Chapter 3: continued, part 3

"Memories of the Past Hundred Years"
June 28, 2059

Revelation 18:4-7 "...Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. ... Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself..."

It's another beautiful, sunny day--just another GREAT day to be alive! But of course, I say that every morning that I wake up and find that I am still alive! The gardens are doing so well! My 'kids'--I call everyone that is younger than me 'my kids'---are doing so great learning, caring and loving the young plants that promise continued life to all of us here on the farm!

CHRISTIAN AGRARIANS: Many people have written complex definitions of this term but I define it simply as "devote Christians who choose to live a life closely connected to God's Creation."

I consider my 'Germans from Russia' ancestors to be early 'Christian Agrarians'. Life today, fifty years after the 'Great Crash' has a strong resemblence to how my German ancestors organized their lives on the barron steppes of South Russia. FAITH, FAMILY & COMMUNITY was the basis for every aspect of their lives, how they lived and worked together, how they organized their communities, how they treated each other, how they addressed personal and social problems, their political and court systems, their economy and commerce between communities. Everything in their lives was based on the morality and ethics expressed in the 'HOLY BIBLE'. Love for God was expressed by their love for others! It was a simple code that didn't need huge volumes of written laws and codes.

Most people from the time before the Great Crash considered Christian Agrarians to be organized groups like the Amish, the Hutterites, the Mennonites etc. that organized themselves in communities separate from the mainstream society. But that preception left out a large and diverse range of peoples from every denomination, race and economic background. These people chose to leave mainstream society for moral and religous reasons to find life and spiritual inspiration working the soil and living close to God's Creation.

Christian Agrarians are--at least by my understanding---such a broad and diverce group as to defy simple descriptions. They sure don't fit into neat catagories. Many but not all, chose to leave mainstream society because of the preceived immorality of the culture around them. Many but not all, chose to leave because of the preceived dangers that were building in our country, the economy and world events. Many chose to ignor the bright lights and temptations of the city and have lived in the country for generations. Many were survivalists, preppers, doomers etc. that found a spiritual path for guidence just by living next to other Christian Agrarians.

These individuals, families and small groups lived isolated from each other and for the most part, felt very alone in the sea of the dominant, materialistic culture. But then came the Internet. Thru the 'magic' of this technology, people were able to communicate at the speed of light from their own homes even if they lived "out in the middle of nowhere". The internet allowed people to 'connect' with others who had similar interests from all over the country and from around the world. 'Blogging'--writing and posting a personal diary of thoughts, activities, information and interests--on the Internet became a unifying force for manyChristian Agrarians.

Many Christian Agrarians shared similar traits but there again, there was great diversity within this group of people. These traits included homeschooling, homebirths, home churches, alternatives in health care including herbal and nutritional healing, large, closeknit and loving families, community networking, strong agrarian principles of self-sufficiency and mutual support which included growing, producing and preserving much of their own food, building and repairing much of what was needed for daily life and the willingness to share these skills and resources with anyone that was interested unlike survivalists and preppers who tended towards keeping their preps secret and keeping to themselves.

Unlike the preppers and survivalists, Christian Agrarians lived a productive farming life on a daily basis. When the Great Crash came, they were already knowledgable and prepared for living without the dominant society's luxuries.

These shared traits of 'love for others', family and community building, networking with others and a sincere sense of 'purpose in this world', made these Christian Agrarian families and groups 'bright, shining lights' during those horrible 'DARK YEARS'!

These Christian Agrarians played a pivotal role in saving unnummerable lives during the DARK YEARS by sharing their food and more importantly, 'how to produce food' after the economic system collapsed. They also were intrumental in re-establishing order and safety in this great time of chaos.

But ultimately, their belief in God's love and purpose gave many lost souls a sense of HOPE for the future when all those around them had given up all hope!