United Methodism has been repenting for misdeeds against American Indians for many years. The 1996 General Conference apologized for the crimes of a retired/defrocked Methodist clergy, John Chivington, notorious for leading Colorado militia in an 1864 massacre of the Cheyenne. At the most recent General Conference in 2012, there was an evening festival of repentance, with George Tinker of Iliff Seminary waving feathers and delivering an unhistorical ideological rant against global American imperialism. Stones from the “river of life” were distributed to delegates as part of the commemoration, prompting complaints from overseas delegates of pantheism and paganism. At the recent Council of Bishops meeting, there was another “act of repentance,” with one speaker explaining “throughout history, the Church has been an entity that has helped to decimate native culture and identity.”
Expect many more years of such “repentance,” ostensibly to promote “healing,” although undoubtedly very few native descendants lie awake at night awaiting Methodist apologies. The decades long liberal church preoccupation with misdeeds against tribal peoples has little to do with traditional Christian concepts of atonement and is much more rooted in post-1960s academic anti-Western ideology and secular multiculturalism. Ironically, multiculturalism could only have emerged from Western Civilization, not the ethnically homogenous, patriarchal tribal cultures of pre-European America.
Recalling history is of course very important, including the crimes of the disgraced Colorado colonel, who had also been a zealous abolitionist in pre-Civil War Kansas. Maybe John Brown was a model for his version of bloodthirsty zeal. But history can only be instructive if accurate and comprehensive. Multiculturalist fantasies that demonize Western culture as uniquely oppressive while pretending all other cultures are virtuous victims are gross distortions of the Christian understanding of universal human depravity.
My Scots-Irish ancestors of southwest Virginia who later converted to Methodism were mauled, left for dead, mutilated and kidnapped by invading tribal warriors from Ohio in the 1700s. They were merely hardworking immigrants escaping the troubles of Ulster who didn’t deserve years of such horrors. Who will repent for the crimes committed against them?
Actually, I doubt any if any of us descendants, many of whom are still Methodist, expect descendants of those rapacious warriors who swept into frontier Virginia 250 years ago to repent for their ancestors’ misdeeds. They aren’t responsible. Their apologies would not provide “healing.” As the Lord instructed, “let the dead bury the dead.” But the story should be remembered.
There were many misdeeds in the European settlement of North America. Methodism corporately played little special role in those misdeeds, except for the infamy of some lamentable characters like the Colorado militia colonel, acting on his own. On the whole, Methodism, with other churches, likely ameliorated the consequences of Westward expansion and, imperfectly, tried to offer ministry to the defeated native tribes.
The modern multiculturalist myth imagines a world without sin absent Western influence. But I doubt anybody of today would want to live in America 600 years ago, when several million native peoples, divided into thousands of tribes, were in perpetual combat against each other, repeating bloodthirsty cycles of conquest and genocide, amid short, tragic lives punctuated by famine, brutality and inescapable hardship. In contrast, modern America offers life and opportunity for prosperity to over 300 million people of all races and ethnicities from around the world, with another million immigrants arriving annually.
Most importantly, unlike 600 years ago, the Gospel is proclaimed in America, if not always heard and heeded. That Gospel primarily demands repentance from each for his or her own sins, not idealogical denunciation of long dead ancestors more premised on smug superiority than spiritual remorse. This Thanksgiving weekend should offer time to reflect on how God has advanced His purposes across the centuries, through many peoples, nations and cultures, despite the continual unworthiness of His human instruments.
Comment by FW Ken on November 28, 2014 at 3:58 pm
You missed the point: it’s much more fun to confess your sins than confess mine, and even more fun if the sins were committed a long time so and we don’t actually have to do anything.
Seriously, this is just anti-Christian bigotry, enacted by Christians. Amazing.
Comment by Jeff Walton on November 28, 2014 at 4:57 pm
“That Gospel primarily demands repentance from each for his or her own sins, not ideological denunciation of long dead ancestors more premised on smug superiority than spiritual remorse.” Bingo. It’s always easier to “confess” someone else’s transgressions than my own.
Comment by Pudentiana on November 28, 2014 at 10:31 pm
Mr. Tooley has a very good point here. In order to promote true healing, maybe we should look upon the way each of us ignores opportunities to promote relational healing each day among those of us Christians who pigeonhole each other for their personal views rather than pointing fingers across the room or gallery. It seems easy to judge the long dead perpetrators of deeds of which we have only a distant view rather than to meet face to face and do the hard work of actually communicating one on one; not in some ritualized “holy conferencing” set up, but in sincerity.
Comment by Namyriah on November 29, 2014 at 9:35 am
As long as the ACLU churches are looking for something to feel guilt about (except their own sins,that is), how about my Scotch-Irish ancestors who came over here as indentured servants, got treated shabbily by the English overlords and scalped by the Indians on the frontier, provided the cannon fodder during the Civil War even though they were too poor to own slaves? The fact that my ancestors had pale skin doesn’t mean they couldn’t be sinned against, does it?
But hey, I’m an adult and I’ve got better things to do than
1. repent of sins I didn’t personally commit, and
2. dwell on past injustices, since my religion mandates mercy and forgiveness.
You lefties: get a life, and start taking the planks out of your own eyes instead of getting all weepy about the sins of other people. Hit that New Testament, it’s a great book.
Comment by yolo on November 29, 2014 at 2:20 pm
“Recalling history is of course very important, including the crimes of the disgraced Colorado colonel, who had also been a zealous abolitionist in pre-Civil War Kansas. Maybe John Brown was a model for his version of bloodthirsty zeal.”
– These “churches” are schizophrenic.
Comment by John Petty on December 1, 2014 at 4:23 pm
You should read up on pre-Columbian native life before commenting.
Comment by Sandra K Jenner on December 10, 2014 at 6:37 pm
Like what? The prevalence of slavery, genocide, nonstop violence? Europeans did not introduce sin to the New World, it was here, hugely.
Comment by John Petty on December 11, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Of course, but nonstop violence was not part of the pre-Columbian world and nor was genocide.
Comment by Troy on December 4, 2014 at 10:51 am
This article seems to be very concerned about a very peripheral issue. So what if certain ones of our brothers and sisters feel a burden of guilt for how our ancestors treated the Native Americans? Good for them and their desire to see the best for the Tribal Peoples.
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If you do not feel the same burden, why would you try to create division between yourself and them? Accepting them rather than excoriating them seems much easier and harmonious for the body of Christ.
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Finally, I just want to point out that I believe it is unfair to equate how the Europeans treated the Native Americans while forcefully taking their land with how the Native Americans treated the Europeans while having their land forcefully taken…
Comment by Zac H on April 1, 2020 at 8:30 am
From an Episcopalian cousin: your message here has a lot of darkness to it. Broken treaties and promises are definitely something we see God cares about in Scripture. Generation impacts of sin are also a part of Scripture. Thus repentance is needed on the part of the American Church. Forced Boarding Schools that were supported by churches where native children were punished for speaking their language as well as the silence of the church in the midst of genocide are things we know Jesus Christ cares about. My ancestors were also people caught up in the violence of colonial systems in New England and Indiana, yet I acknowledge the wrongs. There is much we need to learn from indigenous peoples and traditions as well.