tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post6364559633338568447..comments2024-03-23T05:42:07.516-04:00Comments on The Deliberate Agrarian: Delmar Ain't So StupidHerrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-35219297133267997572019-07-01T00:11:37.367-04:002019-07-01T00:11:37.367-04:00I think I can make a case that the three character...I think I can make a case that the three characters in Oh Brother Where Art Thou represent:<br />1) the mind<br />2) the emotions<br />3) the bodyClarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01276788684270214790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-56501408586700129592018-03-25T17:20:16.572-04:002018-03-25T17:20:16.572-04:00If you think the movie is anti-Christian you haven... If you think the movie is anti-Christian you haven't watched it enough. The whole movie is about Everett's conversion from a fast dealing liar to a family man of faith.<br /> When the movie starts the blind man prophesys to Everett that the journey was abut his salvation and that he would see "a cow on the roof of a cotton house". At the end of the movie, Everett makes a gallows conversion, which he tries to take back, but then he sees the cow on the roof of a cotton house. in the next scene, he is a changed man back with his family and even says, "You have to have confidence in God". We then see the blind man again to let us know the cycle is complete.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09418484861824834805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-31941460524882175212016-03-26T10:33:28.505-04:002016-03-26T10:33:28.505-04:00Herrick - i don't know if you will ever see th...Herrick - i don't know if you will ever see this comment but i just wanted to tell you that my poor coalmining father always told me to get land. he always said that you had to have land. and guess what Herrick? we now own 24 acres of untouched wild land. we have a somewhat smallish garden but we are almost at the point where we can grow all of our own food. and our 24 acres sits on 1400ft of riverfront...a river no one has ever heard of! my hubby goes out during fishing season and catches us 5 wild river trout every day. we eat good around here. because we have land. so, yes, Delmar was the smartest!<br /><br />i am loving your blog and learning so much from it! i've read almost all of your posts in my free time...and every time i have free time - i read a few more of your posts.<br /><br />thanks for all of your wonderful information! your friend,<br />kymberkymberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02607117635648274823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-1445467925156454062015-11-17T04:17:24.963-05:002015-11-17T04:17:24.963-05:00In the paragraph:
Please understand that Noah,......In the paragraph: <br />Please understand that Noah,... In order to be the men of God that they were created to be, in order to fulfill their corporate calling, those men needed land.<br />Did you corporal calling and not corporate or am I missing a different meaning of corporate?<br />I have often used this idea when lamenting what has happened to the land, especially in the cities, with pollution and people simply dropping trash on the ground, with 'God put us here to tend the garden and we have been ruining it ever since.' Littering is way to polite a word for throwing trash in our living room. Yeap the land is our Living - Room.<br />... we were put here to tend the garden...<br />Coffee House Philosopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02559092387373943295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-24832611227107624682014-07-08T15:51:07.021-04:002014-07-08T15:51:07.021-04:00What a sad and disturbing post.
Delmar was a hyper...What a sad and disturbing post.<br />Delmar was a hyperbole example of the weak minded gullibility and ignorance religion needs to survive. Apparently it is not in short supply. He was the biggest and most effective mockery in the movie and you laughably took it as a compliment! Wow.<br /><br />I am certain I will learn lots about agriculture from this forum, but am disappointed that so many farmers proudly live up to the stereotyped religious fools the rest of the world thinks they are. Science makes the crops come in, science wards off famine, science saves the wretched miserable people who huddle in hunger. Modern farming is science and has nothing to do with wishing for something from a multiple personality sky zombie.<br /><br />God isn't real. You were right to doubt the stories a corrupt church told you as a child. I know at some point you doubted the stories, you must have! One boat and all the animals? Two people creating everyone, then getting wiped out and one old man doing it again by sleeping with his daughters and breeding his children with each other? And the animals are doing the same thing! People so obsessed with getting drunk they fantasize about snapping their fingers to transform water into the good stuff. Please stop telling these stories to your children, it undermines the future of our society to cripple their minds. We need doctors, engineers and physicists that don't think magic is a good enough answer in order to stay relevant in the world. Otherwise we turn into the middle east, lots of farmers out there! How is their human rights program coming along?