Wild weeds and plants can often be used as an emergency food source or for everyday use if you are careful and know what is useful and what’s poisonous. Many of the weeds we hate in our yards are actually quite useful food stuffs if you know what to do with them. Don’t be so quick to eradicate all those weeds, as you may need them one day. Here are some of the more common ones found in the South East. Always be careful as there are many poisonous look-a-likes. Know for certain what the plant is, before tasting it. Use a good field guide to determine the plant identity unless you know for sure what it is.
1. Wild rose – is a common edible flower found near water sources. The flowers are a good source for edible rose hips. The Petals are sweet and aromatic and can be used in salads. The petals and leaves can be dried and used for tea. The tea is an excellent source of vitamin C and can be used to treat worms.
2. Wild grape – is a climbing vine with clinging tendrils, green flowers in a cluster, and heart-shaped leaves. The leaves and fruit are edible. To make raisins, dry the grapes in the sun for three days. Grape leaves can be added to dill pickles, or can be a vegetable accompaniment or wrapped around meat and other vegetables. These grapes have been used to treat fertility, diarrhea, snakebite, and may help prevent heart disease and stroke.
3. Red staghorn sumac – is a shrub with lance shaped leaves that have several leaflets, cone shaped flowers and berry clusters. The large berry spikes can be harvested in late summer. Soak the berries in hot water to make a lemonade like drink. The flower can be used as a tea, which may help ease stomach pain. Make a gargle from the berries for sore throats.
4. Dandelion – This common yellow flower is considered an invasive weed by most people but has numerous edible qualities. The leaves, crowns, roots and flowers are all edible. The seeds make a good bird food. Dandelion leaves are best for salads in early spring and are high in vitamins A, C, and B1. Older leaves can be improved by soaking for a couple of hours in a bowl of water with a teaspoon of baking soda, or salt and cooked as greens. The crown of the plant, the white part just below the leaves and above the roots, can be sliced, breaded, and fried. The flower petals, which are beta-carotene rich, are a good addition to salads and other foods like rice when broken up and sprinkled on top. You can make homemade coffee out of the long tap root. Let the root dry out for a few days in a warm dry spot, then lightly roast the root and grind it up. Add 1 teaspoon of it to 1 cup of hot water for a caffeine free drink. Dandelion tea can also be made from the roots and may stimulate the flow of milk for nursing mothers and help reduce fever.
5. Bull thistle – is thorny biennial with a purple flower on a spiny bract. The first year growth of leaves can be eaten after thorns are removed with a knife. Wear gloves. They can be eaten raw or cooked and have a celery-like flavor. Harvest leaves in spring and fall, flowers in summer. The roots can be boiled, sliced, and stir-fried. The outer green bract can be steamed and eaten like an artichoke.
6. Buchhorn plantain - have either broad ovate leaves or narrower lance-like leaves with many small green flowers on a stalk. Plantain is best before the flower stalk appears, but new leaves come all year. Often a yard weed. Use the young leaves in salads, soak older leaves in water with baking soda or salt and cook as greens. Dried seeds can be eaten whole or ground into flour. The plant can be boiled as a tea and used as a fever reducer. The leaves can be applied to burns, cuts, and scrapes as well.
7. Yellow and sheep sorrel - Yellow sorrel has a shamrock shaped leaf with yellow flowers. Who as a child has not chewed on one of these? Sheep sorrel has a shield shaped leaf, with pinkish flowers growing on a stalk. Both have a strong lemony flavor, being high in oxalic acid, so use sparingly, as it can hinder absorption of calcium. The leaves, flowers, and seeds can be used for salads, or brewed into a lemonade-like beverage. The warm tea may be used to reduce fever, and swelling.
8. Daylily – The wild orange day lily is often found along roadsides and can be transplanted into the yard and garden. The yellow tuberous root can be harvested all year and cooked like potatoes or eaten raw in salads. The strong tasting flowers are flavonoid rich and can be tossed in salads. The flowers and unopened buds can be steamed, boiled, stir-fried, sautéed, or dipped in batter and fried. Serve with butter or cheese sauce.
9. Spiderwort - is a common yard weed with violet trillium flowers and lance shaped leaves. The young shoots and leaves can be eaten, but are rather gooey. The slimy texture will release and thin mucus. The flowers bloom every morning all summer and can be used in salads and sprinkled over omelets. A tea from the leaves is good for a stomachache. The long leaves can be used to bind wounds and are antiseptic in nature.
10. Wild ginger – is an aromatic root that smells like traditional ginger. It has two heart shaped leaves with hairy stems, and purple flowers around May. When dried and grated it’s a good substitute for ginger. It’s often found in wet woodlands.
11. Cleavers, bedstraw - is a sticky weed that grows on a slender stem with eight leaves in a whorl and has tiny white flowers. It’s often a yard weed and is invasive. In early spring the leaves are good in salads, and older leaves can be cooked like greens. Summer seeds can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute like chicory. A tea made from the whole plant is good for kidney stones.
12. Sassafras – is a small aromatic tree with leaves shaped like a mitten. Some have three lobes. Boil sucker roots, sweeten and use as tea. Use dried leaves as a spice. Leaves can be made into tea and rubbed on the body to make a good mosquito repellent.
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Christian Perspective on What Makes a Personality
A Christian Perspective on What Makes a Personality
©2007,2009 Kimberly Hartfield
It is generally agreed by most people today that a person’s personality is made up out of some combination of innate qualities and environmental influences. From a Christian perspective, we understand that man is made in the image of God, and yet that image is believed to be a fallen one. How much man has retained of the image of God cannot be ascertained, but we do seem to have a limited ability to possess some of God’s own attributes. We can love, though our love is not uniquely unconditional as is God’s love for mankind. We have the capacity for compassion for our fellowman, we have the ability to make choices that affect ourselves and our fellowman, the knowledge of good and evil to make those choices real, and finally we have the perseverance to overcome the choices that we and others make. We believe that God is compassionate, is knowledgeable, makes decisions and is longsuffering toward mankind, also. Though we believe, as well, that God is also just and will judge us ultimately by the choices that we make in our lifetime.
We, as Christians, believe that mankind has a fallen image, or self, that cannot be restored fully in this life. Mankind seems to have an evil disposition, one of selfishness that is believed by most Christians to have begun in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve coveted the knowledge of good and evil in order to become like God. This innate selfishness is ingrained in the personality of man, and only when man learns love for God and love for others can he truly be free from this innate evil. But even when man is freed from the bondage of selfishness, its strong pull on the personality lingers. Rarely can one find the total unselfishness to live for others that Christ Jesus exampled for us. Even when we do good things, our motives are contaminated by our own desires for self-worship and other-worship.
Mankind’s struggle for balance in the personality between the unselfish image of God within him and the selfish reflection of Satan, who was the first to covet God’s likeness, has been an ongoing battle of spiritual warfare since the fall of man in Genesis. The innate image of God, which is the spirit of man, is at war with the environmental effects of evil, the presence of Satanic influences in the world. Only through the Son of God, Jesus Christ, can man overcome the world. The Scripture says that in the world we will have troubles, but to take heart, because He has overcome the world. When we put our faith in Him, we can overcome the self-serving, self-centered world of evil.
God’s image in man (the nature element) or Satan’s influence on him (the nurture element) can influence many components of man’s personality. The elements of our mental processes such as love, compassion, knowledge, wisdom(our ability to use knowledge for good), cunning(our ability to use knowledge for evil), and even our sexuality, which is for the most part a mental process, and which God created for good but man has perverted for evil, can all be influenced for good or for evil. When our cognitive processes are focused on God in us, rather than on ourselves in the world, then we allow God’s spirit to control us rather than our own selfishness, which is easily influenced by our environment.
If we focus instead on our environment, we tend to see what we personally lack, rather than what we have, just as Adam and Eve did. They claimed the right to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, disregarding the limits that God had put on them. They ignored the beautiful garden God had freely given them to enjoy, while taking the fruit of knowledge without the consent of the Giver of all good things. When they crossed God’s original boundaries for mankind, and mankind’s selfish unconcern for His authority was revealed, the consequences for man’s sin entered the world. The evil influence of Satanic forces, along with the consequences of suffering man brings on himself by his own impulsive selfishness defines the boundaries of God’s image in mankind.
We have the capacity and potential for much of God’s image to reflect in our personalities, but if we focus continually on ourselves and what our environment seems to deny us, then God’s image is squelched in our souls. Without this spiritual stimulus then man is more susceptible to the presence of evil within his environment, which in turn limits God’s presence in our lives, for God will not abide in the presence of evil. He chooses to limit His association with those who are inclined toward evil continually, though for those who are repentant He makes concessions.
When we do not seek God, nor seek to maintain His image within ourselves, then God necessarily gives us over to our reprobate minds. Only when we repent of the evil we choose to let rule over us, will God’s Spirit abide in our spirit. When man’s locus of control is inwardly self-driven but God-controlled, his personality will reflect a secure confidence in God’s love for him with a lack of selfishness and the need to do for others within the limits he has defined for himself and that God has defined for him, as well. When man’s locus of control is externally motivated by his world rather than by God, then he will generally reflect an innate selfishness and self-defeating attitude that often results in disrespect and blame for others, without accepting responsibility for his own failures.
Our thankfulness to God for his goodness, rather than our covetousness for what does not rightfully belong to us, is the litmus test of our personality. If we are generally optimistic and grateful to God then we reflect more of His image in ourselves. If we are more often pessimistic seeing only what we seem to lack and lean toward the selfish desire of attaining those things, then we reflect the image of Satan. Greed and covetousness are characteristic of Satan’s influence in the lives of mankind. These dominant personality traits in mankind divide the sheep from the wolves in God’s Kingdom.
©2007,2009 Kimberly Hartfield
It is generally agreed by most people today that a person’s personality is made up out of some combination of innate qualities and environmental influences. From a Christian perspective, we understand that man is made in the image of God, and yet that image is believed to be a fallen one. How much man has retained of the image of God cannot be ascertained, but we do seem to have a limited ability to possess some of God’s own attributes. We can love, though our love is not uniquely unconditional as is God’s love for mankind. We have the capacity for compassion for our fellowman, we have the ability to make choices that affect ourselves and our fellowman, the knowledge of good and evil to make those choices real, and finally we have the perseverance to overcome the choices that we and others make. We believe that God is compassionate, is knowledgeable, makes decisions and is longsuffering toward mankind, also. Though we believe, as well, that God is also just and will judge us ultimately by the choices that we make in our lifetime.
We, as Christians, believe that mankind has a fallen image, or self, that cannot be restored fully in this life. Mankind seems to have an evil disposition, one of selfishness that is believed by most Christians to have begun in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve coveted the knowledge of good and evil in order to become like God. This innate selfishness is ingrained in the personality of man, and only when man learns love for God and love for others can he truly be free from this innate evil. But even when man is freed from the bondage of selfishness, its strong pull on the personality lingers. Rarely can one find the total unselfishness to live for others that Christ Jesus exampled for us. Even when we do good things, our motives are contaminated by our own desires for self-worship and other-worship.
Mankind’s struggle for balance in the personality between the unselfish image of God within him and the selfish reflection of Satan, who was the first to covet God’s likeness, has been an ongoing battle of spiritual warfare since the fall of man in Genesis. The innate image of God, which is the spirit of man, is at war with the environmental effects of evil, the presence of Satanic influences in the world. Only through the Son of God, Jesus Christ, can man overcome the world. The Scripture says that in the world we will have troubles, but to take heart, because He has overcome the world. When we put our faith in Him, we can overcome the self-serving, self-centered world of evil.
God’s image in man (the nature element) or Satan’s influence on him (the nurture element) can influence many components of man’s personality. The elements of our mental processes such as love, compassion, knowledge, wisdom(our ability to use knowledge for good), cunning(our ability to use knowledge for evil), and even our sexuality, which is for the most part a mental process, and which God created for good but man has perverted for evil, can all be influenced for good or for evil. When our cognitive processes are focused on God in us, rather than on ourselves in the world, then we allow God’s spirit to control us rather than our own selfishness, which is easily influenced by our environment.
If we focus instead on our environment, we tend to see what we personally lack, rather than what we have, just as Adam and Eve did. They claimed the right to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, disregarding the limits that God had put on them. They ignored the beautiful garden God had freely given them to enjoy, while taking the fruit of knowledge without the consent of the Giver of all good things. When they crossed God’s original boundaries for mankind, and mankind’s selfish unconcern for His authority was revealed, the consequences for man’s sin entered the world. The evil influence of Satanic forces, along with the consequences of suffering man brings on himself by his own impulsive selfishness defines the boundaries of God’s image in mankind.
We have the capacity and potential for much of God’s image to reflect in our personalities, but if we focus continually on ourselves and what our environment seems to deny us, then God’s image is squelched in our souls. Without this spiritual stimulus then man is more susceptible to the presence of evil within his environment, which in turn limits God’s presence in our lives, for God will not abide in the presence of evil. He chooses to limit His association with those who are inclined toward evil continually, though for those who are repentant He makes concessions.
When we do not seek God, nor seek to maintain His image within ourselves, then God necessarily gives us over to our reprobate minds. Only when we repent of the evil we choose to let rule over us, will God’s Spirit abide in our spirit. When man’s locus of control is inwardly self-driven but God-controlled, his personality will reflect a secure confidence in God’s love for him with a lack of selfishness and the need to do for others within the limits he has defined for himself and that God has defined for him, as well. When man’s locus of control is externally motivated by his world rather than by God, then he will generally reflect an innate selfishness and self-defeating attitude that often results in disrespect and blame for others, without accepting responsibility for his own failures.
Our thankfulness to God for his goodness, rather than our covetousness for what does not rightfully belong to us, is the litmus test of our personality. If we are generally optimistic and grateful to God then we reflect more of His image in ourselves. If we are more often pessimistic seeing only what we seem to lack and lean toward the selfish desire of attaining those things, then we reflect the image of Satan. Greed and covetousness are characteristic of Satan’s influence in the lives of mankind. These dominant personality traits in mankind divide the sheep from the wolves in God’s Kingdom.
A Christian Philosophy of the Psychological Nature of Man
A Christian Philosophy of the Psychological Nature of Man
©2002 Kimberly Hartfield
Much of Christian Theology today teaches a dualistic philosophy with the body and soul being the two components of its system. Some philosophers have subscribed to the idea proposed by Descartes that man has a dualistic nature, that is, body and mind, with the physical being divisible, while the mental remains indivisible. The word metaphysics draws from these dualistic aspects of man. Modern psychology also sees man as dualistic in nature, with its divisions being entitled physical and psychological. But it differs from Descartes point of view in that it also divides the psychological aspects of man into three distinct categories, the id, the ego, and the super-ego. These three aspects of the inner-man have yet to be fully addressed or explained by Christian Theology.
Most Christians understand the words, soul and spirit to be synonymous, but the Apostle Paul writes of a dualistic nature of man’s inner person. In Hebrews 4:12, he speaks of the division of soul and spirit by the word of God, which also discerns “the thoughts and intents of the heart.” This two-fold division of Paul’s inner-man is a reflection of a two-fold division of man’s physical person, mind and body. Christ in the New Testament expounded this view of man’s being.
God and Christ in the Christian Scripture seem to be aware of a tri-fold psychological nature of man much like modern psychology is viewed. The first commandment God gave to mankind recognized this tri-fold nature of mankind’s inner-personage. St. Mark quotes Jesus repeating the command, “AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH” (Mark 12:30). If these were synonymous words, why was this reiteration necessary here? This passage can be understood to divide the outward man (strength) with a tri-fold nature of the inner man (Heart, soul, mind). If these can be distinguished as separate realms, as Christ apparently does in this passage, then it is the Christian responsibility to discern how the aspects of man’s inner person fits each division and how they relate man, who was made in God’s image, to our Creator.
Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, also recognized a tri-fold nature of the inner man. He divided his concept of man’s psychological being into three distinguishable parts, as previously stated. The id, Freud believed, was man’s subconscious instincts, or as Paul would call it, man’s carnal nature or man’s soul. The second aspect of the psychological nature of man is his intellect or his conscious mind, which is the equivalent of Freud’s ego. The super-ego, Freud believed was similar to the Christian idea of our subconscious inner conscience, and which the Apostle Paul would equate with our spiritual nature or spirit. Freud believed our conscious perceptual state of mind was like an iceberg in the ocean with only the smallest portion being seen, while the larger portion of the subconscious mind is submerged under the surface.
In Freud’s theory, the id, which is the impulses and responses of man, is more fully conscious at birth and becomes subject to the knowledge of the ego. The ego sets boundaries on the id’s instincts, according to its knowledge of possible harms to the human body. The last of his three divisions was the super-ego, which is the greatest portion of our sub-consciousness, and that part of the inner-man, Freud believed, where our most hideous and painful thoughts, fears, and urges reside. Freud believed that the two subconscious aspects would strive to communicate through the conscious mind, much like Paul’s battle of the flesh and spirit. Though Freud recognized this tri-une inner being, he did not discern the implications it held for the Christian perspective in the philosophy of man’s personage. He perceived intellectually what his spirit could not conceive in its deadened state. Had his spirit been restored in Christ, he may have understood man’s inner person with spiritual illumination.
