Ben Gilmore

Mr. Gilmore, whose papers have had nationwide distribution, is also involved in education. The Principles of America’s true history and government are incorporated into his newspaper column. He and his wife founded ACH Study Groups and Parent Educators’ Resource Center, supplementing the efforts of home educators, As a staff member of Youth With a Mission, he and his family have been around the world. He is also active in local government, having been nominated several times for legislative office.

2014-01-17 The Bible is challenged

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

January 17, 2014

This is a letter to our friends –

The Bible is challenged

The following crossed my desk today. It is well worth sharing — —

Some Interesting Facts

The Truth About The Bible

During a question and answer session at a recent speaking engagement, a university student asked me, "Why do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God?"

Now this is a very interesting question, and probably one of the most important questions any Christian could ask themselves. What is so special, so unique about the Bible that Christians believe it is literally the inspired word of God?

In answering this student’s question, I encouraged him to consider the following facts about the Bible. First, the Bible is not just one single book. This is a more common misconception than many people realize, especially with people who do not come from a Judeo-Christian background. Rather than being a single book, the Bible is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures. These 66 books contain a variety of genres: history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom, literature, letters, and apocalyptic, just to name a few.

Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors. These authors came from a variety of backgrounds: shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets, and others. And most of these authors never knew one another personally.

Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1,500 years. Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these authors never knew or collaborated with one another in writing these books.

Fourth, the 66 books of the Bible were written in 3 different languages. In the Bible we have books that were written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic; a reflection of the historical and cultural circumstances in which each of these books were written.

And finally, these 66 books were written on 3 different continents: Africa , Asia, and Europe . Once again, this is a testament to the varied historical and cultural circumstances of God’s people.

Think about the above realities: 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1,500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents. What’s more, this collection of books shares a common story line – the creation, fall, and redemption of God’s people; a common theme – God’s universal love for all of humanity; and a common message – salvation is available to all who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength.

In addition to sharing these commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors or contradictions. God’s word truly is an amazing collection of writings!

After I had shared the above facts with this student, I offered him the following challenge. "If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural origin, then I challenge you to a test, I challenge you to go to any library in the world, you can choose any library you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1,500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents. However, they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message, with no historical errors or contradictions." I went on to say, "If you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible is not the inspired word of God."

The student’s reply was almost instantaneous, he emphatically stated, "But that’s impossible!"

It truly is impossible, for any collection of human writings. However, the Bible passes this test. The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1,500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents, with no historical errors or contradictions. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of Divine inspiration.

The next time you encounter someone who asks you why you believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, try sharing this challenge with them. Better yet, don’t wait until you’re asked, just go ahead and share this challenge with a friend today.

You don’t even have to mention the Bible up front, just ask them if they think it would be realistic to assemble such a collection of books. After they say, "But that’s impossible!" you’ve got a ready-made opportunity for sharing the truth!

Dr. Steven C. Riser

2014-01-17 The Bible is challenged Read More »

2014-01-13 Love

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

January 13, 2014

This is a letter to our friends –

LOVE

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said unto him,

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,

and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment,

And the second is like unto it,

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

[Matthew 22:36-40] (New Testament)

See also [Deuteronomy 6:3-9] (Old Testament)

I believe Christ was affirming that “Love God & love others” is the basic reason each person has been placed upon earth. Anything that comes ahead of that is rebellion.

Thus, we had best have a working definition of “love”!

The best definition I have found: To love is to “unselfishly will the very best for the loved one.” See John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,”

The world likes to define the counter-concept of “love” as “hate”. The counter-concept of my definition of “love” is “selfishness”.

Think about it – “Selfishness” is “What can you do for me?” “Unselfishness” is “What can I do for you”

In a society based upon “selfishness,” there will never be enough. It will be unstable.

In a society based upon “unselfishness” there will be an abundance. Unselfishness is a stabilizing influence.

Granted: There will never be a wholly unselfish society, but any degree of unselfishness will be a stabilizing influence. The Judeo-Christian philosophy will always strengthen a society. Those who claim otherwise are those who have not learned from history.

Respecting others is a form of unselfishness. Thus – Civil liberty has always improved under Judao-Christian influence. Laws that protect life, liberty and property against encroachment (taking what is not yours – selfishness) produce stability and peace.

Loving God and others (vertical and horizontal relationships) is a pattern we see everywhere. Whatever is of supreme importance in your life is your “god.” Whatever that is, will come ahead of everything else.

How do you discover what that is? Do you easily inconvenience yourself to serve others? Christ did!

