Aio-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 28,1990 OPINION Happy Earth Week And Many More To be sure our planet Earth, has a healthy future people need to get in touch with the world in which they live. Often we, especially in agriculture, complain that society is not in touch with the needs and requirements of farming because there are so many who are generations removed from working the earth. Perhaps the just completed observance of Earth Week will help change some of that. Maybe nature was seen as it really is— the only thing within reach in this universe that can sustain life. The reason for an Earth Week should be to get across to everyone a sense of permanence permanence, that is defined as once done, there is no return; like breaking a tooth, losing hair, growing old . . . destroying a stream, a mountain, a field, or losing a species. Earth Week is a symbol to live for tomorrow, to leave an inheritance for our children and grandchildren. So what should be done in Earth Week? Walk. In order to understand how nature works, it is necessary to see it, to witness it. The way this can be done is through the senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste. These are the means by which the human brain stays in contact with reality. A ride in a car, even on a horse, is considerably faster than the normal speed of travel at which man’s senses were designed to respond well. At too fast a speed, the eye can not react quickly enough, things blur, the same is true with smelling and hearing. A blur, a sensory numbing is, unfortunately what most of us are used to in these times. Even those who traditionally have been in most contact with reality are pushed to speeds beyond any reasonable ability to sense what it happening around them. Don’t talk. Talking interferes with the ears. The human voice is loud and drowns out the sounds of the Earth. Stay quiet and listen to the songs of the birds, the fowl, dogs, cattle, insects. If you can’t hear these things, something is wrong. Keep your mind on the present and don’t bring in self centered concerns while observing. Witnessing the here and now is the only way to see what has been done in the past and what needs to be done for the future. No songs, spats, memories, or other interests should clog the brain from doing the best job it can at receiving signals from the senses. Also, those who can only see things as they benefit them selves run a risk of being strongly deluded. For example, if one man sees a stream void of fish, he may see it through a perspective that a compromise made in the name of more jobs and a stronger tax base means better personal and community health. In effect, that man may go away thinking everything is fine. Another may see it as a drainage ditch running clearly and not in danger of flooding the local banks. Again, he may go away under the delusion that everything is fine. A photographer may see the bouncing light and shadows and shapes and designs. He may walk away thinking it is a great place, to take photographs. All three are seeing the same stream, but due to what they want to make it mean, they will all walk away thinking they saw something different. Most probably won’t even notice the absence of fish. The point is, what really is, isn’t always what we want it to be. If you want to see it for itself, don’t think about what it is for you. Take time to witness the world. It’s all around you, Happy Earth Week to you and many more. 1/ancaster Farming Established 1955 Published Every Saturday Ephrata Review Building 1 E. Mam St. Ephrata, PA 17522 by Lancaster Farming, Inc. A Sltlnimn Enu.prmt Robert G Campbell General Manager Everett R. Newswanger Managing Editor Ct'itdflM IMS by Lmeistor Farmlif OEWW ! UNCLE 0713. h NOW IS THE TIME By Jay Irwin Lancaster County Agricultural Agent To Practice Pesticide Safety Pesticides are very important to our highly efficient agriculture. When used as directed, they repay our growers with higher, better quality yields at minimal risk to our safety and health. ** It’s important to choose the correct pesticide and application equipment for your particular problem. ** Be sure to read and follow the label directions. Make sure all co-workers do the same. ** Without fail, use the recom mended personal protective equipment to prevent harmful contact with chemicals. ** Mix accurately and careful ly. Clean up spills. Return unused materials to safe storage. ** Triple rinse and drain empty containers into spray tank. ** Clean the equipment when you have finished. Don’t smoke or eat until you have washed and changed clothing. ** Store pesticides in their original labeled containers in a locked cabinet Let’s have a safe growing and harvesting season this year. To Be Alert For Alfalfa Weevil Now may be a good time to begin scouting your alfalfa fields for weevils, according to Robert Anderson, Extension Agronomy Agent. The past two years, wee vils were seen by this time feeding on alfalfa that was less than 4 inches tall. With the mild winter and the number of fields which were infested last year, alfalfa growers may have a severe prob lem this year. The weevil had not been a problem for many years Farm Forum Editor, I am writing in response to Sec retary Boyd’s letter concerning the Department of Agriculture’s support of the FFA program. I am sure we are thankful to the Secretary for the Fair Fund money. But the issue at hand is state support for statewide