So what exactly is providential history? Can you give examples?

[Irishmommy]

I guess I've never really come across this term and I'm not sure I'd recognize it if I ran across it. Would I? Can you tell me what resources might contain such ideas? If I was public schooled in US, would it have been taught there?

[RootAnn]

Others will do a better job of this, I'm sure. But, start with America's Providential History, The Light and the Glory and From Sea to Shining Sea.

 

Providential History can also be described as "American Exceptionalism." It basically is formed from the belief that God chose America (the land) to be His new "promised land" and that He took a firm & visible hand in its creation, formation, and direction. We're God's Chosen People (the New Covenant instead of the Jews of the Old Testament or All (Baptised) People via Jesus).

 

I know the people who run Beautiful Feet believe in it based on their book choices. I've heard it espoused from the pulpit (on TV) and on TV opinion shows/radio talk shows. I didn't recognize it/realize the extent of it until I read the Light & the Glory.

[boscopup]

There are varying levels of Providential history. Not everyone who believes in PH believes that America is God's chosen nation, though some do. I think that's more of an extreme view. Most of the Christian history curricula available teach some form of PH, though not necessarily the extreme version.

 

Beautiful Feet has a good example of PH in one of their books... They said God used Columbus to discover America. That's Providential history. It's saying that God has a hand in every historical thing that happens.

[Irishmommy]

I see some d'Aulaire books in the BF resources. Are those considered PH? I read the Columbus one to my kids in Nov. and didn't notice anything overtly religious about it.

[mom@shiloh]

"Providential History can also be described as "American Exceptionalism." It basically is formed from the belief that God chose America (the land) to be His new "promised land" and that He took a firm & visible hand in its creation, formation, and direction. We're God's Chosen People (the New Covenant instead of the Jews of the Old Testament or All (Baptised) People via Jesus)."

 

Wow! Really? I didn't know the term was being used that way. I would have said that providential history simply means that all of history is governed by God's providence. The definition of God's providence according to the Westminster Confession (which says it better than I do) is "His completely holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing every creature and every action."

 

Therefore ALL history from every time and every nation is providential history. To use the term as America being God's "promised land" is a distortion, imo.

Edited April 26, 2011 by mom@shiloh
missed something

[susankenny]

Wow! Really? I didn't know the term was being used that way. I would have said that providential history simply means that all of history is governed by God's providence. The definition of God's providence according to the Westminster Confession (which says it better than I do) is "His completely holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing every creature and every action."

 

Therefore ALL history from every time and every nation is providential history. To use the term as America being God's "promised land" is a distortion, imo.

 

:iagree:

 

Yes, this is how I understand it & believe it to be so.

 

Susan

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

"Providential History can also be described as "American Exceptionalism." It basically is formed from the belief that God chose America (the land) to be His new "promised land" and that He took a firm & visible hand in its creation, formation, and direction. We're God's Chosen People (the New Covenant instead of the Jews of the Old Testament or All (Baptised) People via Jesus)."

 

Wow! Really? I didn't know the term was being used that way. I would have said that providential history simply means that all of history is governed by God's providence. The definition of God's providence according to the Westminster Confession (which says it better than I do) is "His completely holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing every creature and every action."

 

Therefore ALL history from every time and every nation is providential history. To use the term as America being God's "promised land" is a distortion, imo.

 

 

Yeah, I would have totally said I believed in providential history until I found out that this American history stuff is what other people were understanding by that which was entirely not what I would have meant. :001_huh:

[Farrar]

I see some d'Aulaire books in the BF resources. Are those considered PH? I read the Columbus one to my kids in Nov. and didn't notice anything overtly religious about it.

 

No, I didn't find them such. Actually, most of the BF book list looked pretty standard to me - it also uses the Jean Fritz books. I assume it's more in the interpretation of the materials? Or perhaps in their choices for the upper elementary/middle school resources?

[Donna A.]

