Black Lives Matter and Statues of Historical Figures

Police guard Churchill's statue from Black Lives Matter Protesters

Over the last few days, the Black Lives Matters movement has shifted its attention to the destruction, damage, or defacing of statues commemorating historical figures who had racist views. 

Statues of Edward Colston, Winston Churchill, and even Captain James Cook have been pulled down or defaced.

Protesters will find that each of these figures will have mixed backgrounds.  Those commemorated will have done much societal good which is why they were remembered at all.  

At the same time, they will be "guilty" of moral failures based on today's values, even though what they may have done in their time was the prevailing wisdom at the time.

A good example is Winston Churchill.  He is rightly lauded for his efforts in leading the UK to victory over the Axis powers and helping to save the world from Fascism.  

On the other hand, he believed in a hierarchy of ethnic groups, with Caucasians at the top.  But like all of humanity, he was a product of his time.  Ideas of Social Darwinism were widely held in Western societies from the late 1800s through into the middle of the 20th Century.  

Social Darwinism led to ideas such as eugenics.  Josef Mengele's evil was not inspired in a vacuum.

Should we judge Churchill based on present-day ideas and perspectives?  Yes, but we can only do so fairly if we keep in mind that his ideas were widely held in his day.  

Historians call evaluating historical events based on present-day attitudes and perspectives as "Presentism."

Some believe it should be avoided as it is a form of cultural bias.  

Others think "presentism" is a fallacy.

In my view, Presentism is unavoidable.  It's impossible to evaluate history without being biased by present-day values and worldviews.

And the conclusions drawn are not necessarily erroneous.  

So should all memory of Churchill, Colston, or Cook be censored?

No.  

The Bible itself gives us guidance about how to treat history.  

Many of its figures are not purely good nor exclusively evil.  

David was a "man after God's own heart," (1 Samuel 13:14) yet he was also an adulterer and murderer who brought much suffering upon his people (1 Samuel 11).

Yet the bible confidently portrays its historical figures as they are:  Warts along with beauty spots.

Why?  Because their examples provide both positive and negative examples for us all to learn.  

The bible's example shows that historical statues should not be hidden away.  

Instead, they should be in full view for all to see and study, so that humanity may benefit from both the positive and negative lessons that each provides.