This year has brought a lot of changes, but I have to tell you, starting to teach World History at Trinity Preparatory Academy has been such a blessing. It is amazing how God works. After all those years in public education, I now get to spend my days showing students “His-Story” through a Biblical Worldview.
Last semester, I was teaching my students about the Roman Empire. Now, in a secular setting, you might focus strictly on the emperors, the architecture, or the military conquests. But here, I had the freedom to place the focus exactly where it belongs: on the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To see the kids start to realize that Jesus didn’t just appear in a vacuum, but entered history at a specific time and place planned by God, is something I will never get tired of seeing.
However, as we study history from a Christian perspective, we eventually have to face the hard questions. One of the biggest ones that always comes up is the Crusades. I recently read an article over at CrossExamined.org about whether the Crusades prove that Christianity is evil, and it really got me thinking. It is a topic that people love to throw in the faces of Christians to try and discredit our faith.
When we look at the Crusades, we have to be honest. There were certainly people who called themselves “Christians” who did horrible things that did not reflect the heart of Jesus at all. But we also have to understand the context. For centuries, Islamic forces had been conquering Christian lands, and the Crusades were, in many ways, a delayed response to that aggression. It wasn’t about spreading the Gospel by the sword, as some claim, but rather a struggle to protect the pilgrims and reclaim land that had been taken.
Still, we have to go back to the Word. Jesus never told us to take up a physical sword to build His kingdom. In fact, He said in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now My kingdom is from another place.”
As a follower of Christ, I have learned that we cannot judge the truth of the Gospel by the failures of those who claim to follow it. People are sinners. I know that better than anyone because I am a sinner too. We fail, we get angry, and we make selfish choices. But Jesus is perfect.
The article pointed out something very important: you cannot blame the teachings of Jesus for the actions of those who ignore them. If a doctor tells you to take medicine and you refuse, you cannot blame the doctor when you stay sick. The Crusades happened because men often chose their own path instead of the path of the cross.
In my world history class, I want my students to see that the world is a broken place full of broken people, but there is a standard that never changes. As the song “Hard Love” by Needtobreathe says, “Ain’t nobody gonna change the standard.” That standard is the Bible. It tells us the truth about our sin and the truth about our Savior.
We are living in a time where people want to create their own truth, but history shows us where that leads. Whether it was the Romans or the Crusaders, whenever men try to become a god to themselves, destruction follows.
I am so thankful that at Trinity Prep, I don’t have to hide the Gospel. I get to tell my students that while history is full of wars and conflict, the greatest victory was won 2,000 years ago on a Roman cross.
If you are struggling with the hard questions of history or faith, I want to encourage you to dive into the Word for yourself. Don’t just take the world’s word for it. Look at what Jesus actually said and did.
Are you a follower of Christ today, or are you just a fan watching from the sidelines? Don’t wait until you have all the answers to say yes to Him. Life is short, and the only thing that will matter in the end is whether you knew the One who holds history in His hands.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunity to teach these students about Your hand in history. I pray for each of them, that they would see Your truth clearly and not be led astray by the world. Help us all to be true followers of Christ, living out Your love and truth every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
