How to Redeem Thanksgiving

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2016

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For many Americans, our thoughts drift to North American’s original people only once or twice a year. But thanks to the Cleveland Indians’ World Series appearance and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, you may have thought about Native Americans at some point before our national holiday. Thanksgiving offers a critical time for many of us to reflect on our nation’s history, says Randy Woodley, a Keetoowah Cherokee and professor of faith and culture at George Fox University. “Thanksgiving is a deep mythology within the American psyche,” said Woodley, who suggests that many of us have sanitized the holiday. “For three days they had this festival and no one questions what happens after,” he said. “The story is so treacherous and ugly that our mythology only includes what we want to feel good about.” For decades and later centuries after this peaceful and celebratory meal between the Pilgrims and Native Americans, settlers clashed violently with Indians and forcibly converted them to Christianity and “civilized” them. There was little understanding from Americans that Natives had something to offer them and their culture. They still do, says Woodley: the values of generosity and consensus. Woodley joined Morgan and guest-host Richard Clark to discuss why he himself chooses to celebrate Thanksgiving, how he learned to love Jesus despite the religion’s ugly impact on his ancestors, and the uncomfortable conditions it took for settlers to share their faith with Native Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.1	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.
0:14.5	Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at Apologeticsky.com.
0:28.6	Music Michael Del Rosario at Apologeticsguy.com. Hey, this is Morgan Lee.
0:31.3	You're listening to Quick to Listen, a Christianity Today podcast.
0:34.9	I'm an assistant editor here at CT, and today I am joined by my boss,
0:40.9	Richard Clark. Hey Morgan. Good to be here. Good to be your boss still. I'm glad that you're my boss.
0:46.6	We're all glad. I've said a lot of stinkofantic things to say to you today. That's true. That's how you do it.
0:52.5	A tip to anyone working for a boss, if you happen
0:55.4	to be working for a boss, is to say things that make them feel good. Right? Yeah, about the job
1:01.7	they're doing. Never enough of those compliments, right? Yeah. Does it matter if they're true or not?
1:06.5	It doesn't really matter. So, hey, what are we talking about today? So today we're going to talk
1:11.0	about Thanksgiving, and we thought it would be good to have Reverend Dr. Randy Woodley on to the show
1:16.4	to talk about it. He serves as a distinguished professor of faith in culture and director of
1:20.9	intercultural studies at George Fox Evangelical University. He consults with the Oregon Department
1:25.7	of Education on the American Indian Alaska
1:29.0	Native Advisory Board. He's written a lot of books, including Shalom and the Community of Creation,
1:34.8	an indigenous vision. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, is a legal descendant of the United
1:40.1	Kituwa Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. He and his wife are co-founders of Eagle's
1:46.3	Wings Ministry, Christians for Justice, and he's a founding member of Evangelicals for Justice.
1:52.1	Dr. Woodley, thanks so much for being on the show. I heard you recently also wrote a children's book.
1:58.0	I did. Thank you. I just was published about a month ago. It's called the
	...

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