Rebuilding Christian Civilization

Southern Community in the Old South

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Christian Civilization

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2019-09-01

Synopsis: John Weaver examines the biblical and historical foundations of genuine community, arguing that true community requires common culture, heritage, and faith. He contrasts the fragmented modern society with the Old South, where four pillars—Southern hope (biblical faith), honor, heritage, and hospitality—bound individuals and families together. The sermon calls for rebuilding community on God's law, emphasizing that communities cannot be resurrected without resurrected individuals and families.

[John Weaver] 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and we're just simply going to read verses 9 through 11. I will not be expounding this passage except for the latter verse. Notice if you would, 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9, the title of the message is Southern Community in the Old South and in the Confederacy. Verse 9, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore, that is in light of this, wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another even as also you do."

[John Weaver] So the question you have to ask is this, when is the last time that you have been comforted? When is the last time you have been edified by anyone in your community? Or we could ask this another way, when is the last time that you comforted or edified anyone in your community? I'm sure that you probably do not remember this, but in times past, I've brought two messages on community. The first one is entitled, The Necessity of Community. And the second one is entitled, Community, Peace and Protection. Now, I'm not going to be preaching those messages. I will take a quote or two from one or two of them, but the message today is basically entirely different. When we talk about community, we use the word rather loosely. We think we understand the word, but in reality, I believe that most of us really do not.

[John Weaver] I went online and I was really shocked because I went to dictionary.com and I came up with this definition. I want you to listen. It's defining community as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. Now, every one of us understands a specific locality. Some of you live in Live Oak. Some of you live in Lake City. Some of you live in little neighboring areas. In other words, you have a specific locality. Then you also understand sharing government because you elect a lot of times your own councilmen and aldermen and things like that. But most of the time, we overlook what is known as a common cultural or historical heritage.

[John Weaver] When you think about the nation Israel, everybody knows that there were 12 tribes. But what you don't understand is those 12 tribes also then were also divided into families. And from those families, you had certain clans. For instance, if you were to read 1 Chronicles 1-9, you're going to find all the 12 sons and all their descendants, and then you'll find like if you look at Levi, you'll have Kohath, and you'll have Merari, and you'll have Gershom. And the next thing you know, here are Gershom's sons, and they're the Gershonites. Here's a Kohath son, and they're the Kohathites, etc. And so you have all of these tribes and families that boil down to little groups and little clans as well.

[John Weaver] Now there's another definition that was given for community, and it was this one. A group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule. Well, certainly we understand that, because if you and I are going to live according to a rule, for us it's got to be God's law, it's got to be the totality of God's Word, all the principles and precepts that are found in the Bible. So, we understand people being grouped together in a specific locality. But being grouped together in a specific locality does not make a community. We also understand sharing government. But just simply because people share government does not necessarily mean that there is a community. Now, you cannot have a real community without a common culture and without a heritage and without the same faith. What most people do not realize is that when this country was first founded, it would have been what you and I would call a real community. In that, that the people who at least founded this country were basically of one culture, and they had one faith.

[John Weaver] What I mean by that is this. If you look at all the original charters and the constitutions, you will find statements like this. No one can hold any position of authority in this state unless they confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and profess belief in the inspiration both of the Old and the New Testaments. Interestingly enough, even as liberal as Massachusetts is, originally Massachusetts said, the laws of this colony shall be the laws of God as revealed through Moses. So when you go through that, there may have been Baptists, there may have been Methodists, there may have been Presbyterians, but at least the point I'm trying to make is they all confessed belief in the Bible, the Word of God, and they all believed that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God.

[John Weaver] So today what we have, is a conglomeration of cultures, faiths, heritage, ethnicities, ideologies, and all of these things determine our political and our economic views. And there cannot possibly be any real genuine community with these distinctions and these divisions. Instead, what you have is every group then fights for dominance over every other group and tries to control them. For instance, look at the Muslims in this country. What do they want? They want Sharia law. They want the Constitution kicked out. They want the Bible kicked out. They want Sharia law. How in the world can you have a community if you are a believer and you're surrounded by atheists? Or you're surrounded by people who have no earthly idea what your culture or your heritage really is. A Christian friend of mine sent me his idea of what the second Civil War in this country is going to originate from.

[John Weaver] Why don't you just listen to what he wrote me. He said, Civil War II will likely be fought on the basis of conflicting culture, identity, and ideology. And then he goes on. We all understand the concept of nation in the geopolitical sense. Biblically, however, nation or ethnos is not an amalgamated conglomeration of people from different linguistics, cultural, political, or religious persuasions. It is a particular group of people akin to a large extended family.

[John Weaver] Thus, conventions, customs, ethics, values, laws, and its applications suitable, desirous, and effective in one are odious, even repugnant to the other. It should be noted, however, that ethnicity ought not to be an essential factor, but integration and a degree of conformity is essential to any immigration policy. While aliens and sojourners are a blessing to a godly theonomic society, they are a curse to a rebellious antinomian society.

[John Weaver] And that, I believe, is hitting the nail on the head. Multiculturalism, diversity, unbiblical ideologies, and a deficient concept of history and heritage do not and cannot promote community. Think just momentarily of the word community. Calm is a preposition which means with. And the latter part of community is unity. So actually, the word community means that a people are unified and are one. So how in the world can you have a unified and one people when everything is absolutely totally different?

[John Weaver] Now, you've heard the old adage, birds of a feather flock together. And that's basically why they have a community as such as they do that. It's true that we have a lot of places that are called communities, but in reality, they are no community at all because there's no commonality. There's no culture or heritage that is identical to each individual. One of the reasons that you can live next door to people for years or live down the street from people for years and never know them is because you have absolutely nothing in common. Stop and think of the people that live around you that you have no idea who they are. Now, it is true that our communities need to be resurrected, but resurrection is always on God's terms.

[John Weaver] So let me tell you what I mean by that. Here's a question that I often ask people. If society collapsed tomorrow, and it collapsed in such a degree that everything was devastated, You have no police force. You have no government. All you have basically is anarchy. If you were allowed to rebuild society, if you were to start rebuilding, here's the question, what law structure would you use to rebuild?

[John Weaver] Now, in reality, there's only two alternatives. You can use man's law structure, or you can use God's law structure.

[John Weaver] Now, if you're going to say, well, I'm going to take the best that man can offer. Well, if you're going to take the best that man can offer, you might as well let it lie there and rot. Because it's going to be brought under the curse of God. You remember how God destroyed Jericho. And then after He destroyed Jericho, in Joshua 6, verse 26, listen to what Joshua said, And Joshua jured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth the city of Jericho.

[John Weaver] He shall lay the foundation thereof in His firstborn, and in His youngest son shall He set the gates of it." What does that mean? It means that when His firstborn, it means His firstborn was actually offered up as a sacrifice when He laid the foundation. And when He finished and He set up the gates, His youngest son was offered as a sacrifice. In other words, it's pure paganism is what it amounts to. It's pure humanism, and therefore, the curse of God is upon it.

[John Weaver] So if our communities are going to be resurrected, we must rebuild according to God's law and learn to live according to God's law, applying it to every area of our heart. Now, you have to remember this, that communities are made up of individuals first and families second. So we are responsible before God individually and then familially. Our communities are never going to be any better than the individuals and the families that make up those communities. It is impossible to have a resurrected community with unresurrected people.

[John Weaver] Let me say it another way. It's impossible to have a spiritual community with unspiritual people. You cannot have a community that functions the way it should unless you have individuals and families function the way they should. You cannot have the blessings of God upon a community that is filled with rebellious people. Here's a quote that I want to give you. Robert Winthrop. He was a congressman and a Speaker of the House.

[John Weaver] He lived from 1809 to 1894. And here's what he said. Listen carefully. All societies of men must be governed in some way or the other. The less they may have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men in a word must necessarily be controlled either by a power without them or by a power within them, either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet." And that's the truth.

[John Weaver] And you look at what is happening in this country. You look at the proliferation of law enforcement officers. I remember when I was a boy, if I wanted to see a policeman, I had to go uptown and look around because they were few and far between. You didn't need many. But things have totally changed today. So if we do not want the strong arm of man forcing us, we must learn to do that which is holy and right from the power of God within us. And by the way, it is easy to live with men and women who want to do that which is holy and right as well.

[John Weaver] Now, when you think about the Old South, or when you think about the South during the time of the Confederacy, there were four major concepts that bound individuals and families together. And I want to give you those four major concepts. And the truth is you cannot have a community today that is a real community without these four concepts. It's absolutely impossible. So what was the glue that held together what you and I would call those Southern communities? The first one is what I'm going to call Southern hope. By Southern hope, I just simply mean a biblical hope because in the South, The Bible was the basis for our faith. You remember the South was settled a lot and mostly by Scots, Irish individuals. And these individuals certainly believed the Bible to be the Word of God. And the Bible played a very important role in the people in the South at this particular time. In fact, the truth of the matter is most of us have never really understood the impact of the Bible on the people of the South.

[John Weaver] During the war, which I usually refer to as the War of Northern Aggression, a lot of people call it the Civil War. The reason I call it the War of Northern Aggression is the North invaded the South. The South did not invade the North, okay? So it was Lincoln who asked for 75,000 volunteers for three months to come and invade the South and subdue the South. But during that particular war, what people do not understand is that there was a theological influence and a theological aspect Let me give it to you like this.

[John Weaver] It was Southern Presbyterian theologian, James Henley Thornwell. He was a pastor. He's a theologian. He was an author. He died in 1862. He died right after the war got started, but he was alive and he understood what was happening. And listen to what he said. He's talking about the war. He says, the parties in this conflict are not merely abolitionists and slaveholders. They are atheists, socialists, communists, Red Republicans, and Jacobins on the one side, that would be the North, and friends of order and regulated freedom on the other. In one word, the world is the battleground, Christianity and atheism the combatants, and the progress of humanity is at stake. So here is a man that viewed the war as a total theological war.

[John Weaver] Now, by and large, the South was unashamedly Christian. By and large, the North was unashamedly rationalistic and humanistic. Now, I'm not saying that everybody in the South was a Christian. That's not true. Nor am I saying that there were no Christians in the North. That is not true. There were Christians in the North and there were Christians in the South. But what I am saying By and large, the people in the South adhered to the Bible and the Word of God, and by and large, the people in the North had fallen into rationalism, transcendentalism, humanism, unitarianism, and they deified the mind of man and set man up as his own God, basically speaking.

[John Weaver] So, there were major theological differences. Let me just show you. Robert E. Lee, which is a name familiar, I suppose, with everyone. He gave this testimony. He said, the Bible is the book of books, a book which supplies the place of all others and cannot be replaced. He goes on to say, there are many things in the Old Book that I may never be able to explain, but I accept them as the infallible Word of God and receive its teaching as inspired by the Holy Ghost. I prefer the Bible to any other book.

[John Weaver] There is enough in that to satisfy the most ardent thirst for knowledge, to open the way to true wisdom and to teach the only road to salvation and eternal happiness. It is not above human comprehension and is sufficient to satisfy all desires."

[John Weaver] Now, Lee, like all other Christians, believed that the Bible was the Word of God. Many pastors that were alive in those days viewed the war as an attack upon Christianity. Let me remind you of something I've taught you before. In order to change a culture, you have to change a theology. You can't have a change in culture without having a change in theology. So in order to get a culture to change, you have to first change the theology.

[John Weaver] When you stop and think about all the foreign aid, all the monies we've poured into countries like India and some of the African countries, those countries are just as poor and just as backwards today as they were a hundred years ago. Why? You can put all the embassies you want in those countries, you can put all the ambassadors, you can put all the diplomats, but you're never going to change those countries until you change their theology. When the theology changes, then the culture changes as well. Well, when the South then would not voluntarily relinquish their Christian faith, and would not relinquish the inspiration of the Bible, there was a war. And when the South lost that war, There was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was specifically designed to make Southerners think and act the way those in the North believed that they had the right to rule and the right to tell people how to think and how to act. Look at the Clintons. Look at the Rockefellers. Look, they're still around today.

[John Weaver] Everybody wants to reshape society and reshape the world according to their thinking and their opinion and what they believe. May I point out that Reconstruction is not over. Do you know what political correctness is? Political correctness is nothing more than Reconstruction. It's me trying to teach you to think the way I think. You know, it is absolutely insane that California now has come out and said you cannot use the word felon. You have to use justice involved people. Really? I saw a cartoon.

[John Weaver] It showed this one little boy talking to the other little boys. He says, do you want to play cowboys and justice involved people? And the little kid said, what? No more cops and robbers. It's cops and justice-involved people. I mean, you know, come on. You know, they want to change the word mother. They want to change the word father. It's absolutely insane. And this is what was going on even back in those days.

[John Weaver] Basil Manley, who was a Baptist pastor and chaplain to the Provisional Confederate Congress, viewed secession not as a rebellion, but as a Christian reform movement. There are two great books. I don't know if you've ever read them or ever looked at them, but I would encourage you to get them. W. W. Bennett wrote a book, The Great Revival in the Confederate Armies. And then J. William Jones wrote Christ in the Camp.

[John Weaver] And this shows the theological and spiritual aspect that went on during the South. In fact, they were three major revivals in the confederate army and according to W.W. Bennett, at least 150,000 men were converted to Jesus Christ during those revivals. But Bennett said this, talking about the confederate soldiers, their conviction of right in what they did were second only to their conviction of the truth of the Christian religion. Nor has the stern logic of events eradicated this conviction from the Southern mind.

[John Weaver] The cause is lost, but its principles still live and must continue to live so long as there remains in human nature any perception and appreciation of justice, truth, and virtue. So the point I'm trying to make, first of all, if we're going to get back to a real community, you have to have southern hope or what we would call a biblical hope. You have to have hope based upon the Word of God, that the Word of God is sufficient to take care of all of our needs and to answer all of our problems. There's a second concept that held people together, and that's what I'm going to call southern honor. Honor was the glue that not only held families together, but communities together as well.

[John Weaver] In the Old South, men were men and women were women. It's not like Garrison Keillor talking about Lake Woebegone. He said in there, men were men and so were the women. Well, no, no. In the Old South, the men were men and women were women. Men of honor worked. and provided and protected and loved their wives and their families. There's a biblical work ethic. And it was understood back then, it's an honor to work. It's an honor to be independent. It was an honor not to be in debt. It was an honor not to be dependent upon other people. It was an honor not to have your hand out begging for charities. there was a code of honor in the old south.

[John Weaver] I want you to listen. I'm going to read this to you. The code of honor for southern men required, number one, having a reputation for honesty and integrity. Number two, a reputation for martial courage and strength. Number three, self-sufficiency and mastery defined as patriarchal dominion over a household of dependents, wives, children, and possibly slaves. Number four, a willingness to use violence to defend any perceived threat of one's rights, one's liberties, one's family, one's neighborhood. In other words, There was a willingness to fight for that which was right.

[John Weaver] The interesting thing is a North Carolinian, William Pettigrew, was giving some advice to his young brother, and he said this, as far as it can be done, we should live peaceably with our associates, but as we cannot always do so, it is necessary occasionally to resist. And when our honor demands it, resistance should be done with courage. You know, I don't know if you thought of a scripture, but I did when I read that quote, Romans 12, verse 18. As much as life in you live peaceably with all men, If it is possible, as much as life in you, live peaceably with all men." In other words, even God recognizes there are some men that you cannot live peaceably with. But as much as in you is, live peaceably with all men. And southern men have always been fighters. And the truth is, if you study, you will find in every war, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, I don't care which war you consider, you will find that the South provided more men than any other section of the country.

[John Weaver] Here's a quote from a Russian, and I want you to listen to what he said. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Everybody knows who he is. But he observed, a decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outsider observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage. Such a declining courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling and intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society. Along with this is a loss of will in the West.

