HISTORY:
unwrapped – September 2008
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September 30, 2008 – Delicious and Refreshing
 Mention the name of Dr. John Stith Pemberton, and the majority of people would shrug their shoulders. But it was Dr. Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, who carried his new concoction in a jug down the street to Jacob’s Pharmacy for a taste testing at the soda fountain. The syrup was declared “excellent” and sold for five cents a glass. Carbonated water was added to the new syrup producing a drink that was “Delicious and Refreshing,” a theme that continues to this day.
Dr. Pemberton’s partner and bookkeeper suggested the name “Coca-Cola,” and soon the beverage was being advertised in the newspaper. The first year’s sales averaged about nine drinks a day. Dr. Pemberton had no idea of the potential of his creation. He eventually sold his business, with the remaining interest in his tasty drink being purchased by Asa Candler. Atlantan Candler had fine business sense and ended up with complete control of Coca-Cola. Under his direction, Coca-Cola became the most recognized product around the world.
September 29, 2008 – 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.’” 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.”
September 26, 2008 – Giving Thanks to God
 On Thursday, September 24, 1789, the First House of Representatives recommended the First Amendment to the states for ratification. Congressman Elias Boudinot proposed that Congress jointly request that President Washington proclaim a day of thanksgiving for “the many signal favors of Almighty god.” He “could not think of letting the session pass over without offering an opportunity to all the citizens of the United States of joining, with one voice, in returning to Almighty God their sincere thanks for the blessings he had poured down upon them.” The colonists of another era were aware of the many instances of thanksgiving found in “holy writ.” Thanksgiving, as it was practiced by the colonists, was a religious celebration that shared the sentiments of their biblical forerunners, giving thanks to God for His faithful provision. “Twice en route the passengers [aboard the Arabella] participated in a fast, and once a ‘thanksgiving.’”
One of the earliest recorded celebrations occurred a half century before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. “A small colony of French Huguenots established a settlement near present-day Jacksonville, Florida. On June 30, 1564, their leader, René de Laudonnière, recorded that ‘We sang a psalm of Thanksgiving unto God, beseeching Him that it would please Him to continue His accustomed goodness towards us.’” May we do likewise this day as we gather together with our families and thank God for continuing to bless our nation.
September 25, 2008 – Liberty's Pioneer
 At the beginning of the sixteenth century, individual freedom, either political or religious, was virtually unknown. Geneva was a good example. Before the city council had disestablished Roman Catholicism, the Church ruled the State through the Roman Catholic bishop. Afterwards, the State ruled the Church through the council. When John Calvin arrived at Geneva in August 1536, he was confronted with this unbiblical approach to government. Calvin's goal was to establish a Church governmentally independent of the council while assuring that the council would not be independent of God's law as it pertained to its civil jurisdiction. His tool in accomplishing this difficult task was the Word of God. He preached and lectured from the Bible every day. He knew that when changes came they would come from the bottom up--from the people who desired a true Reformation without revolution. Calvin drew a clear line of distinction between the civil magistrate, whose authority was confined to civil matters, and the elders of churches, whose authority was confined to ecclesiastical matters. He established in Geneva the biblical idea of the jurisdictional separation between Church and State. Contrary to popular opinion, Calvin did not set up a system of government in which the clergy dominated the city council. He was not even a citizen of Geneva until 1559, and he appeared before the council when he was called on to offer his opinions on theological issues. He never occupied a political or civil office in Geneva.
September 24, 2008 – The Black Yankees
 The myth that there was no slavery in New England has been shattered as more evidence has come to light. The enslaved men and women of New England elected their own governors and kings, and elected officials carried authority in the black community and mediated disputes. Blacks worked in fishing, trade, shipbuilding, dock work, and construction. Many of them became success stories like Samuel Gipson who began his own business. When he died, he left his estate to a young clerk he employed. Gipson’s amazing story of success is more remarkable because he had spent most of his life as a slave, and his heir was the son of the man who had owned him! The new evidence is proving how much the black community contributed to the development of the cities of New England.
