More Than Dates and Dead People: Recovering a Christian View of History

Making History Come Alive

For many students, the study of history is as boring as being lost in a cemetery: nothing but dates and dead people, dead people and dates—dry, meaningless, and useless. This seems odd in view of the subject of history—people and how they live, what they believe, and what they do.

According to Stephen Mansfield, the difference between thinking of history as boring or as fascinating is to be found in the world-view of its students. Those who follow a materialistic, evolutionary philosophy, believe that history control the present and that God, who made history in the first place, is irrelevant. On the other hand, people of biblical faith believe that God has decided what the end of history will be and that He has been drawing mankind through the ages toward a final destiny. In this view history is no longer the story of a blind man groping toward a dark and fearful future but the unfolding of a destiny that God decided before all creation, providing hope for all and making history a fascinating journey that never gets out of the Maker's control.

More Than Dates and Dead People is an edgy and slightly irreverent look at history from a biblical point of view as well as a look at the ideas that shape the teaching of history in most classrooms today. It offers a fresh alternative on looking at history and provides tools for understanding and enjoying the past in light of the future.