The loving God, deserves your unselfish devotion in return. NOTE – He never makes a duplicate! Every obedience to God is unique to you. Only in that obedience will you find peace and fulfillment. Outside of that is selfishness toward both God and others.

2014-01-13 Love Read More »

2014-01-03 Human Nature

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

January 4, 2014

Apologies to the 210 friends who are receiving a 2nd posting. I failed to remove attachments from a previous mailing to PAG students and froze my Outlook app.

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

Human Nature

“The whole life of the Christian, from the beginning to the end,

is a conflict with the world and the powers of darkness,

a conflict within and without … .”

[Memorials of a Christian Life by August Neander]

Yesterday, a dear friend phoned. She was distressed over the future of our country. No doubt those reading these words share her concerns.

Human nature seems to focus upon the problem. News commentators are prospering by seeking, enhancing, and reporting ever more sensational examples of the problem(s). When we seek to stay informed, we are overwhelmed with negative events. Then, in conversation with friends, we do the same thing!

What does that produce? Awe at the size of the problem, a sense of helplessness & hopelessness, perhaps anger and frustration, often irrational actions that are counterproductive!

I would ask, “Excuse me, how big is your God?” Were God to drop by for an attitude check, I would not want to be found overwhelmed by the problem(s)! I want to be found excited about the things the Hand of God is doing in the midst of the “darkness”. I want to be found winning the “conflict within and without!”

How does one do that? By focusing upon the One who can overwhelm the problem as David and God overwhelmed Goliath. The glass is never empty. Focus upon what is left in the glass!

Will American civil-government degenerate into lawless chaos, marshal law, and tyranny? It is truly a reasonable possibility. One we would do well to consider and prepare for. Who can deny that it would illustrate the justice of God? Some Christians appear to welcome it as giving us what we deserve.

I am in another camp. Human history demonstrates that God prefers mercy over justice, when He can justify it. Would a wise judge release an unrepentant murderer? In a society, there must be corporate quality character to govern human nature. Not everyone, not even a majority, is necessary to qualify for God’s mercy over justice.

I want the world to see God’s mercy demonstrated to the world. Human nature understands justice. Justice produces bondage and death. Mercy produces liberty and faith.

Throughout this year, you are invited to join me in humbly praying, seeking God’s will over human nature, and turning from our selfish (i.e. sinful) ways. Then – Let us be informed, not only about the problems, but the Godly principles we may apply to overcome them.

Nothing confuses the enemy so much as a group of Christians rejoicing over the victory before the battle begins! Let us shun those who would join us in the battle while vigorously waving a white flag!

2014-01-03 Human Nature Read More »

2013-12-30 Spring of 2014

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

December 30, 2013

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

Spring of 2014

Most readers will not get around to reading this until “next year”! So, let’s look ahead.

January through June will be wall to wall politics. We will be deceived, lied to, threatened, pushed and shoved! There will be a Winter Olympics diversion in mid-stream.

Traditionally, low information voters pay little attention to the spring primary elections. As a result – The following November, they are left with a choice of candidates that were selected by those who voted in the spring primary elections.

May I share my thoughts and suggestions, please.

The Constitution leaves the voting rules to the respective states. Local authority is a good thing. The Democrat party is dominated by power manipulators who recycle that power through the U.S Treasury (tax dollars) in order to buy what authority is for sale. Thus, never try to outspend a democrat.

The Republican party is waging an internal conflict between those who oppose Democrat power and want it for themselves (“progressives”) and those who want less government involvement and more individual responsibility (liberty).

This is creating a dilemma. If liberty-loving Republicans fail to win spring primaries, they are very likely to sit out the November elections as they did two in 2012. Who can blame them?

RINO Republicans like Boehner and McConnell will look you straight in the eye and point to all the “conservative” votes they have cast. They will send you to their websites to read about their love for smaller government and individual liberty. Yet they have led a neutered GOP legislature that compromises principle and opposes strong winning positions (Ted Cruz & Mike Lee). Rino’s set the Democrats up to win, then shrug and say truthfully, we voted against them, but they won. Rino Republicans are consistent in one thing, They never vote to return authority to the people.

A few early suggestions

· Resolve to become informed about those on your primary ballot (from City Council to U.S. House and Senate).

· Make yourself responsible for this task. Ask like-minded friends. Chat with local candidates. Follow trusted commentators with a track record (Limbaugh, Beck, Drudge, …).

· Every candidate needs funds. Pick your shots. Many groups offer to collect funds for a cause or a group of candidates. I suggest sending funds directly to the candidate.

· I am no longer going to support progressive Republicans (“Democrat light”).

