Dragons, really ?

 

     To me it seems rather odd that the existence of dragons has ever been in question, and the reason many think they were mere fantasy seems to be that they have mostly been associated with what we have known as Fairy Tales. The Brave Prince fighting for the Fair Maiden against the fierce dragon! Beowulf, in recent years, was a very violent movie about this ancient hero, but it is unfortunate that the story was so fictionalized because the true story would have been much more intriguing!  The story tells of a king, an unusually kind king, who defends his people against a dragon terrorizing his people, he fights the dragon and kills it but the king is unfortunately bitten and dies.
This was, perhaps, much like a Komodo dragon, but with some distinct differences. There are pictures, carvings, and various images from all over the world of dragons!  They are all quite similar,; the head looks like a sea horse, the body snake-like, scaly; and some with wings.
Fire breathing?  Job 41 tells of a large dragon-like creature that breathes out fire and smoke, especially verses 18-21....
       18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
    its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
19 Flames stream from its mouth;
    sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils
    as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath sets coals ablaze,
    and flames dart from its mouth.
Most legends have a base of fact, and dragons have far more evidence than many legends we accept as true.
So, why are the stories of dragons, werewolves, and other ancient stories, in the last posting, so important?  Because, if these stories are true, then the historians who reported the stories can be relied on to tell the truth.  This is vital to the history our ancestors lived, they have something of great value to pass on to us if what they have recorded is true, and then, it is a history we urgently need to heed in our own day.
The next posting will tell of the travels of our ancestors. Ancestors of all of us, you may ask...likely not, yet, a great deal many of us, and it is our heritage!

Let's talk dragons

   Everyone 'knows' fire breathing dragons are just myth. right? And ,of course,  Leprechauns...wolf-men, tree-men, two-headed people, up-side down headed men, sea serpents? 

   Let's look into the lives of a typical family in, say, 15th century Europe; they have six children and are anticipating a seventh. We must realize this family lives in an area filled with fear and superstition; the Church was here briefly, but two missionaries have already been run off because the favored leader of the group says they only caused trouble when they were in charge years before. Just the week prior, this leader 'saved' the entire community by hanging a witch that had caused a storm that blew down trees and damaged crops. How did he know she was a witch?  She was laying out clothes on the grass to dry on wash day, and just before the storm came, she was seen dancing in her backyard! Of course she brought the storm! Well, you get the idea. In reality, hundreds of thousands of people were killed by their neighbors this way in Medieval Europe because of superstitious fear.

   Now, for our family.  Mama worked with the girls in the garden; the boys helped Papa with the animals; work was hard and even the youngest had his chores to do. As they worked Mama and Papa watched carefully for dragons that were said to eat small animals, even children! And, of course, they must watch to see that their children don't anything out of the ordinary. There was also talk of a group of farmers being invaded by robbers not too far away. This family, as their neighbors, live in constant fear from many different directions. 

   Mama says it is time for the new child to be born! The oldest girl is now old enough to help Mama birth the baby, if nothing goes wrong, and nothing has before. All goes well and the new baby...is born.  The older sister suddenly runs to fetch Papa, she doesn't know what else to do! Something is wrong with this baby! There is hair all over its face and much of its body! Papa says to quickly take the child out into the woods and leave it to die!  The older sister, greatly fearing someone will see her, does just as Papa says. Now, they go on as nothing has happened; if someone asks, say the child died before it was born, and perhaps the leader will not demand their house be burned!

   What a horrid story, you may say, and indeed it is!  Surely nobody ever lived like this!  I'm very sorry to say that they did indeed live like this without the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and amid a great deal of folktale and superstition!

   So what happened to the child? Certainly she died! Or did she?  Was she perhaps found by a small band of those who had the misfortune to be born with a rare birth defect and superstition had many names for them. Monsters. Half devil. Cursed of God. Whatever the name they lived in caves or abandoned buildings, wherever they could find a place. And, of course, they kept out of sight of anyone else! But as hunger drove them out at night to steal a chicken or a cooling pie, someone was bound to catch a glimpse of them, and ,oh, the stories that sprang up from such a sighting! The stories would be told again and again, of werewolves ( a condition we now call  hypertrichosis in which hair grows all over a persons body ), Leprechauns ( Primordial Dwarfism is a condition that can result in a person being born with extremely delicate features and a body that may not grow any more than 2 feet high), two-headed monsters ( I have followed the story of two very delightful girls who do indeed share one body! A very extreme case of Siamese Twins). Just recently I saw a grown man whose head lay flat against his back! 

