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Question 3

Washington’s “final solution” is described as burning 40 Iroquois villages with a scorched-earth policy that killed “thousands of men, women, and children,” which the colonists called “a glorious achievement”; what happens inside a society—including inside churches—when atrocity becomes something praiseworthy, and what does that suggest about what people were truly worshiping?

Another way to ask: What happens to a society—and to churches—when killing innocent people gets praised as a “great victory”? What does that say about what people were really honoring or worshiping?

Direct Answer When a society praises atrocity, it trains people—including church members—to call evil “good” when it serves their cause. Bercot’s point is that this reveals ultimate allegiance shifting from Christ’s kingdom to an earthly kingdom.

Support from Transcript:

He says Washington demanded a “final solution”: “total annihilation” of villages of the six Iroquois nations.
He describes a “total scorched earth policy” where “thousands of men, women, and children died.”
He notes today we would call it “a war crime” and “ethnic cleansing,” but colonists called it “a glorious achievement.”
He later explains how in war Christians decide whether “their Christianity, or their politics” comes first.
He says Christians killing Christians shows they believe the kingdom they will “kill others for” is the “earthly kingdom,” making God’s kingdom “secondary.”

Discussion Follow-ups How do church people learn to celebrate or excuse actions they would condemn in other settings? What “glorious achievements” today might future Christians label as shameful?

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