Trending
Keeping faith
Dear Editor,
Today I was reminded that all that is in the headlines is simply history fulfilling itself. This came to mind as I was reading from the book of the Originator of human history. Upon further research of said book I found that there is an end of human history as we know it. In the book there is described events that were predicted to come to pass that we are seeing revealed as predicted. This book is centered around the Hebrew peoples and their descendants.
In today’s news there is much reporting concerning global hatred of Israel and the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. This hatred is spewing out from many candidates of the DSA and other Democrat affiliates as well as in the organized rioting we see here and throughout Europe. One of the chants of these “peaceful” rioters is “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free.” This is openly calling for the annihilation of Israel and by extension of all Jews. My concern is that there are Christians who don’t think this hatred will be extended to them as well. But I digress.
The slogan mentioned previously is not new or original. Actually, the Originator of the slogan was quoted several thousand years ago as telling the Hebrew people, “Every place in which your sole treads shall be yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates to the Western Sea shall be your territory.” From the river to the sea belongs the Nation of Israel and the Jewish people by decree. There is no political organization, committee, governing body, religion or ideology, no matter the depth of their hatred that is going to change that. Even as we watch history in the making, don’t be deceived for there will be many natural disasters, wars, ethnic and racial hatreds will abound, but this is only the beginning of the end of the age.
The promise in the midst of this is given by the Anointed One, the Messiah of Israel, our hope of glory. He tells us “When you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Watch and pray that you may be able to escape all these things and stand before the Son of Man.” History is unfolding and the Truth is being fulfilled before our very eyes. The end of the age is before us.
Soon will be the return of the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, with Him reigning in Israel, seated on His throne in Jerusalem. So be it.
Dennis Atwater,
Russell
Harvest of hope?
Dear Editor,
It should come as no surprise that farmers are a religious group. Farming involves the very cycle of life. Planting, breeding livestock, tending to crops, harvesting, feeding and caring for animals. It's hard work, and that hard work doesn't always guarantee success.
Drought, too much rain, sometimes both even in the same year. Severe winds, tornadoes. Frost. Disease. Insects. Marketing risks. And overhead costs.
Turning to God for help, for guidance, for good conditions, even for consolation at times seems pretty natural.
Still, farms are struggling. We are losing family farms at an alarming rate. High debt. Despair. Foreclosure. Abandonment. Or selling the farm. Why?
It is actually a major part of Jesus' message in the Bible. Not the "family values" stuff the church dwells on. No, it is debt. Poverty. Abuse of the common man. It’s in the gospels.
Jesus' audience were commoners. Farmers, even if just a family plot of land. The daily wage of one denarius fed one person. If the family was to eat they had to raise the food themselves.
Poverty was everywhere – fully 85-90% of the population lived one crisis away from doom. There was no middle class. The actual words of the prayer Jesus taught us were "give us this day OUR DAILY BREAD…" “Forgive us our DEBTS…” People were literally starving.
Why? Because the Romans were taxing the farmers into debt. Jesus named the culprits.
The tax collectors: Taxes were exorbitant. About 40-45%, maybe more. To fund the projects of Caesar Augustus, King Herod, and Pontius Pilate. And the tax collectors were free to overcharge as much as they could to line their own pockets.
Money lenders: Farmers had to borrow money at high rates to pay the taxes. The goal was not to save the farmer. The goal was to bankrupt them.
Wealthy landowners: The debts could not be paid so the tax collectors and money lenders took (stole?) the land and sold it on the cheap to the wealthy landowners. The landowners were the Roman elites.
The priests: The Sadduccees were the wealthy priests who joined the Romans in buying up the valuable farms. Jesus chastised them for stealing from the very people they were commissioned by God to serve. The Pharisees were the "morality police" who tormented the peasants for not following the law -- you can't work on your family farm on Sunday, IT'S THE SABBATH! Starve instead, I guess.
Roman taxes were the culprit in Jesus' day. What is it today?
Debt, high interest rates, market forces, equipment costs, fuel costs, fertilizer costs – these are the problems creating the crises for the farmers today. On purpose?
Are large corporations today's "wealthy landowners?" Buying up or acquiring abandoned farms on the cheap then hiring labor for poverty wages? Are you sure these mega-agricultural businesses want to deport all of the immigrants?
Are today's Sadduccees the Megachurches and wealthy evangelists who are cashing in on the plight of the farmer and other entrepreneurs? How much land do they own?
What churches today fill the role of the Pharisees? The morality police. Finding groups to persecute, groups that the Old Testament and the Apostle Paul wrote about. Groups Jesus accepted as children of God. Do they really care about morals or do they have you looking the other way while you lose your farm? It sounds so familiar.
My question is this: Is it really worth losing the family farm because 10 athletes out of 10,000 that participate in college sports are transgender?
James Spangler, OD
Warren, PA