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To the Editor:
Monday, Oct. 12, is Columbus Day. Traditionally observed on the second Monday in October, Columbus Day commemorates the landing of Columbus in the “New World” (on a small island off Florida) on October 12, 1492. One of the few facts Americans remember from history is “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.” Although Columbus wasn’t the first to visit the “New World” (Vikings had traveled here centuries earlier), Columbus first widely publicized, and thus “discovered,” its existence to the Europeans.
A fact acknowledged by seamen then and now, Columbus was one of the best navigators the world has ever seen!
Columbus undertook his first voyage facing the prospects of great danger. The professional opinion of that day not only assured him of the impossibility of his sailing endeavor, but it also warned him that dragons and death awaited him beyond the charted waters. Columbus said, “All those who heard about my enterprise rejected it with laughter, scoffing at me…” Columbus said he got encouragement from the Bible. From the Bible Columbus would have known the scientific fact that the earth is circular (Isaiah 40:22) and that there are watery paths (ocean currents in the ocean (Psalm 8:8) All scientific facts written in the Bible hundreds of years before man discovered them have been proven to be correct. The Bible says “fear not” 365 times. One for every day of the year. Columbus said, “No one should be afraid to take on any enterprise in the name of our Savior (Jesus) if it is right and if the purpose is purely for His holy service.” Columbus said, “It is hoped that by God’s assistance some of the continents and islands in the ocean will be discovered.”
It’s because of Columbus’ Christian motivations and convictions that now he has become a villain for most liberal (left) modern educators and media writers, who often attack and condemn him. They have adopted the deplorable modern educational practice of deconstructionism — of attacking traditional Western heroes, values and institutions.
Some are asking because Columbus abused Indians should we continue to celebrate Columbus Day? (Strangely and sadly most of these same people celebrate their or others’ abortions.) Stanford professor emerita Carol Delaney marvels at the ignorance. “They are blaming Columbus for the things he didn’t do,” Delaney explains. “It was mostly the people who came after, the settlers. I just think he’s been terribly maligned.” Delaney points out that in the man’s own writings and the writings of those who knew him, Columbus seems to be “very much on the side of the Indians” and even adopted the son of an American Indian he had befriended. In Russia they complain that history keeps changing. In America we also have fake history. One fake history book by Howard Zinn sold more than 2.5 million copies thanks to help from Hollywood celebrities and liberal left professors. See Mary Graber’s 2019 book, “Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation Against America.” Graber disproves the modern lie that Columbus was a genocidal manic. Columbus killed only in self-defense and most Indians died from diseases. Graber disproves the modern lie that native Americans lived in a peaceful utopian community. The Indians Columbus encountered were barbaric, with tribes conquering, enslaving and cannibalizing each other. Many today hate Columbus because he was a devout Catholic.
During June 2020 Christopher Columbus statues were destroyed in seven American cities. Whether you celebrate Columbus Day is your choice. However, to tear down his statue or other statues that are government property is a felony and you should be arrested and charged with the crime. Learn from history, don’t destroy history as the Muslim ISIS did. Proverbs 22:28 says, “Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers have set.” After the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, Joshua instructed them to erect a stone monument. The Israelites erected several such monuments throughout their history. They found the only way to fully understand their present was to look back and remember their past. We should continue to celebrate Columbus Day and hold on to history. We in Carter County benefit from our forefathers building the covered bridge in 1882 and holding on to history and preserving the Covered Bridge! The most important history to remember is Jesus died for our sin and rose from the dead. Jesus said to take the Lords Supper to remember His sacrifice!
Paul reminds us in Romans 15, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Americans need to learn from our history. Even if it’s bad or becomes romanticized, it’s still far better to remember history than erase it. While it isn’t spotless, to pretend something didn’t happen, or to degrade the forefathers who created our remarkable nation is counterproductive and dangerous. George Orwell said, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” George Santayana said, “Those who do not know history’s mistakes are doomed to repeat them!” Christians are like Columbus looking for a new world and a new body our Savior Jesus will give us. Christians are “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ!” True history is: man proposes. God disposes!
D.D. Nave
Elizabethton