The Need for Christian and Church History

history, fiction, books

While I am not a degreed historian, I have been a history buff all my life. Studying Church history, especially early Christianity, the Church fathers, and the development of the canon of Scripture were critical aids for me on my conversion journey to the Church.

A lack of historical context

For many years, I have given lectures on Church history and the development of Holy Tradition and Sacred Scripture to both RCIA classes and to confirmed Catholics who want to know where their faith comes from. All three areas are covered in the context of what I have learned through history on my faith journey.

I am constantly amazed that many lack a historical context for our faith. I have also found this same lack of understanding in conversations with many fellow Catholics.

This lack of a historical frame of reference is unfortunate.  It can lead to faulty perceptions and misunderstandings about what we believe and why we believe. It becomes most obvious when one is in situations of having to defend and/or explain the faith. I am convinced that this lack of knowledge contributes to the decisions of many who leave the Church.

It is very similar to what has been happening in the secular realm regarding American history. Woke beliefs have actually replaced knowing or understanding our country’s history.

The purpose for teaching history and civics in our schools is so we have an informed American population.  Citizens need to know their nation’s history and how their government works. Informed citizens are necessary for a democratic, orderly, and cohesive society.

The same is true for the Church. Historical context is necessary to fully understand God’s revelation and Christianity. We need an informed laity so when questions about what we profess and believe emerge we can answer them with confidence. That confidence can sustain us to act as the body of Christ in this world through the Church,

Knowing the Christian story line

While there are many types of histories (natural, political, economic) covenant/salvation history reveals how God progressively reveals himself and our relation to him.

In a previous post, I outlined a historical perspective of the Christian story line adapted from Scott Hahn’s and Jeff Caven’s Our Fathers Plan program. There were five major phases to this history: 1) Creation, 2) Sin and rupture, 3) Old covenant promises, 4) Old Covenant fulfilled and New Covenant established and 5) the New Covenant applied through the Church.

Hahn and Caven’s perspective opened my eyes. It clarified the continuity and linkages of revelation through the Old Testament, the New Testament, and holy Tradition. This covenant/salvation history provided a key to the trajectory of the variety of Bible stories into a coherent whole.

I also found three books that were instrumental in filling in many historical gaps for our faith. The Early Church was the Catholic Church, by Joe Heschmeyer, provides a history of early Church beliefs and practices.  These beliefs and practices are still reflected 2,000 years later in the Catholic Church.

The Bible is a Catholic Book, by Jimmy Aiken, explores how the Bible came into being. It covers the Bible’s development, final editing, and how the Church decided which books would be in the Bible canon.

Finally, Thomas Woods’ How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization provides the historical context for our world today.  It explores how the Catholic Church gave birth to many areas of what we call civilization such as science, education and charity for the common good.

The faith journey

I have found the faith journey is a never ending learning experience.  Over the course of a lifetime it can be expressed back and forth across three dimensions.

The first is the physical dimension. This is participation in the liturgy of the mass and in practicing the virtues and works of mercy.

The second dimension is the spiritual realm. Spirituality opens us to experiencing God in our lives.  We do this especially through prayer and the sacraments, most notably the Eucharist.

Finally, there is the cognitive or mental domain. This involves reading and studying Scripture, the Catechism, and the multitude of books devoted to exploring Jesus, the Church, and what faith can all be about. The cognitive sphere has been the primary vehicle for my faith journey and history ties it all together.

St. John Henry Newman’s classic quote “to understand history is to cease being Protestant” has much truth.  The study of history can be a critical factor for one’s ongoing faith journey. I would encourage all to consider that as part of our New Year’s resolutions.

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10 thoughts on “The Need for Christian and Church History”

  1. Cato
    I am sure there is much diversity around history teaching in schools – good and bad. However, I have dug deeper and when I have read about various surveys, especially of adults and their awareness of American civics they indicate a lack of basic and proficient knowledge.

    I have a daughter who is a teacher who shares her perceptions that, at least in her school, the kid’s knowledge of history is not too good. For years, I implemented exercise programs for middle schoolers as a drug and delinquency prevention program in schools, Boys and Girls Clubs and National Guard armories in the inner city. We had many discussions on being a “good citizen” and I can certainly say that most of the kids seemed to have little knowledge or sense of our history, beliefs and values.

    Be that as it may, I thank you for being a conscientious teacher.

