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Lakeside Classics - 1951- Lt. Britton Davis · Guided by Faith

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to this week's episode of Guided by Faith, the Lakeside Classics.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: This episode features the work of Lieutenant Britton Davis, a U.S.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Army officer who was directly involved in the pursuit, capture, and surrender of one of the most widely known and possibly misunderstood members of the Apache tribe, Geronimo.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Davis' story, presented in the 1951 edition of the Lakeside Classics, reflects on the U.S.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Army efforts to remove the Apache and Chiraqua from the Arizona Territory between 1883 and 1886.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Mostly the work addresses the apparent lack of integrity by the U.S.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Army and President Grover Cleveland and the true desires of Geronimo upon the realization that he and his tribe could no longer call the Arizona Territory home.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Britton Davis does not attempt to make a judgment as to the broader conflicts with Native Americans, but brings to surface the unintended consequences of the continued misrepresentations by the U.S.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Army officers in charge of the Apache campaign and Geronimo's relatively simple desire to be reunited with his family in whatever location to which he was to be removed upon his ultimate surrender.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Faith in God is not a central theme in any part of Davis' work.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: There is no evidence of spiritual influence in either side of this conflict.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Interestingly, however, is the lack of honesty and integrity demonstrated by the U.S.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Army as they aggressively pursued Geronimo's capture and surrender.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: There is no doubt that Geronimo and his fellow Apache, after having been removed from the Arizona Territory, became highly desperate and resistant, leading them to a life of death and destruction.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: What Davis ultimately identifies is that this desperation and resistance was in large part due to Geronimo's belief that upon capture or surrender, he would not be reunited with his family, who by this time had been relocated to a reservation in Florida.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Historians present that Geronimo and the Apache, prior to their ultimate surrender, did in fact believe in a supreme being.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Although it was not until several years later, while being introduced to Christianity by missionaries, that they acknowledged the existence of God as described in Scripture.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And per Geronimo's own writings, that they came to believe that the fundamental precepts of Christianity were more spiritually compelling than their ancestral beliefs.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: This acknowledgement suggests that the Apache, including Geronimo, looked to a higher being in guiding their actions, including their aggressive resistance to being removed from the Arizona territory.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Without forming judgment on the Apache or on the higher power in which they originally believed, we can observe the significant influence such beliefs can have on people then, now, and throughout the course of history.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Physical conflict, including significant death and destruction, is prominent throughout the Bible, especially the Old Testament.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Whether over land, power, or religious beliefs, the parties to these conflicts, possibly like Geronimo, undoubtedly look to God for strength, courage, and protection, and in some instances may have justified their actions through their relationship with God.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: These passages suggest this reliance upon God.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Psalm forty six.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: God is our refuge and strength, and ever present help in trouble.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And even as early as the days of Joshua, have I not commanded you?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: It is unlikely that any of us, notwithstanding the most significant attacks on our person or our families, have faced threats as severe as those of David, Joshua, and for that matter, Geronimo.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: However, like them, we are likely to have sought strength, courage, and protection from some higher power.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: For me, what is most interesting about these calls for help is that God's response, whether to our benefit or not, is without judgment as to us or our adversaries.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Conflict, by its very nature, seeks a winner and a loser.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Fortunately, God doesn't always see it that way.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Although there is sufficient evidence that the Apache prayed before battle, in the absence of specific Apache prayers, we close this episode with the following from Psalm 27.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.