Bob Isn't a Historian, He Just Plays One on the Radio!

I think that if Bob ever uttered the words "I am wrong," his head would explode.

Keep this in mind as you listen to Bob talk about Christopher Columbus:



So, according to Bob, Columbus was on a mission trip to save the heathens.  All is good with the founding of this nation because Christopher Columbus was a good and noble Christian, just like Bob!

Want to know what else Columbus did when he met the Native Americans?  He concluded that they would make fabulous slaves!

On October 12, 1492 (the first day he encountered the native people of the Americas), Columbus wrote in his journal: "They should be good servants .... I, our Lord being pleased, will take hence, at the time of my departure, six natives for your Highnesses." These captives were later paraded through the streets of Barcelona and Seville when Columbus returned to Spain.

From his very first contact with native people, Columbus had their domination in mind. For example, on October 14, 1492, Columbus wrote in his journal, "with fifty men they can all be subjugated and made to do what is required of them." These were not mere words: after his second voyage, Columbus sent back a consignment of natives to be sold as slaves.

So for Bob, being a good Christian missionary includes taking slaves!  How fucking noble!

But I'm not concerned with a debate about the historical context of slavery.  What I want Bob to explain is whether or not Columbus was being a good Christian missionary in taking slaves.  In other words, under what circumstances does the Bible permit the taking of slaves and, if it doesn't, does the taking of slaves take you out of the realm of Christ?

For that matter, I want Bob to explain how, if the United States was founded by "Christians" then where does the Bible justify passage of the Maryland Toleration Act, which required death for anyone who denied the divinity of Christ?  Where does the Bible require that chattel slavery be protected by the Constitution?  Where does the Bible require suffrage, which denied women the right to vote?  How does the Bible justify passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?

My point is simple:  Bob simplifies history into a struggle between the good (Christians) and the sinners (everyone else).  In this narrative, Christians are always noble, seeking to "save" a "lost" world.  Thus, Bob simplifies history into a fantasy, and refuses to acknowledge contrary evidence, no matter how demonstrably wrong he is.

Bob is spreading bullshit, but you'll never hear him admit it.  Because being wrong is more than Bob can handle.