Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson: A Book Report

     Eternity in Their Hearts

     Eternity in Their Hearts is a very interesting book that describes instances throughout history where God revealed Himself to pagan people. Often times, these people were secluded from any outside contact and had no opportunity to meet God-fearing missionaries or the like. Many today believe that it is impossible for unknown, unseen, and unreached communities to discover God. However, Eternity in Their Hearts eliminates that belief and proves that God is a God with no limitations, who can reach even the most desolate communities all by Himself.

     The Incas, Ancient Chinese, and North American Indians are civilizations that are studied everyday by historians, archeologists and schools all over the world for their fascinating belief systems, customs, and rituals. However, whether or not one agrees with what they did, it is a fact that the religions of these civilization, which often included human sacrifice, pain infliction, and other such practices, were very anti-Christian. However, this did not stop God from reaching down and touching them. 

     Pachacuti was the Inca king from A.D 1438 - 1471. Quoting the book, it is said that Pachacuti was the emperor who "brought the Inca Empire to its finest flowering". He rebuilt Cuzco even finer than it was before, working grand-scale with palaces, forts, and a temple dedicated to the sun. He also constructed fortresses along the eastern frontiers of his empire as protection from tribes in the Amazon basin. The most famous of his fortresses still stands today and is call Machu Picchu, which became the last home to the Inca upper-class during their flight from Spain's invasion. This mighty Inca ruler created a huge impact on his civilization and was revered by his people. It would seem unlikely, then, for him to change his beliefs and defy his religion. However, for some reason, Pachacuti decided that the sun, the Incas god, could not be an almighty god. He reasoned, "The solar radiance can be dimmed by any passing cloud." Thus, he realized that instead of the Creator, he must have been worshiping the creation this whole time! It would seem that his revelation would end here, for there were no Christians for him to consult or a Bible to follow to allow him to grow in his understanding. However, Pachacuti miraculously found his answers within age old traditions lying forgotten in his own culture. He took his testimony and aligned it with his culture's nearly extinct memory of Viracocha which means "the Lord, the omnipotent Creator of all things." With the help of memories of his father speaking of Viracocha, and an old shrine dedicated to Him, Pachacuti decided that his father's God, the Creator of all things, deserved worship. Therfore, he deemed the worship of Viracocha to be upheld by only the upper-class citizens, calling it "too subtle and sublime for ordinary folk.". Later, after the Inca Empire became ruins and it's citezens long gone, hymns and artifacts of worship were discovered. They confused their finders, for it was not thought that the Incas knew of the Christian God. However, after further study, the artifacts were proven to be pure Inca, thus shocking all who learned about them.

     This is only one example out of many that shows how God reached "unreachable" lands. Each story is unique and incredible, reflecting the God that was responsible. Eternity in Their Hearts points out an amazing truth - that although each of the cultures discussed were vastly different, they were brought together by God, who was quietly and discreetly working in each one.

Are you Democrat? Republican? Or confused? by Richard J. Maybury: A Book Report

Are You Democrat? Republican? Or Confused?

 

     Richard Maybury does a fantastic job at addressing many political issues and misunderstandings common in the world today. In his book, he names himself "Uncle Eric" and writes a series of letters to his nephew Chris, who is confused by the many political labels and in need of clarification. 

     Uncle Eric begins with pointing out that most history informers, including himself, are biased in some way. The create editorials, which are collections of points that they think are most important to include in their history literature or such. Thus, he encourages young Chris to seek out and be informed of other people's viewpoints, not to simply be satisfied by what these letters have to say.

     Uncle Eric's next big subject is about juris naturalism. This, according to Eric, is the original American Philosophy. Juris naturalis is Latin for Natural Law. In few words, Eric explains that this is a belief that "right and wrong are not matters of opinion. Like the law of physics, chemistry, and biology, right and wrong are a given, something that we must learn and apply." Natural Law is instilled in humans' DNA, given by our Creator and a major element to what makes us human.  It is above any government's law and when government violates this Natural Law, society gets worse. Throughout his book, Uncle Eric reinstates this belief and compares it to other political philosophies, attempting to prove that juris naturalism is the ultimate philosophy and is the only way to cure American society from the ongoing race for power between political parties and groups.