   Today, we help these people through surgery, physical therapy, and whatever means now available, but this has not always been the case. Thankfully, Christianity has whooshed away most superstition and given dignity to many more of God's Beloved people!

   Yes, indeed, this very scenario likely happened many times over. And my point?  Ancient historians told of stories like this and were disregarded as mere story tellers, and these same historians told stories of Biblical heroes; so if these stories were true, then so were the stories of miracles done by monks, priests, and others by whom the Holy Spirit of God showed Himself loving to those who believed.

   And who do some of these ancient historians say first inhabited Britain so long ago? A man named Samothes, a son (or grandson) of Japheth, son of Noah. A 15th century historian, Annius Of Verterbo, an official of Pope Alexander VI, found some fragments written by Berossus, 290 BC, who wrote 'The History of Babylonia', and also wrote of the early history of Britain, in his writing, "Celtica". 

   Oh, yes, dragons.   Um, next time!

Researching for writing can be amazingly eye-opening and rewarding!

Researching for writing a historical novel can be amazingly eye-opening and rewarding!
It can also be a little scary as we see the devastation that happens in a society that forgets its history!
There are also far more ancient records preserved than we generally believe. Yes, many records have been lost through enemy invasions, fires, humid conditions, and neglect; and yet, the Church has seen the need to preserve these documents as God told His people from the beginning to record all His wonders, and everything that happens to His people is at least a reflection of His wonders!

The first book, Lord willing, will be the beginning of a series telling what led up to the founding of our nation through the lives of several generations of one true life family, from the rise of the Puritans through to, at least, the founding of our government.  There is true to life intrigue, spies, conspiracy, kings, international hostilities, murder...and that before anything fictional added to tell the unknowns of the stories!
This is a story that will touch most of it's readers because most people in America have some blood of our nation's 1600's Forefathers running through their veins, at least by marriage, somewhere in their family history; and most everyone in the United States can trace their family through census, historical societies, city records, biographical albums of the 1800's, real estate records, and many more resources that have been preserved.

Dull names, dates, and places? No way! These are stories of those who made us who we are today! There are stories of God's intervention into people's lives; stories of courageous men and women who built full societies, very often, from nothing but bare ground and a few supplies they gathered or brought with them to virgin ground! True stories of hardships overcome by prayer, ingenuity, and hard work! True stories that have come down through our families and wondered how much truth there are in these stories!
The research, from ORIGINAL records, is as surprising and rewarding as the story itself, and I wanted to share that with you! This research comes out of hundreds of hours of looking through records and archaeology, being very sure of legitimate documentation!

The First Historian

The First Historian Far in the distant past and laid to rest are heroes and villains; Damsels in distress and their Knights astride their noble steeds rescuing Fair Lady; Leprechauns and Werewolves, Giants and Fire-breathing dragons; Kings of a village and Princes of nations. Stories woven of facts and imagination, and stories told in rapturous detail that held the bated breath of many a child before a night time fire. What is behind what we call myth? Did the ancient historians write mere stories of fantasy for their enjoyment, or did they write of true happenings in their own day, and of true stories told down the generations, or transcribe historical documents of his day that were in danger of being lost? Why did they think their history so important to record? Who were these historians, who sometimes devoted their entire lives to preserving their past? Why is it important we know what is fantasy and what is true of the past? Of what value could past events possibly be for today? Let’s take a journey full of wonder, drama, tragedy, and delight, asking Jesus Christ to lead us into the past of His world. Let’s follow the Great Adventurer Himself, the First Historian. It was God’s desire for us today to know who He is, who He was, and who He will be in the future; always the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Word He wrote is history foretold, history in the making, and history yet to be told. History is a living account of God’s involvement among all peoples, for all time, regardless of their acceptance or rejection of Him. History is the interaction between God and man, and His account of reaching down to man and revealing His love for him.

Pivotal: of vital or critical importance: a pivotal event.
We have seen prayer banned from football games, community events, soldier's burials, and other occasions, but now we are faced with prayer banned from an event in which the whole nation is intimately involved. If the whole of the Christian community does not speak up and insist prayer be a central theme of these events, then the nation will think we do not care and they will continue to push any Christian based activities and influences out of America. If we do not act now, when will we stand up and say God is to be honored? If not now, are we saying God is not all that important in our lives? Are we saying prayer has so little value that we will ignore this dishonor and insult to Jesus Christ?
This is THE pivotal event of America, now.

