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MANY NAMES grace history books written about pioneers of the automobile industry. Automotive luminaries as Ferdinand Verbiest, Nicolas Cugnot, Karl Benz, Louis Renault, and Ransome E. Olds were written about. Arguments ensued over who invented the first independently-powered vehicle. Answers differ according to what type of power plant and vehicle was used. Steam power is touted as primary, then gasoline and diesel fuels came into play. Truth be known, I think it was when the gasoline engine was invented by Karl Otto, that the automobile truly was formed. It was the brainchild of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. A three-wheeled buggy, the little vehicle became the foundation for later, four-wheeled highway cruisers. |
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wealthy. It wasn’t until October 1, 1908, that Henry Ford matched the simple design of his first “Model T” with the cheaper mechanizations of the assembly line. This lifetime marriage of mass production and the modern car made an affordable purchase possible for our average citizens. Today, I am particularly impressed by the similarities between the invention of the modern car, with the formation of biblical Christian literature in the early church. You see, as a car nut-turned-minister, I see that many parallels exist for us between the two endeavors. From the first spark of faith given by the Holy Spirit to the present publication that come from the shelves of book distributors, we find that the Bible has been printed in many, various |
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Within American shores, we find that many persons such as Ransome Olds and Henry Ford appeared. Those popular names, still current in the modern marketplace, cast aside the echoes of other, more obscure inventors who had earlier dared to make self-powered carriages. So it is that a rather tumultuous automotive history is presented to us today, often peppered with disputed records and dates. I find the historical turbulence surprising, since all of this comes to us from a highly-developed, modern record keeping environment. My own knowledge of the American automotive scene traces back to the first decades of the last century. We went from such obscurity as the Franklin and Thomas Flyer automobiles to Ford, Dodge and Durant. A visit to any reputable American automotive museum reveals that the beginnings of the car industry began to ramp up during that first decade, but alas… cars were not cheap. Production costs and profitable sales restricted cars to persons who were of substantial means. The car was at first just a toy for the |
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Faithful Echoes… Designs formerly used for the horse-drawn carriage were the basis for the early automobile chassis. Such was the method for biblical proportions! |
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Just as American car makers such as Olds followed the designs of earlier European automotive pioneers, so the writers of the gospels in scripture followed the memory and proclamation of the original disciples of Jesus. |
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As a World War produced greater need, the mass production for the carriage of many persons and products grew. So too the letters of Saint Paul and other Christians fulfilled need and spread the good news in the mid-first century. |
