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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Articles > Why Study History? Why Study History? Over the years our family became
increasingly frustrated by the mixed bag of history resources and information
available from the popular non-Catholic homeschool suppliers. As we studied
history together we discovered that history witnesses to the truth and authority
of the Catholic Church. Despite this fact, many people,
sometimes purposely to attack or weaken the Church, but more often out of
ignorance or blindness, have distorted their telling of history in books and
movies (both fiction and non-fiction) and through the media. History is too often used as a weapon
against the Faith! Our own ignorance of true
history allows this to be perpetuated. A proper understanding of history can bring many souls into the fullness of the Faith and strengthen the faith of us all. We personally know of many individuals and families who have entered or re-entered the Catholic Church because of their study of true history. It is no wonder that "as Catholics, we are preeminently the people for whom history matters."** Many people who have been educated in traditional schools are under the impression that the study of history is nothing more than a series of dull textbooks and dry lectures which have no connection to their own life. That is because history has been divorced from its story and from the deeper meaning that belongs to a telling of true history. There is no meaning to the history that is taught in secular, and yes, even many Catholic schools. History is presented as just a series of random events that happened purely by chance. There is no mention of a divine plan or that there is a Divine Planner in charge of the world and its history. Secular history is just the story of man's purposeless existence and accomplishments on earth. In the world today there is a full-scale war against truth. History is being re-written for political and social agendas and the truth is becoming harder and harder to discover. Yet as the darkness grows so does the light. More and more people are realizing that something is missing, that they are being lied to; they are searching for a truth they are not even certain exists. The Catholic view of history is very different. We believe that Truth exists and can be discovered. We believe that there most certainly is a God, that He created the universe and each one of us for a very specific purpose and our study of history should reflect this belief. How then do we teach history to our children? History is the story of God and man, of our creation by God and our search for Him who made us, "the re-gathering of human life throughout history into the arms of God."** What a beautiful view of history! Suddenly human history has a beginning, a purpose and a destination. History is not just about a series of battles and political power struggles, it is the story of God's saving actions in human life - the Story of our Salvation by God. A Catholic study of history is not just a matter of using a Catholic textbook instead of a secular or Protestant book or of adding in the lives of the saints or Church history. The Catholic faith teaches the existence of absolute truth, of Truth Incarnate which is Jesus Christ himself. The study of history can and should be a vehicle to search for this truth, to come into closer union with Truth Himself. 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 to 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. This is also the purpose and goal of RC History - to help us all as parents and teachers to convey the truths of history to the next generation. *Belloc, Hilaire, Esaays of a Catholic, TAN Books and Publishers, available from Resource Connections to History **Lasseter, Rollin A. "Light to the Nations: Reclaiming the Catholic Historical Imagination." The Catholic Faith 4, no. 4 (July/August 1998): 17-22.
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