[John Weaver] We can't defend ourselves if we're not willing to die for anything. There is little such readiness in the society raised in the cult of material well-being. So he says the first thing that outsiders notice in the West is a lack of courage. And he says that lack of courage is particularly noticeable in our rulers. When's the last time you saw a congressman stand up and tell the truth even if it meant he never was elected again? There's a lack of courage. There's a lack of courage. And he said, in such a society that is raised in the cult of material well-being, there probably never will be because nobody wants to lose everything. So the Southern emphasis then of honor affected women as well. Southern men worked to maintain a sense of masculinity and Southern women worked to maintain a sense of femininity. In other words, their femininity was expressed more around the home.

[John Weaver] They were faithful as wives and mothers and neighbors and any relation that they were put in. I want to give you two quotes. One of them by Robert E. Lee, he was defining a gentleman, a southern gentleman. I want to give you this one first. Lee described what a gentleman should be. He said, The forebearing use of power does not only form the touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is the true test of a gentleman. the power which the strong have over the weak, the magistrate over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly. The forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or the total absence of it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in plain light.

[John Weaver] The gentleman does not needlessly or unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He can not only forgive, he can forget. And he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which imparts sufficient strength to let the past be the past.

[John Weaver] Now listen, a true gentleman of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others. A true gentleman of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others." In other words, if you have to put someone in their place, you are humbled in doing that because you realize someone might need to put you in your place. And that's what he's saying. The concept of a gentleman today is nothing like this.

[John Weaver] It's just, do you open the door for the ladies? You know, and it's nothing to do with anyone except usually the opposite sex. This next one, and some of you will get a smile out of, I know the men will, the ladies too hopefully, but this was written by Verena Jefferson Davis. Mrs. Jeff Davis, on being a lady, or what is a lady? We're talking about self and honor.

[John Weaver] I want you to listen. Of course, some of this may have changed a little bit because it's dated, but the concepts still never go out of style, and it's just as applicable today as it was in the 19th century. Here's what she said about a lady. A lady is simply someone who cares about herself and others. She sees that her garments are clean and neatly pressed, her shoes are polished, and every button is in place.

[John Weaver] She is neat and tidy even at the breakfast table." No coming with makeup on and no coming with your hair in curlers. She is neat and tidy even at the breakfast table and wishes to appear well to her own family. She keeps her hair clean and well-groomed and never puts her hand to her hair to rearrange it or search for loose pins while others can see it.

[John Weaver] A lady does not monopolize the conversation. She does not talk of herself or her affairs, but listens with well-simulated interest to a story that bores her. This is the mark of good breeding. She does not sit apart with one or two friends, but makes a gentle effort to assure a good time for all with pleasant conversation. A lady does not say or do anything that will upset those around her or make them uncomfortable. A lady does not let any man kiss her or put his arm around her unless she is engaged to be married to him, and even then she should be a little stingy with her favors. A lady, when she brushes off her hat, does not forget to brush away the cobwebs from her brain. She does not conclude that every man who has said something pleasant to her has fallen in love with her.

[John Weaver] A lady is possessed of refinement, which prevents her from fidgeting, from playing with her handkerchief or umbrella or purse or whatever may be in her hands. When she sits down, she remains quietly, her hands resting easily without movement, and her whole figure is filled with repose. She is calm, composed, self-controlled at all times, yet there are no airs about her. These qualities are what keep her from talking and laughing loudly.

[John Weaver] and they prevent her from hurting the feelings of anyone. A lady does not grow weary in well-doing, but encourages herself by trying to live up to the ideal of a woman." Isn't that amazing? That reminds me of Proverbs 11, verse 16,"'A gracious woman retaineth honor, and strong men retain riches.'" So in the South, it was an honor for a man to be a man and for a woman to be a woman. You cannot have a community without southern hope, southern honor, and here's the third one, southern heritage. When you talk about heritage, heritage is the status acquired by birth.

[John Weaver] Let me say it another way. Your heritage is your birthright. We are born with a heritage. Everything that we have We have inherited from our ancestors as being sons of the South. I have seen a number of northern people who moved down into the South that had bumper stickers on their cards that said this, I was not born in the South, but I got here as quickly as I could. And that's certainly true. And when you come, you realize there is indeed a heritage. And a southerner can no more change his heritage than a leopard can change his spots. We are southern. It's what we are. It's what we do.

[John Weaver] The blood flows in our veins. The psalmist said in Psalm 16 and verse 6, the lions are fallen to me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage. I have a goodly heritage. I never will forget when God called me to preach years and years ago. One of the first meetings I had was up north. And there was a deacon in the church in which Alice and I were members, and he was a tall, rough fellow. And God had saved him. And I went up north and I preached and I came back. He came to me.

[John Weaver] He had his hands on his hips and he said, How did those northerners treat you?" I looked at him. I said, well, since they were Christians, they treated me fine. But I mean, he was concerned. He wanted to know how I was treated. Well, it's interesting. And when you see this, I tell people, if you want to know how Southern I am, I can tell you how Southern I am.

[John Weaver] I don't have a TV, but if I did have a TV, I would never watch ball games. I hate ball games. I have no interest in them whatsoever. I don't care if it's football, baseball, tennis. If it's got a ball in it, I don't care anything about it. But if I hear the Atlanta Falcons are playing the Kansas City Royals or the New York Yankees, I want the Atlanta Falcons to win or the Atlanta Braves, whoever, whatever they are. I don't know the baseball from the football, but I would be for the South.

[John Weaver] You understand what I'm saying? Same thing with martial arts. If I'm watching a UFC and here's a man that's a fighter from the South, I don't care which part, and here's one from the North, I'd be for the man from the South. Don't know either one of them. But by the same token, if an American is fighting a Russian, I'm for the American. Wouldn't you be like that? Of course you would. I'm just simply saying we have what is known as a goodly heritage. David said it like this in Psalm 61 and verse 5. He said,"...for thou, O God, hast heard my vows, thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name." So it's not only that we have a goodly heritage, we also have a godly heritage as well.

[John Weaver] It was Major R.E. Wilson who said this, If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the cause for which Lee fought and Jackson died, let the lightnings of heaven rend me, the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion, sun, moon, and stars fall on me when I cease to love the Confederacy. Tis the cause, not the fate of the cause, that is glorious."

[John Weaver] Now, I want to give you one more. N.B. Littlejohn. was sending his son off to fight in the war of northern aggression. I could have placed this under honor, but I chose to place it under heritage. But I want you to listen to what this man said to his son as he sent him off to fight. He said, My son, I grasp your hand probably for the last time upon earth.

[John Weaver] You're going to meet the dangers and hardships consequent to a soldier's life. You may fill a soldier's grave. Let me impress upon your mind to never fill it dishonorably. Ever be at your post of duty. Be an honor to our beloved Southland. Go where your superiors order you. Never turn your back upon the foe except when deemed necessary by your superior officers. Be true to your God, yourself, and your country. Never bring reproach upon your beloved Southland and yourself. Never desert your country. But if necessary, die at your post of honor."

[John Weaver] Can you imagine a father giving his son counsel like that today? Many of you have never heard of Henry Grady, or you have heard and don't really know who he was. You know about Grady Hospital in Atlanta, named after Henry Grady. Henry Grady was the editor of the Atlanta Constitution originally. And Henry Grady, on December the 21st, 1886, 21 years after the war, was speaking to the New England Society in New York. And his topic was the New South.

[John Weaver] And I want you to listen to what he said. He said he had to say what he said at this meeting of the New England people in New York. He said, and I quote, the South has nothing for which to apologize. She believes that the late struggle between the states was war and not rebellion, revolution and no conspiracy, and that her convictions were as honest as yours. I should be unjust to the dauntless spirit of the South and to my own convictions if I did not make this plain in this presence. The South has nothing to take back. In my native town of Athens, Georgia, is a monument that crowns its central hill, a plain white shaft."

[John Weaver] That's to the Confederate soldiers. "'Deep cut into its shining side is a name dear to me above the names of all men, that of a brave and simple man who died in a brave and simple faith.'" Not for all the glories of New England and Plymouth Rock all the way would I exchange the heritage he left me in his soldier's death. To the foot of that I shall send my children's children to reverence him who ennobled their name with his heroic blood."

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you this question. Why in the world would Henry Grady say I'd rather honor the name on that Confederate monument than have all the glories of New England." And the answer is because he believed that the South was fighting for that which was right, for the principles, for the truth. In fact, I will say this now. I really believe like Henry Grady that the South was fighting to prevent everything that we have today, which is a humanistic, totalitarian, out-of-control, gargantuan government that seeks to regulate and control us in every area of our lives.

[John Weaver] Stop and think about that. If the South had won the war, it would have been totally different. So, you have to understand, there was a reason for this heritage. It was Robert L. Dabney. Robert L. Dabney was not only a theologian, he was an author, he was a professor, he was also a decamp to Stonewall Jackson. And Robert L. Dabney was speaking at the Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia On January the 15th, 1882, and he was talking about the New South as well, but I want you to listen to one quote from his speech. He said this, it behooves the New South in dismissing the animosities of the past to see to it that they retain all that was true in its principles or ennobling in its example.

[John Weaver] There are those pretending to belong to this company who exclaim, let us bury the dead past. Its issues are all antiquated and of no more practical significance. Let us forget the passions of the past. We are in a new world. Its new questions alone concern us. I rejoin Be sure that the former issues are dead before you really bury them. There are issues that cannot die without the death of the people of their honor, their civilization, and their greatness. Take care that you do not bury too much. while burying the dead past, that you do not bury the inspiring memories of the great patriots whose actions, whether successful or not, are the eternal glory of your race and section, the influence of their virtues, the guiding precedence of their histories? Would you bury the names and memories of the Jackson and Lee with their noble army of martyrs? Would you bury true history whose years are those of the God of truth?" Isn't that interesting?

[John Weaver] He's saying the same thing, and if you look around today, you see exactly that happening. People trying to bury Lee, Jackson, Columbus, Thomas Jefferson. We must understand that there are principles to our heritage. We must have hope, we must have honor, we must have heritage. There's one other that I want to share with you. that was prominent in the South. It was an undergirding principle, and that was Southern hospitality. I'm going to tell you, and some of you are from the North, but the South is the most hospitable section of any section in America.

[John Weaver] It is the most friendly. You will find Southerners waving to people who they don't even know. Speaking to people, nodding. I drive down the road, I see farmers on tractors. They're waving. And sometimes it is indeed a shock when people from the North move down here and they see that everybody's speaking to them. I had an aunt who was raised up North, and she and my uncle lived in Toledo, Ohio until he retired from General Motors.

[John Weaver] Then they moved back south. And my aunt was just flabbergasted of all the people speaking to her and waving at her. They didn't even know her. And she told me, she said, up north, if someone you do not know speaks to you, you run. Now, if you tried that in the south, you'd just run yourself to death is what it amounts to because everybody's going to speak to everybody. I mean, southerners. They love fellowship. They love barbecues. They love get-togethers. They love reunion.

[John Weaver] They enjoy the company of family and friends. To show you how things have differed, when I was a boy, we had company every Sunday. We would go to church on Sunday morning. Some family would come home with us, have dinner with us, spend the afternoon, have supper with us, and then we'd go back to church together. Every Sunday. Every Sunday. And if the adults wouldn't take a nap, they'd take a nap. I never could figure out as a child why anybody wouldn't waste a Sunday afternoon sleeping until I got grown. But, you know, that was just simply every Sunday.

[John Weaver] And moreover, here's something else. If you were at our house, and this was true even after I was grown, But if you were at our house and it was dinnertime, you ate with us. It's just that simple. Alice and I, after we got married, we would come home to visit for a few days, her folks and my folks. And we would sit down at the table of my mother and father, and we'd be sitting down with people I've never seen before in my life. They were just there.

[John Weaver] It might have been a salesman. They were there and they ate. By the way, my mother was a cook. If you came to our house for dinner, you had your choice of biscuits and cornbread. She always had two meats, sometimes three. She'd have about five vegetables, cakes, and pies. She started cooking. at daylight, and she cooked until dinner. Now at night at supper you ate leftovers. But boy, that noon meal was absolutely tremendous.

[John Weaver] I'm just about to say, Southerners shared everything, and they were willing to share. One of my favorite stories is about Robert E. Lee. General Ewell had come to him for some war advice and counsel, and Lee invited General Ewell to stay for supper. And General Ewell said no, he couldn't, he had to get back. Well, Lee then insisted that General Ewell take his. And so General Ewell took it, and as he rode away on his horse, he opened the little sack, and there was two small cold sweet potatoes. That's all he had. Which, by the way, happened to be his favorite food. But he gave those two sweet potatoes to General Ewell.

[John Weaver] On another occasion, at Petersburg, during a Christmas dinner, his host called him, and he was embarrassed, called him putting his portion of the turkey to the side of his plate and not eating it. And she asked him why he was not eating his portion of the turkey. And he told her it was because he wanted to save his portion of the turkey for one of his staff officers who had been sick and had eaten nothing but cornbread and sweet potato coffee. After he got back to camp, his hostess sent a whole barrel of turkeys, one for each of his staff officers and one for General Lee. When they unpacked the barrel and found these turkeys, General Lee then insisted that his turkey be sent to the hospital to feed the wounded, that they might have a more nutritious meal. And when the staff officer saw that, they just packed the whole barrel back up, sent it to the hospital.

[John Weaver] But I mean, that's the way it was. You see, the Bible tells us in Romans 12 and verse 13, distribute to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality. When you get to 1 Peter 4 and verse 9, the Bible says, use hospitality one to another without grudging. Pastors are particularly to be examples of hospitality. It's said in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 2, a bishop then first must be blameless, the husband one wife, vigilant, sober, good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. And in Titus 1 and 8, but a lover of good men, a lover of hospitality, sober, holy, just, temperate. And Southerners, by the way, are just simply hospitable. They love to share. They love to rejoice in God's blessings and share those blessings with others.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that many of the homes in the Old South had traveler's rooms? If you don't know what a traveler's room is, if you go to the agrarama in Tifton, Georgia, and view some of those old homes, you'll see them. A traveler's room was just a room that was attached to the house. The door was never locked. In that room was a bed, a washstand, and water and that kind of thing.

[John Weaver] So if you were passing through and needed a place to stay, you just pulled your horse up, you went in, you spent the night, and you washed up the next morning. You usually had breakfast with the family before you went on your way. And I suppose, That probably originated from 2 Kings 4, verses 8-10. You remember when that great woman of Shunem saw Elijah passing by?

[John Weaver] She told her husband, this is a man of God. Let's make him a little room with a bed and a candlestick. And so when he passes by, he can stay here. And that's exactly what he did. And so these houses had traveler's rooms. When I was a boy, I've often seen my parents help others. If a barn was destroyed or a house was destroyed, the men of the community would get together and help repair or rebuild whatever was necessary. When someone was sick, you would find that the men in the neighborhood would come up and take care of the chores.

[John Weaver] The women would fix meals. I mean, I remember years ago when I lived in Jessup, one of my friends and one of my neighbors who was a farmer, had a stroke. It was a very debilitating stroke. And he had his crops in the field. Since I was raised on a farm and my girls could drive a tractor as well as I could, we finished his farming season for him. He was our neighbor.

[John Weaver] I'm just simply saying, you know, This happened. I remember one time when I was about 7 or 8 years old, maybe 9, there was a rabid fox in the community. And we had about 20 to 25 men that came to our house and the men were sitting on our porch, kind of waiting for that fox because he had been around in that area. The funny thing is, I had a little dog named Sandy, red colored like that, And the fox actually came up in the yard. And the men grabbed for their guns.

[John Weaver] And my dad said, no, no. And he looked at me and said, son, you better get your dog. We almost shot him. I said, dad, my dog is in my lap. That's the fox! And by this time, the fox is running down the road, and everybody's shooting. I think they found him dead the next day. Somebody hit him in the dark. But here are 20, 25 men. They got together.

