CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
October 18, 2009
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
LIFT UP IN PRAYER:
God’s
will for our congregation Various
friends, relatives and co-workers
Our
nation, leaders, and military The
spread of the gospel
LOST AND FOUND
“Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the
earth to the other” (Deuteronomy 28:64).
Israel
was told by Moses that God would bless them if they remained faithful to Him
and that He would curse them if they didn’t (Deuteronomy 28-30). As we read through scripture we find that
Israel became more and more unfaithful to God.
There were faithful and unfaithful kings and there were prophets sent to
warn the nation of the dire consequences, all of which were ignored. Eventually the northern part of Israel was
carried off into captivity by the Assyrians around 700 B.C. and the southern
part one hundred years later by the Babylonians. Over the centuries, more were carried away by
various people marching through Israel.
The Romans would finish the job, first in A.D. 70 and then finally in
A.D. 135. Today these scattered people
are known as the Diaspora. What
happened to those scattered?
Evidence
has been found that some Jews made it as far as China around 500 B.C. In one sense this prepared the way for the
good news of Jesus when the gospel when east.
Philip Jenkins discusses this stating that there were major Christian
centers of education in what is now modern day Iraq and that Christian influences
spread to China and even Japan (1).
People have faded from history over the centuries only to be found in
another area to the surprise of many. I
remember watching a news show that found a small Greek community deep in the
mountains of Afghanistan. How did they
get there? Remember that Alexander the
Great march through that area after defeating the Persians around 300 B.C. They had little to do with others and
retained their culture for centuries.
There
are more stories coming to light about hidden people arriving and disappearing
in the New World, or as we know, the United States. There is also interesting information of
discoveries that have been ignored by many because it does not fit the
perceived ideas of how people arrived in America. The official, though not politically correct
idea, is that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and discovered the New
World. In recent years, it has been
found that Vikings had been here long before.
Would it surprise you that both groups might have been late
arrivals? Let’s take a look at some of
these hidden people (2)..
It
was in Spain in 1492 that the king and queen decided that the Jews and Muslims
must either convert or leave, and that they must be true conversions rather
than just saying it while still practicing the old religion. Some did convert but others fled, some into
Europe, others back to Africa, and many west to the Americas. Many of these people arrived in the Americas
and began to be assimilate into the communities of native Americans known also
as Indians. While they were often
accepted in those communities, they maintained a number of their
traditions. What has been found is that
of some writings that look like Hebrew script in places like West Virginia and
the deep south.
Eventually
these people were persecuted and force out deeper into the wilderness. A number have found their way into the deep
valleys of the mountains of Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. They have been known by various names such as
Crypto-Jews, Black Irish, and other names, familiar in local areas but unknown
widely outside those areas. Since I grew
up in New Jersey, Patrick Mead mentions two groups. The first is the Ramapo Mountain People who
live in the northwestern section of New Jersey.
They are off the beaten track, basically want to be left alone for
various reasons, are, like many of these groups, poor, uneducated, and
distrustful of outsiders. Their history
is told orally as they repeat it to each generation, though because of past
discrimination, some of it is confusing.
The second group is the Swamp People of southern Jersey. These too have been well hidden, living in
the swamps here, and other swamps in the south.
Some might have come from Muslims fleeing, pirates, criminals, or
outcasts from other groups. They want
little contact with the outside world.
DNA
evidence has shown that many of these peoples are of mixed blood. They have Indian, European and black blood in
them. Even in one family, one child
might be white and the second a darker skin.
In some cases, a child might be allowed to go to school but because his
brother was darker, he would not be allowed.
They have been discriminated against for years. An interesting story that Patrick tells is
when the major settlers were moving West into the Blue Ridge Mountains and
further, they heard stories of tall, red hair and bearded men. It appears that Indians do not grow beards so
that was an interesting story, especially for the newcomers. I encourage you, if you are interested, to
read Patrick’s material on this.
We
need to keep in mind that the European powers were latecomers to
exploration. There are some very
interesting discoveries that contradict the commonly held views of scholars
about who arrived in the New World first.
A discovery of bones and writing in West Virginia is one such
challenge. When they ran DNA tests on
the bones they found that they were not of Indian but European. The writing discovered nearby was found to be
a type of Irish script that was also found on rocks in Ireland in a similar fashion. The date of this was around 700 A.D. More of these scripts have been found in
Eastern Kentucky.
There
have been other interesting discoveries that are not well known in the United
States. The remains of Viking sites have
been found in eastern Oklahoma as well as Roman coins. Now I know that the Roman Empire was big but
not that big. How did they get
there? Chinese DNA has been found in the
people of Mexico. It appears that the
Chinese sailed along the Pacific currents down the western coast of the
Americas and then returned via the westward current. Have you notice that some facial features of
both Mexicans and Indians are Oriental?
A man with a metal detector found a medallion with script that came from
the Greek world. The football field that
he was walking around was made from dirt scoped out of Lake Erie. However his discovery was rejected because he
had “disturbed” the ground, or in other words, it was an official
archaeological find and could not be recognized (3).
Through
conquest and neglect, known libraries have been destroyed. Philip Jenkins mentions one in now modern day
Iraq that almost all that was there was destroyed, material that could have
enlightened us on the spread of Christianity in that area. The great library of Alexandria, Egypt was
destroyed though many of its scrolls and other materials were transferred to
Constantinople. One map was found there
in 1517 by a Turkish admiral showing the coastline of Antarctica (4). One other library that is slowly wasting away
is that of Timbuktu. Yes there is such a
place and it is found in North Africa.
Timbuktu was home to universities and libraries until the Sahara spread
south and over it. Over one million
manuscripts lay unread and crumbling without being read, a sad loss of
knowledge. But then, in the British
Museum there are numerous texts from the ancient world that have not been read
because there are so few scholars able to read them.
Selfishness
and greed all seem to be more important than understanding the past and what we
could learn. We pay actors and sports
figures millions but scholars and researches little. We have those who want to protect their
cherished views rather than following the material no matter where it
leads. I’m sure there is a lesson in
this for us as well. Too often we hang
on to our cherish traditions and understandings and see as a threat those who
have searched deeper and found a better understanding of scripture. I suppose this is just human nature but how
much have we missed in our understanding of the world, of civilizations, and of
God?
George
B. Mearns
Postscript:
Let me encourage you again to read Patrick Mead’s material. It begins in 2007 and is scattered over three
years thus far. It is a fascinating read
about some not familiar history. It
certainly gives one a different understanding of the world in which we live.
(1)
Philip Jenkins, The Lost History of Christianity.
(2)
The material for this comes from Patrick Mead, a preacher for the Rochester, Michigan
church of Christ, who holds two doctorate degrees. Visit this sight and read more about the
Hidden People at http://patrickmead.net
(3)
This attitude is seen in many disciplines.
If one believes in God or intelligent design, then he is incapable of
being a good scientist. If one does not
hold the politically correct view of history, then one’s discoveries and study
cannot be acceptable. We as Christians
can have that same attitude toward the educated among us and toward those not
as educated. Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
to get a better perspective.
(4)
See the bulletin for 10/11/2009.