Welcome to my little space in cyberspace where my alternate universes of baseball, faith star trek, history and a host of other subjects juxtapose themselves intersecting in sometimes homorous, sometimes serious and hopefully always interesting ways.
It is also my author site for my first book, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: Religion and the Politics of Race in the Civil War and Beyond. It will be published by Potomac Books, an imprint of University of Nebraska Press on October 1st, 2022. The book is available for pre-order through the publisher as well as online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Powell’s City of Books, Book Depository, Thrift Books, the British Bookstore Blackwells, Wal Mart, and others.
Thank you so much for visiting and please enjoy.
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
Hi Padre Steve,
I am a mid-life lady law student who found your blog researching military wills. I am also the daughter of a cold-war era Navy carrier pilot suffering from Alzheimers. A Navy Chaplain provided my only religious instruction growing up, when we were stationed at NAS Willow Grove during Vietnam.
I am writing a thesis paper on the privilege of the military will, from Julius Caesar through today. I am particularly interested in your observations of young people facing mortality in your role as a Chaplain.
Would you be willing to have a brief conversation or email exchange with me about this topic? I would really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance for your interest.
Kathy
I can try, will be glad to see if I can provide what you are looking for. It if funny how many Navy brats I run into out here.
Blessings
Steve+
Hi there,
just looking at your site. My 86 year old father was a member of the USMC in WWII. He was in the 2nd division, third bttn, K company, third platoon. Saw action on Guadalcanal and was severely WIA on Tarawa. Thanks for keeping the history alive.
Steve,
Just wanted to say Hi! Hope all is well with you and yours.
Jerry
Padre Steve,
I tripped over your site while researching something else, and have really enjoyed your musings. Solid, logical stuff with a touch of humility. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Then I saw you are a SF Giants fan and, well, that sealed the deal. I’ll keep checking back. And thank you for your service, especially to those of ours that are in service.
Joe Costamagna
Santa Rosa, CA
Joe
Thanks for the kind words. Giants fans have to stick together huh? Hope the guys can outlast the Padres and Rockies. I would love to see them win the NL West and hopefully go farther than that.
Blessings,
Padre Steve+
Nice redesign Padre Steve. I like the resource links to the Weimar and Pearl Harbour too. I’ll vote for 14 point type, as white on black actually looks smaller than it actually is. Aside from that, how’s figuring out WordPress going? You can reply directly to email if you prefer.
Cheers!
David
I tried emailing this comment to the cox.net address, but it was returned.
The redesign does look nice, but I find white text on black background very difficult to read. Another blogger who went to 14 pt found it actually exacerbated the problem, as the starkness of the contrast increased with increased font size. He ended up going to a dark charcoal background with lightly grayed text.
I do have old eyes, so I may not be the best judge. But I’ve enjoyed reading your blog on a regular basis, and the change does make it difficult.
That’s odd. Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I’ll have to look at what options gives for font. I think that I am using the font that they provide for regualr paragraphs. I’ll take a look and see what I can come up with. Thanks and blessings
Steve
This template gives white, black, red and brown options for the background. I got tired of white from my last template, I don’t like brown and thought that red would be too hard on the eyes
Hi,
I found your blog through this…
http://en.wordpress.com/tag/hms-glorious/
I’m Pierre Lagacé.
Read the three articles I wrote about someone who was looking for her great-grandfather Raymond Roberts who died on June 8, 1940.
God works in many ways.
Thanks, I’ll look up the articles
Hello! My name is Liz and my Dad was in the USN for 20 years. From him not only do I have his love of History, but I also have his wanderlust as well as his love of learning. I born and raised Catholic but left in the wake of scandal that rocked the parish I grew up in. Since then I am a member of the Church of Christ. I was wondering what is the “Apostolic Catholic Orthodox Church”?
