7/27/2019 1993 Issue 2 - His Story - God's Providence, The Family and History - Counsel of Chalcedon
1/2
THE FAMILYAND ISTORY . .
.Bosron, s s c h ~ ~
~
same somehow. The people were
OnSeptember4,1862,ayoungman different. They didn't believe oract like
from Mobile, Alabama,
enlisted as a
theyusedro
in
the
old days. That'swhy
volunteer in
Murrell
's Independent Charles'fatherhadded.dedtocomeSouth
ea:valry (which would later
become
atthetumofthecenrnry. SaidtheSouth
Company
C,
Murphy's
Battalion
of the
was
more like the Old
country" used to
Alabama
Cavalry) in the anny of the be.
Confederate States of
America.
Charles
meant to fight
to derend his country in
the
war
against
his
formernation.
People
in the
Confederacy
called
it
the
War for
Southem
Independence.
ChaIres was
thlrty-two
years
of ag
e.
His
fatberhad been a
probate
judge in
Mobile
but he had died almost
sixteen
years previous
when
Charleswasfourteen
years old. He and the lWO other boys
(Maniluis
and Bushrod) had been both
providers and
fathers
for their
mother
and sister.
It wasn't
an
easy
decision
to
join up
with
the Confederate
army. But
it
was
right.
Charles
lmew
his father would
have appmved. His father came from
sturdy, OLD, New England stock. I
emphasize OLD New England, for that
pall of the country had changed a great
deal
since
the first few generations ofthe
family
had settled in Salem and later,
Enlistingwas
clearly
the rightthingto
do.
It
was exactly
what
his
grandfather
Josiah
(at
the age of
twenty-three)
had
done in 1775 when
the
British had
invaded.
It waS
the
family tradition to
fight for freedom
and merights
Godg:ive
to them, no matter the opponent. k
wasn'teasyto takeuparmsagainstfoimer
counuymen, but
if
hey were not
going
to
allow Southem
independence,
then
there was only one alternative. The time
had
come to fight ..
.
Whatyouhavejustreadisnotfiction.
It is the story of my great-great
grandfather onmy fathe
r's
side,
Charles
Ellis
Wilkins. His grandfather
(my
great-great-great-great
grandfather)
was
Josiah Wilkins who served in the
Continental Army
in the company of
Captain
Cyptian
How
duting the first
WarofIndependence.Josiah'sgreat-great
grandfather,
Bray Wilkins, came to
this
4 TIlE COUNSEL
of
ChaIcedon f February, March 1993
counny from Wales in 1628. He was a
member ofthe
second
company ofbrave
folk who sailed with Captain John
Endicott to the Massachusetts
Bay
Colony.
It is
a
blessed.
heritage anda story
that
my
childrenwillhear many tintes before
they leav
e home - and one I hope they
will pass on
to
their children for
many
years
to
come.
I only wish I knew more
about my mother's side of the family.
In the providence ofGod, my fathers
have had a role in
quite
a few of the
notable events in our country's history
(yes, even the Salem witch ttials ). But
my family is not at all unique. Your
family
may
well have had a greaterpanin
the events that have shaped our
nation.
Did they?
Do
you
lmow?
In recent
years
I have .been amazed
overhowdisinteresredmodem
Chtistians
~ ~ h t g e ~ ; g ; C a l ; t i \ i i e s
F a m i i y history
isoftenviewedas
the religious
obligation
of the Mormons; or as an amusement of
the
richandsn60
ry.
GeneliI.ogiailsrudy
is thought ofas the pastime of those with
more time
than they know what to
do
with ("Oh yes, myoId maid great-aunt
did
some work on our genealogy one
time ").
. Bill what, you say doesthis have
to
dowithblstory?
Muchirievetyway
The
neglect tlf
family
hlStoryhas contributed
in no little measure to the
ease with
whichhistoiians
have
distoned ourpast.
Consider:
k used
to
be that history was not the
sole
province ofprofi:ssional histotiaus.
Nearly everyone knew the truth about
what had happened in the past because
they
lmew their
family
histories.
"Great,
great
grandpa
was
there
and here's what
hedidandsaid. msuchadrcumstance,
it was ahnost impossible
for
men
to do
much to
distOlt
the historical
record.
Any
historian withrevolutionarydesigns
would have faced quite formidable
opposition
if he had ttied
to
monkey
with the
facts
. Too many people had
already
heard the truth and it was most
_
_
-_
_
._
---
--
_ _.__ _ .-
----- . -
- - - -
-._
.
