Posted in The Principle Approach: A Summary
One thing I’ve found out about PA is that it is incredibly substantive. And sometimes when we’re away from it awhile, we can get a little foggy because the principles are sometimes unfamiliar. So at the end; I’ve included a summary of where we’ve been. That way, if you’re like me, and your mind gets a little boggled at times, hopefully, one look at the summary can help re-orient our minds so that we can move on with ease. JWhat is a Providential View of History?
Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary describes “providence” as the care and superintendence, which God exercises over his creatures. He that acknowledges a creation and denies providence involves himself in a palpable contradiction; for the same power, which caused a thing to exist is necessary to continue its existence.”
A definition such as this one is why I find Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary so valuable. What is a providential view of history? Simply, seeing how the hand of God moves throughout history as He provides for our future. This was discussed at length during Week 2 concerning God’s plan for redemption that is ongoing until He comes again. Also, the Chain of Christianity reveals God’s providential hand in history as He provides for the future of His children.
What is the Chain of Christianity?
Timeline
I love this part! I have always found timelines essential. But consistently putting them into practice is another matter all together. If I have it together one year, I falter the next.
PA has helped identify 10 essential links following our Christian heritage through history. I can get 10 links on the wall!!! All periods and dates in history are compared with those 10 links providing those essential “mental pegs” for children to mentally organize world events especially as they relate to our Christian heritage. Then the neat thing is you can do expanded links in your notebooks.
F.A.C.E. offers the timeline, which is actually “paper piecing” for all you scrappers out there. You can use F.A.C.E.’s templates or find pictures on the Internet or wherever to reflect each particular link.
Westward Movement of the Gospel
Last year I was in a Bible Study with BSF studying the book of Genesis. During the study I had noted how God drove Adam and Eve east from the Garden of Eden. Then when Cain murdered Abel, he was driven east as well. I guess my thought at that time was, if everyone was being driven east, where was the Garden of Eden. My joke to my friend at the time was if I ever wanted to move east in the United States, I was going to fly west to get there.
Then when I started studying PA, it was of great interest to me that the Gospel was presented as moving west. This was the first time I had heard or even contemplated this idea. It wasn’t long after that, when we had a guest speaker at my church, who also brought up the westward movement of the Gospel. His name was Peter Tsukahira, who wrote God’s Tsunami: Understanding Israel and the End-Time Prophecy confirming what I had been reading in PA. He also described how the Gospel would continue to move west until it reaches its original location in Israel…and then the end will come. That gave me chills. If you ever have an opportunity to read his book, I would highly recommend it. He is a Japanese American who married an American Jewish woman and they now have their ministry at Mt. Carmel in Israel. (You recall Mt. Carmel—where Elisha took on the prophets of Baal.)
I have absolutely no idea whether Adam and his kin being driven east has anything to do with the westward movement of the Gospel, but it’s interesting to contemplate. What is important are the facts of the movement of the Gospel.
When God began to work his plan of redemption for mankind, he led Abraham from Ur (modern day Iraq) to Canaan (modern day Israel)—a westward movement. Ultimately, Jesus Christ, the focal point of history became our sacrifice completely covering our sins and providing our opportunity for eternal communion with God. The birth of the Church soon occurred as described in Acts. Then during the missionary journeys of Paul, there was a radical departure west.
“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. {east} When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. {north} During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, {west} concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10
Since that time the Gospel has continued to move west. The westward movement of the Gospel, of course, is a whole study in and of itself. However, suffice it to say, the westward movement continued through Europe with the Reformation, Columbus discovering the new world and the starting of America—the only country whose laws were originally established based on Biblical principles.
After hearing Peter Tsukahira describing how the Gospel would continue to move west, I found in CHOC, I, pg. 6A, the interesting quote…
“Its western course through China and Japan is impeded…by Modernism.”
