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Archiver > SOUTHERN-CHAT > 2007-12 > 1199131732


From: (S Busmar)
Subject: Re: [SOUTHERN-CHAT] Happy New Year, Y'all !
Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:08:52 -0600
In-Reply-To: askgranny@juno.com's message of Mon, 31 Dec 2007 00:07:31 -0600


Hello Jeannie T. and all ..... I read with interest..your letter about
the tradittions that you believe in. I am not a superstitious
person...mainly, because it was not practiced by my family...certainly
not by my Mother. .My M-I-Law used to put a half dollar in the
black-eyed peas on New Year's Day...saying it would insure wealth or
plenty to eat that year...My Mother was of the mind that to put your
trust in fears of the unknown...or to rely on unseen forces could be
dangerous...so when we saw a black cat crossing the road..she said that
it was just an event in the life of the cat, it didn't concern us..
..the cat was just crossing the road..what if it was a bunch of cows?
she would say, What's the difference, they both want to go to the other
side of the road.She always gave us a logical answer for the "cause of
things...(very often reading scripture, I might add.)And quoting Ralph
Waldo Emerson.."Shallow men believe in luck, strong men believe in cause
and effect". I just now decided to look in my copy of the
Webster's ninth new Collegiate dictionary..at "superstition"It defines
it as "a belief or practice resulting from ignorance,fear of the
unknown,trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation"
Well..in this modern world of technology. , people have no excuse for
ignorance. on almost any subject..but superstitions still abound. I
read, where in China there may be as many as five million
fortune-tellers, although they had a congressional decree banning
'superstition as an outdated relic from the nation's past" the goal was
to "eradicate feudalistic superstition, reform funeral customs, and
promote the construction of a more civilized capital" but some keep up
the traditions...like burning fake money on the graves of
ancestors.They say "it makes the gods happy". I think it is a learned
thing...like my Mother said...you don't see any babies knocking on
wood... .... ..but I think, speaking only for myself.that the 'cause
and effect' in our lives often amounts to random events,the 'time and
unforeseen occurrence "that befall us all,( Eccles. 9:1l) & Jas4:14. I
just don't see any effect on the outcome of these events by acts of
magic or omens .So, ..I will let the law given by God to the
Israelites, for example at Deute..18 10,12: and Levitious 19:31 and
20:6, -- 2 Cor.11:14 ...Gal:5: 19&20...plus many others, stand.So I
am not superstitious. But I respect your right to do whatever you want.
I really hope all of you have good things happening in your life.We are
all so blessed to be living at this time. We will stand to see very
great things happening. I may lose my subscription to the list...I
really didn't mean to write so much, but all our genealogy is rooted in
"that book", right?. Stella

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