I Corinthians 15: 45-46 equates the living soul with that which is natural. The soul is that part of man’s inner being that activates the mind, bringing about the unconscious animating drives of the flesh as seen in Freud’s id. The mind, or the intellect and will, can be equated with Freud’s ego, and is involved in the choices of conscious decisions. The heart, which seems to be synonymous with spirit in Scripture, involves the spiritual consciousness and the innate desire of man to commune with God. Freud’s super-ego equates this aspect of our being with our conscience, our sense of right and wrong.
One way to view this tri-une aspect of man’s psychological being is to equate the body with an object containing a battery. The battery runs the inner-workings of the object to activate it. The soul is the battery, which comes from outside the physical body, but is placed within in it and attached to it for the life of the battery. The inner-workings would be the mind (brain) of the body, which is run by the battery. The electrical impulses of the brain activate our body, making the mind subject to the chemical imbalances of genetics, but something foreign to the body gives it life, and that is the soul. But the soul or battery must also receive its electrical charge from a greater source of energy. That energy is the spirit of man, which is created and empowered by the Spirit of God, who made man in His own image.
God is the Creator of all aspects of man: spirit, soul, mind, and body. He is the ultimate source of all energy. The energy of the spirit is contained within the soul, which is contained within the mind, which is contained within the body. Yet, as the mind is to the body, so is the spirit to the soul. As the body is the physical manifestation of the mind, the soul is the outward manifestation of the spirit. Therefore, the spirit and the soul are the immaterial substances, while the mind and body are the material substances.
One of the problems with dualistic philosophies is how the immaterial aspect influences the material aspect. The Monistic view popular today sees the body and mind as material, but it does not discern an immaterial soul or spirit because they do not understand how the immaterial can affect the material. In the great commandment, Jesus preceded the soul with the heart, the mind with the soul, and the flesh with the mind. In the perfection of creation, the spirit energized the soul, which activated the mind, which in turn animated the flesh. Each aspect of man’s person is simply a more powerfully concentrated form of energy than its successor. The spirit and soul flows through and binds the mind to the body as the energy from the battery is plugged into the inner-workings of an object and flows through it to activate and animate it.
The body can also be viewed analogously as the tree, which puts forth its leaves and branches, and finally fruit containing seed. The leaves absorb the light, which changes the energy into food for the growth of the tree and the production of the fruit. The soul could be equated with the light, which the mind’s eyes or pores of the leaves takes in, which is then changed into energy, which is the sap flowing through it for the growth of the tree or motivation for the body. The spirit is the energy radiating from the sun or source, which represents the Spirit of God. To continue this analogy, we can see that when the tree produces its fruit and the fruit its seed, the cycle begins anew. The Spirit of God both plants and nurtures the seed of the spirit within mankind.
In creation our spirit was created in the image of God, which emanated from His Spirit and gave life to the soul of man. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The breath of life was the spirit placed within the living soul by God. At this instance man was given free will or the capacity for choosing good or evil. The soul is neither good, nor evil, but can be possessed or dominated by either God’s spirit or a spirit of evil, whichever man chooses to nurture his spirit-seed by. Man’s soul is who he is as a person. It can be influenced by his experiences in the world around him, but his spirit directs how he views his environment. The spirit manifests the countenance of man’s internal and external disposition. If his spirit is nurtured by God’s spirit, man views his world through spiritual eyes. But, if his spirit is nurtured by evil, or by the darkness of this world, he sees through carnal eyes. When the soul (id, flesh) supercedes the spirit (super-ego), it gains control over the mind (ego) and body of man and man lives in a carnal state of being. If God’s Word divides the soul and spirit asunder, then they must be united before man can spiritually commune with God. When the spirit supercedes the soul in regeneration, as man’s being was before the Fall, man is in a spiritual state, rather than a carnal state of being. He can then commune freely with the Spirit of God.
In the Fall of man as told in Genesis 3, the soul of man lost it’s spirit and opened the eyes of man to the knowledge of good and evil. The soul then became preeminent over the spirit, gaining control over the mind and body of man, who can then be “drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed.”(James 1:14). With the carnal instincts or flesh controlling man, evil spirits entice man to wickedness, keeping the spirit-seed suppressed in darkness. The spiritual being of man must be restored to its original state by the Holy Spirit or else his soul can be possessed, and his spirit-seed can be suppressed by the darkness of evil. Modern psychology calls this by many other names, but it is possession of the soul nonetheless. Only when man’s subconscious spirit-seed breaks the barrier of the darkness of the earth and comes into the knowledge and light of Christ, can the spirit-seed grow into a tree of life, which spiritually protects and covers the soul. But the light of Christ must first reach down into the depths of darkness for the seed to be enabled to break free from its barrier.
We were created to be in a spiritual relationship with God, but when the Fall occurred in the Garden of Eden, man’s spiritual covering died off and the spirit-seed was internalized and planted within. Mankind became spiritually naked as well as physically naked. We no longer had the power to commune with God on a spiritual plane, nor did we have the innocence of not knowing evil. The Law was given to man to limit his transgressions until a restoration or renewed growth of our spirit could take place. It made us have a conscious awareness of right and wrong outside of ourselves, where before our spiritual conscience had dwelt within us and emanated outward to reflect our spiritual countenance. The Law is outside of us and must be absorbed inward before the spirit-seed can be nurtured to new growth.
Our soul, which is the source of our natural instincts and drives, is rooted in self-preservation. These fleshly desires such as hunger, thirst, pleasure, and the avoidance of pain influences our mind to choose what’s best for us, regardless of whether or not it is good for anyone else. But the spirit, when it is restored in Christ teaches us to love our brothers and to consider them as we consider ourselves. This balance makes man the moral being that he is. But when the spirit within is not renewed, motives are usually driven by selfish desires, and even the good that is done serves selfish motives. When man’s spirit is in the un-restored state of being, he is more susceptible to fleshly influences and lusts of the soul, which makes him more inclined to disobedience of the Law of God and maliciousness toward his fellowman. Either, man is guided by the Spirit, or he must be controlled by the Law.
I Peter 1:22-23 says that we purify our souls “in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren . . . Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” Christ came to restore us to a spiritual relationship with God so that we might worship Him in spirit and in truth. But until man is restored to that relationship with God through Christ he is bound by the law, which gives mankind its sense of righteousness. If man is unaware or neglectful of the Law, nor has been restored spiritually through Christ, his conscience is seared to the level of base instincts or the soul. This may be seen in some uncivilized native tribes who seem to have no sense of morality and also in some habitual criminals who seem to not have any code of ethics. But when man is spiritually restored through his faith in Jesus Christ, his spirit takes its proper position in the tri-fold psychological nature of man’s inner-being. The Seed of the Spirit is planted within us, so that we may become a tree of life, which shades or covers our soul from the evils of this world. Every seed has the potential for growth, though not all complete the growth cycle. As Christ has stated, some seeds fell on the rocks by the wayside and were eaten by birds, some had no depth and withered, and only some fell on good ground.
The visible portion of man’s psychological being, his actions, is the result of the inward state of the spirit-seed. The battle between the id and the super-ego, or as Paul would say the battle between flesh and spirit determines the upward growth of the spirit-seed. The flesh is the darkness of the earth, our worldly desires, while the spirit must break free from the hull of its seed and be nurtured by the light and water of God’s spirit. We must be born of water and spirit. The light is God’s Word and the water is the Church. The Church is the womb or hull from which we must be nurtured and born spiritually. God’s people must water the seeds that God’s light has illuminated.
The mind is the seat of man’s will and it is here that man must choose whether he will serve the fleshly desires of his soul or feed his spiritual needs. Man is not complete until he is restored spiritually by faith in Christ Jesus. His search for peace of mind, soul identity, and spiritual fulfillment can not be truly discovered until his spirit rests in the fullness of his being, which is completed in him by his acceptance of the gift of God’s Son. But God has given the mind of man free will to accept His perfect sacrifice or to reject it.
The carnal nature of man’s soul must be covered by his spiritual nature, as Adam’s transgression was covered by the blood-sacrifice, from which the skins that God covered his nakedness in the garden came. Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross to shed His sinless blood that man may be spiritually covered once again. He was the sacrificial lamb that covers the spiritual nakedness of our soul. Christ clothes the soul of man, restoring the fallen spirit to God’s image, and unites it once again with His spirit, which will in turn restore the mind and body.
The spirit surrounds and covers us in the spiritual realm as the animal skins surrounded and covered Adam’s and Eve’s nakedness in the Garden. This surrounding of spirit can be described as the spiritual countenance of a person. In the Fall, man experienced a fallen countenance of spirit, which separated Adam and Eve from each other and from God. This separation did not come from God, but rather from man. God did not turn away from man, but man turned away and hid from God. The first thing Adam and Eve did when they had sinned, by eating of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, was to sew fig leaves upon themselves to hide their nakedness from each other. Afterwards, when they heard God calling, they hid themselves from Him among the trees of the Garden. But just as God sought Adam and Eve in the Garden and found out their sin and covered them, He seeks mankind today and discovers our sin to us and covers our spiritual nakedness with His Spirit. When man’s spiritual countenance is fallen in sin, we hide our true selves from God and from our fellowman. Sin separates man from man, and man from God.
But man’s spirit is renewed when he accepts the blood sacrifice of Jesus, God’s Son, who died on the cross of Calvary as his sacrificial lamb, to cover his spiritual nakedness. The Spirit of God restores his fallen spirit, which surrounds and covers his soul with a spiritual countenance. Man must have that spiritual atmosphere surrounding him before the seed of the Spirit within him can grow into a tree of life. The Spirit plants the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and as in the analogy of the tree, it is this tree’s fruit, which plants the spirit-seed within us. But though every seed that is planted will not develop into a tree of life, many will grow and become shades filled with the fruits of the spirit. If the atmosphere of God’s grace and the conditions of man’s knowledge and faith are not met, the spirit-seed within man will lay dormant, buried beneath the earth of his soul.
The relationship between this tri-fold view of man’s psychological being and the Christian view of the Trinity cannot be ignored. The book of Genesis clearly states that man was made in the image of God. God in Genesis is in a plural form, which many believe denotes the earliest idea man had of the tri-une Godhead. In the Trinitarian view held by Christians, The Godhead consists of a tri-une being, which is described in human terms as three persons in one Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus of Nazareth was the physical manifestation of God, completely human and completely God. Jesus is that part of God that communicates with man, the Word of God. The Father being the representation of the Soul of God, the Son being the representation of the Mind of God (Christ), and of course the Holy Ghost being the representation of the Spirit of God.
The Soul of God is the great I Am, that which makes God –God in all of His attributes, the Father of the Trinitarian unit. The Mind of God is the Word of God, which spoke all of creation into existence and communicates the Soul of God to mankind. The Spirit of God is that aspect of the Trinitarian unit which completes the God-head into the Tri-une Being. It is Eternal, the beginning of all things and the end of all things, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. In creation, the Soul of God desired to create and have communion with man, the Word of God commanded the creation, and the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. The Soul was the motivator, the Word was the Instructor, and the Spirit was the Creator. The Spirit of God is that which touches the heart of man, moving over the face of the earth.
It makes sense that if the Godhead is a tri-une being, with a Soul, Mind, and Spirit, then man, made in His image, would also be a tri-une being with the physical representation of a body, just as Jesus was the physical representation of the Godhead. The physical being held within the boundary of time with the tri-une aspects being eternal. God commanded that the eternal aspects of the spiritual and psychological energies be concentrated into one physical form for a specifically determined period of time. He commanded that the molecules be held together and energized by the tri-une inner-man’s being. But man in his fallen state differs from God in that the spirit, soul, and mind are not fully conscious of one another and cannot communicate freely with one another. Man has a limited use of his inner capacity, as it is well known that man uses only a small portion of his brain. The unused portion could be equated with his spiritual capacity. In the man Jesus, His spiritual capacity was fully conscious along with His physical capacity.
The three aspects of the Tri-une being were fully and physically manifest in the person of Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:19 proclaims that “it pleased the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell,” and again in Colossians 2:9 “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” But when the Word became flesh the Spirit and Soul of God were separated by the Word, just as the spirit and soul of man is divided by the Word. Though each aspect of the Godhead was present in Jesus, the Father and the Spirit became the subconscious aspect in Christ, while the Mind of God was fully conscious in Christ. The conscious Mind in Christ communicated with each of the other attributes of God, but They were limited of communication between themselves. God emptied Himself out and became man so that man could be spiritually restored. God chose to limit His Omniscience, His Omnipotence, and His Omnipresence that He might be contained in human form.
In John 16:7 Christ professes “ . . . for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. The Spirit and Soul was reduced and contained in the Mind of Christ while He yet lived, but was released when Jesus died. His body was resurrected a new and incorruptible body, a spiritual body with a spiritual mind. The body of Christ, which is the Seed of the Spirit, must have died and been buried, that he might grow unto us a tree of life, raised up out of the earth and reaching into heaven that His branches might bear fruit unto us.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God was manifest in the prophets by wisdom and power. In the New Testament the Spirit of God descended on Jesus in the form of a dove and later on the day of Pentecost descended on the new converts as tongues of fire, empowering them with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The restored spirit of man is empowered by the Holy Spirit with wisdom and grace in the same way, if he continues in the Spirit, nurturing his own spirit. We must remain in the fruit until it ripens before we can be planted and nurtured elsewhere. And when we are mature enough we can then be transplanted where we can grow fruit of our own. Hence, the spirit of God yields an abundance of spiritual fruit. When the spiritual aspect of man’s nature overcomes his selfish carnal desires, and the mind of man conforms to the Mind of God (Christ), he lives a transformed life. He becomes a new creation in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God is made manifest on earth as in Heaven.
Just as the Spirit of God transcended the death of Jesus physical body, which was resurrected in new life, so man’s redeemed spirit will survive the death of his physical body, which will be raised from death in a glorified body. The spirit, soul, mind and body of man will be a redeemed whole unit just as God is eternally complete in Spirit, Soul, Mind, and Body.
If God is a tri-une being, as I believe He is, and man is created in His image, then I believe man is truly a tri-une being like his Creator. This tri-une philosophy of man, I believe is consistent with Descartes’ system of dualism, in that man is primarily body and mind, but with the exception that the inner-being (mind) of man, I believe, is divisible. It is consistent with modern psychology based on the Freudian view, in that it understands man to be primarily physical and psychological, while it also recognizes the tri-fold nature of man's inner person. I also believe it is consistent with the Christian concept of man’s total person and with Biblical Scripture. I realize that others may not see it this way, but I pray that my insights might at least bring this view under scrutiny. This is only the beginning of a concept that I believe will be perfected by other philosophers and theologians of a greater caliber than I.
©2002 Kimberly Hartfield
Much of Christian Theology today teaches a dualistic philosophy with the body and soul being the two components of its system. Some philosophers have subscribed to the idea proposed by Descartes that man has a dualistic nature, that is, body and mind, with the physical being divisible, while the mental remains indivisible. The word metaphysics draws from these dualistic aspects of man. Modern psychology also sees man as dualistic in nature, with its divisions being entitled physical and psychological. But it differs from Descartes point of view in that it also divides the psychological aspects of man into three distinct categories, the id, the ego, and the super-ego. These three aspects of the inner-man have yet to be fully addressed or explained by Christian Theology.
Most Christians understand the words, soul and spirit to be synonymous, but the Apostle Paul writes of a dualistic nature of man’s inner person. In Hebrews 4:12, he speaks of the division of soul and spirit by the word of God, which also discerns “the thoughts and intents of the heart.” This two-fold division of Paul’s inner-man is a reflection of a two-fold division of man’s physical person, mind and body. Christ in the New Testament expounded this view of man’s being.
God and Christ in the Christian Scripture seem to be aware of a tri-fold psychological nature of man much like modern psychology is viewed. The first commandment God gave to mankind recognized this tri-fold nature of mankind’s inner-personage. St. Mark quotes Jesus repeating the command, “AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH” (Mark 12:30). If these were synonymous words, why was this reiteration necessary here? This passage can be understood to divide the outward man (strength) with a tri-fold nature of the inner man (Heart, soul, mind). If these can be distinguished as separate realms, as Christ apparently does in this passage, then it is the Christian responsibility to discern how the aspects of man’s inner person fits each division and how they relate man, who was made in God’s image, to our Creator.
Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, also recognized a tri-fold nature of the inner man. He divided his concept of man’s psychological being into three distinguishable parts, as previously stated. The id, Freud believed, was man’s subconscious instincts, or as Paul would call it, man’s carnal nature or man’s soul. The second aspect of the psychological nature of man is his intellect or his conscious mind, which is the equivalent of Freud’s ego. The super-ego, Freud believed was similar to the Christian idea of our subconscious inner conscience, and which the Apostle Paul would equate with our spiritual nature or spirit. Freud believed our conscious perceptual state of mind was like an iceberg in the ocean with only the smallest portion being seen, while the larger portion of the subconscious mind is submerged under the surface.
In Freud’s theory, the id, which is the impulses and responses of man, is more fully conscious at birth and becomes subject to the knowledge of the ego. The ego sets boundaries on the id’s instincts, according to its knowledge of possible harms to the human body. The last of his three divisions was the super-ego, which is the greatest portion of our sub-consciousness, and that part of the inner-man, Freud believed, where our most hideous and painful thoughts, fears, and urges reside. Freud believed that the two subconscious aspects would strive to communicate through the conscious mind, much like Paul’s battle of the flesh and spirit. Though Freud recognized this tri-une inner being, he did not discern the implications it held for the Christian perspective in the philosophy of man’s personage. He perceived intellectually what his spirit could not conceive in its deadened state. Had his spirit been restored in Christ, he may have understood man’s inner person with spiritual illumination.
I Corinthians 15: 45-46 equates the living soul with that which is natural. The soul is that part of man’s inner being that activates the mind, bringing about the unconscious animating drives of the flesh as seen in Freud’s id. The mind, or the intellect and will, can be equated with Freud’s ego, and is involved in the choices of conscious decisions. The heart, which seems to be synonymous with spirit in Scripture, involves the spiritual consciousness and the innate desire of man to commune with God. Freud’s super-ego equates this aspect of our being with our conscience, our sense of right and wrong.
One way to view this tri-une aspect of man’s psychological being is to equate the body with an object containing a battery. The battery runs the inner-workings of the object to activate it. The soul is the battery, which comes from outside the physical body, but is placed within in it and attached to it for the life of the battery. The inner-workings would be the mind (brain) of the body, which is run by the battery. The electrical impulses of the brain activate our body, making the mind subject to the chemical imbalances of genetics, but something foreign to the body gives it life, and that is the soul. But the soul or battery must also receive its electrical charge from a greater source of energy. That energy is the spirit of man, which is created and empowered by the Spirit of God, who made man in His own image.
God is the Creator of all aspects of man: spirit, soul, mind, and body. He is the ultimate source of all energy. The energy of the spirit is contained within the soul, which is contained within the mind, which is contained within the body. Yet, as the mind is to the body, so is the spirit to the soul. As the body is the physical manifestation of the mind, the soul is the outward manifestation of the spirit. Therefore, the spirit and the soul are the immaterial substances, while the mind and body are the material substances.
One of the problems with dualistic philosophies is how the immaterial aspect influences the material aspect. The Monistic view popular today sees the body and mind as material, but it does not discern an immaterial soul or spirit because they do not understand how the immaterial can affect the material. In the great commandment, Jesus preceded the soul with the heart, the mind with the soul, and the flesh with the mind. In the perfection of creation, the spirit energized the soul, which activated the mind, which in turn animated the flesh. Each aspect of man’s person is simply a more powerfully concentrated form of energy than its successor. The spirit and soul flows through and binds the mind to the body as the energy from the battery is plugged into the inner-workings of an object and flows through it to activate and animate it.
The body can also be viewed analogously as the tree, which puts forth its leaves and branches, and finally fruit containing seed. The leaves absorb the light, which changes the energy into food for the growth of the tree and the production of the fruit. The soul could be equated with the light, which the mind’s eyes or pores of the leaves takes in, which is then changed into energy, which is the sap flowing through it for the growth of the tree or motivation for the body. The spirit is the energy radiating from the sun or source, which represents the Spirit of God. To continue this analogy, we can see that when the tree produces its fruit and the fruit its seed, the cycle begins anew. The Spirit of God both plants and nurtures the seed of the spirit within mankind.
In creation our spirit was created in the image of God, which emanated from His Spirit and gave life to the soul of man. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The breath of life was the spirit placed within the living soul by God. At this instance man was given free will or the capacity for choosing good or evil. The soul is neither good, nor evil, but can be possessed or dominated by either God’s spirit or a spirit of evil, whichever man chooses to nurture his spirit-seed by. Man’s soul is who he is as a person. It can be influenced by his experiences in the world around him, but his spirit directs how he views his environment. The spirit manifests the countenance of man’s internal and external disposition. If his spirit is nurtured by God’s spirit, man views his world through spiritual eyes. But, if his spirit is nurtured by evil, or by the darkness of this world, he sees through carnal eyes. When the soul (id, flesh) supercedes the spirit (super-ego), it gains control over the mind (ego) and body of man and man lives in a carnal state of being. If God’s Word divides the soul and spirit asunder, then they must be united before man can spiritually commune with God. When the spirit supercedes the soul in regeneration, as man’s being was before the Fall, man is in a spiritual state, rather than a carnal state of being. He can then commune freely with the Spirit of God.
In the Fall of man as told in Genesis 3, the soul of man lost it’s spirit and opened the eyes of man to the knowledge of good and evil. The soul then became preeminent over the spirit, gaining control over the mind and body of man, who can then be “drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed.”(James 1:14). With the carnal instincts or flesh controlling man, evil spirits entice man to wickedness, keeping the spirit-seed suppressed in darkness. The spiritual being of man must be restored to its original state by the Holy Spirit or else his soul can be possessed, and his spirit-seed can be suppressed by the darkness of evil. Modern psychology calls this by many other names, but it is possession of the soul nonetheless. Only when man’s subconscious spirit-seed breaks the barrier of the darkness of the earth and comes into the knowledge and light of Christ, can the spirit-seed grow into a tree of life, which spiritually protects and covers the soul. But the light of Christ must first reach down into the depths of darkness for the seed to be enabled to break free from its barrier.
We were created to be in a spiritual relationship with God, but when the Fall occurred in the Garden of Eden, man’s spiritual covering died off and the spirit-seed was internalized and planted within. Mankind became spiritually naked as well as physically naked. We no longer had the power to commune with God on a spiritual plane, nor did we have the innocence of not knowing evil. The Law was given to man to limit his transgressions until a restoration or renewed growth of our spirit could take place. It made us have a conscious awareness of right and wrong outside of ourselves, where before our spiritual conscience had dwelt within us and emanated outward to reflect our spiritual countenance. The Law is outside of us and must be absorbed inward before the spirit-seed can be nurtured to new growth.
Our soul, which is the source of our natural instincts and drives, is rooted in self-preservation. These fleshly desires such as hunger, thirst, pleasure, and the avoidance of pain influences our mind to choose what’s best for us, regardless of whether or not it is good for anyone else. But the spirit, when it is restored in Christ teaches us to love our brothers and to consider them as we consider ourselves. This balance makes man the moral being that he is. But when the spirit within is not renewed, motives are usually driven by selfish desires, and even the good that is done serves selfish motives. When man’s spirit is in the un-restored state of being, he is more susceptible to fleshly influences and lusts of the soul, which makes him more inclined to disobedience of the Law of God and maliciousness toward his fellowman. Either, man is guided by the Spirit, or he must be controlled by the Law.
I Peter 1:22-23 says that we purify our souls “in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren . . . Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” Christ came to restore us to a spiritual relationship with God so that we might worship Him in spirit and in truth. But until man is restored to that relationship with God through Christ he is bound by the law, which gives mankind its sense of righteousness. If man is unaware or neglectful of the Law, nor has been restored spiritually through Christ, his conscience is seared to the level of base instincts or the soul. This may be seen in some uncivilized native tribes who seem to have no sense of morality and also in some habitual criminals who seem to not have any code of ethics. But when man is spiritually restored through his faith in Jesus Christ, his spirit takes its proper position in the tri-fold psychological nature of man’s inner-being. The Seed of the Spirit is planted within us, so that we may become a tree of life, which shades or covers our soul from the evils of this world. Every seed has the potential for growth, though not all complete the growth cycle. As Christ has stated, some seeds fell on the rocks by the wayside and were eaten by birds, some had no depth and withered, and only some fell on good ground.
The visible portion of man’s psychological being, his actions, is the result of the inward state of the spirit-seed. The battle between the id and the super-ego, or as Paul would say the battle between flesh and spirit determines the upward growth of the spirit-seed. The flesh is the darkness of the earth, our worldly desires, while the spirit must break free from the hull of its seed and be nurtured by the light and water of God’s spirit. We must be born of water and spirit. The light is God’s Word and the water is the Church. The Church is the womb or hull from which we must be nurtured and born spiritually. God’s people must water the seeds that God’s light has illuminated.
The mind is the seat of man’s will and it is here that man must choose whether he will serve the fleshly desires of his soul or feed his spiritual needs. Man is not complete until he is restored spiritually by faith in Christ Jesus. His search for peace of mind, soul identity, and spiritual fulfillment can not be truly discovered until his spirit rests in the fullness of his being, which is completed in him by his acceptance of the gift of God’s Son. But God has given the mind of man free will to accept His perfect sacrifice or to reject it.
The carnal nature of man’s soul must be covered by his spiritual nature, as Adam’s transgression was covered by the blood-sacrifice, from which the skins that God covered his nakedness in the garden came. Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross to shed His sinless blood that man may be spiritually covered once again. He was the sacrificial lamb that covers the spiritual nakedness of our soul. Christ clothes the soul of man, restoring the fallen spirit to God’s image, and unites it once again with His spirit, which will in turn restore the mind and body.
The spirit surrounds and covers us in the spiritual realm as the animal skins surrounded and covered Adam’s and Eve’s nakedness in the Garden. This surrounding of spirit can be described as the spiritual countenance of a person. In the Fall, man experienced a fallen countenance of spirit, which separated Adam and Eve from each other and from God. This separation did not come from God, but rather from man. God did not turn away from man, but man turned away and hid from God. The first thing Adam and Eve did when they had sinned, by eating of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, was to sew fig leaves upon themselves to hide their nakedness from each other. Afterwards, when they heard God calling, they hid themselves from Him among the trees of the Garden. But just as God sought Adam and Eve in the Garden and found out their sin and covered them, He seeks mankind today and discovers our sin to us and covers our spiritual nakedness with His Spirit. When man’s spiritual countenance is fallen in sin, we hide our true selves from God and from our fellowman. Sin separates man from man, and man from God.
But man’s spirit is renewed when he accepts the blood sacrifice of Jesus, God’s Son, who died on the cross of Calvary as his sacrificial lamb, to cover his spiritual nakedness. The Spirit of God restores his fallen spirit, which surrounds and covers his soul with a spiritual countenance. Man must have that spiritual atmosphere surrounding him before the seed of the Spirit within him can grow into a tree of life. The Spirit plants the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and as in the analogy of the tree, it is this tree’s fruit, which plants the spirit-seed within us. But though every seed that is planted will not develop into a tree of life, many will grow and become shades filled with the fruits of the spirit. If the atmosphere of God’s grace and the conditions of man’s knowledge and faith are not met, the spirit-seed within man will lay dormant, buried beneath the earth of his soul.
The relationship between this tri-fold view of man’s psychological being and the Christian view of the Trinity cannot be ignored. The book of Genesis clearly states that man was made in the image of God. God in Genesis is in a plural form, which many believe denotes the earliest idea man had of the tri-une Godhead. In the Trinitarian view held by Christians, The Godhead consists of a tri-une being, which is described in human terms as three persons in one Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus of Nazareth was the physical manifestation of God, completely human and completely God. Jesus is that part of God that communicates with man, the Word of God. The Father being the representation of the Soul of God, the Son being the representation of the Mind of God (Christ), and of course the Holy Ghost being the representation of the Spirit of God.
The Soul of God is the great I Am, that which makes God –God in all of His attributes, the Father of the Trinitarian unit. The Mind of God is the Word of God, which spoke all of creation into existence and communicates the Soul of God to mankind. The Spirit of God is that aspect of the Trinitarian unit which completes the God-head into the Tri-une Being. It is Eternal, the beginning of all things and the end of all things, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. In creation, the Soul of God desired to create and have communion with man, the Word of God commanded the creation, and the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. The Soul was the motivator, the Word was the Instructor, and the Spirit was the Creator. The Spirit of God is that which touches the heart of man, moving over the face of the earth.
It makes sense that if the Godhead is a tri-une being, with a Soul, Mind, and Spirit, then man, made in His image, would also be a tri-une being with the physical representation of a body, just as Jesus was the physical representation of the Godhead. The physical being held within the boundary of time with the tri-une aspects being eternal. God commanded that the eternal aspects of the spiritual and psychological energies be concentrated into one physical form for a specifically determined period of time. He commanded that the molecules be held together and energized by the tri-une inner-man’s being. But man in his fallen state differs from God in that the spirit, soul, and mind are not fully conscious of one another and cannot communicate freely with one another. Man has a limited use of his inner capacity, as it is well known that man uses only a small portion of his brain. The unused portion could be equated with his spiritual capacity. In the man Jesus, His spiritual capacity was fully conscious along with His physical capacity.
The three aspects of the Tri-une being were fully and physically manifest in the person of Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:19 proclaims that “it pleased the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell,” and again in Colossians 2:9 “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” But when the Word became flesh the Spirit and Soul of God were separated by the Word, just as the spirit and soul of man is divided by the Word. Though each aspect of the Godhead was present in Jesus, the Father and the Spirit became the subconscious aspect in Christ, while the Mind of God was fully conscious in Christ. The conscious Mind in Christ communicated with each of the other attributes of God, but They were limited of communication between themselves. God emptied Himself out and became man so that man could be spiritually restored. God chose to limit His Omniscience, His Omnipotence, and His Omnipresence that He might be contained in human form.
In John 16:7 Christ professes “ . . . for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. The Spirit and Soul was reduced and contained in the Mind of Christ while He yet lived, but was released when Jesus died. His body was resurrected a new and incorruptible body, a spiritual body with a spiritual mind. The body of Christ, which is the Seed of the Spirit, must have died and been buried, that he might grow unto us a tree of life, raised up out of the earth and reaching into heaven that His branches might bear fruit unto us.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God was manifest in the prophets by wisdom and power. In the New Testament the Spirit of God descended on Jesus in the form of a dove and later on the day of Pentecost descended on the new converts as tongues of fire, empowering them with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The restored spirit of man is empowered by the Holy Spirit with wisdom and grace in the same way, if he continues in the Spirit, nurturing his own spirit. We must remain in the fruit until it ripens before we can be planted and nurtured elsewhere. And when we are mature enough we can then be transplanted where we can grow fruit of our own. Hence, the spirit of God yields an abundance of spiritual fruit. When the spiritual aspect of man’s nature overcomes his selfish carnal desires, and the mind of man conforms to the Mind of God (Christ), he lives a transformed life. He becomes a new creation in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God is made manifest on earth as in Heaven.
Just as the Spirit of God transcended the death of Jesus physical body, which was resurrected in new life, so man’s redeemed spirit will survive the death of his physical body, which will be raised from death in a glorified body. The spirit, soul, mind and body of man will be a redeemed whole unit just as God is eternally complete in Spirit, Soul, Mind, and Body.
If God is a tri-une being, as I believe He is, and man is created in His image, then I believe man is truly a tri-une being like his Creator. This tri-une philosophy of man, I believe is consistent with Descartes’ system of dualism, in that man is primarily body and mind, but with the exception that the inner-being (mind) of man, I believe, is divisible. It is consistent with modern psychology based on the Freudian view, in that it understands man to be primarily physical and psychological, while it also recognizes the tri-fold nature of man's inner person. I also believe it is consistent with the Christian concept of man’s total person and with Biblical Scripture. I realize that others may not see it this way, but I pray that my insights might at least bring this view under scrutiny. This is only the beginning of a concept that I believe will be perfected by other philosophers and theologians of a greater caliber than I.
A Look at Mental Retardation
An individual who is diagnosed to be mentally retarded functions considerably below average both intellectually and in life coping skills (Mental Retardation). They must have an I Q score below 70, as well as have deficits in areas, which interfere with living skills, with an onset of these deficits before 18 years of age. From 1-3 % of the general population is considered to be mentally retarded, with males more commonly so than females. The degree of severity of mental retardation is based on the IQ score and is divided into four reference categories.
Those with mild retardation score between 50 and 70 on the IQ scale as compared to 90 to 110 for the normal person. Moderate retardation ranks from 35 to 50 on the scale, while the severe/profound are below 35 and below 20. The largest percentage of individuals with mental retardation are mild to moderately affected. Less than 5% of the mentally retarded community is in the severe/profound group.
Those who are mildly affected can usually progress academically to a junior high level and often live in the community with very little assistance. Some of these wed and have relatively normal children and family structures. Moderately retarded individuals comprise a much smaller segment of the mentally challenged community and may progress to a lower elementary level academically. Their self-care skills are usually sufficient by adolescence and by adulthood they can work at low-skilled employment with some supervision required. The severely retarded can develop some very basic living skills and may be somewhat verbal. They usually need close supervision, often living with loved ones or in community based group homes. Those individuals who are considered profoundly retarded must have constant care and supervision. They may understand some language but are usually limited verbally.
