Drawing Inspiration from Las Casas

In preparing for my trip to Honduras next week, I have been going back through some books that I read for my Overture II class in Costa Rica and Mexico City a couple years ago. During that course I read a book called A Violent Evangelism in which I learned about the life of Bartolome de las Casas, a man who fought against the oppression and enslavement of native people in Latin America by Spain in the sixteenth century. In modern America we celebrate Columbus' arrival in the Americas, but his arrival ushered in an era of suffering and death for millions of people who had been living in that region for centuries prior to his arrival. Nearly 100 million indigenous people were inhabiting that part of the Americas when Columbus arrived in 1492, and about 100 years later only 5 million indigenous people remained. Widespread death occured as a result of forced Christian evangelism, forced labor, enslavement for financial gain, diseases, war, torture, and execution for many who chose not to convert to Christianity. Las Casas spoke out against these horrific actions by the Spanish conquerors, and he dedicated his life to protecting and advocating for the poor. Profound injustices still occur around the world and in modern America, and many Christians are not doing anything about it. Our inaction only serves to deepen the struggle of those who are suffering because we are failing to live out our Christian mission in a broken world. Las Casas drew upon the following words, which he attributed to Saint Augustine, to strengthen himself for the cause of justice.  These words are just as powerful for modern Christians today as they were centuries ago:

"Can you consider Christian the one who oppresses the needy, who burdens the poor, who covets the belongings of others, the one who becomes rich by making others poor, the one who rejoices in illicit earnings, who eats at the expense of others, who becomes rich to the ruins of others...? I know there are people so blinded by the profound darkness of malice and avarice that when their power has chained the poor, or dominated the weak, or crushed the innocent with false witness... they give thanks to God thinking their wickedness has been made possible through divine favor... And others think that they are justified in extending a small alms taken from the goods of the poor, giving to the one a small portion of what they took from the many. Only one is fed with what causes many to go hungry; and from the clothing stripped from many only a few are clothed... Can you consider Christian those whose bread has not fed one single hungry person? whose drink has not satiated anyone's thirst? or whose table is not known by any poor person? Christian are the ones who are merciful to all; who are moved by those who are injured; who do not allow the poor to be oppressed in their presence; those who help the needy; who frequently aid the indigent; those who suffer with those who suffer; who feel the other's pain as their own... Anyone, therefore, who wants to be a friend of the world, becomes the enemy of God (James 4:4)."