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Columbus’ Christian Character and Divine Mission

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Columbus: Oppressor or Liberator?

Columbus statue toppled in St. Paul on June 10

Protesters of Native American Injustices Destroy Statue of Man Who Saved Thousands of Indian Lives

Stephen McDowell

Apparently Native American lives don’t matter to a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, who tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus on June 9 in Richmond, Virginia, and tossed it into a lake. Similar incidences have occurred in many cities. The Richmond activists said they were standing in solidarity with indigenous people, but being educated in government schools dominated by revisionist history and Marxist ideology, they were never taught that Columbus rescued untold thousands of peaceful Arawak natives from the cooking pots of the brutal cannibalistic Caribs.

During his exploration of the Caribbean Islands, Columbus encountered different native tribes, some peaceful and some vicious. The Caribs were especially feared by the Arawak’s and other natives since they were cannibals who regularly attacked and captured their peaceful neighbors.

The physician during Columbus’ second voyage, Dr. Diego Alvarez Chanca, describes an encounter they had with the Caribs on Guadeloupe Island. They asked some native women prisoners what the islanders were like who lived there. They said they were “Caribs” and were glad to learn the Europeans abhorred such kind of people who eat human flesh. Chanca wrote:

They told us that the Carib men use them with such cruelty as would scarcely be believed; and that they eat the children which they bear them, only bringing up those whom they have by their native wives. Such of their male enemies as they can take away alive they bring here to their homes to make a feast of them and those who are killed in battle they eat up after the fighting is over. They declare that the flesh of man is so good to eat that nothing can compare with it in the world; and this is quite evident, for of the human bones we found in the houses, everything that could be gnawed had already been gnawed so that nothing remained but what was too hard to eat; in one of the houses we found a man’s neck cooking in a pot…

In their wars on the inhabitants of the neighboring islands these people capture as many of the women as they can, especially those who are young and handsome and keep them as body servants and concubines; and so great a number do they carry off that in fifty houses we entered no man was found but all were women. Of that large number of captive females more than twenty handsome women came away voluntarily with us.

When the Caribs take away boys as prisoners of war they remove their organs, fatten them until they grow up and then, when they wish to make a great feast, they kill and eat them, for they say the flesh of women and youngsters is not good to eat. Three boys thus mutilated came fleeing to us when we visited the houses.[1]

Another man on that voyage, Michele de Cuneo, confirmed Carib atrocities:

The Caribs whenever they catch these Indians eat them as we would eat [goats] and they say that a boy’s flesh tastes better than that of a woman. Of this human flesh they are very greedy, so that to eat of that flesh they stay out of their country for six, eight, or even ten years before they repatriate; and they stay so long, whenever they go, that they depopulate the islands.[2]

The Carib’s cruelty was reflected and propagated in their religion. Cuneo writes:

We went to the temple of those Caribs, in which we found two wooden statues, arranged so that they look like a Pieta. We were told that whenever someone’s father is sick, the son goes to the temple and tells the idol that his father is ill and the idol says whether he should live or not; and he stays there until the idol answers yes or no. If he says no, then the son goes home, cuts his father’s head off and then cooks it.[3]

Cuneo also says that “the Caribs are largely sodomites,” and that “accursed vice” may have come to the other natives through them.[4]

When Columbus first heard stories from the Arawaks and others of how the Caribs captured, tortured, and ate them, Columbus could not believe it. But after speaking to many Arawak prisoners and observing first hand evidence, he became convinced.

It happened that the Caribs attacked Columbus’ men, and in response the Admiral sent a punitive force against them, capturing 1600 Carib prisoners in the fight. The Arawaks welcomed the defeat of their enemy, and would have liked to see them all destroyed. Hoping to civilize and Christianize these brutal men, Columbus sent 550 of them to Spain as prisoners. Another 650 were given to the local natives, who executed their own brand of justice upon them. The remaining 400 were set free.

Thus, Columbus delivered the peaceful Arawaks from the future brutal actions of their evil enemy, saving many lives from slavery and the roasting fire. I imagine these Arawaks would gladly display the Columbus statue torn down by the protesters. Far from being an oppressor, he was their liberator.

[1] Dr. Diego Alvarez Chanca, Letter, quoted by Felipe Fernandez-Arnesta, Columbus and the Conquest of the Impossible, New York: Saturday Review Press, 1974, p. 118.

[2] Michele de Cuneo, Letter, 1495, reprinted in Samuel Eliot Morison, Journals & Other Documents on the Life & Voyages of Christopher Columbus, New York: Heritage Press, 1963, p. 219.

[3] Ibid., p. 220

[4] Ibid.

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Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving

By Stephen McDowell

For PDF Version: Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving

Innumerable blessings have been bestowed upon the United States of America. Concerning these blessings President Lincoln wrote:

“No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.” President Lincoln went on to set apart the last Thursday of November as “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”¹

While President Lincoln established America’s official Thanksgiving holiday in 1863, it was the Pilgrims who first celebrated a day of Thanksgiving in this land in 1621 and who set an example that many followed in the succeeding years.²

As the Pilgrims gathered their harvest in the autumn of 1621 and looked back over the preceding year, they had so much for which to be thankful that they decided to set aside a day of Thanksgiving unto God, Whom they acknowledged as the Giver of all blessings and the only reason for their survival. It was indeed a miracle that they did survive their first year in the wilderness of New England and had a good harvest. Desire for a home where they could freely worship God, and the desire to “propagate… the Gospel of the kingdom of Christ” and be stepping stones for others to do the same, motivated a band of Christians later called Pilgrims) to set out on a hazardous voyage to plant a colony in the new world of America.