[John Weaver] When our church would have a special meeting, folks call it revival meeting, do you know that for a month or two prior to that meeting, we would have cottage prayer meetings? And I have seen 50 and 60 people in one home. We would sing. And we would give testimonies and then everybody would pray and pray specifically for that meeting. I'm just simply saying things have totally, completely changed because we've lost the concept of community. Let me give you this quote, Henry Benjamin Whipple.

[John Weaver] In his journal, he was a bishop. He was from Minnesota and he took a tour of the South In 1843 and 1844, in order to regain his health, and if you've ever been in Minnesota, and those who live there, please forgive me. You can understand why you need to get away from there for your health. The coldest I've ever been in my entire life was in Minnesota, but that's okay.

[John Weaver] But Bishop Whipple wrote this, and he was in St. Augustine, Florida, and he says this, November the 25th, the people of the southern states are generally much more hospitable than northerners, and the difference must be attributed to the fact that they are not such money-loving people. You do not see the low, mean cupidity that base selfishness so striking a characteristic of one of our portion of our restless Yankee brethren. I'm more and more convinced that most of the exaggerated stories of abolitionists exist only in the imagination. And from personal observation, I know that the efforts of the abolitionists of the North have only served to injure the slave and to destroy the kind and fraternal feeling which should exist between the Northern and Southern states." So here's a Minnesotan saying, the people in the South are far more hospitable than those in the North.

[John Weaver] By the way, Hope, honor, heritage, and hospitality are the underpinnings of any society, of any community, not just in the Old South, not just in the Confederacy. And let me add one more. You need the same language. Have you ever stopped to think, in Judges chapter 12, 42,000 men were killed because they could not say shibboleth? They couldn't frame the word, but they would say syphilis. And 42,000 were killed. Here's a good example. In 1883, Sitting Bull, a Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull was a guest of honor at the opening ceremonies for the Northern Pacific Railroad. When it was his turn to speak, he said in the Lakota language, I hate all white people. You're thieves and liars.

[John Weaver] You've taken away our land and made us outcasts." A quick-thinking interpreter told the crowd the chief was happy to be there and they looked forward to peace and prosperity with the white people. Sitting Bull received a standing ovation. Nobody knew what he said. If you want community, you need hope, you need honor, you need heritage, you need hospitality, and you need the same language. Do you realize that these qualities will come together in eternity? Our hope will be turned into realization, but we will still have honor, heritage, and hospitality because our Lord is going to provide everything. If you've ever wondered why today in America we are so divided.

[John Weaver] We have nothing in common anymore and we live in a fractured, disjointed and apathetic society. The answer is because we no longer have biblical communities. We no longer really care about each other. We no longer really are concerned with the welfare of those who live next door to us, spiritual, material, physical, anyway, whatsoever. Where there is no commonality, there is no community. You might have the same Space. You might live in the same area. You might share the same government. But you cannot have community without commonality. And if we're going to have a community, we must have the same rule of law.

[John Weaver] And that is the Word of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Lord, that You would teach us, that You would help us, build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to see that which we have lost, and may we regain it by Your grace and Your mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Southern Community in the Old South

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	93192055513262
Subject	Christian Civilization
Course	Rebuilding Christian Civilization
Genre	Sermon
Date	2019-09-01
Dictation Name
Book	Book 062: Rebuilding Christian Civilization — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	82

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver reads 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 and poses questions about when we last comforted or edified someone in our community, referencing previous messages on community.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and we're just simply going to read verses 9 through 11. I will not be expounding this passage except for the latter verse. Notice if you would, 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9, the title of the message is "Southern Community in the Old South and in the Confederacy." Verse 9,

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore,"

that is in light of this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

"wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another even as also you do."

So the question you have to ask is this: When is the last time that you have been comforted? When is the last time you have been edified by anyone in your community? Or we could ask this another way: When is the last time that you comforted or edified anyone in your community? I'm sure that you probably do not remember this, but in times past, I've brought two messages on community. The first one is entitled, "The Necessity of Community." And the second one is entitled, "Community, Peace and Protection." Now, I'm not going to be preaching those messages. I will take a quote or two from one or two of them, but the message today is basically entirely different. When we talk about community, we use the word rather loosely. We think we understand the word, but in reality, I believe that most of us really do not.

Defining Community

He critiques modern dictionary definitions of community, emphasizing that true community requires a common cultural and historical heritage, not just shared locality or government.

I went online and I was really shocked because I went to dictionary.com and I came up with this definition. I want you to listen. It's defining community as "a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage." Now, every one of us understands a specific locality. Some of you live in Live Oak. Some of you live in Lake City. Some of you live in little neighboring areas. In other words, you have a specific locality. Then you also understand sharing government because you elect a lot of times your own councilmen and aldermen and things like that. But most of the time, we overlook what is known as a common cultural or historical heritage.

When you think about the nation Israel, everybody knows that there were 12 tribes. But what you don't understand is those 12 tribes also were then also divided into families. And from those families, you had certain clans. For instance, if you were to read 1 Chronicles 1-9, you're going to find all the 12 sons and all their descendants, and then you'll find like if you look at Levi, you'll have Kohath, and you'll have Merari, and you'll have Gershom. And the next thing you know, here are Gershom's sons, and they're the Gershonites. Here's a Kohath son, and they're the Kohathites, etc. And so you have all of these tribes and families that boil down to little groups and little clans as well.

Biblical and Historical Foundations of Community

Weaver explains that early American communities were based on a common Christian faith, as seen in original charters requiring belief in Jesus Christ and the Bible.

Now there's another definition that was given for community, and it was this one: "A group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule." Well, certainly we understand that, because if you and I are going to live according to a rule, for us it's got to be God's law, it's got to be the totality of God's Word, all the principles and precepts that are found in the Bible. So, we understand people being grouped together in a specific locality. But being grouped together in a specific locality does not make a community. We also understand sharing government. But just simply because people share government does not necessarily mean that there is a community. Now, you cannot have a real community without a common culture and without a heritage and without the same faith. What most people do not realize is that when this country was first founded, it would have been what you and I would call a real community. In that, that the people who at least founded this country were basically of one culture, and they had one faith.

What I mean by that is this. If you look at all the original charters and the constitutions, you will find statements like this: "No one can hold any position of authority in this state unless they confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and profess belief in the inspiration both of the Old and the New Testaments." Interestingly enough, even as liberal as Massachusetts is, originally Massachusetts said, "The laws of this colony shall be the laws of God as revealed through Moses." So when you go through that, there may have been Baptists, there may have been Methodists, there may have been Presbyterians, but at least the point I'm trying to make is they all confessed belief in the Bible, the Word of God, and they all believed that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God.

The Problem of Modern Fragmentation

He argues that today's multiculturalism and diverse ideologies prevent genuine community, leading to group conflict and a lack of commonality.

So today what we have is a conglomeration of cultures, faiths, heritage, ethnicities, ideologies, and all of these things determine our political and our economic views. And there cannot possibly be any real genuine community with these distinctions and these divisions. Instead, what you have is every group then fights for dominance over every other group and tries to control them. For instance, look at the Muslims in this country. What do they want? They want Sharia law. They want the Constitution kicked out. They want the Bible kicked out. They want Sharia law. How in the world can you have a community if you are a believer and you're surrounded by atheists? Or you're surrounded by people who have no earthly idea what your culture or your heritage really is. A Christian friend of mine sent me his idea of what the second Civil War in this country is going to originate from.

Why don't you just listen to what he wrote me. He said, "Civil War II will likely be fought on the basis of conflicting culture, identity, and ideology." And then he goes on. "We all understand the concept of nation in the geopolitical sense. Biblically, however, nation or ethnos is not an amalgamated conglomeration of people from different linguistics, cultural, political, or religious persuasions. It is a particular group of people akin to a large extended family." "Thus, conventions, customs, ethics, values, laws, and its applications suitable, desirous, and effective in one are odious, even repugnant to the other. It should be noted, however, that ethnicity ought not to be an essential factor, but integration and a degree of conformity is essential to any immigration policy. While aliens and sojourners are a blessing to a godly theonomic society, they are a curse to a rebellious antinomian society."

And that, I believe, is hitting the nail on the head. Multiculturalism, diversity, unbiblical ideologies, and a deficient concept of history and heritage do not and cannot promote community. Think just momentarily of the word community. "Com" is a preposition which means "with." And the latter part of community is "unity." So actually, the word community means that a people are unified and are one. So how in the world can you have a unified and one people when everything is absolutely totally different?

Rebuilding Community on God's Law

Weaver asserts that resurrecting community requires rebuilding according to God's law, starting with individuals and families, and warns against using man's law structure.

Now, you've heard the old adage, "Birds of a feather flock together." And that's basically why they have a community as such as they do that. It's true that we have a lot of places that are called communities, but in reality, they are no community at all because there's no commonality. There's no culture or heritage that is identical to each individual. One of the reasons that you can live next door to people for years or live down the street from people for years and never know them is because you have absolutely nothing in common. Stop and think of the people that live around you that you have no idea who they are. Now, it is true that our communities need to be resurrected, but resurrection is always on God's terms.

So let me tell you what I mean by that. Here's a question that I often ask people. If society collapsed tomorrow, and it collapsed in such a degree that everything was devastated, you have no police force. You have no government. All you have basically is anarchy. If you were allowed to rebuild society, if you were to start rebuilding, here's the question: What law structure would you use to rebuild?

Now, in reality, there's only two alternatives. You can use man's law structure, or you can use God's law structure. Now, if you're going to say, "Well, I'm going to take the best that man can offer." Well, if you're going to take the best that man can offer, you might as well let it lie there and rot. Because it's going to be brought under the curse of God. You remember how God destroyed Jericho. And then after He destroyed Jericho, in Joshua 6, verse 26, listen to what Joshua said,

Scripture Reading — Joshua 6:26

"And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth the city of Jericho." "He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set the gates of it."

What does that mean? It means that when his firstborn, it means his firstborn was actually offered up as a sacrifice when he laid the foundation. And when he finished and he set up the gates, his youngest son was offered as a sacrifice. In other words, it's pure paganism is what it amounts to. It's pure humanism, and therefore, the curse of God is upon it.

So if our communities are going to be resurrected, we must rebuild according to God's law and learn to live according to God's law, applying it to every area of our heart. Now, you have to remember this, that communities are made up of individuals first and families second. So we are responsible before God individually and then familially. Our communities are never going to be any better than the individuals and the families that make up those communities. It is impossible to have a resurrected community with unresurrected people.

The Four Pillars of Southern Community

He introduces the four concepts that bound Southern communities: Southern hope (biblical hope), Southern honor, Southern heritage, and Southern hospitality.

Now, when you think about the Old South, or when you think about the South during the time of the Confederacy, there were four major concepts that bound individuals and families together. And I want to give you those four major concepts. And the truth is you cannot have a community today that is a real community without these four concepts. It's absolutely impossible. So what was the glue that held together what you and I would call those Southern communities? The first one is what I'm going to call Southern hope. By Southern hope, I just simply mean a biblical hope because in the South, the Bible was the basis for our faith. You remember the South was settled a lot and mostly by Scots-Irish individuals. And these individuals certainly believed the Bible to be the Word of God. And the Bible played a very important role in the people in the South at this particular time. In fact, the truth of the matter is most of us have never really understood the impact of the Bible on the people of the South.

Southern Hope: Biblical Faith

Weaver details the theological influence in the South, citing James Henley Thornwell and Robert E. Lee, and argues the Civil War was a theological conflict between Christianity and atheism.

During the war, which I usually refer to as the War of Northern Aggression, a lot of people call it the Civil War. The reason I call it the War of Northern Aggression is the North invaded the South. The South did not invade the North, okay? So it was Lincoln who asked for 75,000 volunteers for three months to come and invade the South and subdue the South. But during that particular war, what people do not understand is that there was a theological influence and a theological aspect. Let me give it to you like this. It was Southern Presbyterian theologian, James Henley Thornwell. He was a pastor. He's a theologian. He was an author. He died in 1862. He died right after the war got started, but he was alive and he understood what was happening. And listen to what he said. He's talking about the war. He says, "The parties in this conflict are not merely abolitionists and slaveholders. They are atheists, socialists, communists, Red Republicans, and Jacobins on the one side," that would be the North, "and friends of order and regulated freedom on the other. In one word, the world is the battleground, Christianity and atheism the combatants, and the progress of humanity is at stake." So here is a man that viewed the war as a total theological war.

Now, by and large, the South was unashamedly Christian. By and large, the North was unashamedly rationalistic and humanistic. Now, I'm not saying that everybody in the South was a Christian. That's not true. Nor am I saying that there were no Christians in the North. That is not true. There were Christians in the North and there were Christians in the South. But what I am saying: By and large, the people in the South adhered to the Bible and the Word of God, and by and large, the people in the North had fallen into rationalism, transcendentalism, humanism, unitarianism, and they deified the mind of man and set man up as his own God, basically speaking.

So, there were major theological differences. Let me just show you. Robert E. Lee, which is a name familiar, I suppose, with everyone. He gave this testimony. He said, "The Bible is the book of books, a book which supplies the place of all others and cannot be replaced." He goes on to say, "There are many things in the Old Book that I may never be able to explain, but I accept them as the infallible Word of God and receive its teaching as inspired by the Holy Ghost. I prefer the Bible to any other book."

"There is enough in that to satisfy the most ardent thirst for knowledge, to open the way to true wisdom and to teach the only road to salvation and eternal happiness. It is not above human comprehension and is sufficient to satisfy all desires." Now, Lee, like all other Christians, believed that the Bible was the Word of God. Many pastors that were alive in those days viewed the war as an attack upon Christianity. Let me remind you of something I've taught you before. In order to change a culture, you have to change a theology. You can't have a change in culture without having a change in theology. So in order to get a culture to change, you have to first change the theology.

When you stop and think about all the foreign aid, all the monies we've poured into countries like India and some of the African countries, those countries are just as poor and just as backwards today as they were a hundred years ago. Why? You can put all the embassies you want in those countries, you can put all the ambassadors, you can put all the diplomats, but you're never going to change those countries until you change their theology. When the theology changes, then the culture changes as well. Well, when the South then would not voluntarily relinquish their Christian faith, and would not relinquish the inspiration of the Bible, there was a war. And when the South lost that war, there was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was specifically designed to make Southerners think and act the way those in the North believed that they had the right to rule and the right to tell people how to think and how to act. Look at the Clintons. Look at the Rockefellers. Look, they're still around today.

Southern Honor: Code of Conduct

He describes the Southern code of honor for men and women, emphasizing honesty, courage, self-sufficiency, and femininity, with quotes from Lee and Varina Davis.

In the Old South, men were men and women were women. It's not like Garrison Keillor talking about Lake Wobegon. He said in there, "Men were men and so were the women." Well, no, no. In the Old South, the men were men and women were women. Men of honor worked and provided and protected and loved their wives and their families. There's a biblical work ethic. And it was understood back then, it's an honor to work. It's an honor to be independent. It was an honor not to be in debt. It was an honor not to be dependent upon other people. It was an honor not to have your hand out begging for charities. There was a code of honor in the Old South.

I want you to listen. I'm going to read this to you. The code of honor for Southern men required, number one, having a reputation for honesty and integrity. Number two, a reputation for martial courage and strength. Number three, self-sufficiency and mastery defined as patriarchal dominion over a household of dependents, wives, children, and possibly slaves. Number four, a willingness to use violence to defend any perceived threat of one's rights, one's liberties, one's family, one's neighborhood. In other words, there was a willingness to fight for that which was right.

