Objectivity, bias, inclusion, and truth claims are important
concepts whenever we study history. Often, we feel so strongly about our own
positions that we fail to investigate alternative claims and evidence.
Sometimes we swear that what we have always been told is the absolute truth and
the only way to think about an issue or event. Decisions can be made based on
the force of an argument without necessarily probing the root ideas upon which the argument was founded. As King Solomon said, “God requires an account of the
past”[1].
An investigation is warranted before we die on the sword of an opinion that we refuse
to nuance or debate.
Mark K. George, professor of religion at the Iliff School of
Theology, wrote about how the Bible models an approach to recording history
that includes both sides, that shows the flaws of the heroes, and that does not
shy away from controversy[2].
Here at the Kentucky Faith and Public History Project, we have committed to
objectivity when we discuss the Christian history of Kentucky. We are involved
in rigorous historic research. Our bias is that we are faith-based and
unapologetically Christian, but we refuse to be dishonest or disingenuous when dealing
with historical, cultural, and individual failures and atrocities perpetrated
in the name of the church or of God.
George’s article provides a good analysis of how the
American story is being treated as a tug of war between our flaws and our triumphs.
The question is whether we are willing to undergo the rigorous scrutiny of our
past that is necessary to sift the truth from hyperbolic wanna-be-renditions.
For homeschooling parents it is especially important to introduce students to
multiple points of view, to historic archival research methods, and to the Socratic
debate that can elicit enough information about each perspective for them to
respectfully present, defend and critique the arguments. How well are we each
doing?
©2021 By Lesley Barker PhD
[1]
Ecclesiastes 3:15. The Holy Bible, New King James Version.
[2]
Mark K. George. “What the Bible’s Approach to History Can Teach Us About
America’s Glory and Shame”. The Conversation. 2021. ONLINE at https://theconversation.com/what-the-bibles-approach-to-history-can-teach-us-about-americas-glory-and-shame-151394
ACCESSED 3/2/2021.
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