After sixty-six perilous days at sea, where the storms were so great that they were blown unknowingly hundreds of miles north of their intended destination, they reached Cape Cod. The captain attempted to sail south to Virginia, but the weather forced them to settle in New England. They later learned that the site they chose for a settlement – Plymouth – had been the home of the Patuxet Indians. Had they arrived a few years earlier, there would have been no place for them to settle, but a plague had mysteriously wiped out the Patuxet tribe in 1617, and no other tribe would settle in the area for fear of the same thing occurring to them.

Winter had already set in as they started to build houses to protect themselves from the unrelenting cold. Scurvy and other diseases began to infect the settlers due to the long voyage, lack of provisions, and unaccommodating conditions People began to die so rapidly that in two or three months’ time only half of the original 102 persons remained. While this was quite a tragedy, they still fared much better than the early settlers at Jamestown, who saw nine out of ten persons die in the first years of colonization.

During this dark winter in America, the Christian character of the Pilgrims shone brightly. At the time of greatest distress, there were only six or seven persons strong enough to move about. With the sick they “spared no pains night nor day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes clothed and unclothed them; in a word, did all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly and cheerfully, without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren. A rare example and worthy to be remembered.”³

Though half of their number survived, the prospects of the coming year looked very bleak – they were surrounded by Indians, some hostile, they were short of food and supplies, and they knew little of how to survive in the American wilderness. But to their astonishment, and gratitude to God, an English-speaking Indian named Squanto came among them, took them under his care, and taught them how to survive in the new land.

He showed them how to plant corn, assuring its growth by setting it with fish; he taught them how to catch fish and the times when they could find the creeks stocked with fish (for the Pilgrims had only caught one cod in the preceding four months); he taught them to stalk deer, plant pumpkins, find berries, and catch beaver, whose pelts proved to be their economic deliverance.

Squanto was also helpful in securing a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and surrounding Indian tribes, which lasted over fifty years. In the words of William Bradford, “Squanto… was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation.”⁴ His life story is amazing in itself.

In 1605, Squanto, a member of the Patuxet Indian tribe, was captured by an English explorer and taken to England. He remained there nine years, during which time he learned to speak English. In 1614, Captain John Smith took him back to New England, but shortly after this he was again taken captive and sold into slavery at a port in Spain. Providentially, some local friars bought and rescued him.

From Spain, he eventually went to England where he remained until 1619, when he obtained passage back to his home in New England. As Squanto went ashore at what was to become Plymouth, he found his entire tribe had been killed by a plague. He was the only survivor of the Patuxet tribe. Joining himself to a nearby tribe, he remained there until the spring of 1621 when he joined himself with the Pilgrims, determining to see them survive at the place where his tribe had not.⁵

Thanks to God, his instrument Squanto, and the character and determination of the Pilgrims, half of them had survived an unimaginably difficult first year. Moreover, they harvested a sufficient food supply for their second winter at Plymouth. Even though there was no surplus food, things looked much better than the preceding winter.

Governor Bradford appointed a day of Thanksgiving and invited the nearby Wampanoag Indians (Squanto’s adopted tribe) to celebrate and give thanks unto God with them. Chief Massasoit and ninety of his men came and feasted with the Pilgrims. They ate deer, turkey, fish, lobster, eels, vegetables, corn bread, herbs, berries, pies, and the Indians even taught the Pilgrims how to make popcorn. The Pilgrims and Indians also competed in running, wrestling, and shooting games. Massasoit enjoyed himself so much that he and his men stayed for three days.⁶ It is easy to see where the American tradition of feasting at Thanksgiving began.

While many people today follow the Pilgrim’s example of feasting at Thanksgiving, they too often ignore the entire reason that the Pilgrims set aside a special day – that was to give thanks to Almighty God and acknowledge their utter dependence upon Him for their existence. While many today take ease in having plenty, never seeing a need to cry out to God, the Pilgrims relied upon God in their lack and thanked Him in their abundance. Their trust was in God and not in their abundant provisions. This was seen even more fully in the two years following their first Thanksgiving.

Shortly after their Thanksgiving celebration, thirty-five new persons unexpectedly arrived who planned to remain and live at Plymouth. These being family and friends brought much rejoicing, but when they found out they had no provisions it also brought a soberness. Yet their reliance was upon God, so they gladly shared their food, clothing, and homes. With the new additions, their food, even at half allowance for each person, would last six months at most.

Their provisions had almost completely run out when they spied a boat in May of 1622. They hoped the English Company who had sponsored their colonizing Plymouth had sent provisions; however, this boat not only did not bring any food (nor the hope of any), but seven more hungry people to stay in Plymouth. In their extreme hunger, as in times of plenty, they put their complete trust in God to provide.

No one starved to death yet, it would be over a year before famine was completely removed from their midst. During that time there were many days where they “had need to pray that God would give them their daily bread above all people in the world.”⁷

That spring and summer of 1622 God miraculously fed them, even as the ravens fed Elijah in the wilderness. He provided because the Pilgrims had determined to walk in the way of their Lord Jesus. This was most evident in early summer when sixty “lusty” men (as Bradford called them) came to them for help. Even though these men showed no gratitude, the Pilgrims still gladly took care of them, for many were sick. They gave them housing and shared their meager provisions. This they did for almost the entire summer until the men left.

