on history:

In my early years, all my studies of history never made much sense to me. I failed to see the importance of dates and stories from the past, when I was really much more concerned with who had won or lost the game of soccer at recess, and what strategy we were going to use in the next game at the next recess. In high school, history began to seem a bit more applicable, as I learned how to protect Mexico from an invading German army during our mock international affairs activities, and as I learned that history extended beyond the heavy, two-inch-thick textbook that was left in my locker unless I had to answer the five questions at the end of a certain chapter. I was slowly beginning to see that there is much to learn from history than facts and dates.

History is relevant today. We hear about conflicts in the past, and we read about atrocities of old, but we must come to the realization that what could have been solutions to those conflicts and atrocities in our past could potentially function as solutions to similar problems we may be facing today. Beyond just finding information for a research paper, or filling in dates on a timeline, if we are wise we must be conscious of our past (and all the different areas that it concerns) and apply it to the present.

Looking back at various instances in the past, certain people have called the truth of the Gospel into question, and unfortunately, rather than engaging with these issues in an intellectually respectable way, the church often lost credibility to speak into issues, specifically with the issue of Evolution in the 1800’s. In 1860, during a public debate between Thomas Huxley, one of Charles Darwin’s main advocates, and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop Wilberforce resorted to making a joke out of Darwin’s scientific theory. As a result, the church lost almost all authority they had once had to speak truth into an issue that was becoming increasingly popular in the time. Perhaps God has given the church reason to believe in something a bit more intentional than the evolutionary process seemed, but that didn’t give reason for His people to make a mockery out of what should have been an intellectual, civilized, and rational debate. Had members of the church been willing to bring truth to this situation, perhaps they could have brought direction to what God may have been doing in the minds of these scientists, and we would not have quite the division between the church and science we so often see and experience today.

The issue today is quite similar. Are we walking away from the issues of today, or are we walking into the areas that are potentially dirty, and maybe a bit unfamiliar, to bring a light into the places that are crying for illumination? Society is dying to see a good news that is functioning in the everyday life – in music (even rock n’ roll), in education, in politics and foreign affairs, in science, in the blue-collar workforce, and beyond. Our God is infinitely bigger than we could even begin to imagine, longing to relate to everyone, from the heavy metal guitarist to you local librarian to the politicians in Washington, D.C. The Gospel is relevant - truth mustn’t be scared of a debate.

(existing in a polluted world)

(confronting dirtiness)

(sheltered?)

(clean-up)

(in a changing world)

(God's message is the same)