FFA programs. Those figures he pre sented makes it seem as if the Pen nsylvania FFA Association is (Turn to Page A 34) after the introduction of a parasite in the early 1960’5.. After its intro duction, die parasite had almost eliminated the weevil. Unless controlled, the alfalfa weevil will cause severe losses in the weight and quality of the first cutting. Weevils feed within the plant tips and on the upper leaves as they open. Leaves will be skele tonized by the feeding. Damaged leaves dry rapidly and fields take on a grayish to whitish cast under severe feeding. Control of the alfalfa weevil should be based on the number of larva feeding, the height of the alfalfa, and the cost of the spray. Penn State has developed a system of scouting which will determine the economic threshold based on the three criteria. If you call your County Cooperative Extension Office, they can send you a copy of “A Pest Management Program for Alfalfa in Pennsylvania.” To Prepare For Soybean Planting Soybeans should be planted in warm moist soil. A thermometer will help you decide when is the best planting date. Special bay- A HERESY OF DEEDS April 29, 1990 Background Scripture: 1 John 2:18-29 Devotional Reading: '2 Corinthians 13:5-14, I’ll have to confess that 1 struggled with this text for a long time before it said anything to me - or before I heard it say some thing to me. John's concern in this passage, in fact most of the letter, seems far removed from our own situation today. He is steamed up over former Christians who have become heretics. I wouldn’t sug gest for a moment that heresy is not a problem today for the Church, but that it doesn’t rank at the top of our concerns. What John was concerned about was a heresy called Docetism, a name taken from the Greek word ‘dokein,’ meaning to seem or to appear. To make a rather complex situation simple, the Docetists believed that Jesus was not really a physical human being, but only “seemed” or “appeared” to be. It was as if God had donned a human disguise in order to come among us. This was because they regarded as the incompatible an incorruptible and spiritual God becoming a corruptible and mater ial person. THE INCARNATION Orthodox (meaning approved, conventional, or approved) Christianity held that in Jesus both the divine and human were mani fest - “fully God and fully man.” The central mystery of Christiani ty has always been the paradox of God and humanity in one person. The early Christians firmly ID NOW ie INTO BANKER LOAN... #1 # onet type thermometers work very well. The ideal temperature is about 62° F. The reading should be taken at about 8:00 a.m. when the soil temperature is stabilized. The thermometer should be inserted at least two inches in the soil. Many people planting soybeans will either end up with too many plants per acre or too few. This will happen because they will use the pounds per acre philosophy which won’t work for soybeans. Because soybean seed differs greatly in size, this also means they differ greatly in number of seeds per pound. For example, one variety may average 2,100 seeds per pound while another variety averages 3,100 seeds per pound...that’s a difference of 1,000 seeds per pound. So, if you plant a bushel of seed with 85% germination, that’s a difference of about 48,000 plants per acre. The only way to plant beans is by seeds per foot of row. If a grain drill is used, three beans per foot of row is plenty. If a 30 inch com row is used 8 to 9 beans per foot is about right. believed that Jesus was not God pretending to be human, anymore than he was a human pretending to be God. Actually, my experience in the church - which, of course, is that of just one person - has been that, although Docetism long ago was denounced as hersey, it is still very much with us today. Many of the depictions of Jesus - in print, in art, on film, and even in ser mons - are Docetic: that of a God who only appears to be a man. Popular conceptions of Jesus always, it seems to me, stress his divinity at the expense of his humanity. DIVINELY IRRELEVANT Does that matter? I believe it does, because a Docetic Christ is largely irrelevant to human fife. If we overemphasize the divinity of Christ, we make him so different from us that nothing he did or said seems applicable to us. Jesus loved even the “worst” of people, but we can say, “Of course, but then he was divine!” and that removes that obligation from us who are merely human. If Jesus is to be relevant to us, he must have known what we know and experi ence what we experience, includ ing the terrible pull of temptation. But Jesus made it clear that his disciples are to do all that he did, if need be, to lay down our lives for others. Actually, the bottom line of John’s teaching is that deeds are even more important than beliefs. “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who does right is bom of him” (1 John 2:29). “Does right” takes precedence over “things right,” although both do better when they are equal in our lives. Ideas and beliefs are important, because they motivate us in the choices we make. Heretical ideas can be very harmful, but even worse is the heresy of unrighteous deeds. (Bated on copyrighted Outlines produced by the Committee on the Uniform Series and used by peimusion. Released by Community A Sub urban Press.) AND M£, HE’5 GONNA 'OKAV' ANYTHING X WANT, JUST TO GET 007 OF HIS OFFICE.
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