A Summary Of Reflecting Honestly On History

Looking at how the world has evolved from the time of Creation to the 21st century, one is able to see that History has come a long way. The notion of History can be seen in many ways. Some see it as a class simply to take in school desperately trying to pass, others see it as a way to learn from the past, and benefit from it, whereas others see History as just stories to read. In analyzing the article Reflecting Honestly on History by Dr. Clyde P. Greer, Jr., I realized that there are different viewpoints when it comes to History. There is the secular viewpoint which illustrates the facts of Premodern, Modern, and Postmodern History. On the other hand, there is the Christian viewpoint which focuses on Linearity, Faith and History, and God’s

Writers such as Herodotus and Thucydides looked to History as something that had to be chronicled accurately. Thucydides would rigorously check the accuracy of his sources, not even considering any supernatural or divine elements. Greek historians would use logic when it came to investigating all aspects of life. Overall, they had a pessimistic view and saw historical events to come in cycles rather than in a linear progression. However, in the medieval Christian West, historians used more of a linear and providential outlook towards history and saw it as something useful. They believed that History started with God’s creation. The biblical philosophy of History also centers on linearity. Paul described God as sovereign because of his work in linear fashion. Premodern Western belief believed in the truths of God. The difference between Premodern and the Christians’ viewpoint on linearity is that Christians don’t view History as a cycle, but as a chronological event that has occurred since Creation and will end at Christ’s second

The concept of reason and science triggered the motivation to draw away from Scripture. Modern History came up with the idea of Naturalism, which completely denied Scripture and took on the truth found only through science. Deism became the prominent theory, and said that God doesn’t intervene, but was a far-off entity and is never really present. Plus, with the new ideas of Charles Darwin such as natural selection process and evolution, Darwin was able to totally ban the idea of God. The difference between God’s providence throughout History and the Modern History perspective is that one fails to acknowledge the role of an active God, who is constantly present throughout all of life, from today until