One last point

Typically opponents of true conservatives will encourage multiple conservative candidates to oppose a liberal in the primary. That splits the conservative vote and nominates the Liberal. This time around – I suggest – Do not permit yourself to be “played”. Work hard for the right candidate!

I will have more to say next spring.

2013-12-30 Spring of 2014 Read More »

2013-12-28 Rebirth of Liberty & Learning

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

December 28, 2013

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

Note – Because of its length and intellectual depth, many will miss the value of this article. In doing so, one confirms the point of the article. I suggest pausing, take time to focus upon Dr. Arnn’s points. Listen to what he is teaching. [Ben Gilmore]

A Rebirth of Liberty and Learning

Larry P. Arnn
President, Hillsdale College

LARRY P. ARNN is the twelfth president of Hillsdale College. He received his B.A. from Arkansas State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in government from the Claremont Graduate School. From 1977 to 1980, he also studied at the London School of Economics and at Worcester College, Oxford University, where he served as director of research for Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill. From 1985 until his appointment as president of Hillsdale College in 2000, he was president of the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy. He is the author of Liberty and Learning: The Evolution of American Education; The Founders’ Key: The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution; and Churchill’s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government (forthcoming).

The following is adapted from remarks delivered during a gala event held at Hillsdale College on October 9-10, 2013, to launch a six-year campaign to raise $470 million for capital and endowment—the Rebirth of Liberty and Learning Campaign.

There is a proper way to educate and there is a proper way to govern, and they are both known. Today we do these things in a different way, which presents a serious and perhaps fatal problem for our country. But repair is possible.

Take education first. The word “education” comes from a Latin word meaning “to lead forth.” And if you think about it, “forth” is a value-laden term. Which way is forth? The Bible tells us to “raise up a child in the way he should go.” But which way should he go? How does one come to know the answer to that? After almost 14 years as a college president I’m an expert on young people between 18 and 22, and I can tell you that if you ask a young person today which way is the right way to go, more often than not he or she will answer: “It depends on which way you want to go.” Young people today give that answer because they’ve been taught to give that answer. But it’s the wrong answer, and the activity of getting from there to the right answer—the activity of coming to know which way is the right way—is education. Thus “to lead forth.”

Two Ways of Education

At Hillsdale College students read a lot of old books, including Plato’s Republic. In the Republic they read the story of Gyges’ ring—a ring that makes the wearer of it invisible. One of Socrates’ interlocutors in the Republic, a young man named Glaucon, raises the question: Why would a man in possession of such a ring not use it to do and obtain whatever he wishes? Why would he not use the ring’s powers, for instance, to become a tyrant? In response, Socrates turns the discussion to another question: What is the right way for a man to live? What is just by nature and what is unjust?

These Socratic questions were once at the center or core of education, and they remain at the center or core of education at Hillsdale College. But in American education as a whole, these questions have been abandoned.

Let me give you two examples of how the new way of education differs from the old. One concerns the use of the word I just used—“core.” Here at Hillsdale we have a core curriculum—a thing most American colleges and universities have watered down or done away with—which is a core group of courses that all students, regardless of their major, are required to take. A true core, as I’ve described, has a unifying principle, such as the idea that there is a right way to live that one can come to know. Compare that to the use of the same word in describing the latest bright idea of the education establishment—the so-called Common Core—which is an attempt by bureaucrats and politicians to impose national standards on American schools. When one looks into Common Core, it becomes clear that it has no unifying principle in the sense I have described. And it has destructive effects. But the point I want to make here is that its only stated object is career preparation.

Bereft of the kind of questions posed by Socrates in the Republic—or the kind of questions raised in the Bible, or in the plays of Shakespeare—modern education treats students chiefly as factors of production, as people to be trained for productive jobs. And although we all wish productive jobs for our children, as parents we know that they are not chiefly job seekers or factors of production. After all, how many of us, if we were given the choice of our children earning a lot of money and being bad, or struggling economically and being good, would choose the former?

My second example of the turn taken by modern education goes to the heart of the problem. Here is a passage from the Teacher’s Guide for Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition, published in 1991 by the College Board—the influential organization that, among other things, administers the SAT exam. It is written by an English professor from Agnes Scott College in Georgia.

. . . AP teachers are implementing the best of the new pedagogies that have influenced leading institutions of higher learning. Perhaps most importantly, as Arthur Applebee explains, “objectivity” and “factuality” have lost their preeminence. Instruction has become “less a matter of transmittal of an objective and culturally sanctioned body of knowledge,” and more a matter of helping individuals learn to construct their own realities. This moves English courses away from the concept of subject matter to be memorized and toward “a body of knowledge, skills, and strategies that must be constructed by the learner out of experiences and interactions within the social context of the classroom.” Emphasis is on the processes of language and thought, “processes that are shaped by a given cultural community and which also help students become part of the cultural community.” Contemporary educators no doubt hope students will shape values and ethical systems as they engage in these interactions, acquiring principles that will help them live in a mad, mad world (emphases added).

