Colonialism is back! From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the United States government naming lands it wants to acquire, the European notions of the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny fuel the hubris of tyrants seeking to expand their power over others and plunder their resources.
During the 2024 presidential campaign and the first two weeks of his second term, Donald Trump mentioned his desire for the United States of America to acquire the following people and places: Greenland, Canada, the Panama Canal and Gaza. Why did he not mention Mexico?
Trump is following the example of tyrants such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Xi would one day like to control Taiwan, while Putin’s aggression towards Ukraine speaks for itself. Both want to expand their territories and influence in the world.
Throughout history, tyrants have sought to expand territories for power and collect resources for wealth. From ancient empires in the Bible to the British Empire in the modern world, powerful kings and countries have exerted power beyond their borders, claiming divine providence along the way.
In the modern era, empires and tyrants use the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny to justify their aggressive actions toward peaceful and sovereign peoples. The Doctrine of Discovery was an idea developed after Europeans “discovered the new world.”
Upon Christopher Columbus’ return to Europe in 1493, empires and kings needed a justification to conquer and control the New World. They turned to an old ally, the church.
Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull “Inter caetera,” declaring: “Wherefore, as becomes Catholic kings and princes, after earnest consideration of all matters, especially of the rise and spread of the Catholic faith, as was the fashion of your ancestors, kings of renowned memory, you have purposed with the favor of divine clemency to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands with their residents and inhabitants and to bring them to the Catholic faith.”
In other words, the church officially baptized evil acts as long as those acts spread the faith and expanded Christendom’s territories (Christian Empire) worldwide. Within the next 100 years, European ships filled with “good” Christians would return to the shores of North America, sparking yet another genocide.
Fifty-six million Indigenous people in North America were killed by settlers over 100 years. The devastation was so widespread some scientists believed the genocide changed the climate.
“CO2 and climate had been relatively stable until this point,” Professor Mark Maslin told CNN. Maslin surmised, “So, this is the first major change we see in the Earth’s greenhouse gases.”
After the initial invasion of North America, Protestants’ break from the Roman Catholic Church was complete. Also, the United States of America was formed after the Revolutionary War, with settlers feeling the hand of God upon them and their fortunes.
Setting their eyes westward, American settlers needed a new justification to expand their territories west of the 13 original colonies where Indigenous peoples lived. Therefore, they turned to Manifest Destiny, a 19th-century imperial belief that God ordained Christians to expand their territory and rule over others.
The “American Way of Life” became the new Christendom, as setters were confident American exceptionalism provided God’s blessing for them to take more lands and kill more “savages.” Inspired by their new divine blessing, settlers begin their westward push across America, leaving in their wake one of the worst human and ecological disasters in memory.
With new colonialism’s blessing of religious fundamentalists, the world could witness the beginning of another human and ecological disaster—even more significant than the previous ones.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent over one million soldiers and civilians to their deaths.
Israel’s war with Hamas has caused over 50,000 deaths, of which 47,000 are Palestinians and most are women and children.
While Xi has yet to invade Taiwan, another human catastrophe would occur if he had his way.
And finally, while America has not acted on the irresponsible rhetoric of its president, some Republican lawmakers have made it crystal clear they are unwilling to stop the whims of the want-to-be tyrant.
As the world watches and listens to global leaders act upon and openly discuss a new era of colonialism, people of good faith must unify in protesting and countering the potential for such devastation. A new era of colonialism would send the world into a humanitarian crisis, an economic decline, and an ecological meltdown.
The world no longer has to accept the whims of madmen. The world can reject the new colonialism. The true power for a better world lies within the people, a power more significant than any political bullies exerting their evil upon the rest of us.
The world should reject the new colonialism and demand a new future from its leaders. People of good faith must advocate for a better tomorrow where our fellow humans are loved and respected.
Exceptionalism with divine blessing is a lie created by those seeking power and influence over others. The Bible I read and the God I know does not set one group of people over any other but demands the love of neighbor over all else.
America, Russia, China and Israel do not need to extend their territories, but they should extend their compassion and generosity. Before I am a citizen of any nation-state, I am a follower of Jesus, who teaches me “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God” (Micah 6:8).
A better tomorrow does not require more land or resources but solely rests upon humanity’s ability to extend love to others. If we genuinely want to secure a brighter future, people of good faith need to oppose tyrants and advocate for each other. Now, that is something worth discovering!
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
CEO of Good Faith Media.
