08/08/2026
Why We Study History
By Rev. Ally Perry
When I was young the study of history was of little interest to me. That was a time when our history tests consisted of dates, rulers and important battles. Much of it was about wars. I even remember asking my teacher about a battle during the civil war that was fought over a bridge. I asked, “Why did they not just go around the bridge?” I could not see the need for fighting and perhaps dying over a bridge. I believe that my generation lived in the present. It was the 60’s and the world was changing because we were changing it. There were not going to be any more wars.
We have different histories, our personal history, our family history, our state/regional history, our national history and our international history. In addition to this we have history of civilization. I was raised to be acquainted with western civilizational history, the power of Greece and the transmission of deep knowledge from Greece to Rome. When we read the Bible we get the history of the People of God, the Jews of the Old Testament and the coming of the promised Messiah to free the world from sin and give everlasting life. From the point of view of Biblical history, empires rise and fall. Egypt had a great civilization that ruled for 2,000 years. Then Assyria rose to power, followed by Babylon, Persia, Greece and then Rome. Recently, Rebecca Gregory realized that she has been alive for almost 1/3 of the length of the United States of America. All of the changes of the power of civilization have been because wars were lost and won. Wars will continue to be lost and won.
Recently, I have been watching AI Recreations of ancient cities on You Tube: Pompei, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome, London and New York. They enthrall me, especially because the most lovely, educated, thoughtful civilizations do not always win. After watching a history of Rome, with its wonderful achievements of running water, elegant baths for the entire population, delicious food and beautiful homes and gardens, Rebecca Gregory made the comment: "The Goths and the Visigoths have a lot to answer for.” The commentator said that Europe would not reach that level of civilization again for 1,000 years. We are the People of God in this time and place. Let us thank God for the opportunity to be part of history, listening to what God calls us to do now.
Peace be with you,
Ally+