The interesting thing is a North Carolinian, William Pettigrew, was giving some advice to his young brother, and he said this, "As far as it can be done, we should live peaceably with our associates, but as we cannot always do so, it is necessary occasionally to resist. And when our honor demands it, resistance should be done with courage." You know, I don't know if you thought of a scripture, but I did when I read that quote, Romans 12, verse 18.

Scripture Reading — Romans 12:18

"As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."

If it is possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. In other words, even God recognizes there are some men that you cannot live peaceably with. But as much as in you is, live peaceably with all men. And Southern men have always been fighters. And the truth is, if you study, you will find in every war, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, I don't care which war you consider, you will find that the South provided more men than any other section of the country.

Here's a quote from a Russian, and I want you to listen to what he said. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Everybody knows who he is. But he observed, "A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outsider observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage. Such a declining courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling and intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society. Along with this is a loss of will in the West."

"We can't defend ourselves if we're not willing to die for anything. There is little such readiness in the society raised in the cult of material well-being." So he says the first thing that outsiders notice in the West is a lack of courage. And he says that lack of courage is particularly noticeable in our rulers. When's the last time you saw a congressman stand up and tell the truth even if it meant he never was elected again? There's a lack of courage. There's a lack of courage. And he said, in such a society that is raised in the cult of material well-being, there probably never will be because nobody wants to lose everything. So the Southern emphasis then of honor affected women as well. Southern men worked to maintain a sense of masculinity and Southern women worked to maintain a sense of femininity. In other words, their femininity was expressed more around the home.

They were faithful as wives and mothers and neighbors and any relation that they were put in. I want to give you two quotes. One of them by Robert E. Lee, he was defining a gentleman, a Southern gentleman. I want to give you this one first. Lee described what a gentleman should be. He said, "The forebearing use of power does not only form the touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is the true test of a gentleman. The power which the strong have over the weak, the magistrate over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly. The forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or the total absence of it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in plain light."

"The gentleman does not needlessly or unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He can not only forgive, he can forget. And he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which imparts sufficient strength to let the past be the past." Now listen, "A true gentleman of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others." A true gentleman of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others. In other words, if you have to put someone in their place, you are humbled in doing that because you realize someone might need to put you in your place. And that's what he's saying. The concept of a gentleman today is nothing like this.

It's just, do you open the door for the ladies? You know, and it's nothing to do with anyone except usually the opposite sex. This next one, and some of you will get a smile out of, I know the men will, the ladies too hopefully, but this was written by Varina Jefferson Davis. Mrs. Jeff Davis, on being a lady, or what is a lady? We're talking about self and honor. I want you to listen. Of course, some of this may have changed a little bit because it's dated, but the concepts still never go out of style, and it's just as applicable today as it was in the 19th century. Here's what she said about a lady. "A lady is simply someone who cares about herself and others. She sees that her garments are clean and neatly pressed, her shoes are polished, and every button is in place."

"She is neat and tidy even at the breakfast table." No coming with makeup on and no coming with your hair in curlers. "She is neat and tidy even at the breakfast table and wishes to appear well to her own family. She keeps her hair clean and well-groomed and never puts her hand to her hair to rearrange it or search for loose pins while others can see it." "A lady does not monopolize the conversation. She does not talk of herself or her affairs, but listens with well-simulated interest to a story that bores her. This is the mark of good breeding. She does not sit apart with one or two friends, but makes a gentle effort to assure a good time for all with pleasant conversation. A lady does not say or do anything that will upset those around her or make them uncomfortable. A lady does not let any man kiss her or put his arm around her unless she is engaged to be married to him, and even then she should be a little stingy with her favors. A lady, when she brushes off her hat, does not forget to brush away the cobwebs from her brain. She does not conclude that every man who has said something pleasant to her has fallen in love with her."

"A lady is possessed of refinement, which prevents her from fidgeting, from playing with her handkerchief or umbrella or purse or whatever may be in her hands. When she sits down, she remains quietly, her hands resting easily without movement, and her whole figure is filled with repose. She is calm, composed, self-controlled at all times, yet there are no airs about her. These qualities are what keep her from talking and laughing loudly." "and they prevent her from hurting the feelings of anyone. A lady does not grow weary in well-doing, but encourages herself by trying to live up to the ideal of a woman." Isn't that amazing? That reminds me of Proverbs 11, verse 16,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 11:16

"A gracious woman retaineth honor, and strong men retain riches."

So in the South, it was an honor for a man to be a man and for a woman to be a woman. You cannot have a community without Southern hope, Southern honor, and here's the third one, Southern heritage. When you talk about heritage, heritage is the status acquired by birth.

Southern Heritage: Birthright and Identity

Weaver explains heritage as a birthright inherited from ancestors, citing Psalm 16:6 and quotes from Major R.E. Wilson and N.B. Littlejohn, and discusses Henry Grady's defense of the South.

Let me say it another way. Your heritage is your birthright. We are born with a heritage. Everything that we have we have inherited from our ancestors as being sons of the South. I have seen a number of northern people who moved down into the South that had bumper stickers on their cars that said this, "I was not born in the South, but I got here as quickly as I could." And that's certainly true. And when you come, you realize there is indeed a heritage. And a Southerner can no more change his heritage than a leopard can change his spots. We are Southern. It's what we are. It's what we do.

The blood flows in our veins. The psalmist said in Psalm 16 and verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 16:6

"The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage."

I have a goodly heritage. I never will forget when God called me to preach years and years ago. One of the first meetings I had was up north. And there was a deacon in the church in which Alice and I were members, and he was a tall, rough fellow. And God had saved him. And I went up north and I preached and I came back. He came to me.

He had his hands on his hips and he said, "How did those northerners treat you?" I looked at him. I said, "Well, since they were Christians, they treated me fine." But I mean, he was concerned. He wanted to know how I was treated. Well, it's interesting. And when you see this, I tell people, if you want to know how Southern I am, I can tell you how Southern I am. I don't have a TV, but if I did have a TV, I would never watch ball games. I hate ball games. I have no interest in them whatsoever. I don't care if it's football, baseball, tennis. If it's got a ball in it, I don't care anything about it. But if I hear the Atlanta Falcons are playing the Kansas City Royals or the New York Yankees, I want the Atlanta Falcons to win or the Atlanta Braves, whoever, whatever they are. I don't know the baseball from the football, but I would be for the South.

You understand what I'm saying? Same thing with martial arts. If I'm watching a UFC and here's a man that's a fighter from the South, I don't care which part, and here's one from the North, I'd be for the man from the South. Don't know either one of them. But by the same token, if an American is fighting a Russian, I'm for the American. Wouldn't you be like that? Of course you would. I'm just simply saying we have what is known as a goodly heritage. David said it like this in Psalm 61 and verse 5. He said, "For thou, O God, hast heard my vows, thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name." So it's not only that we have a goodly heritage, we also have a godly heritage as well.

It was Major R.E. Wilson who said this, "If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the cause for which Lee fought and Jackson died, let the lightnings of heaven rend me, the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion, sun, moon, and stars fall on me when I cease to love the Confederacy. 'Tis the cause, not the fate of the cause, that is glorious." Now, I want to give you one more. N.B. Littlejohn was sending his son off to fight in the War of Northern Aggression. I could have placed this under honor, but I chose to place it under heritage. But I want you to listen to what this man said to his son as he sent him off to fight. He said, "My son, I grasp your hand probably for the last time upon earth."

"You're going to meet the dangers and hardships consequent to a soldier's life. You may fill a soldier's grave. Let me impress upon your mind to never fill it dishonorably. Ever be at your post of duty. Be an honor to our beloved Southland. Go where your superiors order you. Never turn your back upon the foe except when deemed necessary by your superior officers. Be true to your God, yourself, and your country. Never bring reproach upon your beloved Southland and yourself. Never desert your country. But if necessary, die at your post of honor."

Can you imagine a father giving his son counsel like that today? Many of you have never heard of Henry Grady, or you have heard and don't really know who he was. You know about Grady Hospital in Atlanta, named after Henry Grady. Henry Grady was the editor of the Atlanta Constitution originally. And Henry Grady, on December the 21st, 1886, 21 years after the war, was speaking to the New England Society in New York. And his topic was "The New South." And I want you to listen to what he said. He said he had to say what he said at this meeting of the New England people in New York. He said, and I quote, "The South has nothing for which to apologize. She believes that the late struggle between the states was war and not rebellion, revolution and no conspiracy, and that her convictions were as honest as yours. I should be unjust to the dauntless spirit of the South and to my own convictions if I did not make this plain in this presence. The South has nothing to take back. In my native town of Athens, Georgia, is a monument that crowns its central hill, a plain white shaft."

That's to the Confederate soldiers. "Deep cut into its shining side is a name dear to me above the names of all men, that of a brave and simple man who died in a brave and simple faith. Not for all the glories of New England and Plymouth Rock all the way would I exchange the heritage he left me in his soldier's death. To the foot of that I shall send my children's children to reverence him who ennobled their name with his heroic blood."

Now let me ask you this question. Why in the world would Henry Grady say, "I'd rather honor the name on that Confederate monument than have all the glories of New England"? And the answer is because he believed that the South was fighting for that which was right, for the principles, for the truth. In fact, I will say this now. I really believe like Henry Grady that the South was fighting to prevent everything that we have today, which is a humanistic, totalitarian, out-of-control, gargantuan government that seeks to regulate and control us in every area of our lives.

Southern Hospitality: Generosity and Fellowship

He highlights the South's tradition of hospitality, sharing personal anecdotes and biblical commands, and quotes Bishop Whipple's observations on Southern hospitality.

It is the most friendly. You will find Southerners waving to people who they don't even know. Speaking to people, nodding. I drive down the road, I see farmers on tractors. They're waving. And sometimes it is indeed a shock when people from the North move down here and they see that everybody's speaking to them. I had an aunt who was raised up North, and she and my uncle lived in Toledo, Ohio until he retired from General Motors.

Then they moved back South. And my aunt was just flabbergasted of all the people speaking to her and waving at her. They didn't even know her. And she told me, she said, "Up north, if someone you do not know speaks to you, you run." Now, if you tried that in the South, you'd just run yourself to death is what it amounts to because everybody's going to speak to everybody. I mean, Southerners. They love fellowship. They love barbecues. They love get-togethers. They love reunion.

They enjoy the company of family and friends. To show you how things have differed, when I was a boy, we had company every Sunday. We would go to church on Sunday morning. Some family would come home with us, have dinner with us, spend the afternoon, have supper with us, and then we'd go back to church together. Every Sunday. Every Sunday. And if the adults wouldn't take a nap, they'd take a nap. I never could figure out as a child why anybody would waste a Sunday afternoon sleeping until I got grown. But, you know, that was just simply every Sunday.

And moreover, here's something else. If you were at our house, and this was true even after I was grown, but if you were at our house and it was dinnertime, you ate with us. It's just that simple. Alice and I, after we got married, we would come home to visit for a few days, her folks and my folks. And we would sit down at the table of my mother and father, and we'd be sitting down with people I've never seen before in my life. They were just there. It might have been a salesman. They were there and they ate. By the way, my mother was a cook. If you came to our house for dinner, you had your choice of biscuits and cornbread. She always had two meats, sometimes three. She'd have about five vegetables, cakes, and pies. She started cooking at daylight, and she cooked until dinner. Now at night at supper you ate leftovers. But boy, that noon meal was absolutely tremendous.

I'm just about to say, Southerners shared everything, and they were willing to share. One of my favorite stories is about Robert E. Lee. General Ewell had come to him for some war advice and counsel, and Lee invited General Ewell to stay for supper. And General Ewell said no, he couldn't, he had to get back. Well, Lee then insisted that General Ewell take his. And so General Ewell took it, and as he rode away on his horse, he opened the little sack, and there was two small cold sweet potatoes. That's all he had. Which, by the way, happened to be his favorite food. But he gave those two sweet potatoes to General Ewell.

On another occasion, at Petersburg, during a Christmas dinner, his host called him, and he was embarrassed, called him putting his portion of the turkey to the side of his plate and not eating it. And she asked him why he was not eating his portion of the turkey. And he told her it was because he wanted to save his portion of the turkey for one of his staff officers who had been sick and had eaten nothing but cornbread and sweet potato coffee. After he got back to camp, his hostess sent a whole barrel of turkeys, one for each of his staff officers and one for General Lee. When they unpacked the barrel and found these turkeys, General Lee then insisted that his turkey be sent to the hospital to feed the wounded, that they might have a more nutritious meal. And when the staff officer saw that, they just packed the whole barrel back up, sent it to the hospital.

But I mean, that's the way it was. You see, the Bible tells us in Romans 12 and verse 13,

Scripture Reading — Romans 12:13

"Distributing to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality."

When you get to 1 Peter 4 and verse 9, the Bible says, "Use hospitality one to another without grudging." Pastors are particularly to be examples of hospitality. It's said in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 2, "A bishop then first must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach." And in Titus 1 and 8, "But a lover of good men, a lover of hospitality, sober, holy, just, temperate." And Southerners, by the way, are just simply hospitable. They love to share. They love to rejoice in God's blessings and share those blessings with others. Do you realize that many of the homes in the Old South had traveler's rooms? If you don't know what a traveler's room is, if you go to the Agrirama in Tifton, Georgia, and view some of those old homes, you'll see them. A traveler's room was just a room that was attached to the house. The door was never locked. In that room was a bed, a washstand, and water and that kind of thing.

So if you were passing through and needed a place to stay, you just pulled your horse up, you went in, you spent the night, and you washed up the next morning. You usually had breakfast with the family before you went on your way. And I suppose, that probably originated from 2 Kings 4, verses 8-10. You remember when that great woman of Shunem saw Elijah passing by? She told her husband, "This is a man of God. Let's make him a little room with a bed and a candlestick. And so when he passes by, he can stay here." And that's exactly what he did. And so these houses had traveler's rooms. When I was a boy, I've often seen my parents help others. If a barn was destroyed or a house was destroyed, the men of the community would get together and help repair or rebuild whatever was necessary. When someone was sick, you would find that the men in the neighborhood would come up and take care of the chores.

The women would fix meals. I mean, I remember years ago when I lived in Jesup, one of my friends and one of my neighbors who was a farmer, had a stroke. It was a very debilitating stroke. And he had his crops in the field. Since I was raised on a farm and my girls could drive a tractor as well as I could, we finished his farming season for him. He was our neighbor. I'm just simply saying, you know, this happened. I remember one time when I was about 7 or 8 years old, maybe 9, there was a rabid fox in the community. And we had about 20 to 25 men that came to our house and the men were sitting on our porch, kind of waiting for that fox because he had been around in that area. The funny thing is, I had a little dog named Sandy, red colored like that, and the fox actually came up in the yard. And the men grabbed for their guns.

And my dad said, "No, no." And he looked at me and said, "Son, you better get your dog. We almost shot him." I said, "Dad, my dog is in my lap. That's the fox!" And by this time, the fox is running down the road, and everybody's shooting. I think they found him dead the next day. Somebody hit him in the dark. But here are 20, 25 men. They got together.

When our church would have a special meeting, folks call it revival meeting, do you know that for a month or two prior to that meeting, we would have cottage prayer meetings? And I have seen 50 and 60 people in one home. We would sing. And we would give testimonies and then everybody would pray and pray specifically for that meeting. I'm just simply saying things have totally, completely changed because we've lost the concept of community. Let me give you this quote, Henry Benjamin Whipple. In his journal, he was a bishop. He was from Minnesota and he took a tour of the South in 1843 and 1844, in order to regain his health, and if you've ever been in Minnesota, and those who live there, please forgive me. You can understand why you need to get away from there for your health. The coldest I've ever been in my entire life was in Minnesota, but that's okay.