Could the difference be more stark between the older and newer ways of education? Between leading students toward an understanding of the right way to live in a comprehensible world, and telling them they must shape their own values and make their own reality in a world gone mad? And by the way, think of the definition of “reality”; then think of making one’s own reality. Do you see that it destroys the meaning of the word to use it that way?

Two Ways of Governing

The difference between the old and the new way of governing is directly connected to this turn in education. One way to see the difference is to see that laws in America used to be simple and beautiful. They were written with care, and citizens could read them quickly and understand their meaning. Of the four organic laws that founded America—the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Constitution of the United States—none of them was more than 4,500 words long.

The Northwest Ordinance, adopted in 1787 and passed again in 1789, contains the following beautiful sentence: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary for good government and the happiness of mankind, the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” Accordingly, Congress proceeded to give 1/36 of the land in the vast Northwest Territory—including Michigan and four other states—as an endowment, controlled by the states, to support education in each township. One of the finest laws written subsequently was the Homestead Act of 1862, by which ten percent of U.S. land—over 270 million acres—passed into the hands of individual citizens. The Homestead Act was 1,320 words in length.

Compare the Northwest Ordinance and the Homestead Act—perfect examples of the older, constitutional way of governing—with the new bureaucratic way of imposing central control through rules and processes that no one can understand. Compare them, for instance, to the Affordable Care Act, which when it was passed in 2010—and this does not include the countless rules and regulations it has generated over the past three years—ran to 363,086 words. This law—and in the true sense of the word it wasn’t a law at all, but something different—was not readable or comprehensible to any member of Congress who voted for it or to the citizens whose lives it was aimed at manipulating in a detailed and intrusive way. Could anything be uglier? And is it surprising, being governed in this way, that the richest nation in human history is going broke?

Let me mention two characteristics and dangers of the new way of governing. First, if you look at the size of the federal budget, you see that in economic terms the government is beginning to rival in size the rest of the country. Less and less do we have a large and thriving private sector—which is where the Constitution placed sovereignty—in control of a limited government that owes its authority to the governed.

That the Constitution placed sovereignty in the people, outside the government, means that the only way the people can maintain their sovereignty—the only way they can control the government—is through elections of representatives. But as the government becomes almost as big, in economic terms, as those who elect it, the government itself— with its clients and friends—becomes increasingly influential in the electoral process, while people who make their living independent of the government become less influential. This trend could prove fatal to our country, because at some point if it continues—and we can already see the beginnings with attempts to regulate political speech—the idea of free elections will become problematic.

My final point is that this new way of governing actively opposes America’s founding principles. Consider an example from the College’s recent history: What could more directly contradict America’s bedrock principle of human equality than the attempt by bureaucrats at the Department of Education to force Hillsdale, whose charter prohibited racial discrimination long before the Civil War, to count its students by the color of their skin?

James Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution, and when he suggested in the Federalist Papers that the Constitution receives its authority from the principles of the Declaration of Independence, he was expressing what was then the common view. Here is the famous statement of those principles:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of those ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government . . . .

Compare that confident statement of principles to this passage from President Obama’s 2006 book The Audacity of Hope:

Implicit in [the Constitution’s] structure, in the very idea of ordered liberty, was a rejection of absolute truth, the infallibility of any idea or ideology or theology or “ism,” any tyrannical consistency that might lock future generations into a single, unalterable course . . . (emphasis added).

How did Barack Obama come to believe something so foreign to America’s heritage as the idea that in the name of liberty we must reject absolute truths—which necessarily includes rejecting those truths I just quoted from the Declaration? And how is it—because this is a bipartisan problem—that not once in the course of two long presidential campaigns did an opponent of Barack Obama think to point out his unequivocal disagreement with the principles we celebrate as a nation on the Fourth of July?

Do you recall what I said about the connection between the new way of education and the new way of governing? Given what is now taught in our schools, is it any wonder that our leaders today behave like wearers of Gyges’ ring who have not given thought to the questions raised by Socrates in the Republic, or to the connection between the principles of the Declaration of Independence and civil and religious liberty?

The means of repairing both education and government today is the activity that takes place at Hillsdale College. Through its undergraduate and graduate programs, its Kirby Center in Washington, D.C., its extensive online learning program, its charter school initiative, its multiple outreach activities, and its publications such as Imprimis, Hillsdale seeks to radiate that activity to every corner of the nation in every possible way. This is the work needed to save our country, and it is the purpose of Hillsdale’s “Rebirth of Liberty and Learning Campaign.”

