Advent 09- History

This might seem a strange topic to say is a Good Thing.  Many terrible things have been done in the past- though I'd say probably no more than in the present or future.  But I do think history, the study of the past, is a Good Thing and not just because it was the subject I did my degree in!

There's a saying that all history students know, that those who do not know their past are doomed to repeat it.  Having watched Andrew Marr's recent series on The Making of Modern Britain I can see just how far this is true.  Previous political clashes, economic crises, and diplomatic conflicts from previous times in history all bear a striking resemblance to recent ones.  Marr even made some cutting comments about how politicians should stay home and read more history, and you can see why.

So we can learn from history, although of course we cannot just blindly do what worked last time (or the opposite of what didn't work).  Circumstances will vary, people will react in different ways.  But history tells us far more than how to win an election or avoid a strike.  We can look at history and see the roots of modern conflicts, in Ireland, India, the Middle East.  Perhaps that can help us solve them.

History tells us about people, about what they have believed to be important and why.  We can find people to admire, to inspire us, give us courage to stand up for what we believe to be right.  For example, leaders like Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, or Nelson Mandela.   It can warn us, move us to compassion and remorse and a desire to amend what is wrong, or ensure disasters never happen again.  Like African slavery, the First World War, the Irish and Indian famines of the nineteenth century, or the Nazis' Final Solution.

And the history of the church can tell us about how Christianity has adapted to fit the needs of people in the different cultures it has found itself in and the challenges it has faced, while still retaining the core beliefs of Jesus' saving birth and death and what that means for us.  That, perhaps, can help us see how to meet the needs of our own culture.  And that is most definitely a Good Thing.