outrageous revisionism!

Ask Native Americans how they feel about it...

 

...especially the Native American Indians who found Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. :flower:

 

While I do not support what the teacher did he is not totally off base. Many of the European settlers did not treat the indians well and did steal land from them. Even Roger Williams, a Christian, pointed this out. Historian Edwin Gaustad put it well in his Lives and Legacies biography of Roger Williams...

"Williams raised serious charges concerning the legal title- a grant or 'patent- of the land given by King Charles I to the Bay Colony. In doing this, Williams questioned the very foundation of the colony's government and legitimacy. Williams was especially troubled by the use of the Christian religion to do a very un-Christian deed: namely, depriving the Indians of their own property without due compensation or negotiation." -pg9.

After this accusation, and others, Williams was no longer welcome in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His point was correct.

We should not attempt to justify unChristian behavior simply because we wish to admire the early settlers. We can admire them while being critical of some of their actions.

 

What some call revisionism others may call a corrective to a national mythology.

 

Perhaps Lady Eagle can find a message in this about lax immigration policies..

Indian watching the Mayflower landing...

A Pilgrim approaches.. "Hail red man! I come in peace."

Indian: "Well, there goes the neighborhood."

 

:tongue3: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

Well yet again we've trivialized a serious thread.

 

I have a serious question I'd like answered by anyone in the know. Are American Indians considered natural born American citizens with all the rights and privileges appertaining thereto ?

Thanks.

 

After WWI, the Snyder Act, aka the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, was passed:

 

Thank you, Daisy. I appreciate the info.

 

No, disagreeing that the teacher participated in "revisionism" is not a trivialization.

 

Less than that. Which is one big reason why my grandchildren will be going to a Christian school - the liberalization, secular humanizing, and dumbing down of our most precious gifts - our children and grandchildren.:tear:

 

We probably shouldn't be mythologizing the Pilgrims, either to present them as pure and perfect people, or as wholly greedy and dishonest. A proper treatment would be to present them honestly, with their virtues and faults. Likewise with the Indians.

History would be a lot more interesting and learnable for students, too. An interesting story has both elements, and for a good reason. We intuitively know it's real.

 

==Did not hear what you wanted so you want the thread closed? I am not a product of "public education". I graduated from a Christian High School and I have a Masters degree from Liberty Theological Seminary. I am working on a Masters degree in early American history from a secular University. What I said in my post was based on the testimony of Roger Williams (a Bible believing Christian!). I quoted one of the leading Williams scholars Edwin Gaustad since he worded it better than I ever could. You can go back and read Williams own words however. In fact I would strongly advise it. History is history and just simply because it is not what we "want" it to be or what we were taught as children does not give us the right to re-invent it. I am not crashing the settlers, I am just stating a fact. In many ways they treated the indians badly. There were exceptions, many exceptions in fact, but in general they were not kind to the natives. That is an established historical fact. You can deny it if you wish but you will only being denying the clear historical evidence.

I can still admire the settlers for their courage, their faith in Christ, and their willingness to stand for what they believed in. However that does not mean they were sinless and does not mean they did everything the way they should have done it. The style of government that many of the colonies set up (church/state combos), the way they treated the indians, the way they treated Baptists, Quakers, and others (etc), were inconsistant with their Christian faith. They were wrong in doing those things. That is not being brainwashed that is just being honest about what happened.

Think about it this way. God's Word does not gloss over the sins and faults of God's people, does it? No. We read of David's adultery and murder, we read of the failure of Solomon, we read of the sin of Noah, the failure of Lot, and the doubt of Thomas. We read of Peter's denying our Lord and we read of his later failure concerning the gentiles. We read of Paul's past and we see his ministry laid out before our eyes in the book of Acts. God does not hide the mistakes and sins of His people in His Word. So, let me ask you, why should we gloss over, deny, or hide the sins of our fathers? I think we should be honest about the good they did and the bad. For if someone was to write a biography about my life, or your life, I would hope they would be honest about what we did right and what we did wrong (so others could learn).

I admire the settlers and the founders of this nation for many, many things they did. We owe them a great debt of thanks. However we should not gloss over their sins and mistakes.

Like I said, I do not agree with the actions of the teacher in the OP. However the teacher does have a point.

 

==What serious historian claims that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were atheists? I am not sure I know of any. Both men clearly believed in God and that, generally, is treated as an accepted historical fact. In fact Jefferson's letters (etc) make it very clear that he did believe in a God. Many historical scholars assert that both Jefferson and Washington were deists (not atheists). With George Washington I find this to be totally untrue. Thomas Jefferson's "version" of Christianity was perverted and probably heretical (he would be very much in agreement with the modern Jesus Seminar) but it was not deistic. I would still like to know what serious historian claims that either men, or both, were atheists. Anyone who makes such a claim has not read either man's writings (letters, etc).

 

It is revisionism to state that Jefferson was "Christian" in any sense of the current meaning of the word. It is being blind to history to ignore the radical religion of the Puritans who indeed did burn young women at the stake on pretext of them practicing witchcraft. I am glad America is founded on liberty for all, and not on the religious rule of the Puritans who started the colony of Massachusetts.

 

Nicely put, Martin! :thumbs:

Old women, mostly.