Random Notes
For a number years one of most celebrated portions of the Chalcedon Report were R. J. Rushdoony's "Random Notes" section at the back of the periodical. In it Rush would literally pen random thoughts and observations about anything and everything. They were often personal and portrayed yet another side to him not often seen by those who've read his academic work. I'd like to eventually publish in a book format, but they are basically "blog-like", so I thought you might enjoy to read them here. I'll have more in the weeks a head. Enjoy!
RANDOM NOTES, 15
By R.J. Rushdoony
1. In the April, 1972 Yankee Magazine, which I receive through the kindness of Mrs. Jean Earle, there is an important article by James Dodson on "The Ditch That Divided Nantucket." Nantucket Island has three ponds which, from Indian days, have been opened to the sea in the spring or fall. In the spring, striped bass, herring, and white perch enter into the ponds to spawn, and, in the fall, eels swim in for the winter. The ponds are thus scoured out, kept clean by the sea, and a variety of ocean life fills the ponds; these keep the mosquito population down. In 1981, Massachusetts banned the practice, citing state and federal environmental laws. Also, some of the new wealthy homeowners felt that erosion would result from the ponds being opened. One man, Steve Scannell, refused to go along with the ban on constitutional grounds. Prior to 1692, Nantucket belonged to New York State, which recognized the island's sovereignty and the right to manage the ponds. When New York ceded Nantucket to Massachusetts, the latter state not only recognized Nantucket's sovereignty but, as recently as 1954, recognized also that it had no right to require fishing licenses for the islanders to fish their ponds.
Scannell persisted in his efforts, only to be arrested again and again, fined, and imprisoned. On each occasion, the courts refused to admit the constitutional issue and ruled in favor of environmental regulations. What happened then was that the stagnant ponds began to stink, and the wealthy owners of million-dollar houses found it unbearable! Finally, a new "study" showed that the islanders and Scannell, a devout Catholic, had been right all along; opening the ponds to the sea was a good and necessary practice. Even then, "permission" to open up the ponds to the sea was not given until 1991, in the spring. The constitutional issue was to the last avoided by the courts and all state and federal agencies.
I cite this for benefit of people who think the law is "on their side" on a variety of issues, including taxation. Where God's law is abandoned, the state law is soon meaningless. When God's law is set aside, justice disappears from society.
2. I was handed something recently about the great financial receipts of a group that accomplishes very little but has an outpouring of gifts. The man who gave me the data sheet was angry and upset. I tried to explain to him that most people in the church and out of it do not want to learn and grow. They resent the challenge to do so. They love groups that tell them only what they want to hear, and so these groups prosper.
3. Peter Levi's The Frontiers of Paradise, A Study of Monks and Monasteries (London, England: Collins Harvill, 1988), is and interesting account of monastic movements. While in Crete, he chatted with one monk, the oldest in his monastery. "He explained his profound mistrust of Western Christianity, his chief objection being which shoulder they should touch first in the sign of the cross" (p. 16). This is the kind of superficial religion which is all to common in all the churches.
4. Outside my window, a bumblebee bee is busy with whatever it is that a bumblebee bee does around flowers. I am very fond of bumblebee bees, and have been since my early school days, when I read a scientist's description of them as "useless." I concluded that, because God made them, they must have a place in His plan. Ever since then, the sight of a bumblebee reminds me that everything must be seen from God's perspective, since he made all things - including us.
5. Recently, Susan Burns told me of a common method of Bible reading, "the flip and dip" system: flip through the Bible, open a page, put your finger on a spot, and then that is God's word for you today! I was amazed that this "system" is still around. When I was a boy, old-time pastors would either ridicule or rebuke those who "read" their Bible this way. I recall vividly one pastor who told of the "message" one "flip and dipper" received. On his first try, he hit Matthew 27:5, namely, that Judas "went and hanged himself." That did not please him, so he tried again with the New Testament, of course, being a "New Testament Christian." This time his finger landed on Luke 10: 37: "Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."
6. 1 learned a few days ago that, in one English-speaking country, in one denomination the pastor's pay is set on an equality with the poorest member of the church. Such churches cannot be blessed. St. Paul tells us that the presbyters or elders who rule well must be counted "worthy of double honor" (I Tim. 15:17); the word translated as "honor" means at one and the same time pay and honor. To underpay Godly pastors is to sin against the Lord - a common sin. One very fine pastor, who labored especially well at almost no pay to get a church started asked for his proper reward when the young church grew and prospered. The board fought over the issue until 2 A.M., when one man blurted out, "If we pay the pastor that much, he'll be getting more than I do." Of such is not the Kingdom of Heaven.
