Why Study History?: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past

by John Fea

Overview

What is the purpose of studying history? How do we reflect on contemporary life from a historical perspective and can such reflection help us better understand ourselves, the world around us, and the God we worship and serve?

In this introductory textbook, accomplished historian John Fea shows why Christians should study history, how faith is brought to bear on our understanding of the past, and how studying the past can help us more effectively love God and others. Deep historical thinking can relieve us of our narcissism; cultivate humility, hospitality, and love; and transform our lives more fully into the image of Jesus Christ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801039652
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/15/2013
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	521,411
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

John Fea (PhD, State University of New York at Stony Brook) is distinguished professor of American history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? and the coeditor of Confessing History: Explorations in Christian Faith and the Historian's Vocation. He writes a popular daily blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home.

Table of Contents

Contents
Prologue
1. What Do Historians Do?
2. In Search of a Usable Past
3. The Past Is a Foreign Country
4. Providence and History
5. Christian Resources for the Study of the Past
6. History for a Civil Society
7. The Power to Transform
8. So What Can You Do with a History Major?
Epilogue: History and the Church
Appendix: A Proposal for the Center for American History and a Civil Society
Index