OLD MAN OF THE SEA - PART 3

Old Man of the Sea (Part 3)

  We continue our interview of the life-long bible reader and
scholar, who witnessed close to 100 years of America's history
and travels through religious changes.

  Pastor: Let's get back to your comments about continuing education. You
placed a high value in education, although you didn't attend college. How
difficult was self-learning without computers and on line teaching?

  Old Man of the Sea: For the most part, it wasn't too bad. If you really wanted
to learn, you just applied yourself. There were no time limits, so you could take
as long as it took. Except for math, there was rarely a need for help. I was
blessed there, because I had some well educated friends who were glad to
help. It did kinda exhaust me after I had figured out a routine of study, so I
took a learning vacation.

  Pastor: A learning vacation? Sounds interesting. How about letting us in
on this sidestep?

  Old Man of the Sea: Well, when I was in the National Guard, I only rubbed
shoulders with other Pennsylvanians, whose culture was my culture. When
I visited relatives in the big cities, it was a different world. I figured it would be
equally interesting to see more of this big country and some of the people
from the West. Remember, there were more states to join the Union, and the
West was still a wild place and the setting of active western stories. It seems
like we've always had 50 states, but as late as 1906, we only had 45 states.
Since then, we've added Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and
Hawaii.

  Pastor: That's right. Hawaii was the last entry to the Union, and that was in
1959. The addition of Texas in 1845 actually led the way into the last movement
to the West. We tend to think as the setting for Gunsmoke to be the Old West,
but that's not accurate. Other states that followed Texas included California,
Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, both Dakotas, Montana, Washington, Idaho and
Wyoming. I bet your travel West at that time was an eye-opener.

  Old Man of the Sea: I see you have a pretty good grasp of History. Most people
today don't consider it to be important. Big mistake. Yes, it was a BIG eye-opener.
After you left Chicago and northern Illinois, everything changed. What impressed
me the most was how big the sky suddenly got. It gave me this impression of
being totally dominant of everything. It was kinda a preview of heaven, I guess.
I traveled by train, and the sights were never to be forgotten. I went across the
northern Plains, the Rockies, and on to the Pacific Ocean. It was the trip of a
lifetime without leaving the country.

  Pastor: What else impressed you besides the sky? How about the people?

  Old Man of the Sea: There were so many things, including the people. But a
really big thing was the way they lived. There was so much nothing going across
the northern Great Plains. Just wide open space for miles and miles. The buffalo,
if any were left, had to be south of the area I went through. The first real culture
shock happened on the first night, when I got off the train to get a hotel room for
the night. I was already in the "real west", where men on the street wore six guns
and the streets and buildings closely resembled scenes from westerns. I got my
hotel room, and found the walls between rooms started a couple of feet from the
floor, leaving that space to be shared with neighbors. Now I understood why I
had been warned to sleep with my shoes on, and to keep my money as a
companion to my feet, socks and shoes at night. I didn't encounter any problems,
largely I believe because God and His companions of six guns kept the peace.

  Pastor: So you didn't see any shoot-outs?

Old Man of the Sea: Nope. Everything was peaceful on the whole trip, and I found
the people cordial, if not somewhat amused to have an Easterner (tenderfoot) in
their midst. The Rockies were inspiring, like the sky. You look at the mountains
and sky, and marvel at God's handiwork. I think about Darwin and his ridiculous
claim of evolution, and the later Big Bang theory.

  Pastor: When you're finished talking about your trip, I want to question you
about the Scopes trial concerning evolution. Go ahead, with more about the
trip.

  Old Man of the Sea: Well, I had been impressed by the Big Sky and the
Rockies, the highest you can go as a human, and the Rockies, that take you
up, but still below heaven. Now I was impressed by that big body of water called
the Pacific Ocean. This is as low as we get, unless maybe Hell is lower, and I
certainly don't want to go there, even for a visit. I was surprised to see vast
wheat fields in western Washington. There were quite a number of Easterners
in the far West--Oregon and Washington. These people were not much different
than back home. It was very educational, and I sure learned a lot about
Geography.

