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BE A PUDDLEGLUM! |
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BE A PUDDLEGLUM, not an "Obfuscator"! One of the privileges of age is having a rather decent library which is now housed in a fine old book case which was built close to the last of this past century. Occasionally I glance through my library only to find something I am surprised I read so many years ago—and nearly forgot. Such was the case when I laid my hands on Franky Schaeffer’s A TIME FOR ANGER - The Myth of Neutrality. Francis A. Schaeffer, the father of Franky Schaeffer, was a virtual prophet for the last several decades (and we now must list Franky in that group as well) who tried to "blow the whistle" or "sound the alarm" the best they could and now we find ourselves IN the circumstances they merely wrote about a few short years ago. Franky Schaeffer related an interesting account from C. S. Lewis’ magnificent Chronicles of Narnia, in the volume called The Silver Chair. Here is that excerpt: "The wicked sorceress, who is actually a snake, has turned herself into a beautiful and charming woman. After she has surreptitiously thrown a stupefying magic powder onto the fire, she strums, strums, strums on her mandolin. The [brave] band [of the prince’s rescuers], in order to rescue the prince, should attack her, but the music, the comfortable warmth of the room and the sweet, heavy smell of the magic powder begin to put them to sleep or into a dazed, hynoptic state. "Fortunately, one of the band, Puddleglum, has the presence of mind to stamp out the fire so that the magic powder ceases to rule their wits." Schaeffer goes on to make the application that Lewis’ novel captures in allegory the situation in which those of Judeo-Christian principle find ourselves. "The media often like to portray the moral disintegration of our nation in fatalistic terms that diminishes resistance. ‘Since abortion is inevitable,’ they ask, ‘why not legalize it?’ In this way they strum their mandolins and cast their numbing powders into the fire; we feel helpless, caught up in a predetermined course of hopeless events which, despite our actions, cannot be changed." So writes this modern prophet in another attempt to awaken those of us who would-to-God be a brave band of rescuers. Yes, we need more Puddleglums. I happen to believe that Addison Leitch* hit the nail directly on the head when he counseled, "All of our problems are theological problems." It matters not whether you are one who picks up and transfers our solid wastes to the transfer station (we used to call it a dump) or whether you are a surgeon who probes into the skull cavities of those of us in such need – every person who has "problems" has a theological problem. How or what you base your life principles has a direct affect on how or what results are yours in this life of interaction with other people. *A. Leitch is deceased and was married to the popular Christian author and former missionary, Elizabeth Elliot. Those who have read Franky Schaeffer or the works of his father, Francis A. Schaeffer, are already aware of the attempted warnings to be heeded when they sent out the alarms about sexual mores, the family and the myth of neutrality. An order of events – what is more eventful than a FAMILY or the undertones and overtones of the sexuality of humans? And of all the myths we ought to be able to "see through" is the myth of neutrality. NOTHING is really neutral is it? The country who purports to be "neutral" is ultimately friend or foe to one country or another! The lessons in life’s social order are much different than they were a mere twenty years ago. How we regard our fellow man (or woman) is of prime importance. We can categorize an index in regard to "our children" by noting WHAT the methods were in a given generation. The time when orphanages existed, for example, probably ceased in the early 1980’s (at least it did here in Lancaster, Ohio when the Fairfield County Children’s Home was closed). Before that time, patriotism, loyalty and respect for authority were common criteria for an American citizen. Sure, orphanages were nothing like the perfect home life but they were, for the most part, BETTER than what those orphans would have had if they were forced to remain in the dysfunctional circumstances in which they found themselves. Patriotism, loyalty and respect for authority—and let’s add personal responsibility to the list—have taken on new proportions. A second stage in which we find ourselves is the acceptance of the myth of neutrality and even equality. NEVER have people been meant to be equal. Even the birds that fly around in our yards, zooming in and out in the trees, KNOW an intruder, even if in our eyes he looks "just like those other sparrows"!! To the specific "residents" of sparrows this intruder has to be dealt with—and they quickly dispatch the intruder. Man and Woman are different. Boys and Girls are different. They always have been and if we think there is no difference, you might check the mirror and compare a few photographs around the house. WORKERS have never been equal. Ask the naïve laborer who will honestly admit his philosophy of being as important as the president of the company. How is that the boss is always a dummy and the one who works by the hour—or even a salaried employee—knows all the answers to how the company can succeed or remain afloat in today’s financial sea of troubles. Our nation’s economy is a good example of how far a nation can go when its employers attempt to meet the DEMANDS of its employees and attempt to set up EQUAL rights or benefits for ALL. Do we REALLY want or even need everything we see demanded by employees? It has been published that "Ford Motor Company pays twice as much per car for health insurance coverage for its employees than it does for the steel that goes into each car." Some companies I know of have bit the dust because it could no longer meet the demands of its employees. And the words of Ronald Reagan still ring in my ears, "A nation BIG ENOUGH to give you everything you want is STRONG ENOUGH to take everything you have." Have you looked at the rate of your income tax lately? Have you counted your change lately at the store or gasoline station? These words are hopefully mere seed thoughts for us to plant in the garden of our minds.. The third stage is where we find ourselves – reaping what we have sown. In all honesty, we are much like the person who sowed "their wild oats and hoped for a crop failure". No such luck – we are reaping what we have sown. If you sow "disrespect"—don’t expect to see much respect around. If you sow "unpatriotic" virtues—don’t expect every able bodied young man or woman to "sign up" for military service. Some citizens in Cincinnati, for example, screamed out "Pigs" to the accepted and authorized group of law enforcement officers and yet expected Society to HONOR THEIR requests. They had NOTHING honorable to say to or about the Police and yet they expected OUR respect. Were society to utter such uncouth oaths at them, every lawyer within a 1,000 miles would be in a position to represent those "abused citizens" because Society was IMPARTIAL to them or they were victims of RACISM. Balderdash!! Our country is what we are making it. If you want a great cake, be careful of the ingredients. If you want a great country, a great state, a great town, a great neighborhood, a great family – watch how you handle the ingredients. Remember, "All of our problems are theological problems." It’s OK if you don’t want to believe this but it will not alter the truth in the statement.. # # # # # Written by William B. Venrick
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