The causes of mental retardation are varied, including genetic conditions, chromosomal conditions, prenatal and postnatal developments. Some genetic conditions are down syndrome, fragile x, and cebral palsy, which has recently been linked to low birth weight babies of mothers who have had previous abortions. Chromosomal disorders which cause mental retardation are sometimes caused by a random error in the reproduction of the chromosomes and are not necessarily inherited from the parents. Metabolic and hormone disorders such as PKU, Tay-sachs disease, and hypothyroidism may cause mental retardation if left untreated, but with early postnatal testing and treatment this can largely be avoided. Some cases of mental retardation result from incestuous relationships, with these children being born to girls who have been sexually abused (raped) by a close relative.
Prenatal mal-nutrition, drug and alcohol use, exposure to environmental toxins, viral infections, and other diseases can all be causes of mental retardation. Problems occurring both during the birthing process and afterwards, such as fetal distress, prematurity, and low birth weight may also cause mental retardation. Low birth weight results in a higher percentage of children having cebral palsy, which further results in mental retardation. Anytime the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than a couple of minutes some mental retardation is probable. Childhood onset of encephalitis or meningitis are causes as well. These can be mostly avoided through vaccination programs which prevent the childhood diseases that sometimes lead to these complications. Another cause of mental retardation is brain damage from physical traumas such as a blow to the head, a near drowning, and exposure to poisonous toxins during childhood. Some experts believe that a lack of intellectual and emotional stimulation in early childhood, which often accompanies families who live in extreme poverty can also lead to mental retardation.
Based on the 1990 census, approximately 7.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with mental retardation (Introduction to Mental Retardation). One out of every 10 families is affected by Mental Retardation in America. Diagnosis of mental retardation begins with standardized tests for intelligence and adaptive skills by a qualified person or agency. An interdisciplinary team determines the system of support a person needs to overcome limits in everyday functioning. Services for individuals who are mentally challenged are available on the local and state levels, while many of these services are both federally supervised and funded.
The Presidents Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCIPD), which was renamed recently and signed by President George W. Bush by Executive Order, is a federal advisory committee that advises both the President and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on key issues concerning those with intellectual disabilities (About the Committee). This committee coordinates activities between agencies and assesses the impact of those actions on individuals with mental deficiencies along with their families. The annual report, which results from several committee conferences, includes input from self-advocates, family members, support professionals, researchers, service providers, and leaders of state agencies. The Committee, which produces this report, also has a close relationship with state and local leaders to assist them with providing much needed supports and services to local communities.
Another agency on the national level is the ARC of the United States (Association for Retarded Citizens), which is an advocacy group that helps to ensure that those with mental retardation are treated appropriately with proper care and respect (The ARC Family Resourch Guide). State and local chapters are available to provide needed services to these citizens and their families, as well as those with related developmental delays with an onset before age 22 whose living skills are significantly limited. Some of their services include respite services for adults and children and the appropriate transportation for those clients as well. Respite services usually include meals and recreational outings.
On the state level, the MS Department of Mental Health provides statewide network, which delivers services to those affected by mental illness, including mental retardation (Mississippi Department of Mental Health.). Services for alcohol and drug dependent persons and those who have developmental delays are included in their departmental responsibilities. This network insures that appropriate options are available through residential and community care facilities, which help prevent mass institutionalization of those better served locally.
The Bureau of Mental Retardation is responsible for the development and implementation of appropriate services for individuals with mental retardation and other developmental delays (Mental Retardation Services). The State Plan for Services and Supports for Individuals with Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities is annually produced by the Bureau in cooperation with the BMR State Plan Advisory Council. The plan is a guide to developing, implementing, and maintaining a comprehensive system of services and supports.
The Bureau is a state-operated public service system of delivery, which is primarily made up of five regional centers for those with mental retardation or other developmental delays. It also includes one state facility for under-age youth who have mental retardation and need a well supervised treatment program. Fifteen regional community mental health/mental retardation centers and numerous other nonprofit community agencies supplement the primary service facilities.
The regional centers are providers of institutional care along with community service programs that include residential and day treatment programs. Regional centers include Boswell Regional Center located in Sanatorium, MS, Ellisville State School located in Ellisville, Hudpeth Regional Center in Whitfield, North MS Regional Center in Oxford, and South MS Regional Center in Long Beach. Ellisville State School is the only center that serves birth to preschool age children diagnosed with severe/ profound mental retardation for whom residential services are deemed appropriate. The Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility, located in Brookhaven, is a residential facility for adolescents between 13 and 21 years of age with mental retardation who need supervised rehabilitation, often for involvement in criminal type activities.
Each regional center incorporates a community service division into their realm of responsibilities, by providing transitional, community-based programs in the locality of their service area. These programs include group homes, retirement homes, supervised apartments, supported living with case management, early intervention for children, work activities, and other employment programs.
Other services for the mentally retarded who qualify for services in an Intermediate Care Facility, but for which those services are not available, may apply for a MR/DD Waiver through the Division of Medicaid for home and community based services. Some of these services include attendant care, respite care, residential habilitation, day habilitation, prevocational services, supported employment, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech, language, and hearing therapy, along with medical supplies, and behavioral intervention services. Though there are many such services for those with mental retardation, we, as Christians could well prevent many cases by cleaning up our lifestyles. Alcohol and drug use, smoking, previous abortions, etc. all tend toward low birth-weight babies, which puts them at greater risk for mental retardation.
References
About the Committee. Available: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/pcpid_about.html
Introduction to Mental Retardation. Available : http://www.thearc.org/faqs/mrqa.html
Mental Retardation. Available :
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552226/Mental_Retardation.html
Mental Retardation Services. Available :
http://www.dmh.state.ms.us/mental_retardation_developmental_disabilities_
services.htm
Mississippi Department of Mental Health. Available : http://www.dmh.state.ms.us/
The ARC Family Resource Guide. Available : http://www.thearc.org
Those with mild retardation score between 50 and 70 on the IQ scale as compared to 90 to 110 for the normal person. Moderate retardation ranks from 35 to 50 on the scale, while the severe/profound are below 35 and below 20. The largest percentage of individuals with mental retardation are mild to moderately affected. Less than 5% of the mentally retarded community is in the severe/profound group.
Those who are mildly affected can usually progress academically to a junior high level and often live in the community with very little assistance. Some of these wed and have relatively normal children and family structures. Moderately retarded individuals comprise a much smaller segment of the mentally challenged community and may progress to a lower elementary level academically. Their self-care skills are usually sufficient by adolescence and by adulthood they can work at low-skilled employment with some supervision required. The severely retarded can develop some very basic living skills and may be somewhat verbal. They usually need close supervision, often living with loved ones or in community based group homes. Those individuals who are considered profoundly retarded must have constant care and supervision. They may understand some language but are usually limited verbally.
The causes of mental retardation are varied, including genetic conditions, chromosomal conditions, prenatal and postnatal developments. Some genetic conditions are down syndrome, fragile x, and cebral palsy, which has recently been linked to low birth weight babies of mothers who have had previous abortions. Chromosomal disorders which cause mental retardation are sometimes caused by a random error in the reproduction of the chromosomes and are not necessarily inherited from the parents. Metabolic and hormone disorders such as PKU, Tay-sachs disease, and hypothyroidism may cause mental retardation if left untreated, but with early postnatal testing and treatment this can largely be avoided. Some cases of mental retardation result from incestuous relationships, with these children being born to girls who have been sexually abused (raped) by a close relative.
Prenatal mal-nutrition, drug and alcohol use, exposure to environmental toxins, viral infections, and other diseases can all be causes of mental retardation. Problems occurring both during the birthing process and afterwards, such as fetal distress, prematurity, and low birth weight may also cause mental retardation. Low birth weight results in a higher percentage of children having cebral palsy, which further results in mental retardation. Anytime the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than a couple of minutes some mental retardation is probable. Childhood onset of encephalitis or meningitis are causes as well. These can be mostly avoided through vaccination programs which prevent the childhood diseases that sometimes lead to these complications. Another cause of mental retardation is brain damage from physical traumas such as a blow to the head, a near drowning, and exposure to poisonous toxins during childhood. Some experts believe that a lack of intellectual and emotional stimulation in early childhood, which often accompanies families who live in extreme poverty can also lead to mental retardation.
Based on the 1990 census, approximately 7.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with mental retardation (Introduction to Mental Retardation). One out of every 10 families is affected by Mental Retardation in America. Diagnosis of mental retardation begins with standardized tests for intelligence and adaptive skills by a qualified person or agency. An interdisciplinary team determines the system of support a person needs to overcome limits in everyday functioning. Services for individuals who are mentally challenged are available on the local and state levels, while many of these services are both federally supervised and funded.
The Presidents Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCIPD), which was renamed recently and signed by President George W. Bush by Executive Order, is a federal advisory committee that advises both the President and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on key issues concerning those with intellectual disabilities (About the Committee). This committee coordinates activities between agencies and assesses the impact of those actions on individuals with mental deficiencies along with their families. The annual report, which results from several committee conferences, includes input from self-advocates, family members, support professionals, researchers, service providers, and leaders of state agencies. The Committee, which produces this report, also has a close relationship with state and local leaders to assist them with providing much needed supports and services to local communities.
Another agency on the national level is the ARC of the United States (Association for Retarded Citizens), which is an advocacy group that helps to ensure that those with mental retardation are treated appropriately with proper care and respect (The ARC Family Resourch Guide). State and local chapters are available to provide needed services to these citizens and their families, as well as those with related developmental delays with an onset before age 22 whose living skills are significantly limited. Some of their services include respite services for adults and children and the appropriate transportation for those clients as well. Respite services usually include meals and recreational outings.
On the state level, the MS Department of Mental Health provides statewide network, which delivers services to those affected by mental illness, including mental retardation (Mississippi Department of Mental Health.). Services for alcohol and drug dependent persons and those who have developmental delays are included in their departmental responsibilities. This network insures that appropriate options are available through residential and community care facilities, which help prevent mass institutionalization of those better served locally.
The Bureau of Mental Retardation is responsible for the development and implementation of appropriate services for individuals with mental retardation and other developmental delays (Mental Retardation Services). The State Plan for Services and Supports for Individuals with Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities is annually produced by the Bureau in cooperation with the BMR State Plan Advisory Council. The plan is a guide to developing, implementing, and maintaining a comprehensive system of services and supports.
The Bureau is a state-operated public service system of delivery, which is primarily made up of five regional centers for those with mental retardation or other developmental delays. It also includes one state facility for under-age youth who have mental retardation and need a well supervised treatment program. Fifteen regional community mental health/mental retardation centers and numerous other nonprofit community agencies supplement the primary service facilities.
The regional centers are providers of institutional care along with community service programs that include residential and day treatment programs. Regional centers include Boswell Regional Center located in Sanatorium, MS, Ellisville State School located in Ellisville, Hudpeth Regional Center in Whitfield, North MS Regional Center in Oxford, and South MS Regional Center in Long Beach. Ellisville State School is the only center that serves birth to preschool age children diagnosed with severe/ profound mental retardation for whom residential services are deemed appropriate. The Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility, located in Brookhaven, is a residential facility for adolescents between 13 and 21 years of age with mental retardation who need supervised rehabilitation, often for involvement in criminal type activities.
Each regional center incorporates a community service division into their realm of responsibilities, by providing transitional, community-based programs in the locality of their service area. These programs include group homes, retirement homes, supervised apartments, supported living with case management, early intervention for children, work activities, and other employment programs.
Other services for the mentally retarded who qualify for services in an Intermediate Care Facility, but for which those services are not available, may apply for a MR/DD Waiver through the Division of Medicaid for home and community based services. Some of these services include attendant care, respite care, residential habilitation, day habilitation, prevocational services, supported employment, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech, language, and hearing therapy, along with medical supplies, and behavioral intervention services. Though there are many such services for those with mental retardation, we, as Christians could well prevent many cases by cleaning up our lifestyles. Alcohol and drug use, smoking, previous abortions, etc. all tend toward low birth-weight babies, which puts them at greater risk for mental retardation.
References
About the Committee. Available: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/pcpid_about.html
Introduction to Mental Retardation. Available : http://www.thearc.org/faqs/mrqa.html
Mental Retardation. Available :
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552226/Mental_Retardation.html
Mental Retardation Services. Available :
http://www.dmh.state.ms.us/mental_retardation_developmental_disabilities_
services.htm
Mississippi Department of Mental Health. Available : http://www.dmh.state.ms.us/
The ARC Family Resource Guide. Available : http://www.thearc.org
A Visit to the Choctaw Indian Fair of Mississippi
I recently had the opportunity to visit the annual Choctaw Indian Fair near Philadelphia, MS with my family. It was a wonderful cultural experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. With Native American Indian in the history of both mine and my husband’s ancestral heritage, we thoroughly enjoyed learning more about that culture with our children. We both had great grandparents of native Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creek heritage.
While there at the fair, we got to participate in some hands on activities with the kids, who each got to learn the art of Indian drum making, beading bracelets, and pottery making. We also toured their museum, the Choctaw Museum of the Southern Indian, where we learned about basket weaving, and the cultural dress making of the MS Band of Choctaw Indians. There we met the grand daughter of the famous Chief Pushmataha, who showed us how to make the diamond shapes on a traditional Choctaw Indian dress. The diamond shapes represent the diamond back rattlesnake, which eats the insects that destroyed their crops.
The Choctaws were known for their gardening knowledge as well, and were able to answer a couple of questions I had about gardening techniques. Earlier this year, I had tried a Native American technique of planting corn, beans, and squash together, but the corn, nor the beans germinated well. I found out that instead of planting them at the same time, I should have planted the corn a little earlier, then the beans, and lastly the squash. Then the beans could grow up the corn stalk, and the squash would shade out the weeds.
On the Choctaw Ways Path, we also saw some of the Choctaws traditional houses and other structures they used while traveling. Their huts were made of large saplings, sticks and daub, with woven walls and thatch type roofs and were quite interesting to see. The kids really enjoyed playing in and around them and I enjoyed learning about the architecture of the Choctaws. I might just try to build one for fun with the kids.
We also got to view some of the Native American Indian social dances and hear some of their beautiful flute playing. The Hopi/Choctaw hoop dancer, Derrick Suwaima Davis, was absolutely awesome. He had five hoops, something like a small hula-hoop, which he somehow manages to weave himself in and out of in the shape of certain animals during the dance ceremony. We had our picture made with him after the dances and got his autograph. The flutist, Ryon Polequaptewa, was another excellent cultural representative of his people. His music was as graceful and entertaining as the hoop dancers dancing was vividly beautiful. You can find his music at www.longhousemedia.com and all proceeds go to Native Preservation.
We also learned about their rabbit sticks that they hunted with and their stick ball game sticks that are still handmade by their craftsmen today. The stickball game is something similar to lacrosse but a little different. They have two sticks with a woven scoop on the end which they use to catch and throw a gold ball sized woven leather ball and try to hit the goal posts on the ends of the playing field. We watched the Choctaw Stickball World Series stick ball game and saw the Beaver Dam team take the trophy, though it was a very close game. One team had hit the goal post just as the whistle was blown and the point was not counted. The point would have tied the game. Afterwards, they had a nice award ceremony and then ended the fair with a fireworks display for us all to enjoy.
Needless to say, we all had a great time enjoying the sights and sounds of the traditional Native American Choctaws. We had toured through their crafts booths earlier in the day and viewed many of their handmade arts and crafts, which were all very beautiful. The fair also included several musical concerts in their large amphitheater, which was one of the biggest attractions of the fair. The fair had something for everyone, whether adult or child, Native American or not. Having Native American deep in my own cultural heritage, I thoroughly enjoyed this cultural event of my native Mississippi. If you have the opportunity to go in the future, I highly recommend it as an inexpensive and educational family vacation. You can find more information on the fair and the Choctaws at www.choctaw.org.
While there at the fair, we got to participate in some hands on activities with the kids, who each got to learn the art of Indian drum making, beading bracelets, and pottery making. We also toured their museum, the Choctaw Museum of the Southern Indian, where we learned about basket weaving, and the cultural dress making of the MS Band of Choctaw Indians. There we met the grand daughter of the famous Chief Pushmataha, who showed us how to make the diamond shapes on a traditional Choctaw Indian dress. The diamond shapes represent the diamond back rattlesnake, which eats the insects that destroyed their crops.
The Choctaws were known for their gardening knowledge as well, and were able to answer a couple of questions I had about gardening techniques. Earlier this year, I had tried a Native American technique of planting corn, beans, and squash together, but the corn, nor the beans germinated well. I found out that instead of planting them at the same time, I should have planted the corn a little earlier, then the beans, and lastly the squash. Then the beans could grow up the corn stalk, and the squash would shade out the weeds.
