From Lon L. Arnes
South Wayne
To the editor:
Our Thanksgiving holiday is approaching and little to no truthful teaching will accompany its arrival. Of late, it is just ignored altogether. The first small and humble group of people (fruit of the reformation) that arrived here in 1620 on a ship called the Mayflower made a significant positive and continuing contribution to the whole world. Upon arriving and before going to shore, this group formed a document they would agree to govern themselves by.
The Mayflower Compact defines clearly the purpose and intentions of its formers. The compact begins with God and ends with God. The first line is as follows, "Having undertaken, for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith and honor of King and Country a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia." They dedicated themselves to God and clearly defined why they had come, which was to make America a missionary nation. God honored their commitment and blessed the country greatly. This first colony made friends, agreements, and commitments with native Americans that lasted 60 years and carried the Good News message to them about God loving mankind through Jesus His Son and had many converts to the Christian faith. Other extraordinary individuals like Rodger Williams, who struggled with the early colonies to establish separation of church and state (the true definition and intent of not the ill-formed and destructive one we have today) and define religious liberty, tolerance and free thinking, arrived here under divine directive to help accomplish the commitment made by these pilgrims. Whether a person likes it or not this is the way it really happened.
Sure we can make criticisms of the process but the questions keep arising. Are we looking at the whole picture accurately? Are we being truthful with the facts realized? Are we getting our information from genuine accounts of history and people involved? Or are we looking through the eyes of a revisionist with a particular agenda in mind? A very intelligent and wise professor, an immigrant from Germany to this great country, gave us a formula to use in observing social and cultural activities. "Right Teaching leads to Right Thinking which leads to Right Living."
I am hoping that somewhere in our fine country are some individuals given the mind of God to declare what is true and essentially open the eyes of the multitudes.
South Wayne
To the editor:
Our Thanksgiving holiday is approaching and little to no truthful teaching will accompany its arrival. Of late, it is just ignored altogether. The first small and humble group of people (fruit of the reformation) that arrived here in 1620 on a ship called the Mayflower made a significant positive and continuing contribution to the whole world. Upon arriving and before going to shore, this group formed a document they would agree to govern themselves by.
The Mayflower Compact defines clearly the purpose and intentions of its formers. The compact begins with God and ends with God. The first line is as follows, "Having undertaken, for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith and honor of King and Country a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia." They dedicated themselves to God and clearly defined why they had come, which was to make America a missionary nation. God honored their commitment and blessed the country greatly. This first colony made friends, agreements, and commitments with native Americans that lasted 60 years and carried the Good News message to them about God loving mankind through Jesus His Son and had many converts to the Christian faith. Other extraordinary individuals like Rodger Williams, who struggled with the early colonies to establish separation of church and state (the true definition and intent of not the ill-formed and destructive one we have today) and define religious liberty, tolerance and free thinking, arrived here under divine directive to help accomplish the commitment made by these pilgrims. Whether a person likes it or not this is the way it really happened.
Sure we can make criticisms of the process but the questions keep arising. Are we looking at the whole picture accurately? Are we being truthful with the facts realized? Are we getting our information from genuine accounts of history and people involved? Or are we looking through the eyes of a revisionist with a particular agenda in mind? A very intelligent and wise professor, an immigrant from Germany to this great country, gave us a formula to use in observing social and cultural activities. "Right Teaching leads to Right Thinking which leads to Right Living."
I am hoping that somewhere in our fine country are some individuals given the mind of God to declare what is true and essentially open the eyes of the multitudes.