__._---
- -
--
-
-.--
-
-. ---
- -
-----
--
7/27/2019 1993 Issue 2 - His Story - God's Providence, The Family and History - Counsel of Chalcedon
2/2
difficult for a
WIiter
to
get away
with
lies.
But
it is not so today.
Today,
there are
high
school
stu
dents
who do
not
even know
their
grandparents,
much
less their
great-grandparents or
further
back. This
has contributed, in no little measure, to
the
ease
with which modem historians
have
been
able
to
re-WIite
our past.
When history becomes deper
sonalized,
men
lose
asense of
"property"
in the past. In losing bese first-hand
accounts from family
members,
this
is exactly
whatwehave
lost.
ltused
to be that people had a
"stake
" n history and felt
a responsibility
for
it.
Their
family's
reputation
and
accomplishments
were
important to pre
serve.
Many would be
upset
over any perceived
distortion. Today , be
causethereareso fewwho
knowtheirpasr., thismajor
check against
misrepre
sentation has been
removed.
Thosewho
still
Imow their past are made
to look
like kooks
and
fanatics
since
they are
so
few
in number.
One of the
goals
of our
humanistic
educational y ~ has been to divorce
us from thepast. Ithassucceeded. Ithas
done
so
by
1)
discrediting our
heritage
tbrough ridicule of
its theological
TOOts
2) by de-emphasizing the
family
and
making it irrelevant, and
3)
byempba
sizing be importance of the individual
and the present. AsaresuIt,mostpeople
are
utterly
unfamiJiar
with their
great
-great-grandparents and what
is
worse,
they
do
not care
to
know them.
Such
infonnationseemstrillingandworthless.
This is always
the case
in a
sOciety
where
God's covenant
is
despised.
To
most modems,
God's
covenant has
nothingtodowithhistoryortheirpresent
condition.
Historyhas become
irrelevant
andmeaningless
. 'Ip.eyseenoconnection
between their
existence
and those
who
preceded them. There is no
sense
of
continuity with the past and,
consequently, they feel no personal
responsibility for
it.
Thishas
been,
in part,
responsible for
the radical
rootlessness
that permeates
our generation.
Because
men
have
divorced themselves from their
families,
thereisno.9: nse ofcontinuity, belonging,
or purpose.
The
influence of
history
is
ignored and thus, it loses its importance
in he eyes of many. Thepresentisallthat
matters. The loss of
family
history has
greatly contributed to this.
Contrast this modem attitude with
the emphasis of Scripture.
Family
genealogies
play
an important
role
in
God's
Word and in
the history
of
God
's
people. Sometimes they stand
as
warningstomenoftheevilconsequences
of
mpenitence
andrebellion. Sometitues
theyencourageustoseeGod'sfaithfulness
in maintaining a
faithful
and
godly
generation in
the
earth. Because God
works
in
tenus of His covenant with
men,
families
and family lines
are
extremely significant.
Familyhistory used
tobea
reasure to
be passedonandentrustedtothe children
in order
to
teach them the powerful
lessons
of God's covenant
faithfulness.
It
was important for the children
to see
by
familial example tbat God honors those
that honorHim and brings
to
noughtall
who
rebel against Him. The "black
sheep' of be
family
were not
ignOl-ed
.
Both "black" and "white" sheep were
discussed
so
that the children would
learn the ways of God and
fear im
for His dealings
with their family. Theloss
of
family
history is a costly
loss.
Itmustbe recovered.
A Imowledge of our
family's historywill give to
usasense of God'smajestic
faithfulness through the
years.
It will impart
to
us
again
a proper sense of
"place"in the
small
portion
of time and space we
occupy here on earth. It
win restore to us be holy
pressure of be covenantto
"do ourpan" to
m int in
a
faitbful
testimony
for
be
Saviorinourgeneration. It
will
\emind us
of the
rnarvelousmysteryand be
vast complexity
of
God's
provide
nce. It
will bestow upon us a
seemly
humility
and a gratitudeto Godforourfathersand
what He has given us brough them (all
which
is too
often
absent in be lives of
most in our day).
Obviously, we dare not take
Pharisaical
pride in our blood lines.
Francis
Bacon once remarked that bose
who
take overmuch plidein their ineage
reminded him of potatoes.
Such
people,
Bacon
said,
clearly reveal that "their best
pans are underground "
We
must not
idolize our
heritage,
but to despise it is
Satanic. Look into yourroots andrejoice
over God's mercy
and
covenant
10vingkindness D.
February, March
993
TIlE COUNSEL ofChalcedon 5