For several years now, a movement has been underway to change the name of Columbus Day. Many people find the 15th Century Italian explorer to be an offensive representation of colonialism, discrimination and the oppression of the Native American peoples. Several cities in the United States have already changed the name of the holiday to “Indigenous People’s Day.”
John Hamilton, the Mayor of Bloomington, Indiana, recently doubled down on that mandate for cultural diversity. He not only renamed Columbus Day but struck down Good Friday, as well. He announced that they would now be called “Fall Holiday” and “Spring Holiday” respectively (how creative). One might possibly fathom how Christopher Columbus could be considered politically incorrect, but Jesus Christ crucified? Yet to give Mayor Hamilton his due, none other than St. Paul noted that the preaching of Christ crucified was folly and a stumbling block to those who refuse to accept the message of Good Friday. It is indeed an offense to the conscience of anyone unwilling to accept that his or her spiritual life is so bankrupt that without the cross of Jesus Christ all hope would be lost.
However, the good mayor’s cultural sensitivities notwithstanding, “Spring Holiday” simply will not do. Either the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest events in human history and rightly celebrated as Good Friday, or it is complete folly. Jesus Himself made it absolutely certain that there would be no middle ground, no politically correct choice when it comes to that.
