Should Slave-Owning Theologians Get Statues Celebrating Their Memory?

Kainos Project
Kainos Project
Should Slave-Owning Theologians Get Statues Celebrating Their Memory?
/

Recently, controversy erupted over a statue on the campus of Princeton University.

The statue depicts John Witherspoon, an American founding father, pastor, denominational leader in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and the sixth president of Princeton. Presiding over the school for a quarter of a decade, he has been credited with bringing back Princeton from the brink of financial collapse. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and an influential figure in helping garner support for the ratification of the United States Constitution.

He was also a slaveowner to two enslaved people, and he lectured and voted against the abolition of slavery in New Jersey. He believed that emancipation would mean freeing enslaved people “to their own ruin.”

Because of this, some are calling for the statue honoring him on the campus of Princeton to be taken down. In response, others are arguing that it ought to remain. Among those arguing to keep the statue is pastor and theologian Kevin DeYoung.

In this episode, we take a closer look at who Witherspoon was, his significance and the significance of his views on slavery, and whether possibly taking down the statue is a result of cancel culture or merely a more honest retelling of our country’s (and the church’s) checkered history.

RELATED RESOURCES

READ: Kevin DeYoung Defends Statue of Slave-Owning Theologian at Princeton University, Resulting in Social Media Backlash
READ: Remembering Notable Christians Who Sinned Horribly
READ: 5 Truths About White Privilege In American Evangelicalism
LISTEN: 3 White Dudes In Powdered Wigs (The History of Evangelicalism)

Referenced in This Episode

John Witherspoon: President and Patriot by Kevin DeYoung
How Princetonians Can Comment on the Proposal To Remove the Witherspoon Statue by Princetonians for Free Speech

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Follow on Spotify

Latest Episodes

Why Did so Many Christians Support American Slavery?
Timothy Keller and the Legacy of Winsomeness
Should We Send Our Kids to Private Christian Schools?
What Is A Jezebel Spirit?
How Much Should Christians Care About the Age of the Earth?
What Is a Gospel Issue?
Should Christians Use Other People's Preferred Pronouns?
The Debate Surrounding Biblical Inerrancy
Are ChatGPT and AI Going To Take Over the World?
Sex as an Icon for Salvation?
Was the SBC Wrong To Kick out Saddleback?
The Asbury Revival: Are We Seeing a Move of God?
The Christian History of Valentine's Day
A Fresh Look at Old Liturgy
The One Thing All Christians Agree On
Is Anxiety 'Temporary Atheism'?
Things in History the Church Got Right
Why Do So Many Christians Believe in QAnon?
Should Slave-Owning Theologians Get Statues Celebrating Their Memory?
Was Jesus Trans?
How Your Nativity Decorations Are Biblically Inaccurate
Is Biblical Counseling the Answer to America's Mental Health Crisis?
Does the Bible Command Christians To Tithe?
Should We Declare 'Pandemic Amnesty'?
Let's Talk About Kanye

Explore More Episodes