But Bishop Whipple wrote this, and he was in St. Augustine, Florida, and he says this, "November the 25th, the people of the southern states are generally much more hospitable than northerners, and the difference must be attributed to the fact that they are not such money-loving people. You do not see the low, mean cupidity that base selfishness so striking a characteristic of one of our portion of our restless Yankee brethren. I'm more and more convinced that most of the exaggerated stories of abolitionists exist only in the imagination. And from personal observation, I know that the efforts of the abolitionists of the North have only served to injure the slave and to destroy the kind and fraternal feeling which should exist between the Northern and Southern states." So here's a Minnesotan saying, the people in the South are far more hospitable than those in the North.

The Need for Common Language and Conclusion

Weaver adds that a common language is essential for community, citing Judges 12, and concludes that without biblical communities, society remains fractured, calling for a return to God's Word.

Scripture Reading — Judges 12

By the way, hope, honor, heritage, and hospitality are the underpinnings of any society, of any community, not just in the Old South, not just in the Confederacy. And let me add one more. You need the same language. Have you ever stopped to think, in Judges chapter 12, 42,000 men were killed because they could not say "shibboleth"? They couldn't frame the word, but they would say "sibboleth." And 42,000 were killed. Here's a good example. In 1883, Sitting Bull, a Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull was a guest of honor at the opening ceremonies for the Northern Pacific Railroad. When it was his turn to speak, he said in the Lakota language, "I hate all white people. You're thieves and liars."

"You've taken away our land and made us outcasts." A quick-thinking interpreter told the crowd the chief was happy to be there and they looked forward to peace and prosperity with the white people. Sitting Bull received a standing ovation. Nobody knew what he said. If you want community, you need hope, you need honor, you need heritage, you need hospitality, and you need the same language. Do you realize that these qualities will come together in eternity? Our hope will be turned into realization, but we will still have honor, heritage, and hospitality because our Lord is going to provide everything. If you've ever wondered why today in America we are so divided.

We have nothing in common anymore and we live in a fractured, disjointed and apathetic society. The answer is because we no longer have biblical communities. We no longer really care about each other. We no longer really are concerned with the welfare of those who live next door to us, spiritual, material, physical, anyway, whatsoever. Where there is no commonality, there is no community. You might have the same space. You might live in the same area. You might share the same government. But you cannot have community without commonality. And if we're going to have a community, we must have the same rule of law.

And that is the Word of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Lord, that You would teach us, that You would help us, build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to see that which we have lost, and may we regain it by Your grace and Your mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

True Community Requires Common Faith and Culture

Summary: Genuine community cannot exist without shared biblical faith, cultural heritage, and common values; mere geographic proximity or shared government is insufficient.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'You cannot have a real community without a common culture and without a heritage and without the same faith.'

Rebuilding Society on God's Law

Summary: Communities must be rebuilt according to God's law, not man's, and this begins with resurrected individuals and families living by biblical principles.

Evidence: He says, 'If our communities are going to be resurrected, we must rebuild according to God's law and learn to live according to God's law.'

The Four Pillars of Southern Community

Summary: The Old South was held together by Southern hope (biblical faith), honor, heritage, and hospitality, which are essential for any true community.

Evidence: Weaver introduces these as 'the glue that held together what you and I would call those Southern communities.'

Theological Nature of the Civil War

Summary: The War of Northern Aggression was fundamentally a theological conflict between Christianity (South) and atheism/humanism (North), not merely a political dispute.

Evidence: He quotes Thornwell: 'The parties in this conflict are not merely abolitionists and slaveholders. They are atheists, socialists, communists... on the one side, and friends of order and regulated freedom on the other.'

Honor as a Social Glue

Summary: A code of honor emphasizing integrity, courage, self-sufficiency, and defense of rights bound Southern men and women, fostering strong families and communities.

Evidence: Weaver reads the code of honor for Southern men, including 'a reputation for honesty and integrity' and 'a willingness to use violence to defend any perceived threat.'

Heritage as Birthright and Identity

Summary: Southern heritage is an inherited birthright that shapes identity and loyalty, rooted in the godly legacy of ancestors who fought for righteous principles.

Evidence: He says, 'Your heritage is your birthright. We are born with a heritage. Everything that we have we have inherited from our ancestors as being sons of the South.'

Hospitality as a Mark of Christian Community

Summary: Southern hospitality, characterized by generosity, fellowship, and care for neighbors, reflects biblical commands and was a defining feature of Southern life.

Evidence: Weaver shares personal stories and cites Romans 12:13, 'Distributing to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality.'

The Necessity of a Common Language

Summary: A shared language is crucial for community, as illustrated by the shibboleth incident in Judges 12 and the Sitting Bull anecdote.

Evidence: He states, 'If you want community, you need hope, you need honor, you need heritage, you need hospitality, and you need the same language.'

Key Arguments

Modern Society Lacks True Community

Summary: Today's multicultural, ideologically diverse society cannot form genuine community because there is no common faith, culture, or heritage.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'There cannot possibly be any real genuine community with these distinctions and these divisions.'

Community Resurrection Requires Individual Resurrection

Summary: A community cannot be spiritually healthy unless the individuals and families within it are first transformed by God's grace.

Evidence: He states, 'It is impossible to have a resurrected community with unresurrected people.'

The Civil War Was a Defense of Christian Civilization

Summary: The South fought to preserve a Christian social order against the humanistic, rationalistic ideologies of the North, and losing the war led to ongoing cultural decay.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'I really believe like Henry Grady that the South was fighting to prevent everything that we have today, which is a humanistic, totalitarian, out-of-control, gargantuan government.'

Honor Requires Courage and Self-Government

Summary: A society without honor loses courage and relies on external force; true honor comes from internal moral restraint based on God's Word.

Evidence: He quotes Robert Winthrop: 'Men in a word must necessarily be controlled either by a power without them or by a power within them, either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet.'

Heritage Must Be Preserved, Not Buried

Summary: The principles and memories of the past, especially the godly examples of Southern leaders, must be retained to guide future generations.

Evidence: He quotes Dabney: 'Take care that you do not bury too much. While burying the dead past, that you do not bury the inspiring memories of the great patriots.'

Hospitality Is a Biblical Mandate for Community

Summary: Christians are commanded to practice hospitality, which fosters mutual care and strengthens community bonds, as exemplified in the Old South.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Peter 4:9, 'Use hospitality one to another without grudging,' and gives examples of Southern hospitality.

Political Correctness Is Modern Reconstruction

Summary: Efforts to reshape language and thought, like political correctness, are a continuation of Reconstruction's aim to force Southerners to conform to Northern ideology.

Evidence: He says, 'Political correctness is nothing more than Reconstruction. It's me trying to teach you to think the way I think.'

A Common Language Prevents Division

Summary: Linguistic unity is essential for community; without it, misunderstanding and conflict arise, as seen in biblical and historical examples.

Evidence: He references Judges 12 where 42,000 were killed over the word 'shibboleth' and the Sitting Bull story.

Scripture References

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

Context: Read at the opening as the primary text, emphasizing comfort and edification within the community.

Joshua 6:26

Context: Cited to show that rebuilding on man's terms brings a curse, as with Jericho.

Romans 12:18

Context: Quoted to support the idea that living peaceably is not always possible, justifying the Southern willingness to fight for honor.

Proverbs 11:16

Context: Used to affirm the honor of a gracious woman, paralleling Varina Davis's description of a lady.

Psalm 16:6

Context: Quoted to express the goodness of Southern heritage: 'The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage.'

Psalm 61:5

Context: Cited to connect heritage with the fear of God: 'Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.'

Romans 12:13

Context: Quoted to command hospitality: 'Distributing to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality.'

1 Peter 4:9

Context: Cited to reinforce hospitality without grudging.

1 Timothy 3:2

Context: Mentioned to show that pastors must be examples of hospitality.

Titus 1:8

Context: Cited alongside 1 Timothy 3:2 to emphasize hospitality as a qualification for church leaders.

2 Kings 4:8-10

Context: Referenced as the possible origin of traveler's rooms, where the Shunammite woman provided a room for Elisha.

Judges 12

Context: Used to illustrate the deadly consequences of lacking a common language, with 42,000 killed over 'shibboleth.'

Historical References

James Henley Thornwell

Context: Southern Presbyterian theologian who viewed the Civil War as a conflict between Christianity and atheism.

Robert E. Lee

Context: Confederate general whose testimony affirmed the Bible as the infallible Word of God; also quoted on the definition of a gentleman.

Basil Manly

Context: Baptist pastor and chaplain to the Provisional Confederate Congress who viewed secession as a Christian reform movement.

W.W. Bennett and J. William Jones

Context: Authors of books on revivals in the Confederate armies, noting at least 150,000 conversions.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Context: Russian author who observed a decline in courage in the West, particularly among the ruling elite.

Varina Jefferson Davis

Context: Wife of Jefferson Davis, whose writing on 'What is a Lady?' described feminine honor and refinement.

Major R.E. Wilson

Context: Confederate officer who declared he would never apologize for the cause for which Lee and Jackson fought.

N.B. Littlejohn

Context: Father who sent his son to war with a charge to be honorable and true to God and the South.

Henry Grady

Context: Editor of the Atlanta Constitution who defended the South's cause in an 1886 speech to the New England Society.

Robert L. Dabney

Context: Theologian and Stonewall Jackson's chief of staff, who warned against burying the inspiring memories of Southern patriots.

Important Quotes

All societies of men must be governed in some way or the other. The less they may have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men in a word must necessarily be controlled either by a power without them or by a power within them, either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet.

Significance: Robert Winthrop's quote encapsulates the sermon's argument that true community requires internal moral restraint based on Scripture rather than external force.

The forebearing use of power does not only form the touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is the true test of a gentleman.

Significance: Lee's definition of a gentleman highlights the Southern honor code's emphasis on humility and restraint in power.

A lady is simply someone who cares about herself and others. She sees that her garments are clean and neatly pressed, her shoes are polished, and every button is in place.

Significance: Varina Davis's description of a lady illustrates the Southern ideal of feminine honor and self-respect.

If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the cause for which Lee fought and Jackson died, let the lightnings of heaven rend me, the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion, sun, moon, and stars fall on me when I cease to love the Confederacy. 'Tis the cause, not the fate of the cause, that is glorious.

Significance: Major Wilson's passionate declaration underscores the deep heritage and unapologetic loyalty to the Southern cause.

The South has nothing for which to apologize. She believes that the late struggle between the states was war and not rebellion, revolution and no conspiracy, and that her convictions were as honest as yours.

Significance: Henry Grady's unapologetic defense of the South's cause reinforces the theme of heritage and principled conviction.

Discussion Questions

When is the last time you comforted or edified someone in your community, and what practical steps can you take to do so more intentionally?

Context: Weaver opens by asking when we last comforted or edified others, based on 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

How does the lack of a common faith and culture in modern society hinder the formation of genuine Christian community?

Context: Weaver argues that multiculturalism and diverse ideologies prevent real community.

In what ways can we rebuild our communities according to God's law, starting with our own families and personal lives?

Context: He emphasizes that community resurrection begins with resurrected individuals and families living by God's Word.

Which of the four pillars—hope, honor, heritage, hospitality—do you think is most lacking in your community, and why?

Context: Weaver presents these as the essential glue of Southern communities and any true community.

How does the Southern code of honor (integrity, courage, self-sufficiency) challenge modern notions of masculinity and femininity?

Context: He describes the honor code for men and women, contrasting it with contemporary culture.

What aspects of your spiritual heritage should you preserve and pass on to the next generation, and how can you do so?

Context: Weaver discusses heritage as a birthright and quotes Dabney's warning not to bury inspiring memories.

How can we practice biblical hospitality in a culture that often prioritizes privacy and individualism?

Context: He gives examples of Southern hospitality and cites commands like Romans 12:13 and 1 Peter 4:9.

What role does a common language (literal or figurative) play in fostering unity, and how can we overcome communication barriers in our communities?

Context: Weaver uses Judges 12 and the Sitting Bull story to illustrate the importance of shared language.

Applications

Cultivate Biblical Hope

Summary: Base your hope and community life on the sufficiency of God's Word, trusting it to address all needs and problems.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'You have to have hope based upon the Word of God, that the Word of God is sufficient to take care of all of our needs.'

Practice Personal Honor

Summary: Men should embrace a biblical work ethic, provide for and protect their families, and women should cultivate femininity and faithfulness in their roles.

Evidence: He describes the code of honor: 'Men of honor worked and provided and protected and loved their wives and their families.'

Preserve Godly Heritage

Summary: Intentionally pass on the principles and memories of faithful ancestors to your children, teaching them to value their spiritual birthright.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Littlejohn's charge to his son and urges retention of 'all that was true in its principles or ennobling in its example.'

Show Hospitality Generously

Summary: Open your home and share your resources with others, following the biblical command to be hospitable without grudging.

Evidence: He cites 1 Peter 4:9 and gives examples like traveler's rooms and sharing meals with strangers.

Rebuild on God's Law

Summary: In personal and community life, choose God's law structure over man's, applying biblical principles to every area.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'If our communities are going to be resurrected, we must rebuild according to God's law.'

Foster Commonality and Unity

Summary: Seek to build relationships with those who share your faith and values, recognizing that true community requires common ground.

Evidence: He argues, 'Where there is no commonality, there is no community.'

Resist Modern Reconstruction

Summary: Be aware of and resist cultural pressures that seek to reshape your thinking away from biblical truth, such as political correctness.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Political correctness is nothing more than Reconstruction. It's me trying to teach you to think the way I think.'

Comfort and Edify One Another

Summary: Actively look for opportunities to comfort and build up fellow believers in your local church and neighborhood.

