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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'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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100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History
by Chrisanne Beckner
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100 Most Important Events in Christian History
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1066: The Year of the Conquest
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20 Exciting Plays for Medieval History Classes
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$25.00
2000 Years of Christ's Power Volume 4
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3,650 of the World's Finest Proverbs
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$6.79
Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Biography for 5th-8th grade
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$13.59
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Biography for 4th-7th grade
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75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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1940 Caldecott Medal winner
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Abraham Lincoln's World
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Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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$19.95
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Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
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Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith
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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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Adoniram Judson
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Adventures of Munford: The American Revolution
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$5.10
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$12.71
Adventures of the American Revolution
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Adventures of Theodore Roosevelt
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$11.20
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Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
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Aeneid - MP Teacher Guide
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$20.50
Aeschylus I: The Oresteia (old)
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Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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$11.90
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Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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Aeschylus' Oresteian Trilogy
Penguin Classics
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Ancient Greek Tragedy for 10th-Adult
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$11.05 $5.60 (1 in stock)
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$17.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
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$12.74
Against the Tide
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$16.99
Against the World
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Agape Leadership
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$3.60 (1 in stock)
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2nd edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear
by Hans de Beer
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
AIO Imagination Station Book #01
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$6.79
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$5.09
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$5.09
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$5.09
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$6.79
Akimbo of Africa
by Alexander McCall Smith
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$5.91
Al Capone Does My Shirts
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Reprint from Puffin Books
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2005 Newbery Honor Book
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$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
from Penguin Random House
for 11th-Adult
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$8.00 (2 in stock)
Alexander Hamilton - Coloring Book
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Clr Csm from Dover Publications
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$5.09
Alexander the Great
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$10.20 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander the Great
by Andrew Langley
Reissue from Oxford University
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$5.94
Alfred the Great
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Biography for 9th-Adult
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$15.30
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
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$9.35
All Aboard!
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$8.99
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #2
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
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$11.01
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Mary Stevens
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Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
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$11.01
Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.64 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy M. Leininger
Mti from Zonderkidz
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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$5.60 (1 in stock)
Along Came Galileo
by Jeanne Bendick
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Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$11.86
Always Inventing
by Tom L. Matthews
from National Geographic
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$7.64
Always Room for One More
by Sorche Nic Leodhas
from Henry Holt and Company
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1966 Caldecott Medal winner
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$9.34
Amazing Grace
by Eric Metaxas
from HarperOne
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.59
Amazing Grace
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from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in History of Hymns (Location: XCH-HYMN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Impossible Erie Canal
by Cheryl Harness
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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$7.99
Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself
by Maxine Anderson
from Nomad Press
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$7.50 (2 in stock)
Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin
by James Cross Giblin
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2001 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
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$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Amelia to Zora
1st edition from Charlesbridge
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$6.76
America and Vietnam
by Albert Marrin
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Vietnam War (1957-1975) (Location: HISA-20VIE)
$11.95
America in the Time of Abraham Lincoln
by Sally Senzell Isaacs
from Heinemann Library
for 1st-4th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
America's Christian History
by Gary DeMar
2nd edition from American Vision Press
for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
America's Longest War
by George C. Herring
2nd edition from McGraw-Hill
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