Sunday Sermons
History - Part 1
History
“Consciously or unconsciously, all of us are concerned with the crucial question of the meaning of history. This is true because convictions about what the past was about and where the future is going, drastically affect, for good or ill, the self-understanding of individuals, nations, and civilizations” (Life’s Ultimate Questions, John P. Newport p.36). Webster says that history is “a systematic written account of events”. There are two basic approaches to writing down the past. One is scientific or technical approach, which involves recording the past accurately and objectively. The other approach is more of a philosophical approach, that is, not only recording the facts, but telling us what these facts mean, an interpretation of the facts, and asking the question, “What were the significance of these events and how do they affect us?”
It is noteworthy that the Bible contains both approaches to human history. On the one hand, the Biblical writers were only interested in “just the facts” (Luke 1:1-4; 2 Peter 1:16). This is especially seen when the Bible records the lives of its “heroes”, sins and all. In addition, the Bible also explains or interprets the meaning of various historical events. It is clear from the biblical perspective that human history is not the exclusive product of chance or blind fate, but rather God is working out His purposes. “The key to all of history is found in the series of events that comes to a climax in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ” (Newport p. 40). “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). Examples of both approaches are found in the example of the Bible mentioning the Persian king Cyrus, who is also mentioned in other documents, yet his role as shepherd of God is known only by divine revelation (Isaiah 44:28). In like manner, Daniel’s four kingdoms are a matter of historical fact, yet their role in the preparation for the Messiah and His kingdom is only known by reading the Bible.
Views of the Meaning of History
The reason we want to investigate these views is because views about history affect all of us, including historians, and such views can affect our goals, behavior and our entire perspective. One example of this is that the German youth in the 1930’s were so willing to die for the Nazi cause because they had become convinced that they were an important part of history, in fact, it was promised that their achievements would determine the course of history for a thousand years.
· The Cyclical View:
The Chinese saw history in terms of the cycle of the rise and fall of dynasties. The Hindus teach that the universe passes through cycles of enormous proportions, with “ages” preceded by a dawn and followed by twilight. Hinduism and Buddhism do not view history as progress, but as deterioration, decay and corruption. The Roman philosopher Seneca accepted the view that human life is periodically destroyed and civilization begins again. He believed that each cycle begins with a golden age of innocence and simplicity, but then the arts, inventions, and later luxuries lead to progressive deterioration and eventual destruction. The Stoics taught that eventually fire would consume the earth, and the entire process of history, with the same characters, would start over again, and that this process would repeat itself many times. All these views lack hope, view history on a downward trend, and have a sense of nostalgia for some past “golden age”. Some argue that this view of history is found in the book of Ecclesiastes, but the truth is that the writer is arguing that such is the only accurate view of history if there is no God, but there is a God, and that changes the entire picture (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4; 12:13-14).
· While human history is not one big cycle that keeps repeating itself, because the Bible clearly teaches that history is headed in a definite direction with a final end (2 Peter 3:10), human history is often filled with smaller cycles that repeat themselves, such as the cycle of apostasy (Judges 2), or each new generation following the same basic paths in the search for meaning and purpose (Ecclesiastes 2).
· Many cultures feel that the purpose of man is to escape from history, yet the Bible teaches that we are to make an impact on history, and in a sense, the lone individual can actually change history (Matthew 5:13-16), particularly, his own history (Ezekiel 18:4ff).
· In addition, the Bible equally emphasizes that while we often see cultures go down the familiar path of decay, no nation has to die and no civilization has to end. Fate does not determine the destiny of nations, but rather how the people in that nation respond to God’s standards determines either their future or end (Jeremiah 18; Jonah 3).Thus we must reject the idea that it is inevitable that the United States will cease to be a nation one day or that it isinevitable that every congregation will one day fall away from the faith.