Evidence: He opens with the command from 1 Thessalonians 5:11 to 'comfort yourselves together, and edify one another.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:45:12Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:08:18Z

Clean Transcript

Southern Community in the Old South

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and we're just simply going to read verses 9 through 11. I will not be expounding this passage except for the latter verse. Notice if you would, 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9, the title of the message is "Southern Community in the Old South and in the Confederacy." Verse 9, "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore," that is in light of this, "wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another even as also you do."
#1 | 0:01 to 0:42 | cleaned
So the question you have to ask is this: When is the last time that you have been comforted? When is the last time you have been edified by anyone in your community? Or we could ask this another way: When is the last time that you comforted or edified anyone in your community? I'm sure that you probably do not remember this, but in times past, I've brought two messages on community. The first one is entitled, "The Necessity of Community." And the second one is entitled, "Community, Peace and Protection." Now, I'm not going to be preaching those messages. I will take a quote or two from one or two of them, but the message today is basically entirely different. When we talk about community, we use the word rather loosely. We think we understand the word, but in reality, I believe that most of us really do not.
#2 | 0:43 to 1:33 | cleaned
I went online and I was really shocked because I went to dictionary.com and I came up with this definition. I want you to listen. It's defining community as "a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage." Now, every one of us understands a specific locality. Some of you live in Live Oak. Some of you live in Lake City. Some of you live in little neighboring areas. In other words, you have a specific locality. Then you also understand sharing government because you elect a lot of times your own councilmen and aldermen and things like that. But most of the time, we overlook what is known as a common cultural or historical heritage.
#3 | 1:34 to 2:28 | cleaned
When you think about the nation Israel, everybody knows that there were 12 tribes. But what you don't understand is those 12 tribes also were then also divided into families. And from those families, you had certain clans. For instance, if you were to read 1 Chronicles 1-9, you're going to find all the 12 sons and all their descendants, and then you'll find like if you look at Levi, you'll have Kohath, and you'll have Merari, and you'll have Gershom. And the next thing you know, here are Gershom's sons, and they're the Gershonites. Here's a Kohath son, and they're the Kohathites, etc. And so you have all of these tribes and families that boil down to little groups and little clans as well.
#4 | 2:29 to 3:21 | cleaned
Now there's another definition that was given for community, and it was this one: "A group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule." Well, certainly we understand that, because if you and I are going to live according to a rule, for us it's got to be God's law, it's got to be the totality of God's Word, all the principles and precepts that are found in the Bible. So, we understand people being grouped together in a specific locality. But being grouped together in a specific locality does not make a community. We also understand sharing government. But just simply because people share government does not necessarily mean that there is a community. Now, you cannot have a real community without a common culture and without a heritage and without the same faith. What most people do not realize is that when this country was first founded, it would have been what you and I would call a real community. In that, that the people who at least founded this country were basically of one culture, and they had one faith.
#5 | 3:22 to 4:43 | cleaned
What I mean by that is this. If you look at all the original charters and the constitutions, you will find statements like this: "No one can hold any position of authority in this state unless they confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and profess belief in the inspiration both of the Old and the New Testaments." Interestingly enough, even as liberal as Massachusetts is, originally Massachusetts said, "The laws of this colony shall be the laws of God as revealed through Moses." So when you go through that, there may have been Baptists, there may have been Methodists, there may have been Presbyterians, but at least the point I'm trying to make is they all confessed belief in the Bible, the Word of God, and they all believed that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God.
#6 | 4:44 to 5:33 | cleaned
So today what we have is a conglomeration of cultures, faiths, heritage, ethnicities, ideologies, and all of these things determine our political and our economic views. And there cannot possibly be any real genuine community with these distinctions and these divisions. Instead, what you have is every group then fights for dominance over every other group and tries to control them. For instance, look at the Muslims in this country. What do they want? They want Sharia law. They want the Constitution kicked out. They want the Bible kicked out. They want Sharia law. How in the world can you have a community if you are a believer and you're surrounded by atheists? Or you're surrounded by people who have no earthly idea what your culture or your heritage really is. A Christian friend of mine sent me his idea of what the second Civil War in this country is going to originate from.
#7 | 5:34 to 6:38 | cleaned
Why don't you just listen to what he wrote me. He said, "Civil War II will likely be fought on the basis of conflicting culture, identity, and ideology." And then he goes on. "We all understand the concept of nation in the geopolitical sense. Biblically, however, nation or ethnos is not an amalgamated conglomeration of people from different linguistics, cultural, political, or religious persuasions. It is a particular group of people akin to a large extended family."
#8 | 6:38 to 7:16 | cleaned
"Thus, conventions, customs, ethics, values, laws, and its applications suitable, desirous, and effective in one are odious, even repugnant to the other. It should be noted, however, that ethnicity ought not to be an essential factor, but integration and a degree of conformity is essential to any immigration policy. While aliens and sojourners are a blessing to a godly theonomic society, they are a curse to a rebellious antinomian society."
#9 | 7:17 to 7:52 | cleaned
And that, I believe, is hitting the nail on the head. Multiculturalism, diversity, unbiblical ideologies, and a deficient concept of history and heritage do not and cannot promote community. Think just momentarily of the word community. "Com" is a preposition which means "with." And the latter part of community is "unity." So actually, the word community means that a people are unified and are one. So how in the world can you have a unified and one people when everything is absolutely totally different?
#10 | 7:53 to 8:31 | cleaned
Now, you've heard the old adage, "Birds of a feather flock together." And that's basically why they have a community as such as they do that. It's true that we have a lot of places that are called communities, but in reality, they are no community at all because there's no commonality. There's no culture or heritage that is identical to each individual. One of the reasons that you can live next door to people for years or live down the street from people for years and never know them is because you have absolutely nothing in common. Stop and think of the people that live around you that you have no idea who they are. Now, it is true that our communities need to be resurrected, but resurrection is always on God's terms.
#11 | 8:31 to 9:33 | cleaned
So let me tell you what I mean by that. Here's a question that I often ask people. If society collapsed tomorrow, and it collapsed in such a degree that everything was devastated, you have no police force. You have no government. All you have basically is anarchy. If you were allowed to rebuild society, if you were to start rebuilding, here's the question: What law structure would you use to rebuild?
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Now, in reality, there's only two alternatives. You can use man's law structure, or you can use God's law structure.
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Now, if you're going to say, "Well, I'm going to take the best that man can offer." Well, if you're going to take the best that man can offer, you might as well let it lie there and rot. Because it's going to be brought under the curse of God. You remember how God destroyed Jericho. And then after He destroyed Jericho, in Joshua 6, verse 26, listen to what Joshua said, "And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth the city of Jericho."
#14 | 10:22 to 10:52 | cleaned
"He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set the gates of it." What does that mean? It means that when his firstborn, it means his firstborn was actually offered up as a sacrifice when he laid the foundation. And when he finished and he set up the gates, his youngest son was offered as a sacrifice. In other words, it's pure paganism is what it amounts to. It's pure humanism, and therefore, the curse of God is upon it.
#15 | 10:52 to 11:24 | cleaned
So if our communities are going to be resurrected, we must rebuild according to God's law and learn to live according to God's law, applying it to every area of our heart. Now, you have to remember this, that communities are made up of individuals first and families second. So we are responsible before God individually and then familially. Our communities are never going to be any better than the individuals and the families that make up those communities. It is impossible to have a resurrected community with unresurrected people.
#16 | 11:25 to 12:03 | cleaned
Let me say it another way. It's impossible to have a spiritual community with unspiritual people. You cannot have a community that functions the way it should unless you have individuals and families function the way they should. You cannot have the blessings of God upon a community that is filled with rebellious people. Here's a quote that I want to give you. Robert Winthrop. He was a congressman and a Speaker of the House.
#17 | 12:04 to 12:36 | cleaned
He lived from 1809 to 1894. And here's what he said. Listen carefully. "All societies of men must be governed in some way or the other. The less they may have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men in a word must necessarily be controlled either by a power without them or by a power within them, either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet." And that's the truth.
#18 | 12:36 to 13:24 | cleaned
And you look at what is happening in this country. You look at the proliferation of law enforcement officers. I remember when I was a boy, if I wanted to see a policeman, I had to go uptown and look around because they were few and far between. You didn't need many. But things have totally changed today. So if we do not want the strong arm of man forcing us, we must learn to do that which is holy and right from the power of God within us. And by the way, it is easy to live with men and women who want to do that which is holy and right as well.
#19 | 13:26 to 14:03 | cleaned
Now, when you think about the Old South, or when you think about the South during the time of the Confederacy, there were four major concepts that bound individuals and families together. And I want to give you those four major concepts. And the truth is you cannot have a community today that is a real community without these four concepts. It's absolutely impossible. So what was the glue that held together what you and I would call those Southern communities? The first one is what I'm going to call Southern hope. By Southern hope, I just simply mean a biblical hope because in the South, the Bible was the basis for our faith. You remember the South was settled a lot and mostly by Scots-Irish individuals. And these individuals certainly believed the Bible to be the Word of God. And the Bible played a very important role in the people in the South at this particular time. In fact, the truth of the matter is most of us have never really understood the impact of the Bible on the people of the South.
#20 | 14:04 to 15:12 | cleaned
During the war, which I usually refer to as the War of Northern Aggression, a lot of people call it the Civil War. The reason I call it the War of Northern Aggression is the North invaded the South. The South did not invade the North, okay? So it was Lincoln who asked for 75,000 volunteers for three months to come and invade the South and subdue the South. But during that particular war, what people do not understand is that there was a theological influence and a theological aspect. Let me give it to you like this.
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It was Southern Presbyterian theologian, James Henley Thornwell. He was a pastor. He's a theologian. He was an author. He died in 1862. He died right after the war got started, but he was alive and he understood what was happening. And listen to what he said. He's talking about the war. He says, "The parties in this conflict are not merely abolitionists and slaveholders. They are atheists, socialists, communists, Red Republicans, and Jacobins on the one side," that would be the North, "and friends of order and regulated freedom on the other. In one word, the world is the battleground, Christianity and atheism the combatants, and the progress of humanity is at stake." So here is a man that viewed the war as a total theological war.
#22 | 15:44 to 16:43 | cleaned
Now, by and large, the South was unashamedly Christian. By and large, the North was unashamedly rationalistic and humanistic. Now, I'm not saying that everybody in the South was a Christian. That's not true. Nor am I saying that there were no Christians in the North. That is not true. There were Christians in the North and there were Christians in the South. But what I am saying: By and large, the people in the South adhered to the Bible and the Word of God, and by and large, the people in the North had fallen into rationalism, transcendentalism, humanism, unitarianism, and they deified the mind of man and set man up as his own God, basically speaking.
#23 | 16:43 to 17:30 | cleaned
So, there were major theological differences. Let me just show you. Robert E. Lee, which is a name familiar, I suppose, with everyone. He gave this testimony. He said, "The Bible is the book of books, a book which supplies the place of all others and cannot be replaced." He goes on to say, "There are many things in the Old Book that I may never be able to explain, but I accept them as the infallible Word of God and receive its teaching as inspired by the Holy Ghost. I prefer the Bible to any other book."
#24 | 17:31 to 18:11 | cleaned
"There is enough in that to satisfy the most ardent thirst for knowledge, to open the way to true wisdom and to teach the only road to salvation and eternal happiness. It is not above human comprehension and is sufficient to satisfy all desires."
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Now, Lee, like all other Christians, believed that the Bible was the Word of God. Many pastors that were alive in those days viewed the war as an attack upon Christianity. Let me remind you of something I've taught you before. In order to change a culture, you have to change a theology. You can't have a change in culture without having a change in theology. So in order to get a culture to change, you have to first change the theology.
#26 | 18:28 to 19:03 | cleaned
When you stop and think about all the foreign aid, all the monies we've poured into countries like India and some of the African countries, those countries are just as poor and just as backwards today as they were a hundred years ago. Why? You can put all the embassies you want in those countries, you can put all the ambassadors, you can put all the diplomats, but you're never going to change those countries until you change their theology. When the theology changes, then the culture changes as well. Well, when the South then would not voluntarily relinquish their Christian faith, and would not relinquish the inspiration of the Bible, there was a war. And when the South lost that war, there was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was specifically designed to make Southerners think and act the way those in the North believed that they had the right to rule and the right to tell people how to think and how to act. Look at the Clintons. Look at the Rockefellers. Look, they're still around today.
#27 | 19:04 to 20:16 | cleaned
Everybody wants to reshape society and reshape the world according to their thinking and their opinion and what they believe. May I point out that Reconstruction is not over. Do you know what political correctness is? Political correctness is nothing more than Reconstruction. It's me trying to teach you to think the way I think. You know, it is absolutely insane that California now has come out and said you cannot use the word "felon." You have to use "justice involved people." Really? I saw a cartoon.
#28 | 20:17 to 20:56 | cleaned
It showed this one little boy talking to the other little boys. He says, "Do you want to play cowboys and justice involved people?" And the little kid said, "What?" No more cops and robbers. It's cops and justice-involved people. I mean, you know, come on. You know, they want to change the word "mother." They want to change the word "father." It's absolutely insane. And this is what was going on even back in those days.
#29 | 20:57 to 21:26 | cleaned
Basil Manly, who was a Baptist pastor and chaplain to the Provisional Confederate Congress, viewed secession not as a rebellion, but as a Christian reform movement. There are two great books. I don't know if you've ever read them or ever looked at them, but I would encourage you to get them. W. W. Bennett wrote a book, "The Great Revival in the Confederate Armies." And then J. William Jones wrote "Christ in the Camp."
#30 | 21:26 to 21:55 | cleaned
And this shows the theological and spiritual aspect that went on during the South. In fact, there were three major revivals in the Confederate army and according to W.W. Bennett, at least 150,000 men were converted to Jesus Christ during those revivals. But Bennett said this, talking about the Confederate soldiers, "Their conviction of right in what they did were second only to their conviction of the truth of the Christian religion. Nor has the stern logic of events eradicated this conviction from the Southern mind."
#31 | 21:56 to 22:33 | cleaned
"The cause is lost, but its principles still live and must continue to live so long as there remains in human nature any perception and appreciation of justice, truth, and virtue." So the point I'm trying to make, first of all, if we're going to get back to a real community, you have to have Southern hope or what we would call a biblical hope. You have to have hope based upon the Word of God, that the Word of God is sufficient to take care of all of our needs and to answer all of our problems. There's a second concept that held people together, and that's what I'm going to call Southern honor. Honor was the glue that not only held families together, but communities together as well.
#32 | 22:33 to 23:20 | cleaned
In the Old South, men were men and women were women. It's not like Garrison Keillor talking about Lake Wobegon. He said in there, "Men were men and so were the women." Well, no, no. In the Old South, the men were men and women were women. Men of honor worked and provided and protected and loved their wives and their families. There's a biblical work ethic. And it was understood back then, it's an honor to work. It's an honor to be independent. It was an honor not to be in debt. It was an honor not to be dependent upon other people. It was an honor not to have your hand out begging for charities. There was a code of honor in the Old South.
#33 | 23:23 to 24:14 | cleaned
I want you to listen. I'm going to read this to you. The code of honor for Southern men required, number one, having a reputation for honesty and integrity. Number two, a reputation for martial courage and strength. Number three, self-sufficiency and mastery defined as patriarchal dominion over a household of dependents, wives, children, and possibly slaves. Number four, a willingness to use violence to defend any perceived threat of one's rights, one's liberties, one's family, one's neighborhood. In other words, there was a willingness to fight for that which was right.
#34 | 24:14 to 25:05 | cleaned
The interesting thing is a North Carolinian, William Pettigrew, was giving some advice to his young brother, and he said this, "As far as it can be done, we should live peaceably with our associates, but as we cannot always do so, it is necessary occasionally to resist. And when our honor demands it, resistance should be done with courage." You know, I don't know if you thought of a scripture, but I did when I read that quote, Romans 12, verse 18. "As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." If it is possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. In other words, even God recognizes there are some men that you cannot live peaceably with. But as much as in you is, live peaceably with all men. And Southern men have always been fighters. And the truth is, if you study, you will find in every war, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, I don't care which war you consider, you will find that the South provided more men than any other section of the country.
#35 | 25:06 to 26:32 | cleaned
Here's a quote from a Russian, and I want you to listen to what he said. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Everybody knows who he is. But he observed, "A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outsider observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage. Such a declining courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling and intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society. Along with this is a loss of will in the West."
#36 | 26:34 to 27:16 | cleaned
"We can't defend ourselves if we're not willing to die for anything. There is little such readiness in the society raised in the cult of material well-being." So he says the first thing that outsiders notice in the West is a lack of courage. And he says that lack of courage is particularly noticeable in our rulers. When's the last time you saw a congressman stand up and tell the truth even if it meant he never was elected again? There's a lack of courage. There's a lack of courage. And he said, in such a society that is raised in the cult of material well-being, there probably never will be because nobody wants to lose everything. So the Southern emphasis then of honor affected women as well. Southern men worked to maintain a sense of masculinity and Southern women worked to maintain a sense of femininity. In other words, their femininity was expressed more around the home.
#37 | 27:17 to 28:24 | cleaned
They were faithful as wives and mothers and neighbors and any relation that they were put in. I want to give you two quotes. One of them by Robert E. Lee, he was defining a gentleman, a Southern gentleman. I want to give you this one first. Lee described what a gentleman should be. He said, "The forebearing use of power does not only form the touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is the true test of a gentleman. The power which the strong have over the weak, the magistrate over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly. The forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or the total absence of it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in plain light."
#38 | 28:24 to 29:23 | cleaned
