John 316 Marshall

I enjoy the tea/coffee debate that rages in the USA. I mainly love to razz coffee drinkers by reminding them that in our country 8 cups of tea are drunk for every 1 cup of coffee. Fortunately, I am a humble winner, having no intent of rubbing it in. However, there is one aspect of coffee drinking that has us tea drinkers stumped. It seems to have become the socialization instrument of our age. Let me explain. In my reading of Presidential biographies, and in reading a book on Presidents' families and their use of tea, it seems things are different now. A "party over tea" has fallen on hard times in our culture. It used to be a major part of our regulars lives to take tea often with family and friends. That sounds quaint and obsolete now. Today's social huddles seem to gravitate around a coffee center. Starbucks and other well-publicized coffee establishments have, I'm sure, added to this cultural shift. Anyway, this apparent change in social mores fascinates me. W

Here's the whole story, as best I can remember. It was the Fall of 1959. I was in the second grade in Illmo, which is now part of Scott City, in southeast Missouri. I decided not to board the bus one morning, and went instead to a nearby playground. One of our church members—Dad was Pastor at FBC Illmo—had called Dad to alert him about my status. I have no doubt this was an unselfish effort to try to save me from a life of crime, which I guess in a way is what it did. As I was walking down the sidewalk, I noticed a car had pulled beside me, and was going very slowly, staying right next to me. I finally looked, and immediately recognized our blue and white 1957 Chevy. Grandpa had bought a more expensive, black model that had the three stripes on the front of the fenders, but Dad, who was always quite cheap, had the cheaper model. Dad had me lie down in the back seat. He knelt down in the front seat, and spanked me very effectively. He then took me to school and told my teac

I decided to take a temporary break from reading Presidential biographies. I thought it would relax my mind a bit, and give me a little intellectual R&R time. I decided to read baseball books, because when it comes to sports, baseball has always been my first love. My plans to unwind were rudely interrupted as I read the biography of Hank Greenberg, one of the greatest baseball players ever. He played in the 1930s and 1940s. To my heartbreak, I learned only Jackie Robinson was more slandered, slurred, and publicly denigrated than Greenberg was. Why was he the object of so much spewed hatred? Because he was a Jew. Racial, ethnic, and religious bigotry are always ugly. I think one of the reasons that stories like Hank Greenberg's unnerve me is; in my heart of hearts I know if I had lived in these settings and times, I would have been among the scoffers. If we do not understand this about ourselves, history becomes a dead letter to us. In observing yesterday we see what any of us

Washington and the Frenchman Lafayette loved each other. They developed almost a father/son relationship, but strongly disagreed on the issue of slavery. It grieves me to read of how Washington dealt with slaves at the end of the Revolutionary War. He made sure as many slaves as possible that had been freed by the British were returned to their bondage. We're talking thousands of African Americans. After the War, Lafayette asked Washington to enter a joint venture in which they would start a plantation that would be successfully operated by the labor of freed former slaves. The Frenchman believed this would be a good example for others, and could lead to the freeing of slaves in America. Washington refused the offer. Lafayette was heartbroken. He later wrote, "I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery." www.john316marshall.com

From the first, Christmas has been hard to envisions without thinking of the Magi. In early catacomb art about Jesus' birth, the most frequent painting-motif was the Magi. The star in their story is the star of their story, but the essential fact we often overlook is that they also followed the Bible. First, they had to have read in the ancient scrolls the predictions about the coming King of the Jews. Without Holy Writ, they would not have known what the star pointed to. Second, once they arrived in Israel, the star disappeared. They had to ask for help from Herod, who consulted the religious leaders. They  pointed Herod to a passage the prophet Micah (5:2) had written 700 years earlier. He predicted that Bethlehem, the small-town birthplace of King David, would also be the birthplace of the Messiah. The star did re-appear, but d on't miss the honor God placed on His Word. God gave the Magi a star to help them start their way to Christ, but made sure even they could not comple

I never speak publicly about current political figures, but history is a different matter. Twenty-six years later, I still think we did President Bush a huge disservice by not re-electing him President. He was not perfect. He would sometimes say unwise things. He was unable to come out from under Reagan's shadow. He appointed an iffy Supreme Court Justice. He broke his "Read my lips; no more taxes" promise. As I look back over a quarter of a century ago, I guess I have to wonder; does a person have to be perfect to be President? Bush was an American hero when a teenager. He was shot down as a pilot in WW2 at age 20. He held as many significant political positions as anyone in modern times. He was part of the longest, most powerful family dynasty in our history—a combined total of 20 years as President or Vice-President. I have been blessed by the response of the American people to President Bush at his death. It is a comfort to know he and his beloved Barbara ar