  Pastor: I envy you that trip. Now I want to ask you about something that still
affects Christians today--evolution and the Scopes "monkey" trial. I suppose you
followed that pretty closely?

  Old Man of the Sea: I think most people did. It was probably the forerunner of
today's media frenzy about spectacular events. I think this mixed in with the big
revival movement and prohibition. Even people without religious connections
were interested in the trial. Isn't it strange that this subject is still alive after that
trial way back in 1925?

  Pastor: It has become even more confusing since the Big Bang theory was
theorized, and we were presented the expansion of the universe to consider.
Most people today, even Christians, don't know what transpired at that trial.

  Old Man of the Sea: That's right. Evolution is a subject most people have a
belief or opinion on, but for Christians, the belief should be in the bible scripture
about creation. It seems many of the people in Tennessee believed in creation
and passed a law forbidding the teaching of evolution in public schools. Those
opposing creation wanted to challenge this law in court. Teachers, whether they
believed in evolution or not, didn't want to file a lawsuit, probably because they
thought they'd lose their jobs. But a substitute teacher named John Scopes
agreed to file a lawsuit. This is where the American Civil Liberties Union began
what I call a disservice to America. They offered to support Scopes in the trial
and hired William Jennings Bryan, a famous lawyer of the day, to lead the
prosecution.

  Pastor: Your statement that the ACLU began it's disservice to America seems
to suggest you believe it is still not serving Americans as it should. Is that true, and,
if so, why do you make that conclusion?

  Old Man of the Sea: To begin, their defense of Scopes, who admitted breaking
the law, was the defense of a man that refuted one of the basic principles of
Christianity--divine creation. Evolution is in direct conflict with the first two chapters
of Genesis. This is the foundation of Christianity. If you don't believe in these two
chapters, all that follows in scripture through Revelation is questionable. That means
you must believe the entire Word of God was not inspired. It also means you have
serious doubts about prophecy, miracles and the virgin birth, resurrection, the
Trinity, and salvation. Either you believe it all or you are riding in a motorless car.

  Pastor: That's quite a statement. Didn't you have some doubts while you were
pursuing your studies? Quite a few academics question all that.

  Old Man of the Sea: Any doubts I might of had were erased very early on in my
studies. I have some good friends who have some doubts and have not committed
to Christ as Savior. My conclusion is that extended study by  them has led them to
believe that man will eventually be able to solve everything and come up with vast
improvements to God's creations. These are very well learned people whose
problem is they refuse to submit to any authority. They don't realize they are already
submitting to the authority of many men and women who pass laws and enforce
regulations. Intelligence doesn't necessarily equal common sense.

  Pastor: I see you've become somewhat of a philosopher.

  Old Man of the Sea: Well, it doesn't take much except common sense to
understand the ACLU. They have taken a stand against Christianity at every turn.
If they keep it up, Christ and Christian values will disappear unless Christians wake up.

  Pastor: Please continue with the Scopes trial. I really don't understand exactly
what the final decision was.

  Old Man of the Sea: I think you might say it was a non-decision. There is a real
interesting thing that happened shortly after the trial ended that Christians might
consider an act of God. Some interesting numbers are, almost 200,000 words a
day were telegraphed from Dayton, Ohio, site of the trial to newspapers both in
the United States and Europe. Tens of millions of readers followed it daily. This
was the equivalent of helicopters sending video of the O.J. Simpson ride after
the murders in California. The lawyers on both sides were either well known or
quite famous. Clarence Darrow was lead lawyer for the defense, and both he and
Bryan had outstanding assistant lawyers. It's kinda hard to decide who won and
what they won. Darrow outsmarted Bryan, who had prepared a brilliant oral
argument. Five days after the trial ended, Bryan died. Maybe an act of God?

  Pastor: That's all very interesting, but let's go back to where you said it was a
non decision? Didn't the trial provide a guilty or not guilty verdict?