"The gentleman does not needlessly or unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He can not only forgive, he can forget. And he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which imparts sufficient strength to let the past be the past."
#39 | 29:24 to 29:43 | cleaned
Now listen, "A true gentleman of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others." A true gentleman of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others. In other words, if you have to put someone in their place, you are humbled in doing that because you realize someone might need to put you in your place. And that's what he's saying. The concept of a gentleman today is nothing like this.
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It's just, do you open the door for the ladies? You know, and it's nothing to do with anyone except usually the opposite sex. This next one, and some of you will get a smile out of, I know the men will, the ladies too hopefully, but this was written by Varina Jefferson Davis. Mrs. Jeff Davis, on being a lady, or what is a lady? We're talking about self and honor.
#41 | 30:19 to 30:50 | cleaned
I want you to listen. Of course, some of this may have changed a little bit because it's dated, but the concepts still never go out of style, and it's just as applicable today as it was in the 19th century. Here's what she said about a lady. "A lady is simply someone who cares about herself and others. She sees that her garments are clean and neatly pressed, her shoes are polished, and every button is in place."
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"She is neat and tidy even at the breakfast table." No coming with makeup on and no coming with your hair in curlers. "She is neat and tidy even at the breakfast table and wishes to appear well to her own family. She keeps her hair clean and well-groomed and never puts her hand to her hair to rearrange it or search for loose pins while others can see it."
#43 | 31:21 to 31:44 | cleaned
"A lady does not monopolize the conversation. She does not talk of herself or her affairs, but listens with well-simulated interest to a story that bores her. This is the mark of good breeding. She does not sit apart with one or two friends, but makes a gentle effort to assure a good time for all with pleasant conversation. A lady does not say or do anything that will upset those around her or make them uncomfortable. A lady does not let any man kiss her or put his arm around her unless she is engaged to be married to him, and even then she should be a little stingy with her favors. A lady, when she brushes off her hat, does not forget to brush away the cobwebs from her brain. She does not conclude that every man who has said something pleasant to her has fallen in love with her."
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"A lady is possessed of refinement, which prevents her from fidgeting, from playing with her handkerchief or umbrella or purse or whatever may be in her hands. When she sits down, she remains quietly, her hands resting easily without movement, and her whole figure is filled with repose. She is calm, composed, self-controlled at all times, yet there are no airs about her. These qualities are what keep her from talking and laughing loudly."
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"and they prevent her from hurting the feelings of anyone. A lady does not grow weary in well-doing, but encourages herself by trying to live up to the ideal of a woman." Isn't that amazing? That reminds me of Proverbs 11, verse 16, "A gracious woman retaineth honor, and strong men retain riches." So in the South, it was an honor for a man to be a man and for a woman to be a woman. You cannot have a community without Southern hope, Southern honor, and here's the third one, Southern heritage. When you talk about heritage, heritage is the status acquired by birth.
#46 | 33:17 to 34:08 | cleaned
Let me say it another way. Your heritage is your birthright. We are born with a heritage. Everything that we have we have inherited from our ancestors as being sons of the South. I have seen a number of northern people who moved down into the South that had bumper stickers on their cars that said this, "I was not born in the South, but I got here as quickly as I could." And that's certainly true. And when you come, you realize there is indeed a heritage. And a Southerner can no more change his heritage than a leopard can change his spots. We are Southern. It's what we are. It's what we do.
#47 | 34:10 to 35:03 | cleaned
The blood flows in our veins. The psalmist said in Psalm 16 and verse 6, "The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage." I have a goodly heritage. I never will forget when God called me to preach years and years ago. One of the first meetings I had was up north. And there was a deacon in the church in which Alice and I were members, and he was a tall, rough fellow. And God had saved him. And I went up north and I preached and I came back. He came to me.
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He had his hands on his hips and he said, "How did those northerners treat you?" I looked at him. I said, "Well, since they were Christians, they treated me fine." But I mean, he was concerned. He wanted to know how I was treated. Well, it's interesting. And when you see this, I tell people, if you want to know how Southern I am, I can tell you how Southern I am.
#49 | 35:47 to 36:12 | cleaned
I don't have a TV, but if I did have a TV, I would never watch ball games. I hate ball games. I have no interest in them whatsoever. I don't care if it's football, baseball, tennis. If it's got a ball in it, I don't care anything about it. But if I hear the Atlanta Falcons are playing the Kansas City Royals or the New York Yankees, I want the Atlanta Falcons to win or the Atlanta Braves, whoever, whatever they are. I don't know the baseball from the football, but I would be for the South.
#50 | 36:15 to 36:47 | cleaned
You understand what I'm saying? Same thing with martial arts. If I'm watching a UFC and here's a man that's a fighter from the South, I don't care which part, and here's one from the North, I'd be for the man from the South. Don't know either one of them. But by the same token, if an American is fighting a Russian, I'm for the American. Wouldn't you be like that? Of course you would. I'm just simply saying we have what is known as a goodly heritage. David said it like this in Psalm 61 and verse 5. He said, "For thou, O God, hast heard my vows, thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name." So it's not only that we have a goodly heritage, we also have a godly heritage as well.
#51 | 36:48 to 37:28 | cleaned
It was Major R.E. Wilson who said this, "If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the cause for which Lee fought and Jackson died, let the lightnings of heaven rend me, the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion, sun, moon, and stars fall on me when I cease to love the Confederacy. 'Tis the cause, not the fate of the cause, that is glorious."
#52 | 37:29 to 37:57 | cleaned
Now, I want to give you one more. N.B. Littlejohn was sending his son off to fight in the War of Northern Aggression. I could have placed this under honor, but I chose to place it under heritage. But I want you to listen to what this man said to his son as he sent him off to fight. He said, "My son, I grasp your hand probably for the last time upon earth."
#53 | 37:58 to 38:29 | cleaned
"You're going to meet the dangers and hardships consequent to a soldier's life. You may fill a soldier's grave. Let me impress upon your mind to never fill it dishonorably. Ever be at your post of duty. Be an honor to our beloved Southland. Go where your superiors order you. Never turn your back upon the foe except when deemed necessary by your superior officers. Be true to your God, yourself, and your country. Never bring reproach upon your beloved Southland and yourself. Never desert your country. But if necessary, die at your post of honor."
#54 | 38:30 to 39:09 | cleaned
Can you imagine a father giving his son counsel like that today? Many of you have never heard of Henry Grady, or you have heard and don't really know who he was. You know about Grady Hospital in Atlanta, named after Henry Grady. Henry Grady was the editor of the Atlanta Constitution originally. And Henry Grady, on December the 21st, 1886, 21 years after the war, was speaking to the New England Society in New York. And his topic was "The New South."
#55 | 39:10 to 39:56 | cleaned
And I want you to listen to what he said. He said he had to say what he said at this meeting of the New England people in New York. He said, and I quote, "The South has nothing for which to apologize. She believes that the late struggle between the states was war and not rebellion, revolution and no conspiracy, and that her convictions were as honest as yours. I should be unjust to the dauntless spirit of the South and to my own convictions if I did not make this plain in this presence. The South has nothing to take back. In my native town of Athens, Georgia, is a monument that crowns its central hill, a plain white shaft."
#56 | 39:57 to 40:46 | cleaned
That's to the Confederate soldiers. "Deep cut into its shining side is a name dear to me above the names of all men, that of a brave and simple man who died in a brave and simple faith. Not for all the glories of New England and Plymouth Rock all the way would I exchange the heritage he left me in his soldier's death. To the foot of that I shall send my children's children to reverence him who ennobled their name with his heroic blood."
#57 | 40:47 to 41:19 | cleaned
Now let me ask you this question. Why in the world would Henry Grady say, "I'd rather honor the name on that Confederate monument than have all the glories of New England"? And the answer is because he believed that the South was fighting for that which was right, for the principles, for the truth. In fact, I will say this now. I really believe like Henry Grady that the South was fighting to prevent everything that we have today, which is a humanistic, totalitarian, out-of-control, gargantuan government that seeks to regulate and control us in every area of our lives.
#58 | 41:21 to 42:04 | cleaned
Stop and think about that. If the South had won the war, it would have been totally different. So, you have to understand, there was a reason for this heritage. It was Robert L. Dabney. Robert L. Dabney was not only a theologian, he was an author, he was a professor, he was also a deacon to Stonewall Jackson. And Robert L. Dabney was speaking at the Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia on January the 15th, 1882, and he was talking about the New South as well, but I want you to listen to one quote from his speech. He said this, "It behooves the New South in dismissing the animosities of the past to see to it that they retain all that was true in its principles or ennobling in its example."
#59 | 42:06 to 43:08 | cleaned
"There are those pretending to belong to this company who exclaim, 'Let us bury the dead past. Its issues are all antiquated and of no more practical significance. Let us forget the passions of the past. We are in a new world. Its new questions alone concern us.' I rejoin: Be sure that the former issues are dead before you really bury them. There are issues that cannot die without the death of the people of their honor, their civilization, and their greatness. Take care that you do not bury too much. While burying the dead past, that you do not bury the inspiring memories of the great patriots whose actions, whether successful or not, are the eternal glory of your race and section, the influence of their virtues, the guiding precedence of their histories? Would you bury the names and memories of the Jackson and Lee with their noble army of martyrs? Would you bury true history whose years are those of the God of truth?" Isn't that interesting?
#60 | 43:09 to 44:16 | cleaned
He's saying the same thing, and if you look around today, you see exactly that happening. People trying to bury Lee, Jackson, Columbus, Thomas Jefferson. We must understand that there are principles to our heritage. We must have hope, we must have honor, we must have heritage. There's one other that I want to share with you that was prominent in the South. It was an undergirding principle, and that was Southern hospitality. I'm going to tell you, and some of you are from the North, but the South is the most hospitable section of any section in America.
#61 | 44:17 to 45:06 | cleaned
It is the most friendly. You will find Southerners waving to people who they don't even know. Speaking to people, nodding. I drive down the road, I see farmers on tractors. They're waving. And sometimes it is indeed a shock when people from the North move down here and they see that everybody's speaking to them. I had an aunt who was raised up North, and she and my uncle lived in Toledo, Ohio until he retired from General Motors.
#62 | 45:07 to 45:42 | cleaned
Then they moved back South. And my aunt was just flabbergasted of all the people speaking to her and waving at her. They didn't even know her. And she told me, she said, "Up north, if someone you do not know speaks to you, you run." Now, if you tried that in the South, you'd just run yourself to death is what it amounts to because everybody's going to speak to everybody. I mean, Southerners. They love fellowship. They love barbecues. They love get-togethers. They love reunion.
#63 | 45:42 to 46:12 | cleaned
They enjoy the company of family and friends. To show you how things have differed, when I was a boy, we had company every Sunday. We would go to church on Sunday morning. Some family would come home with us, have dinner with us, spend the afternoon, have supper with us, and then we'd go back to church together. Every Sunday. Every Sunday. And if the adults wouldn't take a nap, they'd take a nap. I never could figure out as a child why anybody would waste a Sunday afternoon sleeping until I got grown. But, you know, that was just simply every Sunday.
#64 | 46:12 to 46:59 | cleaned
And moreover, here's something else. If you were at our house, and this was true even after I was grown, but if you were at our house and it was dinnertime, you ate with us. It's just that simple. Alice and I, after we got married, we would come home to visit for a few days, her folks and my folks. And we would sit down at the table of my mother and father, and we'd be sitting down with people I've never seen before in my life. They were just there.
#65 | 47:00 to 47:39 | cleaned
It might have been a salesman. They were there and they ate. By the way, my mother was a cook. If you came to our house for dinner, you had your choice of biscuits and cornbread. She always had two meats, sometimes three. She'd have about five vegetables, cakes, and pies. She started cooking at daylight, and she cooked until dinner. Now at night at supper you ate leftovers. But boy, that noon meal was absolutely tremendous.
#66 | 47:39 to 48:17 | cleaned
I'm just about to say, Southerners shared everything, and they were willing to share. One of my favorite stories is about Robert E. Lee. General Ewell had come to him for some war advice and counsel, and Lee invited General Ewell to stay for supper. And General Ewell said no, he couldn't, he had to get back. Well, Lee then insisted that General Ewell take his. And so General Ewell took it, and as he rode away on his horse, he opened the little sack, and there was two small cold sweet potatoes. That's all he had. Which, by the way, happened to be his favorite food. But he gave those two sweet potatoes to General Ewell.
#67 | 48:18 to 49:01 | cleaned
On another occasion, at Petersburg, during a Christmas dinner, his host called him, and he was embarrassed, called him putting his portion of the turkey to the side of his plate and not eating it. And she asked him why he was not eating his portion of the turkey. And he told her it was because he wanted to save his portion of the turkey for one of his staff officers who had been sick and had eaten nothing but cornbread and sweet potato coffee. After he got back to camp, his hostess sent a whole barrel of turkeys, one for each of his staff officers and one for General Lee. When they unpacked the barrel and found these turkeys, General Lee then insisted that his turkey be sent to the hospital to feed the wounded, that they might have a more nutritious meal. And when the staff officer saw that, they just packed the whole barrel back up, sent it to the hospital.
#68 | 49:02 to 50:11 | cleaned
But I mean, that's the way it was. You see, the Bible tells us in Romans 12 and verse 13, "Distributing to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality." When you get to 1 Peter 4 and verse 9, the Bible says, "Use hospitality one to another without grudging." Pastors are particularly to be examples of hospitality. It's said in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 2, "A bishop then first must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach." And in Titus 1 and 8, "But a lover of good men, a lover of hospitality, sober, holy, just, temperate." And Southerners, by the way, are just simply hospitable. They love to share. They love to rejoice in God's blessings and share those blessings with others.
#69 | 50:12 to 51:03 | cleaned
Do you realize that many of the homes in the Old South had traveler's rooms? If you don't know what a traveler's room is, if you go to the Agrirama in Tifton, Georgia, and view some of those old homes, you'll see them. A traveler's room was just a room that was attached to the house. The door was never locked. In that room was a bed, a washstand, and water and that kind of thing.
#70 | 51:03 to 51:29 | cleaned
So if you were passing through and needed a place to stay, you just pulled your horse up, you went in, you spent the night, and you washed up the next morning. You usually had breakfast with the family before you went on your way. And I suppose, that probably originated from 2 Kings 4, verses 8-10. You remember when that great woman of Shunem saw Elijah passing by?
#71 | 51:30 to 51:51 | cleaned
She told her husband, "This is a man of God. Let's make him a little room with a bed and a candlestick. And so when he passes by, he can stay here." And that's exactly what he did. And so these houses had traveler's rooms. When I was a boy, I've often seen my parents help others. If a barn was destroyed or a house was destroyed, the men of the community would get together and help repair or rebuild whatever was necessary. When someone was sick, you would find that the men in the neighborhood would come up and take care of the chores.
#72 | 51:51 to 52:31 | cleaned
The women would fix meals. I mean, I remember years ago when I lived in Jesup, one of my friends and one of my neighbors who was a farmer, had a stroke. It was a very debilitating stroke. And he had his crops in the field. Since I was raised on a farm and my girls could drive a tractor as well as I could, we finished his farming season for him. He was our neighbor.
#73 | 52:31 to 53:06 | cleaned
I'm just simply saying, you know, this happened. I remember one time when I was about 7 or 8 years old, maybe 9, there was a rabid fox in the community. And we had about 20 to 25 men that came to our house and the men were sitting on our porch, kind of waiting for that fox because he had been around in that area. The funny thing is, I had a little dog named Sandy, red colored like that, and the fox actually came up in the yard. And the men grabbed for their guns.
#74 | 53:07 to 53:47 | cleaned
And my dad said, "No, no." And he looked at me and said, "Son, you better get your dog. We almost shot him." I said, "Dad, my dog is in my lap. That's the fox!" And by this time, the fox is running down the road, and everybody's shooting. I think they found him dead the next day. Somebody hit him in the dark. But here are 20, 25 men. They got together.
#75 | 53:47 to 54:11 | cleaned
When our church would have a special meeting, folks call it revival meeting, do you know that for a month or two prior to that meeting, we would have cottage prayer meetings? And I have seen 50 and 60 people in one home. We would sing. And we would give testimonies and then everybody would pray and pray specifically for that meeting. I'm just simply saying things have totally, completely changed because we've lost the concept of community. Let me give you this quote, Henry Benjamin Whipple.
#76 | 54:12 to 54:53 | cleaned
In his journal, he was a bishop. He was from Minnesota and he took a tour of the South in 1843 and 1844, in order to regain his health, and if you've ever been in Minnesota, and those who live there, please forgive me. You can understand why you need to get away from there for your health. The coldest I've ever been in my entire life was in Minnesota, but that's okay.
#77 | 54:54 to 55:21 | cleaned
But Bishop Whipple wrote this, and he was in St. Augustine, Florida, and he says this, "November the 25th, the people of the southern states are generally much more hospitable than northerners, and the difference must be attributed to the fact that they are not such money-loving people. You do not see the low, mean cupidity that base selfishness so striking a characteristic of one of our portion of our restless Yankee brethren. I'm more and more convinced that most of the exaggerated stories of abolitionists exist only in the imagination. And from personal observation, I know that the efforts of the abolitionists of the North have only served to injure the slave and to destroy the kind and fraternal feeling which should exist between the Northern and Southern states." So here's a Minnesotan saying, the people in the South are far more hospitable than those in the North.
#78 | 55:22 to 56:20 | cleaned
By the way, hope, honor, heritage, and hospitality are the underpinnings of any society, of any community, not just in the Old South, not just in the Confederacy. And let me add one more. You need the same language. Have you ever stopped to think, in Judges chapter 12, 42,000 men were killed because they could not say "shibboleth"? They couldn't frame the word, but they would say "sibboleth." And 42,000 were killed. Here's a good example. In 1883, Sitting Bull, a Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull was a guest of honor at the opening ceremonies for the Northern Pacific Railroad. When it was his turn to speak, he said in the Lakota language, "I hate all white people. You're thieves and liars."
#79 | 56:21 to 57:20 | cleaned
"You've taken away our land and made us outcasts." A quick-thinking interpreter told the crowd the chief was happy to be there and they looked forward to peace and prosperity with the white people. Sitting Bull received a standing ovation. Nobody knew what he said. If you want community, you need hope, you need honor, you need heritage, you need hospitality, and you need the same language. Do you realize that these qualities will come together in eternity? Our hope will be turned into realization, but we will still have honor, heritage, and hospitality because our Lord is going to provide everything. If you've ever wondered why today in America we are so divided.
#80 | 57:20 to 58:13 | cleaned
We have nothing in common anymore and we live in a fractured, disjointed and apathetic society. The answer is because we no longer have biblical communities. We no longer really care about each other. We no longer really are concerned with the welfare of those who live next door to us, spiritual, material, physical, anyway, whatsoever. Where there is no commonality, there is no community. You might have the same space. You might live in the same area. You might share the same government. But you cannot have community without commonality. And if we're going to have a community, we must have the same rule of law.
#81 | 58:15 to 59:14 | cleaned
And that is the Word of God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Lord, that You would teach us, that You would help us, build us up in the most holy faith. Help us to see that which we have lost, and may we regain it by Your grace and Your mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
#82 | 59:15 to 59:38 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:45:12Z

