Q&A Fridays, Issue #44

Welcome to Issue #44 of Q&A Friday for Friday the 7th of November, 2008. I want to thank you all for your great emails and questions. I want to remind everyone of the rules by which I will be playing: Not all questions will be answered, and not all those that are submitted can be fitted into one issue. Those that did not make this issue (for length reasons) might be included in a future one. Questions might not be answered or included in the Q&A for the following reasons:

The scope may be too broad, or it may involve a topic on which I have taught at length... ex: “Can you explain the whole Creation?”. The question might need to be asked more specifically, or with fewer presuppositions that I would have to handle before actually getting to the question (I do reserve the right to rewrite questions to make them more clear and understandable or to make them more amenable to the format here). Answering the question might drag me off of “message” or into an area on which I am currently teaching, but at a point where I haven’t gotten to yet. If the question is answered in an upcoming teaching, or would involve getting into a topic I have planned for the future, then I will likely choose not to answer it yet.

The question might be considered rhetorical, or might involve me bearing witness against myself... such as “Will you please go away?”

As always, send your questions to Q&A Fridays:

editor(at)lazarusunbound(dot)com.

Michael,

I was talking to a friend who was sharing with me your very interesting and unique views on the training up of children. Something she said struck me like when you hear something that is right, but it is so different from everything you have heard all of your life. I am aware of the need not to build the “self-esteem” of children, and to give them a proper and biblical view of themselves and of God. I also know that children have to be trained to work and to live as Christians. But I had never heard anyone teach that too much “play” is a bad thing, or that it does harm. I'm not sure what to think of this exactly, and I don't know how to work this into raising and training our children. Anything you can add would help. Thanks.

Thank you for your question. Of course I do not believe that play in and of itself is “bad”. I think many valuable and lasting lessons are learned by children playing in a Godly way. What I do teach, though, is that immoderate play (and I will define this, and it will likely shock some of you) is very, very dangerous, and it is a contributing factor in many of the problems in our society, and of many of the mental problems and deficiencies in young people (up to and including my own generation). This may take some time, so please read this carefully and pray about it a lot.

First of all, as I always do, let me give you a little bit of a historical view on “play”. Children have always engaged in play, and it is likely that so long as the society doesn't devolve to barbarianism and bare survival, children will always engage in play. But if you study history like I do, you'll discover some interesting realities. The most successful and the most Godly societies had a very narrow view of play, and adults in those societies did not believe that a child's life ought to be primarily made up of play time. In fact, the more successful and Biblical a culture was, you will find a lesser and lesser emphasis on “play time”. Most Godly biblical/agrarian societies did not have much time for play. The children were very valuable members of the family, and they were needed for the work that was necessary for survival. Children were taught to enjoy their work, to value mature interaction, to define “fun” in a broader and more complete way. Children do not need to be engaged in fantasy, or to be captivated by toys, or to be entertained by light and sound in order to have “fun”. When children learn that intellectual pursuits and realistic engagement with the world around them can also be fun, they grow up to be more competent and intelligent adults.

These earlier cultures produced serious, intelligent, well-rounded adults with long attention spans and with the ability to think critically, linearly, spatially, etc. Cultures where children are given over to games, videos, movies, and endless hours of play time produce adults who are severely colonized, foggy thinkers, dreamers, sluggards, and basically folks who are unable to pay attention or to achieve or complete difficult tasks. Even those few who do master or excel in modern education or in some very specific field, are often completely ignorant of true reality, or of their condition. They are capable of thinking in fragments, and they can excel in things that stay localized in those fragments, but they never become complete, thinking, Biblically grounded people.

