In these days where attacking and undermining every traditional hero of western civilization has become fashionable, I stand in defense of Christopher Columbus and encourage you to celebrate this auspicious day - October 12, 1492 -the day when land was first sighted after a long, dangerous and lonely eight-week journey across the Atlantic and into the unknown!
For centuries, Columbus has been celebrated as a hero...and rightly so! Think for a moment about the incredible risk he undertook and the courageous leadership he exhibited in unknown seas, not knowing from moment to moment if his expedition would end in death for himself and for all those who had come with him.
Imagine 29 days alone on the vast Atlantic Ocean with no land in sight...and no definite target. I'm a huge "space race" fan but, given the technology of his day, the achievement of Columbus makes the moon landing seem like child's play in a way!
Columbus's story is remarkable and he himself recognized God's providence in preparing and sending him to the New World. From his youth, he believed that his name "Christopher" meaning "Christ-bearer" had not been given by his parents accidentally, but that he was meant to literally "carry Christ" to a people yet unreached. He knew the Bible well from childhood and believed that God was calling him to be part of the fulfillment of Isaiah 49:
"Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name…I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
His writings are also amazing (Diary & Book of Prophecies) and have been translated into English should you want to really learn more about him. In one passage, he wrote: "It was the Lord who put it into my mind, (I could feel His hand upon me), the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me. There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit, because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures....For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps. It is simply the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied..."
While Columbus was not a perfect leader, he is indeed a hero and was used by God to open the door to the advancement of the gospel westward. Like all of history it involves humans and, as such, it's not a perfect story (but not at ALL what you've been told by revisionist historians in recent years). His voyage led, in the end, to the birth of America...to establishing a place of refuge and religious liberty for many, and to the creation of a nation whose founding charters repeatedly echo Columbus's vision - "to advance the gospel and the Christian faith" and whose founding principles - rooted in biblical ideas about man and government- gave rise to the single greatest expression of individual liberty and prosperity in human history.
The effort to undermine Columbus is quite simply part of a larger and well-planned agenda to maintain a relentless attack on America's story. It's designed to convince you that our nation is so wicked in its origins that it must be condemned, forgotten and discarded to make room for the "new" Marxist/socialist political and economic systems being proposed.
Don't fall for it. Embracing false ideas in an effort to be “politically correct” has far-reaching consequences in every part of our lives. To that end, I recommend a series of short videos by Wallbuilders that help to clarify just who Columbus was and to debunk the prevailing false claims against him. You might also read the White House Proclamation for Columbus Day 2020. What's being taught at every level today are half-truths, misrepresentations, and outright falsehoods about America…about Columbus....about our Declaration and Constitution. Learn the truth. Teach your children.
History, properly and honestly studied, reveals the glory of God and man’s great need for a Savior. It also reveals how God deigns to use imperfect men and nations to accomplish His purposes – a worldview with which Christopher Columbus heartily agreed. Writing again in his journal Columbus recorded that “no one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service. The working out of all things has been assigned to each person by our Lord, but it all happens according to His sovereign will. . . Oh, what a gracious Lord, who desires that people should perform for Him those things for which He holds Himself responsible! Day and night, moment by moment, everyone should express their most devoted gratitude to Him."
Now that's a sentiment worth celebrating.