Creation: The Key to History

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\u27s creation In God\u27s own Image and likeness a few thousand years ago. Evolutionists are uncertain about man\u27s historical purpose, Biblical creationists believe man\u27s purpose Is to obey God\u27s creation mandate to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and have dominion over It, a mandate further charted by God\u27s 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\u27s 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\u27s 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\u27s next milestone. Evolutionist historians believe In determinism (by geography, heredity. economics, etc.) and/or chance. Biblical creationist historians believe God the Creator\u27s will is the ultimate cause of all events, preserving man\u27s 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\u27s pivotal City of God, Herbert Butterfield \u27s Christianity and Historv, Christopher Dawson\u27s Religion and the Rise of Western Culture, R. G. Collingwood\u27s The Idea of History, and to other contemporary historians and history textbooks round out this study