Liz. Thank you for your kind words. It sounds like your dad was quite a man. In answer to your question the ACOC is a Church of the Old Catholic tradition. The Old Catholic Church began as the Catholic Church in the Netherlands and was officially formed in 1870 as a separate denomination leaving due to the First Vatican Council proclaiming Papal Infallibility. Blessings, Padre Steve+
Hi Steve, I really like your pages and we probably have a great deal in common: military service (I am former USMC), faith, history, and baseball…at least. This evening I watched a terrific little docu-drama on the military channel called “Commanders At War”. This episode was a very well done dramatic synopsis of the Battle of Kurtz from the commanders perspectives – von Manstein and Zhukov. Later, I jumped on the web and was scanning through Google images of von Manstein and also Guderian and fell upon your wonderful blog! BUT the real reason I decided to drop you a line is that I wanted to share a terrific new book with you called “The House that Ruth Built” by Robert Weintraub. I believe it’s brand new or fairly new. I figured any baseball fan and historian would love this book, as I really did. It tells the story of the rise of the Yankess (no, I’m not really a Yankee fan but they are so relelevant arent they?) in 1923. The tale of an epic season, their first World Series championship coinciding with their first season in their new stadium. Larger than life figures like John McGraw, Col. Jacob Ruppert and the nearly forgotten Cap Huston (Huston was co-owner of the Yanks in ’23 – I didnt know that – he is the man who truly built Yankee Stadium…had a deep background in civil engineering and construction). And of course, larger than all of ’em – The Babe. This is an excellent book. I would not hesitate to put it right up there with both of David Halberstram’s classics “Summer of ’49” and “October 1964” (and that’s good company for any baseball book). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Brian Smith
Oceanside, CA
Padresteve,
In looking up my fathers name online I stumbled onto your online entry. I can’t say I remember you burying my dad but there were so many people there and many events of that day have left my memory. Just wanted to say God bless you,
Kim (Boyd) Goodlavage
Padre Steve
I’ve sent you an email (to padresteve@cox.net) and hope that you will reply when you have time.
Toby Humphry
Hello Chaplain Steve,
Please clarify what you mean by “…Deity Herself speaks to me…” found on the Welcome to my World section. Is your god female? — Please elaborate. Thank you!
Pancho
Pancho
Thanks for the question. Actually the term “The Deity Herself” is borrowed from Fr Andrew Greeley’s Bishop Blackie Ryan character in his Bishop Blackie Ryan mystery novels. I use it to get under the skin of men that don’t like women in any real kind of authority and what better way than to refer to God in that manner. It is kind of a light hearted thing on my part. Apart from that I am orthodox in my view of the Christian Godhead.
Blessings
Steve+
Hi Steve! I’m Lisa with TLC Book Tours. Last year you reviewed Wounded Giant for my partner, Trish. I have a couple books coming up on tour that I’d like to run by you for possible review on your site. One is a baseball book and the other is a narrative non fiction title about the race between American cities to host the United Nations after WWII. I can’t find your email address here, so perhaps you could email me about it? Thanks! ~Lisa
Lisa,
That sounds interesting. I will e-mail you.
Blessings,
Steve+
After reading your welcome introduction I am made aware that you are one false teacher/preacher.
Sicko!
Steve,
I found you just a simple search of military posts on wordpress. After a quick look, I feel that I am reading my own words. I didn’t know I have a brother from another mother out there, thank you.
I can’t wait to discover more from you. My only problem is that I can only follow you once and not multiple time. Ha ha.
Hello Padre Steve,
I stumbled onto your blog while doing some research on Smedley Butler. As a retired Army tanker (23 years) and a capital “L” liberal (hey, I live in Vermont – what else could I be?), I found your posts interesting, insightful and from a kindred spirit.
May I ask a couple of biographical questions?
– You were a chaplain in the Army and now, the Navy. How did that happen?
– I believe I read that you were, at first, an Episcopal priest and due to your “liberalism” was invited to pursue other interests by your bishop. At one time, I was a practicing Episcopalian and found the church to be quite liberal (female priests, Rites I and II, gay bishops, etc) and not conservative at all. As your blog says, you seem quite moderate so I’m a bit confused. How is it your bishop asked you to resign?
If either of these questions are too personal, please decline to answer and accept my apologies in advance.
Padre Steve,
You were mentioned in a HuffPost article about widespread “moral injury” among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The article had a link to your blog, and I look forward to spending significant here reading and hopefully healing. I am not a veteran but I am a traumatic brain injury survivor, something in common with far far too many veterans. I hope to find motivation in your blog, something to get me off my butt and moving again.
