I watched lecture 3.
I liked Dr. Wright’s explanation of the meanings of the term “history”. I know he will be teaching the importance of understanding the historical context of Jesus, to understand the depth of Jesus’ teaching. I agree that that is very important.
I know that Dr. Wright has been respectfully critical of C.S. Lewis for neglecting to place Jesus in His historical context. See
One thing that I’ve been thinking more about in recent years is that every culture creates narratives about themselves, often with the motivation to make themselves look good. I think Western peoples are coming to terms with the “colonialism” narrative. It’s painful, but I think it can be a healing process. Here in Canada, we have various narratives about ourselves that came out in the history I learned in school. Since school, I’ve read a fair amount of history, but I will admit that a lot of it was written by historians from the English-speaking Western nations. I am making an effort to read history/stories written by Indigenous peoples, and non-English peoples (translated).
I think I am learning that the discipline of the historian is very demanding. The historian must get facts straight, and they must interpret history in a balanced way, recognizing differing viewpoints. They may make conjectures about the meaning of history, but this must be done carefully, stating the assumptions under which the conclusions are drawn.