Like the year before, the harvest of 1622 proved insufficient to meet the Pilgrims’ needs. Outside help appeared doubtful, so the Pilgrims considered how they could produce a larger harvest. Through God’s wisdom they chose to replace the collective farming they had practiced the two preceding years (being imposed upon them by their sponsoring company) with individual farming, assigning to every family a parcel of land.

Bradford wrote: “This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than other wise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could use… and gave far better content. The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn, which before would allege weakness and inability; whom to have compelled would have been thought great tyranny and.”⁸ As they were freed from economic communism and entered into individual enterprise, abundance began to come upon these people.

The Pilgrims learned the hard way that communism doesn’t work, even among a covenant community. Bradford wrote that,

“the experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years, and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Platos & other ancients, applauded by some of later times; – that the taking away of property, and bringing in community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God.”⁹

The Pilgrims’ hard work, resulting from them being able to directly benefit from the fruit of their labors, caused them to plant about six times more crops than the previous year. While labor certainly increases our prosperity, there are other factors. God wanted the Pilgrims to never forget that it is the Lord that gives men the power to get substance or wealth (Deut. 8:18).

The Pilgrims had great hopes for a large crop, yet as Bradford wrote,

“the Lord seemed to blast, & take away the same, and to threaten further & more sore famine unto them, by a great drought which continued from the 3. week in May, till about the middle of July, without any rain and with great heat (for the most part) insomuch as the corn began to wither away.”¹⁰

In response to this,

“they set a part a solemn day of humiliation to seek the Lord by humble & fervent prayer, in this great distress. And he was pleased to give them a gracious & speedy answer, both to their own & the Indians admiration, that lived amongst them. For all the morning, and greatest part of the day, it was dear weather & very hot, and not a cloud or any sign of rain to be seen, yet toward evening it began to overcast, and shortly after to rain, with such sweet and gentle showers, as gave them cause of rejoicing, & blessing God. It came, without either wind, or thunder, or any violence, and by degrees in that abundance, as that the earth was thoroughly wet and soaked therewith. Which did so apparently revive & quicken the decayed corn & other fruits, as was wonderful to see, and made the Indians astonished to behold.”¹¹

An Indian named Hobamak who witnessed this event said to a Pilgrim: “Now I see that the Englishman’s God is a good God, for he hath heard you, and sent you rain, and that without storms and tempests and thunder, which usually we have with our rain, which breaks down our corn, but yours stands whole and good still; surely your God is a good God.”¹²

The harvest of 1623 brought plenty to each person, with the more industrious having excess to sell to others. From the time they started a biblical economic system, no famine or general want ever again existed among them.

That autumn of 1623, the Pilgrims again set apart a day of Thanksgiving unto God. They had much to give thanks for and knew Who to acknowledge.

Each year when we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us remember the heritage of that day and why the Pilgrims, as well as President Lincoln set aside a day of Thanksgiving. In the words of Lincoln, proclaiming the second National Thanksgiving Day: this is “a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe.”¹³

End Notes

1. A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Vol. 8 (New York: Bureau of National Literature, Inc., 1897), p. 3374.

2. Some colonists in Virginia actually observed the first Thanksgiving celebration in America. This occurred at the Berkeley plantation in 1619. It is the Pilgrims, however, who provide us with the tradition of a Thanksgiving celebration. Lincoln’s proclamation for a day of thanksgiving was certainly not a new event in our history, for various colonies, congresses, and presidents have made many such proclamations throughout our history.

3. William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation (Boston: Wright & Porter Printing, 1901), p. 111. Spelling has been changed to modern usage in this and the other quotes from Bradford.

4. Ibid., p. 116.

5. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Light and the Glory (Old Tappon, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1977), pp. 130-132. See also, Bradford, pp. 116-117; and Mourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims of Plymouth (Plymouth, MA: Plymouth Rock Foundation, 1985), p. 48.

6. Mourt’s Relation, pp. 72-73; Marshall and Manuel, pp. 135-136; see also, The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, by the editors of American Heritage (New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., 1961), pp. 102-103.

7. Bradford, p. 164.

8. Ibid., p. 162.

9. Ibid., p. 163.

10. Ibid, p. 170.

11. Ibid., p. 170-171.

12. Nathaniel Morton, New England Memorial, pp. 64-65.

13. Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Vol. 8, pp. 3429-3430.

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Martin Luther and Reformation Day

By Stephen McDowell

Protestant Reformation

The focal point of the Protestant Reformation was the Bible being translated and made available in the common languages of the people. People began to read the Bible, and when they did these things happened: 1) Individuals were transformed; 2) The Church began to be changed, putting off corruption; 3) The state was gradually reformed. The fruit of the Reformation was revival of individuals, restoration of the church, and reformation of all society.

God uses individuals to change nations and the course of history. Some of those people God used in the Protestant Reformation included Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, and John Knox.

Martin Luther

God used a flawed, rough, and at times harsh man to launch a gigantic revolution. Martin Luther stood up against the whole force of the religious establishment. “His profound experience of forgiveness in Christ gave him the courage to stand alone against the entire weight of established and entrenched religious deception and blow it to the winds.”[iii]

Many things affected Luther’s development. He committed to become a monk after a narrow escape from lightning – he prayed, “If I survive this storm, I will become a monk!” While at a monastery he read a tract by John Huss, which deeply touched him: “I wondered why a man who could write so Christianly and powerfully had been burned…. I shut the book and turned away with a wounded heart.”[iv]

On a trip to Rome in 1510, he went through every pilgrim devotion possible — from viewing relics to climbing the stone steps of the Santa Scala on his bare knees. “He earned so many indulgences that he almost wished his parents dead so he could deliver them from purgatory.” But he had no peace. The immorality and corruption he saw horrified him. He described the papal court as “an abomination,” writing that it was “served at supper by six naked girls.”[v]

His fellow monks gave him a Latin Bible that he diligently searched for truth. He came to be convinced that “salvation was a new relationship to God based not on any work of merit on man’s part, but on absolute trust in the divine promises.”[vi] This and other truths were contained in Luther’s “95 Theses” that he nailed to the church door at Wittenburg on October 31, 1517. His writings that followed addressed many scriptural truths (such as the priesthood of all believers) and ways to reform the corruption in the church and state (including cutting Papal taxes, reducing bulky government, closing brothels, and reforming university education).

He greatly rocked the boat of the church world and was summoned in 1521 to appear before a papal council in the city of Worms to recant. Friends were terrified at what would happen if he went. Some urged him not to go, others left him, fearing for their own safety. Luther set his face like flint to go, saying: “If there be as many devils at Worms as tiles on the roof-tops, I will enter!”[vii] In his defense before the Diet of Worms, Luther declared:

“I am,” he pleaded, “but a mere man, and not God; I shall therefore defend myself as Christ did, who said, ‘If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil’. . . . For this reason, by the mercy of God I conjure you, most serene Emperor, and you, most illustrious electors and princes, and all men of every degree, to prove from the writings of the prophets and apostles that I have erred. As soon as I am convinced of this, I will retract every error, and will be the first to lay hold of my books, and throw them into the fire. . . . I cannot submit my faith either to the Pope or to the councils, because it is clear as the day that they have frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless, therefore, I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture, or by the clear reasoning, unless I am persuaded by means of the passages I have quoted, and unless my conscience is thus bound by the Word of God, I cannot and will not retract; for it is unsafe and injurious to act against one’s own conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other: may God help me! Amen.[viii]

Understanding how dangerous it was to disagree with the church leadership at this time magnifies the boldness of Luther’s statements. In the 50 years prior to Luther sparking the Protestant Reformation, “the Spanish Inquisition alone had burned alive thirteen thousand men, women, and children, and had racked, tortured, and thrown into fearful dungeons a hundred and seventy thousand more.”[ix]

Luther was condemned to death by the state, but since he was promised safe passage beforehand he was allowed to leave. On the road he was abducted by the friendly King Fredrick the Wise who hid him in his castle in Wartburg. Here, he finished much writing, including Scripture translation.

Luther had many shortcomings, especially by modern standards. He was impetuous, rough, sometimes crude, and at times issued shockingly harsh statements. Yet, God used him to help bring about a mighty revival and restore the light of truth to a dark world – even while Luther himself exhibited some of the fruit of that dark world.

Through his belief in Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) and his translation of the Bible (in 1534 in German), he helped establish truth amidst the common people — the truth of justification by faith and the place of the Bible in the life of the Christian. The truth in Scripture is the foundation for all revival. Charles Spurgeon wrote:

That great religious excitement has occurred apart from Gospel truth we admit; but anything which we as believers in Christ would call a revival of religion has always been attended with clear evangelical instruction upon cardinal points of truth.[x]

This was the backbone of the Protestant Reformation. According to Spurgeon, “The Reformation was due not so much to the fact that Luther was earnest, Calvin learned, Zwingli brave, and Knox indefatigable, as to this — old truth was brought to the front and to the poor the Gospel was preached.”[xi]

Revival is not founded on religious fervor, passion or human emotion, but upon truth — truth that is acted upon, truth made known by the Holy Spirit. Some of the truths recovered in the Reformation included: (1) The recovery of the source of Truth, the Scriptures — sola scriptura; (2) Justification by faith; (3) The Lordship of Christ, over men and nations; (4) The sovereignty of God, fulfilling his purpose in men and nations; (5) The priesthood of all believers.

*This article was excerpted from Biblical Revival and the Transformation of Nations. It can be ordered here.

[i] See Mark Beliles and Stephen McDowell, America’s Providential History, Charlottesville, Vir.: Providence Foundation, 2010, pp. 43-44 for more.

[ii] See Foxes Book of Martyrs, Fair Sunshine by Jock Purves, and By Their Blood, Christian Martyrs of the 20^th Century by James and Marti Hefley for the stories of some who were persecuted and killed.

[iii] Pratney, p. 27.

[iv] Martin Luther and the Reformation by Beard, quoted in Pratney, p. 37.

[v] Pratney, p. 37.

[vi] Ibid., p. 38.

[vii] Martin Luther and the Reformation by Beard, quoted in Pratney, p. 43.

[viii] From History of the Christian Church by Henry C. Sheldon, quoted in Rosalie Slater, Teaching and Learning America’s Christian History, San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1980, p. 169.

[ix] Pratney, p. 35.

[x] C.H. Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel, p. 216, quoted in Pratney, p. 58.

[xi] Ibid.