7. A dear friend recently called attention to heresy and theft in a church. What was the response? At a special meeting, a pastor preached at her by name and declared that she had to emulate Abraham and kill her "Isaac," her "principles" as an act of faith! She should take her principles and plunge a knife into them! After the service, this insane preacher grabbed the young woman in a bear hug, loudly proclaiming he loved her, etc., etc. Is it any wonder that too often the church is a laughing stock before men - and an abomination before God.
RANDOM NOTES, 15
By R.J. Rushdoony
1. In the April, 1972 Yankee Magazine, which I receive through the kindness of Mrs. Jean Earle, there is an important article by James Dodson on "The Ditch That Divided Nantucket." Nantucket Island has three ponds which, from Indian days, have been opened to the sea in the spring or fall. In the spring, striped bass, herring, and white perch enter into the ponds to spawn, and, in the fall, eels swim in for the winter. The ponds are thus scoured out, kept clean by the sea, and a variety of ocean life fills the ponds; these keep the mosquito population down. In 1981, Massachusetts banned the practice, citing state and federal environmental laws. Also, some of the new wealthy homeowners felt that erosion would result from the ponds being opened. One man, Steve Scannell, refused to go along with the ban on constitutional grounds. Prior to 1692, Nantucket belonged to New York State, which recognized the island's sovereignty and the right to manage the ponds. When New York ceded Nantucket to Massachusetts, the latter state not only recognized Nantucket's sovereignty but, as recently as 1954, recognized also that it had no right to require fishing licenses for the islanders to fish their ponds.
Scannell persisted in his efforts, only to be arrested again and again, fined, and imprisoned. On each occasion, the courts refused to admit the constitutional issue and ruled in favor of environmental regulations. What happened then was that the stagnant ponds began to stink, and the wealthy owners of million-dollar houses found it unbearable! Finally, a new "study" showed that the islanders and Scannell, a devout Catholic, had been right all along; opening the ponds to the sea was a good and necessary practice. Even then, "permission" to open up the ponds to the sea was not given until 1991, in the spring. The constitutional issue was to the last avoided by the courts and all state and federal agencies.
I cite this for benefit of people who think the law is "on their side" on a variety of issues, including taxation. Where God's law is abandoned, the state law is soon meaningless. When God's law is set aside, justice disappears from society.
2. I was handed something recently about the great financial receipts of a group that accomplishes very little but has an outpouring of gifts. The man who gave me the data sheet was angry and upset. I tried to explain to him that most people in the church and out of it do not want to learn and grow. They resent the challenge to do so. They love groups that tell them only what they want to hear, and so these groups prosper.
3. Peter Levi's The Frontiers of Paradise, A Study of Monks and Monasteries (London, England: Collins Harvill, 1988), is and interesting account of monastic movements. While in Crete, he chatted with one monk, the oldest in his monastery. "He explained his profound mistrust of Western Christianity, his chief objection being which shoulder they should touch first in the sign of the cross" (p. 16). This is the kind of superficial religion which is all to common in all the churches.
4. Outside my window, a bumblebee bee is busy with whatever it is that a bumblebee bee does around flowers. I am very fond of bumblebee bees, and have been since my early school days, when I read a scientist's description of them as "useless." I concluded that, because God made them, they must have a place in His plan. Ever since then, the sight of a bumblebee reminds me that everything must be seen from God's perspective, since he made all things - including us.
5. Recently, Susan Burns told me of a common method of Bible reading, "the flip and dip" system: flip through the Bible, open a page, put your finger on a spot, and then that is God's word for you today! I was amazed that this "system" is still around. When I was a boy, old-time pastors would either ridicule or rebuke those who "read" their Bible this way. I recall vividly one pastor who told of the "message" one "flip and dipper" received. On his first try, he hit Matthew 27:5, namely, that Judas "went and hanged himself." That did not please him, so he tried again with the New Testament, of course, being a "New Testament Christian." This time his finger landed on Luke 10: 37: "Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."
6. 1 learned a few days ago that, in one English-speaking country, in one denomination the pastor's pay is set on an equality with the poorest member of the church. Such churches cannot be blessed. St. Paul tells us that the presbyters or elders who rule well must be counted "worthy of double honor" (I Tim. 15:17); the word translated as "honor" means at one and the same time pay and honor. To underpay Godly pastors is to sin against the Lord - a common sin. One very fine pastor, who labored especially well at almost no pay to get a church started asked for his proper reward when the young church grew and prospered. The board fought over the issue until 2 A.M., when one man blurted out, "If we pay the pastor that much, he'll be getting more than I do." Of such is not the Kingdom of Heaven.
7. A dear friend recently called attention to heresy and theft in a church. What was the response? At a special meeting, a pastor preached at her by name and declared that she had to emulate Abraham and kill her "Isaac," her "principles" as an act of faith! She should take her principles and plunge a knife into them! After the service, this insane preacher grabbed the young woman in a bear hug, loudly proclaiming he loved her, etc., etc. Is it any wonder that too often the church is a laughing stock before men - and an abomination before God.
