Proposal
This paper will show that what we believe about origins makes tremendous differences In our views of history. Evolutionists believe that this world Is all there is (monism); biblical creationists believe that this world and time itself was created out of nothing by the personal, sovereign, transcendent God of the Bible. Evolutionist historians presuppose long aeons of "prehistory," minimizing the Importance of human history as a whole; biblical creationist historians begin with man's creation In God's own Image and likeness a few thousand years ago. Evolutionists are uncertain about man's historical purpose, Biblical creationists believe man's purpose Is to obey God's creation mandate to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and have dominion over It, a mandate further charted by God's commandments and the Gospel; the key to history is how well or III man obeys this mandate.
Ancient evolutionist paganism viewed history as recurring cycles, thereby robbing It of all meaning. For biblical creationism, history Is linear from creation to Christ's Second Coming by way of the Fall, the Flood, the dispersal of the nations at Babel, the history of Israel, the Incarnation, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the worldwide preaching of the Gospel. Modern paganism In both Its materialist and pantheist "New Age" forms still believes In linear history as well though now rapidly discarding this remnant of Christian Influence through "multicultural" education. It denies man's Fall and hence need for Christ as his Redeemer from sin. It believes in past upward evolutionary progress and expects change of human nature, merging of nations and one world government as hlstory's next milestone. Evolutionist historians believe In determinism (by geography, heredity. economics, etc.) and/or chance. Biblical creationist historians believe God the Creator's will is the ultimate cause of all events, preserving man's freedom to obey or disobey God.
The biblical creation view of history is well undergirded today by the International scientific creation movement which shows that evolution cannot have happened. It is also confirmed by fulfilled biblical prophecy and by the bankruptcy of societies disregarding the creation mandate. Evolutionist educators and historians themselves have brought about the sad neglect of history study today by their reductionist, joyless theories of history as ultimately useless and meaningless. Creation based historiography has preserved consistent objective meaning and purpose for the study of history as an indispensable academic discipline. Creation based historiography recognizes the hidden role of evil supernatural spirits beginning with Satan in Eden, whose existence or evil modern evolutionists deny. Only creation based historiography joyfully promises man victory over these spirits and all adversity yesterday, today and tomorrow In Jesus Christ our Saviour (Gen. 3:15; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 Cor. 15:57).
References to St. Augustine's pivotal City of God, Herbert Butterfield 's Christianity and Historv, Christopher Dawson's Religion and the Rise of Western Culture, R. G. Collingwood's The Idea of History, and to other contemporary historians and history textbooks round out this study.
Keywords
Monism, prehistory, creation mandate, cyclical history, linear history, progress. determinism, chance, judgment, nations, victory at Calvary
Print Reference
Pages 387-396
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Recommended Citation
Myers, Ellen
(1994)
"Creation: The Key to History,"
Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism: Vol. 3, Article 36.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/icc_proceedings/vol3/iss1/36