“Ebenezers Scrooged: More than Just Memorials Is at Stake”

Post date: Aug 25, 2017 9:53:38 PM

You may only associate the name Ebenezer with that mean old man who is eventually transformed in Charles Dickens' story, A Christmas Carol, but the name has relevance for our time. In I Samuel 7:12, we read, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the Lord has helped us.'” To put it simply, an ebenezer is a monument. And from its inception, this nation has acknowledged God's help.

So what's the big deal about memorials? Why do they matter? Dr. B.J. Ward has an answer: “Monuments are an important part of history. They are books that never go out of print and require no new editions to bring them up to date. They are the milestones of the centuries, the oracles of the ages. They inspire the youths and young men to emulate the heroism, the manhood, and the patriotism of their ancestors.”

I found this to be true in my young life. At the time I first began to study American history in the fourth grade, I was taken by men like Washington, Lafayette, and Frances Marion (the Swamp Fox) of South Carolina, whom our city of Marion is named after. Why? They were courageous and heroic men, freedom loving patriots worthy of imitation.

But I was also fortunate enough at that time to live in Vincennes, Indiana. There on the Wabash River, in Vincennes, stood the George Rogers Clark Memorial. The younger brother of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, he was also a man who sacrificed for the cause of freedom in our American Revolution. He came up through difficult country in the Winter and captured a British fort there on the banks of the Wabash so that our forces would have control of the Ohio River Valley Territory. This was of strategic importance to the survival of our new nation.

That memorial was a way for me to connect with my people who had gone before me, to touch history in a very personal way. I am a better person for it.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, “brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Memorials help us do that. They matter!

But there is a scourge upon our land. More and more, with each passing day, our memorials, that have stood for many long years, are being vandalized and even removed by lawless and hate-filled groups.

They act under cover of darkness, which says a lot for the evil of their deeds. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, spoke of such in John 3:19-21: “ This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

These unrighteous robbers of our heritage and history are sneaks, cowards, and lawbreakers. Such people are certainly not qualified to pass moral judgment, seeing as they act as criminals and moral reprobates.

And just as guilty are the government officials who supposedly represent us but don't allow us a say in the removal of our monuments. They are contemptible enablers, promoters of evil and all that goes against the principles of freedom that made this country great. They should be removed from office, for they are unfit to serve.

Even in Paducah, Kentucky, our own backyard, it is happening. Some who are misguided, misinformed, or malevolent are calling for the removal of the Tilghman Statue and the Tilghman name from the high school. Have you ever asked yourself why after so many decades of these monuments standing, this is suddenly considered a problem?

John Suttles, Kentucky Division Commander of the Son's of Confederate Veterans, has it right when he said, “ It's not about white or black supremacy. It's about honoring those who shed their blood and lost their lives on the battlefield.” The same can be said for the Confederate Battle Flag.

Here's an example from Salisbury,Rowen County, North Carolina of why the Confederacy fought and why there are many monuments all over the country. At the top of their monument are these words, “Lest We Forget.” “In memory of Rowan's Confederate soldiers, that their heroic deeds, sublime self-sacrifice and undying devotion to duty and country may never be forgotten.” It continues with these words: “They gave their lives and fortunes for constitutional liberty and state sovereignty in obedience to the teachings of the fathers who framed the Constitution and established the union of those states. Deo Vindice (Latin for “God will vindicate”) R.I.P. (Rest in peace.)”

I ask you: Who sounds more honorable? These Confederate soldiers or the hateful and ignorant who would maliciously deny them and their descendants their honorable history and heritage? There was no mention of slavery on this monument because that was not what they were fighting for. I've said it before, and it's true. Seventy-five percent of Confederate soldiers did not own slaves. That was not what they fought for. Monuments help preserve the truth.

Perhaps you're thinking, “that doesn't concern me.” But it does! The people behind removing monuments won't stop with Confederate monuments. At time of this writing there have been other monuments under attack (Columbus, a church's steeple and grave markers destroyed). They hate the principles of freedom this country was founded on. They have no respect for free speech or equal treatment under the law, or the law itself, for that matter. For them the ends justify the means. They've taken a page, or several, out of the Marxist socialist handbook. Violent revolution is their solution.

Compare the American revolution with the French Revolution. One ended in the blessings of freedom and one ended in many deaths and a tyrant, Napoleon, coming to power. What made the difference? One honored God and one rejected God, following a socialist revolution.

Does this nation, so blessed by God, really want to go down that road of violent revolution? This battle isn't about monuments alone, but about what kind of nation we will have.

It's time to stand up against bullies and thugs and cowardly or misguided politicians, and not allow our monuments and our country to be stolen. Ignorance and apathy are destroying our country. Please, don't stand by and do nothing. We all loose if you do. Sign petitions, call your officials, speak out with your neighbors and friends, and pray. Your nation and your community need you. When it's all said and done, what will history have to say about us? Will you be proud of the nation you leave your descendants?