11 Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see. Hebrews 11:1
As I search the scriptures I am reminded over again that it really takes a few short generations before the good things of God are forgotten and evil and wickedness enter into the family system. When it does the evil wrecks havoc on everyone exposed to it.
Our Prison system which are filled with men and woman who veered off the beaten path of doing the right things is a prime example of this point.
As I read the story of Adam Gahhn better known as Assam the American I again began to understand how and why this happened.
Adam Gadahn was the son of Seth Gadahn who was the son of Carl Perlman who was a prominent
Orange county Physician.
So how did it happen? Why would a young man who supposedly had everything going for him throw it all away and be responsible for inciting the terror attacks against innocent people? To understand young Adam you first need to understand his father.
Before he changed his name he was Phil Perlman, college student at the University of California, Irvine during the radicalized 60's. UC Irvine was considered a public 'Ivy' school.
Phil came from a family that loved music. His father played the violin while his mom played the piano. His father was a devoted Jew and staunch supporter of Israel. One can probably assume frp, this that he grew up in upper middle class family.
He entered college during the most tumultuous time period in American history. Young Phil loved music equally as much as his parents, but his love was for music of a psychedelic kind. People who knew him were amazed how he seem to know well heeled music people in the San Francisco music scene and how he would use those influences to bring various bands to the college campus. He was always thinking ahead because before it was even popular he would help these bands set up light shows.
.He self-produced and released several records, including a 1967 album by his band, called the Beat of the Earth.
So how did it happen? Why would a young man who supposedly had everything going for him throw it all away and be responsible for inciting the terror attacks against innocent people? To understand young Adam you first need to understand his father.
Before he changed his name he was Phil Perlman, college student at the University of California, Irvine during the radicalized 60's. UC Irvine was considered a public 'Ivy' school.
Phil came from a family that loved music. His father played the violin while his mom played the piano. His father was a devoted Jew and staunch supporter of Israel. One can probably assume frp, this that he grew up in upper middle class family.
He entered college during the most tumultuous time period in American history. Young Phil loved music equally as much as his parents, but his love was for music of a psychedelic kind. People who knew him were amazed how he seem to know well heeled music people in the San Francisco music scene and how he would use those influences to bring various bands to the college campus. He was always thinking ahead because before it was even popular he would help these bands set up light shows.
.He self-produced and released several records, including a 1967 album by his band, called the Beat of the Earth.
Like a lot of teenagers of the 60's Phil grew his hair out and began driving around campus in a daisy covered Volkswagen.
In 1969 Phil dropped out of UC without earning his degree.
At one time he wanted to travel to the middle east, but his father was able to convince young Phil through a meeting with a middle eastern friend of his to not go.
He produced his last record in 1976 and within 2 years he married a woman 10 years younger. In 1978 they had their first son while living in Oregon and named him Adam.. At one point Phil became a Christian when he found a bible on the beach.
An essay written by young Adam confirmed that fact.
In the late 1970s, Phil made a radical decision to change his life by changing his name to Seth Philip Gadahn and moving his wife, Jennifer, and Adam to 60 acres of land his parents owned in rural Riverside County. Gadahn told the Register in 2004 that his new surname was a variation of the biblical name Gideon, who was a Jewish hero from the Old Testament.
He decided he wanted to make a fresh start..So He built a 10x10 wooden shack on the side of a hill with no running water and no electricity with an outhouse nearby which became their home. Seth and his wife began home schooling young Adam.
To support his family he raised a few 100 goats and sold them to a growing Muslin market in Los Angeles.One can assume that young Adam grew sympathetic toward the Muslim faith whenever they travel to Los Angeles with the goats they were bringing to market.
One article pointed out that Seth's new found Christianity slowly evolved into a Universalisitic belief system which takes the best of all religions. Where once Seth had a firm Christian foundation built on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that faith now became a conglomeration of many beliefs and in short a foundation built on the sands of uncertainty.
It was this upbringing that the seeds were planted for his son's ultimate conversion to radical Islam.
As a teenager Adam tried to learn as much about the Christian and Islamic faiths. Whenever he was visiting his grandparents he would often research the internet those differences. Remember, Adam grew up in a home with no electricity or running water and consequently had no internet.
