In order to be a successful historian, the historian must understand that their worldview affects the way they study history. Holding a Christian worldview is no exception to this principle. A Christian worldview of history is the understanding that God is the Creator and Sustainer of life, but He allows things both in accordance and against His will to happen.
Having a Christian worldview of history does not mean that we take a Providentialist approach to history.We do not seek to understand what God is doing by describing events as "in God's Will." One example that Fea uses early in Chapter 4 of Why Study History is Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell claimed he was invading Hispaniola to fulfill the will of God, but he was ultimately defeated, therefore proving himself wrong. Historians can attempt to look back and draw multiple conclusions about what God was doing, but all the theories cannot be proven or have any more logic than the others.
Having a Christian worldview of history means that we
understand that the world we live in ultimately belongs to God. We look at the
world through the lens of Scripture, and therefore we value the things that
God values. Historians with a Christian worldview can look at the figures in history
and evaluate whether or not they lived up to the principles of the Bible, but
they cannot state whether or not these figures acted in a way that was in
accordance with the Will of God.
All historians, but especially those with a Christian
worldview, should resist the temptation to judge figures in history based on
the effects of their actions, but evaluate the figure instead on their
motivations and intentions. These figures in history were fallen men and women,
just as we are today, and should be shown grace when evaluating their actions. No historical figure should be judged as being a "good" or "bad" figure because no one is perfectly good or bad.
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