· The Inevitable Progress View:
This view first appeared in the 17th century and probably is the most popular view in America. It is the concept that history always moves in a straight line, that this line is always in the direction of progress, and with an emphasis on reason, science, and the goodness of man (without any help or direction from God), man is able to guide human history toward greater and greater progress. Hence, people often believe that something is true for the mere reason it is “new”. That is, abortion, homosexual marriage, living-together arrangements, no-fault divorce, and rock bands in churches must all be better, simply because they are the newest thing.
Problems with this View
· This view disconnects one generation from another and actually causes the “generation gap”, because the latest generation perceives the past generation is being behind the times, ignorant, and intellectually and morally inferior. Thus, instead of having pride in one’s forefathers, it actually creates disdain for the past, and especially the authority structures of the past, such as parental authority, biblical authority, the authority of elders, and so on.
· This is one reason why a new generation at times stops serving God. I remember, even as a child, thinking that modern advances in medicine and the standard of living made it where we really did not need to “go to church” any more. I believe a common view in the American suburbs is, “Why do I need God on a daily basis seeing that I have a comfortable home, enough money to pay all the bills, and good retirement and health benefits?”
· This view also causes the latest generation to reject the wisdom and experience of those older (1 Kings 12:6-11).
· This view is often connected with the theory of Evolution; that supposedly as man is evolving, man must be getting smarter in the process.
· One of the main reasons (besides the theory of Evolution) that people latch onto this view is that about the last one hundred years, advances in technology have exploded (from a human perspective). Thus the assumption is, “Since we have better technology, we must be smarter, right?” Yet we are not the first generation to have advances in technology, furthermore such advances are not inherent proof of true wisdom, a better character or higher moral standards, see Genesis 4:16-25. Remember, in the Old Testament, often the “sinners” had the superior technology (1 Samuel 13:19-22).
· The inevitable process view equally misses the point that history is not a straight line towards progress, but many cultures and civilizations have arisen, only to fall (Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, Rome, and so on).
· It equally fails to address the evident lack of progress in the realm of relationships, morals, character, and overcoming sin. In the 20th century we have seen all sorts of progress in technology, yet we have equally seen two World Wars, Communist aggression, genocide, racism, prejudice, a drastic increase in crime, abortion, divorce, child abuse, spouse abuse, drug abuse, pornography, and unheard of crimes, such as school shootings. As Newport notes, “A quick glance at the 20th century gives a quick lie to the idea of inevitable progress. However much outward history may manifest an improvement in outward structure, inner history discloses the same pattern of sinful rebellion. Pride, arrogance, and sensuality still remain” (p. 60). In fact, it could be argued that progress in technology brings with it new ways for evil to spread (for example the abundance of evil on the Internet). Remember, evil grows as well!
The Biblical View
· Progress is not the inevitable result of each new generation (Judges 2:9; 2 Timothy 3:2ff).
· What happens in history often depends upon the free-willed choices of individuals. Fate does not govern nations, and a nation can either choose the narrow way or the broad way, just as individuals can (Matthew 7:13-14; Jeremiah 18).
· The only “straight lines” in history are the goals and purposes that God has planned. That is, one straight line was the coming of the Messiah (Galatians 4:4). Another straight line is the Second Coming and the end of this universe (2 Peter 3:10).
· Jesus told us that we can expect persecution (Acts 14:22; James 1:2).
· We can equally expect false prophets (2 Peter 2:1ff), and apostasy (2 Timothy 4:3).
· As God’s kingdom continues to grow and spread we can also expect the realm of evil to grow and spread(Matthew 13:36-43).
· Most importantly, because there is a living God and this is His world and He does such things as rule in the kingdoms of men (Daniel 5:21), history always will have meaning and purpose, for God’s purposes are always fulfilled (Mark 1:15; Luke 24:44). We will make a contribution to history that is so important that we will be judged on the basis of it (2 Corinthians 5:10). Thus, in God’s view of history, an individual does matter so much that his or her eternal destiny hangs on what they said or did.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