On the Choctaw Ways Path, we also saw some of the Choctaws traditional houses and other structures they used while traveling. Their huts were made of large saplings, sticks and daub, with woven walls and thatch type roofs and were quite interesting to see. The kids really enjoyed playing in and around them and I enjoyed learning about the architecture of the Choctaws. I might just try to build one for fun with the kids.
We also got to view some of the Native American Indian social dances and hear some of their beautiful flute playing. The Hopi/Choctaw hoop dancer, Derrick Suwaima Davis, was absolutely awesome. He had five hoops, something like a small hula-hoop, which he somehow manages to weave himself in and out of in the shape of certain animals during the dance ceremony. We had our picture made with him after the dances and got his autograph. The flutist, Ryon Polequaptewa, was another excellent cultural representative of his people. His music was as graceful and entertaining as the hoop dancers dancing was vividly beautiful. You can find his music at www.longhousemedia.com and all proceeds go to Native Preservation.
We also learned about their rabbit sticks that they hunted with and their stick ball game sticks that are still handmade by their craftsmen today. The stickball game is something similar to lacrosse but a little different. They have two sticks with a woven scoop on the end which they use to catch and throw a gold ball sized woven leather ball and try to hit the goal posts on the ends of the playing field. We watched the Choctaw Stickball World Series stick ball game and saw the Beaver Dam team take the trophy, though it was a very close game. One team had hit the goal post just as the whistle was blown and the point was not counted. The point would have tied the game. Afterwards, they had a nice award ceremony and then ended the fair with a fireworks display for us all to enjoy.
Needless to say, we all had a great time enjoying the sights and sounds of the traditional Native American Choctaws. We had toured through their crafts booths earlier in the day and viewed many of their handmade arts and crafts, which were all very beautiful. The fair also included several musical concerts in their large amphitheater, which was one of the biggest attractions of the fair. The fair had something for everyone, whether adult or child, Native American or not. Having Native American deep in my own cultural heritage, I thoroughly enjoyed this cultural event of my native Mississippi. If you have the opportunity to go in the future, I highly recommend it as an inexpensive and educational family vacation. You can find more information on the fair and the Choctaws at www.choctaw.org.
Adventure Recreation in the Christian Setting
©2008, 2009 Kimberly M. Hartfield
Abstract
Adventure Recreation in a Christian setting can bring together people who are emotionally and spiritually disconnected from God and others. Christian Adventure Recreation as used in a ministry setting is a process of group building and of teaching spiritual truths through a series of games and challenge activities. The activities are a means by which Christian Counselors, Youth Pastors, and laypersons can minister to people and share the life of Christ with their target audience.
Adventure Recreation in the Christian Setting
Baack, Hill, and Palmer state in Adventure Recreation: An Adventure in Group Building that in a world where the circumstances of life pull people apart, Adventure Recreation in a Christian setting can bring together different groups of people who are emotionally and spiritually disconnected from God and others around them. They claim it is a means for sharing the adventure of the Christian life both with those who know Christ and also with those who have not yet taken that leap of faith. They believe it draws a group of individuals into an attitude of like-minded spiritual togetherness. The excitement and high spirits one feels by being a part of a group experience such as this brings much fulfillment to the heart. Christian Recreation (Adventure Based Counseling) as used in a ministry setting is a process of teaching spiritual truths through group building in a series of games and challenging activities. The activities are designed for a group building experience and are a good tool for Christian Counselors, Youth Pastors, and laypersons to serve the greater purpose of ministering to people and sharing the life of Christ with their target audience. The goal is the participants’ individual edification, as well as the group’s spiritual growth through the spiritually based lessons and applications of the games they play.
Christian Recreation was a spin off of the original Adventure-based Counseling (ABC), which is an adventure-based therapeutic approach to personal development and group activity. ABC was developed by Project Adventure and became more widely used and well known because of their publications, ABC programs, and extensive training programs. Adventure Based Counseling is an approach to counseling, activity therapy, and life that is involved, active, challenging and has high expectations for the individuals within a supportive and caring group atmosphere. The program’s careful selection and sequencing of the games and activities, which are tailored to each group’s particular needs, build feelings of trust, togetherness, and cooperation within the group members. The program is designed to take each individual beyond their own expectations or their professed willingness to try the new activity. Those who do choose to go beyond their self-imposed limitations, will have more self-confidence, a greater self-awareness, and ultimately become a stronger person for their efforts.
The application, or the teachable moment, is the most important aspect of Christian Recreation in adventure based counseling experiences. At any time during or after an activity, an observation can be made that reveals an important spiritual truth. The group’s observations and discussions can honestly explore uncomfortable emotions, and spiritual conflicts, while coming to conclusions that will build up each person in a caring Christian atmosphere. The leader’s debriefing is one of the most important parts of this process and should leave individuals with the desire to continue, while not allowing the conversation to drag on indefinitely. The leader should bring a life-changing purpose and spiritual application to the activity by encouraging participation and learning, and relating the activity to a real life situations and spiritual solutions. During de-briefing, Christian leaders and their groups consciously take a break from the physical activity to explore its spiritual applications. Reflection, prayer, and scripture readings are all instrumental components in this process. The Christian recreational experience is a tool that if used properly, will help individual participants grow in self confidence, while letting groups grow in the cooperative spirit of Christ. Setting and working toward personal and group physical, emotional, and spiritual goals allows participants to negotiate strategies and the steps they need to take to achieve them. Phil. 3:14 states I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Christian Recreational Adventure Based Counseling is a powerful ministry tool in which messages on faith and trust are used alongside physical activities to create a caring, supportive, and cooperative environment in order to draw people closer to one another and to Jesus, while also emphasizing learning through experiences of close group encounters. It uses a holistic approach that involves participants physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. One of the main goals of these types of programs is to enhance participants’ self-concept, and in turn lead them into a more enriched lifestyle. During the course of the activities, participants interact socially, assist each other physically, use their intellectual abilities to solve problems, face their own and others emotional and spiritual responses, and draw spiritually based connections and conclusions that will help them grow spiritually in their walk with Christ. Participants of Christian Recreational Adventure Based Counseling encounters must function as a group by working together and using the various abilities of the individuals within the group to attain a group goal. They see a practical illustration of how the body of Christ needs to function, as portrayed in I Corinthians 12:27. All the activities, games, and initiatives are designed to lead the individual members of the group to trust and depend on one another to complete them. As in the church, each member of the group does their individual part and the entire group is strengthened in the process. If an individual does not fulfill their particular role, the group will not be as triumphant, nor as edified, as they otherwise would be.
Some necessary attributes of the leaders of these groups are mental and physical endurance and a passion for experiencing the outdoors. But mostly they need to have a great capacity to love and a desire for caring and sharing. Christian Recreational Adventure-based counseling requires a great deal of interaction with other people. So depending on where you apply your talents, you could be working with a population that hasn’t experienced much love or positive interactions. There’s no greater privilege than to have a positive Christian influence on another person while showing them the love and acceptance of Jesus Christ. This allows leaders to demonstrate the positive, active, and fulfilled life that God intends for everyone to have. In Christian based groups, the members are saturated with the ideals of God’s love and Christian support. In this kind of setting, the joy and excitement of a life in Christ is naturally shared with others. Life is full of risks, hurts, and disappointments, but through an adventurous Christian based encounter group experience, participants will likely all feel the love and support of God through the caring and support of others. As friends break each others falls, lift each other up, and cheer each other on, lasting friendships are created that make the mutual journey of life a little less painful and possibly a lot more enjoyable.
One of the great things about this type of group counseling, is that it gives everyone the opportunity to participate. Less active and non-athletic members of the group may still be actively involved and succeed in most or all of the activities they choose to do. The games and activities include both physical and mental challenges, and everyone has an equal opportunity to provide input and suggestions. As the group develops in unity, the individual members begin to see partners and friends, rather than the differences in their personal makeup. In an environment of acceptance, the participants are much more willing to admit a weakness and to ask for help when necessary because they know it will be willingly given without criticism. Though some conflicts and disagreements may occur while the participants try to resolve their differences, and still attain their goals, they usually become more accepting and appreciative of one another. Group experiences like these clearly illustrate the spiritual truth If any of you are encouraged from companionship in Christ, if any are comforted by His Love, if any are connected with His Spirit, if any have tenderness and compassion, then my joy is complete knowing that you are of the same mind, and have the same love, and are one in spirit and purpose. Yet, you should do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but rather humbly consider others needs as more important than your own. You should tend not only to your own interests, but to those of others also. You should have the attitude shown by Jesus Christ. (Phil. 2:1-5)
Through these kinds of adventure based encounters, churches, classrooms, troubled teen youth programs and ministries, peer advocacy groups, addictions groups, family therapy groups, physically, mentally, and emotionally challenged groups, sexual abuse groups and others have ministered, educated, counseled, and equipped a great many individuals to cope better with the stresses of their particular life settings. All of these various groups with their own particular challenges use recreational therapy to restore and build self-esteem for self and respect for others. Christian Recreational adventure based counseling experiences provide an appealing and enriching series of activities which are a good means of ministering to many diverse groups, but are usually selective in the group that a particular program targets. A group experience for victims of sexual and domestic violence is a good example, because of the dire need to increase these survivors’ self-concept and esteem, along with their sense of trust, and the need for spiritual growth. Many of these women have great difficulty trusting men and cannot accept a concept of God, as father.
References
Baack, S., Hill, H., and Palmer, J. (1989) Adventure Recreation: An Adventure in Group Building. Convention Press, Nashville, TN.
Neill, J. (no date). Adventure-based Counseling (ABC). Available:
http://www.wilderdom.com/ABC/
Adventure-based Counseling. (no date). Insight Magazine. Available:
http://www.insightmagazine.org/careers/article.asp?career_id=2
Abstract
Adventure Recreation in a Christian setting can bring together people who are emotionally and spiritually disconnected from God and others. Christian Adventure Recreation as used in a ministry setting is a process of group building and of teaching spiritual truths through a series of games and challenge activities. The activities are a means by which Christian Counselors, Youth Pastors, and laypersons can minister to people and share the life of Christ with their target audience.
Adventure Recreation in the Christian Setting
Baack, Hill, and Palmer state in Adventure Recreation: An Adventure in Group Building that in a world where the circumstances of life pull people apart, Adventure Recreation in a Christian setting can bring together different groups of people who are emotionally and spiritually disconnected from God and others around them. They claim it is a means for sharing the adventure of the Christian life both with those who know Christ and also with those who have not yet taken that leap of faith. They believe it draws a group of individuals into an attitude of like-minded spiritual togetherness. The excitement and high spirits one feels by being a part of a group experience such as this brings much fulfillment to the heart. Christian Recreation (Adventure Based Counseling) as used in a ministry setting is a process of teaching spiritual truths through group building in a series of games and challenging activities. The activities are designed for a group building experience and are a good tool for Christian Counselors, Youth Pastors, and laypersons to serve the greater purpose of ministering to people and sharing the life of Christ with their target audience. The goal is the participants’ individual edification, as well as the group’s spiritual growth through the spiritually based lessons and applications of the games they play.
Christian Recreation was a spin off of the original Adventure-based Counseling (ABC), which is an adventure-based therapeutic approach to personal development and group activity. ABC was developed by Project Adventure and became more widely used and well known because of their publications, ABC programs, and extensive training programs. Adventure Based Counseling is an approach to counseling, activity therapy, and life that is involved, active, challenging and has high expectations for the individuals within a supportive and caring group atmosphere. The program’s careful selection and sequencing of the games and activities, which are tailored to each group’s particular needs, build feelings of trust, togetherness, and cooperation within the group members. The program is designed to take each individual beyond their own expectations or their professed willingness to try the new activity. Those who do choose to go beyond their self-imposed limitations, will have more self-confidence, a greater self-awareness, and ultimately become a stronger person for their efforts.
The application, or the teachable moment, is the most important aspect of Christian Recreation in adventure based counseling experiences. At any time during or after an activity, an observation can be made that reveals an important spiritual truth. The group’s observations and discussions can honestly explore uncomfortable emotions, and spiritual conflicts, while coming to conclusions that will build up each person in a caring Christian atmosphere. The leader’s debriefing is one of the most important parts of this process and should leave individuals with the desire to continue, while not allowing the conversation to drag on indefinitely. The leader should bring a life-changing purpose and spiritual application to the activity by encouraging participation and learning, and relating the activity to a real life situations and spiritual solutions. During de-briefing, Christian leaders and their groups consciously take a break from the physical activity to explore its spiritual applications. Reflection, prayer, and scripture readings are all instrumental components in this process. The Christian recreational experience is a tool that if used properly, will help individual participants grow in self confidence, while letting groups grow in the cooperative spirit of Christ. Setting and working toward personal and group physical, emotional, and spiritual goals allows participants to negotiate strategies and the steps they need to take to achieve them. Phil. 3:14 states I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Christian Recreational Adventure Based Counseling is a powerful ministry tool in which messages on faith and trust are used alongside physical activities to create a caring, supportive, and cooperative environment in order to draw people closer to one another and to Jesus, while also emphasizing learning through experiences of close group encounters. It uses a holistic approach that involves participants physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. One of the main goals of these types of programs is to enhance participants’ self-concept, and in turn lead them into a more enriched lifestyle. During the course of the activities, participants interact socially, assist each other physically, use their intellectual abilities to solve problems, face their own and others emotional and spiritual responses, and draw spiritually based connections and conclusions that will help them grow spiritually in their walk with Christ. Participants of Christian Recreational Adventure Based Counseling encounters must function as a group by working together and using the various abilities of the individuals within the group to attain a group goal. They see a practical illustration of how the body of Christ needs to function, as portrayed in I Corinthians 12:27. All the activities, games, and initiatives are designed to lead the individual members of the group to trust and depend on one another to complete them. As in the church, each member of the group does their individual part and the entire group is strengthened in the process. If an individual does not fulfill their particular role, the group will not be as triumphant, nor as edified, as they otherwise would be.
Some necessary attributes of the leaders of these groups are mental and physical endurance and a passion for experiencing the outdoors. But mostly they need to have a great capacity to love and a desire for caring and sharing. Christian Recreational Adventure-based counseling requires a great deal of interaction with other people. So depending on where you apply your talents, you could be working with a population that hasn’t experienced much love or positive interactions. There’s no greater privilege than to have a positive Christian influence on another person while showing them the love and acceptance of Jesus Christ. This allows leaders to demonstrate the positive, active, and fulfilled life that God intends for everyone to have. In Christian based groups, the members are saturated with the ideals of God’s love and Christian support. In this kind of setting, the joy and excitement of a life in Christ is naturally shared with others. Life is full of risks, hurts, and disappointments, but through an adventurous Christian based encounter group experience, participants will likely all feel the love and support of God through the caring and support of others. As friends break each others falls, lift each other up, and cheer each other on, lasting friendships are created that make the mutual journey of life a little less painful and possibly a lot more enjoyable.
One of the great things about this type of group counseling, is that it gives everyone the opportunity to participate. Less active and non-athletic members of the group may still be actively involved and succeed in most or all of the activities they choose to do. The games and activities include both physical and mental challenges, and everyone has an equal opportunity to provide input and suggestions. As the group develops in unity, the individual members begin to see partners and friends, rather than the differences in their personal makeup. In an environment of acceptance, the participants are much more willing to admit a weakness and to ask for help when necessary because they know it will be willingly given without criticism. Though some conflicts and disagreements may occur while the participants try to resolve their differences, and still attain their goals, they usually become more accepting and appreciative of one another. Group experiences like these clearly illustrate the spiritual truth If any of you are encouraged from companionship in Christ, if any are comforted by His Love, if any are connected with His Spirit, if any have tenderness and compassion, then my joy is complete knowing that you are of the same mind, and have the same love, and are one in spirit and purpose. Yet, you should do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but rather humbly consider others needs as more important than your own. You should tend not only to your own interests, but to those of others also. You should have the attitude shown by Jesus Christ. (Phil. 2:1-5)
Through these kinds of adventure based encounters, churches, classrooms, troubled teen youth programs and ministries, peer advocacy groups, addictions groups, family therapy groups, physically, mentally, and emotionally challenged groups, sexual abuse groups and others have ministered, educated, counseled, and equipped a great many individuals to cope better with the stresses of their particular life settings. All of these various groups with their own particular challenges use recreational therapy to restore and build self-esteem for self and respect for others. Christian Recreational adventure based counseling experiences provide an appealing and enriching series of activities which are a good means of ministering to many diverse groups, but are usually selective in the group that a particular program targets. A group experience for victims of sexual and domestic violence is a good example, because of the dire need to increase these survivors’ self-concept and esteem, along with their sense of trust, and the need for spiritual growth. Many of these women have great difficulty trusting men and cannot accept a concept of God, as father.