Padre Steve,
I just became aware of your blog via a post you made of the group “Warships of the World” on Facebook. I am not a veteran but have always been a fan of the military, military history and just history in general. What I have seen/read so far I have been very impressed with and look forward to reading more of your postings. I do particularly enjoy the various Star Trek references you have sprinkled n your commentary. I too relate a lot of life experiences to thoughts and ideas that come across in Gene Roddenberry’s creation. LLAP!
Dear Padre Steve, you have a mighty fine blog here. What a great mix of Christianity, history, naval service and Star Trek. If I didn’t have my blog then I would have tried to write yours but no doubt in no way as good
Thanks so much. I enjoy your blog too! Blessings!
Good morning Chaplain,
My name is Bill Downs and I’m a retired Navy Chief Boatswain Mate. I stumbled upon your web-site as I was doing some research for a fellow veteran on his father’s ship (USS Parrot DD-218). As I began reading some of your “musings” on religion and other topics I quickly learned that we have a lot in common (including the lack of hair). I enlisted in the Navy in 1966 at the tender age of 17 and after a very disappointing first enlistment (I was on two sub-tenders USS Bushnell AS-15 and USS Canopus AS-34) I exited the service in 1969. However, it didn’t take long before I realized that the Navy had developed some very strong ideals in me about life and how things should be done and I re-enlisted in 1973. I had acquired a wife and son during my tour of duty in CIVLANT and when I began my second enlistment I was assigned new construction on the USS Kalamazoo AOR-6. My new wife and sone had never been exposed to navy life and they soon realized that I would be spending a majority of my time away from them and out on the big pond.
I won’t bore you with the next 22+ years I spent on active duty, but since my retirement in 1989 I have spent the last 25 years being a poster child for the service I love (I have been told that I need to add some clothing to my wardrobe that doesn’t say “NAVY” on it). I went back to school after retiring and received my degree in Communications from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. After working for a printing company in Stevens Point for 13 years I retired again (now I’m just tired) and have spent the majority of my time playing golf, writing, and serving as the Public Relations Officer for our local AMVETS Post and American Legion Post.
I will check back often to read more of your musings and I only have one criticism of what I have read so far. You really need to use your spell check and grammar check more often. Some of the musings have a few errors that I’m sure you would have caught if you had done some proof reading, or ran spell/grammar check. Other than that, I am fairly close to many of your beliefs and all though I have not been a member of any established religion since I was 13, I was raised as a Babtist by my parents and have benfitted from many of those teachings.
Have a great day Padre!
Bill Downs BMC(SW) USN-Ret.
email: bdowns48@yahoo.com
Bill,
Thank you so much for you kind words and comments. I also thank you for your service. My dad retired as an Aviation Storekeeper Chief from the USS Hancock in 1974.
It is nice to see the things that we have in common too!
Blessings my friend!
Peace
Steve+
Padre Steve — While I’ve been out of the services for years, I often watch AFRN-TV where I recently saw your story. I appreciated what you had to say. Thank you, for your service and your words of encouragement to vets everywhere. — Tom Darby
Tom
Thank you for your kind words as well as your service as well.
Blessings!
Steve+
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Padre Steve you have an image of HMS Electra sailing past as HMS Hood blows up. I would like to use the image in an exhibition but do not know where it comes from. Please could you forward any info you have to I can seek the owner of the copyright for its use. Thank you
Adrian Campbell-Black British Defence Attache Jakarta
Adrian, I found it online quite a while ago. I do not know the author. However, I have a friend in the UK who knows all things related to Hood. I will ask him. Send me your contact info via the e-mail contact on my page and I will put him in contact with you.
Blessings,
Steve
My GOODNESS what a story! I will say this Steve, you are a man of many profound experiences along with an obvious intelligence and wisdom! Those are some pretty darn good traits to have Sir… along with your remarkable wife of course! LOL 😉
Thank you
I came across a Betty Bowers review of Mikey’s book, searched on that book, found your site, and am excited to look around. May dad was a Coastie serving as a sonar-man side-b-side with Navy guys in the north Atlantic during WWII. He never talked about his service except about the bad food (SOS.) At his funeral, I found out why from one of his American Legion buddies. Suffered badly from survivor’s remorse. Half the crew died, and he had “seen” the torpedoes coming on sonar that scuttled the ship. He had a career as an electrician, mostly foreman or gen. foreman, most of that in Orange County, CA, before dying of ALS at 57 years of age.
