A Moment in History

The Western Hemisphere was, in many ways, the last frontier of exploration during the end of the medieval world and into the Age of Exploration of the 1500s. For many, the Western Hemisphere at that time was not what we know today due to the belief that the nearest landmass to the Atlantic coast of Europe was the Pacific coast of Asia. But when Christopher Columbus and other European explorers who followed him discovered a new continent between Western Europe and East Asia, they also discovered many ancient pagan tribes. One of these – perhaps the most famous of pre-European America – was the dominant force in Central America. These were the Aztecs.

The 5th Century AD is one of the more bizarre times in human history. Do we still call it the Roman Empire, even though the Western Empire is dead by this point? Is the known world Christian, even though Christianity had only spread the distance of the Eastern and Western empires? Have we reached the Middle Ages yet? What do we make of the bloodshed and barbarism of this century? All of these questions relate to one of the most famous warlords in history. Known in the Christian world as the “Scourge of God,” that figure is Attila the Hun.

Secret organizations seem to pop up at almost every turn on the pages of history, but there is one that is not-so-secret and has been on the American conscience since the end of the Civil War. This organization has existed under the same name under several different iterations, with each permutation carrying the same spirit of racial terrorism as its driving force. This insidious group, which has existed in some form since late 1865, is known as the Ku Klux Klan.

Fenway Park stands out as the oldest baseball park currently in operation. When it first opened its doors in 1912 William Howard Taft sat in the White House, the Ottoman Empire was on its last legs in the Middle East, and the Titanic had only sunk days earlier.

In today’s world, the most popular weapon of choice in warfare is the firearm. But for the majority of human history, guns were not the main weapon. In fact, throughout the history of war, one weapon has traversed the scope of battle and permeated virtually all cultures. It is even used today in some combat situations. It’s known as the “King of Weapons” in warfare: the sword.

Historians sometimes like to enter into the “What if?” zone of study. Let’s embark on such a query as we explore the shadowy history of one of the most important physical pieces of history in the Biblical Age. This item was of utmost importance in the story of Israel, and it housed the very tablets that God inscribed with what are now known as the Ten Commandments. It has since been lost to history, so the question remains: Where is the Ark of the Covenant?

In the early 16th Century, German monk Martin Luther went on a quest to answer the following question: How could a sinner like himself obtain salvation? He grew up in the medieval Roman Catholic understanding of justification by works, and he came to realize the problem: there was no guarantee that mankind could ever be good enough to get to God. Eventually, in the year 1519, he found the answer to his question in Romans 1:16-17.

Angels are strange creatures. They often appear in our Christmas celebrations as cute, winged figurines but the reality is much different. Every time they appear in Scripture, their first word is always “Do not be afraid!” A good choice, since angels are likely terrifying creatures. We only meet a few angels by name, one of whom is a famous Archangel who was sent by God to foretell the birth of Christ to the Jewish girl Mary some 2000 years ago; the angel Gabriel.

One of the most beloved staples of the Christmas traditions is lights! But why do we put up lights at Christmastime? Where did this beloved tradition come from and who started it? As is usually the case with these questions, the answer may be far older than you think!

The birth of Jesus Christ is a true story with all of the elements of an epic classic. It contains scandal and cataclysmic proportions full of ancient prophesies finally fulfilled, but it’s also a tale of deep political intrigue. When the King of the Jews was born on Christmas morning, another king reigned over Judea and saw Jesus as a threat to his rule. This was the same king who resurrected the physical temple of the ancient capital city of Jerusalem: Herod the Tetrarch.

At the turn of the 20th Century, we were engaged in what was known as the “War on Christmas.” This was when many people tried to secularize the holiday by removing any mention of Christ. The term “Xmas” was well known at this time, and many believed it to be a part of that secularization effort. However, the term carries a deep historical meaning that revolves around the survival and flourishing of the early church. It is not a secular softening of the word “Christmas.” In some ways, it is actually the opposite.

At the turn of the first century A.D., the Roman Empire was making a comeback following several decades of relative chaos. Five rulers that came to be known as the “Five Good Emperors” brought back stability and order to the Empire while also expanding its reach. The second of these was a man who would rule for nearly 20 years. He was hand-picked by his elderly predecessor to take the throne. This was the 13th Emperor of Rome and the first to rule in the second century: Trajan.

Every first Tuesday of November, the United States holds its governmental elections. Depending on the year, there may be lower elections in cities or townships or votes with national implications that shape the future of our country. But every four years, the most important and impactful election takes place: the presidential election. Let’s jump back to answer how the American Election Day came to be.

In the early 16th Century, the Christian church was in turmoil. Despite growing to be the dominant force in Europe, it was rife with numerous theological errors. The doctrine of indulgence sales was particularly erroneous and proved to be the main catalyst for Martin Luther to present the 95 Theses. The main propagator of indulgence sales was one of the most infamous villains in the history of the church. He was a Dominican friar and church charlatan known as Johann Tetzel.

Church historians tend to split the 2,000 years of Christian history into three categories: ancient, medieval, and modern. For many Protestants, we tend to celebrate heroes of the ancient church such as the apostles, Augustan, or Athanasius. And we also jump to modern heroes like John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, and C. S. Lewis. We often erroneously skip over the Medieval Church, which existed during a dark period of church history. The light of the Gospel thankfully broke through with the Reformation of the 16th Century, but there were still titans during the down period, and one of them was a 13th Century Italian Dominican friar who would be remembered as the preeminent Christian thinker of the Dark Ages: St. Thomas Aquinas.

hroughout the course of the American Revolution, the United States Army tended to suffer defeat after defeat. But one of the brilliant aspects of Commander-in-Chief George Washington was his ability to take punches and keep on moving. While the Brits continually battered the American army year after year, they could never deal a knockout blow. One of the especially brutal skirmishes came in the Fall of 1777 in the fields of Southeastern Pennsylvania, in what would be known as the Battle of the Brandywine.

In the Old Testament, the people of God would mark holy days with remembrance and feasts. One of these days would be rightly described as the “most holy” of such days – for it was when the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and stand before God to make payment for the sins of the people. This once-a-year sacrifice would be a foreshadowing of the long-foretold sacrifice of the Messiah. But long before He came, the people of God observed this day known as the Day of Atonement.

Most people aren’t too fond of inflation in the American news cycle. The expert definition of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods, and we see inflation as a prime cause for a rise in the cost for goods and service. But where did inflation come from? How did we get to the point of today’s rising prices? Did other cultures in other time periods experience inflation, or is it an American phenomenon?