Bonnie Alba
Thanksgiving's future hope
Bonnie Alba
I make a prediction for this exclusive American holiday: In 50 years, should America still exist, Thanksgiving will be proclaimed as a holiday without any historical reference to the Pilgrims or why they risked everything to come to an unknown wilderness.
Today, in most homes across America, Thanksgiving is not so much one of giving thanks as it is about feasting, drinking, watching football games and for the women — a major kick off to the holiday shopping sprees. There's nothing wrong with these activities. After all, the Pilgrims and Indians celebrated with games, gun and bow contests and food aplenty on that day long ago. But they started with prayers to God.
From early centuries in America, presidents issued proclamations for public Thanksgivings with various calls for fasting, repentance of national sins, prayers, worship and attendance at churches, remembrance of God's blessings and today's last foothold of lip service: "God Bless America!"
The question arises as to our historical memory and what children are being taught about the Thanksgiving celebration. The Xers and Busters (20-40 years old), now raising another generation, are all but ignorant of the facts. Early American history is being revised, albeit slowly, through textbook education and even through tourism around our country.
If you want to peruse history by touring national monuments and our nation's Capitol, then don't be surprised at the delivery of a partial and very distorted history. How is it being revised? Better to give you an example.
Pastor Todd DuBord and wife Tracy, California Lake Almanor Community Church, toured some of the historical monuments this year. At Jamestown Settlement, here's what they found: Emphasized heavily and repeatedly was that the only reason the first (Virginia) settlers came to America: "To make money." This main reason given is so incomplete as to be ludicrous and beyond any thinking person's intellect.
Not once was the 1606 Virginia Charter with its religious overtone mentioned: "propagating of Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God." Not once was the fact that the first act of the settlers after landing at Cape Henry, April 27, 1607, was to erect a large wooden cross and hold a prayer meeting.
There's an obvious conflict between factual history and what is being taught now. We see it while the guides murmur their brainwashed babble produced by humanist revisionists who work under the auspices of the Department of the Interior (DOI). This example is just one of many which depicts our history devoid of any religious (Judeo-Christian) influence or spiritual insight.
So, yes, the Thanksgiving we oldies grew up knowing will die a slow death as God has already been removed from public awareness. His principles of absolute truth are no longer in vogue if we go by a recent Barna poll which showed that in the 20-40 years-old-group, over half have rejected "absolute truth" and seek to believe ethics and morality are based on "what is right for the person."
Because of their acceptance of loosening moral standards, the rising, younger generations will accept whatever anyone says about history without questioning whether it's true or not. This acceptance is part of the transitioning to a complete secularization of America with Humanism as its religion. (Some belief system has to replace Christianity as its base or it won't last long.)
Is there any hope that the facts of American history will be remembered and retained by future generations? A resounding YES! There will always be a remnant of people who will know the truth and they will pass it on to their children, and their children will pass it on, etc.
Right now, millions of children are being taught through home schooling, private and church schools, the truth and facts about our Christian history and its influence on the founders of the colonies and later the United States.
This is the Hope of millions of parents who carry on the traditions of Thanksgiving and remembrance of a tiny group of people called the Pilgrims who put their complete faith and trust in God. It's about remembering how the United States became a great nation because her people trusted in God's Providence...His Blessings. Without God, we have no civilization left.
So, go ahead and change Thanksgiving's history. Even change its' name to reflect some humanist aspect of modern history. But there will always be a remnant, enough Americans, to remember and teach the next generation the truth. That is our Hope!
Sources:
"National Treasure" (online article), Pastor Todd DuBord (M.Div.), Lake Almanor Community Church, CA. lacconline.org
"Christianity being wiped from tales of U.S. history," 111506, worldnetdaily.com/news
Suggested Reading:
"The Rewriting of America's History," Catherine Millard, Horizon Books, 1991
© Bonnie Alba
By I make a prediction for this exclusive American holiday: In 50 years, should America still exist, Thanksgiving will be proclaimed as a holiday without any historical reference to the Pilgrims or why they risked everything to come to an unknown wilderness.
Today, in most homes across America, Thanksgiving is not so much one of giving thanks as it is about feasting, drinking, watching football games and for the women — a major kick off to the holiday shopping sprees. There's nothing wrong with these activities. After all, the Pilgrims and Indians celebrated with games, gun and bow contests and food aplenty on that day long ago. But they started with prayers to God.
From early centuries in America, presidents issued proclamations for public Thanksgivings with various calls for fasting, repentance of national sins, prayers, worship and attendance at churches, remembrance of God's blessings and today's last foothold of lip service: "God Bless America!"
The question arises as to our historical memory and what children are being taught about the Thanksgiving celebration. The Xers and Busters (20-40 years old), now raising another generation, are all but ignorant of the facts. Early American history is being revised, albeit slowly, through textbook education and even through tourism around our country.
If you want to peruse history by touring national monuments and our nation's Capitol, then don't be surprised at the delivery of a partial and very distorted history. How is it being revised? Better to give you an example.
Pastor Todd DuBord and wife Tracy, California Lake Almanor Community Church, toured some of the historical monuments this year. At Jamestown Settlement, here's what they found: Emphasized heavily and repeatedly was that the only reason the first (Virginia) settlers came to America: "To make money." This main reason given is so incomplete as to be ludicrous and beyond any thinking person's intellect.
Not once was the 1606 Virginia Charter with its religious overtone mentioned: "propagating of Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God." Not once was the fact that the first act of the settlers after landing at Cape Henry, April 27, 1607, was to erect a large wooden cross and hold a prayer meeting.
There's an obvious conflict between factual history and what is being taught now. We see it while the guides murmur their brainwashed babble produced by humanist revisionists who work under the auspices of the Department of the Interior (DOI). This example is just one of many which depicts our history devoid of any religious (Judeo-Christian) influence or spiritual insight.
So, yes, the Thanksgiving we oldies grew up knowing will die a slow death as God has already been removed from public awareness. His principles of absolute truth are no longer in vogue if we go by a recent Barna poll which showed that in the 20-40 years-old-group, over half have rejected "absolute truth" and seek to believe ethics and morality are based on "what is right for the person."
Because of their acceptance of loosening moral standards, the rising, younger generations will accept whatever anyone says about history without questioning whether it's true or not. This acceptance is part of the transitioning to a complete secularization of America with Humanism as its religion. (Some belief system has to replace Christianity as its base or it won't last long.)
Is there any hope that the facts of American history will be remembered and retained by future generations? A resounding YES! There will always be a remnant of people who will know the truth and they will pass it on to their children, and their children will pass it on, etc.
Right now, millions of children are being taught through home schooling, private and church schools, the truth and facts about our Christian history and its influence on the founders of the colonies and later the United States.
This is the Hope of millions of parents who carry on the traditions of Thanksgiving and remembrance of a tiny group of people called the Pilgrims who put their complete faith and trust in God. It's about remembering how the United States became a great nation because her people trusted in God's Providence...His Blessings. Without God, we have no civilization left.
So, go ahead and change Thanksgiving's history. Even change its' name to reflect some humanist aspect of modern history. But there will always be a remnant, enough Americans, to remember and teach the next generation the truth. That is our Hope!
Sources:
"National Treasure" (online article), Pastor Todd DuBord (M.Div.), Lake Almanor Community Church, CA. lacconline.org
"Christianity being wiped from tales of U.S. history," 111506, worldnetdaily.com/news
Suggested Reading:
"The Rewriting of America's History," Catherine Millard, Horizon Books, 1991
© Bonnie Alba
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