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8/12/2019 1989 Issue 1 - In Christ Reside Security, Peace and
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In hrist Reside
Security Peace
and
Tranquility
Excerpts from the testimony of Robert F. Miller,
now in the very presence of
God
February 19,
1930
November
30, 1988
I was born into the home
of
a farmer
and public school teacher/administrator
of what were then called consolidated
public schools in rural Ohio in 1930.
At
the age
of
six, I contracted a disease
that is today called rheUJMtic fever
but
was not know then as such and of
course not treated properly as a result.
n my youth, growing
up
on the farm
and in a home where education was re
vered and honored,
in
the world
of
books and ideas being cast about con
stantly, and in a very Christian home,
my soul and spirit .... and
my
physi
cal body . . could not have been nur
tured
any better, I
am
spre.
Hard
work,
honest enterprise, good food, good
neighbors, extended family around one
for support and encouragement. clean
living
in
a rural atmosphere and in a
home where the aura of reverence for
God and all His creations pervaded the
atmosphere,
no
television, the pristine
environment
of
sports competition
pro
perly administrated, provided
an
atmos
phere that, even today, I find unequalled
anywhere.
As I developed into junior high
school and high school,
it
was obvious
without question that, with very
hard
work and dedication, I was developing
rapidly
on
the path of an outstanding
athlete as well as a young scholar. How
ever
the first setback in
my
young life
occurred during basketball season. Sud
denly my father the coach and I dis
covered that, when racing up
and
down
the basketball floor during games; for
some unexplained reason, I would get
fatigued much too easily. I couldn't
keep going
at
"full
tilt.
Immediately
my
father hearkened back to my illness
at
age six when the doctor said I almost
died.
An
appointment was made with a
heart specialist who had been previous
ly the football coach at Ohio State Uni
versity
and
was therefore interested in
and knowledgeable about sports medi
cine.
By this time, at age 16, my physical
body had developed into a hardened six
feet two of one hundred ninety pounds
as a result of hard, never-ceasing work
on the farm and clean living. I was the
picture of health. But it was not so.
Upon examination by the heart special
ist doctor, the results, as he iterated
Robert F. Miller
February 19,
1930
November 30, 1988
them to my father and me were forceful
and unequivocal. What I had contracted
at age six had been in fact rheumatic
fever, nd damage to the heart had oc
curred -
irreversible Corrunents I could
never forget came rushing from the lips
of the doctor and were seared into my
heart and brain. "Fifteen percent
disability,
get
eleven hours sleep a
Jtight the rest of your life, don't drink,
don't carouse around, it'll never get
better, it11 never get worse, nothing can
be done to repair the damage." These
could have been devastating words to a
young teenager who up to that time had
begun to entertain some pretty big
dreams for his life because
it
was be
coming obvious, even to him, that the
Creator had endowed him with some
very exceptional talents in athletics and
scholastics.
P ~ e
At
the grand old age
of
25, I squarely
faced irrefutable, irreducible reality, and
retired from professional baseball, hang
ing up the spikes forever, grateful for
thememories
of
having, for one brief
moment, brushed against the lives
of
some
of
the baseball greats
of
all
time -
the great Hall
of
Farner, George Sisler
(arguably the greatest frrst baseman of
all time), current Dodgers such as
Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Gil
Hodges, Peewee Reese, Don New
combe, and many others. Some
of
the
greatest baseball players of all time
were members of the Brooklyn Dodgers
in the late 1940's and early 1950's, and
I brushed up against them.
Very quickly I gravitated nto the bus
iness world into marketing and sales.
Soon I was throwing all I had into my
work, thankful that I was in
a
usiness
where I could work long hours and
produce as much as I was capable of.
It
was the traditional American entrepre
neurial environment - produce what you
are capable of . . no restrictions
or
restraints. Very quickly I advanced up
the ladder into management and by the
age
of
27 had become a district manager
and a leading management producer
throughout the entire country.
In my 50th year
in 1979, in July,
suddenly I was struck with a severe
heart
attack. I
la
y flat
on
my back
essentially for months recovering. It
was a time taylor-made for reflection
and study. And I di& Throughout my
life I had studied history and avidly
watched as an observer
the
unfolding
of
international
affairs
and, Since the con
clusion of World War
IT,
the increasing
decline
of
our nation vis a vis the So"
viet Communist world. In my lifetime
I had observed the rapid decline
of
tradi
tional values nd ideals and the denigra
tion of the founding ideals and
ciples
of
the nation in the American
people as well and the ever growing en
croachment of socialism begun by our
fli'St socialist president, Franklin D.
