The Journey Continues, thanks for joining me. Together we will examine truth.
As families travel from all over to gather together to give thanks and partake in the Thanksgiving festivities. There are others that mourn not only because of the great atrocity they have endured but the lie that was perpetrated.
In this great land of opportunity we have been taught that the Pilgrims came to America aboard the Mayflower in search of religious freedom. Others soon followed seeking refuge and freedom to worship their god without persecution.
The Pilgrims were known as English Separatists who broke away from the ‘Church’ of England because they felt the Church violated biblical principles of true Christians. They were determined to live their lives based on the Bible and a relationship with God. They brought their culture and spiritual values to America.
They arrived in December of 1620 unprepared for the winter in the new World, over half did not survive. The Wampanoags had seen ships before and they did not fear or felt threatened by the newcomers. They demonstrated the true meaning of humanity. They were different in every way, their skin was darker, their speech different, and their morals and values were beyond what the Puritans could comprehend. However they taught the them how to grow crops and hunt. They built homes on land that was once the land the Indians lived on. They survived the harsh winter and their harvest was bountiful. Anyone with heart would have felt grateful and wanted to give praise and thanks to their god.
We have read and been told that these devote Christians looked to the Bible, they read how the Hebrews celebrated the “Feast of the Tabernacles of Feast of Ingathering” also know as the “Feast of Sukkot.” Following the bible verses they gave all honor to God for his for sending the Wampanoag people to help them. It is easy to understand why they wanted to come together to give thanks and include their new friends.
It is believed that the American Thanksgiving National holiday originated from this early feast. Some have compared the Pilgrims to the Israelites, they both escaped religious persecution and bondage by traveling to a new land and were blessed by God. Based on biblical accounts the Pilgrims gave thanks. This was supposedly the foundation for this National Holiday. I cannot find any proof that they set aside a particular day each year to come together and give thanks. Since the Pilgrims were devout Christians they would know that such a time was not based on scripture, I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies” KJV Amos 5:21
The seed of paranoia was planted, promises were made and promises were broken when the first Europeans arrived on the shores of the New World. The majority of the settlers were not allowed to acquire land in Europe, and believed the land in the New World was theirs for the taking. One problem, the Indians. The majority of them did not want to share this land of plenty with an indigenous people, they were too different, they were savages. They must be killed if civilization was to flourish and Christianity was to govern.
In 1637 one of the bloodiest struggles that decimated the Indians and ended with a head on a stick was declared by the Massachusetts colony governor, John Winthrop, a day of thanksgiving to celebrate the slaughter of 700 Pequot men, women, and children.
Talk of peace and treaties were made and broken. As the country grew, the Indian population dwindled. Many wars were fought against the Indians. In 1830 a bill, supported by President Andrew Jackson, considered immoral was passed. He believed it was their god given right to have the wilderness cleared, build homes and grow cotton (this is a story for another day). When he addressed Congress in 1833 he denounced the Indians, declaring “They have neither the intelligence, the industry the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which are essential to any favorable change in their condition. Establish in the midst of another and a superior race…they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear.”
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords KJV Psalms 55:21.
It is sad and unfair how the true natives of this land were treated. Did anyone think to ask the Native American what they thought of this holiday that was officially established in 1863, by President Lincoln.
As Americans, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. As a Pilgrim I hold this truth to be self evident “The thief does not come except to kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. only to steal and kill and destroy, I have come that they may have life, and have it more. NKJ John 10:10
What is the longest war in history? The American Indian Holocaust, known as the “500 year war
Gad, a troop shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last. Genesis 49:19
A Lion's Pen 