Polychrist Syncretism

The founders of our nation were not perfect, but they were very intelligent men that understood human nature, and history. They had the benefit of hind sight, they were able to see the noble attributes of the civilizations of the past, and also the failures. They chose to pattern their new government system after the noblest, and most successful system that they could find throughout history, the one that had been perfectly tailored for liberty and freedom, and their choice was the old Republic of Rome, before it became an empire. 

Rome did not start out as a republic, but rather a monarchy. It was a monarchy for 250 years, and then a republic for about 500 years, and then a empire for the remaining 450 years until it was dismembered by turmoil.

It was the republic system that made Rome extremely strong, but the conversion to an empire started its slow decline, and the founders of our nation considered this when they wrote the fail-safes into the foundation so that it would be impossible for a popular political figure to acquire that much power in a constitutional atmosphere. 

Even in Rome's beginning as a monarchy it was strong, and it grew, but when it became a republic it was practicing representative government, and syncretism in its religious system which made it extremely cohesive,and alluring, which created a very conducive environment for solid growth. 

But what is syncretism? Why is it so important for creating a stable National System? 

A Family Devotion on the Miracle of Creation

This summer we have been raising some Monarch butterflies.  We have been learning a lot and it is a wonderful thing for our daughter to see the miracle of creation right in the house.  We have raised 2 successfully so far.  The last one we have is in a chrysalis.  This one I found on accident as I was taking the mail out to our mailbox and noticed that we had wild milkweed growing along side our driveway.  As I was standing there I saw a Mama butterfly lay her egg.  I picked the leaf with a bunch of the milkweed and brought it into the house and put it in our butterfly cage.  In a few days it hatched and was so very tiny.  I had to look at it with a magnifying glass it was so small.  It ate it's egg casing as it's first meal and then began working on the leaf.  The guy was an eating machine, only taking time out to shed his skin and then eat his skin.  After 2 1/2 weeks, he had reached 2700 times his original weight when he hatched and found a good spot and hung upside down in a "J" shape over night and then when his skin split a chrysalis came out.  Then for 10 days it completely rearranges its molecular blocks and forms a beautiful butterfly.  Then once it drys off it flies South.  Four generations fly South with the 4th generation reaching Mexico, there it lives for 8 months.  It lives in the trees and only comes down to drink water.  They then lay eggs and that 5th generation will begin to fly North to find the milkweed and it takes 3 more generation of each flying North and then repeats the process each year.  Now who taught that little creature to do that.  It has no parents to show it what to do.  It is all in the programming of that creature.  

This fun family activity will always be remembered by our daughter and is a living example of the miracle of creation.  This brought to mind, Romans 1:20 

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen,being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."

O Lord you are the great miracle worker and all creation shouts of it!

The Grass Withers and the Flowers Fade

Just a few days ago we took our daughter to a Science Museum and I captured this image and the bubble she is blowing reminded me of the fragilness of life, but more about that later. We had lots of fun looking at all the exhibits and Mary's most favorite was the bubble room.  There were bubble walls and large bins of soap solution on tables with large wands to make ginormous bubbles!  While we were there an older couple was in the room with us with a little girl.  The man made a statement, like a tongue in cheek thing, about us having our daughter with us, as they did.  I smiled and thought at first that he was serious and said, "Yes, I was 46 and my husband was 51 when we had her."  I seen the expression on his face change and said, "Oh, this is our granddaughter and we thought that was your granddaughter too.  I am so sorry."  I smiled and said, "Oh don't worry about it, we get that all the time." 

Later when I thought about it and remembered other times that has happened how people apologize to us like they have offended us.  Which they have not.  Neither Rich or I dye our hair trying look younger.  We feel it is healthier and more natural to let your hair do as God intended it to do.  Also we are not trying to hide our age as Mary is a wonderful gift to us.  We were not the people who were so busy with our lives that we didn't have time for children when we were younger and now were pushing the envelope to have a family late in life.  We also were not ones that thought of her as "oops, I guess we will make the best of it" either.  She was greatly wanted and we had asked God for a child, if it was His will.  We both desired a child or children in our youth.  We longed to be married and had some very lonely years in our lives but we both wanted to keep the Lord's word and marry a follower of Christ and one that was not divorced.  This was a tall order in our culture as we reached into our 30s and early 40s.  Most people thought it just wouldn't happen for us, but God in His plan and great love and mercy, seen fit for us to meet later in life, fall in love, marry and 4 years later bless us with a child.  I was 46 when I had her and I conceived her naturally with no medical intervention.  That was a great gift to us.