April 2, 2025
Parallel Polis Publishing
By: Jerry D. Miller, Plain Values
Our human tendency is to want to be independent. We do not want to rely on others, but the irony of it is, God created us to be dependent on each other when he created a man and woman in the Garden of Eden.
Homesteaders are often encouraged to be as self-sufficient as possible. How can I overcome the pride of being self-sufficient so that I can reconnect with my community?
Answered by: JerryD. Miller, a deaconin his local Amish church
Spiritual revival is huge news lately. What is happening at Asbury University has been in the news for weeks. Is it real? Is it fake? Is it woke? Is it sincere? It is all anyone wants to talk about. It is self-evident that we are in desperate need of Christian spiritual awakening. It is no secret that we are living through the greatest cultural revolution our nation has ever seen. There is serious, irreparable political division, powerful forces have unleashed leftwing cultural subversion and racial unrest, there is rapid technological change, there is the looming threat of nuclear war, and our nation is committed to an increasingly unpopular conventional war, and the younger generations are increasingly disenchanted and pushed to the margins of society. The more things change, the more they stay the same. To say there are parallels between today and the 1960s would be a massive understatement.
By Rory Feek, Plain Values
January always feels like not only the beginning of a new year, but a new opportunity. To do things better, to be better. To do the thing you’ve always wanted to do. A chance for real and lasting change. The first few stories I’ll be sharing monthly in this column are about some of the profound changes for the better that have occurred in my life that brought me here to this moment. First, to share a little about who I am and the story God has given us.
By John Heers, of First Things Foundation Alert: This month’s post is not about love as understood by people living on this side of the…
By Lisa Miller, Wife to Marlin, publisher of Plain Values Someone once told us, “If you are looking around hoping for someone to do something…
David has been on the run from Saul, and now things are beginning to change. David has assembled a kingdom in exile that is growing more powerful, and Saul is waging war not only on David but on Yahweh Himself. For those with eyes to see, this passage is an example of how God’s people can not only survive godless, bloodthirsty tyrants, but prepare to rule after God removes them.
by Ivan Keim, Plain Values
First, a note from Marlin Miller, Publisher of Plain Values Magazine:
Across the news and nation, I have sensed a renewed drive to get communities together again, more like the “good ole days.” Now, I’m not a fan of wishing to go back, but the interest and thoughtful questioning of a few of my Amish friends confirmed my hunch time and again. We have assembled a panel of Amish folks, some older and a few younger, who are passionate about strong communities and taking care of one another as God asks us to.
The Amish are not perfect, but they do take care of one another in extraordinary ways, and I believe we have much to learn from it all. There are not many more well-known examples of this than “a good old-fashioned barn raising!” Philippians 2:3–4 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but to the interests of others.”
Our family has had the luxury of having grown up in and around Amish communities our entire lives, and we do indeed have wonderful neighbors. I have no doubt that The Roundtable will become a favorite for many of our readers in the months to come.
Marlin Miller, always looking for more friends
When animals become numbers, human numbers are not far behind. For the past several hundred years since the imaginations of Descartes and other enlighteners permeated our power structures, people have been treated as machines or numbers – abstract variables that can be subtly manipulated, to achieve certain goals. This is how the modern government exercises its power through an upside-down form of Christian “pastoral” leadership.
What if the way a culture treats livestock is an indication of how its political leaders will treat people?
by J.Pilgrim
I’m typing this out while I’m racked out in the back of my SUV in a Walmart parking lot in a college town, sipping a beer. I was attempting to spend New Year’s Day camping at the homestead, but my fan belt frayed out on the drive and ripped off the top of the dipstick. I assume that the fan belt is a delayed casualty of the sub-zero cold we had a couple of weeks ago, but I don’t know for sure. I do know I’m not going to risk driving home and having the belt completely fall apart.
The squeak of the grass, as it’s pinched between tooth and gum, harmonizes with the slow, baritone hoof beats of the flock advancing across the shadowy hillside. Each individual navigates independently, but pulses forward in unison with the band, as if obeying a silent command to push on just past the next sunlit clearing, and then the next, and the next.
Nature is under God’s control, and all the parts of nature are part of His symbolic language. This means that all of creation offers spiritual lessons. To farm, log, or fish is to interact with an animated parable of Christ, spoken by wordless creatures. A Christian culture needs this natural engagement, because if nobody stoops down and gets their hands dirty in the earth, then nobody can build cathedrals and gather together to pray heavenward.
by P.R. Infidel
America has entered an Age of idiocy, and while it’s hard to watch her circle the drain, we can all do something to soften our landing. Specifically, we can use our talents to build the parallel economy Gab’s founder Mr. Torba is advocating.
