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Sunday, April 26, 2015

I love the hospitality of the Anabaptist

Okay, finally, here we go; a positive post. I cannot say that there will be no negative comments in this post, because even when mentioning a righteous deed, it is necessary to contrast the righteous acts with the opposite. This post is going to highlight a key strength that many Anabaptist churches possess that is mostly lacking in the Reformed and also other Christian groups.

You might be wondering why I am so critical of the Reformed and seemingly high on the Anabaptists, when I claim to be Reformed. Well, the people I am around the most are Reformed people, so I see our own flaws more than I see the flaws of the Anabaptist. I suppose that if I attended an Anabaptist church it might be the opposite. But secondly, I think it is a good habit to criticize or be harder on your own, than on those outside of your circle.

We can criticize the faults and sins of the Negro all day long, but that is not going to help us much, even though his problems appear to be greater than ours. We need to look at ourselves; us Europeans have a lot to repent of and America would not be in the state it is today if not for the departure from the word of God of our own people. It is not the Negro's fault or the Jew's fault; they are simply God's instruments of judgment against us for our sins.

We must take the same attitude in area of Christian sects. Let us examine ourselves and see where we can improve. We cannot blame the problems in the church (and by inference, the problems in America) on other sects of Christianity. If we hold the true form of doctrine, we must lead out by example in the practical areas of life.


The Days of Old.. Sort Of


I recall the days of old; well, about 10-12 years ago or so. We had just come out of the Independent, Fundament Baptist Church. And if you know about these type of Christians, they are church-goers who are excited about church and even sometimes about "soul winning", but their idea of Christianity is just going to church and passing along the chain-message, and the cycle repeating again and again. Not much true discipleship happens, if any. The best distinction they maintain between themselves and the world is that perhaps they do not drink alcohol or watch Rated R movies (which is a very low standard). They did not practice very earnestly the virtue of hospitality.

Our small church (sort of a combination between an Independent Baptist and Anabaptist, with a slight atmosphere of home-church) decided to attend a weekend of religious meetings in Ephrata, PA, which was about 5-6 hours away. We only had 1 or 2 children at that time, I believe. In most of these type of situations, whatever kind of meetings, you would have to stay at a hotel. You can see with a lot of events, it will be announced, a list of "places to stay" while in the area. This is what I had always been accustomed to and thought nothing of it. But instead, there were multiple families more than willing to take us into their home and treat us like royalty. The provisions they gave were more than gracious while we were there. And these people did not know us at all, and did not even really know most of the people of our small congregation.


The Way This Type of Anabaptist Operates


In the type of circles I described above, it is common, it is expected, it is preached, and it is ingrained into the very being of these sort of Christians: Hospitality is the chief characteristic of the Christian. This is charity (1Corthians 13) in practice. There is no way that the church (the called out ones) out there in Ephrata, PA would have ever allowed any Christian, whether they knew him or not, to have to pay for a hotel for a night. And in addition to that, there is no way that such Christians they take in would not be treated with the highest honor.

"I was a stranger, and ye took me in:" -- Matthew 25:35



The Sheep and The Goats





This was not by accident. However, it was never organized officially (in a "have to do" sort of way, as a congregation). The church there had built into their very character, a love for hospitality (Titus 1:8), which is a requirement for a Bishop. It is no wonder that most of the men in the church were leaders in every sense of the word, and almost any one of them could have stepped into the position of an elder at any time.

This church had a culture of hospitality. And I am not saying that no other Christian groups have ever nor am I saying that no sect of Christianity has a resemblance of this type of charity. But I have never seen it so embraced zealously, as I have with this particular group of Anabaptist churches. They are the same, whatever part of the country you dwell in. For example, in the particular church nearby that we attend occasionally, any visitor is asked by several families to join them for supper at their home after the service, to the point where you have to turn down many offers before the day is done. In my experience thus far, I have yet to see anything like it. They do it because they desire to do it, not because it is a duty or obligation. They will do anything for anyone, and drop everything just to serve others. And this sets them apart from the rest, in my opinion.