September 23, 2008 – Botched Bibles
Several English Bibles published in the seventeenth century get their nicknames because of typographic errors. The so-called Murderer’s Bible misprints “murderers” instead of the correct word “murmurers” in Jude 16. Mark 7:27 was made to read: “Let the children first be killed” (instead of “filled”). The Wife-Hater Bible tells a man to hate his own wife: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father . . . yea, and his  own wife also.” Of course, “wife” should read “life.” The first edition of the King James Bible correctly has Matthew 26:36 stating, “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane…” The second printing reads, “Then cometh Judas with them unto a place called Gethsemane.” The Adulterer’s or Wicked Bible, a 1631 King James Version, leaves out an essential “not” and commands “Thou shalt commit adultery.” King Charles fined the printer Robert Barker the enormous sum of £300 and took away his license to print Bibles. An Oxford edition of 1717 was known as the Vinegar Bible because the chapter heading to Luke 20 had “Vinegar” for “Vineyard” in the title “The Parable of the Vineyard.” A 1716 KJV Bible made a common typographical mistake by transposing letters. Instead of John 8:11 reading, “Go, and sin no more,” it read, “Go and sin on more.” The Printer’s Bible laments that “printers” (not “princes”) “have persecuted me without cause” (Ps. 119:161). Considering how these botched Bibles got their name, the Psalm might not be too far off.
September 22, 2008 – Star Light, Star Bright
 The Star Chamber was a room in the palace at Westminster, England, where the king's council met. The room was named because of the star-decorated ceiling. From medieval times the king's council had ruled on specific legal cases that were beyond the jurisdiction of the common courts. By an act of Parliament in 1487, Henry VII strengthened the power of the council so nobles could be put on trial. In 1540 Henry VIII put the committee under his direct control that came to be known as the Court of Star Chamber. There was no jury and any punishment could be inflicted except the death penalty. The Star Chamber forced people to testify against themselves. By the time of Charles I, the Star Chamber had the reputation of being a "legal" way for the king to get rid of his political enemies. The authority of the Star Chamber was taken away by the Long Parliament in 1641 and restored the concept of "lawful judgment" of a defendant by "his peers or by the law of the land." The Courts of High Commission served a similar purpose but were directed at the clergy, especially Puritan ministers. They, too, were abolished in 1641.
Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook starred in the movie The Star Chamber (1983). When cases must be dismissed because of technicalities, a small cadre of judges resort to establishing a secret tribunal—a star chamber—to try cases and pass their own sense of justice. At first, justice seems to prevail. But before too long, things go awry. Open tribunals, as frustrating as they may be, are better than any star chamber no matter how perfectly conceived.
September 19, 2008 – The Gentle Professor
 The most famous scientist of the 20th century, Albert Einstein, was born in Germany in 1879. Einstein didn’t talk until he was three, but the precocious boy taught himself Euclidean geometry at twelve. He detested dull education and often cut classes to study physics or play his violin. His professors turned him down for a teaching position. Instead he worked as tutor, substitute teacher, and an examiner in the Swiss patent office. Einstein earned a doctorate and published three theoretical papers that would change the way scientists regarded light and motion. Like Sir Isaac Newton, Einstein believed in a universe ordered by God. When Adolph Hitler came to power in 1933, Einstein accepted a position at Princeton University. At Princeton, Einstein became a beloved and familiar figure who was often seen taking walks and checking out the kitchen gadgets at Woolworth’s. His rumpled appearance and finger-in-the-light-socket hair often caused visitors to the university to mistake him for a bum. Always approachable, Einstein, whose brilliance rocked the scientific community, was not above helping a young neighbor with his math homework.
September 18, 2008 – The Fugitive Translator 
If England were ever to be evangelized, William Tyndale was convinced that it would take place only if people could read the Bible in their own language. His efforts to get permission to translate Scripture failed, so Tyndale left England. He settled in Antwerp where he worked translating the Bible. When his English Bibles were smuggled into England, Tyndale became a hunted man. For seven years Tyndale eluded his pursuers who eventually tracked him down. At his trial, Tyndale was condemned to die. But the story does not end there. After his death, the king was presented with one of Tyndale’s New Testaments and he proclaimed without realizing the translation’s source, “In God’s name let it go abroad among the people.” Two years later, every church in England displayed one book of the whole Bible in English as directed by the king.
September 17, 2008 – Up, Up, and Away
 The idea of using balloons for transportation had always intrigued George Washington from the time of the first manned flight in Paris in 1783. When the greatest of the aeronauts, Jean Pierre Blanchard, crossed the Atlantic to give a demonstration, Washington was present. The site chosen for the lift-off was the Walnut Street Prison courtyard in Philadelphia, the nation’s capital at the time. Arriving at 9:00 A.M., Washington presented Blanchard with a passport he himself had signed. Not knowing how far the balloonist might travel, Washington had thoughtfully prepared a passport, just in case. It would seem that the nation’s president had high hopes for Blanchard’s flight.
When the 46-minute flight ended in New Jersey, 15 miles away, Blanchard was met by two astonished farmers, one carrying a gun! Blanchard, who didn’t understand English, waved the paper with the presidential signature and produced a bottle of spirits. Fortunately for Blanchard, his actions lessened the tension, and he was given a warm reception and passage back to Philadelphia. The balloonist presented Washington with the first flag literally to fly over U.S. soil.
