The group had a phone number that you could call to get the latest information on what they believed to be signs of the end. The people at Doom cited the following as evidence of an impending "do-it-yourself apocalypse": "chemical and biological weapons, nuclear proliferation, deforestation, the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, acid rain, the poisoning of our air and water, rising racism, massive species lost, toxic waste, the AIDS pandemic, the continuing population explosion, encroaching Big Brotherism, and at least a thousand points of blight." The following recorded message from Doom, Inc., reproduced in the December 1990 issue of Harper's Magazine under the title “DIAL-A-BUMMER,” gives you some idea of their apocalypticism:

You have reached the hot line of Doom for news and information related to the coming apocalypse. This is a service for the organization Doom, the Society for Secular Armageddonism, a nonreligious group dedicated to promoting public awareness of the coming end of the world. We believe the apocalypse is at hand, and the reasons for that belief are overwhelming. . . . These aren't just conversation topics for yuppie cocktail parties; they're grade A, unadulterated harbingers of destruction, 100 percent bona fide specters of doom, and they're all proof that we don't need God to end it for us. The coming end will be a strictly do-it-yourself apocalypse.2

The Society's phone number was 415–673­–3666. It wasn't toll-free. The people at Doom, Inc. didn't want to be stuck with a large phone bill.
1 http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/fantastic_four/

2 Cited in Harper's Magazine (December 1990), 22.

March 23, 2005 – Benjamin Frankenstein?

The monsters in movies Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein were brought to life with elements from nature—electricity—the symbol of the new Enlightenment scientist. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, electricity was more than just a symbol of scientific discovery. Some were touting it as the substance of life. Electricity was seen as a "life force" independent of the need for a divine Creator similar to the way that mathematics was being used to unravel the orderliness of the universe independent of any divine intervention. The theme of reanimation in Mary Wollstonecroft Shelley's Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818), the novel on which the first movie is loosely based, was written against the backdrop of an emerging humanistic science. The study of electricity was all the rage in Shelley's day, from Benjamin Franklin's experiments with kites and keys to European scientists who had applied electrical currents using batteries "to dead animals and human cadavers, creating muscular contractions."1 Some have suggested that the "Frank" in Frankenstein may have been inspired by the electrical experiments done by Benjamin Franklin.2 Mary Shelley's husband experimented very early with electricity and dead animals. Like any good science fiction writer, Shelley wove contemporary science and character traits of people she knew into a powerful literary metaphor infused with moral lessons.

1 David J. Skal, Screams of Reason: Mad Science and Modern Culture (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1998), 37.

2 Skal, Screams of Reason, 43.

March 22, 2005 – The Modern Keyboard—Planned Inefficiency

Did you ever wonder why the letters on a typewriter and computer keyboard are laid out the way they are? Typing would be more efficient if the letters were arranged according to their frequency of use. For example, the letter “E” is the most used letter in the English alphabet. It should be on the center row so it can be struck with the strongest and longest finger.1 The second most used letter (T) should be in the same place on the other hand. Samuel F.B. Morse understood this principle. That’s why in Morse Code “E” is a single dot, while “T” is a single dash. In fact, the middle row of the keyboard should hold all the vowels and the most frequently used consonants.

So why isn’t the keyboard laid out this way? If you ever typed on a typewriter, you will remember that if you typed very vast, sometimes it would jam when two letters struck the same space at nearly the same time. Imagine what would have happened if you could have typed three times as fast with every keystroke. You would have spent more time unjamming your typewriter than actually typing. So the keyboard that we still use today was designed to slow down typists. The letters were purposely mixed up to make a typist inefficient.

An alternative keyboard has been floating around since the early 1930s. August Dvorak studied how many English words could be typed out on the home (middle) row of a standard keyboard. The home row includes the letters “J” and “K” in two of the most efficient spots for use by the right hand. Yet in terms of usage, these letters are not used frequently as other letters that are not conveniently placed. So far in this short article, the letter “E” has been used more than 200 times while “J” has been used four times, and yet “E” is placed on the upper row of keys. Dvorak found that about 150 English words could be typed on the home row using the standard keyboard. With his redesigned home row, more than 3000 words could be typed.