Since his dad's faith had become lukewarm young Adam had nothing to claim this faith for himself. It was while he was at his grandparents that Adam read about Jihad that lead him to reject his dad's faith just has his dad had rejected his dad's faith. Just as his dad had done so Adam changed his name.
Adam the Assam isn't an anomaly because there are many more 'Adam's in this world who are searching for something of substance to bring meaning to a mundane existence. When things do not go right or our path deviates off into nowhere land it is easy to reject everything we stood for up to that point.
Traumatic grief is one such example and is often used by many why they turned against God in the first place. It is one of the primary reasons why people turn to atheism. "If there is a good God then why did my loved one have to die?"
My response to my son when he asked if he had to go to church since he wasn't feeling well after his sister died the week before was "we could all stay home because I know mom doesn't feel well and I know I am not feeling well, but if we do then we will miss out on the encouraging and inspiring words of our friends at church."
Life is going to be hard. It will be filled with peaks and valleys. There will be good things that will happen, but there will be untold grief. Our goal should be to trust God enough that he truly knows what he is doing with our grief. He gave us a savior who personally will walk with us when we walk these uncertain roads in life, if we allow him.
If we keep this in mind then I am convinced we always have a generation of people after us who will do the same.
In 1969 Phil dropped out of UC without earning his degree.
At one time he wanted to travel to the middle east, but his father was able to convince young Phil through a meeting with a middle eastern friend of his to not go.
He produced his last record in 1976 and within 2 years he married a woman 10 years younger. In 1978 they had their first son while living in Oregon and named him Adam.. At one point Phil became a Christian when he found a bible on the beach.
An essay written by young Adam confirmed that fact.
In the late 1970s, Phil made a radical decision to change his life by changing his name to Seth Philip Gadahn and moving his wife, Jennifer, and Adam to 60 acres of land his parents owned in rural Riverside County. Gadahn told the Register in 2004 that his new surname was a variation of the biblical name Gideon, who was a Jewish hero from the Old Testament.
He decided he wanted to make a fresh start..So He built a 10x10 wooden shack on the side of a hill with no running water and no electricity with an outhouse nearby which became their home. Seth and his wife began home schooling young Adam.
To support his family he raised a few 100 goats and sold them to a growing Muslin market in Los Angeles.One can assume that young Adam grew sympathetic toward the Muslim faith whenever they travel to Los Angeles with the goats they were bringing to market.
One article pointed out that Seth's new found Christianity slowly evolved into a Universalisitic belief system which takes the best of all religions. Where once Seth had a firm Christian foundation built on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that faith now became a conglomeration of many beliefs and in short a foundation built on the sands of uncertainty.
It was this upbringing that the seeds were planted for his son's ultimate conversion to radical Islam.
As a teenager Adam tried to learn as much about the Christian and Islamic faiths. Whenever he was visiting his grandparents he would often research the internet those differences. Remember, Adam grew up in a home with no electricity or running water and consequently had no internet.
Since his dad's faith had become lukewarm young Adam had nothing to claim this faith for himself. It was while he was at his grandparents that Adam read about Jihad that lead him to reject his dad's faith just has his dad had rejected his dad's faith. Just as his dad had done so Adam changed his name.
Adam the Assam isn't an anomaly because there are many more 'Adam's in this world who are searching for something of substance to bring meaning to a mundane existence. When things do not go right or our path deviates off into nowhere land it is easy to reject everything we stood for up to that point.
Traumatic grief is one such example and is often used by many why they turned against God in the first place. It is one of the primary reasons why people turn to atheism. "If there is a good God then why did my loved one have to die?"
My response to my son when he asked if he had to go to church since he wasn't feeling well after his sister died the week before was "we could all stay home because I know mom doesn't feel well and I know I am not feeling well, but if we do then we will miss out on the encouraging and inspiring words of our friends at church."
Life is going to be hard. It will be filled with peaks and valleys. There will be good things that will happen, but there will be untold grief. Our goal should be to trust God enough that he truly knows what he is doing with our grief. He gave us a savior who personally will walk with us when we walk these uncertain roads in life, if we allow him.
If we keep this in mind then I am convinced we always have a generation of people after us who will do the same.
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