Thread by @BenjaminEPark

Hey Mormons: can we talk about this for a bit? Because not only does the "Columbus was a man of God" narrative need to stop, but it is a perfect example of how we read racism into the scriptures and, simultaneously, our culture. /1 universe.byu.edu/2019/08/22/edu…

First of all, we should recognize that the sanctification of Columbus in Anglo-American thought was a cultural construct: early Americans were searching for a "founder" that was distinct from the British, from whom they just seceded. /2

But beyond being non-British, Columbus also represented another ideal: the European colonization of and domination over American lands and indigenous people. Columbus represented power & justified expansion. /3

Ever since the beginning, though, Native voices have rightly decried this veneration, highlighting the hypocrisy of worshipping a man who represented colonization, slavery, and death. Columbus's arrival marked the decimation of millions. /4

Further, Columbus was himself a *horrible* individual when it came to how he treated indigenous people. I mean, it's hard to put his atrocities into words. He was so bad that Spanish rulers punished him. Given what they justified, that's bad! /5

This is why many Americans have finally wisened up and tried to erase Columbus celebrations, including re-naming his holiday to "Indigenous Peoples Day." /6 teachingchannel.org/tch/blog/un-co…

So with that context out of the way, let's dig into why this Mormon reading of Columbus is especially problematic, because this is a textbook example of how a colonialist reading of scripture perpetuates serious problems within the community. /7

Hinckley, like many LDS, is basing this on 1 Nephi 13, which refers to someone being called by God & crossing the waters.

However, the language itself probably reflects Joseph Smith's day--when they started venerating Columbus. So this interpretation is not fully required. /8

But, since he *does* connect this passage to Columbus, thereby making Columbus a "chosen" vessel of God, suddenly everything Columbus did was divine. His "discovery" of America, for instance, did not wipe out civilizations, but instead lead to glorious globalization! /9

Or, perhaps more egregious, look at how he celebrates the creation of a "new race."

This is a very creative way of describing forced colonization, pillage, and rape. This "new race" was the result of dominating, expelling, and erasing whole civilizations. /10

And then there's connecting Columbus to the proliferation of religious liberty. Columbus himself would have scoffed at this--one of his goals was to enrich the Catholic empire so they could crush all other religious sects. He was not the figure of toleration. /11

Finally, and most importantly, to claim that Columbus "did more to prepare the way for the last dispensation" is to pretend that all his horrible actions--actions that enslaved, tortured, and killed thousands--were justified. That's colonialist theology. /12

Here's another example of that theology: people who claimed that slavery, though horrible, was able to "bring millions to America and Christianity." That used to be a talking point in the Church, too, and it echoes that same "God's hand in everything" providentialism. /13

This has real implications, too. If we believe in a God who could overlook the oppression of many in the past, then why wouldn't God do that today? Justifying historic colonization allows present injustice. /14

As a global church, the LDS faith still has to reckon with the legacies of colonialism. That's a dangerous process, of course, because it strikes at the privilege at the heart of many cultural beliefs, like venerating Columbus. But it's necessary. /fin

Oh hey, look at these fun responses.