  Old Man of the Sea: Yes, it did. But the way of legal matters hasn't changed
since those days. The way the case was presented in court turned out to be a
matter controlled by the rulings of a judge. His rulings prevented the testing of
the civil liberty issues of the constitutionality of the law or any testimony about
the validity of the doctrine of evolution. Darrow put Bryan on the stand and was
brilliant in his cross examination questions of his personal beliefs about the
fundamental attitude  about science and the bible. Bryan never got to present
his oral statements. The case simply became a question of whether or not
Scopes had taught the doctrine of evolution in a public school. Since he had
already admitted to the court he had, he was found guilty. He was fined $100,
which was later returned. The State Supreme Court later cleared Scopes of the
conviction. Except for the great publicity, it wasn't really about any claim or
theory. Scopes simply broke a state law by teaching a forbidden subject.

  Pastor: So the trial was not about the belief in evolution or creation. It was
just about teaching a subject forbidden by law? My history failed me.  
  Old Man of the Sea: That's right. The subject probably wouldn't have created
all that attention if it hadn't been for the emphasis on prohibiting alcohol and the
great revival preaching by Evangelicals like Billy Sunday, which all took place in
that time span.

  Pastor: If I remember correctly, the Big Bang theory was proposed in 1927, the
year Babe Ruth hit 60 homers. I consider Ruth's feat much better than the Big
Bang nonsense. The only big bang closing out the 20s was the big bang on
Wall Street, when the Stock Market fell and the Great Depression began. This
is something like what we're experiencing now. I suppose you remember details
of that since you lived through the entire period?

  Old Man of the Sea: I remember it like yesterday. After my travel out West,
I began saving some money with an eye towards starting or buying a business.
I wanted to work for myself instead of some corporation.

  (We'll continue this interview in the next message.)

Rev. Walbear

ARMY OF THE LORD

                                    ARMY OF THE LORD

    There are always wars going on somewhere in the world, and in recent
years there are wars of one kind or another ranging on all the continents.
Some are political, while others are social or economic. The Old Testament
tells us all about wars prior to Christianity. We need to begin our study of
wars way back in Joshua. We should begin there because that's where we
meet the Lord's Commander in Chief. See Joshua 5:14.

    Ministries often use a slogan to "join God's army" to fight the never-ending
spiritual battle. We do not actually see the spiritual battles, which leads us to
keep these battles anywhere except in the present material world. It's difficult
to fight a battle you can't see. The spiritual battle is on-going, and we must
acquaint ourselves with understanding the opposing forces and the continuing
skirmishes that are taking place.

    While those of us who have served in the military have a fairly good 
understanding of how wars are conducted, most Americans today have
virtually no understanding. In fact, I believe military tactics and strategy have
changed very much in the past 20 years, and our military leaders have a lot
of catching up to do. If you study military history, you know the armies that
win wars are those the best trained and prepared. The American army in
World War II was superbly prepared, partly by training, and partly by the
experiences of soldiers in civilian life. There were many solutions achieved
by the use of "baling wire" or similar temporary fix its. American soldiers
knew quite a lot about engines, farm equipment and such, which served them
well in the field.

    Fighting spiritual battles is more difficult because they are fought with our
minds rather than our hands--excepting prayer, of course. We need to pay
special attention to Eph. 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Both Satan and God
have high-powered, armies. These are well organized and disciplined
"troops". They have a chain of command. There are privates and generals.
Although you don't see them, they are on constant duty. You will note in
scripture the difficult tasks of angels battling Satan's soldiers.

    The Devil's work began in Genesis and continues through Revelation. We need
to go to the various scripture that tells of specific instances to understand the battles
that are being waged while we usually are unaware. Satan's ability to enlist followers 
is told us in Rev.12:4, "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did
cast them to the earth."  The stars, of course, were angels.

