An article in the New York Times from August 2015 announced that the Democratic party in Iowa just voted to change the name of its famous dinner, the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. The criticism of the two former presidents revolves around the fact they owned slaves, not to mention Andrew Jackson’s bloody purge of the Native Americans that led to the infamous Trail of Tears.
Dr. Andy McGuire is the party’s chairwoman in Iowa and she stated: “The vote today [to change the name] confirms that our party believes it is important to change the name of the dinner to align with the values of our modern-day Democratic Party: inclusiveness, diversity and equality.”
At the time of the New York Times piece, parties in Georgia, Connecticut and Missouri had also changed their names with changes pending in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Arkansas, Maine and Tennessee.
In a separate but related story, three months later cnn.com reported that students at Princeton University are demanding the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs change its name. The piece was written by a professor, Julian Zeitzer. Wilson, as historians recognize, was the initial mouthpiece for progressivism in the United States.
Yet, Wilson was also famously racist. The aforementioned New York Times wrote an editorial supporting the renaming, leading strength and prestige to the movement. Yet, the forces working to prevent the decision is equally strong. What happens when institutions try to rewrite history by jettisoning all connections with the past? Where does it end? After all, our capital is named after George Washington, who own slaves. Shall we rename the nation’s capital?
Man gives names to show ownership, as when we name our pets. Practically all of our pets have been named by Jewell: Little Bits, Nick, Ginger and Dusty. Ana got to name her own cat (I think): Black Beauty.
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Man gives names, or assumes names, to give honor. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year: “You’re Not a Real Alabama Fan Unless Your Baby’s Name is Saban.” At least 20 babies have been named after the famous football coach since he arrived on campus in 2007. I guess if you want strangers to name their babies after you, win some (several) national championships.
Many people are named after famous people or even their own family members. Jewell Marie is named after both grandmothers. We do this to honor these people: their memory, their influence over our lives, their impact on society or the church, for example. My younger brother (Timothy James) and I (Paul Mark) are both named after great men of the New Testament.
We also have this long established practice of women assuming the family names of their husbands. That is not a biblical precedent; it is created by man. But it does reflect biblical teaching that the husband is the head of the wife. Thus, the woman assumes the family name of the man. Of course, in recent years it has become fashionable for some women to hyphenate their name with the husband’s name or to keep their own name for professional (?) reasons.
Be all that as it may, I’m leading up to a discussion on the question: “Does it matter what the church of Jesus Christ calls itself?”
–Paul Holland