In Biblical cultures, play was severely limited to very short periods of the day, generally after all the critical and important tasks were finished, and after any schooling or training was complete. Note: Play was a very limited thing taking place in a very limited time within the day. Play was placed into life to improve it. Today, unhappily for most children, life is that drudgery that interrupts a day of play. In a Biblical culture, you didn't see parents (or mothers generally) opening the door and saying, “Go outside and play” in order to get rid of the “kids” (kids are baby goats and not baby Christians. Young Christians are “children”) or to get them out of their hair. Children were not parked in front of a TV, a video game console, or given games to keep them busy so mom can work. Today, children are even pacified by videos while their parents drive around. “That'll shut 'em up”, the parent thinks. In a Biblical culture, play was a cherished time of release after the necessary things of the day were complete. Production of food, and maintenance of the farm and homestead were of primary importance. Children were not “slave labor”, but neither were they little hindrances who had to be occupied with toys or gadgets while the adults worked. Children learned by doing, and by completing important tasks they were made to feel valuable and important to the maintenance and continuance of the homestead. Children weren't lied to and propped up with “self-esteem” building activities. They derived their legitimate view of themselves as it related to their participation in a family society.

Let me say this clearly. There is no greater harm you can do to your child than to park them in front of a movie or a game during the day so you can work.

The product of the modern view of “play” is all around us. Dumb, stunted, functionally illiterate socialites with phones stuck to their heads (or worse, mobile texting other “kids”) all day are all around us everywhere you go. Listen, some of the men in our group sometimes have to go work with 20-something “kids” today. They say that it is common for these modern man-children to wake up late and then spend most of their work time stuck to a phone, either talking or texting, as if they are some important lawyer or doctor! I defy you to walk through a Wal-Mart without coming upon some 13 or 14 year old girl communicating in some way ia a mobile phone. What Godly or Biblical activity could possibly be going on there?

If your child cannot function without some kind of outside input, then that child has a problem. Worse, if your child cannot pay attention, or stares off into space anytime something important, educational, but not particularly sparkly, shiny, or attention grabbing is going on, then you have a problem. And YOU are the guilty one. You are the culprit. Start today and cut your child's extraneous input, entertainment, and playtime by 90% or more. (hopefully much more). Do it today. You owe it to them. Seriously, if a child cannot pay attention during a family meeting, a time of fellowship, a time of teaching, or during work, and constantly wanders off, forgets what he/she was doing, or just stares blankly into space, it is because you have provided way too much worldly and unimportant stimulation, to the point that important things do not hold the child's (or young adult's) attention.

Yes, I know. All the “experts” out there who are the children of some really screwed up parents who learned all their knowledge of children from books, from movies, and from college, will tell you to stimulate your child visually from a very young age. They will say to give them toys and games that visually stimulate them all the time. HOGWASH. What you are training them to do is to require mental stimulation from something outside of themselves. While some types of mental stimulation do benefit children, this modern idea that children have to have something mythical, fantastical, electrical, fun, shiny, stimulating, etc. to play with or look at all the time is a trick from Satan to steal your children. YOU are responsible for the eternal address of your children, and one day you will stand in front of your maker and explain why you listened to the world instead of to the Bible and to God when deciding how to raise your children. It is easy to say, “Hey, look at me, I turned out alright”, but if you say that, you are one deceived individual. It is easy to say, “Hey, they're young, they'll work it all out later”, and if you say that, you have already lost your children and the only thing left is the judgment meted out by a very wrathful Creator God. Woe unto you people who throw stumbling-blocks before your children. The Bible has much to say to you, and I propose you get to reading it. The time to train your children is now. Don't expect to wait to train them later “when they'll understand it better”, because right now you are robbing them of the ability to understand anything later.

Listen, I'm not a perfect parent, but I have some very unique experience and I know what causes these effects in children. I can meet your 5-30 year old child and tell you what you very likely did wrong with them. When they can't put together complete sentences, can hardly function socially, when they get bored anytime there is any real work to do, or when they space out anytime something isn't visually stimulating to them, or when they have problems following a train of logic, or when they cannot functionally think for themselves outside of the way the world trains them to think... then you have failed them, and if they are young enough, it is up to YOU to change your ways and to try to fix the damage you have done.