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-4792936727661502352014-06-14T00:23:41.400-04:002014-06-14T00:23:41.400-04:00This movie is lampooning people similar to the per...This movie is lampooning people similar to the person who wrote this article, it is satire and some people are too stubborn in their ways to understand. If Jesus came back today he would be disgusted with modern day christianity..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-19493855386272562722014-05-04T12:12:17.878-04:002014-05-04T12:12:17.878-04:00And never forget the first city was built by...the...And never forget the first city was built by...the first murderer.Yeoman Farmernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-70679716156569958232012-07-21T22:52:49.197-04:002012-07-21T22:52:49.197-04:00Brother, this was a wonderful post. It is so true...Brother, this was a wonderful post. It is so true. We as a society have lost so much. The sad thing is that so many are so blind that they can not see it. May God open their eyes and awaken them. Keep up the good work.Joehttp://www.staugstineoutdoorsman.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-14551421181544458952011-11-14T01:24:15.315-05:002011-11-14T01:24:15.315-05:00What a great post! The theology of Agrarianism. ...What a great post! The theology of Agrarianism. How much we have lost in our world. That's the best defense of Christian agrarianism I've ever read. What, it's the only one I've ever read! Unfortunately Christianity in it's modern form is not a complete worldview or culture forming institution. It's rather just an addendum to what's already out there in the way of human culture and lifestyle. It's not serious stuff, it just adds "salvation" to your bag of goodies.Benjaminhttp://whipartist.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-9451518562630816542011-06-15T06:57:49.582-04:002011-06-15T06:57:49.582-04:00Anonymous—
Wow. Thanks for the comment. It isn...Anonymous—<br /><br />Wow. Thanks for the comment. It isn't often that I get such angry (vicious and destructive) responses on this blog.<br /><br />Your words reveal a hard heart, a bitter spirit, and a troubled soul, and I am very sorry about that.<br /><br />I do, however, understand your viewpoint. I would feel the same way if I suffered under the misunderstandings and misconceptions that you have about Christianity. <br /><br />I wish you the very best.Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-45810998940109291712011-06-14T06:25:10.301-04:002011-06-14T06:25:10.301-04:00You're dumber than Delmar.
You base your deci...You're dumber than Delmar.<br /><br />You base your decisions on a loony book of myths written down by goat-ropers in a desert thousands of years ago.<br /><br />Christianity needs to be mocked as the vicious destructive irrational mythology it is.<br /><br />You're too delusional to trust for advice about supper, never mind surviving bad times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-28560984957315388242011-01-29T22:12:34.037-05:002011-01-29T22:12:34.037-05:00Interesting thoughts. MY movie epiphany was when I...Interesting thoughts. MY movie epiphany was when I was 15 and watching Gone with the Wind for the first time. It was when Mr. O'Hara was talking to Scarlett about the land, telling her that it's the only thing worth fighting and dying for, because it's the only thing that lasts. A bit more secular than your thoughts, but a feeling that I can identify with, none-the-less.Gorges Smythehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08777621500611603786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-91996664628755812232010-12-30T18:45:27.489-05:002010-12-30T18:45:27.489-05:00Just found your wonderful blog and find it deeply ...Just found your wonderful blog and find it deeply inspirational. I've recently retired from my job in the Dept of Defence and am returning to my wife's family farm; a dream we've had for the last 35 years. Lot's of challenges ahead, but we're looking forward to the adventure.<br /><br />As I read your commentary on "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" I couldn't help but wonder if your realized that the movie is a satire of Homer's "Odessey." Clooney's character is representative of Ulysses who is attempting to return back to his wife, who is being pursued by 'suitors.' In his journey back he is confronted by 'sirens,' the 'cyclops' (John Goodman) etc. The next time you watch the movie see what parallels with Homer's Odyssey you can find; I think you'll see it in a new way.<br /><br />Another quirky part of the movie is that it jumps regional context. Part of the movie is supposed to be Mississippi, but the landscape is clearly Texas. The characters are supposed to be Mississippi or Alabama, but Clooney's accent is clearly as a Kentuckian. Clearly the writers and producers had a good time with the movie.<br /><br />I agree with you about the treatment of Christianity though. <br /><br />Thanks for your blog, I expect to learn a great deal from it and to obtain a great deal of enjoyment from it as well.Steve Minningnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-70133358909844502892010-12-30T05:07:22.246-05:002010-12-30T05:07:22.246-05:00Mr Kimball,
