Chaplains’ Corps Chronicles
of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Anno Domini 2006
April Issue
“That in all things Christ might have the preeminence.”
Chaplain-in-Chief H. Rondel Rumburg
PO Box 472
Spout Spring, Virginia 24593
E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial
[Gentlemen, if you know of any members of the Chaplains’ Corps or others who would like to receive this e-journal,
please let us have their names and e-mail addresses. Also, feel free to send e-copies to anyone you think would like
to receive it. Confederately, HRR]
Dear Compatriots,
There has been a number of you who have contacted me regarding liquor ads in the
Confederate Veteran magazine. There have been discussion on many levels in the past year on the
issue. I am enclosing a letter and resolution from Past Chaplain-in-Chief Dr. Charles E. Baker on
this very issue. Some of you have received an e-mail already on this issue from me.
________
For the Chaplain Corps Chronicle
My Fellow Chaplains:
I wrote the resolution that follows in haste after consulting with the Alabama Division
Commander and requesting that he would back me in such a resolution. He readily agreed to do so if I
would write it. I hurriedly did so and took it with me to the meeting of the Alabama Division Executive
Committee, held in Saraland, Alabama, the next day. The resolution was adopted unanimously.
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If there is going to be moral leadership in the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, it should surely
find its leaders in the Chaplains Corps. If we remain silent, we can hardly expect our organization to
maintain a moral and spiritual stand in accordance with the high ideals of the best of our Confederate
ancestors. It is not only our duty but also our privilege to lead in the way of righteousness.
No Christian family or school ought to have just cause for not wanting our SCV publications or
merchandise in their homes or schools. No material should be made available that would degrade the
morals of our young people or of our older folk as well. We sometimes forget that “Adult Entertainment”
is harmful to “adults” as well as young folk.
If more time had been afforded me, I would have also included that neither advertisement nor
promotion would be accepted that featured in a favorable light the gaming industry such as casinos,
lotteries, etc. I would further have added that the merchandising department of the SCV International
would not knowingly sell products that encourage or present in a favorable light immoral sexual conduct,
liquor, tobacco, or morally degrading merchandise. Gentlemen, I would encourage you who are chaplains
to lead such a crusade in your own division. Most of the divisions will soon be having their annual
meetings. It is imperative that you act soon.
I believe that if the Executive Council receives such a resolution from your division, it will cause
the Council to set forth some moral standards for our publications and our merchandising. It has hitherto
been an oversight, I believe, on the part of the Executive Council. It needs to be rectified without delay.
Let us join in leading this good cause for the good of our people and the good of our organization.
Surely, we all want the SCV to be untarnished by the promotion and distribution of that which degrades
rather than uplifts our fellow Confederates. The time for action is now.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Baker
Past Chaplain-in-Chief (3 terms)
___________
RESOLUTION
FROM:
Executive Committee Alabama Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
Meeting in Annual Assembly the 4th of March, A.D. 2006 at Saraland, Alabama
RESOLVED: That the Executive Council of the Sons of Confederate Veterans International establish a
policy for all publications and other forms of communication sent out under the auspices of the
organization including but not limited to The Confederate Veteran Magazine and that this policy will
state that no advertisement nor promotion for alcoholic beverages or tobacco for human consumption be
included in our publications.
RATIONALE:
1. The advertisement of these products will damage the image of the organization. Most, if not all
heritage organizations, do not accept advertisements for alcoholic beverages or tobacco.
2. The including of these advertisements and promotions in our publications will result in many schools
refusing to include our publications in their libraries and thereby hindering our reaching the next
generation of young men upon whom we depend for the future defense of our Cause.
3. The advertisement of liquor and tobacco in our publications may hinder the recruitment efforts for the
summer youth camps that are sponsored by the national organization.
4. Many of our present membership finds these advertisements and promotions offensive and degrading to
our beloved organization.
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5. The argument that it produces revenue for the organization is not a sound one. The Scripture tells us
that “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favour rather than silver or gold”
(Proverbs 22:1). Character and the favor of good people is more important than the revenue that is
produced by such advertisements. We must not sell out high standards for the sake of material gain. Our
publications were not established for the sake of producing revenue, but rather to promote a good and
honorable cause in the defense of the good name of the Confederate soldier. Our effort to do this cannot
profit from the promotion of liquor and tobacco.
6. The purpose of this resolution is not to dictate to individual members of the organization what he must
do in his personal life, but rather what our organization should promote as we defend a good and
honorable cause.