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Columbus’ Christian Character and Divine Mission

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Columbus’ Christian Character and Divine Mission

4. Columbus’ Christian Character and Divine
Mission
Excerpts from The Journal of
Columbus’ First Voyage
In recent years many attacks have
been leveled against Christopher Co-
lumbus, and western civilization in
general. The target of the attacks of
many is not so much against Columbus
as it is against Christianity, which is the
source of the values of western civiliza-
tion. We see in these attacks an assault
of the humanistic worldview against a
Christian worldview.
To properly understand Columbus
and others involved in the dis-
covery and colonization of the
Americas, we must view them
in light of the world in which
they lived. While Columbus
had many shortcomings, his
motives were most certainly
Christian. Washington Irving
writes of Christopher Colum-
bus:
He was devoutly pious:
religion mingled with the
whole course of his thoughts
and actions, and shone forth
in his most private and
unstudied writings.
Whenever he made any great
discovery, he celebrated it by
solemn thanks to God. The
voice of prayer and melody
of praise rose from his ships
when they first beheld the
New World, and his first
action on landing was to
prostrate himself upon the
earth and return
thanksgivings. Every
evening the Salve Regina
and other vesper hymns were
chanted by his crew, and
masses were performed in
the beautiful groves
bordering the wild shores of this
heathen land. All his great
enterprises were undertaken in the
name of the Holy Trinity, and he
partook of the communion
previous to embarkation. He was a
firm believer in the efficacy of
vows and penances and
pilgrimages, and resorted to them
in times of difficulty and danger.
The religion thus deeply seated in
his soul diffused a sober dignity
and benign composure over his
whole demeanor. His language
was pure and guarded, and free
from all imprecations, oaths and
other irreverent expressions.
[The Life and Voyages of Christopher
Columbus, Washington Irving, New York:
Belford Company, n.d., pp, 632-633.]
Journal of First Voyage of
Columbus
Columbus actual journals have
been lost, but two of his companions,
his son Ferdinand and Bartolome Las
Casas, recorded abstracts of the
original journal. At places they quote
Columbus and in other places they
summarize his journals. The following
journal excerpts and quotes of Colum-
bus are from the work of Las Casas,
printed by Albert and Charles Boni,
New York, 1924.
Writings in Columbus journal re-
veal his primary motive for sailing was
his Christian convictions. He had a de-
sire to preach the gospel throughout the
nations, and in particular to take Chris-
tianity to the Great Khan of eastern
Asia. About 200 years before
Columbus voyage, Marco
Polo, who had traveled
throughout parts of Asia,
brought word from the Khan of
a desire for missionaries to be
sent to his empire. Other Khans
who had ruled since Polos
time had also made this re-
quest. Columbus had studied
the writings of Marco Polos
travels and was also familiar
with more recent requests for
missionaries to be sent to teach
the Christian religion.
* * * * *
He opens his journal of
his first voyage with the fol-
lowing [the italized para-
graphs are the comments of
the editor]:
In the Name of Our
Lord Jesus Christ
Whereas, Most Chris-
tian, High, Excellent and
Powerful Princes, King and
Queen of Spain and of the
Islands of the Sea, our Sov-
ereigns, this present year
1492, after your Highnesses
had terminated the war with the
Moors reigning in Europe, the same
having been brought to an end in
the great city of Granada, where on
the second day of January, this
Americas Providential History, a Documentary Sourcebook Page 7
The object and Sum of the present undertaking has
been the increase and glory of the Christian religion.
Christopher Columbus, in his journal of the first
voyage, Tuesday, Nov. 27th, 1492
present year, I saw the royal ban-
ners of your Highnesses planted by
force of arms upon the towers of
the Alhambra, which is the fortress
of that city, and saw the Moorish
king come out at the gate of the city
and kiss the hands of your
Highnesses, and of the Prince my
Sovereign;1 and in the present
month, in consequence of the infor-
mation which I had given your
Highnesses respecting the countries
of India and of a Prince, called
Great Can, which in our language
signifies King of Kings, how at
many tunes he, and his
predecessors had sent
to Rome soliciting in-
structors who might
teach him our holy
faith, and the holy Fa-
ther had never granted
his request, whereby
great numbers of peo-
ple were lost, believing
in idolatry and doc-
trines of perdition.
Your Highnesses, as
Catholic Christians,
and princes who love
and promote the holy
Christian faith, and are
enemies of the doc-
trine of Mahomet, and
of all idolatry and her-
esy, determined to send me, Chris-
topher Columbus, to the
above-mentioned countries of India,
to see the said princes, people, and
territories, and to learn their dispo-
sition and the proper method of
converting them to our holy faith;
and furthermore directed that I
should not proceed by land to the
East, as is customary, but by a
Westerly route, in which direction
we have hitherto no certain evi-
dence that anyone has gone. . . .
After reaching land, which he
thought were islands off the east
coast of Asia (or India), Columbus
saw many natives, whom he called
Indians. He spoke often of his desire
to convert them to Christianity.
Friday, Oct. 12th. . . . As I saw
that they were very friendly to us,
and perceived that they could be
much more easily converted to our
holy faith by gentle means than by
force, I presented them with some
red caps, and strings of beads to
wear upon the neck, and many
other trifles of small value, where-
with they were much delighted, and
became wonderfully attached to
us. . . . I am of opinion that they
would very readily become Chris-
tians, as they appear to have no reli-
gion.
Tuesday, Oct. 16th. . . . They
have no religion, and I believe that
they would very readily become
Christians, as they have a good un-
derstanding.
Tuesday, Nov. 6th. . . . I have
no doubt, most serene Princes,
says the Admiral, that were proper
devout and religious persons to
come among them and learn their
language, it would be an easy mat-
ter to convert them all to Christian-
ity, and I hope in our Lord that your
Highnesses will devote yourselves
with much diligence to this object,
and bring into the church so many
multitudes, inasmuch as you have
exterminated those who refused to
confess the Father, Son and Holy
Ghost,2 so that having ended your
days (as we are all mortal) you may
leave your dominions in a tranquil
condition, free from heresy and
wickedness, and meet with a fa-
vourable reception before the eter-
nal Creator, whom may it please to
grant you a long life and great in-
crease of kingdoms and dominions,
with the will and disposition to pro-
mote, as you always have done, the
holy Christian religion, Amen.
Monday, Nov. 12th. . . . Your
Highnesses should therefore adopt
the resolution of converting them to
Christianity, in which
enterprise I am of opin-
ion that a very short
space of time would
suffice to gain to our
holy faith multitudes of
people. . .
Tuesday, Nov.
27th . . . The language
of this people neither I
nor any of my com-
pany understand, and
we are perpetually
making mistakes in our
conversation with one
another. . . . Hence-
forth, with the permis-
sion of our Lord, I
shall use my exertions,
and have the language
taught to some of our people, for I
perceive that thus for the dialect is
the same throughout. Thus we shall
acquire a knowledge of all that is
valuable here, and shall endeavour
to convert to Christianity these peo-
ple, which may be easily done, as
they are not idolators, but are with-
out any religion. . . . Your
Highnesses ought not to suffer any
trade to be carried on, nor a foreign
foot to be set upon these shores ex-
cept by Catholic Christians, as the
object and sum of the present un-
dertaking has been the increase and
glory of the Christian religion.