i have very much enjoyed exploring yo...Mr Kimball,<br /><br />i have very much enjoyed exploring your blog. I find it necessary to carefully ration my intake of digital information in this age of overload, yet I always seem to keep this site close at hand. <br /><br />I'm a little disappointed, however, in your analysis of the film's treatment of Christianity. May I offer another vision?<br /><br />One of the film's themes that impressed me the most was its conception of faith, and faith's fruit, as worked out by real people in real time, especially by those characters who are relatively unaware of the process as it occurs. Despite the overt misconstruance, misuse, or even abuse of Christianity proper by many of the film's characters they still manage to exhibit real Christian fruit and evidence of the sanctification process - often in spite of themselves. This explains why the film's characters remain so endearing, as you pointed out, even as they outwardly scoff at Christianity. Even Big Dan T, the guiltiest of them all, has something to teach us about our own faith. This is an ubiquitous human theme, of course, and colors many areas of life, yet faith and religion (in this setting Christianity) is a particularly poignant vehicle - we are all guilty of it, not just Big Dan.<br /><br />(also, be careful not to equate a character's beliefs with the writer/director's beliefs.)<br /><br />Throw in the fact that the film makes liberal use of caricature and irony and you have a stirring vision of Christianity tempered by a pervasive sense of innocence (my favorite part of the film). Perhaps your reaction to the film's treatment of Christianity is precisely the response it was intended to elicit? After all, what does it say about us if we cannot contend with self-criticism?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09631736694688989793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-83984376994200716122010-09-22T14:09:48.693-04:002010-09-22T14:09:48.693-04:00"Neither will I any more remove the foot of I..."Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses" ~ II Cor 33.<br /><br />Does the land teach us to heed the commandments, the whole law, the statues and ordinances that are the boundries for His people? Do we when we remove ourselves far from the land, take ourselves to a place far from God and the "curriculum of life"?<br /><br />When we reject the land, not be a good steward of it, do we in essence reject or do injustice to the commandments, statues and ordinances God has put in place for His people?<br /><br />Rejecting land, hard work, teaching the boundaries of His choosing, placing Man at the center instead of Yahweh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-73492294090811893242010-09-06T23:03:07.861-04:002010-09-06T23:03:07.861-04:00Well said . . . and thought out.
Before I started...Well said . . . and thought out.<br /><br />Before I started providing for my family from the land, I would have thought that this post was biased. <br /><br />By the world's standpoint, I am a successful man. (Master's degree in education, property owner, landlord, father to many children, volunteer . . . ) and yet I have ALWAYS regarded men who had agrarian skills "real" men. There was something about them that always attractive to me. I studied them, was fascinated by them, and secretly wanted to be JUST like them. Now that I run my own 31 acre farm, fix things like fencing, parts of barns, and equipment, and handle animals with no fear, like horses, our milk cow, and chickens, I feel more manly (and Godly) than I ever did as a "successful" city man.<br /><br />In fact, I have since grown a fairly long beard, that my children LOVE, and the people I work with HATE! What is that? I think maybe a boycott of true manliness. (not necessarily the beard but what the beard represents)<br /><br />Great ideas in your post. I won't however be watching the movie. :)foutfolkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079651678447028444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-69307506909692201142010-09-06T11:46:01.723-04:002010-09-06T11:46:01.723-04:00Ummm ... I must point out that *everything* your l...Ummm ... I must point out that *everything* your life (physically) depends on is a result of the Industrial revolutions and Engineers. Where does the rubber come from to make the chicken plucker? (Thanks for the design - a great innovation.)<br /><br />Yes - we should not allow physical things and the love of them to get between us and God (and I suspect we would agree on the critical parts of Biblical Doctrine).<br /><br />However, without the industrial advances, all of our lives would be short and brutal - as it was until quite recently in history.