Amid all the activities surrounding the 400^th anniversary of Jamestown, one thing might get lost in the official displays, conferences and commemoration.   According to the First Charter of Virginia the purpose of sailing to the distant shores is found in the following words:

We, greatly commending, and graciously accepting of, their Desire for the Furtherance of so noble a work, which may, by Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God, and may in time bring the Infidel and Savages, living in those parts, to human civility, and to a settled and quiet Government:  Do, by these our letters Patents, graciously accept of, and agree to, their humble and well-intended Desires . . . (Sources of Our Liberties ed. by Richard L. Perry pp 39-40) (The “their” in the quotation refers to the founders of the London and Plymouth companies.)

The purpose of the Jamestown settlement was to spread the Gospel, to evangelize the lost.  A chaplain accompanied the colonists.  Worship was a part of settlement life.

In 1619 Henricus College was chartered in Henrico, a settlement near present-day Richmond.  A purpose of this education institution was the training of Indian children in terms of God’s word.  This education attempt has been long-forgotten because an Indian raid on the town wiped out the college in 1622.  Yet this desire of the settlers, a little more than a decade after Jamestown’s founding, shows the continuity of desire for the conversion of the Indian population.

In his volume America’s Christian History: The Untold Story Gary DeMar quotes as follows from Thompson’s The Religious Foundations of America regarding John Rolfe’s penned hope to see Pocahontas become a Christian:  “I will never cease until I have accomplished and brought to perfection so holy a work, in which I will daily pray to bless me to mine and her eternal happiness.” (p. 53)

In spite of these and other similar facts, Jamestown’s 400^th anniversary is being treated as a commemoration, not a celebration.  Some see these settlers as invaders.  These early settlers sought to overturn Indian thinking and religious practice.  In so doing they brought upheaval to an Indian society living in its own relationship with surrounding nature.

Before going further I want to clearly state that some settlers came for other reasons then evangelism, Indians were not always treated fairly or with respect.  When such mistreatment occurred it was wrong.

However, my main focus here is to note a growing animosity against Christian evangelism.  Interestingly it seems Christianity is to be a private matter.  Thus reminders of the triune God are being removed from the public eye.  Crosses have been removed from cemeteries.  The Ten Commandments plaques and similar references once a present reality, are now gone from public school classrooms and many buildings housing civil government offices.  “Christ” is increasingly removed from public conversation.

Simultaneously we are seeing a rise in the belief that all religions in some way reach the same destination – God’s throne.  Thus it should not be surprising that for the first time in U.S. history a U.S. Congressman from Minnesota’s 5th district assumed his office by placing his hand on the Quran and taking his oath of office.  If all religions provide an accessible road to God what is the difference in swearing on the Bible or the Quran?

If all religions are equal then evangelism is unimportant.  If we all reach heaven no matter one’s religious belief why should Jamestown have been founded?  The truth is there is only one way of salvation – through Jesus Christ alone.  We are commanded, by no less then Jesus Himself, to disciple the nations themselves with the Gospel (Mt. 28:18-20). 

As Christians we must know our history.  The reading of original sources gives us insight and perspective on events that we study.  It is important to study history not only to learn  our heritage but to also better exercise discernment when historical events, such as the founding of  Jamestown, are discussed.

We should not shirk from proclaiming Christ as God grants opportunities for us to do so.  We are in a culture war.   Humanity has been in culture wars since the fall in the Garden of Eden.  God placed enmity between Christians and non-Christians (Gen. 3:15) Christians are to evangelize while realizing evangelism can and will be viewed as bad by many non-Christians. The fact that many view evangelism as bad should not dissuade us from calling others to repentance and faith.  We must remember that there is one true religion, Christianity.  Lost souls do go to hell.  We cannot change the number of the elect.  We do not know who the elect are.  God uses us as His instruments in the saving of the lost.  We need to realize that one reason America was colonized was to save the lost inhabitants.  This evangelism may be viewed as wrong or the historical fact relegated to silence in our multicultural times. 

We must not subconsciously or consciously succumb to such a view.  In fact these views, when voiced, give us all the more opportunities to practice biblical evangelism.

Review ©2007 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia