England outlawed slavery and then the USA outlawed it three years later. You know the story about England’s battle. We have just forgotten and failed to link the battle over slavery led by abolitionist leader William Wilberforce.

You also know the role converted slave trader John Newton played in those days and how we are touched by his biographical song—Amazing Grace. We’ve been assaulted by the 2020 assertion that slavery was “birthed” by USA. The revisionism of the New York Times’ 1619 Project alerts me to check the facts, agenda and who wins if falsity is embraced. Have they not read about slaves in the Old Testament? Or the slavery before Abraham was born in Mesopotamia? Or Rome’s use of slaves? Slavery was not invented by Americans! I read that 7-8% of Americans had slaves. Dear God! That is too many! But it is not the entire nation. Someone posted that there are no white people in the Bible. I was taken back, but it didn’t feel right. White people are of the Caucasian race. That changes the statement completely. There may not be any “Whites” in the Bible but there are Caucasians.  Untruth does not help accurate knowledge upon which we build our reasoning.

William Wilberforce saw and heard how reality was hurting people. He said,

“God has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the reformation of manners.”

From his death bed, John Wesley wrote his last letter to William Wilberforce to encourage him as he fought in Parliament to abolish slavery in England. In this letter, Wesley confirms the urgency of divine certainty:

“Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you?  Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might…”

On July 26, 1833, the emancipation bill passed the House of Commons. His work completed, Wilberforce died three days later.

Shifting from London to Washington, D.C.: President John Kennedy was hosting a dinner for Nobel Prize winners. He greeted the guests with,

“I want to tell you how welcome you are to the White House. I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Jackson…Trump are all charged as racists. The Founding Documents have been slandered and dismissed in the minds of the leftists because of those who wrote and signed it. Those who see nothing worth saving in USA and desire remaking the nation in their own image contend our national leaders (1776 to 2020) were/are all deplorable people with absolutely no redeeming value. That has not made sense to me. And it contradicts what we know as history. Is “history” a statement of fact? Some biographies of presidents have been written by their friends who slanted stories.  Dale Carnegie wrote a bio of Lincoln and polished all the brass.

We ate Easter dinner as last minute guests of an Ohio family. Uncle Ivan was present much to the embarrassment of the hostess. Uncle Ivan was a newspaper man. I had been reading about one of Ohio’s favorite sons who became president. I asked Mr. Ivan if he had an opinion about the former president. Of course he did! “He was a fraud and not one who followed him have been worth a damn!”

Uncle Ivan and cohorts are not going to provide an unbiased view.

Don Lemon said, on CNN…

“Here’s the thing,” Mr. Lemon said to Americans upset over criticism of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and other historical giants, “Jesus Christ, if that is who you believe in, Jesus Christ, admittedly was not perfect when He was here on this earth. So why are we deifying the founders of this country, many of whom owned slaves?”

I am not the first one to say that we are not trying to deify national leaders. We don’t bend a knee to them, nor do we pray to them. Because Jesus is Lord, I honor the Founding Fathers and respect them for what they accomplished on America’s behalf and I ask God’s forgiveness on their behalf.

Those men were people of their times, for sure. They were also people of virtue and integrity. Something is missing from the narrative when they are dismissed. Glen Beck presents another point of view from Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence. I have heard parts of this before, but I haven’t paid much attention. Now it is important that we do. Here is Glen Beck.

https://www.glennbeck.com/original-draft-of-the-declaration-of-independence?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

If you don’t trust Beck, check out the draft on the Internet. If you know of deceit or flaw in the reporting of the original draft or the reasoning, I would be pleased to know about it.

It feels to me, that we are being told to burn a bit of incense to Caesar.

Vision—Mission—Brand   When do we ratify it?

Admittedly—Jesus is Lord!

©2020 D. Dean Benton