Patterns in History: A Christian Perspective on Historical Thought

by David W. Bebbington

Patterns in A Christian Perspective on Historical Thought

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Christian

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

David W. Bebbington is a historian who is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Stirling in Scotland and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. An undergraduate at Jesus College, Cambridge (1968–71), Bebbington began his doctoral studies there (1971–73) before becoming a research fellow of Fitzwilliam College (1973–76). Since 1976 he has taught at the University of Stirling, where since 1999 he has been Professor of History. His principal research interests are in the history of politics, religion, and society in Great Britain from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, and in the history of the global evangelical movement.

Reviews

[Addison Bousum · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has some good points if you can figure out what Bebbington is trying to say.

[Jay Perkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bebbington explains the differing ways history has been understood and used in recent times and in the past. Several prominent forms, or “patterns” as he calls them, have been utilized in the writing and understanding of history. The patterns he identifies are cyclical, Christian, progress, historicist, and Marxist. Each is briefly explained and evaluated. He argues that the best of the modern patterns are rooted in a Christian understanding of history, and conflicts between these modern patterns can be assimilated under the Christian view.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EVANGELICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

David Bebbington is a lecturer at the University of Stirling in Scotland. He has written other books such as 'Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s,' 'Baptists through the Centuries: A History of a Global People,' etc.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1979 book, "The purpose of this book is to analyze historical thought. It examines beliefs about the meaning of the course of history. The subject is itself approached historically. How have societies and individuals down the ages have conceived the historical process? The book... pays special attention to the more recent developments in western civilization. It explores some of the ways in which understandings of the historical process have affected how history has been written. It also offers brief evaluations of some of the chief schools of thought."

He suggests about Nietzsche's doctrine of the eternal recurrence, "His explicit object was to dismiss the Christian view that history was guided towards a specific goal by the divine will---and indeed any system of belief setting its hope on the future. Cycles remained for the adventurous an alternative to the dominant linear view." (Pg. 38)

He observes about Arnold Toynbee's 'A Study of History,' "Religion emerges from the downswing of a cycle of civilization... because spiritual progress depends on suffering. With the rise and fall of each civilization, man's knowledge of God increases. This belief bordered on orthodox Christianity, but did not quite correspond to it because Toynbee did not see any religion as final. But what Toynbee did was to superimpose on a cyclical view of history a Christian view of history. All things are moving... towards a goal." (Pg. 39)

He suggests that Bousset "shows traces... of thinking in ways alien to traditional Christian understandings of history. In particular he betrays the influence of Descartes in seeing God as working not directly in history through miracle but indirectly through men's minds." (Pg. 63-64)

He argues, "The main historicist idea is that human groups are molded by history. To a great extent this is undeniable. It is a premise of the argument of this book that the ways people think are affected by social and intellectual conditions. But historicism takes a further step. It holds that the flux of history eliminates any constancy in man. There is no such thing as human nature." (Pg. 113)

Bebbington's book will be of most interest to those seeking a Christian commentary on the philosophy of history.

[J. J.]

Simply superb. Measured, nuanced, scholarly, and unashamedly biblical. Saturated with a sound view of God’s providence, and at the same time patiently teasing out the complex and multi-layered origins of Critical Theory. Bebbington is one of our very best.

[Tim Wilder]

Thorough but conventional approach to the topic. Basically a review of historical positions.

[Colton Strother · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent introduction into the philosophies of history, historiography, and all things related to historian's task.

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mate, what a resource! Super enlightening. Bebbington delves into various takes on the patterns that history unfolds itself in. Is it cyclical, moving to a goal, an infinite progression, different collections of factors combining to make different nation states, or are the Marxists right? He moves from there to talk about historiographical method, unpacking the Positivist and Idealist schools. Here he's not talking so much about the patterns in history as much as he is about how one goes about the doing of history. Is it virtually a science, where one can see laws in operation and draw inevitable outcomes, or are humans too complex and unpredictable to boil history down to mere laws? Is truth determined by only what can be demonstrated in factual evidence, or are historians free to make connections and inferences based on the available but incomplete evidence (Correspondence vs. coherence theories of truth)? Bebbington offers compelling reasoning for why Christian theism can take on the best of the Positivist and Idealist schools of thought and produce some seriously compelling history. If you like history, Christianity, or both, you will dig this book.

[Tyson Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the questions surrounding historiography. Bennington gives you plenty to chew on while recognizing that the surface is merely being scratched.
I suspect that he is overstating the degree to which Christianity offers a distinctive historiography. Certainly it will modify, alter, or negate other approaches, but does it constitute its own?

Second reading:
I can tell my own thought has evolved since my first reading of Bebbington. Today I would not end with the question "Does Christian historiography constitute its own category?" I remain as critical of Bebbington's description of Christian historiography, and find more value in his demonstration of the dependence of the various Western historiographies on Christian thought. This makes the apparent eclecticism of his Christian historiography look less like a punt. I have only mentioned the negatives, because they are far easier to count than the positives. Please refer to my four-star rating which remains the same on the second reading, as does my choice of the adjective "excellent."

[Eric Lazarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my Amazon review:

Bebbington looks over 5 of the major "schools" of historiography, including, Linear, Cyclical, Christian, Marxist, and Historicist. It is a good textbook for post-graduate study and is highly recommended for those who are students of history as well as those who are serious history "buffs". Bebbington does a good job of bringing out the strengths and weaknesses of each school. There is an updated edition from the 1979 edition which includes some minor changes in the text and a new preface and a new closing. Well worth the read. It is a relatively short work, and my only real gripe with the work was that it was too short. This could easily become a multi-volume work, but that wasn't it's purpose.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R29AHCHV...

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate his overall perspective, although I didn't find it necessary to read all the chapters in detail. The first two and last two chapters are really the core of the book.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!