RELIGION: Standing on the shoulders of giants – Montrose Daily Press

We live in an age which idolizes newness. There is a tacit assumption that the newest is best. Since Darwinism was propounded 150 years ago, much of the West has assumed we are ever evolving to higher forms of life. This Darwinian preference for the modern has influenced not only our understanding of biology but has become the creed in social sciences as well.

Certainly a 2021 Ford is superior to a 1908 Model-T but in the realm of thought the same progressive ideal may not be so compelling. Genocide has been refined to unimaginable efficiency in the past hundred years. In some ways society seems to mimic physics in observing the second law of thermodynamics where, left to itself, progress is to greater disorder not greater order. Evidence might say we devolve not evolve.

Who am I? In some respects, I am my heritage. Alexis de Tocqueville, the 19th century commentator on American society said, When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness. I am informed by the past and can thereby avoid the errors of the past.

In World War I, millions of soldiers died making frontal assaults into the face of machine gun fire with little discernible gain from this tactic. Subsequent generations have wisely abandoned that military strategy. In 1854, John Snow demonstrated that cholera was transmitted by contaminated water. If we ignore his historic discovery, millions die.

In our day society has developed two prevailing attitudes toward history: outright rejection or weaponization. Many moderns would agree with Henry Fords 1921 declaration. History is more or less bunkthe only history that is worth a tinkers dam is the history we make today. Many in academia believe with Louis de Bernieres that History is the propaganda of the victors. They propose that the powerful should rewrite history to serve their purposes, to promote their cultural narrative. Yet for thousands of years conventional wisdom agreed with the Roman statesman, Cicero, who 2000 years ago stated that Not to know what happened before you were born, is to remain forever a child. A child encounters the world as a series of painful new learning experiences unless he is mentored by adults to respect the received wisdom of the ages.

The Christian view of history is quite different from these secular views. Christians see man as Gods special creation, made in Gods likeness. Gods likeness was marred when man rebelled against Gods authority but it was not eliminated. Each person has dignity because he resembles to some degree the holy, perfect God. History is the story of God working through men to restore His image in humankind, and thereby raising humanity to its full intended glory. History has purpose and direction.

It is not mere random facts, which can be interpreted differently by each person. It is the unfolding revelation of Gods loving initiative to deliver humanity from self-destructive rebellion into eternal companionship with Him. My identity is determined in my discovering my role in that unfolding saga.

Christianity is anchored in history. Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus were historical characters. Archaeology once scoffed at the historicity of Scripture, but discoveries over the past two centuries have repeatedly attested to the historical reliability of the Biblical accounts. The verified integrity of the New Testament manuscripts is unparalleled in all of literature. We are far more certain of what Jesus said than we are of the actual words of Plato or Shakespeare (whose works are less than one-quarter as ancient).

The marvelous deeds of God in history give Christians solid grounds for their faith. Indeed, the modern attack on history is in part motivated by the desire to deprive Christians of the foundation which establishes the validity of their faith commitments. The foes of Christianity understand that the Church is unassailable if its historical roots are intact.

Isaac Newton, the 18th century father of the Scientific Revolution, stated that If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

As Christians we are building on the shoulders of giants: Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Wesley, Wilberforce, Lewis, Graham. All but Jesus were sinful men and hence fallible but all have made meaningful contributions to our understanding of liberty and justice, to our ability to create societies that elevate humanity, restoring it to the true likeness of holy God.

We must not let progressive arrogance deny us the heritage through which we find our identity as children of the living God destined to be conformed to His image as we draw on the eternal wisdom delivered to us by our forefathers. History is not bunk. It is not propaganda. It is the lode star which orients us in our earthly journey. We neglect it at our own peril.

Doug Kiesewetter is a serial start-up business and social entrepreneur, having launched 13 for-profit ventures and many non-profits over the past 4 decades. He is currently CEO of a Montrose-based solar manufacturer and chairman of Waterstone, a public Christian foundation in Colorado Springs. Doug is a member of Cedar Creek Church. He and his wife Deborah have two adult children and four grandchildren.

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RELIGION: Standing on the shoulders of giants - Montrose Daily Press