Theology and History

I recently watched a portion of acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns' new documentary on the American Revolution. I have to admit however that I approach it with a great deal of trepidation. Why? Because, in short, I'm not sure if I'm being lied to.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that much of what is said is historically accurate and factual. But can I trust the bias and spin put on things in this very anti-American age that we live in?

And no, I don't worship the ground the founding fathers walked on, but I also believe that, Christian or not, they believed the Bible held the greatest foundation for a nation.

What do I mean by all of this then? Well, let me give another story.

I believe it's fairly common knowledge that ancient Egypt had at least one case of literally erasing their history¹. Why? I suppose because it didn't fit the story the current rulers wanted told.

Bias.

Now before you chalk my skepticism up to conspiracy theories, that's definitely not where I'm coming from. I just understand that human nature is unfortunately sinful. We all know that governments can be and are corrupt through this world, and that people in places of influence can be as well.

But that isn't my point in this article. I'm not here to lay blame to leaders and rulers, but to say that as Christians we need to view history through a Biblical worldview, not whatever current bias we or our era may have. And I believe this can be broken into two guardrails, for the sake of our discussion.

1. History is His story

That is, that God is telling a story, a grand story, of redemption. He raises kings and brings them low. He has determined the boundaries of man and his nations (Acts 17:26). He will accomplish all that He desires to come to pass.

But an awesome aspect of that is that He uses us in that, specifically through the proclamation of the gospel, but in shaping the events of this world as well.

Ultimately, it will all culminate in the return of Christ, and all the events that follow. History has a purpose greater than us and the age in which we live. It's purpose is to tell God's story, and to bring Him glory.

2. History is made up of facts, and facts don't lie. Neither should we.

But we also have to approach history with an unbiased lens. Facts are facts. Jonathan Edwards, one of the greatest preachers post-reformation, whose legacy still stands today, owned slaves. It is a fact. Just because I like what I know of the guy, doesn't mean I can whitewash it. I will link to John Piper's article on this very topic however, and let you decide. But I don't think we can Monday morning quarterback Jonathan Edwards too much.

My point is simply this. As Christians we are truth tellers, and this extends to how we approach history. Theology dictates our view of history.

So, to close, I understand this is a topic that deserves much more than the handful of paragraphs I've written today. But I hope this is food for thought, that the only bias we are allowed when understanding history is a theological one.

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¹ - Even the story of Hatshepsut and the apparent erasure of her name from Egypt is not a sealed and shut case, it could be a nuanced situation. Is that because of bias? I'm not sure, but there are other events in history of rulers attempting to remove or destroy the name of other rulers.