September 16, 2008 – A Boy Named Sue
 Johnny Cash had a large repertoire of songs—everything from “Matthew 24 is Knocking at the Door” to “Burning Ring of Fire.” The one song that brings the most laughter to the listener is “A Boy Named Sue.” The lyrics are those of the multi-talented Shel Silverstein (1930–1999), author of The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, and other award-winning children’s books. In addition to books, Silverstein wrote dozens of clever songs. You might remember “The Unicorn” by the Irish Rovers and “Cover of the Rollin’ Stone” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. But it was Cash who made “A Boy Named Sue” memorable when he recorded it on February 24, 1969 at San Quentin Prison before a live but incarcerated audience. Cash hadn’t had the chance to learn the lyrics before he began to belt it out to his demanding audience. He was reading the words as he sang it. If you listen closely, you can hear the shouts of approval from the appreciative crowd of convicts, many of whom could tell stories of their own about abandonment and abuse. Cash commented that it was the most cleverly written song that he had ever heard. The song is about a boy who grows up angry at his father, not only for leaving his family but for naming him Sue. After the boy grows up, he sees his father in a bar and gets in a fight with him because his father gave him a girl’s name. When his father explains that he named him Sue to make sure he would grow up tough, the son embraces his father but still detests his name.
Now to the title of this article. There really was a boy named Sue. Sue Hicks, the City Attorney of Dayton, Tennessee, was the person who arrested John Scopes in the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” of 1925 that pitted the state of Tennessee against the ACLU and the teaching of evolution in public schools. Maybe Shel (Sheldon) Silverstein got the inspiration for “ A Boy Named Sue” from his own life. His parents called him “Shelly.”
September 15, 2008 – In God We Trust
 Our nation's coins have not always had "In God We Trust" stamped on them. In 1862 many people began to request that our coinage make reference to God. A sermon by the Reverend Henry Augustus Boardman of Philadelphia declared that "The coinage of the United States is without a God." Some suggested "God our Trust." In 1863 the motto "God and our Country" was proposed. The motto "In God We Trust" appeared for the first time in 1864; it did not receive formal Congressional approval until the following year. In 1865 Congress enacted the following:
And be it further enacted, That, in addition to the devices and legends upon the gold, silver, and other coins of the United States, it shall be lawful for the director of the mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause the motto "In God we trust" to be placed upon such coins hereafter to be issued as shall admit of such legend thereon.
The interest to secure a place for the motto was so high because of the events of the civil war. Repentance and trust in God were themes that echoed through the nation after blood of so many had been shed. The motto was dropped in 1907 when President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the American sculpture Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design new coins. Saint-Gaudens's design did not include the "In God We Trust" motto. As one might imagine, many people were upset at the change. In November of 1907, the president wrote a letter to a minister who objected to the omission. In it Roosevelt claimed that there was "no legal warrant for putting the motto on the coins." Of course, the president was mistaken, since the motto had been authorized by Congress. The matter came before Congress again on May 18, 1908, and an act was passed to restore the motto. "In 1955 Congress extended the act by requiring the phrase to appear not only on all coins but on all paper money thereafter minted or printed. The next year, 1956, Congress enacted a law making the phrase `In God We Trust' officially the national motto."
September 12, 2008 - The Vaulting Vicar
 Bob Richards, affectionately known as the “Vaulting Vicar” because he was an ordained minister, won two Olympic gold medals in the pole vault (1952 and 1956), the first and only person to do so. Richards was the second man to clear 15 feet. That doesn’t seem like much when you consider that today’s pole vault record is over 20 feet. Richards did it with a steel pole. Steel, unlike fiberglass, does not bend and therefore does not have the catapult effect of fiberglass. Getting over the bar was the major concern of every vaulter, but landing was especially hazardous. Unlike today’s massive pits that vaulters can fall into as they drop on their back, pits in Richards’ day were saw dust. A vaulter had to land on his feet or risk serious injury. Richards was the first athlete to appear on a Wheaties box in 1958. Richards ran for president in 1984 backed by the Populist Party.
Richards had two sons who also were outstanding pole vaulters. Brandon broke the national high school record in 1985 (18’ 2”) that stood until 1999.
