Ancient History

History is like a tree—the ancient parts are roots, and as the story progresses the trunk rises and branches expand to encompass every person and event since Adam and Eve. Because history is unified, every element of the story is interconnected, even if that connection is distant. Furthermore, the current parts are all directly the product of the parts that have come before, and to understand the current situation you'll need to understand the past.

Understanding the ancient history roots at the bottom of the tree is essential for a proper perspective of everything that comes after. Some people take this too far and assume that ancient history is all that matters, but those who disregard it or understand it on no more than a cursory level are just as mistaken. Just as a building must have a strong foundation, so a study of history must begin in the right place.

The ancient world was different from ours, and the same. It was different in primarily physical ways: technology was less advanced, there were fewer people, and the general standard of living was far below what we enjoy (at least in the industrialized world). However, human nature never changes, and the same universal conflict that exists today—between God's children and His enemies—raged then.

It's interesting to what extent the dominant theories and philosophies of the modern world reflect those of the ancients. There is truly nothing new under the sun, and the Enlightenment rationalism, faith in human progress, belief in man's innate goodness, evolutionary idealism, and even postmodernism against which Christians fight all have their roots in the ideas of the Babylonians, Greeks, Egyptians, and every other early civilization.

That doesn't mean there isn't a clear trajectory from the ancient world to the present. Ideas all run a distinct course, and some reach prominence at different times; while the seeds of every successive philosophy were sown in the ancient world, it took time to grow them into what we recognize how as humanism, modernism, postmodernism, and the ever-illusory post-postmodernism.

The same is true of events. The history of any period is simply the chronicle of man's attempts to thwart God's will and Yahweh's use of even the most outrageous rebellion to achieve His own ends. In some ways, this is more obvious in ancient history, as the nation of Israel fought the surrounding nations, and too often embraced their paganism.

That story, of God's work among His people and in the world, and of man's continual rebellion, is also our story. The Church fights the same battles our Israelite forefathers did, though on a more ideological rather than physical scale. When we realize how much the story of the ancients is our own story, the significance of studying their world becomes much clearer, and the urgency of such study is made plain.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and 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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Adam and His Kin
by Ruth Beechick
from Mott Media
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Ancient Civilizations & the Bible - Student Manual
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Ancient Greece
by Michelle Miller
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Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors
by Marian Broida
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Ancient Times
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Black Ships Before Troy
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Book of the Ancient Greeks
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Book of the Ancient World
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Curious Historian 2A - Student Edition
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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Greece
DK Eyewitness Series
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DK Eyewitness: Ancient Greece
DK Eyewitness Series
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Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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Eagle of the Ninth
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God King
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
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Golden Goblet
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History of US Book 1
History of US Book 1
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Hittite Warrior
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
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Horatius at the Bridge
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Ides of April
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
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In Search of a Homeland
by Penelope Lively & Ian Andrew
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Joshua through Malachi & Ancient Greece
by Sonya Shafer
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Mystery of History Volume I (old)
by Linda Lacour Hobar
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Native America on the Eve of Discovery
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Old Testament History - Greenleaf Guide
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Pages of History Volume 1
by Bruce Etter, Alexia Detweiler
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Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt
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Pyramid
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Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries - Student Manual
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Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries - Teacher Guide
by Diana Waring
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History Curriculum for 7th-12th grade
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Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries - What in the World? CD
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Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries Volume Two
A Biblical World History Curriculum - Volume Two
by Diana Waring
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Secret of the Scribe
by Jennifer Johnson Garrity
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Story of Ancient China
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Story of Ancient China
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Story of Ancient Egypt
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Story of Ancient Egypt
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Story of the Ancient World
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Story of the Greeks
by Helene Guerber
4th edition from Nothing New Press
Ancient Greece Reference for 3rd-8th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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Story of the Romans
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Roman History Reference for 3rd-8th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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Story of the Romans
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Story of the Romans
by Helene Guerber
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Tales of Ancient Egypt
Puffin Classics
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Truthquest Beginnings
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Twice Freed
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Twice Freed
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Usbourne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World
Usborne Internet-Linked
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Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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Victory on the Walls
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
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Well of Sacrifice
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West Meets East
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