THANKSGIVING THOUGHTS.

 

Cartoon from James Lawson. Used by permission.

This week, I saw a couple of posts and and heard a podcast dealing with Thanksgiving. 

Let me start with this cartoon by James Lawson that has blessed me for years. I do, however, have an answer or two about why pilgrims are loved and Puritans are hated. It has nothing to do about doctrine, but rather who is the oppressor and who is oppressed. The Pilgrims are seen as victims to the bad Church of English who were persecuting them. The Puritans (at least some of them), on the other hand, were the oppressors. The existence of Rhode Island is proof of that, where Roger Williams and other Baptists fled to.

Switching gears but not leaving the cartoon yet... To be honest, I don't think the Pilgrims are as beloved as they used to be. Is doctrine involved here? Good question, but if it is, it's not that the hatred toward the Pilgrims/Puritans' Reformed Doctrine but the doctrine that is shared by all believers.

This is related to an article that was on the Indianapolis Public Library's website. There question is what indigenous peoples think, giving the answer that they see Thanksgiving as a day of mourning. They gave a link to see for the indigenous people's view of colonization. First, let me state that I don't think that the original residents of this country were treted right by some of our ancestors. Howver, should we have what has been a day of celebration of faith and family and for the unenlightened, football (the enlightened, like me, have the TV tuned to America's Dog Show) and feel guilty for something that we personally didn't do and something that we can't undo even if we wanted to (which I do).

Let me share a couple of thoughts I've heard before, but Al Mohler (President of The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville) reminded me. First, Thanksgiving is uniquely American holiday. Second, even the non-Christians are thankful, but to whom? Doesn't this show that we're not as secular as the world wants us to be?

Again, happy Thanksgiving. Hope your day is blessed.