There are two ways to view history: through the secular lens or through the lens of God. 世俗的历史观认为人是掌握一切的. The opposite view is that God is in control and is actively involved in the lives of men. 后者通常被称为天意历史观.
Providence is defined as the care God gives us because he sees the past, the present, and the future. Further, Webster states 在天意的范围内, man that acknowledges a creation and denies a providence involves himself in a palpable contradiction; for the same power which caused a thing to exist is necessary to continue its existence. Therefore, a providential view of history means that God is actively involved in every aspect of life, 为了他的计划和目的，在历史中讲述他的故事.
As Colossians 1:17 (NASB) says, “He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together.” Ephesians 1:7-10 tells us that, “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, 照他丰富的恩典赐给我们. In all wisdom and insight, 他使我们知道他旨意的奥秘, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, 天上的和地上的.”
History as His-story
When we view history as His-story, we see that all history is consummated in Jesus Christ. II Thessalonians 1:10 says, 当那日他来，要因他的圣徒得荣耀, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.” In the words of W.A Criswell, “at the consummation of history, 当耶稣降临来完成他所有的目的, his ultimate design will be realized: He will be ‘marveled at’ by all who have believed. 拉丁文拉丁文译本将“惊奇”背后的希腊语翻译为“钦佩”.当那日他来，叫一切信他的人都仰慕他.’”约翰·派珀说，“历史的圆满就是对耶稣的崇拜.”
我们从神的话语中读到，他的计划是让所有的人都认识耶稣. (1 Timothy 2:4) Therefore, if we view history as a timeline, 我们看到上帝的故事开始于伊甸园, 他的计划是让所有的人都认识他. 人(亚当和夏娃)非常了解主, 每天都与他同行，直到罪进来, 造成人与上帝的分离.
神的计划仍然是要人亲近地认识他, so we see in Scripture that God gave the Law to Moses and the Israelites to show us that so desperate is our condition, that we can never live up to the Law. 律法显明我们需要一位救主(罗马书3:23)。. When Jesus came, He bridged the gap —the separation— that occurred with sin so we can again have intimacy with Father God (Ephesians 2:8-9). We continue to study the timeline of history and see that the gospel was spread over the Middle East and Asia through Jesus’ disciples and Paul. 最终，福音开始向西传播.
God’s plan to reach all men required the gospel continue to move west from the Old World, and, in 1620, 他用一小群忠实的信徒把福音带到新大陆. These Pilgrims, as we call them now, 在航行中有两个目标:在荒野中定居, untamed land. In Of Plymouth Plantation, 清教徒威廉·布拉德福德的日记, we find these two goals eloquently expressed in the Mayflower Compact— “having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.”
The Providential view of history reveals to us that God’s plan is being carried out and His purpose that all might know Him is being achieved. 以上帝的观点来看历史，我们看到福音的每一次进步, 神兴起一位领袖，将福音传给那些还不认识他的人. 我们看到，清教徒是为了把福音带到新大陆而被提拔起来的, 同时也为一种新的政府形式播下种子, Christian self-government.
The Pilgrims Depart from Holland
When the time came for the Pilgrims 从荷兰出发前往新大陆, 会众收到了一封来自他们敬爱的牧师的信, John Robinson. In this exhortation, Robinson reminds the Pilgrims that, in choosing to leave their native soil, 他们的土地，他们的生活，他们所有的朋友, their sacrifice would only bring fruit if they remained united with a common purpose and stood against any opposition that would seek to divide them. 罗宾逊说:“第四件事是要小心翼翼地准备, that with your employments, which will be common to all of you, 你们的感情真的是为了共同的利益, avoiding, as a deadly plague of your comfort, 为了自私的利益而放弃一切. Let everyone repress within himself, 就像这么多反对公共利益的反叛者一样, all private partialities, not consistent with the general convenience and as one is careful not to have a new house shaken with any violence before it is well settled and the parts firmly knit, so be you, I beseech you, brethren, much more careful, that the house of God, which you are and are to be, be not shaken with unnecessary novelties or other oppositions at the first settling thereof.”
在他对即将离去的朝圣者的劝诫的最后一段, Robinson declared, “Lastly, 而你将成为一个政体, 共同管理公民政府, 并没有什么特别出众的人, 你们将从他们中间选出一些人担任政府官员, let your wisdom and godliness appear, 不仅仅是在选择那些完全热爱和促进共同利益的人, but also in yielding them all due honor and obedience in their lawful administrations.”
The Pilgrims in the New World
Upon landing in the New World, the brave congregation encountered the vicious New England winter. Those not a part of their congregation began to talk of leaving the congregation behind, primarily because the Mayflower had not landed in the area where their patent was granted. 这意味着他们没有人正式统治他们. Additionally, some threatened mutiny because they did not want to be subjected to government by a common man. 清教徒们知道，人数少就意味着生存的机会少. Using the wisdom they’d gained from God’s Word, they formed what we now call The Mayflower Compact. 顺服主和他们敬爱的罗宾逊牧师, The Mayflower Compact became the first civil body politic rooted in Christian self-government and ultimately preserved the infant settlement.
These seeds of Christian self-government diligently planted by the Pilgrims bore great fruit, for, during America’s founding period, we see a generation of men and women who were able to reason from the principles of God’s Word. 这种能力渗透到他们生活的方方面面，以至于他们 Biblical worldview 使他们建立了世界上第一个基督教立宪共和国. This was not a coincidence, 而是天意——一种哲学的直接结果, curriculum, and methodology of education that was, at its core, Christian. The home, church, 学校在宗旨和实践上都是统一的, 从而产生了震惊旧世界的革命性成果.
可悲的是，这种从神的话语中思考和推理的能力已经退化了. American schools today frown on referencing God and have removed our Christian heritage from our textbooks and classrooms. 个人和政府的自治也在恶化. It is only through intentional decision-making on the part of the Christian parent that America’s rich Christian heritage can be bestowed upon the next generation of Americans.
Core Principles
Schools like Dayspring Christian Academy teach students not only the rich Christian heritage they are heirs to, 而且是知道神的道的恩赐. 加上从神的话语中推理的能力, students are taught core principles that serve to develop the Christian character of their Pilgrim ancestors, 让他们体验真正的自由, 这只来自基督教的自治.
As William Bradford, 在他的日记《BCK体育注册官网》中写道, “所有伟大而光荣的行动都伴随着巨大的困难。, 必须以负责任的勇气来面对和克服. 大家都认为危险很大, but not desperate; the difficulties were many, but not invincible. Yea, 虽然他们应该在这次行动中失去生命, 然而，愿他们知道自己的努力是值得的，从而得到安慰.” Education and character development such as the Pilgrims exemplified come only through intentional choices in raising up a child in the way he should go.
At Dayspring Christian Academy, students are shown examples of Christian men and women of character whom God raised up to fulfill His plans and purposes. Students at Dayspring are challenged to delve deeply into the timeline of Christian history and ultimately arrive at the question of “What is my place in God’s story?”.
If you would like to learn more about a Christian education at Dayspring Christian Academy, 请致电717-285-2000的卡罗·哈斯汀.
