History

History CurriculumHistory Resources

As with most things, C.S. Lewis had a unique view of history. For him, the really important bits were the stories—he makes a distinction between actual historical realities and the idealized versions of them handed down which make heroes and villains of mere men and women. It's not that the stories are completely false, but their value is for character-building, not as factual data.

The tales of George Washington's bravery in battle, coolness under pressure, rigorous truthfulness, and unflagging piety may accurately preserve the essence of his temperament and nobility, but not all of them are strictly historical. The point of these stories isn't to impart facts, however, it's to offer an example of goodness for the rest of us to emulate.

Getting the facts right is still important, though. As Christians, we can't afford to have a false understanding of "the old days." Mankind is fallen, and the story of his sojourn on Earth is filled with war, suffering, disease, unfaithfulness, pride and envy; a study of history that omits those elements is both false and useless. False, because it is incomplete, and useless, because it tells us nothing of the human condition or our current situation.

It's a bit of a mystery to us why non-Christians are motivated to study the past. For believers, the end goal isn't just acquisition of facts about events and cultures, it's the instillation of a thoroughly Christian worldview, an understanding of the course of the human endeavour as decreed and guided by God Himself.

The story of Jesus Christ is central. It is the only history story that fulfills the character-building element Lewis looked for, while remaining absolutely true in every detail. Man is fallen and he does struggle against God, but through Christ there is hope of redemption, a chance to connect heaven and earth through the Atonement. Christ is the ultimate example of God's providence.

In the Reformed tradition, God's sovereignty is a very big deal. According to the doctrine of divine decree, God has ordered all things that were, are and will come to be for His own good pleasure and glory. His hand is thus present everywhere, in the privatest private life and the most public and widespread crisis. God is in control, providentially guiding nations, men, and the entire cosmos.

This very doctrine is perhaps what best explains the humanist's interest in history (whether he be atheist, agnostic, pagan). Man's natural bent is to make himself the hero of the story, to show how people can sway the trajectory of all things. God's version is quite different, and the two are naturally in conflict. Resolution may only be found in Christ.

For, while God decrees and guides all things, He has also (paradoxically) decreed man's free will and personal responsibility. Men do change the course of kingdoms, but it is only through God's agency. A proper Christian study of history takes both truths into account, and tells the stories of good guys and bad guys through the light of everything God's Word says about human nature and divine control.

We encourage you to take great comfort and joy in your study of history. Read books, watch movies (carefully noting that a lot of the story is likely to be inaccurate in detail), go on fieldtrips to forts and battlefields and birthplaces. Most of all, talk about these things. The end goal, after all, isn't to know a bunch of trivia, but to understand what God has done and continues to do.

No one knows for sure what the end of history will look like, except that every knee in heaven and on earth will bow to the returned glorious Christ, who comes to judge the living and the dead. What we believe about Him will determine whether that culmination will be filled with joy or loathing (everyone will be terrified). He is the author of history, and its centerpiece; honor Him in your study of it.

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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Adventures of Hercules - Coloring Book
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Adventures of Tintin
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Adventures of Tintin
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Sterling Point Books
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Biography for 3rd-7th
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DK Eyewitness: Arms & Armor
DK Eyewitness Series
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Military History for 4th-8th grade
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Little House Series #3
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Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
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Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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Little House Series #3
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Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
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Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
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Little House Series #3
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Little House Series #3
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Biography for 1st-4th grade
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Iliad (retold)
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Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
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Kidnapped
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
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Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
$20.00
Knights and Armor - Coloring Book
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Land of Black Gold
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Legend of King Arthur
by Retold by Robin Lister, Illustrated by Alan Baker
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Legendary Outlaws and Lawmen of the Old West - Coloring Book
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Li Lun
by Carolyn Treffinger
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Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1948 Newbery Honor Book
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Li Lun
by Carolyn Treffinger
from Walker and Company
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1948 Newbery Honor Book
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Light Beyond the Forest
Arthurian Trilogy #2
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
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Light Beyond the Forest
Arthurian Trilogy #2
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Shirley Felts
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Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
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Luxury Cars - Coloring Book
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Making of a Knight
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Matchlock Gun
by Walter Edmonds
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Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
1942 Newbery Medal winner
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Medieval Jousts and Tournaments - Coloring Book
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Motorcycles - Coloring Book
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Mountain Born
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
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Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
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Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
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Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
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Pedro's Journal
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Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Pirates and Buccaneers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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Prisoners of the Sun
Adventures of Tintin
by Herge
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$5.99
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
by Rudyard Kipling
from William Morrow & Company
Realistic Animal Stories for 2nd-4th grade
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$18.99
Road to Camlann
Arthurian Trilogy #3
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
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Road to Camlann
Arthurian Trilogy #3
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
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Rockets - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
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$3.95
Sam the Minuteman
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Nathaniel Benchley & Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
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Satellites - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
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Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$65.13
Scout's Distant Journey
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
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$10.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Scout: The Flying Phantom
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
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$10.95
Scout: The Mystery of the Abandoned Mill
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.95
Scout: The Sailing Sleuths
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
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in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.95
Scout: The Secret of the Swamp
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.95
Scout: The Treasure of Rodensteyn Castle
Scout Series
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.95
Seven Crystal Balls
Adventures of Tintin
by Herge
from Little, Brown & Company
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in Adventures of Tintin (Location: COM-TIN)
$13.99
Ships - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
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$3.95
Shuttle Craft - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
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$3.95
Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Soldier's Life in the Civil War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from Harper & Row
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Space Craft - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
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Space Explorers - Coloring Book
Educational Read & Color Books
by Peter & Linda Spizzirri
from Spizzirri Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Space Coloring Books (Location: COL-SPACE)
Sports Cars - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Squire and the Scroll
by Jennie Bishop
from Warner Press
Allegories and Moral Stories for 2nd-5th grade
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Story of King Arthur
by Retold by Robin Lister, Illustrated by Alan Baker
from Kingfisher
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Story of the Civil War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of America Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISA)
$4.99
Story of the Panama Canal
by R. Conrad Stein
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
Story of the Vikings - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
$5.99
Story of World War II - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
$5.99
Susan Creek
Monroe Family Chronicles #2
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00
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