7. We would remind our Executive Council that many of our top military leaders were strongly opposed
to the use of liquor such as Jackson, Stuart, Forrest, and Lee. J. William Jones in his book Life and
Letters of General Robert E. Lee wrote concerning General Lee: “He was exceedingly abstemious in his
own habits. He never used tobacco and rarely took even a single glass of wine. Whiskey or brandy he
did not drink and he did all in his power to discourage their use by others.”
The sons of Confederate Veterans should not encourage or promote in their publications that which
General Lee and other Confederate leaders used their influence to discourage.
RESOLVED: That this resolution be sent to each member of the Executive Council of the Sons of the
Confederate Veterans International and to the Executive Director over the signature of the
Commander and Adjutant of the Alabama Division Sons of Confederate Veterans certifying that it was
adopted by the delegates present at the regular annual meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Rev. Charles Estell Baker D.D.
Past Commander Alabama Division
Sons of Confederate Veterans
********
Duty
Mark W. Evans, chaplain
South Carolinian, theologian, and defender of the South, James Henley Thornwell (18121862), used his final days on earth to rally his countrymen to fight for their God-given and
Constitutional rights. He said: “If we are prepared to do our duty, and our whole duty, we have
nothing to fear.”1 This Presbyterian scholar, among many other Southern patriots, struck the
note of “duty” that steeled the Confederacy for its immense struggle against civil oppression.
Lt. General T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson, the most brilliant strategist of the war and fearless
fighter, lived by this maxim: “Duty is ours: consequences are God’s.”2 Once he knew his duty,
he performed it with unswerving resolve.
It was duty that enlisted Jackson in the Southern cause. Duty kept him steadfast in the face of
overwhelming opposition. His chief of staff, R. L. Dabney, said that the General
1
Benjamin M. Palmer, The Life and Letters of James Henley Thornwell (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of
Truth Trust, reprinted 1986), p. 583.
2
R. L. Dabney, Life and Campaigns of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sprinkle Publications,
1983), p. 654.
3
“… decided, with a force of conviction as fixed as the everlasting hills, that our enemies
were the aggressors, that they assailed vital, essential rights, and that resistance unto
death was our right and duty. On the correctness of that decision, reached through fervent
prayer, under the teachings of the sure Word of Scripture, through the light of the Holy
Spirit, which he was assured God vouchsafed to him, he stood prepared to risk, not only
earthly prospects and estate, but an immortal soul; and to venture, without one quiver of
doubt or fear, before the irrevocable bar of God the Judge. The great question: ‘What if I
die in this quarrel,’ was deliberately settled; so deliberately, so maturely, that he was ready
to venture his everlasting all upon the belief that this was the path of duty.”3
After the war, a writer addressed General Lee concerning the gloomy results of the conflict.
The General replied: “Yes, all that is very sad, and might be a cause of self-reproach, but that we
are conscious that we have humbly tried to do our duty. We may, therefore, with calm
satisfaction, trust in God, and leave results to Him.”4
Every generation is called to fulfill its duty. Our Confederate relatives knew their duty
because they believed in the principles of liberty taught in the Bible. The same Word of God
directs us now. The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way: “The Scriptures principally
teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.”5 The
Christian warrior does not ask, “What is expedient?” He asks, “What is right?” Show him the
path of duty, and he is ready to act.
*****
Glorying in the Cross
Chaplain-in-Chief H. Rondel Rumburg
TEXT: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” Galatians 6:14.
INTRO.: The natural man will not be found glorying in Christ’s cross, but the local church
glories in the cross. “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block (or death
trap), and unto the Greeks foolishness (or a laughing stock)” (1 Cor. 1:23). The world looks at
the cross as the image of weakness and misery. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? Where is the disputer or skeptics of this world? has not
God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Cor. 1:18-20).
Luther, the German Reformer, asserted, “‘God forbid,’ says the Apostle, ‘that I should
glory in anything as dangerous as the false apostles glory in because what they glory in is a
poison that destroys many souls, and I wish it were buried in hell. Let them glory in the flesh if
they wish and let them perish in their glory. As for me I glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ.’”
Mankind rejoices in something or glories in something, but it is “vain glory” unless they
have been redeemed. There are two different ideas in the glorying between Paul and the false
apostles. [1] Negatively, Paul would not glory in some things, although humanly speaking he
3
R. L. Dabney, “True Courage,” in Discussions (Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sprinkle Publications, 1979), IV, p. 440.
J. William Jones, Life and Letters of Robert Edward Lee (Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sprinkle Publications, 1986), p.
438.
5
Westminster Shorter Catechism, number 3.
4
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might have [a] in the flesh (Phil. 3:4 ff.), [b] in his sufferings (2 Cor. 11:23 ff.), and [c] in his
visions and revelations (2 Cor. 12:1 ff.). [2] Positively, Paul gloried “in the cross of Christ” and
gives the reasons in the effects that the cross wrought in him “by whom the world is crucified
unto me, and I unto the world.” What Paul gloried in was the lowest thing in the world’s eyes.
