LUTHER on HISTORY

We all know that Martin Luther wrote and lectured so much that researchers can find something authored by him (or said by him and jotted down by one of his students) on just about any subject.

I was recently thumbing through a notebook one of my sons brought home from a Classical Education conference which included several pages of interesting Luther quotations focused on various aspects of education. Of course the one on History really caught my attention:

"Hence, too, historians are the most useful of men, and the best teachers. Nor can we ever accord too much praise, honor, or gratitude to them; and it should be the work of the great ones of the eart, as emperors, kings, and the like, to cause a faithful record to be made of the history of their own times, and to have such records sacredly preserved and set in order in libraries. And, to this end, they should spare no expense, which may be needful, to educate and maintain those persons whose talents mark them out for this task.

But he who would write history, must be a superior man, lion-hearted and fearless in writing truth. For most manage to pass by in silence, or at least to gloss over the vices of the mischances of their times, to please great lords or their own friends; or they give too high a place to minor, or it may be, insignificant actions; or else, from an overweening love of country, and a hatred toward foreign nations, they bedizen or befoul histories, according to their own likes or dislikes. Hence it is that a suspicious air invests histories and God's providence is shamefully obscured; so the Greeks did in their perverseness, so the Pope's flatterers have done heretofore, and are now doing, till it has come to this, at last, that we do not know what to admit or what to reject. Thus the noble, the precious, and highest use of history is overlooked, and we have only a vain babble and gossip. And this is because the worthy task of writing annals and records is open to everyone without discrimination; and they write or slur over, praise or condemn, at their will.

How important, then, is it, that this office should be filled by men of eminence, or at least by those who are worthy. For, inasmuch as histories are records of God's work, that is, of His grace and His displeasure, which men should believe with as much reason as if the same stood written in the Bible, surely they ought to be penned with all diligence, truth and fidelity."

NEW Concordia Historical Institute MUSEUM

On July 27, Concordia Historical Institute opened its new state-of-the-art museum at the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod International Center (1333 South Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood, MO).

Designed to celebrate the "Heritage of Lutheranism in America," museum displays cover five periods in LCMS history:

1. Luther and the Reformation – describing the origins of the Lutheran church in mid-16th-century Europe and providing insight into the life of Martin Luther.

2. Colonists and Missionaries to America – tracing the travels of the Saxon immigrants to the United States and missionaries who helped form the LCMS in 1847.

3. Growth of a Synod – illustrating the growth of the LCMS in the 19th century as the young church organized under its first president, Dr. C.F.W. Walther, to reach the people of America with the Word of God.

4. From St. Louis to the World – demonstrating how from its founding near St. Louis the church's mission work has expanded domestically and internationally.

5. An Unchanging Message for a Changing World – indicating how the LCMS has worked to meet the challenges of proclaiming the Gospel in the 20th century and into the future through the use of new media, an expanding system of higher education, and outreach to all parts of society.

The museum is open on every weekday except for holidays and is free to the public.

RECORDING HISTORY - Good, Bad, or Neutral?

I hope that as many people as possible take time to record the "history" of their lives and the communities around them, particularly within the church. One of the reasons that multiple records are valuable to (church) historians is that no two people see or record the same event in the same way. We know this to be true about the four Gospels, for example, even as the apostles wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

It is also interesting to see that the same event can be reported as inherently good, bad, or neutral in its value to individuals, society, or the church. Before I started writing In the Footsteps of Phoebe, and old friend asked me, "What are your presuppositions?" I was rather taken aback, and stated that I simply planned to report historical events, rather than color them with my own presuppositions. Now that the project is finished, I understand what my friend meant. All of history, when reported, is seen as either good, bad, or neutral - and years down the road whatever is painted as neutral will be reassigned to good or bad in light of its long-term effect in a continued history. And so we are sometimes caught saying things like, "the jury is still out on that decision."

Of course, years down the road, not everyone will agree about whether today's current events have had a positive or negative effect on our lives - particularly in relation to our faith and the and our goal to be true to God's Word and to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations.

We should be praying fervently for God's guidance now, that the history we live and influence lands on the side called "good;" that someday when they is reported in newer history books, our decisions and actions as individuals and as "church" will be viewed as well-informed, wise, and God-pleasing.