Written by: Tendai Chitsike
Article source: JOY! Magazine
In the last few years, there appears to have been a renewed interest in the field of history. Often derided as the study of ‘dates and dead people’, the subject was viewed as less important than say, maths or science. So, while it is encouraging to note this enthusiasm, I am concerned by some of the reasons behind this.
What, you may ask, does this have to do with Christianity? Everything. Our faith in rooted in the historical events of the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Rewrite these events, and you no longer have the Christian faith. While the historicity of Christ has always been attacked by critics, what is currently being undermined is the broader Christian worldview of history: one that gives us the big picture of God’s creation, Adam’s fall that made sin universal, and the restorative work of the Church since the redemption of Christ.
How is this history being revised?
Primarily through the lens of Critical Theory, Marxism, and Secularism, the new version teaches history in a profoundly different way. In essence, ‘history’ has become the story of how a virtually pristine world was violently overthrown through the original sin of western, white colonialism. This revisionist view of history therefore teaches us that the reason for the mess we are in, from the plight of indigenous peoples in the Third World to the looming environmental catastrophe, is effectively because of this colonialist-capitalist project.
This isn’t even questioned
Such a view of history has gained such traction that in many quarters it is no longer even questioned. In a statement also asserted by his predecessor, President Ramaphosa declared without hesitation in Parliament that, “the taking of land from the indigenous people of this country was the original sin.” From my observation, such a view is largely in accordance with our public school history curriculum, and the views of university students I have spoken to. When faced with this or any other view of history, we should ask ourselves the following: is this a true, all-encompassing reflection of reality? Why is a biblical view of history so important, and what should we do about it?
Sin is what has ruined this world
The consistent message from Genesis 3 onwards is that things fell apart with Adam’s disobedience to God. Such a fall imbued in us our sinful nature, and resulted in all manifestations of sin including oppression and violence among all people everywhere. This is the historical reality that we find both in the scriptures and other historical accounts.
A history with much suffering
Do we find oppression in Trans-Atlantic Slavery and Colonialism? Without a doubt, many examples can be pointed to. Yet, if we are looking at history through a biblical worldview, we see much more than a truncated, en-vogue reading that leaves the West guilty and the Third World innocent. Did pioneer missionaries come to a paradise when they arrived in Africa? No, we see quite the opposite. We see, as David Livingstone witnessed first-hand in Central Africa, that Africans enslaved and sold other Africans to Arabs in what he described as ‘the open sore of the world’. Furthermore, through Livingstone’s life and others, we also see that all people, under the Lordship of Christ, can be used as agents of redemption, regardless of the colour of their skin or their nationality.
The church has the answer
While it is not politically incorrect to mention examples of pre- and post colonial oppression by non-Westerners, it is a vital part of historical reality. What is also vital is to show that despite its many flaws, the Church has been the greatest agent of human flourishing wherever it has gone. Including these lessons is helpful not only for an accurate view of history, but also in pointing people to the cause of and the solution for the human problem: originating in sinful rebellion against God, but finding redemption in Christ.
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Date published: 29/10/2022
TENDAI CHITSIKE – Pastor of Every Nation Church in Makhanda. Email: engrahamstown@gmail.com
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