References
Baack, S., Hill, H., and Palmer, J. (1989) Adventure Recreation: An Adventure in Group Building. Convention Press, Nashville, TN.
Neill, J. (no date). Adventure-based Counseling (ABC). Available:
http://www.wilderdom.com/ABC/
Adventure-based Counseling. (no date). Insight Magazine. Available:
http://www.insightmagazine.org/careers/article.asp?career_id=2
American Indians: A Multicultural View of Sexual and Domestic Violence
American Indians: A Multicultural View of Sexual and Domestic Violence
©2007, 2009 Kimberly M. Hartfield
With approximately two million Native American Indians, 550 federally recognized tribes, and over 250 native languages, these tribal nations maintain separate cultures, customs, languages, and histories, so we should considered them diverse populations. The reservations in which they live cover about fifty million acres of land in North America. United States history tells us that the repeated exploitation of the native peoples by land seizures, forced migration, purposeful depletion of life-sustaining herds and food supplies, and exclusion from educational, business, and other economic opportunities has resulted in a devastatingly high level of poverty among them. Unemployment rates average about 37% on most Indian Reservations.
Domestic and sexual violence are not traditional cultural practices of Native American Indians. Historically, violence among the indigenous Indians of North America was rare because it threatened their belief in harmony. When violence did occur, it was met with harsh punishments and sometimes even banishment. In order to understand the high rate of sexual and domestic violent assaults against women, the historical treatment of native populations must be seen as a change from a traditionally peaceful people to a culture of oppression, marked by high rates of crime and poverty. The systematic oppression of native cultures led to a particular degradation of the females in those cultures. Racism functioned as an emotional and cultural abuse, which has created extremely low self-esteem among Native Americans in general, and particularly among the women of that culture. The adoption of the widespread use of alcohol has been a major contributing factor to the abuse of the women and children by Native Indian men.
The history of the mistreatment of the American Indians by the federal government and some of the early colonists is filled with accounts of racism, exploitation, forced migration, war, disease, introduction of alcohol, and oppression. These oppressive practices of the surrounding culture have influenced many of the traditional values and practices of the Native Americans to their detriment. Indian children were forced into federally sanctioned boarding homes, where many were physically and sexually abused by their caretakers (Sexual Assault in Indian Country: 2000). Land acquisition by the government, along with forced migration to reservations, also had a very negative effect on the Native American population. The introduction of alcohol to their culture, followed by the widespread adoption of its use by Native American males, remains a debilitating result of the infiltration of the Native American cultures. As among other people groups there is a definite correlation between the use of alcoholic beverages and violent crime rates. American Indians, especially the females, experience violent victimization at an alarmingly high rate. The rate of reported violent crime in Indian territories is more than twice as high as the national average and is well beyond that of all other ethnic groups.
The average annual violent crime rate among American Indians is about two and a half times higher than the national rate. In every age group, rates of violence are higher than that of any other race in the United States. At least 70% of the violent victimization of American Indians is committed by those of other races. The average annual rate of rape and sexual assault is three and a half times higher than all other races. And these are only those assaults that are reported, as most Native American women probably do not report the experience of domestic and sexual trauma.
Though the reported rates of violence are well documented, the full extent of sexual and domestic violence is difficult to know due to the infrequent reporting of these types of crimes by the victims. The rate of assaults in Indian territories, though disturbingly high, is likely much higher than what the current statistics reveal, and the true extent of the problem cannot be fully known. In spite of some efforts by tribal governments to deal with these issues, by far, too many Native American women have internalized victimizations, and sexual and domestic violence is now commonplace among this people group.
In the context of the current prevalence of violence, historical oppression, and a tangled web of jurisdictional issues, sexual and domestic violence impacts Native American victims with the further mistrust of judicial systems, which often provides them with little remedy for any effective or timely justice. Jurisdictional confusion and overlap makes any real justice almost impossible for both the victims and all others who may be involved. Conflicts concerning jurisdiction promote an apathetic lack of concern by officials, which is used as an excuse for their untimely action or no action at all. This often has dire consequences for victims, service providers, and for obtaining accurate statistics. Violent victimization, internalized oppression, and complicated jurisdictional issues have placed American Indian Women at particular risk for continued abuse from their Indian spouses and non-Indians alike.
References
Domestic Violence Solutions: Working to end the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence. Available: http://www.dvsolutions.org/DVSolutionsReturntotheCircle.htm
National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Sexual Assault in Indian Country: Confronting Sexual Violence. (2000). Available: http://www.nsvrc.org/publications/booklets/indian.htm
©2007, 2009 Kimberly M. Hartfield
With approximately two million Native American Indians, 550 federally recognized tribes, and over 250 native languages, these tribal nations maintain separate cultures, customs, languages, and histories, so we should considered them diverse populations. The reservations in which they live cover about fifty million acres of land in North America. United States history tells us that the repeated exploitation of the native peoples by land seizures, forced migration, purposeful depletion of life-sustaining herds and food supplies, and exclusion from educational, business, and other economic opportunities has resulted in a devastatingly high level of poverty among them. Unemployment rates average about 37% on most Indian Reservations.
Domestic and sexual violence are not traditional cultural practices of Native American Indians. Historically, violence among the indigenous Indians of North America was rare because it threatened their belief in harmony. When violence did occur, it was met with harsh punishments and sometimes even banishment. In order to understand the high rate of sexual and domestic violent assaults against women, the historical treatment of native populations must be seen as a change from a traditionally peaceful people to a culture of oppression, marked by high rates of crime and poverty. The systematic oppression of native cultures led to a particular degradation of the females in those cultures. Racism functioned as an emotional and cultural abuse, which has created extremely low self-esteem among Native Americans in general, and particularly among the women of that culture. The adoption of the widespread use of alcohol has been a major contributing factor to the abuse of the women and children by Native Indian men.
The history of the mistreatment of the American Indians by the federal government and some of the early colonists is filled with accounts of racism, exploitation, forced migration, war, disease, introduction of alcohol, and oppression. These oppressive practices of the surrounding culture have influenced many of the traditional values and practices of the Native Americans to their detriment. Indian children were forced into federally sanctioned boarding homes, where many were physically and sexually abused by their caretakers (Sexual Assault in Indian Country: 2000). Land acquisition by the government, along with forced migration to reservations, also had a very negative effect on the Native American population. The introduction of alcohol to their culture, followed by the widespread adoption of its use by Native American males, remains a debilitating result of the infiltration of the Native American cultures. As among other people groups there is a definite correlation between the use of alcoholic beverages and violent crime rates. American Indians, especially the females, experience violent victimization at an alarmingly high rate. The rate of reported violent crime in Indian territories is more than twice as high as the national average and is well beyond that of all other ethnic groups.
The average annual violent crime rate among American Indians is about two and a half times higher than the national rate. In every age group, rates of violence are higher than that of any other race in the United States. At least 70% of the violent victimization of American Indians is committed by those of other races. The average annual rate of rape and sexual assault is three and a half times higher than all other races. And these are only those assaults that are reported, as most Native American women probably do not report the experience of domestic and sexual trauma.
Though the reported rates of violence are well documented, the full extent of sexual and domestic violence is difficult to know due to the infrequent reporting of these types of crimes by the victims. The rate of assaults in Indian territories, though disturbingly high, is likely much higher than what the current statistics reveal, and the true extent of the problem cannot be fully known. In spite of some efforts by tribal governments to deal with these issues, by far, too many Native American women have internalized victimizations, and sexual and domestic violence is now commonplace among this people group.
In the context of the current prevalence of violence, historical oppression, and a tangled web of jurisdictional issues, sexual and domestic violence impacts Native American victims with the further mistrust of judicial systems, which often provides them with little remedy for any effective or timely justice. Jurisdictional confusion and overlap makes any real justice almost impossible for both the victims and all others who may be involved. Conflicts concerning jurisdiction promote an apathetic lack of concern by officials, which is used as an excuse for their untimely action or no action at all. This often has dire consequences for victims, service providers, and for obtaining accurate statistics. Violent victimization, internalized oppression, and complicated jurisdictional issues have placed American Indian Women at particular risk for continued abuse from their Indian spouses and non-Indians alike.
References
Domestic Violence Solutions: Working to end the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence. Available: http://www.dvsolutions.org/DVSolutionsReturntotheCircle.htm
National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Sexual Assault in Indian Country: Confronting Sexual Violence. (2000). Available: http://www.nsvrc.org/publications/booklets/indian.htm
April Child Abuse Prevention Month
Jesus said, “But whoever hurts one of these little ones who believe in Me and causes them to loose faith, it would be better for that person to have a weight hung around their neck, and be drowned in the sea.” Mark 9:42
April is child abuse prevention month. This is a time to remember all those children out there who have been emotionally, physically, and sexually abused by someone they thought they could trust, whether that be a family member, friend of the family, or a stranger. Children are more often abused by someone they know and love. Rarely are they abducted and abused by a stranger, though that does sometimes happen.
When someone a child loves breaks their trust by abusing them in some way or another, that child will forever have difficulty establishing trust in future relationships, especially when a child is sexually abused. This kind of abuse violates their person and often results in a damaged psychological state of being, if not their physical state of being. Children who are sexually abused at a very young age have even greater difficulties adjusting. They often experience severe depression, suicidal feelings, lack of relationship development, and a myriad of other psychological problems.
Childhood sexual abuse is believed to be experienced by about one third of all girls under age 18, and a number of boys as well. Abused boys often never report the abuse, especially if it was by a homosexual male. Often these boys believe they are gay and become homosexuals as a result. Young girls who are severely abused by older males often become lesbian due to their fear and anger toward males. About one third of all children who are sexually abused as a child become sexual abusers themselves when they grow up, often starting in their teens.
Physical abuse and emotional abuse often occurs simultaneously with sexual abuse. Often the child is threatened by the abuser, so that the child is afraid to tell anyone that the abuse is happening to them. Less often is physical abuse part of the equation, but it does happen.
Sometimes, children are abused in a number of ways by live in boyfriends or step fathers. Mothers who date, have a live in, or remarry should be especially careful when exposing young children to new relationships. Even if the mother believes she can trust the man with her children, she should take precautions until there is ample evidence that that trust is well deserved. She should never leave her children alone with a man, who she does not know for certain she can trust.
Children are sometimes abused by their mothers as well. Often this results when the mother is herself being abused, or when she is under tremendous stress due to being a single parent with no resources to help her. Risk factors for abuse are greater in families where alcohol or drugs are used or abused, or the mother and children are isolated from other family members or other resources, such as church or community services.
But abuse of a child can be stopped by the few who step up and speak out for them. The cycle of abuse can be interrupted by one person who is willing to take a stand, and get involved. It is against the law not to report cases of suspected child abuse. Be the one who makes a difference.
April is child abuse prevention month. This is a time to remember all those children out there who have been emotionally, physically, and sexually abused by someone they thought they could trust, whether that be a family member, friend of the family, or a stranger. Children are more often abused by someone they know and love. Rarely are they abducted and abused by a stranger, though that does sometimes happen.
When someone a child loves breaks their trust by abusing them in some way or another, that child will forever have difficulty establishing trust in future relationships, especially when a child is sexually abused. This kind of abuse violates their person and often results in a damaged psychological state of being, if not their physical state of being. Children who are sexually abused at a very young age have even greater difficulties adjusting. They often experience severe depression, suicidal feelings, lack of relationship development, and a myriad of other psychological problems.
Childhood sexual abuse is believed to be experienced by about one third of all girls under age 18, and a number of boys as well. Abused boys often never report the abuse, especially if it was by a homosexual male. Often these boys believe they are gay and become homosexuals as a result. Young girls who are severely abused by older males often become lesbian due to their fear and anger toward males. About one third of all children who are sexually abused as a child become sexual abusers themselves when they grow up, often starting in their teens.
Physical abuse and emotional abuse often occurs simultaneously with sexual abuse. Often the child is threatened by the abuser, so that the child is afraid to tell anyone that the abuse is happening to them. Less often is physical abuse part of the equation, but it does happen.
Sometimes, children are abused in a number of ways by live in boyfriends or step fathers. Mothers who date, have a live in, or remarry should be especially careful when exposing young children to new relationships. Even if the mother believes she can trust the man with her children, she should take precautions until there is ample evidence that that trust is well deserved. She should never leave her children alone with a man, who she does not know for certain she can trust.
Children are sometimes abused by their mothers as well. Often this results when the mother is herself being abused, or when she is under tremendous stress due to being a single parent with no resources to help her. Risk factors for abuse are greater in families where alcohol or drugs are used or abused, or the mother and children are isolated from other family members or other resources, such as church or community services.
But abuse of a child can be stopped by the few who step up and speak out for them. The cycle of abuse can be interrupted by one person who is willing to take a stand, and get involved. It is against the law not to report cases of suspected child abuse. Be the one who makes a difference.
Bullying is Abuse, They’re Not Just Being Kids
Many children experience bullying of some sort during their childhood and experience the emotional confusion that comes with it. When a child who is bigger, stronger, or older picks on a smaller, weaker, or younger child for whatever reason, the bully has chosen to act inappropriately and should be confronted and punished for that behavior. Kids who bully other kids are not just being kids, they’re being abusive. But often the abused child suffers in silence, afraid to tell anyone of their troubles. So how can we know when our child is being abused by another?
Your child may exhibit warning signs like not wanting to go certain places or be with certain people, being sad, having headaches or stomachaches, not sleeping or eating normally, crying and withdrawing from others. If your child has experienced some of these symptoms, you should ask whether or not they’ve been bullied or abused in any way. If asked directly, often the child will admit to having had trouble of some sort. If the child says no, let them know that they can always come to you later if a problem arises that they need to talk about.
Whatever the response from your child, you can talk about the issue of bullying in a general way. Let the child know that there are things that they can do to stop a bully from inappropriate actions. The first thing they should try is telling the bully to stop or say no to the bully. If this doesn’t work, then they can tell the bully that they will tell an adult if the behavior doesn’t stop, and make sure the child follows through with the threat. Silence always perpetuates abuse. The child needs to walk or run away if they feel threatened with any physical harm. Fighting back is never a good answer to the bully dilemma, but usually only exacerbates the problem by getting themselves into trouble, especially if it’s at school.
Teach your child to avoid being alone in any known unsafe areas either at school or in the community. Encourage your child to develop good friendships so that they won’t be alone in an unsafe place. Make sure your child exhibits self-confidence as bullies are more likely to attack those who appear to be weak and afraid.
Bullying is not just physical abuse, but can include verbal, sexual, and or emotional abuse, as well. Cyber-bullying and Text-bullying is very common as well. Most states have laws in place against bullying behaviors and can put a bully in the juvenile justice system for infractions. If your child is being abused, tell them to report it to a trusted adult as soon as possible and then report it yourself to the proper authorities as soon as you know of it.
Bullies have often been bullied themselves by others, sometimes even by their own parents. Parents should discipline consistently without being abusive in any way. Spanking within reason is not abusive. Leaving bruises and belittling or cursing a child is abusive. If your child is doing the bullying, think about whether someone is being too harsh or too permissive where they are concerned. Family counseling may be in order.
If your child has been bullied and is having a hard time dealing with it, they may need to see a counselor. Psalm 7:1 gives us a clear picture of what abusive behaviors do to us emotionally. Oh Yahweh my God, in You I put my trust: free me and save me from all those that abuse me, in case they tear my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there’s no one to save me. Often when the child has been hurt and there was no one to save them, they need the emotional support of others to help them heal. Be there for your child and get them the help that they need to overcome any hurts and anxieties they may have.
Your child may exhibit warning signs like not wanting to go certain places or be with certain people, being sad, having headaches or stomachaches, not sleeping or eating normally, crying and withdrawing from others. If your child has experienced some of these symptoms, you should ask whether or not they’ve been bullied or abused in any way. If asked directly, often the child will admit to having had trouble of some sort. If the child says no, let them know that they can always come to you later if a problem arises that they need to talk about.
Whatever the response from your child, you can talk about the issue of bullying in a general way. Let the child know that there are things that they can do to stop a bully from inappropriate actions. The first thing they should try is telling the bully to stop or say no to the bully. If this doesn’t work, then they can tell the bully that they will tell an adult if the behavior doesn’t stop, and make sure the child follows through with the threat. Silence always perpetuates abuse. The child needs to walk or run away if they feel threatened with any physical harm. Fighting back is never a good answer to the bully dilemma, but usually only exacerbates the problem by getting themselves into trouble, especially if it’s at school.
Teach your child to avoid being alone in any known unsafe areas either at school or in the community. Encourage your child to develop good friendships so that they won’t be alone in an unsafe place. Make sure your child exhibits self-confidence as bullies are more likely to attack those who appear to be weak and afraid.
Bullying is not just physical abuse, but can include verbal, sexual, and or emotional abuse, as well. Cyber-bullying and Text-bullying is very common as well. Most states have laws in place against bullying behaviors and can put a bully in the juvenile justice system for infractions. If your child is being abused, tell them to report it to a trusted adult as soon as possible and then report it yourself to the proper authorities as soon as you know of it.