2013-12-28 Rebirth of Liberty & Learning Read More »

2013-12-24 Things on my mind

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

December 25, 2013

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

Things on my mind

The Gilmore clan gathers on 12/26 so that they can spend Christmas with their respective in-laws on the 25th.

For the rest of the world, it is Christmas eve. The following thoughts have been on my mind.

There is an awesome, creative, intelligent, first cause we call God. I believe those who deny that, are really working hard not to accept self-evident truth. Human nature is like that!

If I accept an authority greater than me, then I must accept an obligation. There is within each of us a desire to be free of limits, “Back off! Give me my space.”

As I contemplate this Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, I find evidence of both justice and mercy illustrated over six thousand years of recorded history (His-story!). This tells me that God has a personality as well as a being.

He chose to create mankind (generic) with free will. We can choose selfishly or unselfishly. Observation documents that we are prone to choose selfishly. Observation also demonstrates that selfish choices are counterproductive in the end.

So, how does this all powerful, all present, all knowing being who has a deep love for the humans He created – teach us how to love Him and love one another?

In the beginning, He walked and talked directly with Adam and Eve. They chose selfishly. So he stepped back as they populated and let them discover human nature is not so good.

It got pretty bad. He selected Noah, a man who would listen to Him. Then God flushed the rest of mankind, and started over. In no time at all, after the flood, Nimrod was leading a massive rebellion against God.

This time God scattered them by confounding their languages. It is interesting to note, “Because they all speak one language,” He said, “Nothing is impossible for them.” There is unity in a common language. No wonder the ungodly promote multilingualism. They want us dis-unified.

Human nature continued to choose the dark side, but God found an extraordinary man of faith, Abraham. God decided to build a nation from this man’s seed. As we review his sons, grand-sons and great grand-sons it is not very inspiring!

They knew God had made promises to them, but most of them had a hard time resisting rebellion. Even the good ones chose foolishly. If I had eleven brothers, all bigger and meaner than me, I think I would keep my visions to myself!

Why did God choose a nation “as His own special possession?” I think he needed an example big enough for the rest of the world to recognize. The Egyptian plagues, and subsequent miracles were not just to get the Jewish people’s attention, God wanted the rest of the world to witness His justice and mercy when focused upon one nation. The rest of the world could learn things about God by observing and reasoning.

Still, human nature is a strong influence. Jewish national history is like a roller coaster. God sent messengers. Often the Jewish people would mock and not listen. Things got bad and they were scattered as refugees and slaves. That was His justice.

Other times, when they realized they were experiencing justice, they would begin pleading for mercy and reconciliation. God would send leaders to take them back to their land. This happened many times. God is a very patient teacher. Humans are slow learners!

Throughout these adventures, their hope was in a promised Messiah who would restore lasting peace. Such a promise brings to mind a mighty warrior – not a humble baby in Bethlehem.

Human nature moved in again. It is wisely said, “Man’s greatest error is to make a mistake, then fall I love with it!” Pride moves in and we try to prove our own preconceptions. Documentation of Christ’s credentials as the promised Messiah appears to me to be irrefutable.

Every person, most especially a Jew, owes it to God and himself, to set aside what others believe, and consider Christ’s credentials as Messiah for himself. Accepting the Lordship of Christ (who is a Jew) makes one no less Jewish!

Merry Christmas!

2013-12-24 Things on my mind Read More »

2013-12-22 Jesus Christ Changed the World

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

December 22, 2013

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

JESUS CHRIST CHANGED THE WORLD

Transforming Time

Jesus Christ changed the world forever. When He was born, He transformed the very way we measure time. He turned aside the river of the ages and lifted the centuries off their hinges. His birthday, His Incarnation, touched and transformed time. Now the whole world counts time as Before Christ (BC) and AD (Anno Domoni – in the year of our Lord). Jesus Christ is the central figure of history. More books have been written about Jesus Christ than any other person in history.

Saving Lives

The world before Christ was a world without hospitals, a world without charity, a world without respect for the sanctity of life. Hospitals were an innovation of Christianity. Hence the healing symbol of a cross represents hospitals. The nursing profession was founded by Christians such as Florence Nightingale out of devotion for Christ. One of history’s greatest humanitarian movements, the International Red Cross, was founded by Christians in response to the Scriptural injunctions to care for the sick and the suffering. Christians such as Dr. Louis Pasteur have fuelled some of the greatest practical advances in medicine. Pasteur has probably saved more lives than any other individual in history through his inventions.