We have become a society that has too often legitimatized anger, however small the offense. The result is sometimes a violence enacted due to a small offense. We are an angry society, and anger is always only one step removed from violence. Our Master became angry only for the honor of God (cleansing of the temple) and for the help of others (healing the withered hand in the synagogue). On both occasions, the anger resulted in helpful deeds. Once the deeds were done, the anger subsided. In contrast to this, many believers in our culture rightly start as angry over a particular issue, but then sin by staying angry rather than by doing something helpful that might have a positive result in the situation. If anger is not driving us to positive action, we need to let it go, to not let it seethe. We can learn from our own nation's history here. I just finished Peskin's biography of James Garfield. When this extremely popular President was assassinated, the nation fell into

Ruth loves Hallmark movies. Occasionally she is able to convince me to watch one with her. I've seen relatively few of them, but have already noticed some recurring themes that actually serve as good lessons for life. One, a relationship can get off to a rocky start, yet end well. It's true we have only one chance to make a good first impression, but there are plenty of later impressions that can soften the first one. Ruth and I are a good example of this. She thought I was cocky (which I was), but we were able to forge a great relationship eventually. Two, relationships always ride on bumpy roads. Life is made up of conflicts. It is impossible for two people to agree on everything. Relationships are built on, or buried in, the ruins of disagreements. Ruth and I are both strong willed people. We disagree often. Nevertheless, we have always been able to work through our differences, and actually be made better by them. Three, we all want happy endings. This is, of course, the ul

The Peter Principle is one I learned when young, and have seen fulfilled often through the years. It states we tend to promote people to the level of their incompetence. In other words, they do well at various jobs, and thus we keep promoting them until they reach a point that they don't do as well, and we leave them in this level of mediocrity. The life of President James Buchanan illustrated this principle again for me. Before the Presidency, he had a long string of successes to his credit. He served with distinction for over three decades at various levels of political involvement. But then he miserably failed as President. He is always ranked among the least effective Chief Executives. What does this have to do with us? Learn a vital lesson here. Don't always accept a promotion automatically. Pray first. When we find our niche, pray about staying with it. Contentment is a rare jewel in life. Find where you are effective, and consider staying there. I know this is e

Folly almost brought me down. At the end of my college days, I needed only one more class to fulfill my math major. I looked over the course offerings, and saw one titled "Introductory Algebra". It was a 5000-level class, which meant it was a Master's Degree course, but since it had the word "introductory" in it, I decided it couldn't be too bad, and signed up. On the first day, Dr. Michaels (for whom the math building was later named) took one step inside the door and began working a problem on the blackboard. He took one wall to prove what 2 is; he then took a second wall to prove what 4 is; he then took two more walls to prove that two wall ones equaled one wall two. He finished the final blackboard just as the bell rang. He gave us our homework assignment, and then walked out the door. I knew I was in big trouble. I barely made it through that class. It was probably the iffiest segment of my college career. The Lord brought good out of this scho

I remember it well. It happened in my first college semester. My Calculus I professor was Dr. Ahuja. Every class session began with several of us students going to the blackboard to post solutions of our homework problems from the night before. On the infamous day, one of the students said he could not go to the board. When Dr. Ahuja asked why, he said he had forgotten to do his homework. What happened next defies adequate explanation. My mild mannered professor suddenly transformed into the Incredible Hulk. Dr. Ahuja ran to the student's desk, leaned over him, and began interrogating. "Do you forget to breathe?" "No." "Do you forget to eat?" "No." "Do you forget to sleep?" "No." "Your Calculus homework comes just as regularly; never forget it, and if I leave at the end of class, and fail to give you your homework assignment, you are still responsible for it. Make sure you always know your assignment before you

Why would anyone who knew he was going to be a preacher major in math? Great question. I've been asked "why" questions like this one many times through the years. It's actually an anticlimactic story. Dad often told me I needed to get a non-religion degree in college, in case the ministry did not work out for me. Thanks, Dad, for that vote of confidence. When I arrived to register for my first semester in college, I was awestruck at the length of some of the sign-up lines. The English majors stretched a block on one direction; the history majors covered a block the other way. At this moment of despair, I saw a professor (Dr. Francis, who would later teach me) leaning back in his chair, reading a book, with his feet propped up on the desk in front of him. I felt compelled to walk straight toward him. I hesitated a moment when I saw a "Math" sign on the desk by his feet, but interrupted his reading anyway by saying, "I am here to register."

