If we only focus on what is happening in our immediate context, and that immediate context happens to be protected from many of the ills of this world, we can start believing the lie that people are generally good. However, if we look beyond to the heartache that has plagued every generation, we understand that things are not as rosy as we supposed. 

Why should history have to make a case for itself? No one questions why we should study mathematics or science. The humanities are always having to justify their existence in a way that is not expected of other disciplines. Even so, I do not mind the question—either as a writer of historical fiction or a student of historic theology—because I believe that studying history provides many benefits to us, not only as human beings, but specifically as Christians.

1. History reveals the depravity of man.

I once worked on a social science research survey where I was required to ask young people whether they believed that human beings were basically good. Nearly all of them, regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, or religious beliefs, answered that we are basically good. Scripture, on the other hand, suggests that human beings tend toward evil apart from the grace of God.

As Jeremiah prophesied, “The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) The Apostle Paul wrote that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and Isaiah lamented, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

It is impossible to study history without encountering this truth. If we only focus on what is happening in our immediate context, and that immediate context happens to be protected from many of the ills of this world, we can start believing the lie that people are generally good. However, if we look beyond to the heartache that has plagued every generation, we understand that things are not as rosy as we supposed. Who can read about the Soviet gulags, the African slave trade, or the systematic rape carried out by invading armies without wondering, “Are we really good?” No culture in history has made it through any substantial amount of time without committing wicked acts, including our own. This is a testament to our innate depravity.

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