    1. Now 80 YO, about two decades ago, I asked myself two questions. First, why, approaching age 60, don’t I have wisdom, something I was told would come with age? Second, how did our nation’s founding fathers, with no libraries, no internet, no public schools, many self-taught, know the pros and cons of all the different possible political systems and therefore, know how to create our Constitutional Republic as the best possible alternative?
      The answer I discovered in the Bible, which says that wisdom doesn’t just come with age, but that we must search for wisdom. Learning that key, I embarked on a two-decade study of history, studying, not just reading, the Bible word for word, cover to cover twice. I also embarked on a study of our nation’s history and founding fathers and have discovered many answers to both my questions over the past two decades. I won’t say I’m full of wisdom, just that I’ve come to better understand much that I had unconsciously ignored for 60 years.
      I work with my local schools to encourage students to enter history scholarship contests, which require students to dig deeper into our nation’s history, founding documents, etc. to develop their contest entries. Although some students have used the information I provide to enter – and win – contests, only a tiny percentage of students seek information about the contests and fewer still enter the contests. The emphasis in schools today is on preparation for careers, in particular STEM careers, not on understanding what they need to know to acquire the civic virtue our founding fathers knew was required for citizens to properly participate in a Constitutional Republic.
      I continue the march in spite of limited success; one or two students here and there can make a big difference. We have to keep trying. Thanks for your efforts, Tom.

  2. “It is very similar to what has been happening in the secular realm regarding American history. Woke beliefs have actually replaced knowing or understanding our country’s history.”
    Just a bone to pick here. Having taught US History for 44 years at the high school and college level, I get so tired of hearing comments like this. Have you ever been in a high school classroom or actually talked to high school teachers?
    If you looked at my curriculum, you would see an emphasis on the founding documents and other primary sources with an emphasis on critical thinking and analysis. Statements like this make me think that you have not applied any scientific method or rules of evidence, but are just parrotting what you’ve heard in conservative media. We all need to dig a little deeper and ignore the outliers to see what is actually going on US classrooms.

  3. Pingback: MONDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit

  4. We could spend all day discussing the specific Issues you raise.

    I would just say this. I am by nature, a doubter and use two lens when studying an issue. The first is the scientific method which I have been trained on and I have conducted scientific research. The second is to apply the principles of the burden of proof and the rules of evidence from my police training and experience.

    Given that frame of reference, my conclusions are that archeology cannot verify religious belief but it has supported the Bible as having a pretty good historical record of places persons and events. I don’t where you conclude the Church has accepted that archeology has not verified many things in the Bible? I would say the reverse is true. Secondly, Thomas Woods has some valid references, not just for the Galleo affair, that others have agreed with him.

    What you bring up may be important issues for you but they are not what the core of what the essay is about – learning from history what the Christian story line contains and the Church’s role from the very beginning, at Christ’s commandment, in that story line.

  5. Capt Crisis
    As I have said before you seem to have a number of bones to pick with the Catholic Church. I don’t know what celibacy has to do with this discussion
    All I can say to your unwarranted accusations is that the sources I mention show great continuity with Sacred Scripture, Holy Tradition and many other sources of history. They are certainly not “worthless” “woke” nor reflective of the progressive rewriting of history. I definitely don’t have to make excuses for what I am doing and will keep proclaiming the truth as the Church teaches.

    1. In Biblical times it was more important for history to be right than to be true. We live in a scientific culture where (fortunately) the important thing is for history to be true, and only after that, can one draw conclusions and beliefs.

      There are many, many things to say here, but let me just point out that someone reading the Woods book will get a one-sided view of the Galileo affair. Woods points out that Galileo’s “sin” was that he viewed the Copernican system not as a hypothesis but as being literally true. Well, it is literally true. And that was just the beginning. In fact much of the historical basis of the Bible (especially the Old Testament) has been destroyed, by archeology, textual analysis, and scholarship. And the Church has accepted that.

      I kept reading, waiting for Woods to explain why not only Copernicus and Galileo but all heliocentric works were put on the Index of Forbidden Books for almost 200 years. He decides not to mention that. Why not? It is a more important fact, as far as the relationship of the Church to science, than what did or did not get discussed between one scientist and a few cardinals in 1632.

  6. Most Catholics are unaware that the celibacy requirement for priests had an economic genesis. If a married priest died, his widow or children might have a claim on Church property. If he was celibate this wouldn’t happen. Better informed bishops admit this.

    Just one example of many.

    Your sources of information are biased and any “history” you teach would be worthless. Sorry to sound harsh but it’s the truth.

    “Woke” history has its own problems but that does not excuse what you’re doing.

  7. If there is holy Tradition, is there also unholy Tradition? Unlike Scripture, there is no single volume called Tradition that has the inerrancy that is ascribed to Scripture. There is a lot of Tradition that has been produced in the past 2000 years. All Church teaching needs to be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture. Not all Catholic writings qualify as Tradition. We are told to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1Thessalonians 5:21). I believe that this is where our supernatural discernment from the Holy Spirit is required. It protects us from false teaching.

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