Telling Our History: How to Do It & Why It Matters

Eugene Grant says, "History is written by those who write it."  Now this is dripping with cynicism but still has a large element of truth in it.  Those who write history shape the perception of reality for generations to come.  For the Christian, the truth of written history matters even more deeply because we worship the God of truth and the Scriptures we have received as the Word of God are largely written history.

Written histories of Christianity tend to fall into one of two categories: scathing condemnation or idealized celebration.  Either unbelievers like Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens are busy trying to convince everyone that Christianity is a plague upon mankind and ought to be destroyed or else Christian writers are writing books that gloss over the ugly chapters in church history and portray every major Christian figure as a spotless shining figure of righteousness. 

The Bible does neither.  So, neither should we.

The Bible is unique among ancient histories in that it does not gloss over the major failings of its heroes.  From Noah getting drunk in his tent after the flood to Peter being racist toward Gentile believers in Antioch, the Bible presents the men and women in its pages as just that- men and women, not angels in shining splendor. 

Consider: Two of the greatest heroes of the Old Testament were murderers (Moses and David).  The third greatest hero was a lying coward, who twice passed off his wife as his sister to avoid conflict (Abraham).  Peter denied Christ.  Jonah ran away.  Paul was a violent persecutor of the church.  Aaron and Miriam grumbled against Moses' leadership.  Two of the best kings in Judah's history were brought down by foolish pride- Hezekiah showing his treasuries to Babylon and Josiah running off to battle when God told him not to.  Solomon's polygamy led to idolatry and eventually to Civil War.

Why does the Bible show us the flaws and failings of these great men of faith?  Simply put, because they are NOT the heroes of the story, God is.

Yet the Bible doesn't just focus on failings either.  We can see how God's people were salt and light in their world, how they influenced their cultures for good and stood boldly for God and His truth.  Daniel was the best advisor for three empires.  Joseph helped save people from famine and helped advance the Kingdom of Egypt.  Esther had the courage to speak up for her people and save them from genocide.  Peter obeyed God and shared the Gospel with Cornelius, a Gentile Centurian.  Because God was at work, great things were accomplished, even through frail and sinful men and women.

That's the model for how we ought to be telling our history.  The heroes of the faith we celebrate in our church history were not perfect.  They were real people, full of frailty and failure.  Church history is also replete with people who have done horrible things in the name of Christ and His kingdom.  Their actions did not honor Christ or serve to advance His kingdom, but they are part of our history that we need to own and not try to cover up.

The ugly truths:
1.  When Christians conquered Jerusalem in 1099, they killed every Muslim in the city, including women and children.
2.  When the last Muslim forces had been expelled from Spain, the Catholic Church began an Inquisition which brutally tortured and killed all non-Catholics (Protestants, Jews and Muslims alike).
3.  Christians did violently persecute Jews in Europe for centuries.
4.  Christopher Columbus came to the New World in the name of Christ and he exploited and deceived the native populations for financial gain.
5.  Christians in the American South held blacks as chattel slaves for 250 years and then systematically denied them basic civil rights for another 100 years.
6.  Wars of Religion traumatized Europe for 200 years, leading to the deaths of millions.
7.  When genocide broke out in Rwanda in 1994, pastors and churches did not stop the killing.  In many cases, they participated and slaughtered thousands.

Sadly, this list could go on and on.

Now, most of these ugly truths can be attributed to the unholy union of Church and State, to Christans who forgot Christ's words: "My kingdom is not of this world.  If it were, my followers would fight."(John 18:36)  From the time of Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 AD to the establishment of religious freedom and the separation of church and state in the American colonies in the 1640's, church history is deeply marred by an unbiblical understanding of the relationship between the civil authorities who wield the sword and the church, who is to wield the Word of God and NOT the sword.  In other words, all of this ugliness above was committed by Christians in the name of Christ but in direct violation of God's Word and the example of Christ, who always resisted being made an earthly king.

Despite the disobedience of God's people and the bloody history of the church in this world, God has still accomplished great things through His people.  He is still the Hero of the story and the story is still filled with redemption, grace and hope.

The glorious truths:

1. Early Christians rescued babies from being exposed and adopted them into their homes.  They also later led the campaigns to end the brutal killings in the Collsieum gladiator games. 
2. When William Carey went to India, he confronted the Hindu practice of burning widows alive on their husband's funeral pyres.
3. Florence Nightingale launched the modern nursing profession during the Crimean War out of a deep sense of God's calling on her life to care for the wounded in battle.
4. Gladys Aylward was a missionary to China who confronted the brutal Chinese practice of foot-binding and who saved many children from the destruction of war at great risk to her own life.
5. When John Paton brought the Gospel to the New Hebrides, it ended centuries of cannibalism.
6. When Elisabeth Elliot brought Christ to the Huaorani, the very tribe that had killed her husband, it ended generations of revenge killings.
7. When Patrick brought the Gospel to the Irish, it ended centuries of human sacrifice and tribal warfare.
8. Slavery was a nearly universal phenomenon in the history of the world before William Wilberforce ended slavery in the British Empire, supported by massive numbers of Christians.
9. Frederick Douglas and Harriet Beecher Stowe led the campaign against slavery in America.
10. David Livinsgtone exposed the Muslim slave trade in Africa and was instrumental in bringing about its end.
11. Martin Luther King appealed to Scripture for the moral authority behind his civil rights campaigns.
12. Christians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer resisted Hitler while countless brave Christian families like Corrie ten Boom's sheltered Jews from the Nazis at the risk of their own lives.
13. Christians in Massachusetts established the first free, universal public schools to educate children so they could read the Bible.  During this time, Massachussets achieved a remarkable 99% literacy rate, the highest in the history of the world.
14. Right now, the Gospel is bringing reconciliation and forgiveness in Rwanda. 
15. In cities across our country and around the world, Christians are actively serving the poor and healing the sick in large numbers.  The Salvation Army, WorldVision and Catholic Charities are among the largest and most effective charities in the world serving the poor and relieving suffering.  

We could go on and on with this list, too.  Despite the failings of His people, God has still been at work, bringing life and grace to the world through His church.  Christianity has been the greatest influence for good in the history of the world, though it has at many times utterly failed to live up to its calling and has instead been a brutal force for evil.  In telling our own history, we need to be honest enough to tell both sides.  Why?  It's very simple: God is most glorified when we tell the truth, the full truth.  When we do, our failings only highlight His surpassing goodness!