Bullies have often been bullied themselves by others, sometimes even by their own parents. Parents should discipline consistently without being abusive in any way. Spanking within reason is not abusive. Leaving bruises and belittling or cursing a child is abusive. If your child is doing the bullying, think about whether someone is being too harsh or too permissive where they are concerned. Family counseling may be in order.
If your child has been bullied and is having a hard time dealing with it, they may need to see a counselor. Psalm 7:1 gives us a clear picture of what abusive behaviors do to us emotionally. Oh Yahweh my God, in You I put my trust: free me and save me from all those that abuse me, in case they tear my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there’s no one to save me. Often when the child has been hurt and there was no one to save them, they need the emotional support of others to help them heal. Be there for your child and get them the help that they need to overcome any hurts and anxieties they may have.
Christians, Contraception, and the Myth of the Population Explosion
©2009 Kimberly Hartfield
The word contraception means to prevent conception or pre-conception. There are many forms of temporary birth control but only some are in fact contraception. Some forms of birth control, which are potentially post-conception, are considered abortifactant by much of the Christian community, and many other religious groups, such as the Islamic community. These forms are widely used with incomplete instruction in how they affect the process of conception and their use.
When I first married, I was given birth control pills by my family physician at my own request, but it was not fully explained to me what they do concerning the conception process. I took them for a week or so, but as the days passed, I found I couldn’t get out of bed for dizziness and nausea. When I had had enough, I threw them in the garbage and called the doctor. I was told that I could go back and get another formula that wouldn’t make me so sick, but something in my heart said no. I started researching the various methods of birth control available out of personal necessity and conviction, prayerfully considering all the alternatives available to me. Through this research, I have come to several conclusions over the years. I know I am not qualified to explain in depth the processes of each form of birth control, but since I have used and studied many of these at one time or another, I feel I am qualified on this basis to review them. I would like to explain the differences in the way they work and why I believe, as Christians, we shouldn’t adopt the use of those which are abortifactant.
First I will briefly discuss those methods I consider truly contraceptive in nature, which include abstinence, natural family planning, condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, and spermicides. Foremost, is abstinence, which is the preferred method of birth control for unmarried individuals as well as the safest method to prevent sexually transmitted (STDs) diseases. Natural Family Planning is one form of contraception for married individuals, and includes such methods as the calendar method, basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and symptothermal methods. Other forms that are considered a bit more risky for conception include periodical abstinence, coitus interuptus (male withdrawal), vaginal douching, and breastfeeding. The methods of Natural Family Planning are more effective when used in combination, with complete instruction, and consistency in their use. Condoms, diaphragms, and cervical caps offer contraception by both a physical barrier and limited protections from STDs but are more effective when used along with a spermicide. Spermicides are another form of birth control that many Christians consider contraceptive. These usually destroy the sperm cells before they can reach or fertilize the female egg or ovum, although there have been notable birth defects, when impregnated using them, including deformities of the genitals.
Next I will examine those birth control methods, which are considered by many in the Christian community to be abortifactant in nature, and are questionable at best. I personally believe Christians should abstain from the use of these, because they potentially destroy the fertilized egg after conception. The Intrauterine Device (IUD) causes changes in the endometrium, or uterine lining, and the uterine fluids, which in turn, cause their cells to attack the fertilized ovum. If the egg cell survives the attack, the progestin element present in the device makes the uterus uninhabitable to the fertilized egg. The fertilized egg is then spontaneously aborted post conception. The hormonal methods of birth control generally come in two formulas, the combined estrogen and progestin formula, or the progestin only formula. Both methods are delivered in oral form, by injection, or by implants. The combined formula, which has both estrogen and progestin, is most often prescribed. The primary purpose of the estrogen is to suppress ovulation. The primary purpose of the progestin is to ensure that a fertilized egg doesn’t implant in the uterine lining. The estrogen suppresses ovulation, but any number of factors can cause this to fail, including taking antibiotics, and other medications. When the estrogen fails to prevent conception, the progestin causes the fertilized egg to abort. The progestin only formula, which is often prescribed to breast feeding mothers, does nothing to inhibit ovulation. The progestin simply changes the lining of the uterus, so that it doesn’t accept a fertilized egg, which is post-conception, and the ovum is aborted.
Now that I have presented the basic forms of birth control and how they affect the process of conception, I would like to establish what the Bible says to the Christian concerning the conception of human life. Many in the religious community, who believe in the sanctity of human life, would shun the idea of getting an abortion, yet, in ignorance, they continue to use birth control methods that aren’t truly contraceptive, but, in truth, are abortifactant. Christians shouldn’t cast that stone against abortion, until we have at least considered what God may be saying to us concerning other forms of birth control. This passage clearly states that God knew us even before we were formed, and at conception. With life beginning at conception Christians shouldn’t use those methods that usually only work after conception.
Psalm 139: 13-16 [13] For You’ve impassioned my mind, surrounding me from my mother's womb. I’ll praise You; for I am intricately and wonderfully made: Your creations are awesome; as my soul knows so well. My essence wasn’t hid from You, when I was conceived in private, and so interestingly created. Your eyes saw my substance, while I was still imperfect; and all my members were noted in Your book, which were formed each in their turn, before any of them existed.
I realize that birth control is sometimes necessary for spacing children, or when the mother’s health may be at risk by another pregnancy. I myself have been in both of those circumstances. But when mass birth control and sterilization is the rule, rather than the exception for God’s people, we cannot possibly expect to keep up with world evangelization when populations of other faiths are growing at a much higher rate than we are.
In Genesis 1:28, God commanded Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and keep it under control.” This command didn’t only apply at the beginning of creation. This command was echoed to God’s people several more times in the Scripture. All through the Bible God’s people were outnumbered by those of other faiths, many times due to their own disobedience. Evidently God wanted His people to multiply so they could evangelize the rest of the world. At times God instructed His people to procreate “that you may be increased there and not diminished,” as in Jeremiah 28:6, when they were out numbered by their enemy captors.
I believe that command is still in affect today for believers. The Christian population is diminishing, while the Islamic population is steadily growing. Though converts are vital to world evangelization, procreation mustn’t be overlooked as a means to accomplish the great commission. Every year more missionaries are sent out, while the percentage of missionaries per number of persons continues to decrease. How can we, as Christians, ever hope to reach other peoples for God if we limit the seed (descendants) of God’ people? We can only advance the Kingdom of God as far as we can provide the manpower to fulfill the great commission:
So go, and make followers of all people, baptizing them in the Name of YAHWEH GOD, and of Yeshua, the Christ, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to remember and do everything I’ve told you…
Mathew 28: 19-20
Because I have eight children, some have accused us of trying to replenish the earth all by ourselves, but I do believe it’s the Christian’s responsibility to produce godly children for a heritage to the Lord, who will continue to spread the Gospel to all nations and to every generation. A verse in the Psalms has been my conviction for years:
See, children are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is God’s reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. Happy is the one whose quiver is full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they will have an answer for their enemies.
Psalm 127: 3-5
As you make decisions about family life through the course of your marriage, my hope is that you will prayerfully consider the moral aspects of contraception. Each couple must make a knowledgeable decision of conscience that they will be able to live with and agree on. The consequences of your choice will affect not only yourselves, but the world as well. God’s children will either be here or not, depending on our choices. Each fertilized egg is a potential human being, with a God-given soul. What if the mother’s of some of the great evangelists and missionaries had decided to use birth control? How many of them would never have existed? What of those that might have been and what might they have done for the Lord? Often we give God control of every part of our lives, except for birth control.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, before I formed you in the belly, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I set you apart and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1: 5
Birth control in all its forms has become the norm in our society and the cry for population control is getting louder. Here in the US we have accepted it unquestioningly, and are now pushing it on the rest of the world. I believe the Christian community should set a godly example for the rest of the world. As the sin of Onan (Genesis 38: 9-10) was simply for selfish convenience, is it possible our minds are darkened, or shall I say “enlightened,” by our own selfishness? We have chosen a standard of living that promotes more for some and less for others or rather less of others. Could we have been deceived by Satan? Satan would like nothing better than to stop us in our endeavor to advance God’s Kingdom. The Bible clearly tells us that Satan is the enemy of both God’s seed and woman’s seed (Genesis 3: 15, Revelation 12:4). It has been said that if we took all the grain that goes for making alcohol and grew in its place that which is good for human consumption, we could feed the world. Just maybe the population explosion is a myth, straight from the father of lies. The rate of growth for a population to sustain itself is 2.11. Right now the rate of growth in the US is only 1.6 without the influx of immigrants. With the immigrants, it is 2.11, which is the bare minimum to sustain ourselves. The Muslims on the other hand, have more than an 8.00 growth rate. We have been convinced that we will outgrow this earth and that we must limit our family size to no more than one or two children, while the Islamic community is having as many children as they can, so they will eventually out number us. The Catholic Church just announced that the Islamic Faith has now outnumbered it. If we, as Christians, believe that God created us and this world, why can’t we believe that the world created for us will be sufficient until Jesus comes again to claim us. Satan has done a good job of deceiving the Saints of God that we will somehow run out of room. If and when we do run out of room, our God has prepared a place for us in Heaven, Oh You of little faith!
The word contraception means to prevent conception or pre-conception. There are many forms of temporary birth control but only some are in fact contraception. Some forms of birth control, which are potentially post-conception, are considered abortifactant by much of the Christian community, and many other religious groups, such as the Islamic community. These forms are widely used with incomplete instruction in how they affect the process of conception and their use.
When I first married, I was given birth control pills by my family physician at my own request, but it was not fully explained to me what they do concerning the conception process. I took them for a week or so, but as the days passed, I found I couldn’t get out of bed for dizziness and nausea. When I had had enough, I threw them in the garbage and called the doctor. I was told that I could go back and get another formula that wouldn’t make me so sick, but something in my heart said no. I started researching the various methods of birth control available out of personal necessity and conviction, prayerfully considering all the alternatives available to me. Through this research, I have come to several conclusions over the years. I know I am not qualified to explain in depth the processes of each form of birth control, but since I have used and studied many of these at one time or another, I feel I am qualified on this basis to review them. I would like to explain the differences in the way they work and why I believe, as Christians, we shouldn’t adopt the use of those which are abortifactant.
First I will briefly discuss those methods I consider truly contraceptive in nature, which include abstinence, natural family planning, condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, and spermicides. Foremost, is abstinence, which is the preferred method of birth control for unmarried individuals as well as the safest method to prevent sexually transmitted (STDs) diseases. Natural Family Planning is one form of contraception for married individuals, and includes such methods as the calendar method, basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and symptothermal methods. Other forms that are considered a bit more risky for conception include periodical abstinence, coitus interuptus (male withdrawal), vaginal douching, and breastfeeding. The methods of Natural Family Planning are more effective when used in combination, with complete instruction, and consistency in their use. Condoms, diaphragms, and cervical caps offer contraception by both a physical barrier and limited protections from STDs but are more effective when used along with a spermicide. Spermicides are another form of birth control that many Christians consider contraceptive. These usually destroy the sperm cells before they can reach or fertilize the female egg or ovum, although there have been notable birth defects, when impregnated using them, including deformities of the genitals.
Next I will examine those birth control methods, which are considered by many in the Christian community to be abortifactant in nature, and are questionable at best. I personally believe Christians should abstain from the use of these, because they potentially destroy the fertilized egg after conception. The Intrauterine Device (IUD) causes changes in the endometrium, or uterine lining, and the uterine fluids, which in turn, cause their cells to attack the fertilized ovum. If the egg cell survives the attack, the progestin element present in the device makes the uterus uninhabitable to the fertilized egg. The fertilized egg is then spontaneously aborted post conception. The hormonal methods of birth control generally come in two formulas, the combined estrogen and progestin formula, or the progestin only formula. Both methods are delivered in oral form, by injection, or by implants. The combined formula, which has both estrogen and progestin, is most often prescribed. The primary purpose of the estrogen is to suppress ovulation. The primary purpose of the progestin is to ensure that a fertilized egg doesn’t implant in the uterine lining. The estrogen suppresses ovulation, but any number of factors can cause this to fail, including taking antibiotics, and other medications. When the estrogen fails to prevent conception, the progestin causes the fertilized egg to abort. The progestin only formula, which is often prescribed to breast feeding mothers, does nothing to inhibit ovulation. The progestin simply changes the lining of the uterus, so that it doesn’t accept a fertilized egg, which is post-conception, and the ovum is aborted.
Now that I have presented the basic forms of birth control and how they affect the process of conception, I would like to establish what the Bible says to the Christian concerning the conception of human life. Many in the religious community, who believe in the sanctity of human life, would shun the idea of getting an abortion, yet, in ignorance, they continue to use birth control methods that aren’t truly contraceptive, but, in truth, are abortifactant. Christians shouldn’t cast that stone against abortion, until we have at least considered what God may be saying to us concerning other forms of birth control. This passage clearly states that God knew us even before we were formed, and at conception. With life beginning at conception Christians shouldn’t use those methods that usually only work after conception.
Psalm 139: 13-16 [13] For You’ve impassioned my mind, surrounding me from my mother's womb. I’ll praise You; for I am intricately and wonderfully made: Your creations are awesome; as my soul knows so well. My essence wasn’t hid from You, when I was conceived in private, and so interestingly created. Your eyes saw my substance, while I was still imperfect; and all my members were noted in Your book, which were formed each in their turn, before any of them existed.
I realize that birth control is sometimes necessary for spacing children, or when the mother’s health may be at risk by another pregnancy. I myself have been in both of those circumstances. But when mass birth control and sterilization is the rule, rather than the exception for God’s people, we cannot possibly expect to keep up with world evangelization when populations of other faiths are growing at a much higher rate than we are.
In Genesis 1:28, God commanded Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and keep it under control.” This command didn’t only apply at the beginning of creation. This command was echoed to God’s people several more times in the Scripture. All through the Bible God’s people were outnumbered by those of other faiths, many times due to their own disobedience. Evidently God wanted His people to multiply so they could evangelize the rest of the world. At times God instructed His people to procreate “that you may be increased there and not diminished,” as in Jeremiah 28:6, when they were out numbered by their enemy captors.
I believe that command is still in affect today for believers. The Christian population is diminishing, while the Islamic population is steadily growing. Though converts are vital to world evangelization, procreation mustn’t be overlooked as a means to accomplish the great commission. Every year more missionaries are sent out, while the percentage of missionaries per number of persons continues to decrease. How can we, as Christians, ever hope to reach other peoples for God if we limit the seed (descendants) of God’ people? We can only advance the Kingdom of God as far as we can provide the manpower to fulfill the great commission:
So go, and make followers of all people, baptizing them in the Name of YAHWEH GOD, and of Yeshua, the Christ, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to remember and do everything I’ve told you…
Mathew 28: 19-20
Because I have eight children, some have accused us of trying to replenish the earth all by ourselves, but I do believe it’s the Christian’s responsibility to produce godly children for a heritage to the Lord, who will continue to spread the Gospel to all nations and to every generation. A verse in the Psalms has been my conviction for years:
See, children are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is God’s reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. Happy is the one whose quiver is full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they will have an answer for their enemies.
Psalm 127: 3-5
As you make decisions about family life through the course of your marriage, my hope is that you will prayerfully consider the moral aspects of contraception. Each couple must make a knowledgeable decision of conscience that they will be able to live with and agree on. The consequences of your choice will affect not only yourselves, but the world as well. God’s children will either be here or not, depending on our choices. Each fertilized egg is a potential human being, with a God-given soul. What if the mother’s of some of the great evangelists and missionaries had decided to use birth control? How many of them would never have existed? What of those that might have been and what might they have done for the Lord? Often we give God control of every part of our lives, except for birth control.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, before I formed you in the belly, I knew you, and before you came out of the womb, I set you apart and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
Jeremiah 1: 5
Birth control in all its forms has become the norm in our society and the cry for population control is getting louder. Here in the US we have accepted it unquestioningly, and are now pushing it on the rest of the world. I believe the Christian community should set a godly example for the rest of the world. As the sin of Onan (Genesis 38: 9-10) was simply for selfish convenience, is it possible our minds are darkened, or shall I say “enlightened,” by our own selfishness? We have chosen a standard of living that promotes more for some and less for others or rather less of others. Could we have been deceived by Satan? Satan would like nothing better than to stop us in our endeavor to advance God’s Kingdom. The Bible clearly tells us that Satan is the enemy of both God’s seed and woman’s seed (Genesis 3: 15, Revelation 12:4). It has been said that if we took all the grain that goes for making alcohol and grew in its place that which is good for human consumption, we could feed the world. Just maybe the population explosion is a myth, straight from the father of lies. The rate of growth for a population to sustain itself is 2.11. Right now the rate of growth in the US is only 1.6 without the influx of immigrants. With the immigrants, it is 2.11, which is the bare minimum to sustain ourselves. The Muslims on the other hand, have more than an 8.00 growth rate. We have been convinced that we will outgrow this earth and that we must limit our family size to no more than one or two children, while the Islamic community is having as many children as they can, so they will eventually out number us. The Catholic Church just announced that the Islamic Faith has now outnumbered it. If we, as Christians, believe that God created us and this world, why can’t we believe that the world created for us will be sufficient until Jesus comes again to claim us. Satan has done a good job of deceiving the Saints of God that we will somehow run out of room. If and when we do run out of room, our God has prepared a place for us in Heaven, Oh You of little faith!
