I recently did a Twitter poll that came up with some interesting results. Most of my followers are Christians, many of them interested in academics. I wanted to know which academic discipline they identified with most.
Here are the results:
During the time of the poll, three of the four options went back and forth as to what was popular. But history was consistently behind. It was not even close.
I find this interesting for a number of reasons. One is that although biblical studies is technically a different discipline, it is historical in nature. And most theological and philosophical discussions, while interacting some with modern theologians and philosophers, often are in conversation with those who have been dead for centuries.
Why would people not pick history? Perhaps history is too broad of a term. It could be Reformation history or history of medieval Japan. But then again, the other disciplines could be similarly broad.
I suspect that for some, history doesn’t seem as spiritual as the others. Biblical studies, theology and philosophy may be focused on God while history is about the acts of people.
Depending on one’s beliefs, it could be argued that history is just as God-centred as the others.
Whatever the reason, I think that history, even history of the church, is neglected by many Christians. And that is why I do this podcast.
I recommend Doing Church History: A User-Friendly Introduction to Researching the History of Christianity by Gordon Heath. This is an affiliate link.