    Man-made wars differ from spiritual wars only in our minds. We understand that
our earthly wars require continuing training and vigilance. If you get careless or lazy
in your responsibility, you and others may die or be seriously injured. The loosely
committed Christian (carnal man) does not realize the spiritual battles are also
continuing. When you are saved, you are called to duty. That means 24 hours a
day, every day. One of the reasons the Devil's troops are so nasty is because he
never lets them rest. 

    The carnal Christian who repeats the sinner's prayer, may or may not receive
salvation, depending on following actions. The Lord's army requires the same
action as man's army. In the human army, we are disciplined and taught by leaders.
Once we take the oath to support our Constitution, we belong to the nation, all the
way to death, if necessary. Our service is the evidence that proves our loyalty.

    When you state the sinner's prayer, you are taking an oath to support our Savior,
Jesus Christ, and God. Now that you claim salvation, we will look for evidence that
you belong to Christ. We, in America, don't presently face that "to the death" in our
commitment, but Christians in many foreign nations do face that possibility. We talk
about the loss of freedom, but these voices are mostly politically driven, and do not
have documented support, and lack understanding.

    Evidence of the carnal man's commitment requires knowledge of scripture, 
knowledge of Christ's teaching, the actions of the early church members, and
the Eleventh Commandment, which was given us by Christ, Himself. Most carnal
Christians don't follow this commandment at all. It requires that you really care
about your fellowman. Rather than face death, American Christians are permitted
to take the easy road by following Christ's scriptural teaching, choosing to accept
the teaching they favor, while ignoring the remainder.

    When Christ taught thousands in outdoor gatherings, He fed them all--the
rich, poor, and anyone who wanted the Word, which is the truth, not some
politician's or apostate teacher's lies. Note well that He did not separate people
by any man-made rules. These were carnal listeners, many of whom understood
Him, and were responsible for the early church growth. They were truly God's
army. Before Christians became part of God's army, angels carried the load. The
battles were difficult, as evidenced in Dan. 10:12-14. Satan's ruler in Persia was
so strong God's messenger to Daniel was delayed three weeks, and reinforcement
in the form of the angel Michael was necessary. If we have grown from carnal (new)
Christians to fully committed Christians, this is the opposition we face.

    Examine yourself and your church. Do you think a couple of hours a week and a
smug look make you a soldier in God's army? The spiritual war continues every
minute of every day. In addition to studying scripture, you need to fulfill the
directions of the Commandments, especially the one Christ gave us. A member
of God's army cares, and must be prepared to sacrifice for the fulfillment of His
plan. We don't face death yet, but many of our actions clearly show that we are
not willing to make material sacrifices. In fact, greed has largely taken over the
dwindling ranks of committed Christians because carnal man is just using the
freely given salvation to build empires on earth.

     Your acceptance of salvation through Christ is your oath of acceptance into
the Lord's army. You should not expect to "coast" to the rapture. Fighting Satan
is nasty work, and unless you study scripture carefully, you will not be prepared
when the time comes for your battle responsibility. Carnal man follows the material
ways of the world. Soldiers in the army of the Lord will be better prepared, and
they will win the final battle. Don't be AWOL when the commander of the Lord's
army taps your shoulder.  (AWOL -absent without leave)

Rev. Walbear

     

Old Man of the Sea Part 2

                                                     OLD MAN of the SEA -- PART 2


This is a continuation of an interview with a bible reading Christian who
faithfully read scripture and studied religions of the world for nearly a
century while living and working in the United States.

Pastor: We'll get back to the drilling update, but I want to move on to an era
of great change in this country--World War I, prohibition, the rise of great
Christian Evangelists, the Great Depression, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's
New Deal. Were you involved in World War I?

Old Man of the Sea: Yes and no. I was in the Pennsylvania National Guard
towards the end of that war. I was aide-de-camp under General Black Jack
Pershing at war's end, and was included in the group charged with working
out details of Germany's surrender and the following peace keeping. Being
a country boy, I didn't like the idea of all that water. It was a slow trip in those
days. I finished my enlistment and went home. In those days, the fighting on
foreign soil was done by Regular Army and support units. The National Guard
was kept for just that purpose--to guard the nation. In my opinion it has been
wrong to use National Guardsmen and Reserves to fight on foreign soil. That
has disrupted many families and ruined careers of people, many who served
previously and have been "held over".