My brother served ’71-’74, after college, low draft no., and after the Army put him through a year of learning Russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. Sent him to Berlin to listen in. My sister served 7 years active duty after graduation from UC Davis in Nutrition/Dietetics, the Army got her Registered Dietitian, and she served in the Army Reserve for 30 years, retired out as a Lt. Col. AFTER she had her retirement ceremony, the Army Reserve sent her a letter saying she had been promoted to full bird. She always complained about the incompetency of the Army Reserve, so it was funny. She still retired out higher than her husband, who only made Major.
I was raised a Presbyterian, but pretty much quit that around 13-14 YO. Went to Catholic mass for 20 years, as my wife was Catholic, though I never converted. Still occasionally go to the mission-style Catholic Church in my neighborhood, the poorest parish in diocese. There are openly gay couples there, and the priest, who was ordained in Africa, teaches Muslim studies at our local Jesuit uni, Gonzaga. My daughter graduated from GU, and GU Law, and is a prosecuting attorney in Cincinnati, where her husband (BF-GF since 10th grade) just graduated from medical school.
I see you forgot to mention Quakers in your impressive list of various religious sects; I have a lot of liberal (non programmed) Quaker leanings and have attended meetings, but we don’t have one here in town. I admire liberation theology of the Roman Catholics. Pretty much a Liberal, with some tendancies towards some libertarian and paleo-conservative tenets. I follow a lot of progressive Christian sites.
I’m am semi-retired and work part time for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Outreach Center, which provides numerous services in our community, including WIC, a housing assistance center, Early Head Start, children’s services full time during the summer, before and after school programs, senior citizen program, homeless outreach. I believe in the philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. I consider his Beyond Vietnam speech one of the finest ever delivered.
Recovering flame-thrower, I prefer long reads and good commentary between various factions.
Just thought I’d give you an intro before treading into your interesting world, Padre.
Peace.
Thanks so much.
DiTCH PaCK
Acronym for the seven virtues
Spread the word.
Join the D i TCH P a CK
May I use please extracts of the ships of Normandy as I’m writing about the Normandy landings in my new book called Angels Aboard. My name is David banks and I’m a disabled hobbyist writer of 73 . My website is www. Jdbbooklets.org.uk it tells about me and why I write . So may I sir use some extracts vans put your name in the bibliography of this book due out September this year .
Yours sincerely
David banks
Sure. No problem at all. Thank you.
Wanted to send you some new info on Kate Hewitt who was engaged to John Reynolds. Basically myself and another person have proved that she was not the Kate Hewitt in Stillwater, NY. If you’d like the link to our article email me at mpitkin (at ) live.com ~Mary Stanford Pitkin
Thank you. I will. I will be interested in finding out your method of proof if nothing else. For me the evidence I have seen is pretty strong, but I always remain open to new evidence.
I realize I’m a bit slow but I just recently heard about the unusual circumstances of the death of David Wilkerson and was looking into them which led me to your post on the subject. In light of my own experiences may I offer another conclusion than swerving into oncoming traffic due to depression (longterm, clinical, or otherwise). I might entertain that notion except for one fact. His wife was in the car with him.