"Providential History can also be described as "American Exceptionalism." It basically is formed from the belief that God chose America (the land) to be His new "promised land" and that He took a firm & visible hand in its creation, formation, and direction. We're God's Chosen People (the New Covenant instead of the Jews of the Old Testament or All (Baptised) People via Jesus)."

 

Wow! Really? I didn't know the term was being used that way. I would have said that providential history simply means that all of history is governed by God's providence. The definition of God's providence according to the Westminster Confession (which says it better than I do) is "His completely holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing every creature and every action."

 

Therefore ALL history from every time and every nation is providential history. To use the term as America being God's "promised land" is a distortion, imo.

 

:iagree: The founding of Rome was providential.... and the founding of Canada was providential.... and the founding of SOUTH America was providential.... etc. The negative side of this which few want to talk about in context of "providential history" is that it was also providential that Rome fell.... and that America may fall, too, just like Rome did. :tongue_smilie:

 

I knew about the view of "American Exceptionalism", though. It's predominant in certain circles. While it's true that America IS exceptional in many ways (some have referred to it as the "great experiment", but I believe that's usually in a negative light ;) ), that doesn't make it the "New Israel".

[boscopup]

No, I didn't find them such. Actually, most of the BF book list looked pretty standard to me - it also uses the Jean Fritz books. I assume it's more in the interpretation of the materials? Or perhaps in their choices for the upper elementary/middle school resources?

 

I was talking about the BF study guide... In their Early American History Primary Study Guide, it says in the sample "Columbus is another special individual God used in the discovery of America."

 

I consider that PH, though it may not be the extreme form (the "America is God's chosen nation" form).

 

There is no revelation from God telling me that God used Columbus or not, so I don't teach such assumptions. I don't know how much God interacts with the world directly today, so I won't attribute actions to Him if I don't know for sure that He did them. The other thread had a good example from the Civil War. I don't believe you can look at something and say "God did that, but God didn't do this over here." We just don't know, and I don't think we need to know. In Old Testament times, the Jewish nation was specifically told that they would be punished. So when they were taken captive, sometimes by very cruel people, it was already known that God had used those people. He had warned them via His Prophets! He then had someone write the results down and specifically said that He had used those nations to punish Israel. Today, we do not have that. We have the Bible as a warning for our own lives, and as a guide for our own lives. It says what we need to know. But as far as whether God has used certain nations to do certain things, we cannot know that today. So I teach that things happened in history. I don't say whether God did or did not do them. If God hasn't told us which things He's done, it must not be important for us to know.

 

That's what I believe and teach my children, and why I avoid PH books (even in the mild form). Most of the Christian curricula teach some form of PH (except the Mennonite ones, but they teach other things I disagree with :lol:). This is why I tend to go to secular history sources, except for ancient history where we do have the Bible involved, and we do know some parts of history that God definitely was directly involved in making happen.

[silliness7]

[quote name=mom@shiloh;2661131

Wow! Really? I didn't know the term was being used that way. I would have said that providential history simply means that all of history is governed by God's providence. The definition of God's providence according to the Westminster Confession (which says it better than I do) is "His completely holy' date=' wise, and powerful preserving and governing every creature and every action."

 

Therefore ALL history from every time and every nation is providential history. To use the term as America being God's "promised land" is a distortion, imo.[/quote]

 

This.

 

This is what I believe to be true. But I am wary of the term "Providential History" and would not claim to subscribe to it because it does feel like it is loaded with more meaning to many people, ie. America as the Promised Land, America is the new Israel, etc. That is wrong, imo and can't be supported by Scripture.

[mom@shiloh]

This is one of the problems with language. It doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means. In the same way I can tell people that I'm a classical homeschooler, or a Charlotte Mason homeschooler and they will draw completely different conclusions about how we go about educating. Or they'll have no idea what either means.

