More Than Dates and Dead People: Recovering a Christian View of History

I hated history in school, but now I understand why this was so! History was taught to me from the evolutionary, secular humanist mindset, and thus it could have no purpose, plan or meaning. I thoroughly enjoy history now, because I have been freed to see that all history, even our own seemingly inconsequential little lives, can have enormous influence. Even if you are not Christian, Mr. Mansfield's method of dissecting history is spot on: you only need to understand 5 arenas as you examine the people and times of the past: 1) religion; 2) culture; 3) Law; 4) education; and 5) art. What is religion? It is "ultimate concern." It is that to which men willingly give their lives, what occupies their thoughts, their money and their time. No society or individual is free from it, including Richard Dawkins. What is culture? According to Mansfield, culture is "religion externalized." Differences between cultures are simply the expression of ultimate concerns that permeate a society. Understanding different cultures requires looking at the next three aspects (law, education and art). What is law? It is a culture's attempt to set standards of moral behavior, to deal with matters of truth, fairness, and justice. I must quote Mansfield here: "You will sometimes hear people say, 'You can't legislate morality.' This isn't true, though. In fact, morality is all you can legislate. For example, why don't we have laws that require pink flowers in all second-story windows boxes? These laws sound silly, don't they? And the reason they sound silly is that they have nothing to do with morality, with right and wrong. That's why we have laws that deal with murder, stealing, personal assault, and discrimination. These are issues of truth, fairness - what is right. They are issues of religious truth [ultimate concern]." "This also explains why laws vary so widely between countries of the world. In some countries with an Islamic heritage, it is permissible to chop off the hand of a thief. This is because of the teaching of the Koran. In some countries, a woman has no rights to speak of, and this is, again, because of the religious system that shapes the legal system....All of these laws sound strange to us because we have a different religious system behind our laws and a different understanding of what is true, what is right, and what is fair." What is education? It is the transmission of ultimate concern from one generation to the next. What is art? Religion or "ultimate concern" symbolized (in art, music, film, literature, etc.). Art communicates the hopes, dreams and beliefs of a people. Isn't that a handy way to categorize history? Truly it is "more than dates and dead people!" Mansfield gives a helpful list of resources at the end of his book to help the reader get started. He includes books, magazines, films, organizations, etc. Excellent little book. Very engaging.

This is my favorite introduction to the study of history. This concise book is required summer reading for my homeschool academy humanities students. It is well written - easily digestible & interesting, generously seasoned with humor. The first sentence is an immediate hook. I cannot recommend this excellent book highly enough.

Provocative historical interpretation, albeit with a theological bias. Even more focus on the Reformation as an historical turning-point would strengthen it.

This ia a lightwieght book about a sometimes heavy wieght subject. It takes a novice at history and helps put it in a light that makes it relevant for study. This book would be very good for those who hate to study history. For those who already love history, it is a great example of looking at it in a different way. It got only 4 stars because it was too short. I wanted more however, the author gave the reader the tools to do it on their own.A Must Read for all History Buffs