However, in the year 2011 (oddly enough), I was going through my own dark night when everything was against me and it felt like satan was attacking on several fronts. I had to quickly vacate my apartment and my belongings when the ceiling gave way with a waterfall. Suddenly homeless and wiped out I was leaving my building for the last time with a small box of my belongings. Some people were coming IN through the door struggling to haul something. I said, “let me prop the door open for you with my box.” I bent down to do it. The next thing I remember I was physically flying through the air in the opposite direction and I had only a second to close my eyes before my right cheek hit the top step of the down staircase a few feet away. I tumbled down the steps head over feet several times and became conscious again when the Firemen were trying to unwedge my broken body from the stairwell. Nobody knows how the accident that almost killed me occurred because the physical strength needed to hurl me down the stairs with such force was even beyond my own means. There is much more remarkable about the event that I cannot get into here and your response will depend on how far-reaching your own beliefs are. But, I simply state the truth for your further consideration and tell you I’m glad to have discovered your blog and am now following it. I’m looking forward to reading and learning more from/about you. Except maybe for the baseball stuff. 😉
Sincerely, Laura-Lee 🇨🇦🙋🏻♀️
Thank you for sharing your story and beliefs. I do believe that Satan is a destroyer of all that is good. However, that being said after reading his blog over the month before his death, examining the Texas Highway Pastoral Accident Report and viewing all the pictures in it, and getting the autopsy report, I have to be truthful. I admired David, but he and his wife were both very sick and he had his church stolen out from under him by people he groomed for ministry and lives who he helped save from drug abuse and gang violence. I believe what you said happened to you, but do not think that it was a part of David’s death. I am a trained accident investigator, and when one reads all the statements, the reports, and autopsy results there is only conclusion, it was suicide, and it takes nothing away from my respect or love for David. The human condition and human nature are actually more common than Satanic intervention. That is why Jesus died for our sins, not Satan’s. Likewise, even the most faithful and decent Christians can be afflicted with physical illness, betrayal, and profound clinical depression which results in changes to our body chemistry often commit suicide. That is not a weakness, it is a part of being human, and Jesus does understand, and will not condemn anyone in such circumstances.
Thank you for you comments, and for following what I write. You will certainly learn from some, and probably find reason to agree or disagree with any subject that I write about. Please stay in contact, but let us not discuss this subject again. I grew so weary from really nasty attacks about the article that I finally blocked comments on it, yours were kind and that is why I am responding to you.
I thank you for sharing this very intimate and vulnerable part of your life here. I will not disparage your experience, and may be very well true for you. But I can only say that it is not necessarily a universal truth, just as I cannot claim any of my experiences as a Christian, especially those that I would consider supernatural are necessarily true for any other Christian. The lessons of Scripture, the lives of 2000 years of Christians, and plain reason prevent me from doing so. I am fallible, sinful, and completely rely on the grace of God and a belief that I have nothing to teach Jesus about the Christian life or theology.
I wish you all the best and thank you again for sharing.
Peace,
Padre Steve+
I can appreciate that you MUST have had a wave of comments on that topic for sure. It was a bit tricky of me to approach you in your About Me section but honestly I just couldn’t find your Contact page. But I’ve added my “two cents” feeling I had something NEW to offer on the topic, but now I’m content to leave it. Ultimately, neither of us know what happened to David Wilkerson for sure, but as with all things, God does know and is on top of things.
But it can be both a good and bad thing to allow opposing comments (I allow the same at my blog), but people will beat a topic like a dead horse sometimes and since time is so precious we need to be wise enough to know when to move on.
I very much appreciate the time and effort it took to give me such a lengthy reply. It demonstrates your respect for your readers and people as individuals. I had already sensed your ability to research something and desire to get at the truth as well as your keen deductive reasoning. So I’m not surprised to hear that you investigate accidents. I have the same bent of reasoning and my father worked for the Canadian government to investigate plane crashes. (Part of my DNA?). I investigate crashes too but as a behaviourist mine are of the human kind. And I just generally find people fascinating and love to learn more about them. That being said, (rather long-windedly) I am still VERY pleased to have located you and to learning more about you. Even to the point of being motivated to read some of your sports posts. 😲 And no doubt you’ll be seeing my comments crop up here and there. I won’t be offended by you and, I hope, you won’t be offended by me and we will part each time giving each other the benefit of the doubt and as friends. Deal?