Southern Community in the Old South

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines the biblical and historical foundations of genuine community, arguing that true community requires common culture, heritage, and faith. He contrasts the fragmented modern society with the Old South, where four pillars—Southern hope (biblical faith), honor, heritage, and hospitality—bound individuals and families together. The sermon calls for rebuilding community on God's law, emphasizing that communities cannot be resurrected without resurrected individuals and families.

Introduction and Scripture Reading

Weaver reads 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 and poses questions about when we last comforted or edified someone in our community, referencing previous messages on community.

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore,"

that is in light of this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

"wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another even as also you do."

Defining Community

He critiques modern dictionary definitions of community, emphasizing that true community requires a common cultural and historical heritage, not just shared locality or government.

Biblical and Historical Foundations of Community

Weaver explains that early American communities were based on a common Christian faith, as seen in original charters requiring belief in Jesus Christ and the Bible.

The Problem of Modern Fragmentation

He argues that today's multiculturalism and diverse ideologies prevent genuine community, leading to group conflict and a lack of commonality.

Rebuilding Community on God's Law

Weaver asserts that resurrecting community requires rebuilding according to God's law, starting with individuals and families, and warns against using man's law structure.

Scripture Reading — Joshua 6:26

"And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth the city of Jericho." "He shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set the gates of it."

The Four Pillars of Southern Community

He introduces the four concepts that bound Southern communities: Southern hope (biblical hope), Southern honor, Southern heritage, and Southern hospitality.

Southern Hope: Biblical Faith

Weaver details the theological influence in the South, citing James Henley Thornwell and Robert E. Lee, and argues the Civil War was a theological conflict between Christianity and atheism.

Southern Honor: Code of Conduct

He describes the Southern code of honor for men and women, emphasizing honesty, courage, self-sufficiency, and femininity, with quotes from Lee and Varina Davis.

Scripture Reading — Romans 12:18

"As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 11:16

"A gracious woman retaineth honor, and strong men retain riches."

Southern Heritage: Birthright and Identity

Weaver explains heritage as a birthright inherited from ancestors, citing Psalm 16:6 and quotes from Major R.E. Wilson and N.B. Littlejohn, and discusses Henry Grady's defense of the South.

The blood flows in our veins. The psalmist said in Psalm 16 and verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 16:6

"The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage."

Southern Hospitality: Generosity and Fellowship

He highlights the South's tradition of hospitality, sharing personal anecdotes and biblical commands, and quotes Bishop Whipple's observations on Southern hospitality.

But I mean, that's the way it was. You see, the Bible tells us in Romans 12 and verse 13,

Scripture Reading — Romans 12:13

"Distributing to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality."

The Need for Common Language and Conclusion

Weaver adds that a common language is essential for community, citing Judges 12, and concludes that without biblical communities, society remains fractured, calling for a return to God's Word.

Scripture Reading — Judges 12

By the way, hope, honor, heritage, and hospitality are the underpinnings of any society, of any community, not just in the Old South, not just in the Confederacy. And let me add one more. You need the same language. Have you ever stopped to think, in Judges chapter 12, 42,000 men were killed because they could not say "shibboleth"? They couldn't frame the word, but they would say "sibboleth." And 42,000 were killed. Here's a good example. In 1883, Sitting Bull, a Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull was a guest of honor at the opening ceremonies for the Northern Pacific Railroad. When it was his turn to speak, he said in the Lakota language, "I hate all white people. You're thieves and liars."

Southern Community in the Old South

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	93192055513262
Subject	Christian Civilization
Course	Rebuilding Christian Civilization
Genre	Sermon
Date	2019-09-01
Dictation Name
Book	Book 062: Rebuilding Christian Civilization — Chapter 4
Source Timed Segments	82

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Scripture Reading: Weaver reads 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 and poses questions about when we last comforted or edified someone in our community, referencing previous messages on community.
Defining Community: He critiques modern dictionary definitions of community, emphasizing that true community requires a common cultural and historical heritage, not just shared locality or government.
Biblical and Historical Foundations of Community: Weaver explains that early American communities were based on a common Christian faith, as seen in original charters requiring belief in Jesus Christ and the Bible.
The Problem of Modern Fragmentation: He argues that today's multiculturalism and diverse ideologies prevent genuine community, leading to group conflict and a lack of commonality.
Rebuilding Community on God's Law: Weaver asserts that resurrecting community requires rebuilding according to God's law, starting with individuals and families, and warns against using man's law structure.
The Four Pillars of Southern Community: He introduces the four concepts that bound Southern communities: Southern hope (biblical hope), Southern honor, Southern heritage, and Southern hospitality.
Southern Hope: Biblical Faith: Weaver details the theological influence in the South, citing James Henley Thornwell and Robert E. Lee, and argues the Civil War was a theological conflict between Christianity and atheism.
Southern Honor: Code of Conduct: He describes the Southern code of honor for men and women, emphasizing honesty, courage, self-sufficiency, and femininity, with quotes from Lee and Varina Davis.
Southern Heritage: Birthright and Identity: Weaver explains heritage as a birthright inherited from ancestors, citing Psalm 16:6 and quotes from Major R.E. Wilson and N.B. Littlejohn, and discusses Henry Grady's defense of the South.
Southern Hospitality: Generosity and Fellowship: He highlights the South's tradition of hospitality, sharing personal anecdotes and biblical commands, and quotes Bishop Whipple's observations on Southern hospitality.
The Need for Common Language and Conclusion: Weaver adds that a common language is essential for community, citing Judges 12, and concludes that without biblical communities, society remains fractured, calling for a return to God's Word.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Modern Society Lacks True Community

Today's multicultural, ideologically diverse society cannot form genuine community because there is no common faith, culture, or heritage.

Weaver argues, 'There cannot possibly be any real genuine community with these distinctions and these divisions.'

Community Resurrection Requires Individual Resurrection

A community cannot be spiritually healthy unless the individuals and families within it are first transformed by God's grace.

He states, 'It is impossible to have a resurrected community with unresurrected people.'

The Civil War Was a Defense of Christian Civilization

The South fought to preserve a Christian social order against the humanistic, rationalistic ideologies of the North, and losing the war led to ongoing cultural decay.

Weaver says, 'I really believe like Henry Grady that the South was fighting to prevent everything that we have today, which is a humanistic, totalitarian, out-of-control, gargantuan government.'

Honor Requires Courage and Self-Government

A society without honor loses courage and relies on external force; true honor comes from internal moral restraint based on God's Word.

He quotes Robert Winthrop: 'Men in a word must necessarily be controlled either by a power without them or by a power within them, either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet.'

Heritage Must Be Preserved, Not Buried

The principles and memories of the past, especially the godly examples of Southern leaders, must be retained to guide future generations.

He quotes Dabney: 'Take care that you do not bury too much. While burying the dead past, that you do not bury the inspiring memories of the great patriots.'

Hospitality Is a Biblical Mandate for Community

Christians are commanded to practice hospitality, which fosters mutual care and strengthens community bonds, as exemplified in the Old South.

Weaver cites 1 Peter 4:9, 'Use hospitality one to another without grudging,' and gives examples of Southern hospitality.

Political Correctness Is Modern Reconstruction

Efforts to reshape language and thought, like political correctness, are a continuation of Reconstruction's aim to force Southerners to conform to Northern ideology.

He says, 'Political correctness is nothing more than Reconstruction. It's me trying to teach you to think the way I think.'

A Common Language Prevents Division

Linguistic unity is essential for community; without it, misunderstanding and conflict arise, as seen in biblical and historical examples.

He references Judges 12 where 42,000 were killed over the word 'shibboleth' and the Sitting Bull story.

Scripture References

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11: Read at the opening as the primary text, emphasizing comfort and edification within the community.
Joshua 6:26: Cited to show that rebuilding on man's terms brings a curse, as with Jericho.
Romans 12:18: Quoted to support the idea that living peaceably is not always possible, justifying the Southern willingness to fight for honor.
Proverbs 11:16: Used to affirm the honor of a gracious woman, paralleling Varina Davis's description of a lady.
Psalm 16:6: Quoted to express the goodness of Southern heritage: 'The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage.'
Psalm 61:5: Cited to connect heritage with the fear of God: 'Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.'
Romans 12:13: Quoted to command hospitality: 'Distributing to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality.'
1 Peter 4:9: Cited to reinforce hospitality without grudging.
1 Timothy 3:2: Mentioned to show that pastors must be examples of hospitality.
Titus 1:8: Cited alongside 1 Timothy 3:2 to emphasize hospitality as a qualification for church leaders.
2 Kings 4:8-10: Referenced as the possible origin of traveler's rooms, where the Shunammite woman provided a room for Elisha.
Judges 12: Used to illustrate the deadly consequences of lacking a common language, with 42,000 killed over 'shibboleth.'

Historical References

James Henley Thornwell: Southern Presbyterian theologian who viewed the Civil War as a conflict between Christianity and atheism.
Robert E. Lee: Confederate general whose testimony affirmed the Bible as the infallible Word of God; also quoted on the definition of a gentleman.
Basil Manly: Baptist pastor and chaplain to the Provisional Confederate Congress who viewed secession as a Christian reform movement.
W.W. Bennett and J. William Jones: Authors of books on revivals in the Confederate armies, noting at least 150,000 conversions.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: Russian author who observed a decline in courage in the West, particularly among the ruling elite.
Varina Jefferson Davis: Wife of Jefferson Davis, whose writing on 'What is a Lady?' described feminine honor and refinement.
Major R.E. Wilson: Confederate officer who declared he would never apologize for the cause for which Lee and Jackson fought.
N.B. Littlejohn: Father who sent his son to war with a charge to be honorable and true to God and the South.
Henry Grady: Editor of the Atlanta Constitution who defended the South's cause in an 1886 speech to the New England Society.
Robert L. Dabney: Theologian and Stonewall Jackson's chief of staff, who warned against burying the inspiring memories of Southern patriots.

Important Quotes

All societies of men must be governed in some way or the other. The less they may have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men in a word must necessarily be controlled either by a power without them or by a power within them, either by the Word of God or the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet.

Robert Winthrop's quote encapsulates the sermon's argument that true community requires internal moral restraint based on Scripture rather than external force.

The forebearing use of power does not only form the touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is the true test of a gentleman.

Lee's definition of a gentleman highlights the Southern honor code's emphasis on humility and restraint in power.

A lady is simply someone who cares about herself and others. She sees that her garments are clean and neatly pressed, her shoes are polished, and every button is in place.

Varina Davis's description of a lady illustrates the Southern ideal of feminine honor and self-respect.

If I ever disown, repudiate, or apologize for the cause for which Lee fought and Jackson died, let the lightnings of heaven rend me, the scorn of all good men and true women be my portion, sun, moon, and stars fall on me when I cease to love the Confederacy. 'Tis the cause, not the fate of the cause, that is glorious.

Major Wilson's passionate declaration underscores the deep heritage and unapologetic loyalty to the Southern cause.

The South has nothing for which to apologize. She believes that the late struggle between the states was war and not rebellion, revolution and no conspiracy, and that her convictions were as honest as yours.

Henry Grady's unapologetic defense of the South's cause reinforces the theme of heritage and principled conviction.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

When is the last time you comforted or edified someone in your community, and what practical steps can you take to do so more intentionally?

[Context]

Weaver opens by asking when we last comforted or edified others, based on 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

[Question]

How does the lack of a common faith and culture in modern society hinder the formation of genuine Christian community?

[Context]

Weaver argues that multiculturalism and diverse ideologies prevent real community.

[Question]

In what ways can we rebuild our communities according to God's law, starting with our own families and personal lives?

[Context]

He emphasizes that community resurrection begins with resurrected individuals and families living by God's Word.

[Question]

Which of the four pillars—hope, honor, heritage, hospitality—do you think is most lacking in your community, and why?

[Context]

Weaver presents these as the essential glue of Southern communities and any true community.

[Question]

How does the Southern code of honor (integrity, courage, self-sufficiency) challenge modern notions of masculinity and femininity?

[Context]

He describes the honor code for men and women, contrasting it with contemporary culture.

[Question]

What aspects of your spiritual heritage should you preserve and pass on to the next generation, and how can you do so?

[Context]

Weaver discusses heritage as a birthright and quotes Dabney's warning not to bury inspiring memories.

[Question]

How can we practice biblical hospitality in a culture that often prioritizes privacy and individualism?

[Context]

He gives examples of Southern hospitality and cites commands like Romans 12:13 and 1 Peter 4:9.

[Question]

What role does a common language (literal or figurative) play in fostering unity, and how can we overcome communication barriers in our communities?

[Context]

Weaver uses Judges 12 and the Sitting Bull story to illustrate the importance of shared language.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T14:08:18Z