Chapter one starts off with the topic question, “What do Historians Do?”, which John Fea slowly starts to answer for the readers. First, he tells what a historian is and qualities and abilities he or she is required to possess. He explains that a historian must be proficient in bringing stories from the past to life. Some people become easily bored by a history book, however “in the hands of a skillful historian-writer, can be a page-turner” (Fea 5-6). Fea also mentions that an effective historian will not only tell about the event that took place, but that he or she will also review the causes and effects of that event. He or she should lay out the different perspectives of the story in order to avoid a biased presentation of information. …show more content…
Fea lays out a debate about whether providence is involved in history throughout chapter four. As Christians, we look for ways that we can place providence in history and what God’s purposes for past events were. “For centuries Christians have studied the past as a means of explaining the providence of God,” Fea writes, “The purpose of studying the past was to discern the will of God through the ages” (Fea 69). He talks about beliefs that God allowed certain events to occur in order to fit into His plan or that He offered His protection during these times. Fea also refers to Leopold von Ranke and that he “believed that God was at work in human history, and the historian had a responsibility to find the purposes of God in the past” (Fea 70). It would be foolish to think that God has no use or purpose for history, or there wouldn’t be the Holy Bible, the guide to life as a Christian. The Bible is based on history and God’s divine purposes for each event within that time. We read of battles between cultures, persecution, parables, and so much more that all points the history of our biblical ancestors to a much greater purpose than just a knowledgeable lesson about the past. Though it may be searching for answers never to be found by humans, it is undeniable that God has a purpose in all things, including …show more content…
Fea presents the concept that when one is a true historian, there is not an enemy in the past, rather two opposing sides fighting for victory. All humans are important to God and He loves each of them. “That God created us in his image, that we are the highest form of his creation,” Fea writes, “implies that all human beings have inherent dignity” (Fea 85). Therefore, because all people are of value, even the most hated and despised historical figures who have “been tarnished by sin” (Fea 90), are still precious to God. Fea explains that because of our ability to have freewill, humans will make the wrong decisions that are not reflective of who God is, consequently resulting in a broken, unfair, and saddening world, which can be often displayed in the information we learn about both the past and the present. In realizing that there is not a villain, it allows us to take a whole new view of
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
...es are manipulated for his argument. Goldhagen’s controversial and stimulating study encourages research to continue and in 2013 Jewish leaders pressured Pope Francis to open the Vatican archives from 1939-1947. The opening of these archives will instigate more investigations in this field and until these archives are opened the historical record will not be clarified. The importance of these archives illustrates the interesting nature of historical literature. The study of history focuses predominantly around primary materials, however these materials do not provide a definitive depiction of the past. Historians analyze primary sources to deduce an interpretation of the past. The discrepancies between historian’s interpretations form historiographical debate. It would be interesting to examine the extent to which historians are perhaps just academic storytellers.
On July 8th 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in Enfield, Connecticut. Edwards states to his listeners that God does not lack in power, and that people have yet not fallen to destruction because his mercy. God is so forgiving that he gives his people an opportunity to repent and change their ways before it was too late. Edwards urges that the possibility of damnation is immanent. Also that it urgently requires the considerations of the sinner before time runs out. He does not only preach about the ways that make God so omnipotent, but the ways that he is more superior to us. In his sermon, Edwards uses strong, powerful, and influential words to clearly point out his message that we must amend our ways or else destruction invincible. Edwards appeals to the spectators though the various usages of rhetorical devices. This includes diction, imagery, language/tone and syntax. Through the use of these rhetoric devices, Edwards‘s purpose is to remind the speculators that life is given by God and so they must live according to him. This include...
We are not only given the thoughts of the character but are also provided with a
In The Houses of History, many different schools of historical thought are presented and light in shed on what exactly it means to be those different types of historians. Not all historians think the same way or approach history from the same perspective, but some similar groups of thought have converged together and have formed the various types of historians that will be presented, such as empiricists, psychohistorians, oral historians, and gender historians. All of these groups can approach the same event or concept and look at them in an entirely different way simply due to the way the historical approach they are accustomed to views things.