Roosevelt. in 1933.
In the early 1970's, the thought had
begun
to
occur to Irie that I shou
ld
at
some point in the not distant future
leave my business career and set out
upon a path of activity designed to
The Counsel of Chalcedon, January, 1989
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8/12/2019 1989 Issue 1 - In Christ Reside Security, Peace and
Tranquility - Counsel of Chalcedon
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change
the
course of the nation from
what
I
considered to be its plunge into
oblivion
and
the
s h ~ h e p of
history
i
it continued much longer on its present
course.
In 9 7 9 ~ 8
while recovering
from the
heart attack, I actively studied
this course
of
action very seriously. By
January, 1981, I
was
set
upon this path
and began
to seek
out a specific course
of action. I set out upon a quest of
travel and investigation across the
lion
to
see what I could fmd out. I
sought
out
both the famous and
the
obscure in various fields, seeking their
views on a spectrum
of
subjects,
among which were philosophy, the law
and the judiciary, education, legislators
on all levels, including the national, the
Supreme Court, law enforcement, s o ~
cial activists including people in the
p r o ~ l i f e
movement, religion
and
theo
logy, and many other fields.
I
was never
refused an interview when I requested
one from even
the
most notable in
dividuals -
not
one It was a very re
warding experience.
I would always introduce myself to
theologians
and
preachers as not being a
Christian but extremely interested n
their views
of
what
was wrong with the
country and our people . . . . what the
problems were. This made for some
very interesting "looks" and quizzical
reactions sometimes. "
Who
is this
guy
going around the country talking about
morals, ethics, and traditional values
loss
to
all kinds
of
important people in
the government, the Supreme Court,
the federal judiciary, the educational
field, the legal profession, et cetera,
who is seemingly so concerned about
these matters but who claims not to be
a Cluistian?" Of course it was a para
dox, and, as my focus became clearer
and clearer, I of course saw the contra
diction and realized it would be im
possible for me
to
think seriously of
dealing with the problems
in
these areas
and with fundamental religious and
spiritual values in order to restore the
nation and the people to their philoso
phical and religious roots unless I were
a committed Christian.
How could I speak of moral ideals
and principles, America's heritage, the
founding ideals and principles of the
nation,
our
traditions and the great docu
ments
of
our nation: the Mayflower
Compact, the Declaration
of
Indepen
dence, our great Constitution, all of
which derived from our Judeo-Christian
heritage religiously,
and not be a ChriS
tian myself? There was only one an
swer.
I
began to study seriously
my
own religious heritage - Christianity -
on a personal basis. I read Dr. Francis
Schaeffer's books, Dr. Harold O.J.
Brown's (and began a dialogue with
him), John Whitehead's works, many
of
R.J. Rushdoony's, many others, and the
Bible. I sought out preachers, phi loso
phers,
and
theologians for discussions. I
Bob Miller, circa 1950
visited churches
to
listen and evaluate.
In October, 1981, by the grace
of
God,
I became a
new
Christian.
In
June, 1982, I wandered into
Chalcedon Presbyterian's sanctuary one
Sunday morning and heard
oe
More
craft preach a sermon and heard the
"song of victory"
of
the Christian
Reconstruction Movement
and
thought
that I had found a church home, as
indeed I had as it turned
out
joined the
church
at
Thanksgiving time that year
with the certainty that
I
was where
I
belonged.
It
was indeed the hand
of
pro
vidence
So, even though I now live with
bone weariness
and
constant fatigue to
the extent that it is difficult to concen
trate
or
focus my mind on anything
else, I remain optimistic, with a sense
of peace and tranquillity, because God is
in His Heaven and in control of all
things. I am supremely grateful beyond
expression for the multitudes of bles
sings He showers
on
me daily.
I am
alive, can
write
this, my thought pro
cesses, even though diminished often
by the distraction of
my
health condi
tion, are such
that
I
am
challenged
by
the mortal battle in which I fmd my
self. I reside in the bosom of a loving
family and circle of friends, have spent
my life in a country where liberty
and
freedom
and
opportunity has been open
to
all
,
and, as
energy
permits,
I
can
still
put out
an essay
or speak on some
subject
that may point
out
the
way
of
"what ought to be" or
"the
good" as the
occasion indicates. And the joy
of
seeing increasing numbers
of
Ameri
cans, particularly young people, who
are recognizing the
real
problems
in
the
nation and taking action with great com
mitment,
work
toward the restoration
of
traditional values and ideals in the
peo-
ple, and who,
by
God's grace, will ulti
mately be victorious and restore
meri-
ca
to
its rightful place as a "City on a
Hill.
