History Is Not Your Therapist

A Story of Triumph

What is history but the unfolding tapestry of Christ’s triumph over the ages? When rightly read, history inspires unshakeable hope, reminding us that the sovereign Lord holds all things together with unmatched authority and grace.

Yet, a danger looms when we peer through the myopic lens of humanism. From this vantage, chaos becomes the protagonist—a tale of entropy masquerading as reason. History, stripped of divine sovereignty, morphs into an anthology of human depravity. Each chapter is steeped in the stains of evil, where man’s tragic works dominate the narrative. If history were no more than the footprints of fallen men, despair would be a logical response—and a bleak future its inevitable sequel.

But history, as God tells it (and His version alone matters), testifies to His absolute control and inexorable triumph. It declares the reign of Christ over all moments, from the grandest epochs to the smallest flickers of time. To miss this divine thread is not merely to misinterpret history—it is to squander its promise. For an erroneous reading of the past damns the future to ruin. Hope, ill-informed, cannot build.

Forgetfulness Is Costly

“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.” – Isaiah 46:9-11

Forgetfulness and lies are eternal allies, united by their mutual absence of truth. Men would do well to repent of both, for such repentance unlocks the treasures of freedom, joy, and prosperity. History’s steady refrain reminds us that Israel’s frequent judgments were bound to its forgetfulness of God’s truth—a theme as perennial as the weeds of human pride. Empires, too, fell into ruin the moment they forgot the foundations of their glory, trading humility for conceit.

History is no friend to forgetful nations, nor are God’s enemies as clever as they might wish to appear. They trade in repetition, cloaking old tricks in new guises. Yet history, in its steadfast unfolding, reveals what they cannot conceal: the immutability of God, the frailty of man, and the rise and fall of civilizations built on either truth or illusion. Prosperity has always rested on the pursuit of truth and knowledge; conversely, pride, lies, forgetfulness, and licentiousness have laid countless empires low.

In the mid-19th century, Abraham Lincoln delivered a somber admonition against forgetfulness. Instituting a national day of prayer and fasting, he warned of the peril of forgetting God’s mercies. His proclamation rings no less true today: no nation can endure a collective amnesia of its divine heritage. Deuteronomy 28 leaves no ambiguity—blessings accompany remembrance of God; curses shadow those who forget Him.

“We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God…” – Proclamation for a National Day of Fasting, Humiliation & Prayer, April 30, 1863

Truth is the Christian’s solemn trade, and its preservation is the lifeblood of history. Through the meticulous remembrance of the past, we awaken to the story we inhabit—a narrative that anchors education, illuminates reality as perceived by God, and charts the trajectory of His sovereign plan. History is not merely the study of what has been; it is the reverent acknowledgment of truth woven into time. It recounts God’s sovereignty and safeguards the knowledge of His providence for generations to come.

History in the Cutting Room

Modernity and history are irreconcilable foes, like a wayward son determined to deny his parentage. Modernity aims to sever ties with the past, laboring to "liberate" itself from tradition under the progressive creed that demonizes Christian foundations and idolizes novelty.

Enter postmodernism—the prodigal child of modernity. This radical philosophy scorns both revelation and reason, insisting that objective truth does not exist. Postmodernism dismisses “metanarratives” (grand, all-encompassing stories like Christianity) as oppressive relics. French postmodern philosopher Jean-François Lyotard articulated this rebellion, summarizing postmodernism as “incredulity toward metanarratives.” History, according to this view, dissolves into a mere collection of personal stories, ripe for editing and manipulation to serve one’s present desires. Any overarching story—including the narrative of God’s redemptive plan—is not only obsolete but an affront to self-invented autonomy.

Bitter Roots, Barren Fields

A skewed version of history that nurtures bitterness cannot serve as a foundation for a future marked by promise and prosperity. Such accounts are often godless, built on sand rather than stone, and blind man to the visible fingerprints of God’s providence. Without this recognition, faith, hope, and love wither, leaving a barren cultural landscape.

Truthful history has identifiable hallmarks: it liberates and it bears fruit. A right reading of history inspires liberty and cultivates flourishing, while a distorted reading shackles man to his basest impulses—his fears, grievances, and outrage.

