When someone accidentally killed someone, the deceased's family could kill the person who caused the accident. To preserve that persons life while waiting for a fair trial, that person could flee to the city of refuge , which was provided for his protection. It was against a strong taboo to take the life of someone who was in the city of refuge.

   This strange custom has survived until modern times in such faraway places as New Guinea and Hawaii. The full story, along with a related story follows.

   I stood, in a past time, at a three pronged fork in my path as I considered my beliefs. Off to the right was a form of catastrophism that is commonly called The Big Bang theory. Straight ahead was what the bible taught. Off to the left was the belief that was held by evolutionists at that time. It was a slow moving, upward spiral, "things getting bigger and better" type of thing. There was not, at that time, much agreement between the "big bang" people and the "pure evolution" people.

   Now, it is "all right" with both of them if you go right, go left, or both ways at the same time, just so long as you do not go straight ahead! That way agrees with the bible!

   The bible mentions things without going into great detail, which when taken seriously, provide valuable insights. One such scripture is Genesis 10:25. If you do not have a bible there is one on line here. I believe that the earth was together in one place following the flood and then the continents drifted apart. Man was involved in that occurrence.

   The folklore of native American tribes is very interesting in light of what Don Richardson and Thor Heyerdahl tell in their books. Don Richardson wrote extensively about Viracocha. Now let us look at what Thor Heyerdahl has to say.

Quote:

   "The Indians throughout the vast Inca empire, from Ecuador to Peru and Bolivia, tell a remarkably consistent story: civilization was brought to them by white and bearded men who arrived on reed boats. Under the leadership of the sun king, Con-Tici-Viracocha. They first settled on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca. Later they sailed away from there on a whole fleet of reed boats, to land on the south shore and build the sun pyramid, the megalithic walls, and all the monoliths in human form that can still be seen among the remnants of the ruined cities of Tiahuanaco.

   Hostilities with warlike tribes finally drove these first purveyors of culture north by way of Cuzco to the port of Manta, which lies just where the equator crosses Ecuador. here they altered course for the west and vanished across the Pacific, like "foam on the water," hence the nickname Viracocha, "Sea-foam," which was later given also to the Spanish voyagers and all other white men. ..............................................................

   A beautiful stone sculpture of the culture-bringer Con-Tici-Viracocha north of Lake Titicaca in Peru was, in fact, confused by the arriving Spaniards with St. Bartholomew, and a monastic order was establish in his honor until the mistake was discovered and the old statue of the culture-bringer, with his ten-inch stone beard, was smashed to pieces."

End of quotation.

   In early Hebrew days, it was considered wrong for a man to speak the name of God. He would take a slate and write the equivalent of YHWH. This eventually became Jehovah, which has many descriptive names that may accompany it.

   When the apostle Paul was in Athens, he stood on Mars Hill, which is the next hill over from the Acropolis. He told the Athenians that he had seen a statue to the "unknown God". He proceeded there to teach about the true God. Don Richardson, missionary and authority on missions, tells how that statue got there in his book, Eternity in their Hearts. It is interesting reading to put it mildly. Mr. Richardson tells how the early missionaries to Korea used just such a method as Paul used to reach the Korean people for Christ. They started from a word that meant a creator God who was above all others. The largest Christian churches in the world today are in Korea, and there is no end in sight to that growth. How different might it have been if the first missionaries to Latin America had done the same?

   Now, let me get back to my original hypothesis about man being involved in the dividing of the continents. I would like to propose a question. If people sailed away and never returned, what would that do to the incentive of other would be sailors?
Did Mr. Heyerdahl consider that they did not have as far to go back then?

   Earlier we talked about Viracocha leaving across the Pacific. Now let us go across the Pacific for a new insight.

   Let us begin with a story from Don Richardson's book.

Quote:

   "What did 35,000 black-skinned Yali cannibals in central New Guinea have in common with the Jews? And also with brown-skinned Polynesian people living 5,000 miles away in the Hawaiian Islands?

   Let the following narrative illustrate.

   "Erariek, tell me a story" I asked, holding my ball-point pen poised for note-taking. Erariek, a 25-year-old Yali, grinned. He was obviously pleased by my interest in his people. Then his eyes lit up as an old memory returned--an adventure involving his own brother, Sunahan, and a friend named Kahalek.