Sunday, Dec. 16th. . . . The Ad-
miral ordered every civility to be
Page 8 Columbus Christian Character and Divine Mission
The landing of Columbus, October 12, 1492.
shown them, because, as he ob-
serves, these are the best and most
gentle people in the world, and es-
pecially, as I hope strongly in our
Lord, that your Highnesses will un-
dertake to convert them to Chris-
tianity, and that they may become
your subjects, in which light, in-
deed I already regard them.
Monday, Dec. 24th. . . Your
highnesses may be assured that
there is not upon earth a better or
gentler people, at which you may
rejoice, for they will easily become
Christians and learn our customs. A
finer country or people cannot exist,
and the territory is so extensive and
the people so numerous, that I
know not how to give a description
of them. . . .
Many other actions and writings
of Columbus, as revealed in his jour-
nal of the voyage, reveal his Chris-
tian motivation and reliance upon
God.
Wednesday, Dec. 12th. . . . A
large cross was set up at the en-
trance of the harbour, upon a beau-
tiful spot upon the western side, as
an indication in the words of the
Admiral, that your Highnesses
possess the country, and principally
for a token of Jesus Christ our Lord,
and the honour of Christianity.
Columbus often gives thanks to
God for good weather and providen-
tially arranging the voyage and
watching over him:
Monday, Jan. 14th . . . . he says
that in spite of the bad state of his
vessels he confides in our Lord, that
as he has brought him to these
parts, so he will in his great mercy
return him; for his Heavenly Maj-
esty knew what struggles it had cost
him to set on foot this enterprise,
and that he alone had favoured him
before the King and Queen, all oth-
ers in the most unreasonable man-
ner opposing him.
Wednesday, Jan. 23d. . . . the
sea all the time smooth as a river,
many thanks be to God, says the
Admiral.
Friday, Feb. 1st. . . . The sea
very smooth, thanks to God, says
the Admiral.
Saturday, Feb. 2d. . . . The sea
very smooth, thanks to God, and the
air soft.
Thurs-
day, Feb.
14th. . . .
He . . . com-
forts himself
in reflecting
upon the
many mercies
God had
shown him in
having en-
abled him to
conquer all
his adversi-
ties and hin-
drances in
Castile, and
accomplish
his great dis-
covery. And
as he had
made the
service of
God the aim and business of his
undertaking, and he had hitherto fa-
voured him in granting all his de-
sire, he indulges a hope that he will
continue that favour, and secure
him a safe arrival. Especially he re-
flected that he had delivered him
when he had much greater reason
for fear, upon the outward voyage,
at which time the crew rose up
against him, and with an unanimous
and threatening voice, resolved to
return back, but the eternal God
gave him spirit and valour against
them all.
Columbus desired to use the
profits from the voyages to finance
the liberation of the Holy City, Jeru-
salem, from the control of the Mos-
lems. This is mentioned in the
following entry:
Wednesday, Dec. 26th. . . . He
adds that he hopes to find at his re-
turn from Castile, a ton of gold col-
lected by them in trading with the
natives, and that they will have suc-
ceeded in discovering the mine and
the spices, and all these in such
abundance that before three years
the King and Queen may undertake
the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre.
For I have before protested to your
Highnesses, says he, that the
profits of this enterprise shall be
employed in the conquest of Jerusa-
lem, at which your Highnesses
smiled and said you were pleased,
and had the same inclination.
Las Casas abstract of Colum-
bus Journal ends with this entry:
Friday, March 15th. . . . And
here, the Admiral says, this relation
ends, but that he purposes to go to
Barcelona by sea, being informed
that their Highnesses are in that
city, there to give them an account
of his voyage, in which our Lord
had directed and enlightened him.
For although he believed without
scruple that the Almighty created
all things good, that all is excellent
but sin, and that nothing can be
done without his permission, yet,
Americas Providential History, a Documentary Sourcebook Page 9
Queen Isabela invoking Gods blessings upon Columbus
and his mission.
he observes, it has been most
wonderfully manifested in the cir-
cumstances of this voyage, as may
be seen by considering the many
signal miracles performed through-
out, as well as the fortune which
has attended myself; who passed so
long a time at the court of your
Highnesses, and met with the oppo-
sition of so many of the principal
persons of your household, who
were all against me, and ridiculed
my project. The which I hope in
Our Lord will prove the greatest
honour to Christianity ever accom-
plished with such ease.
Letter of Columbus to Rafael
Sanchez
After his arrival in Lisbon, Co-
lumbus wrote a summary account of
his voyage as a report for Ferdinand
and Isabella. It was written as a let-
ter to Rafael Sanchez, Treasurer for
Ferdinand and Isabella, and clearly
reveals Columbus Christian motiva-
tion. The following quotes are from
this letter.
In his voyages, Columbus dis-
covered many islands. He wrote, I
named the first of these islands San
Salvador [which means holy sav-
ior], thus bestowing upon it the
name of our holy Saviour under
whose protection I made the dis-
covery. Other names he chose in-
clude Trinidad [for the Trinity], and
Monte Cristi.
Columbus forbade his men from
trading worthless articles to the Indi-
ans for things of value. He wrote:
I prohibited their traffic on ac-
count of its injustice, and made
them many presents of useful things
which I had carried with me, for the
purpose of gaining their affection,
in order that they may receive the
faith of Jesus Christ, be well dis-
posed towards us, and inclined to
submit to the King and Queen our
Princes, and all the Spaniards, and
furthermore that they may furnish
us with the commodities which
abound among them and we are in
want of.
. . . Throughout these islands
there is no diversity in the appear-
ance of the people, their manner or
language, all the inhabitants under-
standing one another, a very favour-
able circumstance in my opinion, to
the design which I have no doubt is
entertained by our king, namely to
convert them to the holy Christian
faith, to which as far as I can per-
ceive they are well disposed.
Columbus ends this letter:
. . . the great success of this
enterprise is not to be ascribed to
my own merits, but to the holy
Catholic faith and the piety of our
Sovereigns, the Lord often granting
to men what they never imagine
themselves capable of effecting, as
he is accustomed to hear the prayers
of his servants and those who love
his commandments, even in that
which appears impossible; in this
manner has it happened to me who
have succeeded in an undertaking
never before accomplished by man.
For although some per-
sons have written or spo-
ken of the existence of
these islands, they have
all rested their assertions
upon conjecture, no one
having ever affirmed that
he saw them, on which
account their existence
has been deemed fabu-
lous.
And now ought the
King, Queen, Princes,
and all their dominions,
as well as the whole of
Christendom, to give
thanks to our Saviour Je-
sus Christ who has
granted us such a victory
and great success. Let
processions be ordered,
let solemn festivals be
celebrated, let the tem-
ples be filled with boughs
and flowers. Let Christ
rejoice upon earth as he does in
heaven, to witness the coming sal-
vation of so many people, hereto-
fore given over to perdition. Let us
rejoice for the exaltation of our
faith, as well as for the augmenta-
tion of our temporal prosperity, in
which not only Spain but all Chris-
tendom shall participate.Such
are the events which I have de-
scribed to you with brevity. Adieu.
End Notes
1. For background on the
confict between Christian Europe
and the Moslem Empire see, John
Eidsmoe, Columbus & Cortez, Con-
querors for Christ (Green Forest,
Ark: New Leaf Press, 1992).
2. This refers to the conflict
with the Moor. See Eidsmoe.
Page 10 Columbus Christian Character and Divine Mission
Monument in honor of Columbus at Genoa.