This does not just play out in the area of taking in strangers. It applies to all areas of life and is an example of the main theme: laying down our lives for others. Dying to our own desires and will. It is living out these verses:


"We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;

And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day....

Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me."  -- 1Corinthians 4:10-13,16



Real Life Genuine Hospitality



I certainly do not intend to say that the only examples of self-sacrifice and hospitality are found in Anabaptist circles. A couple of years ago, we were blessed to run into good old-fashioned Southern Christian Hospitality.

My wife met a few godly Christian families online through her blog. One of the families in Tennessee invited us down to visit for a few days. So we drove down, but on the way there, there was a huge pothole on the highway, while going through a one lane construction zone. There was a huge "thump" driving over it. I wonder how many tires that thing blew out and the damage it finally did. There was literally no way of avoiding it and no warning about it. Well, we did not notice any damage until later in the trip.

When we were about to leave the host family's house, the father of the home offered to change my tire to a spare tire, because he could see that there had been damage due to that pothole. So he changed the tire and we were on our way. But after reaching about an hour away, north, we heard a rattling noise coming from the tire. I slowed down a lot and put on my flashers in the right lane, trying to reach the next exit. But about a half mile before the exit, the tire came off entirely and we could see it rolling down the highway ahead of us in the traffic (it is actually really funny looking back at it, ha ha!). By the grace of God, I pulled onto the side of the highway and everything was okay.. other than that we were stranded, one hour from our friends (we had just crossed over into Virginia) and 5-6 hours from home.

What happened afterward was impressive on every part, to say the least. We not only witnessed the extreme hospitality of the families of a small fellowship on the TN/VA border, but also witnessed the radical culture difference between this territory and where we live, in NE Ohio.

We called the family (our friends) and the father drove down to where we were on the highway, and took my family to a local town where there was a Wendy's restaurant. We got some food there and while I won't go into all the details here, the people treated my family like royalty while I left with our friend to try to get the van repaired (even though they kind of over-stayed their welcome, with no where else to wait).

Our friend and I drove to try to find a place to get the van repaired; and being that it was Sunday, that was difficult. What had happened, is the bolts that held on the rim had completely broken off (in case you are wondering if our friend did not install the spare tire correctly-- no, he did not). He took us all back to his house for the night. And that night and the next day (before we went to repair the van) was one of the most Holy Spirit filled times we ever experienced, as we enjoyed a much better fellowship than we previously had during the visit, and his family (a wonderfully gifted musical family) played beautiful hymns for us on the piano, violin, and Cello.

Our friend found a place that repaired commercial semi-trucks, and he paid to have it towed there; when he called the place the next morning, the owner (an old hillbilly type of guy), although he told us he could not fix it, cheerfully offered for us to use any of his tools and equipment to make the repair ourselves (that is hospitality, seemingly contagious in that part of the country).

After a few hours of finding the right parts and doing the difficult work, we had it finished. To top it off, the fellowship centered around that area all contributed to give us $100.00 to buy another tire when we got home. They certainly went over the top on hospitality. But this is just the normal Christian life for these type of people. And these people, not Anabaptist by any means, have that very same spirit that dominates many of the Anabaptist circles I am familiar with. These people barely knew us and were willing to bear all kinds of inconvenience and suffer loss for our sakes.


Conclusion


We need to learn from these blessed examples. As I have maintained for a while now, there are huge strengths in many different Christian sects. If you want duty, realize that it is our duty to search and seek and discover the areas of weaknesses in our own camps, and to repent and apply the word of God faithfully, as we see the fruit of other groups demonstrated before our eyes.


Swiss Kinist 

Saturday, April 18, 2015

"Beyond Off Grid" Christian Film

I have not spoken about it much on this blog yet, but I differ from most Kinists and most American Christians on the topic of lifestyle and occupation. I was first exposed to the subject of Agrarianism by Scott Terry of North Country Farmer, who is Reformed and Theonomic, from what I understand. He has been a huge blessing to my family, and even has a radio show on Blog Talk Radio which my family has enjoyed.