<br /><br />Try this experiment: when sick, do not go to the doctors. Only use metal you or a smith has forged. Give up computers. read only books printed by hand. Use only cloth made on a hand loom. wear only boots made by hand on a last. In short, use only materials you have hand-made or others have hand-made and you have bartered for. Give up banks and only do barter. Write only letters delivered by the US Postal Service - wait - that will not work because they are delivered by vehicles. No TV or radio or music you or those around you make. Eat only food you raise yourself *and nothing else*, unless a neighbor has raised it. Use only lumber you have cut and milled.<br /><br />There is a place in this world for all skills. I am an engineer - God made me that way. I and other engineers sit in an office and change the world - literally. This communication would be *impossible* without folks with specialized skills making *everything* you touch.<br /><br />Do I think folks should have multiple skills? Of course. But you need to realize the effects of the industrial revolution - both positive and negative - have had on the lives of *everybody*, and you could not live the lifestyle you are without the benefits of that technological revolution and those who make a living building those things.<br /><br />Do I sound harsh? I just want to point out that you are much more dependent on an industrial basis than you are aware of. Should folks be aware of the land and where their food comes from? Of course. I think folks should be willing to eat meat only if they are *willing* to slaughter the animal - ground round does not magically appear in the meat section of the supermarket. We raise chickens for eggs and meat (and I *hate* hand-plucking...)banditnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-78215291400827380072009-02-14T16:51:00.000-05:002009-02-14T16:51:00.000-05:00My dad is a man like this - and after bogging down...My dad is a man like this - and after bogging down in the "worldology" taught in public schools, I finally figured out that it was wrong and I've been working hard to point my girls and son in the right direction.<BR/><BR/>Work hard, Do your best, And Obey God. <BR/><BR/>Both my girls, 14 and 11, can cook and clean almost as well as I can. Both are great with kids, both can THINK and solve problems. They aren't perfect, but I'm thankful that they aren't like most girls we know that are only interested it make-up, boys, rock bands, and flirty outfits.<BR/><BR/>They don't always fit in with other kids - but they are ok with that. <BR/><BR/>I love your blog - and copy the pieces for my best friend who doesn't have internet. We are both enjoying it so much. Thanks!Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06439004289995209998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-1734746993135648432009-02-09T19:46:00.000-05:002009-02-09T19:46:00.000-05:00Hi Carla,Yes, modern crass Christianity does open ...Hi Carla,<BR/><BR/>Yes, modern crass Christianity does open itself up for ridicule. <BR/><BR/>Another observation that occurred to me as I watched the movie is that virtually every character in the movie is portrayed as ridiculously abnormal human beings EXCEPT Tommy. He was so normal that it stood out. And Tommy is the character who sold his soul to the Devil.Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-30698989381688211452009-02-09T11:43:00.000-05:002009-02-09T11:43:00.000-05:00Herrick -First, happy belated birthday! I, too, h...Herrick -<BR/><BR/>First, happy belated birthday! I, too, have seen O Brother Where Art Thou? many times. I always find the mocking of Christians and Christianity to be the fault of many "Christians" who act in such a way that non-believers have reason to poke fun at them. I just watched a movie - Lord Save Us From Your Followers - it was thought-provoking and really causes one to re-think his actions and words. In light of the fact that we are His witnesses here on earth, our deeds and words should mirror what the Bible tells us. The problem is, most don't open that book very often. The Bible salesman in OBWAT is the epitome of modern t.v. preachers who are in it "for the money". Delmar was the one who showed the most faith, but was ridiculed. His faith showed in so many ways that even though he wasn't educated, the Holy Spirit was alive within him, causing him to feel guilt and to know what was really and truly important in life - not riches or treasures, for those can only buy temporary things, but the desire deep within to do what really mattered if he were to be given such earthly goods. <BR/><BR/>C. HaysAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-84875711645277927542009-02-08T21:03:00.000-05:002009-02-08T21:03:00.000-05:00I appreciate all the comments here.Jayne-That's a ...I appreciate all the comments here.<BR/><BR/>Jayne-<BR/>That's a good insight. I'm glad you have finally commented and shared that.<BR/><BR/>Michael-<BR/>Make sense to me, and I appreciate your viewpoint. <BR/><BR/>Onesimus-<BR/>It is not necessary to own land to pursue the agrarian lifestyle. But it helps. Personally, I have 1.5 acres out in the country. Take away the wooded area and my land is the size of a large suburban lot. That's why I pasture meat birds on my front lawn. I hope to one day have more land, care for it sustainably, and use it to raise more food for my family and others. Until that happens, I am content to husband what the Lord has entrusted to me. <BR/><BR/>You say you are "endeavoring to discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" and that is why you "live on an acreage in the country." That sounds like a wise thing to do.