Dvorak also positioned all the vowels under the left hand and the most used consonants under the right hand. This allows for an alternating rhythm that enhances accuracy and speed. Because so much typing takes place on the home row with the Dvorak configuration, finger and hand fatigue are reduced and possibly carpal-tunnel syndrome eliminated.

With computers, there is no need to slow down a typist since there can never be a mechanical jam. So why haven’t keyboards been changed? Most of us learned to type using the Qwerty2 configuration. It was a natural transition to follow the same keyboard when we started using a computer. Schools still teach the Qwerty configuration and keyboards have followed suit. But there are programs available that will turn your standard Qwerty keyboard into a Dvorak. You can even buy tabs to put over the original configuration. If you’ve learned to type, and you don’t have to switch computers, you might want to try the Dvorak configuration.3

1 An orthopedic doctor offers this helpful hint in identifying fingers, beginning with the thumb: thumbkin, pointer, longman, ringman, and pinky. Not every sophisticated, but when you’re talking to a patient over the phone who has just severely torn the ligaments in one of his fingers, it helps to know what finger it is without having to spend time figuring it out while a person may be in a state of panic.

2 Qwerty comprises the letters of the top letter row Q-W-E-R-T-Y.

3 www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/

March 21, 2005 – Davy Crockett: “Be Sure You’re Right and Do It!”

A number of celebrities and lesser knowns threatened (promised?) to leave the United States if George W. Bush was reelected president in 2004. But before Bush, there was Martin Van Buren, and before today’s political malcontents, there was Davy Crockett (1786–1836), “king of the wild frontier” as the popular 1955 politically incorrect “Ballad of Davy Crockett”1 described him. In a letter written to Charles Shultz dated December 25, 1834, Crockett complains about Andrew Jackson’s influence over American voters. He describes them as “Volunteer Slaves” and declares his plan to leave the United States and move to Texas if Martin Van Buren, Jackson’s vice-president, is elected to office.

The western and southern men dare not to sustain Jackson in his mad Caesar [like rages], and when they refuse all the blood in the nation will be let loose on them.

The time has come that virtue is expected to be transferable and as negotiable and a promissory note of hand in these days of glory and Jackson and reform &c. Little Van [Martin van Buren] sits in his chair and looks as sly as a red fox, and I have no doubt but that he thinks Andrew Jackson has full power to transfer the people of these United States at his will and I am afraid that a majority of free Citizens will submit to it and Say amen. Jackson done it, it is right. If we judge by the past, we can reach no other calculations.

I have almost given up the ship as lost. I have gone so far as to declare that if Martin Van Buren is elected that I will leave the United States, for I never will live under his Kingdom. Before I will submit to his government, I will go to the Wilds of Texas. I will consider that government a Paradise to what this government will be. I never will submit to his government. In fact, at this time our Republican Government has dwindled almost into insignificance. Our boasted land of liberty has almost bowed to the yoke of bondage. Our happy days of Republican principles are near at an end when a few is to transfer the many. These are Van Buren principles. There are more slaves in New York and Pennsylvania than there are in Virginia and South Carolina and they are the meanest kind of slaves there are—Volunteer Slaves. [At least] our Southern slaves are of some use to their owner.2

Van Buren won, and Davy Crockett moved to Texas and fought and died at the Alamo on March 6, 1836. His tombstone reads: “Davy Crockett, Pioneer, Patriot, Soldier, Trapper, Explorer, State Legislator, Congressman, Martyred at The Alamo. 1786–1836.” Unlike today’s political malcontents, Crockett did what he said he would do. He followed the dictates of his own motto: “Be Sure You’re Right, and Then Go Ahead.”

1 “The Ballad of Davy Crockett”: www.infoplease.com/askeds/5-4-01askeds.html

2 I’ve edited this letter since it is full of misspellings, bad grammar, and erratic punctuation. But this is Davy Crockett, who “kilt him a b’ar when he was only three.” For those of you who don’t know the words to the “Ballad of Davy Crockett,” you can go to www.infoplease.com/askeds/5-4-01askeds.html.

