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To the Editor:
Monday, Oct. 9, is Columbus Day. Traditionally observed on the second Monday in October. For the first time this year some calendars don’t mention Columbus Day, but say October 9 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Some calendars list both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Columbus Day commemorates the landing of Columbus in the “New World” (on a small island off Florida) 530 years ago on October 12, 1492. One of the few facts Americans remember from history is “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.” Although Columbus wasn’t the first to visit the “New World” (Vikings had traveled here centuries earlier), Columbus first widely publicized, and thus “discovered,” its existence to the Europeans. A fact acknowledged by seamen then and now.
Columbus was a brilliant man speaking several languages and one of the best navigators and explorers the world has ever seen! Columbus undertook his first voyage facing the prospects of great danger. The professional opinion of that day not only assured him of the impossibility of his sailing endeavor, but it also warned him that dragons and death awaited him beyond the charted waters. Columbus said, “All those who heard about my enterprise rejected it with laughter, scoffing at me…”
Some historians record that Columbus said he got encouragement from the Bible. From the Bible, Columbus would have known the scientific fact that the earth is circular (Isaiah 40:22) and that there are watery paths now called ocean currents in the ocean (Psalm 8:8). All scientific facts written in the Bible hundreds of years before man discovered them have been proven to be correct. The Bible says “fear not” 365 times. One for every day of the year. Columbus said, “No one should be afraid to take on any enterprise in the name of our Savior (Jesus) if it is right and if the purpose is purely for His holy service.” He is also recorded as having said, “It is hoped that by God’s assistance some of the continents and islands in the ocean will be discovered.”
Christopher means bearer of Christ Jesus and has been one of the most popular names in existence. It’s because of Columbus’ Christian motivations and convictions that now he has become a villain for most liberal (left) modern educators and media writers, who often attack and condemn him. They have adopted the deplorable modern educational practice of deconstructionism – attacking traditional Western heroes, values and institutions. Some are asking, because some say Columbus abused Indians, should we continue to celebrate Columbus Day? Stanford professor emerita Carol Delaney marvels at the ignorance. “They are blaming Columbus for the things he didn’t do,” Delaney explains. “It was the people who came after, the settlers. I just think he’s been terribly maligned.” Delaney points out that in the man’s own writings and the writings of those who knew him, Columbus seems to be “very much on the side of the Indians” and even adopted the son of an American Indian he had befriended. Mary Grabar’s 2019 book, “Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation Against America,” she disproves the modern lie that Columbus was a genocidal maniac. Columbus killed only in self-defense and most Indians died from diseases. Grabar disproves the modern lie that native Americans lived in a peaceful utopian community. The fact is the Indians Columbus encountered were barbaric, with tribes conquering, enslaving and cannibalizing each other. Many today hate Columbus because he was a Christian. Today, Christian persecution is on the rise throughout the world because demonic evil people hate Christians.
During June 2020 Christopher Columbus statues were destroyed in seven American cities. Whether you celebrate Columbus Day is your choice. However, to tear down his statue or other statues that are government property is a felony and those libel should be arrested and charged with the crime. Many of these protesters also see Christian Churches as offensive “statues” that must come down.
Proverbs 22:28 says, “Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers have set.” After the Israelites crossed the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, Joshua instructed them to erect a stone monument. The Israelites erected several such monuments throughout their history. They found the only way to fully understand their present was to look back and remember their past.
We should continue to celebrate Columbus Day and hold on to history. We in Carter County benefit from our forefathers building the covered bridge 141 years ago in 1882 and holding on to history and preserving the Covered Bridge!
The most important history to remember is Jesus died for our sin and rose from the dead. Jesus said to take the Lord’s Supper to remember His sacrifice! Paul reminds us in Romans 15, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Americans need to learn from our history. It’s far better to remember history than erase it.
George Orwell said, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
The most important person in history is Jesus, and history is His story. Jesus is the only one whose birth had the importance to change time from B.C. to A.D. Christians are like Columbus looking for a new world and a new body our Savior Jesus will give us at the rapture. Jesus is going to finish the good work He began in us. Many believe we may be raptured this year because of all the signs such as the Ring of Fire solar eclipse coming on October 14, 2023, and all of the earthquakes and fires. We even just had a 2.4 magnitude earthquake near Gatlinburg. The Bible tells Christians in Titus to keep, “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ!”

D.D. Nave
Elizabethton