[RootAnn]

America's Providential History

 

I had never heard of American Exceptionalism in relation to PH. According to Wikipedia:

 

To them, the United States is a "shining city on a hill"

 

This is one of the problems with language. It doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means.

 

I must have been exposed to the extreme ends of the PH spectrum. When I lived & worked in Illinois, I attended a "bible study" that showed a series of DVDs on the "city on a hill" concept in conjunction with "America is the new Israel." There was a lot of discussion of the divine hand of God forming America & Americans to be the new chosen people to go out & spread democracy & Christianity to the rest of the world. (I believe it said God would be okay with the use of force & cited several Old Testament verses to back this up.)

 

The book I included above is titled, "American Providential History." It doesn't have all the "new Israel" stuff, but its goal (from pg 1) is to "... bring Godly change throughout the world. ... We will be bringing liberty to the nations of the world and hence fulfilling part of God's plan for the nations."

 

So, in a Venn Diagram, PH would be a big circle & AE would be a smaller circle that overlapped part of the big PH circle - but probably with some parts also sticking out of the PH circle.

 

Thanks for the clarification!

Edited April 26, 2011 by RootAnn

[Irishmommy]

Yes, thank you for clarification. I believe that God does play a part in our world and course of things, but America as the chosen people, ha! I don't really buy into that. Thanks for helping me out on this one. I'll know what to look for now and be careful about my book selections.

[razorbackmama]

This.

 

This is what I believe to be true. But I am wary of the term "Providential History" and would not claim to subscribe to it because it does feel like it is loaded with more meaning to many people, ie. America as the Promised Land, America is the new Israel, etc. That is wrong, imo and can't be supported by Scripture.

 

Ditto. I believe all history to be Providential. But in every instance I've ever heard it used, it's referring to AMERICA'S Providential history.

 

A Beka holds this view. I was perusing their high school American history book, and from just barely skimming it I found references to how certain things happened in Europe SO THAT God could fulfill His purposes in establishing America.

 

I also received a flyer one time in my bag at CHEC (no surprise) that was for some American history book or something, that discussed the "divinely inspired" Constitution. Apparently God wrote the Constitution, and I didn't know it!:001_huh:

[SnowWhite]

Right, Kirstin- You will find something like that in the kid's version of The Light and The Glory.

 

It's a toughie for those of us who believe in a providential God (as the Westminster Confession quoted earlier), and yet believe that mistakes were made in the early years of our country (ie, displacing Native peoples, slavery, etc). I find myself walking a fine line demonstrating the hand of God in establishing a free nation while still condemning the awful things done by sinful people in those times.

[razorbackmama]

I think my problem with (American) Providential History is that it's like America is something special and God only established THIS particular nation. I believe in Providential history in that He establishes ALL governments EQUALLY. Canada, Chile, Vietnam, Belgium, etc. While I love my country, when looking at it from a "providential" perspective, I don't see America being any more special than any other country.

[SnowWhite]

I think my problem with (American) Providential History is that it's like America is something special and God only established THIS particular nation. I believe in Providential history in that He establishes ALL governments EQUALLY. Canada, Chile, Vietnam, Belgium, etc. While I love my country, when looking at it from a "providential" perspective, I don't see America being any more special than any other country.

 

Agreed on the "equal opportunity" providence part, but I'm also patriotic enough to be partial to the USA in my heart-- I just don't think it has "most favored nation status" with the Almighty! I also believe it's as apt to fall as it was to rise... just as other great nations have done (Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, Greece, Rome....)

[razorbackmama]

Agreed on the "equal opportunity" providence part, but I'm also patriotic enough to be partial to the USA in my heart-- I just don't think it has "most favored nation status" with the Almighty! I also believe it's as apt to fall as it was to rise... just as other great nations have done (Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, Greece, Rome....)

Yes, this describes me perfectly. Of course I think it's the best:D , but in God's eyes, eh, I don't think He ranks it any higher than any other country He's established.