Conflicts of Censorship
Conflicts of Censorship
The Pros and Cons
The Censorship battle has largely been fought in the public school systems of this country, but has also affected public libraries as well. The pros and cons of censorship must be carefully considered to be fair to all parties concerned. Both schools and teachers should have some say in what is presented in the classroom, while parents and students likely should have an equal amount of say concerning what the students do and do not want to read. The types of censorship, including that in the classroom, in the library, in the curriculum, and on the internet must be balanced between a student’s right to know and community and family standards, which are intended to protect children from the harmful effects of unrestrained access of materials deemed by some as inappropriate.
The very liberal Left Wing advocates argue for a student’s right to know and against the suppression of ideas. A student’s right to know is the idea that few, if any restrictions should be placed on a student’s books or curriculum. It is argued that students introduced to many ideas will learn to discern their own thoughts and feelings on controversial issues. These liberals believe that the suppression of ideas will greatly reduce a student’s ability to think critically.
Christian fundamentalists have been accused of promoting organized censorship attempts in the public school forum against such issues as evolution and certain forms of sex education, i.e. abortion, safe sex, and homosexuality. The case for censorship is that adults have the right and obligation to protect children from these and other harmful influences. It has also been said that the censorship issues are part of a larger campaign to impose their particular curriculum focus on public schools and to build support for public school alternatives such as vouchers.
But these fundamental Christian concerns have also exposed an important educational issue, the invisibility of religion in our history text books. Three studies of public school text books, funded by the Department of Education, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way, have agreed that textbooks minimize the importance of religion in American life. Although 96% of Americans believe in God and 58% go to a place of worship, history texts do not reflect this reality. These texts have effectively censored all forms of religion out of their pages. There is an important difference between teaching about religion and promoting religion.
The conservative Christians’ freedom of speech, press, and religion are consistently violated in school texts in the name of separation of church and state, while other political agendas are allowed ample coverage. They are told to leave their faith at the schoolhouse door while Atheistic views, Homosexuals lifestyle views, and the like are actively included in school curriculums. Should conservatives be excluded from policy-setting and curriculum decisions because their views are based on religion? Does a student’s “right to know” include religious morals and values or only liberal agendas? Does the “suppression of ideas” only apply to religion? If tolerance is at issue, then why not tolerate religious ideas as well as liberal objectives?
But the American Civil Liberties Union says that censorship is hardly a monopoly of any political group. Books are likely to be addressed with a censorship issue if they contain controversial sexually related materials, profane language, racial slurs or stereotypes, violence, occult topics (New Age philosophies), scary stories, or material depicting rebellion against authority. Most schools have tried to compromise by balancing parental and community concerns with the need for academic freedom and the educational and constitutional issues that arise when teachers are given mandates about what books they can and cannot teach. When censorship is at issue, no administrative guidelines or legal recourse can replace the open lines of communication which allows parents, students, and school personnel to be heard with respect and consideration.
Censorship in school primarily involves issues of curriculum and library materials. Other dimensions of censorship include student speech, teacher speech, and increasingly the internet. What distinguishes between censorship attempts and legitimate parental concerns over a particular book’s appropriateness? What distinctions might be made between complaints about a required book in a required class versus an optional book in an elective class or calls to ban a book from the school library?
Teachers’ choices of literature for student use in their classrooms are sometimes challenged when they are of a controversial nature. When students and parents are uncomfortable with ideas covered, words used and/or pictures in a particular book, it sometimes becomes a censorship issue. When a book is used, it should be used within a context that explains the novel’s historical background and explores issues of racism, language dialects, and the use of racial slurs, however, no student should be forced to read a book they are uncomfortable with. Alternate choices should be made available to the student.
Book banning in school and public libraries have become common place in the 1990’s. Books that contain problematic language such as cursing or racial slurs and stories on tough subjects like sex issues are often targets of censorship concerns. Many parents believe a book’s subject matter condones a particular behavior or attitude; therefore they react negatively to books they perceive as offensive. When confronted, many schools react by pulling the books off the shelves themselves to avoid controversy. One school system headed off controversies by putting bright pink slips in controversial books to warn parents to examine the book before the child reads it.
Censorship issues related to school curriculum is about both what is included in it and what is left out of it. Not only have texts been shown to leave out religion as a positive social force in the vitality our country, they have also been shown to be rather one sided where the history of our country is portrayed to be primarily based on that of white males. Demands for censorship of sexist works often come from the right and left, where critics complain that content in books and other curriculum materials is particularly degrading to girls and women. Our texts still leave much unsaid about the role of women and the heritage of other ethnicities in our nation’s history, especially where Native Americans are concerned. The tendency of instructional materials to ignore the unpleasant realities of both the present and the past is also a censorship issue.
Those who determine what should be known by this nations’ school children have a powerful influence over how our future society thinks and behaves. The indoctrination of our students by the political agendas of both conservatives and liberals as well, should not be the focus of any school curriculum. Controversies such as Creationism versus Evolution, Abstinence versus Safe Sex, and other issues valued by both sides have made public schools a battle ground for political agendas that would probably be better left out of the school curriculum.
But if these issues must be included in the curriculum, then all viewpoints should be fairly represented because all viewpoints are based on some sort of value system. Viewpoints that are based on particular religious and moral views should not be left out just because they are of a religious nature. The concept of viewpoint discrimination, according to current case law, is that schools may prohibit all speech regarding any particular subject, but once they permit speech on a particular subject, they may not suppress the expression of alternative viewpoints regarding that subject. Such discrimination violates the government’s obligation to maintain neutrality and places the government at odds with the first amendment.
Safety on the super highway must be addressed by school systems. Used effectively, the internet has incredible potential to expand student’s horizons. Unfortunately, misuse can be detrimental to those we hope to benefit. It is imperative that schools follow basic online safety guidelines. Pornography, pedophiles, and violence are some of the danger zones that schools must be made aware of and censored. An example of one dangerous interaction of a student on the internet was a 12-year-old girl who was assigned a report on dogs. While searching the Web for information about dogs, she came across a site about bestiality, and driven by curiosity, went from one site to another until she was caught several months later. Other examples are bomb making instructions, and solicitations by pedophiles. Schools must draft an “Acceptable Use Policy”, instruct students on internet safety, and install filters to insure students a danger free learning zone. An AUP is a written policy telling parents and students how the internet should and should not be used at school. Students and parents must agree to the stipulations before the student is allowed to go online. The AUP should contain the five components listed below:
1. Statement of Educational Purpose-what a student should gain educationally by internet use.
2. Statement of Student Responsibility-what a student should and should not do online.
3. Statement of Personal Safety Requirements and Procedures-similar to student responsibilities but the emphasis is on safety.
4. Statement of Consequences for Violations-penalties range from denial of access to suspension, depending on the violation.
5. Statement of Consent-ensures that both the student and parents agree with the policies.
Two of the most common arguments are violations of community standards and age appropriateness. Both concepts are important to the discussion and are often used by people concerned with particular political or religious viewpoints on the public school system. Community standards have been described as those standards which are accepted by the vast majority of a particular community, though these can not overrule our basic constitutional rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. But the rights of individual students and their parents, as well as teachers, should also be considered. No child should be forced to read or view materials either they or their parents deem inappropriate according to their family’s standards; neither should materials be withheld by the community that are appropriate to an educational setting. In the controversy over Huck Finn, it was argued that teachers should not be required to teach a book if they were uncomfortable with its tone. A teacher’s freedom to choose appropriate materials should not be usurped by those who would force a prescribed curriculum or particular book.
Another common complaint is that certain materials are not age appropriate. This is more common in elementary and middle schools but does occur in upper level schools also. The most common controversy of this type involves the issue of incorporating discussions of homosexual relationships in the early classroom environment. The books Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy’s Roommate have provoked an uncompromising reaction from the Christian community or what is known in political terms as the “Religious Right.”
This censorship battle has largely been fought in the public school system, but has also affected public libraries as well. The pros and cons of censorship must be carefully considered to be fair to all parties concerned. Schools and teachers should have some say in what they present in the classroom, while parents and students probably need an equal amount of say concerning what the students read. The types of censorship, including that in the classroom, in the library, in the curriculum, and on the internet must be balanced between a student’s right to know and community and family standards.
The Pros and Cons
The Censorship battle has largely been fought in the public school systems of this country, but has also affected public libraries as well. The pros and cons of censorship must be carefully considered to be fair to all parties concerned. Both schools and teachers should have some say in what is presented in the classroom, while parents and students likely should have an equal amount of say concerning what the students do and do not want to read. The types of censorship, including that in the classroom, in the library, in the curriculum, and on the internet must be balanced between a student’s right to know and community and family standards, which are intended to protect children from the harmful effects of unrestrained access of materials deemed by some as inappropriate.
The very liberal Left Wing advocates argue for a student’s right to know and against the suppression of ideas. A student’s right to know is the idea that few, if any restrictions should be placed on a student’s books or curriculum. It is argued that students introduced to many ideas will learn to discern their own thoughts and feelings on controversial issues. These liberals believe that the suppression of ideas will greatly reduce a student’s ability to think critically.
Christian fundamentalists have been accused of promoting organized censorship attempts in the public school forum against such issues as evolution and certain forms of sex education, i.e. abortion, safe sex, and homosexuality. The case for censorship is that adults have the right and obligation to protect children from these and other harmful influences. It has also been said that the censorship issues are part of a larger campaign to impose their particular curriculum focus on public schools and to build support for public school alternatives such as vouchers.
But these fundamental Christian concerns have also exposed an important educational issue, the invisibility of religion in our history text books. Three studies of public school text books, funded by the Department of Education, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and People for the American Way, have agreed that textbooks minimize the importance of religion in American life. Although 96% of Americans believe in God and 58% go to a place of worship, history texts do not reflect this reality. These texts have effectively censored all forms of religion out of their pages. There is an important difference between teaching about religion and promoting religion.
The conservative Christians’ freedom of speech, press, and religion are consistently violated in school texts in the name of separation of church and state, while other political agendas are allowed ample coverage. They are told to leave their faith at the schoolhouse door while Atheistic views, Homosexuals lifestyle views, and the like are actively included in school curriculums. Should conservatives be excluded from policy-setting and curriculum decisions because their views are based on religion? Does a student’s “right to know” include religious morals and values or only liberal agendas? Does the “suppression of ideas” only apply to religion? If tolerance is at issue, then why not tolerate religious ideas as well as liberal objectives?
But the American Civil Liberties Union says that censorship is hardly a monopoly of any political group. Books are likely to be addressed with a censorship issue if they contain controversial sexually related materials, profane language, racial slurs or stereotypes, violence, occult topics (New Age philosophies), scary stories, or material depicting rebellion against authority. Most schools have tried to compromise by balancing parental and community concerns with the need for academic freedom and the educational and constitutional issues that arise when teachers are given mandates about what books they can and cannot teach. When censorship is at issue, no administrative guidelines or legal recourse can replace the open lines of communication which allows parents, students, and school personnel to be heard with respect and consideration.
Censorship in school primarily involves issues of curriculum and library materials. Other dimensions of censorship include student speech, teacher speech, and increasingly the internet. What distinguishes between censorship attempts and legitimate parental concerns over a particular book’s appropriateness? What distinctions might be made between complaints about a required book in a required class versus an optional book in an elective class or calls to ban a book from the school library?
Teachers’ choices of literature for student use in their classrooms are sometimes challenged when they are of a controversial nature. When students and parents are uncomfortable with ideas covered, words used and/or pictures in a particular book, it sometimes becomes a censorship issue. When a book is used, it should be used within a context that explains the novel’s historical background and explores issues of racism, language dialects, and the use of racial slurs, however, no student should be forced to read a book they are uncomfortable with. Alternate choices should be made available to the student.
Book banning in school and public libraries have become common place in the 1990’s. Books that contain problematic language such as cursing or racial slurs and stories on tough subjects like sex issues are often targets of censorship concerns. Many parents believe a book’s subject matter condones a particular behavior or attitude; therefore they react negatively to books they perceive as offensive. When confronted, many schools react by pulling the books off the shelves themselves to avoid controversy. One school system headed off controversies by putting bright pink slips in controversial books to warn parents to examine the book before the child reads it.
Censorship issues related to school curriculum is about both what is included in it and what is left out of it. Not only have texts been shown to leave out religion as a positive social force in the vitality our country, they have also been shown to be rather one sided where the history of our country is portrayed to be primarily based on that of white males. Demands for censorship of sexist works often come from the right and left, where critics complain that content in books and other curriculum materials is particularly degrading to girls and women. Our texts still leave much unsaid about the role of women and the heritage of other ethnicities in our nation’s history, especially where Native Americans are concerned. The tendency of instructional materials to ignore the unpleasant realities of both the present and the past is also a censorship issue.
Those who determine what should be known by this nations’ school children have a powerful influence over how our future society thinks and behaves. The indoctrination of our students by the political agendas of both conservatives and liberals as well, should not be the focus of any school curriculum. Controversies such as Creationism versus Evolution, Abstinence versus Safe Sex, and other issues valued by both sides have made public schools a battle ground for political agendas that would probably be better left out of the school curriculum.
But if these issues must be included in the curriculum, then all viewpoints should be fairly represented because all viewpoints are based on some sort of value system. Viewpoints that are based on particular religious and moral views should not be left out just because they are of a religious nature. The concept of viewpoint discrimination, according to current case law, is that schools may prohibit all speech regarding any particular subject, but once they permit speech on a particular subject, they may not suppress the expression of alternative viewpoints regarding that subject. Such discrimination violates the government’s obligation to maintain neutrality and places the government at odds with the first amendment.
Safety on the super highway must be addressed by school systems. Used effectively, the internet has incredible potential to expand student’s horizons. Unfortunately, misuse can be detrimental to those we hope to benefit. It is imperative that schools follow basic online safety guidelines. Pornography, pedophiles, and violence are some of the danger zones that schools must be made aware of and censored. An example of one dangerous interaction of a student on the internet was a 12-year-old girl who was assigned a report on dogs. While searching the Web for information about dogs, she came across a site about bestiality, and driven by curiosity, went from one site to another until she was caught several months later. Other examples are bomb making instructions, and solicitations by pedophiles. Schools must draft an “Acceptable Use Policy”, instruct students on internet safety, and install filters to insure students a danger free learning zone. An AUP is a written policy telling parents and students how the internet should and should not be used at school. Students and parents must agree to the stipulations before the student is allowed to go online. The AUP should contain the five components listed below:
1. Statement of Educational Purpose-what a student should gain educationally by internet use.
2. Statement of Student Responsibility-what a student should and should not do online.
3. Statement of Personal Safety Requirements and Procedures-similar to student responsibilities but the emphasis is on safety.
4. Statement of Consequences for Violations-penalties range from denial of access to suspension, depending on the violation.
5. Statement of Consent-ensures that both the student and parents agree with the policies.
Two of the most common arguments are violations of community standards and age appropriateness. Both concepts are important to the discussion and are often used by people concerned with particular political or religious viewpoints on the public school system. Community standards have been described as those standards which are accepted by the vast majority of a particular community, though these can not overrule our basic constitutional rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. But the rights of individual students and their parents, as well as teachers, should also be considered. No child should be forced to read or view materials either they or their parents deem inappropriate according to their family’s standards; neither should materials be withheld by the community that are appropriate to an educational setting. In the controversy over Huck Finn, it was argued that teachers should not be required to teach a book if they were uncomfortable with its tone. A teacher’s freedom to choose appropriate materials should not be usurped by those who would force a prescribed curriculum or particular book.
Another common complaint is that certain materials are not age appropriate. This is more common in elementary and middle schools but does occur in upper level schools also. The most common controversy of this type involves the issue of incorporating discussions of homosexual relationships in the early classroom environment. The books Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy’s Roommate have provoked an uncompromising reaction from the Christian community or what is known in political terms as the “Religious Right.”
This censorship battle has largely been fought in the public school system, but has also affected public libraries as well. The pros and cons of censorship must be carefully considered to be fair to all parties concerned. Schools and teachers should have some say in what they present in the classroom, while parents and students probably need an equal amount of say concerning what the students read. The types of censorship, including that in the classroom, in the library, in the curriculum, and on the internet must be balanced between a student’s right to know and community and family standards.
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