ECHOES FROM THE PAST

 ECHOES FROM THE PAST

The history of Jesus Christ is given to Christians in just four books of the bible. Of course the Old Testament gives us more background information, including the blood lineage of Jesus. But, there are verbal stories about Christ that are told in various locations, including the United States, about His time on earth. Since there is no written record, we have no definite proof. Every now and then we have a connection with that possibility through a current issue that causes reflection. That happened during the Oregon standoff at the Malheur Reserve, when an Indian spokesperson stated the original owner of that land was the Indian.

A check of history always places the American white man in a very bad light. For a supposed Christian nation, we have repeatedly been not Christ like. More on this later, but now we look at a comment made by an Indian chief in 1876, when the U.S. Government changed the terms of a treaty yet again. The Indians in Oregon were so badly treated that some were actually starved out. When the treaty in 1876 was given these Indians, land that had been designated for them was changed. The new "reservation" was designated away from decent useable land to a distant range of mountains. The Indians never had any choice. If they didn't move, the government sent troops, and the edict was "peace or death."

When this treaty of treason was given to the Indians, Chief  E-He-Gant (Egan) responded to the white man eloquently, and referred to Matt. 13:5-6. Missionaries often were sent to Indian territories to Christianize them, so it could be the chief had learned scripture from a missionary. It is interesting that an Indian would be familiar enough with scripture to verbalize a portion such as these two verses. "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. but when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away."

The Chief said, "Do you see that high mountain away off there? There is nothing but rocks there. Is that where the Big Father wants me to go? If you scattered your seed and it should fall there, it would not grow, for it is all rocks there." Many Indian tribes have a legend passed on to generations that Christ visited them and gave them instructions about living a good life. Part of that legend describes Him as the Great White Father. If you research the many instances Indians dealt with our government, you will see our white leader has always been known as the Great White Father.

The history of the United States has always been flavored through an over generous dose of freedom and patriotism. That, however, has been a mask for greed and racism. The Indians in southeastern America were herded on foot from their homelands to worthless land in the historical "trail of tears." They were later herded to other worthless land when the first site was discovered to have valuable mineral deposits or fertile soil. The same thing happened in the west, when Indians were forced onto reservations to free land for settlers and miners. They were moved again and again, as white men discovered gold or other profitable natural resources. To make matters worse, the Indian agents and government did not honor reservation boundaries, and settlers, miners and lumbermen were allowed to enter reservations and rape the natural resources.

The establishment of the national preserves was meant to prevent the type of problem such as the creation of the dust bowl by careless farming and destruction of the natural grasses in the Midwest. The national parks and preserves such as the Malheur Reserve in Oregon were purchased through federal taxpayer funds. The Indians only received an order to move. Those parks belong to every American citizen. They do not belong to any municipality, county or state. Some states also have preserves, but they belong to the state's taxpayers. None of these "freedom patriots" are patriots, and none apparently have any knowledge of our Constitution or laws. They certainly don't qualify as Christians.

Those of us who attempt to teach the word of God and lead people to Christianity have a difficult time explaining these imposters to people of other or no faiths. Our supposed Christian leaders do not take a stand to expose these charlatans. Our Congress takes no action except to continue the emphasis on everybody packing heat. We are supposed to be a nation under God and law. Guns may have won the West, but it was civilized law that established the West. It's a sad condition when an
Indian 150 years ago could verbalize Christian teaching while "patriots" today display extreme idiocy. By humoring these misfits, we are not standing up for Christ; we are encouraging separation. Again, check Matt., this time Matt. 12:25. Christ warned the end result when people were divided and refused to work together.

"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand." The supporters of individual states' rights brought the nation to civil war over 150 years ago, and the continued erosion of federal and Constitutional rights will again result in disaster. This time around, the church should be preaching unity, not separation. That means controlling deranged wannabes or television hams who threaten use of guns. Christians should be taught God's word from scripture. What did Jesus say about fear and safety?

For starters, we go to His very last words before He left earth, as given in Matt. 28:20, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Christ taught separation was to keep evil from contaminating good. He NEVER stressed the use of force. Salvation was available to everyone. There was no racism. There was no greed or lust for money. The Indians lived and cared about nature. They didn't destroy or pollute their environment. They had faith, and their beliefs included sacred issues.

A lesson for us is their weakness in the matter of tribal territory, and their divisive wars between tribes. They did not "unionize" as did the American whites who came to America. This lack of togetherness was their ultimate doom. Christ taught the real method of a cooperative society. You will find it in Acts 2:44-45, but church leaders have not been teaching this accurately. It was never meant that everyone must share everything equally. You should note "and divided them among all, as anyone had need," which is part of verse 45. There were no believers who would have to lack food and shelter. This was America's version we know as welfare, which has been abused. There will always be  people who are unable to provide for themselves because of health or other problems. Christians must always care for others. Your "hard earned" cash isn't yours; it belongs to God. He expects you to use it as Christ directed.

The greed of the white race has always cleverly been masked by corrupt leaders who ploy a clever type of espionage, encouraging others to do the "dirty work." The Indian treaties were always altered by the government, but could not be changed by the Indians. Attempts to correct provisions had to be approved by Congress, and the Senate always failed to grant approval. The work of lobbyists was evident even then, as money influenced legislators. Even small states had two senators, making it easier to form a blocking vote. Things don't change much; they just get more sophisticated. People can divide the races, as they address immigration; they can divide by religion; they can divide by gender; they can divide by wealth, they can divide by age; they can divide by education. We are all His children, and politicians are using all the above divisions. The future of America is no longer in the Book of Revelation. It's before us now.

Rev. Walbear