March 18, 2005 – The Detroit of the South — Almost

“In 1921, automotive tycoon Henry Ford, accompanied by Thomas Edison, came to Muscle Shoals with a vision of transforming this area into a metropolis. ‘I will employ one million workers at Muscle Shoals and I will build a city 75 miles long at Muscle Shoals,’ stated Mr. Ford.  The instant rumors of Ford’s plan hit the streets, real estate speculators began buying up land and parceling it out in 25 foot lots and putting in sidewalks and street lights. People from all over the United States bought lots, sight unseen, during this time. Mr. Ford’s offer to buy Wilson Dam for $5 million was turned down by Congress. (The initial cost of the construction of the dam was $46.5 million.)  Instead, Congress, under the influence of Senator George Norris of Nebraska, later formed the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop the dam as well as the entire river valley.  Senator Norris felt strongly that the public, rather than private companies, should receive the benefits from the government’s investments in Muscle Shoals. Although Ford’s plans did not turn Muscle Shoals into a huge city, it did lay the foundation for the city of Muscle Shoals.”1 Congress missed out on a great opportunity. While the quad-city area (Muscle Shoals-Sheffield-Florence-Tuscumbia) of northwest Alabama is picturesque and a great place to visit and live, it has (mostly) been bypassed by industry, as has much of Alabama, although this is beginning to change. Ford’s venture would have more than paid for the cost of Wilson Dam in jobs, production, and tax revenue. The enterprise would have transformed the South by bringing industrial diversity to a part of the country almost exclusively supported by agriculture.

Muscle Shoals is much more famous, although most people don’t know it, for being a music Mecca. The city was immortalized in song by Lynyrd Skynyrd in “Sweet Home Alabama” with the line “Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers.” It’s hard to believe, if you’ve ever driven through the city, that Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Paul Simon, Traffic, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger, and others recorded there. Songs like “Take A Letter Maria,” “High Time We Went,” “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Respect Yourself,” “Kodachrome,” “Loves Me Like A Rock,” “Land of a 1000 Dances,” “Old Time Rock And Roll,” and “Sailing” were recorded at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.2 It’s hard to imagine Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones hanging out anywhere in the Quad-City area. The biggest tourist attraction is the home of Helen Keller down the road a piece in Tuscumbia, and it’s not much to see.

Detroit may be the automobile capital of the world with its distinctive “Motown (Motor Town) Sound,” but this tiny Alabama enclave that missed out on being the Detroit of the South set its mark in the music business as the “Hit Recording Capital of the World.”

1 www.cityofmuscleshoals.com/Default.asp?ID=11

2 www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1437161. Before the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, there was FAME Studios (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises). The studio later moved to Muscle Shoals.

March 17, 2005 – So You Want a Revolution?

While most of Martin Luther's teaching brought controversy that led to positive reform, some of his writings were interpreted in such a way that a revolution was started. Luther wrote that the poor in Germany were oppressed by "lords and princes" and "blind bishops and mad priests and monks." He went on to criticize the nobles for doing "nothing but flay and rob your subjects in order that you may lead a life of splendor and pride, until the poor common folk can bear it no longer."

What was the response to these injustices and inequities? Many of the peasants, following the advice offered in the defiant sermons of Thomas Müntzer, called for a revolt. Acting on Müntzer's persuasive but extremist message, they pillaged churches, destroyed castles, demanded the common ownership of all property, and shook the very foundation of society. Luther responded by noting that rebellion is "contrary not only to Christian law and the gospel, but also to natural law and all equity. . . . The fact that rulers are wicked and unjust does not excuse tumult and rebellion; to punish wickedness does not belong to everybody, but to the worldly rulers who bear the sword," as Romans 13:4 and 1 Peter 2:7 clearly teach.