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Christ’s Incarnation and Divinity

Christ’s incarnation is the most amazing event in history. God came into the world as a man, Jesus Christ, to redeem mankind and restore all things. The Bible – God’s Word – tells us about the God who made the universe and everything in it, including our planet earth, and then visited it to provide a way for man to get to heaven, to be a part of His family, and to show man how he may share in God’s kingdom and assist in bringing it to earth.

One point of evidence of Christ’s divinity, as well as the divine origin of the Bible, is fulfilled prophecy. In Luke 24:24-27, Jesus claimed Himself to be the subject of prophecy all through the Old Testament. He said Scripture must be fulfilled (Matt. 13:14; Luke 21:22, John 13:18). He claimed His own words were inspired (Mark 13:31, John 6:63). In John 10:35 He said Scripture cannot be broken. His own claims to Divine origin and the claims of the Bible stand or fall together. If He cannot be proved a liar or a lunatic, the Bible is God’s Word.

The Old Testament contains over 300 references to the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus and recorded in the New Testament. Some of these include:

[To learn more about Biblical infallibility see The Bible: Divine or Human? by Stephen McDowell]

Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus Christ

Jesus claimed to be the object of fulfilled prophecy (Luke 24:27; Luke 24:44; John 5:39-40, 46-47; Luke 4:20-21; Luke 22:37). The Old Testament (O.T.) contains over 300 references to the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus and recorded in the New Testament (N.T.). Some of these include:

Prophecy Prophecy in O.T. Fulfilled in N.T.