September 11, 2008– The Other September 11th
 Over 300 years ago, there was another September 11 when the king of Poland, led Christian armies to the Gates of Vienna. The Ottoman Empire had been expanding into Europe. Cities were plundered, churches turned into mosques, free people made slaves, and thousands of Christians were forced to convert to Islam. The Ottomans wanted Vienna, because it would provide the way into Austria and Germany. The Pope recognized the danger posed by the Ottomans and issued a call to all rulers to unite against this common foe. The Polish king answered the Pope’s call to save Vienna. The Turks were starving the city into submission and had begun tunneling under the city walls. King Sobieski arrived on September 11, just in time to rout the Turks and halt the Ottoman tide, causing its long withdrawal from occupied territory.
September 10, 2008 – John Jay the Reluctant
 John Jay, considered by many to be one of our country’s Founding Fathers, was first opposed to American independence. Jay was from a wealthy New York Huguenot family and had a successful law practice, which was cut short by escalation of hostilities with England. Jay was elected to the First Continental Congress and initially opposed the use of strong measures against England due, in part, to his family’s wealth and Tory connections. However, he did write Address to the People of Great Britain, which accused Parliament of “establishing a system of slavery” by denying Americans the same rights as Englishmen. During the Second Continental Congress, Jay opposed all discussion of independence. He was concerned that mob rule would prevail. Though he was absent during the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Jay became a strong supporter of the cause once independence was declared and served as president of Congress in 1778. He was appointed to write a peace treaty with England after the war and was given the role again in 1794, which resulted in the famous “Jay Treaty.” John Jay became the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. His long political career reflected his motto “Nothing is useful except what is honorable.”
September 9, 2008 – The Hessians are Coming
 Many of the 29,000 involuntary volunteers hired out to the British by German princes and sent to America to fight in the War for Independence were described as spendthrifts, loose livers, drunkards, arguers, restless people, political troublemakers, not more than sixty years old and of fair health and stature. Students on their way to university and young men plowing the fields were abducted and forced to serve as well. One young man, a theological student, was “recruited” amid his many protestations while on his way to Paris. The mixed rabble and honest young men were forced to serve in a far off country whose citizens viewed them as soldiers who fought only for money. No one was safe from the grip of the seller of souls. The troops were called Hessians due to the treaty made between Britain and the mercenary German princes, one of them being from Hesse. The Hessians pay went to the German princes. Thousands of the soldiers stayed in America after the war and became, in the end, citizens of the country they were sent to destroy.
September 8, 2008 – 19th Century Terrorists
 Terrorist foes are not new to the United States. Two centuries before 9/11, our country sought to protect its citizens from a foe who held allegiance to no country, the Barbary pirates of North Africa. Capturing ships and demanding a ransom for the crew provided a steady income for the pirates. Many seamen became slaves when the ransom couldn’t be paid. The newly elected president, Thomas Jefferson, was forced to confront the continued attacks. Many wished to avoid conflict at any cost. Jefferson believed that continued payment to the terrorist pirates would only encourage more demands, so he refused to pay. The U.S. Navy was formed during 4 years of war in the Mediterranean. Our naval victories in 1815 led to treaties which ended all tribute money paid by the United States.
September 5, 2008 – The Family of Spies
 Benedict Arnold’s treasonous acts against America during the War of Independence should not be viewed any less harshly, but his second wife, Peggy, probably was not the innocent woman she claimed to be. Peggy Arnold may have been providing secrets to the British even before her husband decided to become a turncoat. Socialite Peggy Shippen was 18 and from a wealthy Philadelphia family when she married Benedict, a widower of 37. Marrying into the Shippen family gave Benedict Arnold the social status he seemed to so desperately need. Arnold also was continually in debt from living beyond his means. He and Peggy enjoyed the good life and spent more money than Arnold made. Arnold’s motives were personal not political when he made the decision to work with the British. His greedy desire for more money and his wife’s encouragement were behind a decision Arnold probably later regretted. His resentment with Congress, who slighted Arnold and promoted men of lesser rank, added to his discontentment. New evidence suggests that Peggy Arnold always hated the American cause and actively promoted her husband’s plan to switch allegiance. The Arnold’s went into exile in England, where they were generally scorned and unrewarded.