Luther called on both sides–lords and peasants–to work out their grievances. No compromises were forthcoming. The peasants revolted and committed atrocities against the populace. Luther was outraged and wrote a tract opposing them: Against the Robbing and Murdering Peasants. He counseled the rulers to "smite, slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel. It is just as when one must kill a mad dog; if you don't strike him, he will strike you, and the whole land with you." It has been estimated that in order to put down the uprising, between 70,000 and 100,000 peasants were killed in Germany in 1525. Clearly, the peasants needed to be freed from their oppressors, but was a bloody revolt the solution? Luther said no. He believed that such revolts lead to the breakdown and the eventual end of civilized society. It was Luther's desire to "quiet the peasants and instruct the lords. . . . The peasants were unwilling, and now they have their reward. The lords too will not hear, and they shall have their reward also." In Luther's eyes, both sides were wrong.

March 16, 2005 – Christendom vs. Christianity

As the Christian faith expanded throughout the Roman Empire, the entire territory became known as Christendom. Christianity had a tremendous impact on European society and the development of its laws. There were, however, many people living in "Christendom" who were not Christians. Many professed Christians had been forced to convert. In the fourth century, when the Roman Emperor Theodosius I (c. 466–511) declared the empire to be officially Christian, many non-believers became Christians in name only. Then in the fifth century, Clovis (c. 466–511), who was the first king to organize the Franks into what is now France, converted to Christianity. He ordered three thousand of his warriors to march into the rivers to be baptized. The ruler's religion decided the religion of his subjects. During the Middle Ages, everyone in Europe, except Jews and the Muslim Moors, formed the civilization known as Christendom. Unfortunately, many of these baptized but non-converted "Christians" brought with them their pagan rites, holidays (holy days), ceremonies, and practices which became identified with the Church.

March 15, 2005 – Robert Boyle: The Father of Modern Chemistry

Robert Boyle (1627–1691) rejected the Aristotelian “science” of his day and showed that a scientific theory should be “proved” by experimentation before considered a scientific law. The ordered consistency of the universe, created by God but showing the effects of the fall, led Boyle to adopt this view of science. A reasonable god created a reasonable universe with consistency in the way the cosmos functioned. An experiment done one day should bring about the same results the next day.

In his last will and testament, Boyle “addressed his fellow members of the Royal Society of London, wishing them all success in ‘their laudable attempts, to discover the true Nature of the Works of God’ and ‘praying that they and all other Searchers into Physical Truths’ may thereby add ‘to the glory of the Great Author of Nature, and to the Comforter of mankind.’”1

The title of one of Boyle's many books was The Christian Virtuoso, that is, “The Christian Scientist.” Boyle was not a lone Christian voice crying in the wilderness of secular science. The membership of the Royal Society was made up of many Christians who shared Boyle's view that “the world was God's handiwork” and “it was their duty to study and understand this handiwork as a means of glorifying God.”2

1 Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003), 158.

2 Stark, For the Glory of God, 158.

Revivals had burst out all over New England, but Enfield, Connecticut, remained unmoved. The local ministers invited Jonathan Edwards to preach. When the minsters entered the meeting place that July 8, 1741 afternoon, they were shocked at the disrespectful and indecent behavior of the congregation. In the face of this disinterested audience, Edwards mounted the raised pulpit to deliver a sermon entitled Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. As he preached, he used no gestures, but stood motionless and read his notes. Edwards masterfully painted the image of God holding man over the pit of hell in the same way one would hold a loathsome spider over a fire. It is only God’s great mercy which keeps Him from letting the sinner fall into the flames. The sermon was interrupted by cries of the lost pleading with God for mercy. Eyewitnesses said that some people grabbed the pillars of the church, expecting that at any moment their feet would slide into the pit of hell. All through the night in almost every home in Enfield, men and women wept over their sins and cried out for God to save them.

