America’s first Social Justice Warrior

Antonio de Montesinos (c. 1475 - June 27, 1540) 

“Godliness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Proverbs 14:34

In case you are persuaded the “Cancel Culture” movement is a new and novel impulse of the “woke” leftists in our country I commend to you Fr. Antonio. He is a reminder that God is always speaking to those who will listen. He is also a reminder that we will always have people who give no import to the Heart of God and, in fact, hope to silence the voices of His spokesmen. 

Antonio de Montesinos was a Spanish missionary and was the first European to publicly denounce the enslavement and harsh treatment of the indigenous peoples of the island we now call Haiti. On December 21, 1511, the fourth Sunday of Advent, Montesinos preached an impassioned sermon. He criticized the practices of the Spanish colonial system, and decried the abuse of the Indian people on Hispaniola. Listing the injustices that the indigenous people were suffering at the hands of the Spanish colonists, According to Bartolomé de las Casas, who was a witness, Montesinos asked those in attendance: “Tell me by what right of justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude? On what authority have you waged such detestable wars against these people who dwelt quietly and peacefully on their own lands? Wars in which you have destroyed such an infinite number of them by homicides and slaughters never heard of before. Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted, without giving them enough to eat or curing them of the sicknesses they incur from the excessive labor you give them, and they die, or rather you kill them, in order to extract and acquire gold every day.” Montesinos proclaimed that the Spanish on the island "are all in mortal sin and live and die in it, because of the cruelty and tyranny they practice among these innocent peoples." During his sermon, Montesinos also proclaimed that he nor any of the other missionaries would allow these slaveholders to partake in confession." 

The sermon outraged the settlers and prominent citizens of Hispaniola, including the governor, Diego Columbus, son of Christopher Columbus, as well as other high-ranking representatives of the king. So, they “cancelled” the friar by sending him back to Spain. After returning to Spain, Montesinos and his supporters were able to persuade  King Ferdinand II of their righteous agenda and principles. As a result, the king convened a commission that promulgated the Laws of Burgos, the first code of ordinances to protect the indigenous people. The laws regulated the treatment and conversion of the indigenous people, and also limited the demands of the Spanish colonizers upon them. (Wikipedia)

I recently read, in Robert Morgan’s book 100 Bible Verses that Shaped America, the words of George Washington upon his inauguration as our first President ; “None can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which we have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven, itself, has ordained “

Antonio de Montesinos was a reformer And the culture cancelled him. Today the “voices of righteousness” want to cancel the culture rather then reform it. The roles have been reduced and we are unaware of the irony. I am persuaded of the righteousness behind much that undergirds our “woke” friends. Yet, I am convinced that “truth dies in darkness”. Unless this movement is willing to let the “Light of Almighty God” shine upon their efforts it will simply become a newer version of the angry culture that “cancelled” Antonio de Montesinos. They failed at the time but...in large measure prevailed across the past half millennium. And the turmoil they left behind is still with us. Today’s movement will just perpetuate the darkness.

As believers, our task is not to shut down these current justice movements. We may be successful for a season but we only perpetuate the darkness. Our task is to listen for the voice of God behind the anger...and pray that God will raise up godly leaders within the movement (possibly, even us) so it will achieve the justice God desires. Otherwise we become exactly what we despise in them.

Live boldly out there today...