History Shapes Us
by Doy Moyer
When we accept Scripture as God’s communication to humanity, we are necessarily accepting the reality that history shapes us. Our understanding of who God is, what sin is, and how God brought about salvation is built on a historical understanding. The death and resurrection of Jesus are historical events. For the children of Israel, the remembrance of their history was embedded in their culture. “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 5:15). Think about how often the story of Israel is repeated in Scripture. It’s in the Law, the historical books, the prophets, the Psalms, and the New Testament (cf. Stephen in Acts 7). There were times when God had them set up memorials so that their children would also learn and remember their past (cf. Joshua 4:1-7).
Erasing history is a tragedy because it changes the perspective on how we got where we are and why we ought to press on to do better. Otherwise, we may find ourselves hard-hearted for failing to learn from the past (Malachi 3:7; Acts 7:51-53; Matthew 23:34-36). Further, we should never celebrate the evil of past generations, but should learn, lament, and renew our efforts to seek the Lord in our generation. If I hold a sinful view that reflects the sins of the past, I need to repent. Not all historical facts are defensible.
Remembering history requires that we be honest about that history. We recognize that we bring our worldviews to the table as we interpret what happened, but we must be committed to truth, which means facts matter. If the facts show past evil and abuse (e.g., slavery in America), then we need to remember it accurately and learn our lessons from it. History includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. We need to be honest about what we know and be willing to learn what we don’t.
History, though, is not a flat-lined series of events without interpretation. It is layered, overlapping, often complicated, and supports multiple branches that can be traced back to various roots. This also means that different groups will have different perspectives on how the events shape where we are. This does not mean the facts differ. Facts do not change, though sometimes getting to the facts can be a challenge. Neither does it mean that any group has a right to alter and twist history to fit a political agenda. That would not be honest with the facts. It does not mean that all interpretations are equal, as if truth is relative. It means that different people have different perspectives on historical reality based on their own experiences, backgrounds, and family histories. We should value these differences.
Practically, this means we need to listen to one another and honor each other by encouraging the stories to be told. Perhaps, “I’ve not thought about it that way.” God’s people are comprised of “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9), but that does not erase their pasts, shared or distinct. Though Jews and Gentiles become one in Christ, that does not mean that we don’t respect the history of the Jews. We would be blind today not to recognize that African American Christians have a different perspective on American history than a caucasian Christian from the West or the South. It’s not that we don’t share the same facts; it's that the facts hit us differently, and we need to respect that. Listen to each other. Give honor to whom honor is due. Here we can learn to be kind, sympathetic, and loving to one another.
I grew up in California and have now spent a significant amount of time in the South, and I can tell you that even among caucasian Christians, Westerners see things a bit differently from lifelong Southerners. That doesn’t make one group superior; it’s just a recognition that, even within American culture, there are subcultures with pasts not necessarily shared across the board. This is also true of generations. A Christian who was alive during WWII will see things differently from one born in the 2000’s. They can still be one in Christ, but their perspectives on history will not be identical. This is to be expected. Again, listen to each other.
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What I see as beautiful in all of this is that we can respect the different perspectives and, at the same time, be one in Christ. The “all nations” understanding of God’s people is powerful. The cross is transcultural. It doesn’t erase history, but it merges together all the historical strands and draws us to Christ. Together, we can all represent Christ to a world that remains divided and show that Jesus Christ is for everyone!