Harry Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss (1874–1926). He changed it to Houdini as a tribute to French illusionist Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, adding an “I” to the name to make it his own. While Houdini is best known as a physical magician for escapes from straight jackets while suspended in midair and an illusionist, he is also famous for exposing fake mediums and spiritualists. When his beloved mother died, Houdini became interested in the possibility of being able to contact her in the spirit world. Because of his knowledge as an illusionist, he recognized the techniques that mediums used to fool people into believing that they had special powers to contact the dearly departed. Houdini became a one-man crusader against these charlatans who used grief to bilk family members out of their money. Houdini was such a well known public figure that he had to attend seances in disguise so as not to be discovered. Houdini was a good friend of Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), creator of the famous fictional character Sherlock Holmes. Doyle believed that Houdini had magical powers, that his escapes were accomplished supernaturally. Doyle devoted a chapter of his book The Edge of the Unknown to a detailed argument that Houdini had genuine psychic power.In fact, Doyle believed almost any story that claimed that supernatural powers were at work. He insisted that fairies actually existed. He wrote a book called The Coming of the Fairies (1921) that supposedly chronicled their existence, and even included photographs to prove it! In reality, he had been duped by two teenage girls who staged the whole thing. Even so, Doyle went to his grave believing that fairies were real. Ironically, Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes character was the epitome of rationality and would have dismissed the obviously staged evidence as fraudulent. But Doyle wanted to believe so much that he put his usually rational mind in neutral.

In November 2001, the President and Congress declared a special “Native American Indian Heritage Month.” The official proclamation stated the following: “We are reminded that certain concepts such as freedom of speech, the separation of powers in government and the balance of power within government were patterned after the political systems of our native American Indian nations. . . . We value the principles closely held by Native American Indian culture. Their deep regard for democracy, tolerance of individual differences, deep commitment to spiritual life, and strong opposition to unnecessary violence give us much to emulate.”1

Somebody in Washington must have been smoking peyote. First, there was never a unified "Indian culture." The various Indian nations were at war with one another. So much for "tolerance of individual differences." Second, Indian "spiritual life" was animistic and polytheistic. Third, there was no "deep regard for democracy."

American principles of government bury their roots deep in English soil. The Mayflower Compact of 1620 was written before any Pilgrim laid eyes on an Indian. American settlers functioned under English law until the time of the Revolution. The state constitutions remained in force even after the drafting of the federal Constitution. Their principles of government are derived directly from the Bible, and they were shaped long before the colonists knew much about Indian society. John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians, designed a government for the Indians. A curious thing to do if the Indians were a model for our form of government.

1 www.defenselink.mil/specials/nativeamerican01/proclamation.html

March 9, 2005 – Colored Drawers and Petticoats

Most of us picture the Pilgrims landing in the New World in garments of drab black and white. Not so!! Contrary to popular myth, black and white were definitely not the most common colors worn. Listed in Pilgrim Mary Ring’s estate inventory of 1631 were one waistcoat of mingled color, two violet waistcoats, three blue aprons, ...a red petticoat, a violet petticoat....Desire Howland, daughter of a Mayflower passenger, had a green apron, red stockings....among the clothing listed in her estate inventory. And the men were just as fond of color as the women. White, beige, black, earthy green, and brown were predominant colors in men’s clothing. Buckles were not worn on hats, shoes, belts, or anywhere else. Black was not the predominant color except for Sunday and formal occasions, similar to the way it is today. Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony had a green gown, violet cloak, lead colored suit with silver buttons, and a red waistcoat.  Elder William Brewster owned green drawers, a red cap, a violet coat, and a blue suit. Perhaps now when you think of the Pilgrims, you will picture them in their colorful attire instead of the mythical garments forced on them all these years.

March 8, 2005 – What Would Jesus Pay (in royalties)?

Charles M. Sheldon (1857–1946), a Congregational minister, wrote In His Steps in 1896 and read a chapter at a time to the young people in his congregation. The book was also serialized in the Chicago Advance. Because of copyright irregularities, the story entered the public domain immediately. It's not clear whether Sheldon received all the royalties due to him on the millions of copies sold over the years. In a 1935 authorized edition, Sheldon shows his appreciation to those publishers "that have kindly permitted him a share in the financial sales of the book." Sheldon seems to infer that not everyone paid for the use of his original work. The book is now everywhere, and so are WWJD wrist bands, necklaces, and hats. Dozens of web sites carry the full text of the novel and sell WWJD paraphernalia. I wonder if these enterprising folk are paying royalties to the Sheldon estate? I doubt it. Apparently for some, What Would Jesus Pay? (in royalties) doesn't come under the demands of WWJD ethic.

