Friday Notes: On History

"In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God."

~John 1:1~

The opening lines to John's Gospel, in pointing to Christ's eternal presence with God and as part of the Triune Godhead, also provides an illuminating perspective on history.  The Christian faith, the Biblical record, and the Triune God of which it speaks is a faith, a record, and deity that place a tremendous importance on history.  Weaved throughout Scripture and God's interaction of the world are two fundamentals: that history on this earth began at some specific point in time and that history is leading to some point in time - the culmination of all things.  There is a teleology to the Biblical narrative and Christian faith - that is, a direction of movement - that profoundly affects both how Christians should study history, as well as a deep importance Christians ought to place on the study of history (the "why?" of the study of history).

Before I go further, let me explain why this is the train of thought that has been on my mind recently and how it is important to where I am in my life.  One, it's important as I wrestle to understand the eternal significance of my vocational choice - the research, writing and teaching of history.  Second, it's important as I work out how my faith applies to that vocation.  In other words, as we all should be asking, I need to constantly be asking, "How does my faith, which is more important than my vocation, shape my vocation?"  Often times, it seems these two issues are either (a) separated in our practical lives or (b) "created equal" , as it were.  Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.  What we believe, which is foundational to the way we understand ourselves, others, our relationship to those others, and the world around us, shapes how we go about our work.  While our work, in turn, forces us to reevaluate and deepen our beliefs, fundamentally our work flows out of our worldview, not our worldview out of our work.

Part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Ancient manuscripts with a history of
set in time past, both discovered and found in specific locations
and evidence of historical actors and actions. The history of these
scrolls is foundational to understanding their importance.

Returning then, to the practice of history and Christian faith.  Central to the Christian faith is: (1) the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (his Incarnation), (2) the written Word (i.e. the Bible) and (3) the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer in opening their eyes to the significance of Christ's atoning work (the Gospel) and the truth of the Word (the Holy Spirit as Teacher).  History plays a significant role in all of these.  As a result, history is both central to our faith and, thus, our "practice" (whether lay or scholarly) of how we understand this history is vitally important.

The reality and importance of history is at the heart of the Incarnation.  The affirmation of Old Testament prophecies of Christ's coming declare actions in the past, prior to his arrival - but looking forward towards his arrival.  In the same way, the Christian belief that God sent his Son in His timing is indicative of a God who believes that certain points in time - in which things have proceeded and others will follow - play a significant role in shaping the present and preparing for the future.  Christ was not sent at the flip of a coin and did not arrive at a different time, say during the activities of Alexander the Great.  Rather, Christ came at a time in the Roman Empire when the Gospel message could disseminate quickly, when Pontius Pilate and Herod were leaders in Judea.  Luke, the Doctor, opens his Gospel by setting the historical stage: "In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zachariah" (Luke 1:5).  Jesus took on the form of a man, was born, lived and died in God's timing.  To borrow a phrase from Paul's epistles, it happened in God's "proper time".  And Christ will return at a specific day and hour - a day and hour Jesus says only the Father knows. The Incarnation - Christ's life, death and the future hope of his return - is central to our faith and exists within a specific and linear concept of history.

Correct understandings of history, the remembering of history and the importance of history are stressed throughout Scripture, not just in the life of Christ.  The presence of the Bible's historical books are evidence of the importance the Hebrews placed on their own history. The stories of David, Samson, Ruth, Esther - these are declared as actual events that can be known and have been written down.  The prophets frequently refer to things which have happened, things which are happening and prophecies of those things which will happen.  The Bible also models the practice of historical writing.  Kings and Chronicles share similar stories, but with the narrative's shaped and details chosen to fit their specific purpose.  A historians limitations of knowledge, space and purpose of their writing continue to require these same editorial choices.  The Bible is also full of detailed and flawed figures - from all walks of life.  From the stories of kings to the story of two widows (Naomi and Ruth) and a businessman (Boaz) with which one of them falls in love.  This is significant - not because it tells the story of either the great or the "history from below" - but because it tells the history of individuals created by God in God's image.  Scripture affirms the historical significance of every life - something practicing historians continually wrestle with and seem to swing from one extreme to the other (biographies of great men vs. history of those who have no voice).  Rather, history indicates that the history of the rich individual, the poor individual, a group of people,  of men, of women, of politicians, of religious men, of thinkers, etc. are all important.  Contrary to some critiques, Scripture provides significant modeling to aid the actual practice of historical research and writing.

And lastly, the work of the Holy Spirit is of historical significance.  Whether in the Old Testament or New Testament, God's people are frequently called to "remember".  To remember what God had done (e.g. the crossing of the Jericho), to remember what they have learned (e.g. Paul's call to not forget what the believers were first taught), and too, in the way that Paul looks back to his Damascus Road experience, to remember that time when our eyes, heart and mind were opened to the reality of the Gospel.  Our Christian life is one framed within history. When we remember the depraved lives we lived before Christ, we remember our history.  When we remember what Christ has done in our life, we remember both our history before him and the history since accepting his atoning sacrifice, and in doing so, we compare two different periods of our history. An active of historical practice.

It's important to realize that at the heart of Christianity is the importance of history.  The affirmation that the Incarnation is a historical reality and occurrence.  The importance of history in the Biblical record.  And the importance of history in our own lives, in light of what the Holy Spirit has done in us and taught us.  

In closing, because history is so vital to our faith, how we understand, approach and understand the "realness" of history impacts our trust in Christ's atoning work, how we go about understanding studying Scripture (that there is a "then/there" in order to apply it to the "here/now" and that we can coe to understand this with a degree of accuracy) and how we understand the Spirit's sanctifying work in our lives.  Because of these things - recognizing this is a brief and quick overview - the study and practice of history is central to our lives as believers and rigorous and solid teaching about history and the skills of historical practice are absolutely essential to the believer's life and to their education.  We are a people of history and Christians ought to be leading the way in the practice and writing of history and Christian universities ought to be declaring to the world the centrality and essential need for the right practice and understanding of history.  History exists outside of ourselves - it points to a firm, knowable reality that is not ego-centric.  This, and so much more, is the response that a Christian perspective of history gives to a world of deconstructionism, postmodernism an doubt (a discussion to follow in a future "Friday Notes").