I will go over again some warning signs:

If your child cannot pay attention, does not really hear what you say, or quickly forgets what he/she was doing.

If your child frequently stares off into space, or hates doing anything that is not “fun” or “play”.

If your child cannot relate to adults as adults, and is instead attracted to adults who allow them to treat them like children. (For example, if your child will only pay attention to or communicate with adults who “play” with them, or who roughhouse with them). A child should be able to relate with an adult as an adult, and should not shy away from adults who do not act like children.

If your child is always asking for a movie, a video, a game, or to go play.

If your child cannot complete a series of instructions without losing interest.

If any or all of these things are true about your child, then you are guilty of mistreating your child by too much play, too much electronic stimulation, not enough work or participation in important family tasks, and not enough diligent teaching and training of the child.

Now, it is very likely that almost every parent reading this is guilty at some level. I get that, and I know how much that may hurt. Sorry, but someone needs to tell you. Start doing the right things and you will see a gradual but very real change in your child. They will dislike it at first, and they might even be resentful. Who cares. Hell is the alternative.

Thanks again for the question.

Michael,

I know you do not vote, and you do not encourage others to vote. But aren't you a little concerned about this election and what might be down the road based on the result?

No. The Bible teaches that the fearful are the first folks to get tossed into the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8). I do not concern myself with things that are not my business. Irrational or misapplied fear is a tool used of the enemy to draw professing “christians” away from their true business, and to keep them busy thinking that they are changing things, when in fact they are lending credibility and viability to a system of which we are not supposed to be a part. I have a King, and He is not running for President. If you were an ambassador sent to earth by your heavenly King (and if you are a Christian, you are you know), then you would not entangle yourself with the cares of this world; neither would you ever convince yourself that it was your duty to pick between ungodly worldlings for the mastership of a corrupt and decadent society that has placed itself in competition with Jesus Christ for the hearts and minds of men. I am an observer here, and my time here is not long. Our life here is a vapor, and then we go to give an account for how we served our King. My job is to train up my children, live as peaceably as is possible, defend and provide for God's sheep, stand against unrighteousness and error, and to openly display a very viable alternative to the kingdom of this world. My job is to be hated by ungodly men, and to say whatever is true and necessary to prick the consciences of God's children and to serve notice on a dead and dying world that their judgment is nigh. I am called to feed sheep, fight with wolves, expose danger, encourage and lift up the downtrodden, and be a Christian man in a society that is almost bereft of both “Christians” and “Men”. So no... I am not concerned with who the world chooses as their next messiah. I already know the result.

What about success. If your agrarian/homesteading community experiment is a success, don't you think it will be ruined by it?

I do not concern myself with results. I concern myself with obedience. Obedience is mine, results are God's. My job is to be obedient every day and to let God sort out the results.

Michael,

Do you mind sharing with us your recipe for Spaghetti Sauce?

Recipes are a tricky deal for me because I don't generally use them. I cook very instinctively and I cook by taste. But I'll kind of walk you through it.

For the big batches of spaghetti sauce we made for canning, I generally started by having the children peel and slice up 40 good sized tomatoes. These were cooked down until they had a good, thick, sauce-like consistency. In a side pan I browned two large onions, along with 1 or 2 garlic bulbs (chopped). I brown them in olive oil or bacon grease. When they onions have started to carmelize, I added about a cup or so of red wine. Simmer this for a bit, then pour the whole thing in with the tomatoes. I had the children pick a good-sized cereal bowl full of fresh basil from the garden. This was finally chopped and stirred in. You might want to add oregano if you have it. Also add pepper, seasoned salt, and onion powder to taste. Cook this for a good amount of time, and then pour it into quart jars (or pints) that have previously been sterilized. Add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice, put on lids and bands tightly, then process in a pressure canner for 12 minutes at 7 lbs. Pressure. If you are unsure about the canning process, please read up about it and follow all instruction that came with your canner. Don't take my word for it.