March 7, 2005 – Thoroughly Unmodern Jefferson

The modern-day image of Jefferson as a social and political liberal would be shattered after a single reading of his Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments. Capital punishment is maintained for murder and treason while rescinded for all other crimes. Even so, other crimes receive some rather harsh and politically incorrect penalties. Consider these examples:

•"If any person commit petty treason, or a husband murder his wife, a parent his child, or a child his parent, he shall suffer death, by hanging, and his body be delivered to Anatomists to be dissected" (Sec. IV).

•"Whosoever committith murder by poisoning, shall suffer death by poison" (Sec. V).

•"Whosoever shall be guilty of rape, polygamy, or sodomy with man or woman, shall be punished; if a man, by castration, a woman, by boring through the cartilage of her nose a hole of one half inch in diameter at the least" (Sec. XIV).

•"Whosoever committith a robbery, shall be condemned to hard labour four years in the public works, and shall make double reparation to the persons injured" (Sec. XX).

•"All attempts to delude the people, or to abuse their understanding by exercise of the pretended arts of witchcraft, conjuration, enchantment, or sorcery, or by pretended prophecies, shall be punished by ducking and whipping, at the discretion of a jury, not exceeding fifteen stripes" (Sec. XXIX).

Ouch! Considering these views, there is no way that Thomas Jefferson could ever run for political office today.

March 4, 2005 – Will the Real James Madison Please Stand Up?

For years Christians have attributed the following quotation to James Madison (1751–1836), the fourth president of the United States:

We have staked the whole future of American Civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.

Nearly every book written by a Christian author to support the Christian America thesis claims President Madison as the quotation’s author. People have searched in vain to find the original source of the quotation, a necessary requirement when making such attributions no matter what the content. The January 1958 issue of Progressive Calvinism attributes the quotation to a 1958 calendar published by Spiritual Mobilization. What was Spiritual Mobilization’s source for the quotation? None was listed. Additional detective work leads the intrepid historian to another James Madison, a cousin of President Madison. Cousin Madison served as president of William and Mary College from 1776 to 1812, was professor of natural philosophy and mathematics at the College, and was the first Protestant Episcopal bishop of Virginia. Is he the source of the quotation? Very possibly. Christians should stop attributing the quotation to President James Madison until we find out.

March 3, 2005 – Not Such a Super Deal—The Forgotten History of Superman

Superman is an American icon. He is probably one of the most recognized fictional characters in the world. The Superman franchise is a multi-million dollar enterprise. Everything from comic books and movies to Halloween costumes and lunch boxes and everything in between carry the image of the “Man of Steel.” He’s even been immortalized in song in Jim Croce’s “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim”:

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape
You don’t spit into the wind
You don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don’t mess around with Jim.

And we mustn’t forget the line from Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman” (1966): “Superman or Green Lantern ain’t got a-nothin’ on me.” But we want to forget Neitzsche’s Übermensch—the “overman” or “superman”—which, as far as we know, Siegel and Schuster had never heard of. We also want to forget the publicity around the “death of Superman.” After months of build up, the death issue came wrapped in black plastic with the red Superman logo emblazoned on the front. Collectors knew that a mint copy required that the bag remain unopened. This meant that if you wanted to read the issue, you needed to buy a second copy! People stood in lines as they visited a comic book store probably for the first time in their life. Of course, Superman did not remain dead for long.

            The history of Superman has a number of twists and turns. The Superman character was conceived by Jerry Siegel in 1933. Along with his friend Joe Schuster, the two seventeen-year-olds from Cleveland, Ohio, developed the character in comic strip form. The Superman storyline is an amalgamation of Voltaire’s 1752 tale Micromegas, about a visitor from another world, elements of comic hero Doc Savage, Philip Wylie’s 1930 Galdiator novel, and even the biblical story of Moses being placed in a basket to be saved from sure destruction. Even so, Superman was truly an American invention.

Siegel described Superman as “a character like Samson, Hercules and all the strong men I ever heard of rolled into one.” Siegel and Schuster had a difficult selling their comic strip. The strip languished for nearly six years through rejections until it was finally published in comic book form in the first issue of Action Comics in June 1938. If you wanted to purchase a near-mint copy of that first ten-cent issue today, it would cost you almost $200,000! There are only about four issues in this condition in existence.

Here’s the kicker. Siegel and Schuster were paid $130 for all the rights to the comic and character, forever. Over the years, they sued DC (Detective Comics) to participate in the financial windfall, but with no success. It wasn’t until the first Superman movie came out that Siegel and Schuster were able to strike a deal with DC. They took their plight to the press rather than the courts. It was bad publicity that forced DC to sit down with Siegel and Schuster, who were now nearly 60 years old, to reach a financial settlement. Nothing comes easy in life, not even for the creators of Superman.

1 http://store.yahoo.com/wickedcoolstuff/superman.html

2 Webb Garrison, How It Started (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972), 78.

3 Quoted in Steranko, History of Comics, 2 vols. (Reading, PA: Supergraphics, 1970), 1:38–39.

4 To view a copy of the first issue of Action Comics, go to this site: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG02/yeung/actioncomics/cover.html

March 2, 2005 – From “Moll” to “Molly”: Women in the Revolution

Molly Pitcher was the nickname given to several courageous War of Independence heroines. The composite image of these women came to be named “Molly Pitcher” even though there was no such person with that name. A “Moll” was a woman who kept company with “common” men. It was not a complimentary term. When these men served in the military, women often followed them to their encampments. To be described as a “Moll” was not a compliment. Wives also followed their husbands to the edge of battle. The women were often put to work doing laundry, nursing the wounded, and carrying water into battle. The most well-known was Mary Ludwig Hays. According to the story, Mary earned her nickname carrying water in a pitcher to the soldiers in the hundred-degree heat during the Battle of Monmouth. The water was also necessary for the smoothbore field cannons. A rammer with its end wrapped in sheep’s wool was moistened with water and inserted down the barrel to extinguish any sparks before a new supply of gun power could be inserted. When her husband was wounded, Mary took his place as a gunner. Margaret Corbin was another heroine who took her husband’s place at a cannon when he was killed. She became the first woman to receive a military pension from Congress. She was buried with full military honors at the cemetery of the United States Military Academy at West Point. The Ladies Association was organized during the war to raise money for Washington’s army. It was the first nationwide women’s organization and was derisively called “Washington’s Sewing Circle.” Over time, “Moll” became “Molly” as the stories of these heroic women were told in “polite company.”

March 1, 2005 – “‘Off With Their Heads,’ Mother Goose!”

If you've ever watched a segment of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?,” you might have noticed that many of the contestants do not know their nursery rhymes. “Who did Simple Simon meet on his way to the fair?,” was an early question. The contestant had to ask the audience for help. Of course, Simon met a “pieman.” Actually, these literary little diddies were not composed as nursery rhymes. They “are political diatribes, religious philippics [invectives], and popular street songs, embodying comedies, tragedies, and love episodes of many great historical personages, lavishingly interspersed with English and Scotch folklore flung out with dramatic abandon.”1 Little Miss Muffet (Mary Queen of Scots), Little Boy Blue (Cardinal Wolsey), Jack Be Nimble (Henry VIII) were written to ridicule king and clergy when being politically incorrect could mean the loss of your head.2

1 Katherine Elwes Thomas, The Real Personages of Mother Goose (Boston: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1930), 17.

2 Lawrence E. Nelson, Our Roving Bible: Tracking Its Influence Through English and American Life (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1945), 39–45.