Pastor: Do you think the military draft should have been continued?

Old Man of the Sea: Of course. Then our reserves and guardsmen could have
continued their civilian lives, helped raise their children and helped stabilize our
communities. Without the draft, millions of young people were denied the
privilege of serving their country, missed out on free training, a free opportunity
to see more of the world, and most importantly, received some badly needed
discipline. The fall out from service people killed and seriously injured will be
with us for a generation. People have been stressed terribly, and divorce has
been one result.

Pastor: What is your feeling about the bible's instructions on war? Christ
and the Apostles didn't really give us much scripture on that.

Old Man of the Sea: That's true, but they were concerned about teaching
God's completion of spiritual fulfillment and how Christians should live. One
of the problems today is what I call New Testament Churches. The Old
Testament is kinda put on the scrap heap and largely ignored. Funny about
that, because Christ often quoted from it. People who kinda ignore the Old
Testament apparently don't realize there wouldn't be a New Testament
without it. Beginning with creation, that collection of writings takes us through
His choosing of His people, the nation of Israel, His directions for morals and
living, family life and protection. The Jewish people were told how to form
military units, and all about strategy and tactics. Can I talk a bit about the place
of the military in Christianity?

Pastor: Certainly. I know some Christians don't believe we should ever go
to war.

Old Man of the Sea: That disturbs me almost as much as saved people
claiming they don't have to do anything until the rapture. It shows these people
have not read or understood the Old Testament. How could they not understand
that His people had to fight to get the promised land, and then fight to free it
from oppression? Now, if any of you Christians out there think warfare is not
part of your faith, look up Word War II and what Hitler tried to do to and did to
Jews. Look in the Old Testament Joshua 5.

Old Man of the Sea: I want to quote scripture here.

Pastor: By all means, continue.

Old Man of the Sea: Joshua 5:13-14 "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by
Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite
him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him,
'Are You for us or for our adversaries?' So He said, 'No, but as Commander of
the army of the Lord I have now come." Now that you've checked me out,
do yourself a favor and read Chapter 6, where the Lord's Commander of the
Lord's army directs Joshua in how Israel can and will capture Jericho. If the Lord
has an army and a magnificent Commander, that's good enough for me! His
people had to fight for freedom and to keep it. Read the Book of Judges, and
you'll see even a woman, Deborah, was a military leader. You should take notice
while reading about the Lord's military directions, that Israel fought only for the
land given it by the Lord and then to protect it. The Lord never directed Israel
to initiate aggression. If you have a sharp eye, pick up on Judges 8:21, where
you see that the people Gideon had to fight and defeat had camels with crescent
ornaments around their necks. I want to talk more about this later.

Pastor: Certainly. After all, we have more war years to cover. But we entered a
very interesting time after the Armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918. The Roaring
Twenties actually began after the conclusion of World War I and the signing of the
Prohibition Bill in January of 1919. The temperance movement was strong and
liquor was considered a major sin. At the same time, we had the clash about
evolution being taught in the schools and the rise of great preachers like Dwight
Moody and Billy Sunday.

Old Man of the Sea: The period of time between the end of the war and the
1930s was very confusing to a young man like me. The war had opened the eyes
of Americans about the rest of the world and its relationship with us. Veterans
then, as now, were not treated very well. It seemed our nation used them and then
threw them on the scrap heap. We now turned to religious and social issues,
pausing only briefly to note great advances in aviation, Lindberg completed the
first solo flight across the Atlantic and that was followed by the first trans-Atlantic
solo flight by a woman, Amelia Earhart.

Pastor: I have always loved reading about the Roaring Twenties because it
seemed to be a non-stop period of fascinating action and people.

