History Begins at Creation

By Faith Begin History with Creation

When I took world history in high school and college, the textbooks began with civilization in ancient Mesopotamia. My Christian teachers dismissed evolutionary “prehistory,” but they never replaced these myths with the account of the beginning of human events in the Garden of Eden. When we as parents start to teach “history” without the creation account, we treat it as a secularist would, as something other than an account of how the world actually began. I want my children to approach all subjects by faith. That means taking creation seriously in their history course.

By Faith Understand Humanity in Light of Creation

Secularists try to find ways to define humans. They sometimes call us tool-using-creatures or symbol-using-creatures. Without the creation account, we have a poor basis for understanding human beings. How can our children properly study a subject that records and interprets human events yet doesn’t define our humanity? While the Fall (also covered in our textbook) twisted us, our identity is still rooted in the one in whose image we are made and the directions He gave us in the beginning. Creation is foundational to understanding that humans and humanity are the central focus of historical study.

By Faith See Civilization Through Creation

In general, secularists claim that humans started to congregate and plant crops, which in turn led to civilization. They claim civilization allowed for occupational specializations, such as priests who invented gods. In contrast, the creation account tells us that God ordered humans to “exercise dominion” over the earth. In the first generation, people began cultivating crops (Cain) and practicing husbandry (Abel). Even when murderous Cain began founding cities, he did so because of God’s call to rule over the world. Civilization didn’t beget God, instead God’s direction to man gave rise to civilization.

As your child studies history, these foundational concepts are central to understanding of the events and people they will learn about. That’s why BJU Press Heritage Studies teach that history begins with creation.

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