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous-<BR/><A HREF="http://cumberlandbooks.com" REL="nofollow">www.Cumberland Books</A>Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-48350902925012013622009-02-07T19:41:00.000-05:002009-02-07T19:41:00.000-05:00Hiya from across Lake Ontario,I haven't seen the m...Hiya from across Lake Ontario,<BR/>I haven't seen the movie (can't sit still that long!) but reading what you have to say is a breath of fresh air! I found your blog while trying to learn how to butcher a chicken. I'm in the process of moving back to the country from the city, and can't wait to get back in the garden! Good grief. I was raised in a pretty traditional Christian church, but had never heard of agrarianism. Very interesting what you have to say about Calvin and industralism. Can't wait to read more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-50335048372826464972009-02-07T10:51:00.000-05:002009-02-07T10:51:00.000-05:00It's easy enough to find Agrarianism as a scriptur...It's easy enough to find Agrarianism as a scriptural imperative if you only bother to look. "Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken" (Gen 3:23). But I forgot, that's old testament. We have freedom in Christ now. And marriage between man and woman... old testament, throw that out the window. "Lev 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them"... oops. Old Testament. Toss out any rules against homosexuality. Good thing we have modernist xtians to cut up our Bibles and throw half of it out. The Pilgrims, Puritans, and Reformers knew how to rightly divide the Word of Truth. They knew that the ceremonial law was done away in Christ, but that the moral law and the commandments were perennial and binding. But today we have freedom in Christ. Freedom to do as Cain did and live in and build cities. Freedom to take many wives so long as you only have one at a time. Freedom for a man to lie with a man as a man lies with a woman. Nice. Viva Freedom. Or whatever...<BR/><BR/>Never forget, the devil has never stopped saying "Yea, Hath God said?".<BR/><BR/>No one that I know has ever said that any act of obedience is salvific, but that does nothing to determine whether or not something is required or not. We have freedom in Christ, that is true, we are free from the need or imperative to save ourselves. We are not free to continue in sin that grace may abound. <BR/><BR/>The Bible says this was the job of man before the fall:<BR/><BR/> And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Gen 2:15)<BR/><BR/>And this was the job of man after the fall:<BR/><BR/> Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Gen 3:23)<BR/><BR/>We are to work with our hands (1 Thess. 4:11), in the ground/soil (Gen. 3:23), and to be content with food and raiment (1 Tim. 6:8). The lie of the industrial grid system is that if you will enslave yourself to your baser lusts (for comfort, leisure, entertainment, sin) then you will not have to labor in the soil. That is basically the gist of it. That is why your parents always told you to go to a worldly college to get a degree... so you won't have to dig ditches. The world hates the idea of working in the soil, because that is what God has decreed for man.<BR/><BR/>Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein (Jer. 6:16).<BR/><BR/>Or rather, they said "we have freedom in Jesus to not walk therein".<BR/><BR/>Michael BunkerMichael Bunkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10480186948086853961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-9072214509658550802009-02-07T09:45:00.000-05:002009-02-07T09:45:00.000-05:00Hi, I've been a longtime reader here, but have nev...Hi, I've been a longtime reader here, but have never commented. Lately, I've been reading in Genesis and had a thought stick out from Cain's story that I thought you'd appreciate. Cain was a farmer, and obviously very proud of his work and it's fruits. So proud that he presented them as a sacrifice to God. Later, when he had committed murder, God said, "And now thou art cursed from the earth." He was never to be able to grow things again! To not be able to work the land is a curse, one that Cain felt strongly: "My punishment is greater than I can bear." He then became the founder of the first city mentioned in the Bible.<BR/>I don't know what all significance this may have, but thought I'd share it with you as your post reminded me of it.<BR/>Thanks for your inspirational and practical writings here,<BR/>-JayneJaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04171423754553280514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-55230766019217522452009-02-07T07:42:00.000-05:002009-02-07T07:42:00.000-05:00It is quite a leap from promoting an agrarian life...It is quite a leap from promoting an agrarian lifestyle to finding it required in the Scriptures. Did Jesus own land?<BR/><BR/>There is liberty in Christ.<BR/><BR/>My wife and kids and I live on an acreage in the country not because of any Scriptural imperative but because we are endeavoring to discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com