Farming for Jesus

[fundiefan]

Noah Sanders, at the ripe old age of 23, has written a book about farming for Jesus. Born again farming or some such thing.

bornagaindirt.com/

His blog: redeemingthedirt.com/

I suppose he considers successful farming for Jesus includes living in an only partially finished barn with is wife & kid on daddy's land while he plays in the dirt.

He's 23. He's been at this a few years. What, exactly, does he think anyone will learn from him - or want to learn from him? I don't know about anyone else, but if I were going to take on a venture as big as farming for Jesus, I'd go to someone who has been out of diapers longer than 20 years and away from mommy & daddy for a while and actually, you know, farming.

edited to correct linkage

[Miss M]

Foul mouth warning...but what the FUCKING FUCK!!

M.

[dairyfreelife]

Ahem, I just turned 23. But then again, I went to public school and am trying to go to uni while working and living on my own.

-Designing farms as beautiful, fruitful homes.

-Honoring God’s design in farm production

-Growing crops that honor the Lord

-Marketing as ministry

-The idolatry of modern agriculture

-Advantages of the farming lifestyle

-Starting a farm and making a living.

Are we doing sacrifices again to God? Isn't nature worship a "pagan" thing? Also the book cover, what's with the butt photo? It's a bit defrauding.

[Cerysbell]

I find white type on a black background really hard to read, but I am defrauded by the book cover, so I'm willing to overlook it on this occasion, lol.

I like his one-legged chicken story, although seriously, even chickens should aspire to a sweet, submissive nature?

[Elle]

It's a privilege to have land on which to farm.

Know what's annoying? I know a couple who have tons of acreage and yet they have only used half of one acre for their house and yard. They were approached once about letting the lack of the land, far from the house, be used for small farming by kids from the local high school who want to learn to farm and the food would help make the school lunches healthier, and the school would pay rent on the parcel and the water.

Okay, this is in a town where most jobs are farm-related and few people have land for their kids to learn jack about farming, meaning that unless you already have farm experience, you're not going to get any, and that means you probably won't be able to find a job and so on to welfare for you. There are a lot of migrant workers from Mexico.

This couple bitches a lot (I stayed with them a week) about all the "lazy idiots on welfare" and about the "wetbacks taking all the jobs" (it's ironic that a term used as a slur actually refers to the sweaty backs of people working their asses off). This is a couple who attends church regularly and thinks of themselves as pillars of Christianity. Yet they had the chance to help teens learn about farming and to make money without having to do a damn thing, which would have helped them get jobs when they get out of school and lower the number of families on welfare and incidentally lower the number of "wetbacks taking all the jobs", and wouldn't because they were selfish with their several dozen acres.

[Elle]

I posted a snarky comment, but the snark will be lost on him.

"Your butt on the cover is distracting. Did you have to use a sexual cover? "

[finleeport]

What's with the half-butt photo? some sort of sexual cover?

[valsa]

It's a privilege to have land on which to farm.

Know what's annoying? I know a couple who have tons of acreage and yet they have only used half of one acre for their house and yard. They were approached once about letting the lack of the land, far from the house, be used for small farming by kids from the local high school who want to learn to farm and the food would help make the school lunches healthier, and the school would pay rent on the parcel and the water.

Okay, this is in a town where most jobs are farm-related and few people have land for their kids to learn jack about farming, meaning that unless you already have farm experience, you're not going to get any, and that means you probably won't be able to find a job and so on to welfare for you. There are a lot of migrant workers from Mexico.

This couple bitches a lot (I stayed with them a week) about all the "lazy idiots on welfare" and about the "wetbacks taking all the jobs" (it's ironic that a term used as a slur actually refers to the sweaty backs of people working their asses off). This is a couple who attends church regularly and thinks of themselves as pillars of Christianity. Yet they had the chance to help teens learn about farming and to make money without having to do a damn thing, which would have helped them get jobs when they get out of school and lower the number of families on welfare and incidentally lower the number of "wetbacks taking all the jobs", and wouldn't because they were selfish with their several dozen acres.

