from Ireland; to this day more than 80npercent of the population is of thatnorigin. Yet I have been told that, geologically,nNewfoundland is part of thenAppalachian chain, with a piece ofnScotland stuck to it on the east. LikenAppalachia, it is a region largely bypassednby the industrial and culturalndevelopments of the 19th and earlyn20th centuries.nEven today there live in PlacentianBay men who once fished for cod andnlobster in sailing punts and rowingndories. There are women still alive whonused to keep sheep and shear them andncard and spin the wool with which tonknit socks and mittens for their family.nThere are people, not yet in their 40’s,nwho remember a time when their underwearnwas made from linen flournbags; when some children came tonschool in moccasins made from rawncowhide, or barefoot; when a radio wasna precious possession. Probably therenare still men alive who in their youthnwent hunting with muzzle loaders; I stillnhear talk of how many fingers of powdernit took to shoot a moose, and other suchnlore.nThe three dozen hardcover booksnthat I brought with me were respectfullyncalled my “library.” (I arrived here notnall that long after the great resettlementnscheme, by which the government ofnthe day, promising an abundance ofnvery well-paid industrial jobs, moved thenpopulation of some 2,000 isolated fishingnvillages—the “outports”—to socalledngrowth centers where services likenschooling and health care could benprovided more efficiently.)nSome of the older Newfoundlandersncalled me “uncle.” They were accustomednto small communities in whichneverybody had a definite status and andefinite relationship with the rest of thencommunity. I wasn’t a clergyman or andoctor or a government official or anteacher, yet I had books and a typewriternand was presumed to be well-educatednand was decidedly not a mere Bill ornJoe. So in their perplexity those dear oldnpeople called me “uncle,” even thoughnI was much younger than they.nYounger, better informed peoplenwith less natural courtesy questionednme about my reason for wanting tonmove into an outport when everybodynelse was moving away. They hankerednafter the life they had seen in Hollywoodnmovies, after big cars and drive-nins. They asked me, distrustfully: “Arenyou a hippie?”nI said that I probably was. I had hadnno association with hippies in the city,nand thus no opportunity to form anyndefinite conclusions about them. I knewnthat they were dissatisfied in generalnwith the way in which society was goingnand were trying to reestablish healthier,nmore sensible life-styles. I could agreenwith that.nOnly later, when hippies—who bynthat time had rejected that appellationnand referred to themselves as “long-nhairs” and “heads” — derided me as anreactionary and an establishment typenand the Baron of Back Cove, did Inrealize that I decidedly was not a hippie.nI had, in my very unhappy childhood,ndeveloped somehow the utterly anachronisticnaspiration to become the lord ofnan English island. I wanted the sense ofnbelonging and stability that centuriesoldnstone buildings give. I wanted to benin a situation in which I could notnreadily be bossed around. I wanted . . .nWell, the adults around me ridiculednthat notion.nTHE BELIEVABLE FUTURES OFnAPlERICAn FROTESTAPlTISnnENCOUNTER SERIES, Volume 7nRichard John Neuhaus, General Editorn”The Encounter Series will contribute greatlynto our understanding of the part that faith playsnin the continuing American experiment.”n—GEORGE GALLUP, Jr.nMMCOUMTFiKnSERIESnIn this volume the participantsndiscuss mainline Protestantismnfrom various perspectives, andnconclude that if AmericannProtestantism is once again tonbecome culturally influential, itnmust experience a theologicalnrenewal.nEssays in this volume are bynTimothy L. Smith, James DavisonnHunter, Thomas Sieger Derr, andnThomas C. Oden. The story of thenencounter is by Paul T. Stallsworth.nAt your bookstore, or call 1-800-633-9326nArising out of conferences sponsored by thenRockford Institute Center on Religion andnSociety in New York City, the Encounter Seriesnpresents the dialogue of a diverse group ofntheologians, ethicists, philosophers, andnpublic policy experts from across the politicalnand religious spectrum.nk.WM. B. EERDMANSnPUBLISHING CO.n255 JEFFERSON AVE. S.E. / GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. 49503 Paper, $7.95nnnDECEMBER 1988149n