History is the memory of past events and a battleground
where important questions are answered. I was once told by a history prof that "there is no room for
metaphysics in history." I disagree! If the job of a
historian is to do more than simply collect facts but also to make sense of
them then history must enter realm of metaphysics.
History has always been twisted by evil men to justify their actions. Nazi historians wrote thick ‘scholarly’ articles that tried to prove that the Aryan race was the most pure and powerful of all the races and that Christianity actually had its roots in Aryan civilization instead of Semitic. In similar fashion, Mao used a naive western journalist to whitewash the dark history of the Chinese Communist Party and turn the Long March into a nice piece of propaganda. Mussolini drew on the glories of the Roman empire to justify his expansion into Africa. Ahmadinejad denies the holocaust in order to justify his vitriol against the Jews. The Palestinians have woven a very elaborate history of oppression that ignores their own aggression and ignores the massive diplomatic and military failure of their leadership.
There is something remarkable - and all together unnatural - about the history found in the Old Testament. Compare the history of Israel to any other national history and you will immediately notice that theirs is uniquely a history of failure! In the Exodus account alone, Israel is said to have tested God eleven times in the desert. Even the most significant failures of Israel’s greatest kings are preserved in painful detail. Those who wrote and preserved the books that make up the Old Testament did not glory in their past in a way that made them proud.
However, as time went on, some religious groups in Israel began to revise their history to feed their ego's. The Book of Jubilee, written early in the 2nd century massively revised OT history to remove some of the more glaring scandals. It was this kind of historical revisionism that John the Baptist, the most fiery and confrontational prophet to walk the hills of Judea, warned the religious leaders of his day against.
There has recently been some talk of American exceptionalism. Gingrich referred to it in his victory speech in South Carolina in the context of the Federalist Papers, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Ginrich and others are trying to shore up patriotism in the spirit of Reagan but from what I have seen and heard (admittedly not that much), they miss what it is that makes any nation special. What is the point in saying, "We have John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson as our father!" and make no mention of Christ? America needs another John the Baptist but he would probably lose his head to a dancing girl.
The only thing that makes a nation exceptional is the degree to which it experiences and reflects the grace of God. The only healthy kind of patriotism is the kind that results in deep humility and gratitude to God - everything else is hubris. Together with Israel we must "look upon him whom we have pierced."
History has always been twisted by evil men to justify their actions. Nazi historians wrote thick ‘scholarly’ articles that tried to prove that the Aryan race was the most pure and powerful of all the races and that Christianity actually had its roots in Aryan civilization instead of Semitic. In similar fashion, Mao used a naive western journalist to whitewash the dark history of the Chinese Communist Party and turn the Long March into a nice piece of propaganda. Mussolini drew on the glories of the Roman empire to justify his expansion into Africa. Ahmadinejad denies the holocaust in order to justify his vitriol against the Jews. The Palestinians have woven a very elaborate history of oppression that ignores their own aggression and ignores the massive diplomatic and military failure of their leadership.
There is something remarkable - and all together unnatural - about the history found in the Old Testament. Compare the history of Israel to any other national history and you will immediately notice that theirs is uniquely a history of failure! In the Exodus account alone, Israel is said to have tested God eleven times in the desert. Even the most significant failures of Israel’s greatest kings are preserved in painful detail. Those who wrote and preserved the books that make up the Old Testament did not glory in their past in a way that made them proud.
However, as time went on, some religious groups in Israel began to revise their history to feed their ego's. The Book of Jubilee, written early in the 2nd century massively revised OT history to remove some of the more glaring scandals. It was this kind of historical revisionism that John the Baptist, the most fiery and confrontational prophet to walk the hills of Judea, warned the religious leaders of his day against.
"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. Matthew 3:7-9
There has recently been some talk of American exceptionalism. Gingrich referred to it in his victory speech in South Carolina in the context of the Federalist Papers, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Ginrich and others are trying to shore up patriotism in the spirit of Reagan but from what I have seen and heard (admittedly not that much), they miss what it is that makes any nation special. What is the point in saying, "We have John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson as our father!" and make no mention of Christ? America needs another John the Baptist but he would probably lose his head to a dancing girl.
The only thing that makes a nation exceptional is the degree to which it experiences and reflects the grace of God. The only healthy kind of patriotism is the kind that results in deep humility and gratitude to God - everything else is hubris. Together with Israel we must "look upon him whom we have pierced."
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