The Meaning of History!
Well I did say that we would be looking next at what it means to have an absolute personality behind the universe. But as I was flicking through my books I came across some important material I believe should come first.
The book I was reading was "The meaning of history" by; Ronald Nash.
Nash asks the question "What is the pattern of history?
As we have seen either the universe is Rational or running on Blind irrational fate!
Philosophers have proposed about three main patterns of history. The first is a linear pattern, where history has a goal or end toward which it is moving. A goal, meaning a purpose and reason, or according to a rational plan (God’s)
The 2nd being a Cyclical theory of history; in this view history repeats itself over and over again and the 3rd being the Spiral theory which believes the world is getting better and better. There could be a forth one being the Chaos theory; meaning history is impersonal and irrational.
Nash says; "Philosophers of history want to know if history has meaning or whether it is simply "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". They also want to know if there is an end or goal towards which history ultimately is moving.
Is history merely the result of chance or inexorable fate or is it a divine drama with a plot, a plan, or a goal.
Nash also says, "Almost all of the great civilizations existing before the beginning of the Christian era ascribed a cyclical pattern to history. This was true in most of the great ancient cultures, including Babylonia, Persia, ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, and Rome"
The Cyclical theory teaches that the sequence of historical events in the cycle we are living in has repeated itself many times in the past and will continue to be repeated in the future. If history goes round and round never getting anywhere, forever repeating itself, there can be no goal either for individual humans or for the species. Whatever happens to humans will happen again; whatever humans accomplish, they must accomplish again and again forever.
That means that Evil and human suffering will never cease and we can never improve humanity. Today many people love the theories of reincarnation and karma, which are connected to this cyclical system. One problem with the view of karma is that it just does not correspond to reality. I heard John Frame once say, that it is strange that in life it seems that the most decent and righteous are those who suffer the most. Also karma has does not follow a moral law, but works with the laws of nature, the laws of cause and effect.
As the Bible asks "Why do the righteous suffer and the unrighteous prosper"
As for the Spiral theory, the teaching is that the world is getting better and better. It keeps improving. As far as I see, this is false we live in the most messed up world. More hatred and violence then ever.
The Chaos theory of history is basically irrational blind random reactions and events. Which again gives us no meaning at all of history.
As for the view of Linear, this theory holds that a rational master designer has a plan for all events and they are all following a plan. There is a journey from the beginning to the end. God’s plan infuses history with meaning. There is a plot to our actions. Man is created in the image of God, given purpose and value, instructed with the rules and principles of life. That evil and suffering will end and our struggles are not meaningless. For some, there will be eternal paradise and for others justice will be repaid.
Either History has some rational meaning to it or it is irrational!
The book I was reading was "The meaning of history" by; Ronald Nash.
Nash asks the question "What is the pattern of history?
As we have seen either the universe is Rational or running on Blind irrational fate!
Philosophers have proposed about three main patterns of history. The first is a linear pattern, where history has a goal or end toward which it is moving. A goal, meaning a purpose and reason, or according to a rational plan (God’s)
The 2nd being a Cyclical theory of history; in this view history repeats itself over and over again and the 3rd being the Spiral theory which believes the world is getting better and better. There could be a forth one being the Chaos theory; meaning history is impersonal and irrational.
Nash says; "Philosophers of history want to know if history has meaning or whether it is simply "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". They also want to know if there is an end or goal towards which history ultimately is moving.
Is history merely the result of chance or inexorable fate or is it a divine drama with a plot, a plan, or a goal.
Nash also says, "Almost all of the great civilizations existing before the beginning of the Christian era ascribed a cyclical pattern to history. This was true in most of the great ancient cultures, including Babylonia, Persia, ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, and Rome"
The Cyclical theory teaches that the sequence of historical events in the cycle we are living in has repeated itself many times in the past and will continue to be repeated in the future. If history goes round and round never getting anywhere, forever repeating itself, there can be no goal either for individual humans or for the species. Whatever happens to humans will happen again; whatever humans accomplish, they must accomplish again and again forever.
That means that Evil and human suffering will never cease and we can never improve humanity. Today many people love the theories of reincarnation and karma, which are connected to this cyclical system. One problem with the view of karma is that it just does not correspond to reality. I heard John Frame once say, that it is strange that in life it seems that the most decent and righteous are those who suffer the most. Also karma has does not follow a moral law, but works with the laws of nature, the laws of cause and effect.
As the Bible asks "Why do the righteous suffer and the unrighteous prosper"
As for the Spiral theory, the teaching is that the world is getting better and better. It keeps improving. As far as I see, this is false we live in the most messed up world. More hatred and violence then ever.
The Chaos theory of history is basically irrational blind random reactions and events. Which again gives us no meaning at all of history.
As for the view of Linear, this theory holds that a rational master designer has a plan for all events and they are all following a plan. There is a journey from the beginning to the end. God’s plan infuses history with meaning. There is a plot to our actions. Man is created in the image of God, given purpose and value, instructed with the rules and principles of life. That evil and suffering will end and our struggles are not meaningless. For some, there will be eternal paradise and for others justice will be repaid.
Either History has some rational meaning to it or it is irrational!
posted by Rich7 at 8:08 PM
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