A
dour
pessimist only wallows in
his despair
and
is always paralyzed
by
his gloom. And besides,
no
Christian
can possibly be other than happily opti
mistic, knowing that there is victory
through the crucified
Christ
and that
through faith in
Him,
we are saved
from
our
sins and death.
So
no,
I
am
not tense
and
nervous
at
all
I
have a great sense of peace and
tranquillity that undergirds me. I claim
the victory of Christ
and
laugh
at
the
enemy He is puerile, puny, soon to be
banished. In the ultimate sense, I laugh
at the secular humanists
and
their
fatuous-minded, silly bleatings built on
sand, scorn the Communists and their
lying, false, and fraudulen t protestations
and
terror
for they cannot last long in
spite
of
all their proclamations
to
the
contrary (I remember Hitler's claims for
a thousand year Reich), I laugh at the
strutting politicians who pander to the
mob, prostituting themselves for posi
tion, perks, and privileges (and re
election ), scorn
the
pseudo-intellectuals
in academe
and
the
news
media who pro
fess such great wisdom and insight
to
The Counsel
of
Chalcedon,
January, 1989 Page
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8/12/2019 1989 Issue 1 - In Christ Reside Security, Peace and
Tranquility - Counsel of Chalcedon
3/3
NEW . OPENING IN FALL OF 1989 IN VIRGINIA
Christ ollege
We believe in the full authority ofthe ible as expressed in the
.
Westininster Confession
of
Faith.
We
are Reformed
in
theology.
We
.w ll teach a comprehensive Biblical Worldview arising from
the historic Biblical Reformed Faith. God's Word is the o u
n
tion
of all
knowledge.
We have a high view of God's revealed
Moral
Law in both Old
and New Covenants.
We believe
in
the ultimate triumph
of
God's Sovereign Grace
which will impact the world.
We
believe
in
very limited civil
govel1111'l.ent,
a free enterprise
economic system, and Christian School
and
Christian
home
school education.
We will offer a Bachelors degree
and an
Associate (2-year)
degree,
with
initial majors
in
Theology, Philosophy,History ,
Politic?} Economy, Literature and Christ ian Education.
f you are interested
in
more inform.a,tion or a Catalogue,
. please write us. We
also welcome inquiries concerning
potential fjnancial contributions. Write:
Christ
CollegeJ P.O. Box 11135, Lynchburg, Virginia 24506
Christ College does not discriminate on the
basis of race, color, or ethnic
or
national origin.
age
th Americ;m people on every subject
under the sun but who, in reality,
are,
for the most part, simply educated
fools, with little understanding
of
any
thing, and I have
great
compassion for
the great body
of
the American people
who
are allowing themselves
to
be led
like blind sheep
to
their slaughter be
cause they have succumbed
to
the terri
ble, life defying cancer of materialism,
hedonism, and self-indulgence instead of
toward virtue and reverence for
and
wor
ship
of
the God
of our forefathers
.
So
~
struggle goes
on In
my life,
in yours, in the nation, in
the
world
It
will always
be
so. As it must be. We
must always struggle for the right and
the good in the knowledge
that,
through
th
resWTected
Christ, in our
hands
will
be the ultimate victory.
It
is
our Chris
tian duty.
r r e s ~ c t i v e of
all the odds
seemingly
against us
sometimes and all
the intimidation our enemies heap on
us. Otherwise what kind
of
Christians
ate we? We can smile with confidence
and the certainty that,
i we will
never
surrender NEVER NEVER
NEVER NEVER
SURRENDER,
the
victory will be ours because God
has promised it
to us. Let us
shout for
joy for we will be victorious God
is
our unconquerable champion
His e n e ~
mies will melt as wax. before the heat
of
our assault for Him Let
u
have the
victory God be with you and within
you Aiways
Reformed Heritage
Presbyterian Church
PCA church nl eds full time pastor.
We are small, well oriented, also
have large home school ministry
(Heritage Academy), good buildings,
excellent suburban location,
wide
range
of
associations and community
involvement. Presently must
compro-
mise
tent-maker
or
perhaps retiree
stated supply.
Gilbert F. Douglas III,
Clerk of Session
1401 Montgomery Highway
Birmingham,
AL
35216
The Counsel of Chalcedon,
January, 1989
