We believe
that history is essential to understanding the Catholic Faith
and that the Catholic Faith is essential to understanding
true
history.
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Volume One Extras:
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The CONNECT Framework: Introduction to Salvation History The goal of this program is to introduce the student to a view of history that is distinctly Christian and Catholic. We must begin by examining the History of Salvation for that is the story of history from which all other stories are derived. Human history is only given true meaning through the understanding that we were created for a purpose by an all-loving God who actively participates in all human life through His Divine Providence. He created us, He sustains us, He hears us when we cry out to Him for help and comfort, He sends us prophets and yes, even miracles yet today. The ultimate purpose to which He gives each of our lives is to return to Him to abide with Him forever! The central thread of history is the story of the people of God. The history of the Jews is the history of the roots of Western Culture and of Christianity. The Old Testament tells the story of Israel and the covenants made between God and man. With the coming of Christ the Old Covenant is fulfilled and the New Israel is formed - the Church - which incorporates all the peoples of the world into the family of God. The rest of history tells the story of the kingdom of God on earth and God’s plan of salvation for all mankind. The Divine Plan did not end with the writing of the Bible, it continues into our own day and beyond and each of us has a role in the workings of history. Our God is a personal God. He cares about each individual and wills each of us to attain salvation. This is the Big Picture of history that we must convey to our children if they are to come to a true understanding of history. History is not only about far away times and places. From the stories of history we can draw lessons for our own lives. Each of us is living out our own personal salvation history; we each have a moment of creation and a goal of union with Christ at the end of our life. Christ is also at the center of our lives as He comes to live within us in His Incarnate Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. Christ must be at the center of our personal history! Our study of history from a distinctively Catholic worldview includes the following basic concepts: 1. There is a Christian understanding of history which is distinct from a secular survey of historical events. 2. The Christian understanding of history is based on the Old Testament and the Jewish faith. 3. To truly understand history we must understand the history of Israel and the Old Testament. 4. We study other ancient cultures within the context of their relationship to Israel. 5. The central thread of history is the movement from the Old Israel to the New Israel; the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. 6. There are two levels of historical meaning: secular history is what we generally think of as history - the surface events of geo-political history; the other, salvation history is the plan of Divine Providence - God's actions in human history. 7. Salvation history also has multiple levels of meaning which we hope to draw upon within each unit in our program. The first level tells the history of peoples and nations, centering on the Chosen People of Israel. We read the Old Testament stories as historical narratives of the events of an ancient culture that existed amid many other nations and cultures of ancient times. The next level of historical meaning relates the events of the Old Testament to the destiny of all people. It has significance not only for the Israelites, but also for the non-Jewish peoples, as they have been formed by God into the New Israel, the Universal Church. Salvation history also has meaning for our individual lives. This is the third level which we will examine. The Bible is not merely a history book, it is the living Word of God which speaks to us in our daily lives. We will focus your attention on themes presented through the vehicle of salvation history that may be applied to your family members’ individual lives as you study history together. |
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