Radical, proud misinterpretations of the Book that created our nation and made it great are what destroyed it in the Civil War. That's the premise of Mark Noll's book "The Civil War as Theological Crisis". The armies of the Civil War were the most religious armies in our history. Christianity and the Bible were not embraced by everyone, but were certainly respected by the overwhelming majority. But when the War ended, one of its casualties was the Bible. It had been so abused and misused by people on both sides that an underlying mistrust of the Bible itself began to seep into American life. Some began to think the Bible could be used to prove anything. Others felt it was proven to be in error by how the War turned out. Radical Abolitionists debunked the Bible because it did not straightforwardly condemn slavery. Radical southerners defaced the Bible by using it to justify their horrible treatment of slaves. There were Bible students who advocated slow emancipat

Heroes are too often forgotten. I had never heard of this senator from New Jersey. In my reading the biographies of Presidents, his name kept coming up. I decided to read a summary of his 1830 six-hour speech delivered to Congress opposing Indian removal from the southern states. His passionate plea almost won the day. How different American history might have been had his words been heeded. Springfield MO witnessed some of the final throes of Congress' failure when the Trail of Tears passed through our town in 1838. Once I read the summary, I wanted to read the whole unedited version of his speech. The folks at Brentwood Library did archaeological excavations for me and found it in its entirety at archives.org . I wish I could have heard the "Christian Statesman", as Frelinghuysen was called, deliver it in person. He said the Indians were as much under God's care and Providence as the European settlers had been. The senator claimed neither British law nor USA law nor

In reading biographies of the Presidents, I've come across a huge surprise. One author claimed the 1840s and 1850s were the two most important decades in USA history. He said if the Civil War is the most pivotal event in our history, we must admit it did not happen in a vacuum, and need to investigate what caused it. In pondering this possibility, I have come to an unexpected conclusion. The Presidents of these two decades (between Jackson and Lincoln) were not nearly as ineffective as history has commonly painted them. They had a deck stacked against them. They were fighting against the Czar, Dictator Slavocracy. I have dealt with this in a former blog, but want to point how impossible it made for the Presidents to be hugely effective during its ascendancy. Not until LIncoln, who was elected with only 42% of the vote and who due to the secession of southern states did not have to be  handcuffed with slavocracy, was a President able to effectively undertake issues with proper Execu

The word that throws the pallor of death over everything we study about the USA between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. As I have read the biographies of the first Presidents (I'm on #12 now), one issue puts all others in the shade—slavery. Slavocracy defines the era. No law could be passed, no President elected, no infrastructure improvements enacted, without the blessing of the slaveowners' interest. The latter always had enough clout to run the show, until Lincoln was elected. By the way, he won only 42% of the vote when he was elected, barely enough to win the electoral college. Before the Civil War, the northeast usually voted as a bloc, as did the newly opening lands of the west, and as did the southern slave states. The south always had enough clout to throw its weight around politically. They were often the lynchpin that held fragile coalitions together. The tragedy is; slavery mocked our claim of being a land of the free. There were actually slave markets close to th

God rules in the affairs of men, and decides who will or will not be President. I have to admit, from a finite human perspective, it seems Henry Clay was born and bred to be our President. In reading the biographies of the Presidents, one name keeps recurring in the  leaders of the early 1800s. Henry Clay seemed to be omnipresent. They called him the Great Pacificator (we would say peacemaker). Four times he came up with compromises that held our union together under almost impossible odds. He bought the USA time, enough time to allow the north to become strong enough to end slavery and win the Civil War. His greatest contribution was his profound influence on Abraham Lincoln. The latter said every major political idea he had was based on the teachings of Henry Clay. Lincoln quoted Clay often, and grieved profoundly each time Clay lost the Presidency (thrice) and when Clay died (in 1852). For me, the biggest surprise of his life was how his American System was so bitterly opposed by so

In 1939 Clark Gable was Rhett Butler, Dorothy walked the yellow brick road, and Freeman Cleaves wrote one of the most suspenseful books I have ever read. Huh? Freeman who? His biography of William Henry Harrison is a hold-your-breath can't-put-the-book down thriller. Historians often write in broad strokes. They tell of large movements and trends. Cleave also does this, but at the same time knows when to slow down the action, to recount every second, every breath. His descriptions of the War of 1812 battles defies my ability to explain. He talks about bullets striking flesh and near misses, cannonballs decimating targets, rifles firing, tomahawks and scalping knives destroying. There were actually times when it would have been impossible for me to stop reading, and put the book down. It shows the human side of war, the groans, shouts, and cries of the common soldier on the battlefield. The heroism recounted in the stories is beyond comprehension. The British, native Americans, and

My Grandpa Marshall preached against Kennedy in the 1960 election, but then had a sudden change of heart in the voting booth, and voted for JFK. After the vote in 1960, Grandpa returned to his yellow dog Democrat ways. When Nixon made his return, and was elected President in 1968, Grandpa just about went bonkers. Grandpa said terrible things about Nixon. He couldn't seem to talk about the President in normal ways. "Tricky Dick" was a well-known, much used, nickname for Nixon, and Grandpa relished using it. But this was not enough for Grandpa's dislike of Nixon. Grandpa invented a new image of derision. He felt Nixon was pompous, and dubbed him "King Richard". He once told me that he believed Nixon stayed awake at night, practicing in the privacy of his bedroom how to best march to "Hail to the Chief". You must remember, my grandpa was not a raving lunatic. He was an intelligent, very astute, man. He was a gifted Baptist preacher. What was