     Although Uncle Eric's ongoing point is that juris naturalism is the best political position and philosophy, he describes and explains many others that are common in the world today. These include Democrats and Republicans; Socialism, Communism, and Fascism. According to Eric, Democrats and Republicans are not as different as the opposing parties would like to believe. They both have one goal in mind: control over the government. As "the party of the poor", Democrats want more control over finances and are more inclined to hand the country's money out to accommodate the poor. However, this party is usually more offhand with monitoring the morality of the society. Republicans, "the party of the rich", however, want more control over the social or moral aspect of the country and would rather find a cure to poverty than to pay for the poor to be comfortable. Socialism and Communism are often hard to differentiate and define. People commonly use both terms to describe the wrong situation. So, Eric clears these up for Chris as well. If true Socialism could be found, it would be a "dictatorship of the working class in which everything and everybody is owned by the government for the 'good of society.'" However, when the term socialism is used today, it is usually referring to a kind of "advanced liberalism". Communism, ideally, would be the "utopian end-stage of socialism in which government has vanished and we all live happily ever after under the rule, 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.'" This is not reachable for flawed humans, however, and so there is no real example of ideal Communism. Fascism is the 'ism of all isms' in that there is no law, no standard, and no ultimate ruling. Whoever should be in power at the time need only do when he/she thinks is necessary at the time, whether it be good or bad. A Fascist ruler has no boundaries.

     After defining and detailing these terms, Uncle Eric goes on to discuss the economic, sociological and racial effects these can cause for a nation. Then, he ends his book with a recap, a final push for juris naturalism, and a plea:

               "Please help spread the word about the need to return to the system of liberty."

    

Wendell Berry's Fidelity: A Report Part Five

"Are You All Right?"

     This is the final story in Fidelity and it is only about five pages long. It has even less of a point than any of the other stories but does somehow end the book well. It mainly tells of an event between Elton (Mary Penn's husband) and a friend as they check on some neighbors who haven't been heard from in a while. They end up finding them alive and well. However, we find out later that Elton ends up being the one truly in mortal danger, for not long after this he dies. The irony of sorts that this addresses is that Elton and his friend were concerned for their elderly neighbor's lives. Instead, those same neighbors would be attending Elton's funeral within the year. It's a sad, but final ending to Wendell Berry's interesting collection of stories, Fidelity.

Wendell Berry's Fidelity: A Report Part Four

"Fidelity"

    Burley Coulter, or "Uncle Burley" to his loved ones, was a good, hard working man who took care of his own. He attained many friends, young and old,  throughout his life and this is a story of them returning that care during his last days of life.

     The story opens with Burley being in the hospital. Weeks before he had begun losing weight drastically and falling asleep as he worked. His family tried to care for him the best they could. However, they finally decided to admit him into the hospital and visit him as much as they could. 

     After a while his family began feeling guilty and saw his admittance as a betrayal by them. They knew he would have wanted to die with dignity, not packed up in a hospital. So in the middle of the night his son went into the hospital, unhooked him from life support and all his tubes, and took him to a hidden spot in the woods. From the law's point of view this was a kidnapping and the family was bombarded with questions concerning the whereabouts of Burley.

    During that time Burley and his son were hidden away in an old barn. Once, when Burley woke up and could think clearly, he spoke to his son and was in good humor. His son knew that Burley's time was coming to an end so he would spend his spare time digging his father's last resting place. After a few days, Burley breathed his last breath and was buried in the unmarked grave. 

     The law ended up dropping the case after spending too much time having no evidence and Burley's family went back to their lives. They would miss Burley as the years went on but felt at peace with taking him from the hospital and off life support. They did their best by him and he was able to die with dignity.

     I didn't particularly like this story as much as the others. I suppose I enjoy reading Berry's poetic writing in short stories. His style of writing just doesn't work with longer stories. As the others, it didn't seem to have a plot or point, except maybe that it's kinder to allow people to die naturally rather than hooking them to life support. Nonetheless, "Fidelity" was very well written.

    

Wendell Berry's Fidelity: A Report Part Three

"Making it Home"

     "Making it home" tells of a soldier making his way home after the war. As he walks through town after town he remembers his experiences, his friends who were lost, and the lands they destroyed during his time in the war. He remembers his enemies, though he never considered them in that way. They were doing the exact same thing he was: following orders and staying alive. As he gets further from his past life and closer to a new beginning, he begins re-setting his mind to thinking like a civilian. He no longer needed to study people or land as things to destroy. People were simply living their lives in this land. There was no more war, no more killing, no more destruction. 

     He gets closer and closer to his home and as he does he begins to get nervous, wondering how people will view him now that he was a soldier. However, his worries fade as he remembers with, a happy heart, his family and what they might be doing at that time.

     Soon his house comes into view and he is able to watch his father and brother plowing the field. His nephew follows close behind. Peace begins to settle on him and he realizes that his fear of thinking about people as a soldier is leaving him. His family comes closer to him and finally see him in the distance. With joy they stop and run to him, shaking his hand and welcoming him home. The soldier was finally home with those he loved. 

     This was a very short story and seemed to lack a point, as all the stories have so far. I read online that Wendell Berry's stories have plots "as thin as fence posts". However, despite that lack of plot the story is very nice to read. It's a pleasing and relaxing story. Berry's descriptions of the country are beautiful and poetic.

