Revisionist History

“You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?” ~ Mark 8:18 (NLT)

There are two words which spark my ire as a historian (I actually have multiple degrees in history), “revisionist history.” Now, let me explain. Revisionist history isn’t going back and fixing historical inaccuracies in our understanding of an event, time period, social movement, or even conflict. Instead, revisionist history seeks to rewrite what actually happened to help further one’s opinions or politics. This type of history ignores solid, factual documentation, and instead relies upon less trustworthy sources, words taken out of context, and trying to read into it a 21^st century worldview even though the event(s) happened in a different era with different customs, ethics, and social norms.

Prime examples of revisionist histories that are happening right now are some far-flung efforts to deny the holocaust ever happened, that Abraham Lincoln was homosexual, and that the earth is flat, not round. All of these theories, of course, fly in the face of a ton of historical information which gives definitive proof otherwise. It drives me nuts.

Of course, the chief revisionist historian is Satan. He loves to rewrite histories – even those of the disciples. Check out our verse today, “You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?” These are the words of Jesus to his disciples who had totally forgotten that Jesus fed over 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish – never mind the fact it had just happened hours before. Satan wants us to forget the power, miracles, mercy, compassion, grace, and love of God. His goal is to rewrite what we’ve experienced with God (or forget it all together) so that we lose truth.

The reality is that we fall for these revisions to our spiritual history. In our own lives, we forget the amazingness of God. We chalk His miracles up to chance or coincidence. We forget the joy we felt when His Spirit entered into our life for the first time. We forget the sacrifice He made on the cross and His offer of salvation to everyone.

So, today, and every day, spend a moment reflecting on what God has done for you. If you’re a writer, journal it. Things tend to stick more when we write them down. And, as you remember them, thank God for His faithfulness, His truth, and His history.