C. H. Spurgeon remarked, “Learn, then, that the highest glory of our holy religion is the
cross. The history of grace begins earlier and goes on later, but in its middle point stands the
cross. Of two eternities this is the hinge: of past decrees and future glories this is the pivot.”
I. PAUL’S PRIMARY SUBJECT IS GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST.
This should be our primary subject as chaplains and as individual believers.
A. What Does Paul Mean by “Glorying”? “To glory or boast” when used by Paul, in a good
sense as here, signifies to rest one’s self wholly or completely in a thing, and to be content within
one’s self by doing so.6 This word has no exact equivalent in the English language. It means to
boast in, glory in, trust in, rejoice in, revel in, and live for. The object of our boasting or glory
fills our horizons, engrosses our attention, and absorbs our time and energy. In a word, our glory
is our obsession.7
1. There are three aspects in this: [1] to rejoice, exult and triumph in one’s heart regarding
the good that came from what Jesus did; [2] to reveal the presence or nature of this great
exultation by speaking or acting or doing both; and [3] by boasting of it thus looking for others to
give praise and applause Christ’s cross.
2. The glorying or boasting of the false apostles was carnal or vain glorying; and was not
in the Lord or the Lord’s Christ (Gal. 5:26). They boasted in their number of converts (v. 13).
“Vain glorying” is when men boast of that which they do not possess, but think they have (1
Cor. 4:7); there is this kind of false glorying when men glory in transitory, fleeting or fading
earthly things (Isa. 40:6-8; 1 Cor. 3:11 ff.).
B. What Does Paul Mean by The Cross of Christ? “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” is
that in which Paul gloried! It means to glory in Christ crucified. John Calvin explained, “But
something more is implied. In that death, — so full of disgrace and ignominy, which God
himself has pronounced to be accursed, and which men are wont to view with abhorrence and
shame, —in that death he will glory, because he obtains in it perfect happiness. Where man’s
highest good exists, there is his glory. But why does not Paul seek it elsewhere? Though
salvation is held out to us in the cross of Christ, what does he think of his resurrection? I answer,
in the cross redemption in all its parts is found, but the resurrection of Christ does not lead us
away from the cross. And let it be carefully observed, that every other kind of glorying is
rejected by him as nothing short of a capital offense.”
1. The cross of Christ is the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God upon Calvary, which is
the foundation of our salvation and eternal expectations. Jesus “endured the cross despising the
shame.” “He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Mark 15:30, 32; Eph.
2:16).
2. The cross of Christ signifies that the way of salvation is through Him who loved us and
gave Himself for us. To the saved the cross is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18, 23-24).
a. The cross vindicates Divine justice
b. The cross displays Divine love
c. The cross eradicates guilt
d. The cross emphasizes Divine wisdom
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7
Geneva Bible note
John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ, 349
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e. The cross opens the door of hope
f. The cross is the source of rest
g. The cross encourages holy zeal
3. The cross of Christ signifies the suffering of those who follow Christ, as did most of
the Confederate Chaplains in their service to God in ministering to Confederate soldiers and
enemy prisoners. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). “He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is
not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:38). Chaplains should exemplify the holy Redeemer.
II. PAUL’S ADAMANT ASSERTION REGARDING THE CROSS OF CHRIST. “But God
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
A. Paul Was Focused on Christ to the Exclusion of All Else. “Save in or except in”
Christ’s cross.
1. Paul was Christ’s man as chaplains must be Christ’s men. “Yea doubtless, and I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I many win Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
2. Paul’s glorying had one exception and that was the person of Christ. To be “in
Christ” is to have everything needed, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any
thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature” (Gal. 6:15). To be “a new creature or creation”
is to be “in Christ” and all that that entails. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
B. Paul Was Emotionally Charged About This. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ….”
1. “But God forbid” not only will Paul not glory in what does away with the cross (Gal.
5:11), but God forbid that he should glory in anything but the cross. Here is where our glorying
must be!
2. The phrase “God forbid or may it never be so” expresses the strong emotion or
revulsion of feeling that caused these words to be written. The phrase in the Greek means “Let not
this be.” The sense is, “Let not this by any means be supposed” that I should glory in anything but Christ
and His cross (see Rom. 3:3-4).
III. PAUL WAS IMPACTED BY THE CROSS OF CHRIST. “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Paul’s entire life changed through the
cross of his Redeemer. Christ Jesus changes lives for their eternal good!