Caring for the Poor

The whole concept of charity was a Christian innovation. Benevolence to strangers was unknown before Christ. The teachings and example of Jesus Christ have inspired the greatest acts of generosity, hospitality, self-sacrifice and service for the poor, sick and needy over two thousand years.

Setting the Captives Free

Before the advent of Christianity every culture-practised slavery and human sacrifice – even the highly esteemed Greek and Roman civilisations. Child sacrifice was common among the pagan religions. The Aztec Empire in Mexico and Inca Empire in Peru engaged in slavery, ritual rapes and mass human sacrifice. Suttee, the burning of widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands, was common practice in Hindu India before the missionary William Carey arrived. Slavery was eradicated as a result of tireless efforts of Christians such as William Wilberforce and David Livingstone. Respect for life and liberty is a fruit of Christianity. Those promoting abortion, euthanasia and pornography are not offering us progress, but only a return to pre-Christian paganism.

Blessing the Nations

The positive impact of Jesus Christ on the world cannot be overstated. Everything from education to human rights, from public health to economic liberty – the things we cherish most and many of the blessings we take for granted – all can be traced to the spiritual and the cultural revolution begun by Jesus Christ.

The Scientific Revolution

The irrefutable fact is that Christianity gave birth to modern science. The scientific revolution began with the Protestant Reformation and the Bible played a vital part in the development of scientific discovery. Every major branch of science was developed by a Bible believing Christian. The Bible essentially created science. When we get into a car, start the engine, turn on the lights, drive to a hospital, receive an anaesthetic before an operation, and have an effective operation done in a germ-free environment, we need to remember that we owe it all to Jesus Christ.

Education for All

"Every school you see – public or private, religious or secular – is a visible reminder of the religion of Jesus Christ. So is every college and university." Dr. James Kennedy.

There is no doubt that Jesus Christ was the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. When He spoke, "They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority…" Mark 1:22. The life, teachings and example of Jesus Christ have profoundly influenced the whole development of education worldwide. The Great Commission of our Lord Jesus was to "make disciples of all nations…teaching them…" Matthew 28:19-20

From the very beginning Christians were establishing schools. Amongst the many innovations in Christian Education was that these Christian schools taught everybody, including girls and women. Formally educating both sexes was a Christian innovation. The Greeks and Romans before the birth of Christ did not formally educate girls. Only boys from the privileged classes obtained an education. Christianity revolutionised education by making it available to all classes and both genders. Saint Augustine observed that Christian women were better educated than the pagan male philosophers.

The phenomenon of education for the masses has its roots in Christianity. The pursuit of the knowledge of God in a systematic, philosophical and in-depth way gave rise to the phenomenon of universities all around the world. It was the Christian faith that gave rise to the idea of higher learning. The greatest invention in the field of learning, the printing press, by Johannes Gutenberg, was also a fruit of the Christian faith. The first book to be printed was the Bible.

Most of the languages of the world were first set to writing by Christian missionaries. The first book in most languages of the world has been the Bible. Christianity has been the greatest force for promoting literacy worldwide throughout history.

The Christian missionary movement in the 19th Century pioneered tens of thousands of schools throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands – providing education for countless millions, even in the remotest jungles, giving the gift of literacy to tribes which had never before had a written language.

Every branch and level of education was pioneered by Bible believing Christians. The concept of graded levels of education was first introduced by a German Lutheran, Johan Sturm in the 16th Century. Another Lutheran, Frederick Froebel introduced kindergartens. Education for the deaf was also pioneered by Christians.

Sunday schools were begun by Robert Raikes in 1780, to provide boys and girls from the poorest homes with the gift of literacy and the riches of the Scriptures.

One Truth

The very name "university" testifies to its Christian origins. University means "One Truth". The first universities grew out of the monastic missionary centres, which had discipled Europe. The first university lecturers were the missionary monks who had collected books, accumulated libraries, copied manuscripts and were uniquely equipped for advanced academic study. Most universities began as Christian schools. Isn’t it time that teachers, lecturers and professors took an in depth look at the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, the greatest Book ever produced and the Faith with inspired and pioneered every major branch of education and science?.

Compassion for the Blind

Before Jesus Christ, human life in the Greek and Roman world was extremely cheap. Infants born with physical defects such as blindness, were commonly abandoned to. However, Jesus Christ showed particular compassion for the blind, healing many blind individuals during His ministry on earth. When the Roman persecution of the Church ended, in the 4th Century, Christians established asylums for the blind. In the 19th Century, Louis Braille, a dedicated Christian who lost his eyesight at age three, developed the worlds first alphabet that enabled blind people to read with their fingers.