Absalom’s Orphans: Wounds of the Fatherless

In a world allergic to truth, where can it be found? When lies are the currency of the day, who is trustworthy? Amid the deliberate dismantling of men, nations, and religion, what can be done?

Those choking on the toxins of postmodernism wander in confusion, vulnerable to the allure of false kings. These self-styled monarchs weave histories that sound profound but are only digestible to the gullible—and their numbers are legion. They promise clarity but leave their followers bitter. They sell a sense of belonging, yet cultivate isolation. They rally armies against common enemies but rarely concern themselves with construction after the destruction.

Joy is anathema to these disciples of despair. Their lives are marked by agitation and defined by bitterness. Their Darwinian lust for power blinds them to the Imago Dei in both themselves and their adversaries. They inherit wounds from absentee fathers and treat them with cheap, numbing rhetoric, avoiding the surgery required for true healing. Rejecting authority, they sever ties with wisdom and guidance, letting their historical vision shrink to little more than a sneer directed at the Baby Boomers, the generation they love to loathe.

Like their archetypal captain, Absalom, these false kings are masters of persuasion, stealing hearts with honeyed words that promise freedom but deliver only shackles. Eloquence replaces substance. Envy supplants grace. Their rebellion ultimately enslaves them, leaving them as orphans of their own making.

When Lies Look Like Liberation

Those ensnared by such delusions are, more often than not, casualties of miseducation. They were never taught history as a discipline, nor equipped with the tools necessary to discern it. Upon realizing they’ve been deceived, their instinct is to grasp for knowledge—something, anything—that promises to shield them from future lies. Tragically, their deficient education renders them easy prey for any narrative that deviates from what they once believed, especially if it provides ample space for their anger and outrage to fester.

What they imagine to be history is no more than an intricately spun propaganda, carefully curated to inflame rather than illuminate. It offers neither liberation nor clarity, only the hollow satisfaction of rehearsing grievances without resolution. There is no peace at the end of such a tale—only endless outrage masquerading as wisdom.

Not Just Dates

The antidote to the confusion of miseducation, by the mercy of God, is a good education—specifically, a Christian Liberal Arts education. In this tradition, history is not a sterile collection of dates and facts but an integrated thread woven through a broader tapestry of disciplines like philosophy, language, and poetry. To learn history is not to memorize isolated facts, but to gain a contextual understanding of theology, cosmology, anthropology—and every fascinating field that lies in between.

A true education aims not only to teach knowledge but to instill Christian virtue and cultivate a posture of lifelong learning. Its purpose is to shape free men and women who can think deeply, love wisely, and live joyfully. History is the bedrock upon which greatness can be founded. It is the fabric through which great civilizations are woven. Christians, armed with an understanding of history's riches, can rise as leaders of men and builders of enduring cultures.

History is Hopeful

This hope becomes eroded when history is depicted as a canvas splattered with divine failures. If all we see is darkness, the future appears grim, and if we are fixated only on the machinations of devils, it becomes difficult to believe in the mighty hand of God. History, rightly read, can rouse many from this madness—the dark art of Wormwood—by unveiling God's providential mastery over the ages.

God was sovereign when sin and death entered the world, winning that moment. When the world sank beneath the floodwaters of judgment, God was sovereign, securing the victory. When the empires of Babylon, Assyria, Greece, and Rome were on the rise, God was sovereign, prevailing over that moment. When the Son of God bowed His head on the cross, surrendering His spirit, God was sovereign, conquering that moment. When the early church faced brutal persecution and martyrdom, God was sovereign, victorious in those moments.  When Islam sought to spread its reach, God was sovereign, overcoming that moment. When the Dark Ages were marred by heresy and apostasy, God was sovereign, triumphing through that time. When Popes, councils, kings, and emperors sought to extinguish the Reformation’s flame, God was sovereign, securing the victory. When the Enlightenment fostered religious skepticism and heralded the rise of secular humanism, God remained sovereign, winning against that tide. When Marxism and Communism threatened the world’s future, God was sovereign, defeating those ideologies. Today, as leftism, globalism, and statism attempt to establish their “new world order,” God is sovereign, prevailing even now. And as the future unfolds, God will remain sovereign, prevailing over every moment yet to come.