A. The World Crucified. “By whom the world is crucified unto me”
1. Through the cross of Christ “the world is crucified” or literally “the world has been and
continues to be crucified.” “The flesh” had already been crucified (5:24). The world system of evil now
stands to Paul as dead or crucified or a dunghill. Paul is saying that I condemn the world that condemned
Christ. Paul had “no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3). Paul cares no more for the world than it does for
him. The things that Paul esteemed highly before salvation he now gives his utmost abhorrence.
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord” (Rom. 6:11).
2. “Unto me” Paul is saying that as a regenerate man the world system is a corpse of putrefaction.
“This is one of the great sayings of Paul concerning his relation to Christ and the world in contrast with
the Judaizers (Cf. 2:19; 3:13; 4:4; 1Cor. 1:23; Rom. 1:16; Rom. 3:22; 4:25; 5:18).”8 The crucifixion of
the world begins in our hearts and works out from there.
B. The World Condemns Me. “And I unto the world.”
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A. T. Robertson
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1. Paul is crucified “unto the world.” This means that Paul is crucified or condemned by the
world. The world hates everything Paul glories in as a Christian. There is mutual crucifixion. Paul
believed what Jesus said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were
of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out
of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19).
2. Christ, as Paul’s Saviour, enables him to defy the world, the flesh and the devil. “I am
crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
CONCLUSION: “A man that is hanged upon a gibbet ceases from his thefts and murders: so all that are
indeed crucified with Christ to the world, cease from their old offenses.” (William Perkins) So we should
seek those things above (Col. 3:1-2). We must glory in the cross of our Redeemer!
How do you glory in the cross?
[1] By surrendering yourself to Christ crucified as your Lord and Saviour (Gal. 2:20).
[2] By praying that the crucified and risen Christ’s power will be exercised in your life (Phil. 3:7-16).
[3] By proclaiming the crucified and risen Christ [a] wherever you go (Gal. 1:16) and [b] by constraint of
the love of Christ (1 Cor. 9:16; 2 Cor. 5:14).
[4] By defending the gospel of the crucified Christ.
[5] By worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth.
© SBSS 2006
Book Reviews
From Godly Inspiration to Human Desecration
An Analysis of the Battle Hymn of the Republic
By Reverend Father Alister C. Anderson
This is a 21 page booklet exposing Julia Ward Howe the erstwhile transcendentalist preacher and
her so called “Battle Hymn,” which was anything but a hymn. This was written by past
Chaplain-in-Chief Alister Anderson. You may obtain a copy by writing him at 10 East Third
Street, Frederick, MD 21701
The Christian Testimony of
Major-General James Ewell Brown Stuart
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FOREWORD
by Colonel J.E.B. Stuart IV
U.S. Army, Retired
As the great-grandson of Major-General James Ewell Brown Stuart I have often
been asked for an opinion of this great man’s legacy to the nation, and how he
should be remembered. Although my answer has changed, as I have grown older,
one central theme has endured through the years: He was a man who fought for a
cause that he deeply believed in with tenacity and a steadfast commitment that is
remarkable by any standard.
My great-grandfather knew how to organize and lead men in combat, his
assessment skills were second to none, and he had no equal in technical proficiency
in the development and use of cavalry. As a result, he played a major role in
developing the doctrines that still shape mobile warfare today. If you were to visit
an Armored Cavalry [tank] Regiment today and ask the Commanding Officer to
describe the unit’s strategy he would describe it in terms very similar to those
developed by General Stuart during the War for Southern Independence.
Many books have been written about my great-grandfather, his military career, his
rise through the ranks to command of the Confederate Cavalry, his great exploits in
battle, the victories he won, and even his tragic and untimely death in the service
of his country. But to my knowledge, this is the first and only book to be written
entirely on the Christian faith and personal character of General Stuart. While many
authors have written on all that my grandfather did, Dr. Ed DeVries has written this
book to help show us the inner faith and spirit of this great man.
General Stuart possessed an integrity, personal character, and convictions of
conscience sadly lacking in many men today. He was a faithful Christian man with a
strong biblical belief. While General Stuart did not fear men or bullets, he did fear
God, and this was the true reason for all of his successes in life, both as a man and
as a soldier. J.E.B. Stuart’s faith was his “center of gravity.” It was the foundation
upon which all of his life and actions rested.
This short, well put together book, composed largely of excerpts from my
grandfather’s own writing, will give the reader great insight into the faith and
character that was Major-General James Ewell Brown Stuart.
The price of the book is $5 each and the DVD is $10 each. The shipping is $2.50 per order (regardless of
quantity). For your copy write Dr. Ed DeVries, 2158 South Mosley, Wichita, Kansas 67211
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