THE STAR CIRCLED BANNER - April 2010
Fellow Compatriots,
I Remain, Your Humble
Servant,
James A. Staton
Camp Commander James Staton convened the Executive Council with Camp officer’s the evening of Monday, 15 March 2010, to set proper protocols and to discuss important matters affecting the Camp. A new and updated version of the Camp By-laws are being formulated. The rough draft will be presented for Camp approval once the Executive Committee hashes out the final details. Be in prayer about this, and pray, too, for our Camp officers.
I think any observer of the South and of Southerner’s,
wont beat around the bush in owning that we are a different breed. First, that accent gets stuck in their ears,
but, then they start noticing
things. We actually do treat people
differently than they do. Those front
porches really are open-walled rooms fixing to reveal to the discerning eye
just a tad about our neighbours inside.
The hospitality, the good manners, but also the shotgun unconcealed
there in the corner, really does show the distinctness of the Southerner; not
to mention our sincere fondness for kinfolk, our propensity to speak gently,
and quickness of offence at the unsettling loudmouth. I think that these traits point to something
we don’t give much thought to, but should.
By and large the chiefest thing, upon which all these noticeable things
are based is that our Bible’s are not just a part of our home’s décor, just
another doo-dad, but a place of
refuge and comfort. If he don’t pay no
mind to his Bible, then he’s a scalawag, fully reconstructed, fit for nothing
but to be trampled underfoot by our womenfolk doing their Summer canning
chores.
In true and Biblical Christianity the
traditional values that many of our Southern kinfolk routinely modelled, those
ideals that made the South a bastion of stability, order, civility, and
chivalry, are discoverable in Scripture as mandates for life and living in the
here and now. David, a man after God’s
own heart, who went no farther than garment-alteration to his enemy’s cloak
there in the cave, is an Old Testament paragon of these virtues. In the New Testament, none surpasses the
intensely practical life-values of Jesus Christ, the human-divine Beau-Ideal of
Christian manhood, in His radically consistent walking out of true chivalry,
amongst the many virtues which defined Him, so noticeable in His gentlemanly
dealings with the woman at the well. Our
Lord, Commander, and Leader, thus, establishes for us the achievable criteria
of the rarefied life rooted in eternity.
The paradigm He models, as seen in the very best of His dutiful
servants, like Robert E Lee, and aptly described as “the puritan-cavalier” life
pattern, is achievable as personally demonstrable transformation, and
sharp-panged character-birthing, through the in-dwelling Spirit of the
ever-chivalrous Christ, in the hearts, minds, and lives of sanctified believer’s. Is not this what you desire for
yourself? I fail daily, but I want it
for me!
“Private and public life are subject to
the same rules; and truth and manliness are two qualities that will carry you
through this world much better than policy, or tact, or expediency, or any
other word that was ever devised to conceal or mystify a deviation from a
straight line.” (Robert E Lee). In the theological war waged on the South by
the nefarious and avaricious Yankee, aping a false sense of religiosity, largely
informed by the Jacobin caricatures of the French Revolution, manhood was
subjugated underneath the jack-boot of the ever pragmatic and expedient
Victor. That victory enthroned statist
secularism, in its multifarious forms, as the nouveau religio-philosophical
basis for self-identification, with all the intolerance characteristic of this
mind-set. Christian childlikeness was
the first casualty of the ruthless cheat of Reconstruction, wherein that
mind-set through the regimentation of State-education, was ever thereafter
propagandised as the dicta required by the hobgoblins of statist paganism.
That War was waged to beat the “South” out
of the Southron, and many have succumbed.
But notice that it is an on-going war; that their victory is by no means
solid, nor complete. Lee’s capitulation
at Appomattox was not the end of Christian manhood, but rather a clarion call
for more consistent exemplification thereof.
Let us hasten, therefore, to appropriate the example of our human-divine
Beau-Ideal, and thus, rescue His surpassing chivalry, exemplifying practical
and fervid Christianity from neglect and ingratitude (not to mention the false
theology obscuring our traditional Southern religious sensibilities) by deep
and conscientious renunciations of Yankee caricatures of manhood and personal
identity.
Scripture shows us the way. Let us be men by embarking on that way,
remaining undismayed by the personal cost to ourselves, thus leading our homes,
families, and churches to a renaissance of chivalry, and the gamut of Christian
gentility, namely, the real thing of Heaven, and not its depraved
counterfeit. Let us dare to be the
unique people God has predestined us to be!
And, so, being reconciled to God, who Himself is Truth, we may the better discover reconciliation with all
men. Yet, never in obeisance to
unscriptural and un-Christian errors!
Rather, may God bless our commitment to truth in all its ramifications;
and, may He help us to yield to His sole prerogative to define to us, and
through us, who we are and must be,
even as disclosed in His incontrovertible Word.
And, may God save the South! Jimbo Richeson, Editor.
Right in the Eyes of God
"Help me to be, to think, to act what
is right because it is right; make me truthful, honest, and honourable in all
things; make me intellectually honest for the sake of right and honour and
without thought of reward to me." Robert Edward Lee
These words of prayer from Robert
E. Lee are the honest and humble supplications of a man of great faith and
humility. He was not seeking God's approval of his thoughts of right
and honour, he was asking God to help him think right in God's eyes.
It is indeed a very bold and courageous prayer because when we ask God to help
us to think and act in the light of His word we will see how sinful our
ways can be. The bible is full of examples of men doing what they thought
was right in their own eyes only to find that it was not God's way and
they paid dearly. The book of Judges is a good place to see just how devastating
it can be to "do what is right in our own eyes.""
The bible tells us many things that we are
not taught in our society. We dont understand what it means to "esteem
others better than ourselves", but that is exactly what we must do in
order to carry on the charge given us by General Stephen Dill Lee. There is no
place for self when we are trying to honour those who fought so bravely for our
liberty. They are the focus of all our efforts. We must constantly keep ego and
pride in check in order to present to the public an image of chivalry and grace
that will bring a receptive attitude from them. This must become a real part of
our charactor, but that can only come from a heart that is submitted to God and
His word. In your daily prayers ask God to reveal to you any sin or attitude
that can hinder your relationship with Him first and foremost and then your
relationships with others. We are at a critical point in our history and only a
merciful and Holy God can help us. We must repent of our sins and set an
example for future generations to follow. "Search me, O God, and know my
heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in
me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24
Mrs Renae McKiven, married to Compatriot William McKiven, and President of the Children of the Confederacy, associated with the Tellico Iron Works chapter 2636, announces that she can serve many of the sutler needs of our Camp. Her wares are varied and some are unique. Visit her web site at: www.conasaugavalleysutler.com. Welcome, Renae, to your new venture! We wish you great success in this business!
COMMANDER STATON APPOINTS NEW CAMP ADJUTANT
Camp Commander James Staton has appointed Compatriot Mike Guffey as Camp Adjutant/Treasurer, effective immediately, with Compatriot Jimbo Richeson to serve as Deputy Camp Adjutant. Compatriot Guffey served as the Commander of the Decatur Camp and has performed in many vital functions during his membership with the SCV. Compatriot Richeson served as Commander at Camp 1633, of the Georgia Division, and he served for a short while as Camp Adjutant there, as well.