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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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ABC of Canada
by Kim Bellefontaine
Reprint from Kids Can Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
Adelita
by Tomie DePaola
Reprint from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Adventures of Paddy the Beaver
Thornton Burgess Peter Cottontail Books #19
by Thornton W. Burgess
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for Preschool-2nd grade
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$4.00
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by Hans de Beer
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
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by Andrew Langley
Reissue from Oxford University
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
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Reprint from HarperCollins
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1966 Caldecott Medal winner
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from Aladdin Paperbacks
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Bread, Bread, Bread
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from Scholastic Inc.
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Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
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from The Dietz Pres, Inc.
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$7.99
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from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
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$10.99
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from First Avenue Editions
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from Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
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in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
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Reissue from Puffin Books
1973 Caldecott Medal winner
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$5.99
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from Purple House Press
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Reprint from Puffin Books
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Reprint from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-1st grade
1997 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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from OMF
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$3.00 (2 in stock)
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from Puffin Books
Alphabet Books for Preschool-1st grade
1975 Caldecott Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$8.99
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from HarperTrophy
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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by Miriam Chaikin
from Clarion Books
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from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
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$8.99
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by Michael Bania
from Alaska Northwest Books
for Preschool-1st grade
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1st edition from Putnam Juvenile
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Let's Learn to Count in Hawaiian
by Keiki C. Kawai'ae'a
from Island Heritage Publishing
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Foreign Language (Location: FL-GEN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!
Passport to Reading Level 3
by Grace Lin
Passport to Reading Level 3
for Preschool-1st grade
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor Book
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$4.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
Little Polar Bear
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from NorthSouth
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.95
Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
from NorthSouth
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Magic Fan
by Keith Baker
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00
Mama, Do You Love Me?
by Barbara M. Joosse
Reprint from Chronicle Books
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in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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Mary McLean and the St. Patrick's Day Parade
by Steven Kroll
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
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by Marvin Barrett
from Random House
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by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
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from Puffin Books
for Preschool-1st grade
1972 Caldecott Honor Book
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
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by Paul Galdone
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
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by Lois Ehlert
from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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from Tundra Books (NY)
for Preschool-1st grade
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My Little Island
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from HarperCollins
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Native Homes
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from Crabtree Publishing
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Off We Go to Mexico
by Laurie Krebs
1st edition from Barefoot Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Old Ironsides
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from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-SHIP)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
One Grain of Rice
by Demi
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
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by Marianne Berkes
from Dawn Publications
for Preschool-1st grade
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$8.95
Over in the Arctic
by Marianne Berkes
from Dawn Publications
for Preschool-1st grade
in Arctic & Tundra (Location: SCI-ECO)
Papa and Me
by Arthur Dorros
Bilingual from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
by Tomie dePaola
from Holiday House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
Peace Book
by Todd Parr
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
Peter the Great
by Diane Stanley
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
Biography for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Pierre Auguste Renoir
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Pieter Brugel
by Mike Venezia
from Children's Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Plains Indians - Coloring Book
from Spizzirri Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
Pledge of Allegiance
by Scholastic, Scholastic Inc.
Cmv from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Possum Magic
by Mem Fox
1st edition from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Prehistory to Egypt
by Gloria Verges, Maria Rius, Oriol Verges
1st edition from Barron's
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Rain Player
by David Wisniewski
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.95
Rainforest Grew All Around
by Susan K. Mitchell
from Sylvan Dell
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
Raven
by Gerald McDermott
from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1994 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Round is a Mooncake
by Roseanne Thong
from Chronicle Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Russia ABCs
by Ann Berge
from Picture Window Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Sailing Off to Sleep
by Linda Ashman
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Salvador Dali
by Mike Venezia
Revised from Children's Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Samuel Eaton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Sarah Morton's Day
by Kate Waters
from Scholastic Inc.
Non-fiction for Nursery-2nd grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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