For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. -Acts 4:27-28

Fear Has No Future

A pessimistic outlook stifles growth and intellectual engagement. The fearful cower before the unknown, unable to draw upon the richness of truth offered by history. Through the study of history, men are given the opportunity to trace the hand of the Sovereign who wields control over the entire cosmos. Although many seek to make the "doom of the earth" into a form of religiously sanctified fatalism, such an outlook is in direct contradiction to the Bible. It denies the promises of Scripture and the sovereignty of God, discounting truths that highlight Christ’s victorious omnipotence (Ps 115:3), His unwavering promises (Rom 8:28), and His mandates for His people to act in confidence and hope (Matt 28:19). In simple terms, history should instill in us an enduring optimism about the future, for it is ultimately a story of God's faithful provision and ultimate victory.

The pursuit of knowledge and beauty may, in fact, be the defining force that makes some wars worth fighting and the very tools through which triumph is secured.

Against the Cataract

Though we find ourselves in tumultuous times, filled with intense conflict and the unrelenting noise of lies and distractions, it is important to recognize the true nature of the struggle. The culture wars are intensifying, creating palpable tension within society, and many are tempted to retreat into safer spaces, surrendering to despondency. Yet, this retreat might be nothing more than a misplaced response rooted in miseducation and confusion about our place in history.

Reflecting on a time of true global conflict, C.S. Lewis addressed the importance of intellectual and artistic pursuit in times of war. In the wake of the Second World War, he declared, “If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with 'normal life.' Life has never been normal. Even those periods which we think most tranquil, like the nineteenth century, turn out, on closer inspection, to be full of crises, alarms, difficulties, emergencies.” The pursuit of knowledge and beauty may, in fact, be the defining force that makes some wars worth fighting and the very tools through which triumph is secured.

Lewis furthers his point by emphasizing the need for a solid grasp of history to navigate the present and future with clarity and wisdom. He states, “Most of all, perhaps, we need intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village; the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and microphone of his own age.”

By drawing upon the wisdom and lessons of the past, one can develop an immunity to the transient errors of the present moment. History, viewed through the right lens, equips us not only to withstand but to triumph in times of crisis.

History Makers

"Last and not least, they [the Pilgrims] cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least of making some way toward it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work." - Bradford's History of the Plymouth Settlement, 1608-1650

Those who study history are best equipped to forge the future. They learn not only from the triumphs and failures of the past but also from their deeper implications. Understanding that we live under the Lordship of the one who writes history, we recognize our role as active participants—history-makers ourselves. History is not a mere exercise in nostalgia or a hobby of sifting through ancient relics. It is a vital tool for realizing our purpose: to build on what came before us. Whether through wisdom or folly, our actions shape the world around us. Let us read history, then, not simply to recall the past, but to fuel our ambition and live as we were truly meant to live.

Humility and Glory

History humbles us by revealing our true nature: we are more akin to the scoundrels of the past than we'd like to admit. It liberates us from the temptation of self-importance, showing us that we lack the power to wield the pen of providence—the tool that arranges the world with perfect precision and beauty. And yet, the One who authors this vast story graciously invites humanity to participate, granting us a unique role among creatures, with the freedom and potential to shape the world.

To know what role we are to play, we must study the past, drawing virtue from the heroes and avoiding the vices of the villains. The moments of glory in history are but flickers of divine mercy—achievements that humanity could never engineer apart from God's gracious enabling. It is no challenge for our King to use even pagans to fulfill His eternal purposes. He is never flustered by the seeming triumphs of His enemies, nor does He vie for His throne. History, then, should elevate our view of His reign, demonstrating its eternal glory, significance, and the hope it offers. If pagans are subject to His sovereign pen, how much more can be accomplished through His redeemed children?

References

Abraham Lincoln. "Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day." Accessed January 21, 2025. https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/fast.htm.

Bradford, William. History of the Plymouth Settlement, rendered into modern English by Valerian Paget. New York: John McBrick Co., 1909.

Lyotard, Jean-François. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Translated by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984.

Lewis, C.S. "Learning in War-Time." In The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, 1965. Excerpt available at https://www.gw.edu/misc/radio/articles/CSLewis_LearningInWar-Time.pdf.