No Depression (in Heaven)

The photo you see, entitled "And Now Where," by American artist Rockwell Kent, is of a print that features a man and woman atop a mountain looking dejectedly into the distance alongside their knapsacks, and was published in 1936 during America’s Great Depression. It is the property of the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1936 was also the same year the Carter Family recorded their hit song “No Depression (In Heaven).” Although A. P. Carter has frequently been credited as the author of the song, there is evidence it was written in 1932 by James David Vaughan of Pulaski, Tennessee, one of the founders of the genre we know as "Southern gospel" music. He started the James D. Vaughan Music Publishing Company in 1900 and was the first to establish a professional quartet and put them on the road for the purpose of selling his songbooks. "No Depression (in Heaven)" is in his circa 1932 songbook, "Sweet Heaven." While A.P. Carter registered it as his own work (which he did for every recording they made), the family's version is almost a straight copy of Vaughan's original song.

Alvin Pleasant Carter of Maces Springs, Virginia took up playing the violin at an early age. suffered from a physical tremor, as well as a constitutional restlessness, which his mother ascribed to a near miss by a bolt of lightning while she was pregnant. His job traveling around the Clinch Mountain area selling trees and shrubs for a nursery helped him deal with the restlessness. One day he came upon a house where he heard a beautiful alto voice, which belonged to 16-year-old Sara Dougherty. Like A.P., Sara was a musician at heart. The same could be said for Sara's cousin, Maybelle, who was learning to play the guitar, which was just becoming popular.

The rest is history. A 2005 PBS documentary credited the Carter Family's music for lifting the nation's spirits during the darkest days of the Depression. It said their lyrics captured the joys and tragedies of everyday life: loves won and lost, dreams attained and shattered, separations and reunions. The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, which led to half the country’s banks failing and 15 million unemployed Americans. The writer of "No Depression (in Heaven)" obviously saw it as evidence that the end was near. In his 2019 book, The Emotional Life of the Great Depression, author John Marsh said the Depression meant hunger and death. But for the Carter Family, and many of their listeners, the Great Depression also promised salvation.

For fear the hearts of men are failing
For these are the latter days we know
The Great Depression now is spreading
God's word declared it would be so

I'm going where there's no depression
To the lovely land that's free from care
I'll leave this world of toil and trouble
My home's in Heaven, I'm going there

In that bright land, there'll be no hunger
No orphan children cryin' for bread
No weeping widows, toil or struggle
No shrouds, no coffins, and no death

This dark hour of midnight nearing
And tribulation time will come
The storms will hurl in midnight fear
And sweep lost millions to their doom

The Carter Family

Witnessing A Debate Between Ark Encounter creator Ken Ham and Bill Nye, the Science Guy"

A second unscheduled "debate" between Ken Ham, who built the new Ark Encounter at Williamstown, Kentucky, and Bill Nye "the Science Guy," best known as the host of a children's science show that ran on PBS from 1993 to 1998, occurred this past Friday, July 8, 2015 in front of hundreds of people, including myself and others from Clear Fork Baptist Church in Albany, Kentucky at the Ark Encounter. The first one occurred at Ham's previous project, the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, seven miles west of the Cincinnati Airport, in November of 2014.

The Ark is part of a ministry that teaches Old Testament stories as true historical events. Nye had previously called the ark "a danger to the nation's science education" and had said he hoped it would never be built, because it would "indoctrinate children into this extraordinary and outlandish, unscientific point of view." The ark opened to the public last Thursday, July 7, 2016.

A few weeks ago, Ham had publicly invited Nye to tour the life-size Ark that opened July 7, and offered to personally show him through. Nye accepted. Apparently Bill is the host of an upcoming science documentary and wanted to bring along a video crew as they walked through the Ark. It really turned into an almost 2 hour debate as they walked through all three decks of the Ark. Both Ham and Nye agreed to video the entire discussion as they walked. Numerous children, teens and adults swarmed around them as they passionately interacted as the audience grew.

Like the previous day, which was opening day, there were thousands of visitors at the Ark Encounter on Friday and a large group of them had a unique opportunity they will never forget. Nye challenged Ham about the content of many of the exhibits, and Ham challenged Nye about what he claimed and what he believed. It was a clash of world views. At one point Ham asked Nye: what would happen to you when you die? He said when you die "you're done." Ham then asked Nye why he was concerned about what is being taught at the Ark if when we die we're "done."

The Ark Encounter is four levels, including the ground floor. The exchange between Ham and Nye moved from level to level. It began on the third level where, coincidentally, a few from my church group were at. Three of us stumbled upon the exchange minutes after it began and quickly notified others via cell phone to come watch. As you can see in the above photo, which I took, myself and two others in my group stood within arms reach of Nye and Ham and we were able to both photograph and record what we saw and heard. You can see photos on my Facebook page.

We couldn't believe our ears when Nye told Ham that it's "not crazy to believe we descended from Martians." Ham responded by asking Nye if it was "crazy to believe we descended from Adam and Eve!" The interaction between Ham, Nye and the crowd lasted two hours. Young people also came up and spoke with Nye and asked him questions, and challenged him. Specifically, we witnessed an exchange between Nye and a young lady from Iowa. One member of our group even asked Nye a couple of questions.

Ham is also the founder of Answers in Genesis, an apologetics ministry dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Ham mentioned AiG's PhD scientists, Nye said they were all incompetent, so Ham encouraged Nye to speak with them. Ham had opportunity to share the gospel with Nye a number of times as they strolled through the Ark.

As they made their way through the first floor in front of life-size models of Noah and his family who were depicted praying, Ham asked Nye if he would mind if he prayed, and could he pray for him. Nye responded that Ham could do whatever he wanted, that he couldn't stop him. So while a large group of people were gathered around, Creation Museum and Ark Encounter creator, Ken Ham, publicly prayed for Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Ham asked Nye if they could be friends. Nye replied that they could be acquaintances with mutual respect, but not friends.

Ham later wrote that he never expected their meeting would turn into a two hour debate, but he said sometimes those spontaneous happenings can be very fruitful and exciting. Ham said it was so fitting that with the opening of the Ark Encounter, this massive ship is being used to witness to such a well known personality. The meeting between Ham and Nye ended with a friendly handshake. For more information on the Ark Encounter, a world-class themed attraction that is now open to the public, go to arkencounter.com. I highly recommend it.