Drawing Wisdom From the Past

"When it comes to drawing wisdom from the past, we must be careful to discern between making normative moral judgments based on history and reflecting morally on history. McKenzie* emphasized the importance of this distinction, especially for a Christian. Moral judgments based on history are problematic, he said, because they require obedience to history where no divine mandate to do so exists. History is not authoritative, so drawing normative moral lessons from a past golden age of national history is not only unwise; it undermines the authority of Scripture by neglecting it and replacing it with another authority. It also places the person making the moral judgment in an artificially privileged position, so that with the Pharisee he demands others be subject to an extrabiblical source of authority arising from his own selfish motivations. Moral reflection, however, is directed selfward. McKenzie wrote that moral judgment "renders a verdict but requires nothing of the knowing heart. Moral reflection is deeply introspective and never leaves the heart untouched.""

American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea, John D. Wilsey, IVP Academic, 2015, pg. 201. (italics mine)

* The author is referring to The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About Loving God and Learning From History, Robert Tracy McKenzie, IVP Academic, 2013.