 

Does anyone know if BJU takes the stance of (American) Providential History? Biblioplan uses A Beka's American history book, and I'd love to substitute it, if possible.

[Sevilla]

I was raised on "Providential American History" in my K-12 education. A Beka textbooks (and my parochial school teachers) emphasized that the US was the new Promised Land and God's Chosen Nation (but only the Europeans - Manifest Destiny was taught to me as biblically supported b/c the Native Americans weren't physically building things on the land or having a great civilization. Basically, the NA's were wiped out (justly) in a holy war, and conflicts between colonists and native americans were not the fault of the godly colonists. Nevermind whether that's historically accurate or not...).

 

In addition, the issue of slavery was also butchered and Abeka talked about how the slaves were treated like beloved family members and were happy to be slaves. Your basic Southern Confederate view of the civil war and slavery.

 

After my experience using Abeka science and history books in my school years, I would never use them with my own children. Just terribly written history IMO. It's really bad if the high school students AND teacher are incredulous at the errirs in what is written in them, JMO.

 

FWIW, I have not heard the same critique of BJU's history and have a more favorable view of their textbooks than Abeka.

[Spy Car]

I was raised on "Providential American History" in my K-12 education. A Beka textbooks (and my parochial school teachers) emphasized that the US was the new Promised Land and God's Chosen Nation (but only the Europeans - Manifest Destiny was taught to me as biblically supported b/c the Native Americans weren't physically building things on the land or having a great civilization. Basically, the NA's were wiped out (justly) in a holy war, and conflicts between colonists and native americans were not the fault of the godly colonists. Nevermind whether that's historically accurate or not...).

 

In addition, the issue of slavery was also butchered and Abeka talked about how the slaves were treated like beloved family members and were happy to be slaves. Your basic Southern Confederate view of the civil war and slavery.

 

After my experience using Abeka science and history books in my school years, I would never use them with my own children. Just terribly written history IMO. It's really bad if the high school students AND teacher are incredulous at the errirs in what is written in them, JMO.

 

 

Horrifying. It sickens me to read this sort of material is standard fare in the homeschooling community.

 

Bill

[Sevilla]

Horrifying. It sickens me to read this sort of material is standard fare in the homeschooling community.

 

Bill

I have no idea if it is standard fare for the HS community - my education took place in the 80's and 90's and even the school it was taught at has long since gotten rid of Abeka textbooks (and who knows, maybe Abeka updated them).

 

I honestly believe a lot of it is reaction to secular history that wants to remove God from all aspects of history, and this is an extreme reaction on the opposite end (and dispensationalism (end times) honestly has a lot to do with this too, b/c America figures prominently into interpretations in that mindset if you take the "eagle" in Revelation to be the US).

 

If Christians could just view history providentially as others in this thread described I'd be a whole lot happier :).

[Donna A.]

I have no idea if it is standard fare for the HS community - my education took place in the 80's and 90's and even the school it was taught at has long since gotten rid of Abeka textbooks (and who knows, maybe Abeka updated them).

 

I honestly believe a lot of it is reaction to secular history that wants to remove God from all aspects of history, and this is an extreme reaction on the opposite end (and dispensationalism (end times) honestly has a lot to do with this too, b/c America figures prominently into interpretations in that mindset if you take the "eagle" in Revelation to be the US).

 

If Christians could just view history providentially as others in this thread described I'd be a whole lot happier :).

 

This is exactly why I dumped the one Abeka World History textbook that my dd started reading in 7th grade. There was a big section that was all about their view of the end times, with the timeline chart and everything, and I didn't think it had any place in a world history overview. While we could've simply skipped that section of the book, I didn't want to have to pick through the rest of the book looking for references to it. Now I see that there was a lot moreI would've had issues with besides that!

 

I knew that there was something else, something besides just their view of eschatology that I didn't like about Abeka, but couldn't put my finger on it since we haven't used much of their history stuff. Thanks for sharing your experience.