"Be you well, John?"
"Yes, Papa, my finger pinched under the awl"
"Give God the glory, and be ye thankful thy finger still sits upon thy hand"
"Yes, Papa."
It is 1651, Boston, Massachusetts. Thomas Butolf is working with his son, John, in the leatherworking shop owned by Thomas. Thomas carefully and patiently instructs John in the making of fine leather goods for gentlemen; the goat leather is imported from Cordoba, Spain, and is rather fragile so great care must be taken not to bruise the fine goatskin. John takes the instruction well and is on his way to become an excellent cordwainer himself, at 13 years of age, John is taking on the responsibilities of a man and expected to take over the family business in a few short years, should he decide to follow his father in this venture. John has many options to explore at this point; his uncles, John Greene and Robert Harding, each own several ships, and trade goods in several ports in the New World as well as overseas in places such as London, the West Indies, the northern areas for seal skins, and occasionally China, for fine silks and exotic teas. And, of course, Cordoba, Spain, for the luxuious goat leathers for Papa's business.
But for now, John is concentrating on cutting the leather carefully to match the pattern for the gloves being made for the Rev. Mr. Cotton. John also has many questions and between cuttings is a good time to ask Papa.
"Papa, eve of last, Grandmama wept as she sewed upon her garment, why be she sad now?"
"Word has come us from London, Grandmama's brother, William, died in the Tower of a fever, awaiting the axe"
"Papa, why had Great-Uncle William not come to the New World with us?"
"William besought to persuade King Charles of purging the Church of England of the foul corruption amid the church fathers and the crown, but to his misfurtune, our cousin, Thomas Butolf, the king's Chaplain, gave more loyalty to his master than to his cousin, betraying him to Lord Chancellor"
"Papa, need we fear King Charles?"
"Nay, my son, for the moment we live free in this wilderness land, but our safety and salvation lay in Almighty God, and our worship of the self-same Person, Jesus Christ, Who is the very breath of our being. We will speak further upon this subject when the pieces are sewn. For now, give God the glory, and work thy hands in manner pleasing our Savior."

This scene was taken from facts in the original records and writings of New England, except for Uncle William, who represented many who sought to purify the church in England, and many who lost their lives for desiring to worship God as they thought honoring to God, and not to the forced and ritualistic manner of the church, which had become a mere political organization. A Thomas Butolf(Buttolph) was a Chaplain to King Charles at this time, but relation to our Thomas Butolf is not known at this time.

Other commssions

Many Christians believe the Great Commission is the main responsibility of the Church, and that all other callings are so far from importance as to hardy be worth a mention, such as to be involved in government, invironmental issues, and the like.
I am still working on just what the genealogy project is all about, and it's purpose, but I do believe, from historical research and Biblical study, that the Church is indeed to maintain righteousness in a society. How many times have we heard someone say they didn't want to be involved in politics because it was such a dirty profession? Or God's kingdoms not of this world so we shouldn't be either. But Scripture says to be in the world, just not of it, to not take on the values of the world. How are we to be salt and light to the world if we don't go out and be involved; rub shoulders with those who are lost as we were at one time; cry and laugh with those who are as we were before Jesus showed His mercy in our lives? Jesus said to let our good works be seen so as to glorify God, but not to give show of good works for our own pride. Scripture says to do good when it is in our power to do it, so how can we sit by and continue to let abortion happen when we have the numbers to demand Washington stop Roe v Wade, and other criminal behavior against innocence? Scripture is adamant and profuse in demanding the protection of the innocent, and curses on those who harm the innocent?
When we let teachers read and interpret scripture for us and not read it ourselves as we commune with Jesus, we miss a tremendous amount of teaching directly from the Holy Spirit, and He does teach us, 1 John 2:27.
We are under a new covenant with Jesus Christ, and not under the law but still required to abide by it in our conduct; the Old Testament is still for our instruction and Daniel, Joseph, David, and more were put in positions of power for the ultimate purpose of spreading God's Word to other nations. What better place to spread the Word of God, to do good works, and glorify God in those good works than in the "dirty" political arena??
Is everyone called to this? Of course not, but it is very clear we are to be involved in maintaining righteousness in our nation because God has said in the New Testement no less than three times to obey the government, and in our form of government "we the people" ARE the government.
With this in mind please listen to this 2-3 minute message by Chuck Colson.