Abraham Kuyper, 1898, Princeton
That did prove to be true at that time in 1898. Also, the Red Books were published in the 1960’s, and the western course of the Gospel through China and Japan still seemed impeded. But from what I understand, that is not the case today. God is moving in mighty waves in those regions, so the Gospel continues to move west! When you have an opportunity to review CHOC, I, pg. 6a, you will see that when the page was printed, the actual “chain” of Christianity ends at the west coast of America, but continues with a broken line going all the way around the world through Asia to Israel reflecting the course of the Gospel not yet accomplished. Is that not exciting?
I love the mental picture of a tsunami that Peter Tsukahira gives to represent the movement of the Gospel west. Of course, a tsunami is a huge ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption. What can shake heaven and earth more than the movement of God washing across the nations. When the waves washed through Europe, the ripple effect was the sending of missionaries into Africa by the likes of David Livingstone and as it washed through North America, missionaries traveled down through South America. When our family comes to study the present era within the last 20-40 years, I hope to research and study what God has done and is presently doing in Asia.
Key Links on the Chain of Christianity
Here are the 10 key links on the Chain of Christianity. These descriptions for each link are found in The Noah Plan History and Geography Curriculum Guide, pgs. 78-79; which has helped me tremendously to pay closer attention to how each link is built upon.
1. Creation—The First Link
God’s Principle of Individuality, the key to the study of history, is emphasized and expanded throughout the years to include:
- God as Creator and Sovereign Ruler;
- The attributes of God’s character and nature;
- Geographic individuals; i.e., Asia as the Continent of Origins, etc.
- Man is God’s property and made in His image;
- Conscience;
- The fall of man and the need for a Savior;
- The origin of the races, religion, languages, civilizations;
- The establishment of Civil Government
2. Moses and the Law (1450)—The Second Link
The providential purpose, preservation, and preparation of Moses, the first historian and lawgiver, are emphasized including:
a. The Ten Commandments—God’s eternal Law written on stony tablets;
b. Distinctives of moral, ritual, and civil laws;
c. Egypt—a place of refuge;
d. Greece and Rome—pagan republics—aesthetic and political links of preparation for Christianity.
3. Jesus Christ, the Focal Point of History—The Third Link
In God’s fullness of time, He sent His Son to the earth. Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection and His eternal effect on history are studied including:
- Christ’s character;
- Christ fulfilled the Law;
- God’s Law now “written upon fleshly tablets of the heart,”—the basis for Christian self-government;
- The Law and the Gospel—the two legs of civil government;
- The Contrast of Christianity and paganism
4. Paul and the Christian Church (50 AD)—The Fourth Link
The Apostle Paul, New Testament scholar, heeding the Macedonian cry for help, was divinely directed into Europe and established the New Testament Church, turning the course of Christianity westward. The study of this link includes:
- Paul’s missionary journeys;
- His epistles to the first-century Christians and his teachings on civil government;
- The writing of the New Testament and the establishment of the New Testament Church—a mini-republic. Christianity goes westward to Europe.
5. The Bible in English—The Fifth Link
In order to understand the history of civil liberty, the history of the Bible in English must be studied. Liberty for the individual is directly proportionate to the individual’s possession of and ability to read the Holy Bible in his own language. Supporting this leading idea is…
- The Magna Charta
- How the Bible in the hands of the individual gives rise to an internal reformation and then reformation in the civil sphere;
- The European Reformation, its reformers and Bible translators—Wycliffe, the “morning star of the Reformation”, Tyndale, Coverdale, the Geneva Translation, and the King James Version.
6. Columbus (1492 AD)—The Sixth Link
The preparation of Christopher Columbus, who knew God had a distinct call upon his life, is studied. Providential preparation is evidenced in…
- Marco Polo’s journals;
- Prince Henry’s School of Navigation;
- The invention of navigational instruments;
- Columbus’s own journal;
- The development of the caravel as the Era of New World Exploration began.
- One of the themes studied is the preservation of the mainland of North America until God had a people prepared to establish the fullest expression of a Christian civilization.
