Iconoclasm

I recently learned that Jonathan Edwards owned some slaves.  That is quite disappointing to me, since he was one of my heroes.  I like to think he would have turned the tide and freed them and started to write seriously about slavery and equality of the races (which he supported in the revivals and churches) if he had lived longer.  He died at the age of 55, experimenting with the small pox vaccines of the time.  Maybe he could have intervened in his grandson's life and Alexander Hamilton would not have been killed by him.

It is similar to finding out how anti-Semitic Martin Luther got in his old age, after being rather open-minded for his time about Jews in his younger years.

If I could go back in time, I would go back and warn him not to write those things because it would ruin his legacy, hurt the church, and be used by an awful man to destroy his beloved Germany four hundred years later.

Actually, if I could go back in time I would try to stop 9/11, but I doubt anyone would believe me unless I took a newspaper.

Not to draw the same level of importance in the big scheme of things,  but I feel the same disappointment in the support of Donald Trump by some Christian leaders I respected, namely Dr. Dobson and Dr. Land.  They are both well educated men, and Dr. Land was the interim pastor of the church I attend for over a year.  Dr. Land has spoken out for immigrants and their needs in the U.S.  Dr. Dobson has defended the family and fought the pornography industry.  So I am very alarmed that  these men would publicly support Trump, who views on these thing are pretty public too.  While I am sure they have their reasons and can convince themselves of the rightness of using their influence to get people to vote for Trump, I can't help but feel they want to continue their access to power they knew in the past.

That's a pretty cynical view on my part but if it is their reason, or one of them, it's a pretty cynical view on their part.  I hope I am wrong.  Granted, I wouldn't vote for Hillary short of a gun being pointed at my head by someone crazy enough to pull the trigger, and if that were the case I would figure the country was in such bad shape there was no hope anyway.  There is always Gary Johnson.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Kallman's Syndrome: The Secret Best Kept

Do I Really Have to See the Barbie Movie?