I was visiting family last weekend, and somehow the question of who discovered America came up. I asked my eight-year-old (“I’m going to be nine.”) grandson if he knew. He shook his head, and to be fair, he may simply have forgotten that lesson if it was ever mentioned. However, when I asked if he knew about Columbus, his Mom informed me that they no longer teach that Columbus discovered America because he is thought to be an evil person. We also discussed the fact that the continent of America was probably “discovered” by Vikings, possibly Leif Ericson, long before Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. And, of course, the island Columbus first landed on isn’t even American territory.
Columbus did eventually get to the American mainland where
he continued his “evil” European domination. I will not deny that the European
taking of the Western hemisphere was arrogant imperialism with a large dose of
bigotry and condescension. However, to discard all mention of the great
explorer is to lose a sense of his truly great achievement: he debunked a false
notion that ruled the scientific community of his day. He proved the earth was
not flat. He may have miscalculated the planet’s size, but he was correct about
its shape. He opened the door for the Age of Exploration.
Columbus also extended the reach of the dominant culture of
his day, the consequences of which were not fully positive. Nor were they
completely negative. Say what you will about 15th century Roman
Catholic theology, Columbus and subsequent explorers did bring knowledge of the
Savior of the world to the “new world.” In his own words, Columbus expressed
his desire to bring Christianity to the people of the newly discovered
continent. Secular historians, the sanitizers of history, put his evangelistic zeal
in the category of arrogant imperialism. How dare he think his religion was
superior to that of the natives.
While modern missiologists will no doubt shudder at the
tactics of Columbus et al, their motives cannot be impugned. Certainly, the explorers
of the Enlightenment day sought riches. Had Columbus not promised to return
with ships laden with gold, Ferdinand and Isabella would never have financed
his venture as a missions trip. We may never know whether his primary
motivation was economic, religious, or simply a burning desire to prove his
round earth theory. But if we erase Columbus from the history books, we will
never get to have that discussion.
It is a discussion worth having. Just as Israel was
commanded to remember her history, America should remember hers. I realize the
history of Israel is the story of God’s redemption of the human race and therefore
eminently important, whereas America’s history is not inspired Scripture with
eternal significance. However, in the same way that the Israelites could track
the coming of the Messiah through her past, Americans can trace the development
of a nation that is unique in all human history. There are valuable lessons to
be learned from a study of the American foundations. We live in an ordered
universe where the principle of cause and effect operates not only in the “hard”
sciences like physics but in the social sciences as well.
To erase great men from our history because they were greatly
flawed is to eliminate the possibility of learning from the ill effects of
their actions. To hide their flaws as my grade school history did with Columbus
isn’t ideal either. Surely a balance can be found between painting him as the
devil incarnate and whitewashing him as God’s righteous servant. Even a third-grade
student could be made to understand the man’s sincere religious motivations and
his prowess as a navigator and sailor while recognizing his moral and fiscal failures
as an administrator.
I know my third-grade grandson can understand the nuances of
flawed people. Like too many young children today, he has had live with the
consequences of moral failure. Children should not be “protected” from the reality
of the mixed alloy of human character; it is valuable information. The Bible
certainly does not gloss over its heroes’ moral difficulties. Remember that David
and Moses were both murderers. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived according
to the biblical record, couldn’t control his carnal desires. Peter denied his
Savior at a critical moment while all the others closest to Jesus fled into the
night.
I believe it is foolish arrogance to read our twenty-first
century political/moral sensitivities back into history. Deleting Columbus or any
other person who doesn’t meet a modern, politically correct standard has the
same effect as the ancient historians who made up tales that suited their
fancy. Mythology makes for entertaining reading, and often it presents moral
lessons, but it is not a substitute for a true account of actual events in the
past.
This is a big problem, but a committed group of parents
could stage a coup at the next school board election and influence a local body
to make changes that would lead to an honest history curriculum. Even within
the dreaded Core standards now adopted by most states there is room for a local
district to supplement their history texts with those that present the real
thing. Our children deserve to know where we have come from as a nation. Who
knows; maybe if our public schools had been teaching history honestly for the
last few decades there would be fewer young people who think socialism is the
answer to all our problems.
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