These people sound like assholes but I have to admit that I would not want a bunch of teenagers I didn't know doing things on my property either. Hell, I don't even like it when people park on the street in front of my house.

[finleeport]

Is he part of Vision Forum?

[reds]

I just asked my hubby if he was "farming for Jesus"... He prevented himself from throwing the remote at me.

Honestly.. i might have to read this drivial.. i wonder if he is using heritage seeds and going organic? Otherwish he is not farming for Jesus.. he is farming for Monsanto.

[Glass Cowcatcher]

I just browsed through the blog.

Got to say as someone who gardens passionately and is as involved with the local foods and organics movement as I can be, this annoys me.

There are some VERY good reasons to alter the way we farm. Unsustainability, uncertainty of the quality of the food when it's trucked so far from farm to table, potentially dangerous side effects of GMOs.

To cast any of those problems as theological issues is very condescending!

ETA:

I'm actually kind of curious to read the book though. I wonder if he would think that the proper "christian" way to farm is considering GMOs, industrial farming as evil (i agree but for different reasons!) or a more tea-party ish idea that agribusiness is good for us all.

[Arete]

I did come across a blog in the past that had "farming for Jesus" as a way of life. They were organic all the way and considered companies like Monsanto evil. They were up there on the crazy meter though. Bible as the only life guide, home school, church with only other farming for Jesus types, women in dresses only pumping out tons of kids, and definitely believed sparing the rod/belt was spoiling the child. I wish I could remember the name.

reds, your husband's exercise in self control makes him a prince among men in my book. :mrgreen: ;)

[doggie]

so what crops honor the lord?

[Witsec7]

Cucumbers

[fundiefan]

Cucumbers

:royalty-queen: Right now, you are the queen of the Internet.

[ladypuglover]

and about the "wetbacks taking all the jobs" (it's ironic that a term used as a slur actually refers to the sweaty backs of people working their asses off).

Wetback means that the person in question came here illegaly by having to cross the Rio Grande not because of the amount of sweat the person has by hard work.

Here's the link to explain it better than I could. It is a very nasty slur around these parts. :evil:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetback_(slur)

[PBrooke]

about farming Biblically.

Now, who's going to shell out to read it? I'm tempted, but meh... bornagaindirt.com

[valsa]

This was already posted.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7904

[ladypuglover]

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7904

Valsa beat me to it. :doh: Sorry.

[PBrooke]

Whoops! Feel free to merge/lock.

For future reference, though, I have absolutely no general interest in reading anything called "Farming for Jesus" and assumed it was a random news piece instead of something concerning fundie 'regulars.'

[dairyfreelife]

Wetback means that the person in question came here illegaly by having to cross the Rio Grande not because of the amount of sweat the person has by hard work.

Here's the link to explain it better than I could. It is a very nasty slur around these parts. :evil:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetback_(slur)

Got back and saw you answered her before I could. It's a nasty racial slur here toward those of Mexican heritage. Having such friends gets me a little defensive of such a word. It's like calling someone black the n-word. So to me, that couple are racist assholes for using such language. :angry-fire:

Edit for error-thought Elle was talking about Noah using the w-word.

[onlyorganic]

WHY IS THERE A BUTT PHOTO ON THE COVER??? Whenever I see him in photos all I can think of is Harry Potter and that one stuck-up Weasley brother no one likes.

[terranova]

bornagaindirt.com/

Totally read that as boringasdirt.com

[meow139]

Oh dear fuck. Please say this is a joke.

[PBrooke]

Lest we think the Sanders are less weird than even the Mortons, we just need to read Noah's blog about how the downfall of the world started with the Industrial Revolution...

It's a shame, really, because in theory I like many of the general ideas that he espouses: getting food locally, spending time with family, letting nature do some of the work (as it EVOLVED to do)... but MAN do we arrive there for different reasons.