Saturday, August 30, 2008

The New Tolerance"The New Tolerance: How a Cultural Movement Threatens to Destroy You, Your Faith, and Your Children" was written in 1998 by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler. This book was required reading in my first semester of college, so I have read it once before. I distinctly remember thinking while reading this the last time, "This is all nonsense. People don't really think this way out in the world. I'm a Christian, and people tolerate me just fine. I dunno what all the fuss is about." It took a couple more years for me to realize quite a few different things. I realized that I knew very little about other world views and faiths. I also learned that I was a Christian when it was convenient for me, and my main purpose in life was to satisfy myself. I'm sure those around me know that I still fall into that mistake quite often, but it's finally sinking in that the purpose of my life is to glorify God. It's not about me, and what a blessing that is! Anyway, the book...as I was reading it this week, it made me more tuned in to things in the news and in politics where it is very true that the world doesn't see "right and wrong" as set absolutes. Your truth is cool for you, and my truth is right on for me, but who am I to judge yours, and you certainly can't judge me. The majority rules this country, not God. Dangerous territory, it is. So, yes, I would recommend this book. Sometimes it seems a bit repetitive, but that might be because I've read it before. It was very dry reading back in 2000, but it was quite a bit more interesting this time around.

Well, not much out of the ordinary has been happening around here. Tomorrow is the big Yosten family reunion, so that should be cool. My mom was a Yosten. Her father Henry grew up during the depression on a farm pretty near to where he lives now. His father Frank was born in 1889 in Nebraska. His father John Sr. (1844), or "Horse" as he was called, brought the family down to Muenster after the Civil War, in which he was a member of the navy for the dang Yankees. They were some of the first settlers after the town of Muenster was founded. John's father was Johann Peter Josten. He was born in 1806 in Koblenz, Germany, and he died in 1873 in Pennsylvania. Somewhere in there, he brought his family to America from a Germany that was becoming rather anti-Catholic. Johann's father was Paul Justen - from Justen to Josten to Yosten. Paul was born in Trimbs, Germany, in 1776, the year our Declaration of Independence was signed. Unfortunately, that's as far back as I can go.

In other historical news, P-Dragon and I share the same great-great grandparents, making us 3rd cousins. They were Frank and Theresa Endres. Frank started out in Missouri in 1861 and made his way down to Muenster. Frank's father was Johann who started out in Ollmuth, Germany, and ended up in Dane County, Wisconsin. His father Franz (1785) brought the family to America some time before his death in 1864. Franz's father was Nicholaus from Lampaden, Germany. He was born in 1743. That is a long stinkin' time ago, you know?

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