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Chapter 1 What is History ?
"Anyone who believes you can't change history never tried to write his memoirs."
David Ben Gurion
Do you believe your history books? Much of what we learn during a lifetime is derived from what we call history. This history comes from many sources and gives us the building blocks we use as a base upon which to add the knowledge that we discover during our lifetime. What we discover augments history for the next generation if we document it.
When history is mentioned, many of us think of high school subjects such as American history or World history or as degree program in college. For some, family history comes to mind when medical information is requested. Someone once said, "After a war, history is the winner's version."
Most students accept information found in "history books" as fact . . . and much of it is.
History is a study of the past using written records and the evidence archeological studies reveal. When cave drawings and other evidence is discovered, scientists make interpretations to the best of their ability and it is added to history. Much of the familiar ancient history was "oral history" until a scholar with a limited-word language inked it to papyrus. As these written records are found or translated, history as we know it is modified and new understandings are acquired.
History is also a "system of beliefs" created by men based on the available knowledge at that time and this "system of beliefs" over time becomes tradition. These traditions are updated as new understandings come to light, often against great resistance by organized institutions of that period. Institutions founded on accepted facts of that time feel threatened by new revelations.
Man seems to be living in a "continuing revelation" and in the last centuries, knowledge has expanded exponentially, doubling every few years. As new facts are revealed, a new "history," or set of facts, is created and the old is discarded or amended. It has been said that "those who do not learn from the mistakes made in history are destined to repeat them."
"History consists of a series of accumulated imaginative inventions."
Voltaire
How accurate is our History ?
Unfortunately, published writings are tainted with opinions, prejudice, and deliberate spins on the real facts. Few sources of "history" are free from "editorial opinions" and prejudicial interpretation. Even the bible, as it has been translated and copied down through time, is not free from these errors or embellishments.
Researchers have discovered that Monks, while poring over manuscripts by candle light, made translation errors and fatigue mistakes. In addition, some factual accounts and documentations of discovery were purposely kept hidden by institutions including the Catholic Church in order to preserve their dogma.
History repressed . . .
Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) is said to be the founder of modern astronomy. In 1530, Copernicus completed and gave to the world his great work De Revolutionibus, which asserted that the earth rotated on its axis once daily and traveled around the sun once yearly: a fantastic concept for the times. Two other Italian scientists of the time, Galileo and Bruno, embraced the Copernican theory unreservedly and as a result suffered much personal injury at the hands of the powerful church inquisitors.
Giordano Bruno had the audacity to even go beyond Copernicus, and dared to suggest that space was boundless and that the sun and its planets were but one of any number of similar systems. He suggested that "there even might be other inhabited worlds with rational beings equal or possibly superior to us." For such blasphemy, Bruno was "tried" before the Inquisition, condemned and burned at the stake in 1600.
Another famous case in point was the house arrest of Galileo by the Inquisition of 1616 for proving that the earth revolved around the sun. This directly conflicted with church teachings that the earth was the center of the universe. Galileo sadly died, condemned of heresy in 1642 and his body only placed in a fine tomb in 1737 by civil authorities against the wishes of the church. There are many such examples of an institution's resistance to acknowledge and accept discovered facts.
Historical fable . . .
Some stories have led us to believe that Sir Isaac Newton developed the law of gravity when an apple fell on his head. Newton himself actually said that he was staring out the window in his house when he saw an apple fall from a tree.
Interestingly enough, the bible was Sir Isaac's greatest passion, so he learned Hebrew in order to go to the source. Newton actually did more than just calculate the date of Crucifixion as April 3, 33AD and the coming Apocalypse - his obsession was trying to find hidden meanings in the Bible.
Deliberate Historical Fiction . . .
One of the more amazing instances of deliberate re-writing history to accomplish political goals is found in the old USSR during the 20th century where history books reflected pure fantasy. Because these books of fiction were taught in school, entire generations grew up believing that Russians invented almost everything.
Hitler also used embellished facts, which we refer to as propaganda, to lead the German youth to further his evil purposes. He knew that children's minds were easy to mold and could grow an entire generation of followers of his philosophy. A popular description of this insidious process was dubbed "brain washing."
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
Sir Winston Churchill
Faith-based History . . .
We are learning that one should accept historical text with a questioning mind and use more than one source as a reference. Many modern day denominations of Christianity ignore facts such as how the bible "books" were selected and continue to refer to it as "God's word." These denominational sects are known to us as "fundamentalists."
Fundamentalists dwell on literal words in whichever translation of the bible they study instead of teaching the "essence" of the New Testament, which is a way of life. They refuse to accept the broad basic concepts offered by the mythical examples in the Old Testament and instead, rely on the literal words as fact. This is what we have recognized as "faith-based" logic.
These people have a knack for taking natural occurrences and relating them to what their faith-based logic allows them to believe. An example would be relating the blossom on a Dogwood tree to the crucifixion since it has four petals forming a cross. Their belief is that wood from a Dogwood tree was used to build that cross and "God" punished the species we see in several ways. They claim the tree will never again grow large enough to produce timber suitable for a cross and the tree is forced to display its "cross" blooms each year before Easter.
Another example is the story about the Pine tree sprouting new growth during the week before Easter. The new, yellow sprouts growing vertically have two tiny branches which suggest a cross. The faithful say the Pine tree knows when Easter occurs, and is a sign from "God."
Scientific contribution to history . . .
Science has established, with carbon dating techniques, the age of fossils, rocks, and our planet. With telescopic advances, scientists have discovered much about the universe. Others have probed the inner workings of atoms and molecular behavior with electron microscopes.
All of these things have changed our previous understanding of history and these facts have been made available through the internet. People accept or reject this new information based on their fundamental beliefs.
So . . . history is what people believe it is . . . with or without the facts.
Let's explore where much of this information comes from and why it affects our lives. This will give us a clue about what we should do with what we have learned.
"We've learned a lot while living,
Knowledge will set men free."
Song Lyrics by Michael Don Fess
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