Michael,

We have about 30 chickens and we are spending a ton of money on chicken feed. It seems hardly worth it. Is there a way to raise chickens without spending hundreds of dollars on store-bought feed?

Well, yes. Here is a pattern of thinking that will help you in answering these questions in the future. Ask yourself... “How would my ancestors, or how would the primitive agrarians have done this?”. Ask yourself if your great-great-great grandparents (who likely had chickens) went and bought feed at the store? Probably not. So here are some solutions.

I don't know your situation, so solutions will vary. Do you live in a town or an urban or suburban area? Do you have land? How much? Do you have a large garden? Do you have any pasture land? How much time do you have?

All of these questions will be critical in determining a solution. First, of course, it would be ideal if you could grow your own crops for feed. If you haven't read my Off-Grid Living for Agrarians series, I suggest you do so. The links to each part can be found on the lower left-hand column of The Process Driven Life blog. Remember now, the idea of feeding chickens with almost 100% feed grains is a quite a new phenomena. Farmers 200 years ago fed their chickens greens, root crops, etc. Mass produced packaged feed grains are really a relatively new thing. If you can grow some easy green or root crops, they are fantastic for your birds, and they will cost you next to nothing to grow. Also, chickens in the “wild” will get about 40% or more of their diet from bugs and other things that they “scratch”. If you can free-range your birds, you will save a large portion of your feed bill. Some crafty homesteaders have found ways to trap or “lure” bugs for feeding to their chickens. My family found an old farm implement book that had a large grasshopper trap in it. Some industrious individual had built a long grasshopper trap out of wood and fine wire. It was about 12 feet long and about 2 feet high and about 2 feet wide. It had a “trap” built into it, and you would drag the whole box over the fields and as the grasshoppers would jump they would find themselves in the “trap”. In the picture you could see literally hundreds of thousands of grasshoppers. The grasshoppers were left to die and to dry, and then they were bagged and used for feed throughout the cooler months. Herrick Kimball over at The Deliberate Agrarian blog once blogged about a “maggot trap” where you would take a killed coon, possum, or other animal, skin it and then put it in a box with a wire mesh floor. The maggots would squirm around and fall off through the floor and be caught in a box or container under the maggot trap. These maggots are excellent protein feed for chickens. If you have some land and plenty of time you can harvest weeds and other greens for your chickens. Again, Herrick writes that he would harvest weeds, grass, and greens and throw them into his chicken yard, where they would build up and mat up. The bugs would begin to multiply under this weed mat and the chickens would scratch through to get the bugs. Periodically, the chicken yard can be cleaned up and the weed or grass leavins' can be used for compost.

Of course, as I said, it is ideal if your animals can free range with no predator or other problems. One of the gentlemen in our community built a chicken tractor. This is a large movable pen where your chickens live. They have access to new “greenage” and bugs when you periodically move the pen. I have seen some very creative movable pens.

One brother we met up on my recent trip up to middle Amerika had a very nice pen system. He had made two movable pens (built by hand on those inexpensive little tow-behind trailers you can buy at Tractor Supply) in which he had chicken roosts and laying boxes. The chickens would be let out in the morning to free-range. The movable pens were surrounded by an easily movable solar-electric chicken fence system. This way he could move the chickens onto new pasture very regularly, and he could still restrict the movement of the chickens, and the possible attack by predators.

Ok, so there are a lot of ideas for pasture raising and free-ranging chickens out there. Basically we just have to be creative and see what we can do with the resources we have. If society were to collapse tomorrow and we were to be unable to go to the store for feed, what would you do? I would have to start mobilizing my family to begin harvesting more food from the 37 acres we farm. We would have to be diligent in finding the chickens sources of protein, but it would be easily doable. That is the way to think.

Hey, thank y'all for reading this and thank you for all of your great questions. Please feel free to send on your questions and when I have enough of them, I'll send out another issue.

Your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker