James Wesley;
I came into the prepper movement (without being aware there was any such movement) by degrees, through religion, a few years ago. As an old “Latin Mass” traditionalist Catholic, there is a tendency amongst our ilk to look with suspicion upon that which is trumpeted as “progressive” or “liberal” or even “modern.” Not that we are against real progress in some area, or resist modernity for its own sake, but because a real Catholic ought to be a spiritual man, who rejects much of what the modern world tells him is “good,” since these same things so often hinder spiritual progress, family stability, and focus on salvation and the afterlife (e.g., Television, immoderate or impure internet usage, music which appeals to the base emotions rather than lifting the mind to God, etc).
It would probably not surprise you then to learn that, with this suspicious gaze fixed at the modern world, there are many amongst us who focus that suspicion on world politics, economic issues, and social trends. One among us, Bishop Richard Williamson (of the Society of St. Pius X), being a broadminded pastor of souls, is charitable enough to comment upon some of these “not strictly or directly religious” matters, because he understands that nevertheless, these socio-political-economic matters will have a direct bearing upon the ability of us to work out their salvation. And so he speaks frequently upon matters such as gold/silver as wealth preservation assets; gardening and food storage; 911 as an inside job (I.e., warning of the police state, and those who control this nation’s foreign policy; etc).
So one day after Mass, this guy I knew started talking to me about buying physical gold and silver, and from there I progressed to learn about food storage, guns/ammo, and the whole “shebang.”
Not too long ago, I read “Patriots” and recommended it to several people who also read it. I will read it again soon. The appeal of the book for me (other than that it served as a very practical checklist of things to consider in my own preparations) was that it was set in a good versus evil context. The men and women who were the Patriots were good, moral people. Their enemies were those who were evil-doers. I took from the book that the “collapse” was portrayed as a chance to start this country over again, and an opportunity to remedy many things that fly in the face of Christian morality and Constitutional government (i.e., No collapse was not desired, but if it must come, the survivors would have to rebuild this country into……something).
About that time, I broadened my list of regularly visited survivalist internet sites. What I saw from those that contained chat forums was heartily depressing: I was shocked to learn that most preppers had a hatred, contempt, or at best a heavy distrust of religion and God. It made me wonder: If there is a collapse, what kind of country would these survivors rebuild? Would such men really be of the caliber depicted as Patriots in the book? How would they be any different than the biker gang depicted if things ever got tough? Can Godless men really be good men (that is, Godlessness was tried in communist Russia and China, and also in Nazi Germany with less than flattering results). To me, that the atheists (if there really is any such thing; mostly they are those who believe in, but hate, God) have the ascendancy in the prepper movement is worrisome: Modern secular Godless society is disgusting enough in many respects. What do you think a post-collapse society of atheists would degenerate into? So the primary purpose of this article, then, is to exhort–even at the risk of minor OPSEC violations–fellow Christians to spread the prepper movement amongst themselves, to ensure that if we ever have to rebuild, there will be something better than Mad-Max to look forward to.
Here are a couple things that I do, for what its worth, toward this end:
1) Network with people at Church: Generally, these people tend to be of a higher moral caliber than those who disregard Church (Yes, there are legions who fall short of attaining to the morals they profess, but at least they are in the fight; at least Christian morality is important to them, and as Archbishop Fulton Sheen once commented: If the Church had to be as perfect as you seem to want it, you wouldn’t be welcome to join it!). Generally, they are people you already know something about, which will make your prospecting more productive. To a higher degree, you will know who will be worth the time to talk to, and who won’t than if you spoke, for example, to people at work or school.
2) When talking to those you know to be irreligious preppers, do not wear your religion on your sleeve (which is not to say you hide it either). Try to impress them with the integrity of your character. Most people–religious or not–respect this in people. If someone respects you as a person, they have a better chance of being receptive, and seeking out, your opinions. As St. Francis of Assisi used to say: “Preach always, and if necessary, use words.”
3) Write! I would view myself as a hypocrite having such concerns, but never doing anything to try and turn the tide. There are so many internet forums, magazines, newspapers, etc which are overrun with anti-Christian preppers that one would think prepping itself was somehow at odds with Christianity. Instead of despairing, formulate your opinions and get them out there! Do not let the Godless hordes out-maneuver you. They are organized in a unified hatred of even the natural law (i.e., those things all men know to be right and wrong, until their consciences are indoctrinated into confusion). If you want to live in a better post-collapse world, you need to be prepared and organized to put a plan into place, and this means heightening awareness through the various media outlets and personal communication. You need to write. The globalists, Masons, atheists, etc all have plans ready to go. What do we have? Little bunker ghettos and isolated retreats, but no plan as to how to remake a better society. If collapse happened today, we would be snuffed out fairly easily.
I want to end with you all dwelling on the three preceding points. If the Christian preppers do not increase in proportion, and coordinate and communicate with each other, what is the point of surviving a collapse? The barbarism that follows will be much worse for them than dying in the initial conflagration (Have you ever seen “The Road”?).