In the following weeks I will be clarifying five historical devices commonly used to attack and pull down what has rightly and traditionally been considered true throughout American History and in the revelation of God’s Word.
A most intriguing verse is found in the book of Esther.
“Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times.” – Esther 1:13
As Christ followers and covenant keepers in the Kingdom of God, we must stretch ourselves to think on a macro level; we must look to the larger world around us and consider what is taking place and, therefore, discern what we ought we to be doing.
Let’s consider the first historical device:
#1 DECONSTRUCTIONISM
“It is the glory of God to conceal a mater; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” – Proverbs 25:2 NIV
The other week I was leading one of my men’s groups and one guy said that a gal in his community group from his church said, “Well, you know that Thomas Jefferson believed in slavery, because he had slaves himself.”
This perception of Thomas Jefferson is the result of something called Deconstructionism. Deconstructionism deemphasizes, effaces (maligns and smears), the subject by posing a continuous negative critique to lay low what was once high.
In short, Deconstructionism is a steady flow of belittling and negative portrayals of what Christians have done in the past, (like the crusades, the portrayal of the intolerant Christian Puritans or the Apostle Paul’s view of women), etc. Deconstructionism generates misunderstandings of Scripture about such subjects as: slavery, homosexuality, the right to self-defense, the life of the unborn, the Christian ethic’s negative impact on the environment, the disputed view that the Bible and science are at odds, and many other such subjects.
Deconstructionism is alive and well in our grade schools, high schools, colleges and university campuses. It is the constant demeaning of the foundations of America including misinformation about the founding fathers religious views, position on slavery, and their rebellion against England. America is blamed for most everything that has gone wrong in the world. According to deconstructionism, the wealth America has achieved is because we stole it from Native Americans, Mexicans, and from African Americas through slavery. This mantra is repeated over and over again and, as a result, more and more people are buying into these falsehoods. The deconstructionists make their living by telling only part of the story and spinning it negatively; manipulating others into supporting their views and objectives.
Deconstructionism is the reason most Americans can recite more of what’s wrong with our nation than what’s right. They can identify every wart that has ever appeared on the face of America over the past four centuries, but not what has made America the envy of every people in the world—every people that is, except America.
The best way I know to refute Deconstructionism is with accurate information. Here are some facts with regard to Thomas Jefferson and the accusations that he was a racist and condoned slavery.
- Thomas Jefferson inherited 187 slaves when he was 14 years of age. Why didn’t he release his slaves? The answer is the Virginia law. In 1799, Virginia allowed owners to emancipate their slaves on their death; in 1826 state laws had been changed to prohibit that practice in large part because George Washington allowed for the freeing of his salves at his death in 1826. Virginia was rigid in its proslavery laws and had been so for more than a century before Jefferson. As early as 1692, it began placing significant economic hurdles in the way of those wanting to emancipate slaves. (For more information, read the well-documented book: The Jefferson Lies by David Barton)
- Under Deconstructionism students are taught about the “intolerant” Christian Puritans who conducted the infamous Witch Trials. I remember learning about this in grade school here in Portland, Oregon. Always, the Puritans were cast in an unfavorable light along with America that would tolerate such injustice.
- Did you know that only 27 individuals died in the Massachusetts witch trials? Almost universally ignored is the fact that witch trials were occurring across the world at that time; in Europe 500,000 were put to death. – See William Warren Street’s The Story of Religion in America (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1950), 61. Of the 500,000 executed, 30,000 were from England, 75,000 from France, and 100,000 from Germany. See Charles B. Galloway’s Christianity and the American Commonwealth (Nashville: Publishing House Methodist Episcopal Church, 1898), 110. Additionally, the American witch trials lasted eighteen months, but the European trials lasted for years. In addition to this, the Massachusetts witch trials were brought to a close when Christian leaders such as the Reverend John Wise, the Reverend Increase Mather, and Thomas Brattle challenged the trials because the Biblical rules of evidence and due process had not been followed in the courts, thus convincing civil leaders and the governor to end the trials. (Dictionary of American Biography, ed. Allen Johnson, (New York: Charles Scribber’s Sons, 1929).
One such verse that was used by the two pastors was John 7:51:
“Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
Stay tuned for the second historical device we will look at in a few days!
In Christ,
Dale
dale@daleebel.org