Sincerely, Laura-Lee 🙋🏻♀️
Thank you so much, for people like you it is easy to give a long reply and appreciate what you have to say. Likewise I really meant what I said complimentary of David. I knew one of his former parishioners at Times Square Church who saw the take over from the inside. It broke my heart, especially knowing that his wife was so sick and many of his closest companions in Texas had passed away. It’s not so easy with the White Supremacists and Neo Nazis who fill the comments with such hate filled invective and offer no facts as they make their ad hominem attacks. I have a number of those the past few weeks. But please be and please always be safe and have a blessed night. Free Free to comment whenever you want. We might disagree but I will always treat you with proper respect and Christian love. Peace and blessings, Steve+
I feel your pain, Bro. That old “sticks and stones” saying is often not true. Words have the power to hurt in a massive and lingering way, and even more so if they are hate-filled. Hard to shake off sometimes. Another type of storm to weather. But you are doing it with dignity and showing your character. At least to those who have the eyes and desire to see it. I’m with you. 👍🏻
Thanks for your good wishes. I’ve just added you to my prayer list, Steevo. (And apparently taken the liberty of giving you a silly nick-name too)
LL 😊
I appreciate that so much. Back at you.
I will show my potential ignorance here. You occasionally mention a book you’re working on. Can you share some details or point me to whatever post you’ve already provided that I somehow missed.
.
If you prefer to reply by email, that works:
It is mentioned in several posts over the past month. The title is “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory!” Racism, Religion, Ideology and Politics in the Civil War and their Continuing Importance.” It has been contracted by Potomac Books a division of University of Nebraska Press. I have to finish my edits and index by the end of the month.
Thanks for the info. I sometimes miss your posts, but I always enjoy the ones I’m diligent enough to see.
Glad to help.
Hi Steve. Haven’t been able to comment in 2021. WordPress has blocked my murchadanz account because I cancelled a deal with them so using my old school account. Just wanted to say on Jan 6 here in NZ that we are praying for you and your country. Cheers and best wishes from Roy Murphy.
Dear Padre Steve, I just discovered your wonderful site, while searching for “country music response to capitol insurgency.” i’m fascinated, and i’m supposed to be working, so i’m going to leave it open til my next break. but i would like to ask, i hope you meant “despite that I am a patriot” ironically? I am an army brat from the east coast, now 62 and living in the wild west, a buddhist, a political progressive, AND a patriot, no “despite” about it… respectfully, from a vast common ground. thank you!
Glad to be with you.
Hello, Padre Steve. I have two questions for you – questions that I have had to wrestle with. 1. What if, as a Catholic, I am wrong about the Catholic church? (I was) 2. What if, as an American, I am wrong about what the “news” tells me about the President? (I was)
I would ask you to clarify your questions. They are very vague and depending what you mean the answers could be radically different.
Hello Padre Steve,
I am a Padre in the British Army. I have been a reservists for 16 years and 2 tours, but last year (at the age of 57) signed up for full time miltary service. After almost 30 years in local church ministry, working in the Army has been an absolute delight! I have to say that the church had knocked the stuffing out of me, and there didn’t seem to be much space for my doubts or questions. After being pretty bruised, I think my army brothers and sisters are beginning to help me heal.
I shall look forward to following your posts and seeing what wisdom I can find for my future in ministry…. or maybe just life in general.
RPG
BTW, I can accross your site whilst looking form information on US drill in the Civil War for some wargames rules I am writing!
Hi Padre Steve
I have been following your site for a while and I thought you might like to hear this. We saw the original Stalingrad Madonna in Berlin and a copy at Coventry.
Best wishes and keep up the great work
Dave
That is cool. My next trip to Berlin I plan on seeing the original.
Padre Steve, we may have a mutual acquaintance of a mutual acquaintance in Prof. Haeussler? How can I reach you directly? Please respond via email included in your comment entry screen.
My app is not letting me see that. My direct email is padresteve@cox.net.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for posting the picture of VT 6 off the Enterprise at Midway. I have had the honor of writing profiles of these guys for a national project Storiesbehindthestars.org. I have individual pictures of them but to see them all together in that photo makes me smile. Do you remember where you got the picture from?
Thanks again
Jim G.
Back to Blazing Saddles. Vice president and President change roles and were good to go. Somebody go back and get a bag of dimes:)
Hello, I’m an ancestor of Lt. James Dundas in the 8th Virginia cavalry and have been interested to learn more about him. I only have a summary of his service record which states that he had been arrested on Dec 31st 1864 by the confederates. It also had some very strange wording regarding a remark about him “This officer has deserted this name long since forwarded to be dropped but as yet no notification of his being dropped has reached these headquarters.” I ask since I saw that his name came up in an article you wrote. Thanks for reading this!