   Erariek cleared his throat and described how the two men went to gather food early one morning.

   Just as they began digging sweet potatoes from their garden, Sunahan and Kahalek heard an arrow zing past them. In the next instant a second arrow struck Kahalek. Glancing over their shoulders the two food gatherers saw a large group of raiders emerging from ambush. The gleam in each raider's eyes told Sunahan and Kahalek that these enemies from across the Heluk River fully expected to feast on human flesh that very day--Sunahan's and Kahalek's flesh!

   Dropping their digging sticks, Sunahan and Kahalek grabbed their bows and arrows and bolted for their lives.

   At this point I expected Erariek to tell me that Sunahan and Kahalek fled up a steep trail toward the safety of their village on a ridge high above the garden area. Instead he told me that they turned from the trail and fled across their gardens toward a low stone wall. Just before they reached the wall more arrows struck already--wounded Kahalek. He fell just outside the wall and lay dying. Sunahan, however, leaped over the wall, whirled around, bared his chest at his enemies and laughed at them. The raiders, after snuffing out Kahalek's life with still more arrows, decided not to try to transport his body away for cannibalistic purposes--avengers from the village above were already swarming down the mountain. Carrying Kahalek's corpse would slow the raiders in their escape.

   The raiders fled, leaving Sunahan without a scratch.

   I nearly dropped my ball-point pen! "why didn't they kill Sunahan?" I asked. "He was standing right there!"

   Erariek smiled condescendingly "Don, you don't understand. Sunahan was standing inside the stone wall." "what difference did that make?" I queried. "The ground inside that stone wall," Erariek explained, "is what we Yali call an Osuwa--a place of refuge. If the raiders had shed one drop of Sunahan's blood while he stood within that wall, their own people would have punished them with death when they reached home. Likewise, although Sunahan held weapons in his hands, he dared not release an arrow at the enemy while standing within that wall. For whoever stands within that wall is bound to work violence against no man!"

   You could have knocked me over with a feather! Readers will find many more details about Erariek and the incredible saga of the Yali tribe in my book called Lords of the Earth. Now I must answer the question: What does all of this have to do with the Hawaiian people, 5,000 miles distant from rain-chilled Yali valleys in New Guinea?

   No one knows when the Hawaiians first dedicated the sacred precinct called Pu'uhonua- o-honaunau for it's special purpose. Archaeologists believe that King Keawe-ku-i-ke-kai around A.D. 1500-built a temple on the site and surrounded it with a 10-foot-high stone wall, much of which still stands. Two subsequent temples were added during the following century.

   Pu'uhonua-o-honaunau still stands on the western shore of Hawaii about six miles south of the monument commemorating the death of English explorer Captain James Cook.

   Pu'uhonua-o-honaunau was not just another temple. It was a place of refuge for "defeated warriors, noncombatants, or taboo breakers" who reached its boundaries ahead of their pursuers (National Park Service Brochure). Getting inside King Keawe's ancient wall was no mere game of prisoner's base. It meant life itself.

   Any fugitive who entered found a shelter already built for him! A garden and a grove of coconut palms provided sustenance. A spring bubbled with fresh water. A stretch of ocean beach invited him to swim and to fish!

   And Pu'uhonua-o-honaunau was only one of a network of perhaps 20 such "cities of refuge" scattered throughout the Hawaiian island chain!"

End of quote.

When I read that story, my spine began to tingle just like it did when I was in Hawaii and our guide told us about the cities of refuge. I would hyperlink you to on-line websites, but there are too many. If you are interested, go into Alta Vista, type in "city of refuge", and be sure to use quotation marks.

The bible tells about the city of refuge in Joshua 20 and 21, also in Numbers 35. If you do not have a bible, there is one on line here.

The old testament contains many "verbal models" of Christ. The city of refuge is one of them. Jesus Christ is our city of refuge to all who will come to him.

And now we have come full circle. In our original comments about Christianity, we told of a sheltering rock that exemplified Christ.

Now I would like to pose a question. Do you wish to ask Christ into your life as lord and savior? There is a spiritual birth certificate on line here. Print it on your printer, sign it, and keep it in a handy place. Refer to it often to keep yourself reminded of your decision for Christ. Amen.

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