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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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101 Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
from Kregel Publications
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in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$16.99
101 Hymn Stories
by Kenneth Osbeck
40th Anniversary from Kregel Publications
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101 More Hymn Stories
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20 Exciting Plays for Medieval History Classes
by Dean Bowman
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$25.00
20 Plays for U. S. History Classes
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Revised from Walch Publishing
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20th Century Wars
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24 Exciting Plays for Ancient History Classes
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9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$21.95
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1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
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Adam and His Kin
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Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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Admiral Richard Byrd
Sterling Point Books
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Historical non-fiction for 5th-9th grade
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After Tupac & D Foster
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2009 Newbery Honor Book
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Against All Odds
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from YWAM Publishing
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$14.99
Against the World
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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$9.95
Age of Fighting Sail
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from Chapman Billies, Inc
American Naval History for 8th-Adult
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
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Perspectives on History Series
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from History Compass
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity
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Alexander Hamilton - Coloring Book
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Clr Csm from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Alexander Mackay
Heroes of the Faith Series
by Sophia L. Fahs
from A Beka Books
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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Alexander the Great
Sterling Point Books
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Historical Biography for 5th-9th grade
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All That Glitters
Perspectives on History Series
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Historical Non-fiction for 6th-9th grade
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Along Came Galileo
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Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$12.95
Amelia Earhart
Sterling Point Books
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America and Vietnam
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Historical Non-Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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America from the Beginning - Student Manual
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$29.00 (1 in stock)
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America's War Heroes
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$10.39
American History in Verse
by Burton Stevenson
from Bob Jones University Press
Poetry for 3rd-Adult
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$11.00
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by Jeanne Munn Bracken, ed.
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First Thus from Oxford University
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Ancient Greek Art
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Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
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Anne Bradstreet
by Faith Cook
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Anne of Avonlea
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Anno's Journey
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Annotated Mona Lisa
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$16.00
Annotated Mona Lisa
by Carol Strickland
3rd edition from Andrews McMeel
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$29.99
Anpao
by Jamake Highwater
from HarperCollins
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1978 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.99
Antarctica: Escape from Disaster
by Peter Lerangis
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Archimedes and the Door of Science
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
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from Purple House Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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$10.99
Architecture
Perspectives on History Series
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Aristotle Leads the Way - Student's Quest Guide
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Aristotle Leads the Way: Teacher's Quest Guide
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Arms and Armor Annual
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Artist of the Reformation
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Arts of the Sailor
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Seeds of America #3
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At Aboukir and Acre
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from Robinson Curriculum
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At Agincourt
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from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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At the Point of the Bayonet
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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Atlas of American History
by Rand McNally
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World History Reference/Atlas for 5th-8th grade
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$12.00
Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Augustine Came to Kent
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Barbara Willard
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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$14.95
Augustus Caesar's World
by Genevieve Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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$21.95 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Australia - An Interdisciplinary Unit
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Balloon Boy of San Francisco
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$9.95
Bamboo People
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$9.99
Barbary Pirates
Sterling Point Books
by C. S. Forester
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Naval History for 5th-8th grade
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Battle Heroes: Voices from Afghanistan
by Allan Zullo
from Scholastic Press
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Battle of Lexington
by Jonas Clark
from Nordskog Publishing
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$8.50
Battle of Seattle
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
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$11.99
Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
1st edition from Falcon Press Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Beckoning Road
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from American Home-School Publishing
American Historical Fiction for 7th-12th Grade
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Beethoven Lives Upstairs
by Barbara Nichol
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beggars' Bible
by Louise Vernon
from Herald Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$10.99
Beggars' Victory
Struggle for Freedom Series #3
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$11.95
Beginner Book: Warfare by Duct Tape
by Steven Erickson
from Chinquapin Press
for 4th-Adult
in Dangerous Books for Kids (Location: SS-DAN)
$11.95
Behind Enemy Lines
Sterling Point Books
by H.R. DeMallie
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in WWII: European Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2E)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin
Sterling Point Books
by Thomas Fleming
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Beneath the Cat's Claw
by Jennifer Johnson Garrity
from Brimwood Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Tools for Young Historians (Location: BIBWV-TYH)
$12.95
Beorn the Proud
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Madeleine Polland
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Frederick Rebsamen)
from HarperCollins
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$9.99
Beowulf
by Anonymous (translation by Seamus Heaney)
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Medieval Poetic Epic for 8th-Adult
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$15.95
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 7th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$14.00
Beowulf the Warrior
by Ian Serraillier
from Bethlehem Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.95
Beric the Briton
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Betrayal
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Betsy and the Great World
by Maud Hart Lovelace
from HarperTrophy
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Betty Before X
by Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson
from Square Fish Publishing
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in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Between the Forest and the Hills
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
by Ann Lawrence
from Bethlehem Books
Humorous Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.50
Beyond the Desert Gate
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Mary Ray
2nd edition from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.95
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