From Scott Terry, I was introduced to Michael Bunker, and was heavily influenced by his book called Surviving Off-Off Grid. It is amazing, as Bunker notes, and also as Howard King speaks about, that throughout history, God's people have been Agrarian. The city life is almost exclusively viewed as sinful in the scriptures, history also bearing witness. City life vs. Agrarian life not only marks differences in the character of each type of folk, but also, both are the result or accumulation of either godliness or rebellion against God. I am speaking in general here, of course, so all the people who demand an exception, please sit down.

God not only designed people to live in nations, tribes, clans, etc. based on blood, religion, language, etc., but he also designed people to live in local communities. What we have today is an absolute abomination to the LORD. And when it comes down to it, it is an abomination to man also; because the results of how we do things today has bred corruption and slavery. As I have stated before, do not blame and curse the Jew for his mastery over you, nor cry about the Negro because of his violence toward you. We have brought this upon ourselves and God's just judgment has come down upon us for our disobedience; the Jew and the Negro simply as instruments of God's wrath toward us.

As much as you may protest, the Village vs. the City topic is not some optional choice in the area of our Christianity. The choice is really between life and death, and freedom and slavery, both physically and spiritually.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ first. But I am an Agrarian (in philosophy and doctrine-- even though it is not a physical reality completely yet) second. I am an Agrarian before I am a Kinist. This issue is more important than Kinism, as important as Kinism is. I have a strong belief that if we fix the problem in the area of building local Christian communities, that the issue of race will practically solve itself automatically. Multiculturalism and Cultural Marxism work best in Industrial societies. Meditate on that though a little bit and you will see I am correct. You will nary defeat the wicked enemies of ours without Agrarianism any more than you will defeat it apart from the power of the Holy Ghost through the Lord Jesus Christ (for all of who think we can join with Christ-hating White Nationalists). This is because you cannot fight the LORD's cause while embracing a system and lifestyle that are contrary to his desire and creative order.

There is a film that is in the making (they have filmed it all, but it is not finished editing) that will deal a key blow to the gates of hell, Beyond Off Grid. The devil has clearly been fighting hard against the completion of this film. Many obstacles have come to prevent its completion. Please be steadfast in prayer regarding this film, and give financially if you are able to. Here is the description and the trailer:

 

About Beyond Off Grid

Beyond Off Grid is a documentary film and media project that explores why we should strive to reduce our dependence on the modern economy and control grid, and how this can be accomplished.

The modern consumer economy and associated way of living, with all of its conveniences and comforts, is not resilient to calamity, and often distracts from true spiritual blessings. True freedom is found by seeking the old paths of productive households and local community interdependence.

By exposing the weaknesses of the modern culture, financial and economic systems, and essential life support systems, and bringing to light the solutions that are available by learning from the past and wisely applying technology, this film seeks to inspire people to a greater degree of self sufficiency and local community interdependence while trusting in God.






Swiss Kinist

Friday, April 3, 2015

International Kinist Day of Prayer and Fasting













Faith and Heritage is posted on their website, Monday March 23rd, their call for an International Kinist Day of Prayer and Fasting. This will take place on Thursday April 9th. From their website:

International Kinist Day of Prayer and Fasting – Join Us April 9, 2015


A recent comment remarking on the serious need for our people to pray really struck a chord with us.  So on April 9, 2015, Faith & Heritage is calling for an International Kinist Day of Prayer and Fasting marking the 150th anniversary of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox to confess and repent of our national sins.  Mark your calendar, consider what things you will pray for, prepare yourself for fasting, and check FaithandHeritage.com on that day for more information.

This is a step in the right direction for Kinists, indeed. I originally called for prayer, fasting, weeping, and repentance and holiness, on Tribal Theocrat. You can read and listen to my reasoning of this on the follow Tribal Theocrat articles and podcast:

Not By Might

You Are Dead

TT Podcast 22: Hans Gygax on Kinist Problems, Solutions


Please take a look at the articles above and the podcast, as they outline in detail what the real solution is, to our woes in America (which are actually and plainly the judgment of God upon our sins).


Swiss Kinist