A foundational belief in Christianity is the idea that God is perfectly good. God is unable to do anything evil and all his actions are motives are completely pure. This principle, however, leads to many questions concerning the apparent suffering and wrong-doing that is prevalent in the world that this perfect being created. Where did evil come from? Also, how can evil exist when the only eternal entity is the perfect, sinless, ultimately good God? This question with the principle of God's sovereignty leads to even more difficult problems, including human responsibility and free will. These problems are not limited to our setting, as church fathers and Christian philosophers are the ones who proposed some of the solutions people believe today. As Christianity begins to spread and establish itself across Europe in the centuries after Jesus' resurrection, Augustine and Boethius provide answers, although wordy and complex, to this problem of evil and exactly how humans are responsible in the midst of God's sovereignty and Providence.
Thesis statement: While the ancient Greek historians made great strides in perfecting the writing of history, the Roman historians (and the Greek historian writing Roman history) continued perfecting the art of writing good history.
Quote and story being discussed is clearly identified. Background information is provided to help the reader understand the context of each quote and/or story event.
This exposes the seeker of knowledge to a degree of conformational bias. This would therefore mean that a historian has to be selective and he would do so on the basis of his own perspective. According to historian Barbara Tuchman, “Each man is a package of variables impossible to duplicate. His birth, his parents, his siblings and the variables inherent in all of these, make up that mysterious compendium, personality-which then combines with another set of variables: country, climate, time and historical circumstance.”
History is a story told over time. It is a way of recreating the past so it can be studied in the present and re-interpreted for future generations. Since humans are the sole beneficiaries of history, it is important for us to know what the purpose of history is and how historians include their own perspective concerning historical events. The purpose and perspective of history is vital in order for individuals to realise how it would be almost impossible for us to live out our lives effectively if we had no knowledge of the past. Also, in order to gain a sound knowledge of the past, we have to understand the political, social and cultural aspects of the times we are studying.
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.
Millions of people have gone great lengths to record every part of the past. We may not know much about the future but we have more than enough information about the past. The knowledge about our past has helped us in many ways. Historians, teachers, doctors, students, lawyers and many more have relied on history books and researches on significant events in history to prove their point. The question why history matters has been asked many times. It has been asked by students, teachers and parents sometimes. Some people may see this question as ridiculously easy but I see it as one of the hardest ones yet asked. Does History matter? This question can’t be answered in one sentence. Try asking people why history is important and the answer is usually “It’s to learn from our mistakes”. It’s not right to summarize over 4 billion years of history in one sentence. This question can be easily answered in numerous ways. I would side with the numerous historians who say history holds huge significance. History is older than any object or human being we have ever come across. History has proved itself significance with the help of human beings. We, the people have used history and made it one the most significant thing in present. History holds itself significant because it has helped us understand human behaviors, change in societies, mistakes influential figures have made in past, the past events occurrence and many other reasons. The most important reason is that history protects us by preparing us for the incoming. This essay would analyze the importance of history today by using the past events for evidence.
History is the bridge that connects the past with the present. Without history, we have no future. The past gives value to our present. David C. McCullough stated, “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are”. I agree with McCullough, history gives us a purpose. History allows us to investigate and interpret the past in order to see how we developed and where we came from. We can get an idea of what has influenced our past and present, and also what will shape our future. We can see what previous generations did and whether or not t...
In the same way as knowledge of the past helps to improve computers, it also improves the quality of life for mankind. Knowledge of our past helps us to see how humans react and deal with situations. this allows us to take preventative measures. There was a time when mankind was always at war with each other. Everyone was fighting to take each others land, food, and technology. Since then the United Nations have been created to prevent such types of pointless wars and now there are police which enforce the law and a government in which power lies in the people. There have been many bad times for humans in all parts of the world throughout history. There have been big and small wars with huge death tolls, small battles, famines, depressions, slavery and countless others events which could have been prevented if we had known what the outcome would be. Just as a person learns from their mistakes, knowledge of our history helps us to learn from our mistakes giving us insight into the future. Many events that have happened in our past no longer plague the world today. Slavery used to be prevalent ...
When most people think about history they remember a boring class they took in school a long time ago, they recall memorizing important dates, taking map tests, and falling asleep while listening to a lecture. The truth is that history really is an important subject to be teaching students. History is more than just some lecture you receive in class, history lets us look back, see the good things and the bad things, it allows us to learn from our mistakes and prevent such mistakes from happening in the future. Things that happened in the past are still changing things that are happening today. History is needed for everyone, from government leaders down to individuals; everyone has learned one thing or another from history at some point in their life.