Posted by
Barnabas on Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:51:13 PM
ChristianityToday.com has published their Top 10 Reasons to Read Christian History. (HT
Jolly Blogger) Two reasons caught my eye:
#2 Because it liberates you from the tyranny of the present. C.S. Lewis "compared the reader of history to the man who has lived in many places. This man 'is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village; the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age.'"
#4 Because whatever question is on your mind, someone smarter than you has already seen it clearer, thought about it longer, and expressed it better. Why reinvent the wheel?
I remember the time when a young man came to me and said he was reading John Calvin's "Institutes." I encouraged him and said that Calvin was a great Christian thinker and teacher. The young man mentioned that he had found a web site whose author was listing all of Calvin's errors and misconceptions. I said that I had no idea about the critic's specific issues, but predicted that as he kept reading the "Institutes" he would find that Calvin had anticipated and answered all of the critic's concerns. Three weeks later, the young man reported that Calvin had indeed anticipated and clearly answered the web critic. Be assurred,"whatever question is on your mind, someone smarter than you has already seen it clearer, thought about it longer, and expressed it better."
Read the Christianity Today article here.