Wendell Berry's Fidelity: A Report Part Two

"A Jonquil for Mary Penn"

     Mary and her husband, Elton Penn, have been married just over a year. Their love for each other is strong and fresh. Though they are poor, they think of themselves as the happiest people on earth.           During Mary's growing up years, her family made it clear that she was to marry a professional man, such as a doctor or, even better, a minister. Anything less was not acceptable. So when she went off and married Elton, a farming boy, they cut her off from them, saying that she was no longer to be apart of their lives. Mary and her husband moved to Hargrave, where they were accepted with open arms. Mary was "adopted" by the women of her neighborhood, learning all of the housewife ways, and Elton by the men of the neighborhood. Everyone loved each other and found joy in one another. Mary and Elton finally felt they belonged somewhere. So, even though their house was shabby, their money stash low and their families far away, they had high spirits. They saw a bright future ahead for themselves and knew anything could be endured as long as they were together.

     The story began with Mary Penn waking up one morning, very sick. She tried to go about her morning routine without letting her husband know something was wrong. She made his breakfast and coffee, and after he ate, he hugged her and headed out to work. For a while Mary Penn sat in her house and tried to motivate herself to start cleaning. She attempted to start a fire in the stove box to warm herself but even that was too much. As she sat, she began feeling sorry for herself. She thought of her husband, who seemed so far away, not saying anything about her sickness that morning. With her last bit of strength, she ended up lying down again, and with disappointment that her husband didn't notice her condition and come back home, she fell asleep. 

     When she awoke she found that the house was toasty warm and clean, with a tea kettle warming on the stove. Looking around she saw one of her dear neighbors, Josie Tom, sitting beside the bed, embroidery laying over her lap. It turns out that her husband did notice her ailments this morning and had stopped by on the way to work to ask Josie Tom to come take care of her while he was away. With this knowledge in her heart, she happily fell back to sleep.

     This was a truly, heartwarming story, even though it was rather short and a bit random. I enjoyed it a lot more than the previous one, mainly because I love the picture of a little old, country house with a fire going and a teakettle on. It makes me feel happy and peaceful. Also, the bond between Mary and her husband is sweet to read. They love and treasure each other and this is so often not the case in other books or even in real life. This is a refreshing story.

Wendell Berry's Fidelity: A Report Part One

Fidelity: Five Stories

     Fidelity is a book composed of five individual short stories written by Wendell Berry. With each one I will write a separate review and include my take and opinion of the story.

"Pray Without Ceasing"

     After discovering an old newspaper with the headline "BEN FELTNER, FRIEND TO ALL, SHOT DEAD IN PORT WILLIAM," Andy Feltner went to his grandparent's house to discover the story behind the murder of his great-grandfather. While his grandfather, Mat, was in no condition to fill him in, Andy's grandmother readily filled his curiosity and told him what had trandpired so long ago.
     Thad Coulter was Ben Feltner best friend. He was a pretty level headed man and a real hard worker. However, when his son acted selfishly and foolishly, Thad and his family lost everything, including their home. Thad felt that everyone had turned against him and attempted to drown his pain in alcohol. Slobbering drunk, he went to see Ben for support, seeing him as his last ally. Ben heard him out for a while, but then kindly told Thad to go home, sober up and then come back to talk. In Thad's eyes this was a betrayal and he became very angry. When he returned home he downed a jug of whiskey, jumped up onto his mule and galloped into town. During this time, Ben was in town discussing with Thad's relatives his situation and seeing in what ways they could help him. Suddenly there was a shout and commotion and they saw Thad himself speeding towards Ben, full of rage and purpose. "They said he looked just awful," Andy's grandmother said, "He looked like death warmed over." Ben turned to speak to Thad but didn't get far, for Thad lifted the pistol in his hand a shot Ben right in the head.
     Thad continued galloping off, straight out of town, and by that time his anger subsided and the knowledge of what he did came upon him like a brick. He left his mule by a river and walked over to a neighboring town, into the sheriff's office, and turned himself in. While he was there, his daughter came to look after him. She wanted to show him that she forgave and still loved him. Each day she would arrive early at the jail, care for him, and leave late in the evening. After a few days, his daughter came in to find that he was dead. He had taken his own life.
     Ben's son Mat arranged to have his father's body carried home and put in a coffin. Before the burial, neighbors and townspeople came to give their support and help to him and his family.
     For years the relationship between the two families, the Feltners and the Coulters, was severed by this event. Little did they know that in years to come, the relationship would again be healed, this time by marriage, and from that bond came Andy, who is both Feltner and Coulter. Though each side has a tragic past, they came together in joy once again.

     This story probably wouldn't fall into my favorites list but it is still very good. It's written beautifully and simply, and picturesquely captures the small town in which the tragedy occurs. As I read I can clearly see the town, the people, and the storefronts, in my mind. I love the ending where it talks about the two families coming together again. It's a happy ending to a sad beginning.