cross

Multiple Choice

Several weeks ago, my son Jacob and a fellow student Jessica, both of whom are eighth graders, participated in a history competition at the University of Memphis. Students from the Mid South were competing in three categories:

1. Some were presenting papers on historical topics.
2. Others constructed websites that featured historical figures.
3. Jacob and Jessica competed in a category where students performed moments from history.

Specifically, Jacob and Jessica used puppets to tell the history of tobacco in America. As part of their timeline they performed a moment when Christopher Columbus arrived in America. They included this in their skit  because Columbus learned of tobacco from native Americans.

In their puppet show they spent a few seconds showing Christopher Columbus and party trying to convert the native Americans to Christianity. Jacob and Jessica were followed by a team of five girls who performed a play. Ironically, in their performance these five girls also showed Christopher Columbus and party trying to convert native Americans to Christianity. What made their skit particularly  interesting was that each of the five students wore a hijab, a scarf used by Muslim women to cover the head and the neck.  All of these students were from Muslim families. And here they were acting out Christopher Columbus and party trying to convert people to Christianity. Perhaps eighty years ago, Memphis, TN would have never seen such a thing. You might have assumed that all the junior high and high school  students  at a history competition would have been Christian. But here were five Muslim girls playing Christians trying to convert non-Christians to Christianity.Read More »Crux: Lifting Jesus (Jn. 12:32-33) Chris Altrock – March 20, 2016