Why Study History? (podcast) with Dr. John Fea

Both David and Bob are history buffs. But studying history is not as simple as watching a documentary, a biopic, or reading a bestselling narrative history. We need to be aware of how historians actually do their craft, and use those same tools as we watch and read. Some use history to advance their political agendas, while others just echo ideas that are not substantiated by historical scholarship. Armchair historians can often get it very wrong. How should Christians study history? Christians are a people of the Truth, so how do we know what is legitimate history? How do we reintegrate our faith with our understanding of the past?Our guest is Dr. John Fea, Distinguished Professor of American History at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He has recently released the second edition of his book, Why Study History?: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past (Baker Academic, 2024). In this book, he talks about what historians do, what bad history looks like, and how studying history can be a form of spiritual formation.Scroll down to learn more about Dr. John Fea. Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app!Thanks for listening!Please share this podcast with your friends. Your hosts are Dr. Bob Robinson and David Loughney.Go to re-integrate.org for further resources on reintegrating all of life with God’s mission. John Fea, Ph.D.John Fea’s essays and reviews on the history of American culture have appeared in numerous journals and magazines. John speaks regularly at universities, academic conferences, churches, school and teacher groups, civic groups, and historical societies and has appeared on NBC News, CNN, C-SPAN, National Public Radio, and dozens of radio programs nationwide.John writes about American history, religion, politics, and academic life at his blog housed in the online magazine Current.John Fea has authored several other books, including Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2011), and Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump (Eerdmans, June 2018). John was on two previous episodes of the Reintegrate Podcast, discussing these two books: here and here. Get full access to Bob Robinson’s Substack at bobrobinsonre.substack.com/subscribe