Cedars, November 2019

November 2019 3 How do we biblically understand depression? Breanna Beers Campus News Editor According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 13.1% of young adults ages 18-25 experienced depression in 2017. That’s 549 out of Cedarville University’s undergraduate enrollment of 4,193. That’s four out of your hall of 32. That’s more than one in every eight people you know. Depression doesn’t always look like we expect it to. First, many who are constantly being crushed under the weight of mental illness maintain a mask in front of others. Second, depression is an internal experience not necessarily attributable to external circumstances, though it can sometimes be triggered by grief or stress. Third, depression rarely has a simple fix; some people may battle mental illness off and on for their entire lives. Healing may look less like a cure and more like management — recognizing and responding to the experience rather than permanently eliminating it. Like many afflictions, mental illness can have a spiritual component. However, overcoming depression is rarely a matter of simply trying harder. Treating depression as unaddressed sin often leads to alienation and further despair rather than healing and restoration. So what does joy look like for someone being crushed under the weight of depression? And how can we in the body of Christ help these brothers and sisters? That’s what I recently spoke with psychology professor Dr. Kristen DeWitt about on Cedars’ new Ministry Moment podcast. To listen to our conversation go to ReadCedars.com, click the Media tab and choose Podcasts. Just Sayin’ ... Alex Hentschel The Real First Thanksgiving L et’s leap into a heavy subject with a bit of a joke: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? … smallpox. Get it? No? Maybe wait until the end of the column. As we prepare to spend Thanksgiving at home with our fam- ilies this November, many of us can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy about the time-honored American tradition of watching football and eating so much you want to vomit. The historical origins of this holiday are quite important, however, so give this a read before you dig in. American schoolchildren all learn one story that we sometimes even car- ry into our adulthood: The Pilgrims fled Europe in an escape from religious persecution and arrived on Plymouth Rock. There the friendly Native American man Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe taught them how to harvest crops. Then they all shared food together at the first Thanks- giving table in 1621, in a heartwarming tale of forgiveness and love. The real story is not so simplistic or lovely. In fact, American settlers were breaking bread over feasts several years earlier, and this was probably more of a routine celebration. Though the two communities did come together, this simplistic narrative tends to argue that one dinner outweighs years of betrayal, false treaties, and the decimation of a native population. Several years earlier, British slaving crews introduced small- pox to these communities via livestock, killing over 90% of the lo- cal population. The true peace treaty that this feast was supposed to represent had actually been signed seven months prior. It is also speculated that the starving pilgrims raided Native American graves and abandoned storehouses for corn. Why were the store- houses abandoned? Well ... because three years prior, the popula- tion was decimated by smallpox, which is the only reason why the Pilgrims had any room to settle at all. The Wampanoag entered into a compact with the British from a position of weakness with their resources having been decimated but not of their own free will. Interestingly, the Brit- ish were willing to trade items like steel knives for beaver pelts, which Native American tribes typically found close to worth- less. Though some may argue that the Native American tribes and European settlers engaged in a fair territory war, is it really a fair war if one side has bows and arrows and the other has bullets? This Thanksgiving, if you are spending it in Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, you can attend one of two events. You can watch the Plymouth Parade, where people dressed like pilgrims march to Plymouth Rock beating drums. Or you can stand on a location known as Coles Hill with the indigenous people and their allies, fasting in observance of a “national day of mourn- ing” in remembrance of the destruction of Native American cul- ture and peoples. The reality of America is that in many ways, our current tra- ditions are predicated on dark origins. We have to understand the sins committed by our ancestors in things like Native American genocide or the African slave trade necessarily affect our current culture, traditions and institutions. It is not beneficial to erase the past. However, that does not mean we can’t rename or repurpose things like Columbus Day or Thanksgiving. We just have to en- gage with them critically and understand that we are not a nation without a past. I, for one, will be enjoying spending time with my family and telling them how thankful I am for them, while hopefully also en- gaging in meaningful conversation about what it means to be a modern day American. Websclusives @ ReadCedars.com V ideo Men’s exhibition basketball See interviews with Seth Dittmer, Quinton Green and Demond Parker following their games at Ohio State and Dayton. P odcast Mental health discussion Join campus news editor Breanna Beers for discussion about depression psychology professor Dr. Kristen DeWitt. P hoto Hoops season is here Check out Carrie Bergan’s galleries from the men’s exhibition games at Ohio State and Dayton and from Moonlight Madness.