Smoky Mountain Bible Institute
Lesson #42
breakout your maps and histories as
we travel in a time machine of sorts to examine History & Geography through
a biblical world view. I chose to cover these two topic together because when
we speak of Geography we will discuss the world from the prospective of
countries, kingdoms and boundaries and the only way any map is correct is if it
has a date on it, because countries, kingdoms and boundaries are always
changing and in flux. That being said
the Bible is the greatest source for geography and historical information in
all of antiquity. Not because it is a geography text or a history text, quiet
to the contrary, purely as an incidental reality because the Bible contains so
many names of people and places and chronological narratives and in-depth,
detailed descriptions of, legal, spiritual, and cultural practices of peoples
in their context, it is an invaluable resource for Historians, Cartographers,
Archeologist, Paleontologist, and any other field of scientific study that
touches on any aspect of God's creation.
That being said lets start by
defining Geography & History (what follows is a paraphrase of what you can
get at good old Wikipedia.
Geography: Geography
is from Greek geographia, "earth description" is the science that
studies the lands, the features, the inhabitants, and the phenomena of the
Earth. A literal translation would be
"to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the
word "geography" was Eratosthenes (276-194 BC). Historically there
are Four traditions in geographical research. Modern geography is an
all-encompassing discipline that foremost seeks to understand the Earth and all
of its human and natural complexities. —not merely where objects are, but how
they have changed and come to be. Geography has been called "the world
discipline" and "the bridge between the human and the physical
sciences". Geography is divided into two main branches: human geography
and physical geography.
History: History is
from Greek historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by
investigation" this is an umbrella term that relates to past events as
well as the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of
information about these events. The term includes cosmic, geologic, and organic
history, but is often generically implied to mean human history. History can
also refer to the academic discipline which uses a narrative to examine and analyze
a sequence of past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and
effect.
Historians sometimes debate the
nature of history and its usefulness by discussing the study of the discipline
as an end in itself and as a way of providing "perspective" on the
problems of the present. Stories common to a particular culture, but not
supported by external sources (such as the tales surrounding King Arthur) are
usually classified as cultural heritage or legends, because they do not support
the "disinterested investigation" required of the discipline of
history. Events occurring prior to written record are considered prehistory.
Herodotus, a 5th century B.C. Greek
historian is considered to be the "father of history", and, along
with his contemporary Thucydides, helped form the foundations for the modern
study of human history. Their influence has helped spawn variant
interpretations of the nature of history which have evolved over the centuries
and continue to change today. The modern study of history is wide-ranging, and
includes the study of specific regions and the study of certain topical or thematic
elements of historical investigation. Often history is taught as part of
primary and secondary education, and the academic study of history is a major
discipline in University studies.
George Santayana, a 20th century
Spanish-American philosopher wrote in his book Reason in Common Sense, The
Life of Reason, Vol.1 "Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." this was a
modification of Edmund Burkes statement in the 1700's, "Those who don't
know history are destined to repeat it.". I have also heard this said as "those
who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it". I would further
state it this way. "Mankind's sinful nature will repeat itself and our
knowledge of history and application of its lessons will have little affect on
the pain and suffering sin will cause in the future, however the forgiving
healing reconciling nature of Christ will heal all wounds of the past present
and future.
In Christ Pastor Portier
In Christ Pastor Portier
