Glenn wrote:
>When most people lived like that, it meant high death rates from
hepatitis
>and other diseases because the outhouse waste drained into the
neighbor's
Today, as opposed to 100 yrs ago, we have better sewage technology and
this would prevent the spread of diseases. We also have vaccines and
disease treatment. So even if we were to return to simpler ways, it
does not mean we have to return to high mortality rates. That is an
incorrect assumption, in my opinion.
My father chose his lifestyle to get away from the rat race of L.A. He
built his own log cabin, insulated with moss, cooked and heated with
wood stoves, grew his own food (chickens, and veggies) and we
collected rainwater in buckets for washing. We had drinking water in
igloos. It was truly a pioneer lifestyle, and I absolutely cherish it
and the impact it made on my life and my values. This was in the
1970s. And FWIW, I, my father, and my in-laws live at the end of dirt
roads even today. :)
>>In cities just 200 years ago, people
>>died from drinking well water because it was so polluted with human
waste.
>>Yum Yum! What a way for humanity to live again.
In the 3rd world, conditions often remain as such. And to be disciples
if Jesus we are called to help the impoverished. But simply providing
the poor with material wealth is not the only answer. Look at our
nation! All but the most impoverished in America have far more than
any generation before, and yet much is not appreciated. It goes to
show how easily wealth corrupts, it is a sin as old as the golden
calf! We must fill our hearts with love through God's Holy Spirit, and
impart that spiritual gift to the people in poor nations. Often they
have more thankfulness and brotherly love than we do. Harsh conditions
have a way of making one appreciate what truly matters in life. God,
family, peace, love, joy. So very hard to find in the midst of
material splendor and comfort. Time after time I hear people returning
from mission trips claiming how they were so lifted up by the
thankfulness and the joy of the people they were sent to help. The
wealthy were brought to their knees seeing how well the poor do with
so little, and yet have so much in their hearts.
Chuck wrote:
>>Wendee, as long as you worship at the altar of convenience, you are
part of
>>the problem and not part of the solution.
Is it not possible for a person to be both a part of the problem AND a
part of the solution?
Can I sin, and yet still be a part of God's people leading others to a
knowledge of Him?
Many of God's truths are seeming paradoxes, and I believe it is the
divine that reconciles the two.
>the moisture in my breath to condense. When I came back Houston and
felt
>the nearly 100 degree temperature, I was eager to get home to my
>airconditioned townhouse(I had left the AC on because my cat was in
the
FWIW, my in-laws in N. MS (that can be as hot and even more humid) do
not have AC even today as a choice. This is not necessarily to be
environmentally conscious but because she likes the whole southern
style thing. We can build an dlandscape in a way that reduces the AC
need by 50% but developers don't pay much heed to that, because they
don't have any incentive to do so.
>environmentalists would realize that the choices are not easy ones
and
>going back to a world like that of the 19th century means most of us
will
>have to die.
I do recognize the choices are complex, but nor do I think the return
to simple ways means most everyone has to die. There are many answers,
often its a matter of what we as individuals stubbornly refuse to give
up in order to help our neighbors (and ourselves) in the long run.
My best,
Wendee
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