Born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matt. 1:18, 24, 25

Born at Bethlehem Micah 5:2 Matt. 2:1

Presented with gifts Psalms 72:10 Matt. 2:1, 11

Ministry to begin in Galilee Isaiah 9:1 Matt. 4:12, 13, 17

Ministry of miracles Is. 35:5, 6a Matt. 9:35

Teacher of parables Ps. 78:2 Matt. 13:34

He was to enter Jerusalem on a donkey Zech. 9:9 Luke 19:35-37

Betrayed by a friend Ps. 42:9 Matt. 10:4

Sold for 30 pieces of silver Zech. 11:12 Matt. 26:15

Money to be thrown in God’s house Zech. 11:13 Matt. 27:5

Forsaken by His disciples Zech. 13:7 Mark 14:50

Accused by false witnesses Ps. 35:11 Matt. 26:59-60

Dumb before accusers Is. 53:7 Matt. 27:12

Wounded and bruised Is. 53:5 Matt. 27:26

Smitten and spit upon Is. 50:6 Matt. 26:67

Mocked Ps. 22:7-8 Matt. 27:31

Hands and feet pierced Ps. 22:16 Luke 23:33

Crucified with thieves Is. 53:12 Matt. 27:38

Made intercession for His persecutors Is. 53:12 Luke 23:34

Rejected by His own people Is. 53:3 John 7:5, 48

Hated without a cause Ps. 69:4 John 15:25

People shook their heads Ps. 109:25 Matt. 27:39

Stared upon Ps. 22:17 Luke 23:35

Garments parted and lots cast Ps. 22:18 John 19:23-24

To suffer thirst Ps. 69:21 John 19:28

Gall and vinegar offered him Ps. 69:21 Matt. 27:34

His forsaken cry Ps. 22:1 Matt. 27:46

Committed Himself to God Ps. 31:5 Luke 23:46

Bones not broken Ps. 34:20 John 19:33

Heart broken Ps. 22:14 John 19:34

His side pierced Zech. 12:10 John 19:34

Darkness over the land Amos 8:9 Matt. 27:45

Buried in rich man’s tomb Is. 53:9 Matt. 27:57-60

His resurrection Ps. 16:10 Acts 2:31

His ascension Ps. 68:18 Acts 1:9

These did not happen by chance!

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Remembering the Thanksgiving Story

Click For PDF Version: Remembering the Thanksgiving Story

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George Washington: An Instrument in the Hands of Providence

The Presidents’ Faith

February marks the birthdays of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. It is when we observe President’s Day, a national holiday. Following are some articles and resources to help you better understand the faith of some of these men.

Listen to a brief radio interview of Stephen McDowell on The Faith of our Presidents:

George Washington: the World’s Apostle of Liberty

George Washington is one of the most significant men in all of history. Regarding the direct advancement of civil and political liberty in the earth, he may well be the most significant champion in all history. Certainly he was the central figure of bringing a new era of liberty to the world in modern times. Abraham Lincoln observed:

Washington is the mightiest name of earth —long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty, still mightiest in moral reformation. On that name no eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is alike impossible. Let none attempt it.

To learn about God’s hand in the Father of America see:

Was Washington a Christian? For the answer see:

The Christian Faith of George Washington

For a biography of Washington highlighting the providence of God, order the book:

Apostle of Liberty, The World-Changing Leadership of George Washington

Abraham Lincoln’s Faith

In response to being presented a Bible on September 7, 1864, Abraham Lincoln said:

In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.

This is the view many would have of Lincoln’s faith, but some people have presented Lincoln in a different light, including some who knew him well. William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner for about 18 years, said of him: “As to Mr. Lincoln’s religious views, he was, in short, an infidel. . . . Mr. Lincoln told me a thousand times that he did not believe the Bible was the revelation of God as the Christian world contends.”

Skeptics of Lincoln’s Christian faith have portrayed him as not just an unbeliever but as a scoffer. Charles Minor records of Lincoln that “when he went to church, he went to mock and came away to mimic.” Yet, Rev. James Smith, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield where Lincoln attended for over 10 years, gives a much different picture. Replying to a number of questions posed in a letter from Herndon, Smith wrote: “With regard to your second question, I beg leave to say it is a very easy matter to prove that while I was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Mr. Lincoln did avow his belief in the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures.”

Which of these views is right? Why the contrary views? [read on]

Faith of the U.S. Presidents as Seen in Their Inaugural Addresses

The Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents Reveal Their Christian Faith (part 1)

The Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents Reveal Their Christian Faith (part 2)

Thomas Jefferson’s Religious Writings

While Jefferson was unorthodox in some of his beliefs, he nonetheless considered himself a Christian and understood that God through Christ pushed the precepts of God’s law into the heart of men.

For an overview of Jefferson’s faith see:

Thomas Jefferson and the Words of Jesus of Nazareth

To learn about the church Jefferson started and his pastor, see:

Rev. Charles Clay and the Calvinistical Reformed Church of Charlottesville

To read Jefferson’s own writings and letters regarding religion, order:

The Selected Religious Letters and Papers of Thomas Jefferson

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