Do you think it is possible for historians to present the past in an accurate, truthful and objective way? 
This question was evoked (not expressed) by my second travel companion. On my return flight from South Africa, last year, I was seated next to my first co-traveller, an Astro-Physicist, Pieter Meintjies: a lovely Christian family man.
This post is mainly about the second traveller on the last leg of my journey home on the bumpy 724 bus from Heathrow. I never got to know the older British gentleman's name, but I soon found out he is a research Professor in history at Harvard University - specializing in French History.
Our conversation was stilted (I'm nowhere with history!) and he wasn’t going to talk - not even about the weather. Also, we were travel-weary and looked rather dishevelled after night-flights.
But…the conversation took off when I mentioned newspaper-talk (August 2011) in South Africa about a proposed re-write of school history. I did remember some of my own school history way before 1994, under the National Party & freely admitted it was one-sided. The SA newspapers-debate revolved around the ANC (African National Council)’s desire to provide school children with a history "to make people proud".
He got visibly irritated with me when I (full of respect) expressed sympathy about the difficulty to be objective and accurate about history, with obstacles such as:
- flawed presuppositions built on limited knowledge and insight,
- limited knowledge of people's motivations,
- abundant false reporting, political manipulations, cover-ups and so on.
He replied – seemingly more in defence than humility - that they are doing their best and are as honest and accurate as they can be. I expressed admiration – even awe for all their research. (Not that he needed my affirmation - and not that I had a fraction of insight into how hard and how smart they are working!) And once more, I wondered aloud, about human objectivity and discovering true and accurate history.
After he dragged his suit-case off at his stop, we waved polite goodbyes, and I wished I asked him: "Can history be true science?" And, "how can we know the truth?". Jesus' makes a staggering and divine claim to be the truth. I believed my Lord, full or truth and grace, afresh, with all my heart – anchored!
“Bless the Harvard History Research Professor by finding as much true data as possible in his important research work; bless him with increased ability to have insight into the big picture and how things fit together. And bless him by opening the eyes of his heart to find the historical Jesus and to be found by Him: the Way, the Truth and the Life”
It was thrilling to see my Gordon at the Galleria bus stop – we were together again! So many fresh SA-memories to share as well as the bus-conversation.
