Chronological History

Sometimes we speak of world history as though it belongs to people. It doesn't—it belongs to God, and though people play prominently within the historical narrative, it always remains under God's auspices and control. The problem with losing the right perspective isn't that we'll get the facts wrong, it's that we'll fail to understand what they mean, what the purpose of past events is, and what we can look forward to.

Human history began all at once in the same place: the Garden of Eden, where God made Adam and Eve as the crown of all Creation. He told them to fill the earth and take dominion of it, and He also told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They ate the fruit anyway, and mankind was removed from paradise and introduced to tension, pain, and resistance.

The story of the world is in many ways simply the story of adversity. For the enemies of God, it's adversity in the form of the failure and futility of purely human endeavor; for God's people, it's the story of fighting for the truth against secular philosophies, fighting for holiness despite the pervasiveness of sin, and fighting for the Gospel in the face of persecution and death.

Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the Prince of Peace, the defeater of Death, and the King of the Universe, the saver of souls and the punisher of wickedness. His kingdom is the restoration and glorious fulfillment of the paradise from which Adam and Eve were removed, and we work, wait, hope and pray for the quick fulfillment of His will in all things.

This is our framework for history. While it's important to study things like the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the ancient Near East, it's only important when investigated through the lens of God's ultimate sovereignty and plan. The story of mankind is the story of redemption, and only when we analyze battles, kings, treaties, and catastrophes from God's perspective can we truly make sense of them.

Otherwise, it's all fairly irrelevant and useless. Sure, there's Napoleon's dictum that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, but a quick survey of the past will show that each successive generation does repeat the sins of their fathers, and that without Christ's real physical life on Earth as a centering point, there's no real cause for optimism or hope of any kind.

Christ's love not only makes the trajectory of history cause for hope; it reveals the truly great moments of the past, events that to the secular eye seem insignificant or even pernicious. We're speaking of the progress of the true Church, of course, and of each soul that God calls and makes His own through the agency of His Holy Spirit. These are the milestones we look for and celebrate.

We carry a lot of world history products. Because it's the story of God's work in the world and our human responses, we believe it's important to know and understand. Not everything we carry is Christian; there are plenty of secular resources here. We encourage you to use whichever ones work best for your situation, but that you do so with a view to understanding the will and work of the One who made history in the first place.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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148 Items found Print
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
by Carl Sandburg
from Graphia
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Abigail Adams
by Natalie S. Bober
from Simon Pulse
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
Abraham Lincoln
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Against the World
by Henry Coray
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Alexander the Great
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
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$12.00
Along Came Galileo
by Jeanne Bendick
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$12.95
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
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$14.95
Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
from Purple House Press
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$10.99
Artist of the Reformation
by Joyce McPherson
from Greenleaf Press
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$12.95
Augustine
by P. de Zeeuw
from Inheritance Publications
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.95
Augustine Came to Kent
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Barbara Willard
from Bethlehem Books
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in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Bard of Avon
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
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$7.99
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Benjamin Franklin
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
by Marguerite Henry & Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99
Bible Smuggler
by Louise Vernon
from Herald Press
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$10.99
Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
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$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Boy on the Wooden Box
by Leon Leyson
Reprint from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
Christopher Award
in Holocaust (Location: HISW-20WW2H)
$9.99
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
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$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
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$17.95
Candy Bomber
by Michael O. Tunnell
from Charlesbridge
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in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$9.95
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Chasing Space for Young Readers
by Leland Melvin
from Amistad Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$7.99
Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
by Bennie Rhodes
from Mott Media
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in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Clara Barton
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Courage to Run
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$8.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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Daniel Boone
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
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in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Davy Crockett
by David Crockett
from Applewood Books
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Davy Crockett
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Did It Take Creativity to Find Relativity, Albert Einstein?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin & Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
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Did You Invent The Phone All Alone, Alexander Graham Bell?
by Gilda Berger, Melvin Berger
from Scholastic Inc.
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$4.99
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Discovery of the Americas
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$9.99
Douglas MacArthur
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Duke Ellington
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1999 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Elisabeth Elliot
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
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in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Encounter
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Voyager Paperbacks
for 1st-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$8.99
Ernest Shackleton
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
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in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Explorers News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
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in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.99 $4.50 (4 in stock)
Fine Print
by Joann Burch
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Forty-Acre Swindle
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Francis Asbury
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biographies for 4th-7th grade
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$11.99
Francis Scott Key
Sowers Series
by David Collins
from Mott Media
for 5th-7th grade
in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW)
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Frederick Douglass: The Right to Dignity
from Emerald Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Freedom Walkers
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
2007 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) (Location: HISA-20CIV)
$14.99
Freedom's Pen
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
New Edition from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99
Galileo for Kids
by Richard Panchyk
from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$18.95 $12.00 (2 in stock)
George vs. George
by Rosalyn Schanzer
Reprint from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$6.95
George Washington
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
George Washington
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
George Washington
by Cheryl Harness
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Gettysburg Address in Translation
by Kay M., Olson
from Capstone Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$7.95
Go Free or Die
by Jeri Ferris
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Hallelujah Lass
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
New Edition from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Daughters of the Faith (Location: SER-DAU)
$7.99
Hannibal
by Robert Green
from Grolier Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.95
Harriet Tubman
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Heart Strangely Warmed
by Louise A. Vernon
from Herald Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Henry VIII
by Richard Brassey
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.95
Hidden Figures: Young Reader's Edition
from Harper
for 3rd-6th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$9.99
History of US Book 7
History of US Book 7
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
in History of US (Location: HISA-HAKIM)
$15.95 $11.00 (2 in stock)
Isobel Kuhn
by Geoff Benge, Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Jed Smith
by Frank Latham
from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.50 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Joan of Arc
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Joan of Arc
by M. Boutet De Monvel
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.95
John Flynn
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Journey and Ordeal of Cabeza de Vaca
Dover editions
by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$10.95
Julius Caesar
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography
by William Anderson
from HarperTrophy
for 4th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from University of Minnesota
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley
from HarperCollins
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1997 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
by Mildred R. Taylor
Reissue from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Life and Death of Adolf Hitler
by James Cross Giblin
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
2003 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99
Life of Washington
by Josephine Pollard
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
Listen for the Whippoorwill
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
Lost City
by Ted Lewin
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Latin America (Location: HISMC-LAT)
$8.99
Lost Names
by Richard E. Kim
2nd edition from University of California Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.95
Louis Braille
by Margaret Davidson
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Luther the Leader
by Virgil Robinson
from A. B. Publishing, Inc.
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95 $4.00 (4 in stock)
Make Way for Sam Houston
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
Making It Go: The Life and Work of Robert Fulton
by Don Herweck
from Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00
Man Who Laid the Egg
by Louise Vernon
from Herald Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Marco Polo for Kids
by Janis Herbert
from Chicago Review Press
Biography/Activity Book for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$17.95
Marie Curie's Search for Radium
by Beverley Birch
from Barron's
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Meriwether Lewis
Heroes of History
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from Emerald Books
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Heroes of History (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Michael Faraday
by Charles Ludwig
from Herald Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Mildred Cable
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Morning Star of the Reformation
by Andy Thomson
from CreateSpace
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Nero
Makers of History
by Jacob Abbott
from Canon Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00
Norman Grubb
by Janet & Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
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