I was overwhelmed with the amount of significant landmarks and remnants of essential places and people who persevered during America's formative years. As is said that, "History is always interpreted", it was refreshing to hear the many historic lectures given by Bill Potter, Paul Jehle, and Doug Phillips, as seen from a providential perspective. That is, acknowledging that the hearts of both the kings and the commoners, and the resulting blessings or consequences, have been, and always will be, in the hands of God.
One of the most exciting aspects of the Faith and Freedom Tour was observing over 20 families work, learn, and travel together. It was encouraging to see fathers taking the information given at each historic site by such historians, and make sure that they were understanding how important each monument, historic site, or graveyard was in the structure of our history.
This ties into one of the most interesting parts of the tour as we visited the old graves in Salem, the infamous city which was the birth place of the witch trials. I was shocked to hear that, at the heart of the several factors that led to this historic atrocity, were a couple of pre-teen girls who got together and decided against following the guidelines of their fathers. They wanted to discover their life mates regardless of the consequences or the guideline, and thus became involved in occult practices.
The aftermath of this rebellion resulted over 120 people being accused of being accomplices of the devil, 19 men and women hung, and a man, who suggested some good ol' corporal punishment for the possessed little girls, having stone after stone laid on his chest until his ribs caved in.
Several years later, the girls, now women, publicly confessed to their actions and confirmed that the accusations were made out of family spite, anger, and an effort to eliminate those who actually accused them of being involved in witchcraft.
Many principles can be drawn from this piece of history, especially as the story is further investigated, but what I took away was the importance of parents always being aware of the spiritual condition of their children, for children to obey their authorities regardless of whether or not they know why (a lesson for all of us), and for us never to make final judgment based on the accusations of someone else.
While this may seem pretty basic, I know that I have a lot to learn from the story of Salem. And I can also say that the parents who I met on the trip were certainly on the right path to keeping their children's hearts.
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6 comments:
My family had talked about going on that tour, but didn't end up going...maybe next year. :-)
What do you think about Jason, my brother with You
thank- you for your informative
and thought provoking post
it is encouraging to see todays young men learning spiritual lessons from history. Robert
Crazy. I never knew what exactly brought about the witch trials.
Obviously, there were alot of angles in play, but to know that a large part of it was attributable to a basic failing of the family structure is pretty interesting. You'll have to give me a resource for more info sometime.
It definitely sounds like an inspiring trip in the context of the purpose of families and how they thrive or falter. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you're having a rewarding time.
Brian
(Can you believe I just made a comment without even a hint of sarcasm?)
Joshua - Your brother has been a very encouraging example of bold determination and consistent good humor. While he and I get in the most arguments around here about just about anything that come up, ironically, we usually find each other out when we need a pal to assist in some assignment. During the time here, we have become great friends (he also doesn't make bad breakfast smoothies).
Robert - Thank you for your encouragement sir. I immensely the opportunity I had to have somewhat of a hands-on approach in learning of our rich providential heritage.
Brian - VF produces a lecture by Dr. Paul Jehle on this topic entitled "Puritans vs. Witches" as part of a set entitled "Christian Controversies”. The lecture examine how the family, the Church, and the judicial system all failed in their roles during this particular time, thus leading to the infamous atrocities we know of today. Thanks for the comment (sarcastic or no).
this has nothing to do with Salem, but you say (on the bottom of your site here) to post a comment if we find anything interesting...
from the brief overview that i've seen of your blog, it would appear rather much like mine, very informative and enjoyable posts that often end with "more later" or "pictures coming"!!! it's good, i think, that you're able to continue with daily life and not let blogging be such a priority. :)
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