September 4, 2008 –Bones that Started a Reformation
 England had a head start on the Reformation because of the work of John Wycliffe (c. 1324–1384). It was Wycliffe who held that the Bible alone (sola Scriptura) set forth the definition of true Christianity. Wycliffe’s efforts to translate the Bible into the language of the people prepared the way for a reform movement that would take England and the New World by storm. His hand written translations were based on Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, the only source text available to Wycliffe. Like Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Tyndale, Wycliffe’s reform efforts did not go unopposed. Thirty-one years after his death, the Council of Constance condemned Wycliffe on 260 different counts, ordered his writings to be burned, and directed that his bones be exhumed and buried in unconsecrated ground. In 1428, on orders from the Pope, Wycliffe's remains were dug up and burned. His ashes were thrown in a nearby river. Wycliffe's followers, called Lollards,* carried on his work under severe persecution from Henry V (1413–1422). Because of continued opposition from the Crown and the outlawing of Bible reading in the English language, the Lollards worked in secret. But by the late fifteenth century, the activity of the Lollards began to grow more bold and effective. They brought the discussion of theological issues to the masses which in turn led some people to question certain aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine. In the end, Wycliffe’s views won out. His ashes became seed for a Reformation that transformed the world. “The sacred Scriptures,” Wycliffe wrote, “be the property of the people, and one which no party should be allowed to wrest from them.”
*The Lollards derived their name from the medieval Dutch word meaning “to mutter” (lollaerd), possibly a reference to their style of worship, which was based on reading the scriptures. The derivation may be of Latin origin, from lollen, “to sing softly” (cf. Eng. lull).
September 3, 2008 – Jesus Out West
 When we read about religion in America, most of the attention is placed on the earliest period of settlement—beginning with Jamestown in 1607—and limited to the original 13 colonies. While credit for the settlement of the West “has been given to trappers, explorers, miners, the military, homesteaders and even gunslingers,” history textbooks are nearly silent on the role religion played. Christian History magazine states, “Though history has all but forgotten them, it was Christian preachers and teachers who really tamed the West.” The language used to describe western expansion carried with it religious descriptions such as the “promised land” or “Eden before the fall.” Discovery of gold in California was viewed as a “sign of divine favor.” All of this helps to put journalist Louis O’Sullivan’s words in perspective: “The American claim is by right of our manifest destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent, which Providence has given us.” Christianity was not the only religion to make its way west. Of course, there was an indigenous native religion. Led by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church had settlements in the western frontier before Protestants settled in New England. Historian Ferenc Morton Szasz of the University of New Mexico writes: “The west had no institutions per se—the churches provided the institutions: the hospitals, schools, orphanages, old-age homes and colleges. The state would eventually take them over but at the start, it was the churches. The railroads donated land to the churches because churches meant stability.” Sam Houston’s wife Margaret led him to Christ in 1854. When a friend asked if the baptism he received at Rocky Creek had washed his sins away, Houston said, “I hope so. But if they were all washed away, the Lord help the fish down below.”
September 2, 2008 – Shakespeare and the End of America
 Some people believe that the translators of the King James Bible asked William Shakespeare (1564–1616) to help them put at least some of the Psalms into English verse. There does not seem to be hard empirical evidence to support the theory, but staunch believers think that Shakespeare left a hidden clue, a signature of sorts, in Psalm 46. Look at a KJV version of the psalm. Count 46 words from the beginning. Then count 46 words from the end. (Do not count the “Selahs.”) What do you come up with? “Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof” (46:3). . . . He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire” (46:9). Did you know that in 1611, the year the King James Bible was completed, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old? This brings us to the latest end-time prophecy, this time by an Islamic scholar who claims that America will be destroyed by a tsunami in 2007. By counting verses in the Koran, he contends that America has a lifespan of only 231 years. “Silwadi said that by combing a number of suras hinting at US sins he reached the numbers 1776 (the year the US achieved independence) and 231. He added the two numbers and the result was 2007, the year when the US is expected to disappear.” I suspect that with enough imagination the Bible can be made to say anything, and the Koran too. If William Shakespeare can be found in a Psalm, then maybe an American Armageddon can be found in a sura.
September 1, 2008 – The Ten Commandments. . .
 “Ladies and Gentlemen, young and old. This may seem an unusual procedure, speaking to you before the picture begins, but we have an unusual subject: the birth of freedom. The story of Moses.” Yes, it was an unusual way to begin a movie. The introductory words were spoken by Cecil B. DeMille, the director of The Ten Commandments (1956), before the movie was shown. If you’ve only seen The Ten Commandments on television, there’s a good possibility that you’ve never seen DeMille’s opening remarks. He considered his production to be so important that he came out on stage to deliver a short but powerful statement on the nature of freedom under the law of God:
The theme of this picture is whether men ought to be ruled by God's laws or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator like Rameses. Are men the property of the State or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.
All law is a reflection of some worldview. It is impossible to avoid legislating morality. Laws against theft and murder are legislated, and they reflect some moral code. There are few people who would object to laws being made that would punish thieves and murderers. And yet, such laws impose a moral system on all of us. Although, thieves and murderers might object, no one is calling for these laws to be rescinded because they impose a moral code.
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