The Rule of Law

The Bible, particularly the Ten Commandments, laid the framework and legal foundations of Western civilisation. The very first statute, the first written restriction on the powers of government was the Magna Carta of 1215. It was written by a pastor and thoroughly saturated with Scriptural principles.

Inspirational

The life and teachings of Jesus Christ have inspired the greatest literature, the greatest art, the greatest examples of architecture, the age of exploration, world missions, the rule of law, the separation of powers, checks and balances, representative government, the sanctity of life, compassion for the poor, blind and needy and so much more that we take for granted.

Christianity has been the most powerful agent in transforming society for the better across 2000 years. No other religion, philosophy, teaching, nation, or movement has changed the world for the better as Christianity has done.

The Bible is the greatest Book ever written. Jesus Christ is the greatest Man who has ever lived.

Wise men still seek Him.

He became like us – that we might become like Him.

He was rejected – that we might be accepted.

He was condemned – that we might be forgiven.

He was punished – that we might be pardoned.

He suffered – that we might be strengthened.

He was whipped – that we might be healed.

He was hated – that we might be loved.

He was crucified – that we might be justified.

He was tortured – that we might be comforted.

He died – that we might live.

He went to hell – that we might go to Heaven.

He endured what we deserve – that we might enjoy what only He deserves.

Dr. Peter Hammond

Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Fax: 021-685-5884
Email: mission@frontline.org.za

Website: www.frontline.org.za

2013-12-22 Jesus Christ Changed the World Read More »

2013-12-19 Sixty Years Ago

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

December 19, 2013

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

Sixty Years Ago

It was a clear crisp day in Dallas, sixty years ago today – Fran Hudgens knelt beside me at the altar of Lakeside Baptist Church, during our wedding ceremony. That event created a “threesome” with Fran and me at two corners of a triangle and Jesus Christ at the third. Over these six decades as each of us grew closer to Christ, we have grown closer to one another.

With this post, I wish to honor my beloved life-partner. In so doing, I trust our Lord will also be honored.

In the beginning – Fran was a student nurse at Dallas Methodist Hospital. I was fresh back from Korea – reassigned to the Air Training Command in Waco, Texas (an hour’s drive from Fran).

The next year, she graduated and we set up our first home in Waco. She presented “Ginger” (Virginia Faye) as our first child. My tour of duty ended the following year and we moved to Dallas. I was an engineering student on the “G.I. Bill” and she was the SMU campus nurse.

18 months later, Fran was a gifted pediatric surgery nurse, involved with the very first pediatric open-heart surgeries. One afternoon, “Ginger” began convulsing. With our horn blaring, we raced to her pedi hospital. She kept her head, racing down the hall to the ER and shouting orders to activate the system. Some hours later, “Ginger” met Jesus.

Fran then presented us with Guy William.

I was accepted in post graduate school in Boston. Fran became the supervisor of an estate that was administered by a Red Feather agency for emotionally wounded young boys. The three of us, (Fran, Guy, and I) lived on the third floor of the estate. With her salary, the GI Bill and $20K bank loans, I (WE!) earned an MBA.

My first job was in Houston. Fran was pregnant during the move and soon presented Anita Fawn to our family. After a year in Houston, learning the business, I was given the company sales territory from Georgia to Maine. We moved to Enfield, Connecticut. I was on the road except weekends. Fran spent lots of time alone.

I thought I was a “Christian”. After all – I went to church every Sunday and was an American! The local pastor did not believe the virgin birth and had several doctrines strange to Fran’s Baptist heritage. That drove her to Bible study and serious analysis of her beliefs.

We became involved in the Goldwater presidential campaign. Fran organized a powerful team of “Goldwater Girls.” They played a major role in the 1964 GOP State Convention. We drove to the National Convention in San Francisco. Upon our return, we packed up and moved to Fremont, California.

“God’s gift to the business world” nearly starved while looking for work. Fran re-entered nursing as a surgery supervisor. The kids started school. Events led to my salvation and both of us began devouring the Bible! My business career began taking traction.

We moved to southern California. The “Jesus Movement” was beginning to blossom. Fran and I were on the front row to observe it. The Lord had us in a training mode and we were growing exponentially. Lots of Christ-centered adventures as the kids approached their teens.

My folks’ health failed and we lived on both ends of California. Eventually dad died. We moved our family to Morgan Hill. Fran presented Susan to our family. We weren’t wealthy, but we were living like we were! Our home became a missionary way station.

Along the way, we met Miss Hall & Miss Slater, founders of FACE (Foundation for American Christian Education). They introduced is to the rich American heritage and Biblical principles of government. Fran did volunteer work for FACE. Some years later, daughter, Fawn, was on their staff.

