The value of history

Update: For some reason I was able to access the Kairos Journal article yesterday, but today they're making people register to read it. Sorry about that.

Kairos Journal has posted a good little article on the value of teaching history in the church:

As a whole—and to its detriment—the contemporary Church is more interested in the present than in the past. At this point, the Church is reflecting the culture rather than transforming it. According to historian Steven Ozment, the study of history has been all but lost: “The longest shelves in local bookstores and libraries are filled with fiction, self-help, and current events (mostly the lives and politics of American leaders)—immediate, self-referential information serving personal amusement and struggle . . .

Pastors who weave history into their teaching—keeping history and theology together—offer depth and perspective too often missing in a fast-paced, pleasure-seeking, future-oriented culture. Shepherds who instruct their congregations to value history help them see the horror of their own sin and the glory of God who, through the historic work of Christ, took that sin away.

Amen. And thanks to Ray Van Neste for the link.