Christian historians are more interested than others—especially rightwing or leftwing ideologues—in historical knowledge, in reading and disseminating accurate findings, in reporting interesting possibilities. Christian historians are not afraid of the latest research or the clarity that thinking men and women bring to history—history, which is a discipline, admittedly, that requires a healthy tolerance for ambiguity! I say history requires tolerance for ambiguity, because of what history is: almost everything—literally it is all the reality before this moment. History is the world and the story of man upon it, over time, in all its layered complexity. Good gracious, you can't very well conceive of everything going on right now, much less a hundred years ago! Who would second-guess the mind of God? Who would claim a perfect understanding? For man is not omniscient. A person who knows his limitations and his relationship to God appreciates fully the fact that, for now at least, we see in part—'through a glass darkly.'
Someone who understands Original Sin refrains more often from the fallacy of human perfectibility; refrains from "playing God"; and refrains from justifying either utopian craziness or state-sponsored horror. In specific cases of biography, Christians more often reserve the harshest judgment 'lest we be judged'; and are less likely to condemn a whole class or group of people—appreciating God's plan for everybody, knowing every individual is conceived and made in the image and likeness of God. And finally, Christians are less likely to succumb to 'the cynicism of burned out dreams' or to see a hard life as necessarily a hopeless one. The Christian worldview is one that not only exalts truth, but also joys in the journey and the story of man. History means literally "his story"—the story of you and me; it is a story of men and women—all creatures of God, whom God loves more than birds and plants and animals and fish; whom He cares for one person at a time. Learning history, like plying mathematical equations or reciting a melodious musical rendition—is an exploration into the Mind of God. History helps to uncover and to understand His purpose and meaning inherent in the Universe. Christians are optimistic about history, even if the narrative is sometimes sordid. Because we know the 'good will out' and progress is always possible. Because Christians know life is eternal, that the Story has an inevitable and ecstatically happy ending!
Let me emphasize, I'm not talking about quiet resignation or determinism or a sense of inevitability. Rather, the Christian worldview is one ultimately that refuses to feel small or helpless or victimized by so-called impersonal forces of history or of nature. The Christian fears God and nothing else. That's because Christianity empowers the individual. The power of God is ours through prayer, and supernatural feats are indeed possible. The knowledge of God is ours through faith, and flashes of brilliance, intuition and perfect assurance occur. We know the Victory of the Cross hath robbed death of its fearful sting forever. The Christian knows he can make a difference and indeed, change history. He knows he'll be all right 'in the end'—in the end of this life and world, hopefully; and after the second death begins Eternity—absolutely.
Again, the Christian worldview has power in it to change history. Think about it. Think about the implication of that statement—the power in your hands. That's what happened with an Asian monk named Telemachus in the fourth century. He spent all his time in prayer or tending the garden from which he obtained his meager sustenance. And then one day, he thought he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome. And believing that he had heard, he set out. And weeks and weeks later, he arrived there, having traveled most of the way on foot.
And it was at a time of a festival in Rome. They were celebrating a triumph over the Goths. And he followed a crowd into the Colosseum, and then there in the midst of this great crowd, he saw the gladiators come forth, stand before the emperor, and say, "We who are about to die salute you." And he realized they were going to fight to the death for the entertainment of the crowds. And he cried out, "In the name of Christ, stop!" And his voice was lost in the tumult there in the great Colosseum.
And as the games began, he made his way down through the crowd and climbed over the wall and dropped to the floor of the arena. Suddenly the crowds saw this scrawny little figure making his way out to the gladiators and saying, over and over again, "In the name of Christ, stop." And they thought it was part of the entertainment, and at first they were amused. But then, when they realized it wasn't, they grew belligerent and angry. And as he was pleading with the gladiators, "In the name of Christ, stop," one of them plunged his sword into his body. And as he fell to the sand of the arena in death, his last words were, "In the name of Christ, stop."
And suddenly, a strange thing happened. The gladiators stood looking at this tiny form lying in the sand. A silence fell over the Colosseum. And then, someplace up in the upper tiers, an individual made his way to an exit and left, and others began to follow. And in the dead silence, everyone left the Colosseum. That was the last battle to the death between gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. Never again did anyone kill or did men kill each other for the entertainment of the crowd. One tiny voice that could hardly be heard over the tumult: "In the name of Christ, stop." It is something we can and must be saying to each other throughout the country and the world today.
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Wesley Allen Riddle is a retired military officer and historian with degrees from West Point and Oxford. He is Adjunct Professor of U.S. History and American Government at Central Texas College. This article is excerpted from an address he gave to First United Methodist Church Men's Group in Belton, Texas August 18, 2004.
The story of Telemachus is from Ronald Reagan's remarks at the ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />
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