Colonialism and the spread of the Gospel
These days, everybody whines about colonialism. While there were certainly problems with European imperialism, the first wave of colonialism definitely had its benefits. According to the Pew Research Center, “Of the world’s five major geographic regions, the Americas have both the largest number and the highest proportion of Christians.” The three largest Christian countries in the world, the United States, Brazil and Mexico, are in the Americas. They were founded and settled by the three most successful colonial powers: the English, the Spanish and the Portuguese. Why were they more successful than the French and the Dutch? Simply put, God only allowed European imperialism if the colonial power was committed to spreading the Gospel. Likewise, when the colonial power stopped promoting the Gospel, it began to lose its overseas empire.
The first wave of European imperialism began in the 15th century and roughly lasted until the American War of Independence, which ended in 1783. Known as the Age of Discovery, it was during this period that the Portuguese, the Spanish and the English brought the Gospel to the New World. Their methods were different, but their colonies were Christianized. On the other hand, the Dutch focused almost exclusively on trade. Is this why they lost their settlements in North America to the British and their territory in Brazil to the Portuguese?
The case of France is more intriguing. At first, French colonization mirrored that of Spain and Portugal. Yet, the French Revolution changed everything. During this period, France openly rebelled against God. Priests were executed, crosses were torn down and Christianity was briefly outlawed. Shortly after the Revolution, the French lost Haiti and had to sell French Louisiana to the United States. France had lost most of their territory in the Americas. Of course, this didn’t stop the French, or other European powers, from later colonizing Asia and Africa.
Sometimes called the New Imperialism, these later attempts at colonization failed because by that time Europe had largely secularized. They no longer cared about bringing Christian civilization to new lands. Their interests were purely commercial and frankly exploitative, so God didn’t bless their efforts. Incidentally, around the same time, many countries in the Americas became independent. While Western Europe has continued to dramatically secularize, the Americas have actually become more Christian over time. In fact, “Almost half (49%) of all charismatic Christians in the world live in the Americas.”
What does the Amish population boom tell us?
Speaking of colonization, did you know that the Amish population in the United States doubles every 15 to 30 years? Although the US birth rate hit an all-time low in 2018, the Amish population is exploding. In an era of population replacement, low fertility and demographic suicide, the Amish baby boom shows us that the traditional family is still the best way to build a society. God always knows best. Celebrating motherhood is a good thing; pushing women into pursuing careers at the expense of having children is a bad thing. Now, I’m not saying all women should immediately report to the kitchen and start making sandwiches. Women can have careers. I mean, the capable wife described in Proverbs 31 was a businesswoman. Yet, her business ventures didn’t get in the way of managing her home. A woman’s priority should be her family and the home.
To the horror of the modern feminist, 1 Timothy 2:15 says women “will be saved through childbearing” if they continue “in faith, love, and holiness, with good judgment.” In other words, by being homemakers, bearing children and supporting their husbands, women are protected from the pain God promised that men would suffer in this life. In Genesis 3, we see that Adam and Eve’s sin led to judgment: women would experience pain in childbirth and men would experience pain in the workplace. Fortunately, it’s impossible for men to experience pain in childbirth. Why would women volunteer for the career pains that men suffer?
1 Peter 3:7 commands husbands to “live with your wives with an understanding of their weaker nature yet showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.” Husbands should treat their wives like fine china; handle with care. Like porcelain, women are more fragile, but more elegant; they adorn our lives. By treating them with honor, God honors our prayers. That’s awesome.