By Andy Hale

Since George Floyd’s death in May, dozens of Confederate monuments and statues have been removed across the South. 

Despite the momentum to have these visages banished, nearly 44% of Americans believe that they should remain in place (Morning Consult/Politico). 

I’m sure you have had or witnessed a lively debate with someone who falls into the 44%. 

There is a reason that so many Americans, especially in the South, are so unmoving of their ardent defense of the Confederate statues, monuments, and the flag. You see, when you have believed a lie for so long, it is hard to convince yourself that it is not valid. And these statues, monuments, and flags are emboldening icons of these lies. 

“In many ways, the firestorms surrounding race, slavery, prisoner treatment, or Lee’s legacy centered on how white Southerners wanted to remember and be remembered,” said Christopher Moore on the CBF Podcast. Dr. Moore is author of Apostle of the Lost Cause: J. William Jones, Baptists, and the Development of Confederate Memory.

We sat down with the church historian to track the history and work of Southern Baptist leader J. William Jones, his influence of the post-Civil War South, and the formation of the lie propagated to this day about the Southern Cause. 

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Andy Hale created and hosts the podcast of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Hale is the senior pastor of University Baptist Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following eight years as the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Clayton and five years as CBF’s church start specialist. Follow on Twitter @haleandy