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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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20th Century Wars
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
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Biography for 4th-6th grade
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Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
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Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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America First updated
by Lawton B. Evans, Updated & Revised by Rachel Lebowitz
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America at War Series
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Historical Non-fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
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Ancient Celts
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Ancient Civilizations
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First Printing
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
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People of the Ancient World
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from Scholastic Inc.
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$7.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Greece Activity File
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Book and Access from DK Publishing
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Greece!
by Avery Hart & Paul Mantell
from Williamson Publishing Company
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Ancient Greek Art
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Ancient Greek War and Weapons
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from Heinemann Educational Books
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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from Children's Press
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Ancient Roman Art
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2nd edition from Heinemann Educational Books
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Rome Activity Book
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Science
by Jim Wiese
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in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
And the Word Came With Power
by Joanne Shetler, Patricia Purvis
from Wycliffe Bible Translators
for 2nd-12th grade
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$8.50 (2 in stock)
Andie's Moon
Historical House: 1969
by Linda Newbery
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Anna and the King (adapted)
by Margaret Landon
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Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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Anne Frank's Story
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Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
by L. M. Montgomery
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Antarctica: Escape from Disaster
by Peter Lerangis
from Scholastic Reference
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Arabs in the Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi & Veronique Ageorges
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Archaeology for Kids
by Richard Panchyk
illustrated edition from Chicago Review Press
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Archimedes and the Door of Science
by Jeanne Bendick
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Aristotle Leads the Way: Teacher's Quest Guide
by Joy Hakim
from Smithsonian Books
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$30.00 (2 in stock)
Around the World in a Hundred Years
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
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$6.00 (2 in stock)
Art Smart: Spot the Details and Find Out the Facts
Act from Dover Publications
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Arts of the Sailor
by Hervey Garrett Smith
Reprint from Dover Publications
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of North American Exploration
by Glyndwr Williams, William H. Goetzmann
Oklahoma Paperbacks Ed from University of Oklahoma Press
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in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
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Australia and Oceania
True Books
by Mel Friedman
Reprint from Children's Press
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Journey Into Civilization
by Robert Nicholson and Claire Watts
from Chelsea House Publishing
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Bat 6
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
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Battle Heroes: Voices from Afghanistan
by Allan Zullo
from Scholastic Press
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
by Mark Henckel
1st edition from Falcon Press Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum
by Ashley Bryan
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$9.99 $5.50 (5 in stock)
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
by Barbara Nichol
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
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 Bedroom Wall
by Laura E. Williams
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (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)
Behind the Blue and Gray
by Delia Ray
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bell and the Science of the Telephone
by Brian Williams
from Barron's
for 4th-6th grade
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Benazir Bhutto
by Englar, Mary
1st edition from Compass Point Books
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin's Adventures With Electricity
by Beverly Birch & Robin Bell Corfield
from Barron's
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Bentwood Box
by Nan McNutt
from Sasquatch Books
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in Native Americans (Location: HISA-19NAT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Best Little Stories from World War II
by C. Brian Kelly
1996 Printing from Montpelier Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Big Annie of Calumet
by Jerry Stanley
from Hampton-Brown
for 4th-8th grade
in Industrialization & Organized Labor (Location: HISA-19IND)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Biography of James A. Garfield
Sons of Liberty Series
by William Thayer
from A Beka Books
for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
from Hyperion/Madison Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
National Book Award Finalist
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Bite of the Gold Bug
by Barthe DeClements
from Puffin Books
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in Gilded Age (1865-1918) (Location: HISA-19GI)
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Black Heroes of the American Revolution
by Burke Davis
1992 Odyssey Classics edition from Clarion Books
for 5th-8th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Blackthorn Winter
Monroe Family Chronicles #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Blue Lotus
Adventures of Tintin
by Herge
from Little, Brown & Company
Comic Book for 2nd-6th grade
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$13.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Bold Journey
by Charles Bohner
from Houghton Mifflin
Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Book of the Ancient Greeks - Student Guide
by Matthew Anderson
from Memoria Press
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in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$20.50 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Book of the Ancient Greeks - Teacher Guide
by Matthew Anderson
from Memoria Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$20.50 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Book of the Ancient Romans - Teacher Guide
by Dorothy Mills
from Memoria Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$20.50 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Book of the Ancient World
by Dorothy Mills
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.50 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Book of the Ancient World - Teacher Guide
by Matthew Anderson
from Memoria Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Born in the Year of Courage
by Emily Crofford
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boston Jane
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Scholastic Reference
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Boy and the Samurai
by Erik Christian Haugaard
Reissue from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Boy in the Alamo
by Margaret Cousins
from Corona Publishing Co.
Historical fiction for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Boy of Old Prague
by Shulamith Ish-Kishor
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
for 5th-8th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Boys' War
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
Historical Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$12.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1962 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
2nd edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Buried In Ice
by John Geiger, Owen Beattie, Shelley Tanaka
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Bury the Dead
by Christopher Sloan
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Canada - Coloring Book
by A. Daniel Zook
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$2.00 (3 in stock)
Canada: The People
by Bobbie Kalman
from Crabtree Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Canadian Province Notebook
1st edition from A Beka Books
for 4th-6th grade
in A Beka History (Location: HISCUR-ABK)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Captured Words
The Good and the Beautiful Library Level 5
by Frances Williams Brown, edited by Jenny Phillips
2022nd edition from The Good and the Beautiful
for 5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Castle
by David Macaulay
from Graphia
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1978 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$16.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Castle Diary
by Richard Platt
from Candlewick Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
PF from Collier Books
for 4th-6th grade
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cathedral
by David Macaulay
from Houghton Mifflin
Architecture for 4th-8th grade
1974 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$12.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1995 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Cecily's Portrait
Historical House: 1895
by Adele Geras
from Educational Development Corporation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Champions of Invention
Champions of Discovery
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$4.79 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Champions of Science
Champions of Discovery
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$4.79 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Changing Times: Health & Disease
by Kathy Elgin
1st edition from Compass Point Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte Sometimes
by Penelope Farmer
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Chico of the Andes
The Good and the Beautiful Library Level 5
by Christine Von Hagen
2022nd edition from The Good and the Beautiful
for 5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Child's First Book of American History
by Earl Schenck Miers, James Daugherty
from Beautiful Feet Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Beautiful Feet Books (Location: HISCUR-BFB)
$32.95 $21.00 (1 in stock)
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