After two years we removed Susan from Christian school and began home-schooling. That was way before it was common. Others saw what we were doing and asked to be involved, with their kids. Fran became headmaster of a co-op home school.

God called us to a long term commitment to service in YWAM. Guy took over the family business (at 17!). His proposed book title, “When I Was 17, My Family Ran Away From Home!”

Over half the nights of our first year in YWAM, we slept in tents. Our first night in the side of a volcano in Kona, HI, we could see the stars through the holes in the tent! Fran never complained and her gift of hospitality became YWAM legend.

While Guy shouldered the business, Fran, Fawn, Susan and I completed a “School of Evangelism” and then set out on a “field trip,” to discover if what we had learned of God’s provision really worked. Again, she seemed to thrive.

The four of us were out of America for the whole of 1977. We entered 37 nations and had all sorts of ministry. The Lord was faithful and we grew from many blessings and hardships on that adventure.

I will end the account here. Guy, Fawn and “baby” Susan all made wise life-partner choices and are growing their own Christ-centered families.

Like America’s founding fathers, our friends and family are all aware of this “self-evident truth.” – These sixty years have been much easier for me than they have been for Fran!

I love you, “Pug”

Thank you

2013-12-19 Sixty Years Ago Read More »

2013-12-14 Regarding Bathsheba

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

December 14, 2013

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

Regarding Bathsheba

Folks are familiar with the Bible account. God had made David king. That appointment came with great authority. King David sent for his married neighbor, Bathsheba. As king, he had that authority. She complied, as she should.

Then David propositioned Bathsheba – she complied again. Tragic results were set in motion.

When the man, David, propositioned Bathsheba, he stepped outside the authority God had given him as king. Bathsheba should not have complied.

We the people” drafted the Constitution, which created the national government and set the limits of its authority.

When the president, the legislature, or even the supreme court, step outside the limits prescribed by our Constitution, I stand upon the very same God-given liberty He gave Bathsheba thousands of years ago. I should not comply.

Civil authority comes ONLY from the governed, in a free society. Laws, rules, regulations, etc. that are outside the authority “we the people” have given our civil government are to be considered “no law at all”. Such laws, rules, regulations, etc. violate the liberty God has given to each of us. Every man is under God’s law of liberty, “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”.

If I participate in such violations, I bow to tyranny and surrender a portion of my God-given liberty. The supreme court is not the ultimate authority on Constitutional limits – I am, with my choice to comply, or not to comply.

History will demonstrate that force is the ultimate tool tyrants use to achieve compliance. Tyrants isolate an individual, or group that resist compliance and impose harsh punishment. That may be fines, jail, even (historically) beheading.

Tyranny will always fail in the end, when faced down by men willing to stand upon their God-given liberty. Men willing to be martyred, if need be, rather than bow to tyranny.

On January 1st, American citizens have been “directed” to purchase government-approved health insurance policies, or pay a fine which increases from year to year. I recognize no Constitutional authority for such a directive.

If I choose to purchase health insurance it will be my choice. If I choose to self-insure it will be my choice. If I choose not to insure it will be my choice. Tyranny is seeking to exercise authority over the health decisions of all Americans.

I will not comply!

2013-12-14 Regarding Bathsheba Read More »

2013-12-11 Last call for January 6th

ACH Study Groups

Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders

7659 Gingerblossom Drive

Citrus Heights, CA 95621

916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com

www.ACHStudyGroups.com

December 11, 2013

This is a mail-merge letter to our friends –

Last call for January 6th

With all the Christmas schedule activities, it is easy to put things off until too late.

The next 3-month online “Principles of American Government” course begins on Monday, January 6th, 2014. To date we have 5 students in the class (2 home school teens, 1 parent and one grand-mother).

I have asked the Lord for 20 or more in each course, because of the urgent need to plant the seeds of principles that must be understood before our society can be restored.

He seemed to respond, “Share what I have given you to teach with those I place in front of you.

Those who have taken the course are pleased. They tell me they encourage their friends to take the course, but discover a wall of disinterest in the subject. I have been pounding upon that wall for 30 years!

Good people just do not realize that they do not know what they do not, and urgently need to, know!

We will use free Skype-video conference as a virtual classroom for our interactive class sessions. You will need to find copies (new or used) of the two text books.

Please call me to discuss joining the class. For His-story & Government – Ben

2013-12-11 Last call for January 6th Read More »

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Ben Gilmore 1929-2023

On March 30, 2023 Ben Gilmore, the co-founder of ACHStudyGroups (co-founded with his wife Fran), went to be with the Lord in Glory.

A Memorial: https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/BenGilmore/