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Question 1
David Bercot calls it a “sad inconsistency” that the revolutionaries fought Britain over taxes while denying Indians the right to fight for “their very existence”; what does that inconsistency expose about what the colonists believed God permits when “our” freedom is threatened versus when “their” survival is threatened?
Another way to ask: The colonists fought Britain over taxes but said Indians couldn’t fight to survive. What does this show about what they thought God allows when our freedom is at risk versus when someone else’s life is at risk?

Direct Answer Based on David Bercot’s teaching, the inconsistency exposes a double standard: the colonists treated violence as justified when their own interests (like taxes and expansion) were threatened, but treated Indian resistance for survival as illegitimate.

Support from Transcript:

  • He calls it a “sad inconsistency” that colonists fought “over the mere issue of taxes,” yet did not think Indians had the right to fight “for their very existence.”
  • He says the “white man had taken the Indians’ land” and deprived many of them “of the right to live as free people,” meaning Indian conflict was tied to survival.
  • He notes Indians fought for “independence…for centuries,” “for their land itself,” and “for their survival as a people,” but colonists did not recognize that.
  • He describes colonial actions as what “nowadays…would be called a war crime and ethnic cleansing,” implying the colonists’ moral reasoning allowed extreme measures against “their” enemies.
  • He concludes the Indians were “betrayed at the hands of professing Christians who did not trust in God and his methods,” implying the colonists’ moral limits shifted when “we” wanted something.
Discussion Follow-ups What kinds of issues do we instinctively label “worth fighting for” when our group is threatened? Do we apply the same moral rules to outsiders?