Postmodernism and History

His. Story. We've heard history defined this way, as the story of what God is doing in the world, but how many believers actually live as though it was His story and not their own? Do we search for His sovereignty in our history textbooks, in the latest newspaper, or on Fox News? Does the evening news cause us to cry out to the Lord to restore the world to its rightful order or cause us to praise Him for His provision? If not, we may not truly be viewing history through the lens of a Biblical worldview.

Postmodernists like to interpret history to achieve their own ends, turning history into just one more relative aspect of life and society. Those whom we call historians have a great deal of power because they record what has happened. Yet within their recording historians also encrypt their own worldviews, assumptions, opinions, and beliefs. This is then what our schoolchildren study and what we are taught to believe. How many eighth graders today know that the Pilgrims traveled to America in search of religious freedom? Not a great many, unfortunately.

History has a purpose, and its end is not the agenda of those in power, but the glory of a sovereign God. His. Story. It will take effort and care to dig deep enough to understand our past in light of God's purpose and sovereignty, but if we truly care about our future we will expend energy in learning our history correctly.