Jordan,
Thanks for contacting me. James was the brother of John and Thomas Dundas of what is now Barboursville and Ona West Virginia in Cabell Country. I descend from Thomas’s line. I find it interesting that he and others in my family on both sides fought for the Confederacy as West Virginia seceded from Virginia. The reason is that he and his brothers inherited the family farm/plantation along the Mud River. They owned a few slaves, I have to dig in to the 1860 census to find the exact number, and which brother actually owned them. James was the youngest and maybe that is why he Anyway, he did serve and that last I saw from the history of the 8th Virginia Cavalry is that he was listed in a deserter status in February 1865. I have no information about him being arrested. At the time the Army of Northern Virginia was experiencing massive desertions. I understand from stories passed down from my family that James refused to sign the loyalty oath back to the Union and that the family’s land was seized as a result. I do plan on doing more genealogical research, as my wife Judy is very good at it. Which part of James’s line are you descended? Feel free to send me an email.
Sincerely,
Steve
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Steve, I just read your article on David Wilkerson’s death. I have a curiosity of Christian leaders who have died in accidents and you raised many questions I’ve already had. I would love to interview you some day.
George, I would love that.
Hello Padre Steve.
Greetings from Spain.
I had the privilege of interacting with your blog over 10 years ago and I decided to stop back on a whim.
A lot of things have happened in 10 years.
I would love to ask you a question that perhaps you could turn into a blogpost.
In the last 10 years or so, are there any doctrines that you have reviewed, changed your mind over, revised, rejected or strengthened?
And most importantly, why?
Let me go first, here is my submission.
I was raised as a baby Christian to be pre-trib. Then I went to post before settling on mid.
Now I am wondering if there will not be 3 stages of harvest. First fruits, main harvest and gleanings.
Also, what about the Sabbath? I visited Israel last year and felt great connection to God in their reverence of Saturday.
Well, that’s it.
All the best.
Dear Padre: You say in your Pottawatomie article that “Two years later, Brown went to Missouri and murdered a slaveholder, freed 11 slaves”, etc. The reference you cite, p.208 in Freehling, doesn’t actually appear (in the edition I found) and I can’t find any other source that says the slaveholder(s) he attacked were killed, merely captured. I’d appreciate it if you could provide (privately, to my email address) a correction to the Freehling reference, or any other corroborating evidence of murder. Scott Meyer
Scott,
Glad to assist. I will go back and check the reference. However, the massacre is pretty well documented. Here is a reputable source for a quick check. https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/pottawatomie-massacre
It is in other books on the period too. I just don’t have time to go up to my library to dig them up. I am getting crushed in my doctoral program.
Peace and all the best.
Steve
Hello Padre Steve. Recently, while watching some videos of David Wilkerson’s sermons on YouTube I became curious about him and did some research only to discover his death, and the mystery surrounding it which led me to your Blog. For the record, let me assure you that the accident was not a “car suicide.” The man of God that he was would never do anything that would endanger or cause the death of another life because to do so would make him a murderer facing God with blood on his hands! That would never be David Wilkerson’s testimony before a God that He loved and feared! Without one iota of doubt I am positive that whatever occurred that caused his collision with the 18-wheeler, it was truly an accident! Plain and simple, “an accident!”
Sorry J.V. I wanted to believe that, and so did David’s kids. We both had the accident reports, photos, and medical examiner’s report. They thanked me. Get lost.
Thursday Sept 21, 2023 at 4:50pm (est)
Padre Steve:
Thank you so very much for your honest and informed notes. Please, may I personally have two minutes of your time to speak with you? Please keep my name on your mailing list. I do so enjoy reading your posts on various topics. Many thanks – God Bless you.
Charlene Good
(862) 377-5215
rgood1958@icloud.com
Do promise to get back to you. Another week crammed to the gills with doctoral class work.
PadreSteve, why do I have to get lost because of my comment about Mr. Wilkerson? Such a rude thing to say to a pers
I do apologize. It is not you. I have experienced so much abuse from believe as you about David, including physical threats, as well as eternal damnation, that I assumed you would do the same and responded from my gut. All the best.