Old Man of the Sea: That it was. We had a great stirring of Americans as Billy
Sunday conducted revival meetings across the country. He held over 300 meetings,
and over 100 million people attended. He was a Presbyterian and a fundamentalist
preacher who was embraced by most church people. Also at that time we had the
little parades of the temperance people.

Pastor: That was an interesting and inspiring sight. I'm old enough to have had
the experience of seeing one of those little demonstrations. I'll never forget the
sight. I was driving down a street in Atlanta, Georgia, early one evening when I
heard their "music". One man was beating on a big bass drum, which certainly
drew the attention of everyone. The women wore big, black bonnets and provided
the remainder of the "music". I was spellbound, because I had only read about
this phenomenon, and it was a lot more striking to see it in person.

Old Man of the Sea: There was a very strong revival movement. Billy Sunday
was a man who had strong real-life experiences before he became a revival
preacher. His father was a brick mason from Iowa who died a private in the Union
Army. He spent time in an orphans' home, then finished growing up on a farm.
He worked as an undertaker's assistant before becoming a professional baseball
player. After eight years in baseball, he worked for the YMCA. This was his
training for the revival. High school and world-wise training.

Pastor: It's interesting there was such a strong revival movement considering
that period of our history also brought us previous unimaginable wildness in
society.

Old Man of the Sea: Yes, as I said, it was very confusing. It seemed
prohibition split our society. There was a predominant part of us that wanted
to get closer to God, while at the same time there were those who wanted to
have a good--I should say--spectacular time. Prohibition brought about the illegal
sale of liquor--the hard stuff--speakeasies, rum runners and gangsters. I don't
believe we have ever had such a glorious or inglorious period in our history.
The rum running in cities was parallel to the moon shining in the rural areas,
especially the South. That, of course, was the actual beginning of the popular
NASCAR racing today that has become a big industry showcasing Americans'
love of cars.

Pastor: So while large numbers of people were going to church and trying to
eliminate whiskey from society, another large number simply went underground
to continue liquor consumption, and in so doing, sort of recreated a large part of
American society?

Old Man of the Sea: Exactly. This is probably the real beginning of the
separation of Christians

Pastor: You mean separation of Christians from the general population?

Old Man of the Sea: Not at all. I mean separation of the strongly committed
Christians from those Christ referred to as weak or lukewarm Christians in
Revelation. The prohibitionists made a major mistake when they tried to
legislate moral values. They actually acted unchristian because their elimination
of all alcohol also denied Christ's miracle of changing water to wine, and went
against the use of wine for communion and special observances. These are
biblical guidelines, not man's rules. Some Christians simply expressed their
defiance through wildness, while others kept to the biblical interpretation of
alcohol use. We were all pretty mixed up.

Pastor: I recall my parents talking about speakeasies, the flappers, zoot
suits and gangsters. For them it was a pretty scary time, especially in the
cities.

Old Man of the Sea: You bet. You never knew when a big, black sedan might
come speeding up, with men firing tommy guns at some target, and then
speed away. The illegal sale of liquor brought about bootlegging, which was
a highly profitable business. Prohibition, meant for good, actually spawned
great evil. The money from bootleg whiskey created an atmosphere where
prostitution, numbers and protection rackets flourished. The big time gangs
and the mafia rose to prominence, and with it, came increased political
corruption. Money is power, and power is money. A thinking man would try
to understand how a political job that pays less than $200,000 could possibly
cause someone to raise millions to get elected. Then he would have to wonder
what happened to a Christian country to accept this type of government.

Pastor: Let me interrupt our story about the Roaring Twenties to ask you
if you believe America is a Christian nation? There has been some controversy
about this lately.

Old Man of the Sea: When the United States was formed, the leaders of all
the founding colonies were Christian, either Protestant or Catholic. Slaves had
a variety of mostly tribal religions. We are a nation founded by Christians. All
the way up through World War II, we were predominantly a Christian nation.
Even in the military, we had chaplains. They were expected to be able to conduct
services for both Catholics and Protestants. Dogtags were stamped with your
denominational preference.

