Modern events are the echoes of past realities. How many of us Westerners realize, for example, that Allied actions act the end of World War II created many of the problems facing the Middle East today? Before World War II, Muslims in the Middle East organized themselves into political units based upon religious, tribal, and/or ethnic identity. They did not see themselves as Iraqis or Saudis or Egyptians but instead as Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Persians, Arabs, Tauregs, etc. This is why when the Allies chopped the Middle East up into a series of nations populated by peoples who had never associated with each other and who lacked religious, ethnic, and tribal homogeneity, they inadvertently created a region of nation-states whose people had no historic reason to want to live and function together. Look at Iraq. Instead of permitting Iraq’s Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites to function as parts of the Middle East’s greater Kurdish, Sunni, and Shiite communities, the Allies severed them from their historic associations and threw them into one nation expecting them to get along and abandon their historic animosities for the good of a country some white people thought looked nice on a map.
I bring this up not only to point out that the actions of one generation explain the trials of the next, but also to note that a little understanding might go a long way. I am not suggesting that we do away with borders in the Middle East and revert to the theocratic, ethnic, or tribal “governments” of the past. Instead, I want to suggest that if we interact with Middle Eastern nations with the understanding their people still see themselves as members of organic social communities based upon tribe or ethnicity, we might be able to better understand their motives and the ideological and political frameworks within which they function.
This example expresses why the study of history is so important. Without an understanding of what happened in the past, we cannot address present realities. It’s like doctors say: it’s no good treating symptoms; you’ve got to treat the disease. In line with the example above, this means that instead of trying to force democracy down the throats of the Middle Easterners, maybe we should try to find a way to help them create representative governments based upon theocratic rules that work for them. Or, even better, instead of assuming that Iran’s nuclear program has an evil intent (which it might), we remember that (1) in the past, whenever Iran has tried to become politically or energy self-sufficient, the West has undermined those efforts and that (2) maybe its current efforts to go nuclear are really defensive attempts to stand against a West that has always hindered its development. If the West approached Middle Easterners with this type of perspective (and humility?), then it is possible that they would be more willing to dialog with us.
The study of history is also important because mankind is made in the image of God. As such this means that a little bit of his divine nature resides in every human being ever made regardless of era or civilization. To me, the study of history not only provides explanations about why the world is the way it is, but it also functions as a search for the wonder of God. I believe that because we are made in the image of God, that image has manifested itself in every civilization since the beginning of time. This means that regardless of the behaviors or beliefs of the civilization in question, students of history can find some glimmer of God, his truth, or the potential he placed in all of us in it. This explains the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the technological innovations of the Indus River Valley civilization, and the art work of the Classical Greeks. While the Church considers these peoples heathens, their accomplishments reflect God’s image – the divine spark he placed in all of us that enables us to go forth and do amazing, earth-stopping things. History captures all such feats and shows that all humans, regardless of what we think of them, are all endowed with wondrous, heroic abilities that reflect the God inside all of us even if we don’t know or honor Him.
I bring this up not only to point out that the actions of one generation explain the trials of the next, but also to note that a little understanding might go a long way. I am not suggesting that we do away with borders in the Middle East and revert to the theocratic, ethnic, or tribal “governments” of the past. Instead, I want to suggest that if we interact with Middle Eastern nations with the understanding their people still see themselves as members of organic social communities based upon tribe or ethnicity, we might be able to better understand their motives and the ideological and political frameworks within which they function.
This example expresses why the study of history is so important. Without an understanding of what happened in the past, we cannot address present realities. It’s like doctors say: it’s no good treating symptoms; you’ve got to treat the disease. In line with the example above, this means that instead of trying to force democracy down the throats of the Middle Easterners, maybe we should try to find a way to help them create representative governments based upon theocratic rules that work for them. Or, even better, instead of assuming that Iran’s nuclear program has an evil intent (which it might), we remember that (1) in the past, whenever Iran has tried to become politically or energy self-sufficient, the West has undermined those efforts and that (2) maybe its current efforts to go nuclear are really defensive attempts to stand against a West that has always hindered its development. If the West approached Middle Easterners with this type of perspective (and humility?), then it is possible that they would be more willing to dialog with us.
The study of history is also important because mankind is made in the image of God. As such this means that a little bit of his divine nature resides in every human being ever made regardless of era or civilization. To me, the study of history not only provides explanations about why the world is the way it is, but it also functions as a search for the wonder of God. I believe that because we are made in the image of God, that image has manifested itself in every civilization since the beginning of time. This means that regardless of the behaviors or beliefs of the civilization in question, students of history can find some glimmer of God, his truth, or the potential he placed in all of us in it. This explains the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the technological innovations of the Indus River Valley civilization, and the art work of the Classical Greeks. While the Church considers these peoples heathens, their accomplishments reflect God’s image – the divine spark he placed in all of us that enables us to go forth and do amazing, earth-stopping things. History captures all such feats and shows that all humans, regardless of what we think of them, are all endowed with wondrous, heroic abilities that reflect the God inside all of us even if we don’t know or honor Him.
I like this! It's very thoughtful and balanced.
ReplyDeletealso nice pictures.
I really liked this article. I wish more people took the time to realize that the issues in the Middle East are not merely an issue of politics but of culture and at the core religion and belief structures.
ReplyDelete