LETTERS - I

Ignorance

Those of us who, by God’s Grace and Mercy , have walked this earth for more than a generation or two, have a vantage point from which to view many things taking place today over time. I am aware that it has always been the cry of Grannies and Gramps that "Things just aren’t what they used to be when I was young." But perhaps, also, this very cry should be a warning sound to the younger generations.

The Bible predicts continual degeneration of morals until the end, and the "time of the end" as described in Peter’s epistle and else-where grates ominously upon our ears as we hear of the corruption of all things that make life worth living-- Love, Truthfulness, Courtesy, Kindness, Helpfulness, Family Affection and Filial Obedience.

The ‘Dark Ages’ were dark for one main reason, the Holy Scriptures were denied to the people and in their place superstition and fantasy reined. Learning was at a low ebb, and the monks and priests that were supposed to educate and guide the people, for the most part told them fearful, superstitious tales to secure more strongly their own power over them and were themselves slaves to gross ignorance. The unregenerate heart enjoys fantasy and mysticism and these leaders often were admired for their story-telling ability.

The people being totally ignorant of the scriptures made it so easy for the religious leaders-- they could tell the people anything and assure them that it was the very God’s-truth and they knew no better. In Europe in those times all types of knowledge was downtrodden and only in the ‘Church of the Wilderness’ was agricultural and architectural, medical and scientific knowledge kept alive.

God’s true people have always been a bastion of true knowledge. In the schools of the early Irish Church, all kinds of useful, practical knowledge was taught and practiced. Far from making His people superstitious and ignorant, God’s Word read and practiced always has produced a wise and knowing people - industrious and skillful.

Today we have schools all over the place but what do we see happening? True knowledge is rapidly waning. Again we have a situation where many, as they hear of different Bible translations and "scholarly debates" are beginning again to leave the study of the Word to those who ‘know" and so the average person is as ignorant of what the Bible contains and teaches as were the dear, old, ignorant, dark-agers. This ignorance, I tremble to say is even making inroads into those once known as the "People of the Book"

Even fifty years ago, children were encouraged to pursue studies of history, science and practical knowledge. Silly stories, fairytales and fantasy, although too much with us even then, were still not considered the fare that school studies were based upon. TV educational shows were mostly grounded in reality. What do we see now? I once sat in a doctor’s office where a TV was left on and was amazed to watch an educational presentation all about the ‘Tooth-Fairy’! Vital knowledge?? Children are growing up in a world swamped in fantasy - whether it is the cute kind such as care bears and little unicorns or the ugly, violent, super-hero and horror kind. Most young children can tell you all about the details of all of the recent movies and TV serials and cartoons but how many can even tell you anything about the Bible? Mother’s are up on the ‘soaps’ but do they know anything real about the spiritual and nutritional needs of their families? Dad knows the teams and the ‘big games’ but does he know his place as spiritual leader of his family?

Sports is the only religion that many are exposed to and for some the Eastern Buddhism of the martial arts is looked to as it teaches ‘discipline’. But what kind of discipline??

We think we live in an highly educated age but statistics show that illiteritism is rampant. True understanding of practical skills is vanishing. The educational institutes offer degrees in such superstitious devil doctrines as Astrology, witchcraft, ESP, Satanism, Voodoo, Hypnotism and psychic healing and ‘occult’ knowledge. Touch For Healing, an occult methodology, is openly practiced even in SDA hospitals. I have heard people say it is like the middle ages - but they are wrong! Even in the middle ages these things were not taught in the universities!

Modern Man and his children are choosing to live in a world of fantasy and ignorance. This is what is coming in as real scriptural knowledge goes out.

The average school child today although he may know about computers, seldom can do more with them that play mind corrupting games, he may know about all kinds of technology, but does not understand the true concepts behind the gadgets he plays with. Hard work is considered a bad joke and the day to day chores that make our lives pleasant are ‘Boring’ and to be shunned unless you can get a machine that will do it for you. Even learning is laughed at and it is not considered ‘cool’ to study or to be wise. I was horrified recently as my little grandchild gleefully recited the poem given her to learn by her school--It was advising children that if asked to do the dishes, they should drop them on the floor -- so they would not be asked to do them any more!

I often have though as I looked at pictures out west of the hardy homesteaders and their hardworking children of what would a boy in those days have thought if he were transported into our days and put with the fantasy drowned, entertainment dependent, dreamers of today?

I fear that we are headed full speed again into the dark tunnel of superstition and ignorance where true knowledge is pathetically rare and people only look to and depend on their leaders for guidance and spoon fed information-- information that suits the purposes of those providing it and not those receiving it-- locked into some kind of perpetual childishness-- where the movements of a sphere of rubber or an inflated piece of leather is of more importance than the way to Eternal Life. Where fantasy has so pervaded the mind that it is unable to grasp the truth—even when it is available- surely this is the most pitiful condition of all!

TEMCAT'S LETTERS