Pastor: Do you think that has changed?

Old Man of the Sea: Consider what we see today. Christian principles are
trampled continuously. Symbols our founding fathers considered set in concrete
are taken away. The very symbol of Christianity--Jesus Christ--has been banned
from public places. We now have a holiday season instead of a Christmas
season. Christian prayers are not allowed in our schools. Our kids can't pursue
Christian subjects in school, but it seems there are no such limits on them
getting cultural instruction on foreign religion. We are told to accept other
religions, and to assume their god or gods are acceptable as well. They forget
the First Commandment, Deut. 5:7, "You shall have no other gods before Me."
That piece of scripture tells me there is no other god or god-object acceptable
and equal with the God of Abraham, Israel and Jesus Christ. So, yes, I fully
believe America is no longer a Christian nation. When you crossbreed a bunch
of non pure animals, you get a bunch of mutts, many of little value to society.
With humans, it's even worse, because there will always be the desire to be the
leader at any cost. Obviously, with the acceptance of Christian bans and the
encouragement to join with others who follow different beliefs, America is
rapidly becoming a nation pulling against itself. I bet you're sorry you asked that
question.

Pastor: I'm not sorry, and I'm afraid you hit the nail squarely on the head.
Rather than freedom to practice Christianity, pastors now have to be careful
not to offend anyone. Jesus Christ must step back so others can come forward.
Let me return to life during prohibition. Did you have any experience with
speakeasies and gangsters?

Old Man of the Sea: A little bit, and surely enough for me. When I visited
relatives in Buffalo and Chicago, they took me to speakeasies just to see what
they were. You had to have a password to get by the"guard". Some were quiet,
but others definitely lived up to the roaring part of the era. They were very
colorful, with women sporting the flapper costumes and hairstyles of the time.
They mostly drank too much and had loose morals. It's interesting to see women
with those 20s hair styles today. I never saw any gangster action, but you saw
certain tables of obvious "important" people who received special attention and
the general customers didn't approach. Usually they were sort of surrounded
by men in zoot suits or expensive black suits, and at least some carried pistols
in shoulder harnesses. There was always gambling. Not a comfortable place
for a Christian.

Pastor: Was there a carryover from the cities to the country?

Old Man of the Sea: The only carryover I saw was the moonshine business,
and of course, some wildness by the heavier drinkers. There always has been
a big difference between city and country life. Most of the old timers in the
country may have kept a bottle of whiskey in the barn, but they hardly ever
touched it. They had tough work to do every day, and no one would do their
work if they were drunk. There was somewhat of a carryover in music, because
we now had phonograph records and radio, and people brought the zany dances
like the Charleston back with them after visiting in the city. For several years it
was kinda like Chinese New Year.

Pastor: Did you take part in any of this?

Old Man of the Sea: No, except for visiting the speakeasies while visiting
relatives in the city. It was about this time I decided I'd better get some more
education. There was no online study, there were no computers, and college
was expensive, even in those days. I found you could do pretty well through
very well done books on most subjects like math and typing. I also found a
huge amount of books on religion, and could fill in information about other
"faiths". I found a great deal on how to live a clean life in some of the books,
but none had the real thing except Christianity. I also discovered that a few
of the religions either supported evil doings, or were outright evil. I want to
talk about this more, because I believe it is very important now.

Pastor: Certainly, we can do that, but I'd like to go through a few more
things back in the 20s first. Were the preachers of the time much different
than those of today?

Old Man of the Sea: I didn't get to city churches, but country preachers
seemed to fall into two groups. Those raised in the city followed the
instructions they received in seminaries. They were more stiff and cool,
and many weren't spiritual. You never knew what a country preacher would
be like. They were very different in many ways, and were a lot warmer and
understanding of country people's problems. And they sure loved country
cooking. I didn't learn much from the city types, but frequently picked up
some good "stuff" from the country boys.

(We'll continue this chat with the Old Timer in our next sermon.)

Rev. Walbear