If there is one complaint I hear the most when I am in a school talking to teens, or with an adult, talking about their school experience it is this:
“I hated history . . . so boring . . . too many facts and dates . . .”
As a college student I studied history, so of course this wounds my boring lovin soul. Like many things, the presenter of such a topic is crucial. Of course if the teacher or professor is a dullard, then the student will have a strong distaste for the material. This plays out in church services across the country weekly. How many young people have been turned from the Gospel because of poor communicators or great communicators with arrogant motives? The message is important, but the mouth piece matters just as much.
As spiritual people, it is important for us to understand that all we do is deeply rooted in history.
The Bible is itself a historical document.
The Gospel is a historic event.
Jesus is a historical figure.
All we do, say, and believe is steeped in history. There is no escaping it.
Whether we realize it or not, we are all historians and are called by our Creator to be engaged with the past for the sake of the future.
More so than ever, proper historical context matters. With the proliferation of false news claims and creation, the Truth is worth digging for. In many ways, the secular has experienced this battle believers have always battled: the battle between what we hold as Truth and what everyone else holds to be True. This would be a perfect spot to recognize the complexity of history. Much of what we hold as “truth” is up for debate or at the very least, covered in nuance. One can not simply boil down historic events in one simple phrase (for example: “the civil war was over slavery”). In this world of soundbites and 140 characters, we must be willing to dig a little deeper for the greater truth.
Even as Christ-followers, we would benefit from doing the same. Much of how the Church functions is not necessarily Biblical. Much of our practice goes back to the tradition of generations removed. An often debated example is the role of women in the Church. While the Bible shows women contributing financially, speaking, and leading the Church during and shortly after Jesus’ ministry, it wasn’t until later that they were severely hampered from leading. Bedrocks of our theology like Augustine, Tertullian, and Luther all contributed to the practical theology we practice today. Yet, all of them said some rather awful things about women and were extremely oppressive in their practice.
It pays to dig deeper for understanding. Truth is still True.
Matt simon blog 