7. Christian Founding (1620)—The Seventh Link
The Pilgrims and their Christian character became the seed of our American Christian republic. Providentially prepared, the Pilgrims possessed the Christian character, self-government, economics, education, and unity needed to produce a Christian constitutional republic. Included in this link are:
- The founding of Jamestown, first permanent English colony in North America;
- The Pilgrim dynamic;
- America’s heritage of Christian character;
- The Providence of God through the Reformation;
- Holland as a place of refuge; the writing of the Mayflower Compact;
- God’s preservation through Squanto;
- Thanksgiving;
- Fifty-year peace with the Indians;
- Communism versus free enterprise;
- Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation
8. AmericanChristianRepublic (1776)—The Eighth Link
As Christianity moved westward with its fullest expression in government, the Christian character of the patriots and pastors of the founding and constitutional eras of our nation and their documents of liberty and contributions are studied:
- Sam Adams, father of the American Revolution, and his Committees of Correspondence;
- George Washington, father of our country;
- Thomas Jefferson;
- John and Abigail Adams;
- Benjamin Franklin;
- Patrick Henry;
- John Witherspoon;
- James Madison;
- John Marshall;
- The writing of the Declaration of Independence;
- The Constitution of the United States
9. Expansion and Erosion (1800’s)—The Ninth Link
The Bible, Biblical principles of self- and civil government, and Noah Webster’s “Blue-Backed Speller” all went westward with the pioneers and pathfinders. As the nation “flowered,” the Era of Enterprise and Invention is highlighted. Other topics covered are:
- Westward expansion;
- Erosion of unity;
- The Civil War;
- Reconstruction;
- The character and contributions of such Christian men as Noah Webster…
- Matthew Maury,
- Abraham Lincoln;
- Robert E. Lee
10. Restoration (21st Century)—The Tenth Link
The role of the American Christian for the twenty-first century is to aid in restoring and reclaiming our heritage of Christian character and civil liberty.
- God has a unique purpose and place on the Chain of Christianity for each one of us, as well as for each individual nation.
- Every student is inspired and encouraged to assume his responsibility for the stewardship of his internal and external property, his scholarship and productivity, and to follow Christ in his daily walk, thereby fulfilling God’s divine purpose for his life as a young American Christian statesman.
Implementing PA through the Chain of Christianity
I believe the Chain of Christianity is the best way to begin implementing PA. The Principles, that we’ll discuss, within the next few weeks, are introduced through the Chain of Christianity. Things you can do right now to implement PA:
- Remember, we can only teach what the Lord has taught us.
- Study the 10 links and begin emphasizing them in your current study of history. You could simply talk about them more or do a little project, field trip, or a notebook page on that link. That would be a great way to start.
- Remember, we are renewing our minds from the way we were taught. That doesn’t happen overnight. Give yourself time.
- Another great way is to either put up the 10 link timeline on your wall so the kids can begin to see the big picture or put the links in a history notebook possibly with pictures you can retrieve on the Internet, do a notebook page for each link…, whatever works best for you. Don’t set your standards so high that you’ll just get frustrated. The ideas are what you want to get across. Although we can get ideas from each other, how that works best for our kids and us will be different.
Other Ways to Implement PA through The Chain of Christianity—in the long run
There are several ways you can implement the Chain of Christianity. Here is a couple.
- You can follow “70 centuries in 4 years” like Well-Trained Mind {Story of the World} or Tapestry and just emphasize your links as you come to them.
- F.A.C.E. recommends that you can cover all 10 links each year emphasizing (meaning spending several weeks on) 1-3 links per year and just briefly reviewing the others.
- Just find the best way that works with your current curriculum; start the process as you’re learning and then you’ll be in a better position to know how you would like to do it in the future.
I believe the Chain of Christianity is the second most important aspect of The Principle Approach. Of course, the first would be the actual principles. I hope this has helped to get your mind moving toward ways to begin the implementation of PA. But you won’t fully under PA, until you understand the principles.
Next time…
§ The 7 Principle on which PA is based
o Principle 1—God’s Principle of Individuality
o Principle 2—The Christian Principle of Self-Government
Staying faithful,
Karen
