Real Lessons from the Real Thanksgiving Story
In schools, colleges and nearly all news media, an indoctrination program is taking place. It seems that a determined group of angry anti-God and anti-American militants have bullied their way into positions of influence and power. As we enter the holiday season, these folks will become quite irritated. It seems that Thanksgiving and Christmas give them the heebie-jeebies. Over the last few decades, in order to combat the uplifting message of Thanksgiving and Christmas, they have taken on the mission of redefining these holidays. As a result, a generation of people have been lied to about our holiday season and what it stands for. My goal for this article over the next few weeks is to unpack the real and true history of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Thanksgiving story, the feasting of Pilgrims and Indians, requires us to take a moment and speak about the discovery of America. When it is said that Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World, no one is suggesting that no human being had set foot on the North and South American continents before 1492. What is true is that it was Columbus who brought America and its potential to the attention of the technically advanced European nations of that day. What kind of world did Columbus discover? Were the American continents a paradise where the natives were living in peace and perfect harmony? No! It was quite the opposite. What he found was a land that was sparsely populated. The tribes that lived here were a warring, nomadic culture. They hunted both animals and each other. They had not yet discovered the wheel. Horses would not be introduced to the Indian culture until the 16th century. While there were atrocities committed by the European settlers, the Native American lifestyle was one where tribes brutalized one another on a regular basis.
The basis of much of today’s “revisionist history” is a subtle racism. At the core of today’s anti-Western rhetoric is the view that “white Europeans” are bad and that Indians are good. As a matter of fact, today’s politically correct view says that “white is bad” and every other color or culture (black, Asian, you name it—anything but white) is good. This is the essential assumption of “multi-culturalism.” If we are to have a correct view of human history, we must understand that all people, all races, have a problem. All cultures are flawed. By the way, this is the view and teaching of the Bible. While people like to overlook and sugarcoat human failings and sin, God says otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, people can occasionally have noble and honorable moments. But the truth of what we see in the news and what has always been seen in recorded history is mankind’s treachery and violence to mankind.
As we begin to understand the Thanksgiving and Christmas stories, we need to understand that people need help from God. On our own, left to our own devices, we (mankind) are self-destructive, but God knows our need and steps into history to offer help. When people follow God’s truth and instructions, we are given the guardrails and guidelines that make civilization possible. When people submit to God’s help, they are born again - new life, new actions, better decisions are possible.
The Thanksgiving narrative was only possible because God was working in and through the individuals in the story. For example, in the late 1500’s an Indian named Squanto was born. He was kidnapped by an English explorer and sold to Spanish slavers. Squanto was eventually ransomed by monks. With their help, he was set free, given an education and taught Christianity. Squanto eventually returned to America in 1619. Returning to his village, he found it had been wiped out by an unknown sickness. Squanto found a new Indian tribe to live with. This new tribe dwelt near Cape Cod Bay, the place the Mayflower landed in 1620. Squanto worked to broker peaceful negotiations between the Pilgrims and the local Indians. He was drawn to the faith of the Pilgrims; he had been set free by Godly men of faith. He determined to help the Pilgrims when he heard they sought the freedom to follow Jesus.
God is always at work. Too often, we miss seeing God’s hand because of worldly distractions and deceptions. Join me over the next few weeks as we consider real lessons from the real Thanksgiving story. Keep looking up!