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Living off the "Grid"
We need to understand that in the days of Jesus and the apostles there was no “grid.” The “grid” is a modern invention based on modern technology, modern economy, modern energy sources, and modern political structures. Even 150 years ago there was no grid. What preppers are suggesting is that if, and I mean if, by some calamity of natural or human origin the “grid” ceases to exist and we are thrust back into the days of Jesus and the apostles: could you survive and keep your family alive? Could you survive without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and the local grocery store? These are all inventions of the last 200 years. For 4000 years prior to 1800 these things did not exist. For 95% of recorded history, these things did not exist. People survived all that time without them. Could you? Prepping was a lifestyle to them. Prepping is what you did all day every day. You prepped for the week, the month, the growing season, the winter season, and well into next year. In some cases you prepped for years in advance. Every town and city had huge storehouses set up to hold massive amounts of grain, oil, and other goods. If you suggested to the people of antiquity that prepping was somehow non-spiritual or carnal, you would be patted on the head and considered the town idiot. If you did not prep in those days, you would starve or survive off the kindness of charitable persons. If you suddenly found yourself in the first century and suggested to the people of that day that prepping was crazy and those that did it were faithless and full of fear... well who knows what response you would get. Suffice it to say you would be the one on the outs with society and faith.
So for the last 4000 years prepping was the norm. It was the rule. People did not prepare out of fear. They did not fill up the root cellar with crops because some calamity was coming. Nobody had to twist their arms and practically beg them to do what scripture and common sense demanded they do. They did these things because that was what everyone had to do to survive. Not out of fear but out of simple necessity. It was life. Only in the last couple hundred years has the notion appeared that the prepping lifestyle is socially weird (by the worldly), and unspiritual (by the religious). It is an entirely new attitude that only exists in this modern world of super markets, freezer trucks, and fast food restaurants. Therefore I submit to you that today’s opposition to prepping is merely a reflection of our modern living, culture, and economy. I suggest that this “faith” is not in God, rather this “faith” is in the modern age contrivances of Walmart and Exxon. Remove these modern contrivances, and truth and reality come crashing down on us.
An epiphany breaks upon us!
Like a bad dream, we are in the fall of 1800 and we suddenly realize that we have not put back any food for the winter! What happened to people in colonial days who did not prepared for the winter? Very frankly - they starved and their families staved with them. There were no governmental safety nets. They would have been deemed insane by their local community and very likely had their children taken away from them, and rightly so. In some cultures they would have been flogged for not taking care of their children. History is very clear about the expectations of the community and churches when it came to caring for your own. You could end up in stocks. If you were lucky you and your family would be sent to the poorhouse. If you were lucky.
Welcome to the real world… striped of all the temporary accoutrements of modern convenience. No more freezers. No more lighting. No more gas cars, trucking, or CNN news. No cell phones, IPads, computers, Facebook, or tweeting. Thank the Lord no more Planned Parenthood, foul rock/rap music, or internet porn.
Could you survive in a pre-modern world like Jesus and the apostles? Could you become self-sufficient like the pioneers of early America?
Not if you fail to adopt and live a prepping lifestyle.
We need to understand that in the days of Jesus and the apostles there was no “grid.” The “grid” is a modern invention based on modern technology, modern economy, modern energy sources, and modern political structures. Even 150 years ago there was no grid. What preppers are suggesting is that if, and I mean if, by some calamity of natural or human origin the “grid” ceases to exist and we are thrust back into the days of Jesus and the apostles: could you survive and keep your family alive? Could you survive without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, and the local grocery store? These are all inventions of the last 200 years. For 4000 years prior to 1800 these things did not exist. For 95% of recorded history, these things did not exist. People survived all that time without them. Could you? Prepping was a lifestyle to them. Prepping is what you did all day every day. You prepped for the week, the month, the growing season, the winter season, and well into next year. In some cases you prepped for years in advance. Every town and city had huge storehouses set up to hold massive amounts of grain, oil, and other goods. If you suggested to the people of antiquity that prepping was somehow non-spiritual or carnal, you would be patted on the head and considered the town idiot. If you did not prep in those days, you would starve or survive off the kindness of charitable persons. If you suddenly found yourself in the first century and suggested to the people of that day that prepping was crazy and those that did it were faithless and full of fear... well who knows what response you would get. Suffice it to say you would be the one on the outs with society and faith.
So for the last 4000 years prepping was the norm. It was the rule. People did not prepare out of fear. They did not fill up the root cellar with crops because some calamity was coming. Nobody had to twist their arms and practically beg them to do what scripture and common sense demanded they do. They did these things because that was what everyone had to do to survive. Not out of fear but out of simple necessity. It was life. Only in the last couple hundred years has the notion appeared that the prepping lifestyle is socially weird (by the worldly), and unspiritual (by the religious). It is an entirely new attitude that only exists in this modern world of super markets, freezer trucks, and fast food restaurants. Therefore I submit to you that today’s opposition to prepping is merely a reflection of our modern living, culture, and economy. I suggest that this “faith” is not in God, rather this “faith” is in the modern age contrivances of Walmart and Exxon. Remove these modern contrivances, and truth and reality come crashing down on us.
An epiphany breaks upon us!
Like a bad dream, we are in the fall of 1800 and we suddenly realize that we have not put back any food for the winter! What happened to people in colonial days who did not prepared for the winter? Very frankly - they starved and their families staved with them. There were no governmental safety nets. They would have been deemed insane by their local community and very likely had their children taken away from them, and rightly so. In some cultures they would have been flogged for not taking care of their children. History is very clear about the expectations of the community and churches when it came to caring for your own. You could end up in stocks. If you were lucky you and your family would be sent to the poorhouse. If you were lucky.
Welcome to the real world… striped of all the temporary accoutrements of modern convenience. No more freezers. No more lighting. No more gas cars, trucking, or CNN news. No cell phones, IPads, computers, Facebook, or tweeting. Thank the Lord no more Planned Parenthood, foul rock/rap music, or internet porn.
Could you survive in a pre-modern world like Jesus and the apostles? Could you become self-sufficient like the pioneers of early America?
Not if you fail to adopt and live a prepping lifestyle.
