9/29/2018
SIMH today is “What’s Your Momma’s Name?” —very sad song about a man searching for the product of an unsuccessful or unfinished love. Sad about the man, but sadder the number of times this might have occurred in the last couple hundred years in America, leaving a child without a father. The song was written by two men in the early 70s and recorded, oddly enough, by both George Jones and Tanya Tucker. (Tanya’s was a big hit)
Usually, by the time I look up the history of a song, I’ve managed to get it out of my head. Today is lingering, c’mon brain, get in gear! The song wasn’t that memorable.
But, memory is a mystery. This week’s soiree in Washington has brought to light the mysterious way our memories work. Detail by one person’s perspective versus the same event viewed by more people produce thoughts, times, conversations, actions and results which differ. Sometimes leaving us with no way of knowing what actually happened. I’ve told many stories about Trafalgar, IN which I have heard differently coming from someone else who was there. I’ve wished, on several occasions, to have each person’s account of things which are vivid memories to me, just to see how their version varies.
Just a short one: about 30 years ago, I mentioned a 1957 ballgame wherein I watched my brother Pete score 21 points. When one of his classmates heard what I said he became thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Hmm, I don’t remember Pete ever scoring anywhere near that.” Well, he did. This classmate was one of the stars on that team. Isn’t it interesting he cannot remember Pete ever being “high point man?” Is that selective, from some deep-seated jealousy? or just unimportant to his memory? It was important to me because I was the last of 6 Lockhart boys to play basketball there and Pete was the only one of us to score 21 points in a game. So walks in the ways of memory.
My point in this isn’t about points in a ballgame: my larger point is how do we believe history books if the history book is gathered together 20, 30, even 100years later? In 1978, I saw, in writing in a “modern history” book how a 1968 event had been drastically changed to make a hero out of a villain. And that’s just 10 years! Whose account of history do we believe? My personal opinion is that much of what our students get from educational processes now is not exactly what happened then.
I once picked up a copy of the Will Durant “History of the World,” thinking because I enjoy history I would enjoy his take. He told so many things I disagreed with in the first 40-50 pages, I decided to not read the remaining 1200 or so pages! Do some historians use their own guesswork about details and facts, or is it mostly the reason for their writing is a deeper hidden agenda? While mostly I suspect the latter, I hope there are some true historians for each time-frame we choose to study. What will be the present USA administration’s history record? What of the most recent past administration? Want me to write both? I’m honest, I’ve got a great memory,…believe me?
As to the history of the faith, Christ-centered faith, I’ve read some accounts which promote a religion instead of a view of the faith. In the early 90s, I was discussing this with a preacher who had the same fears as mine and he recommended two church history books of which I had never heard. I got them and noticed in both books, the authors had drawn the conclusion which said what I just wrote about above. But, their approach to what they recorded was bent toward the reader seeking another way to verify any questionable thing. As I studied, I tried to do that and found most things to be corroborated by both books, but also other writers. The internet today makes that an easier job.
Recently, I recommended those two books to a friend and she found them with ridiculously high price tags! I told her I might have to have an auction—looks like money to be made!(tongue in cheek.) Naw, I’m betting you can find them cheaper, somewhere. The books for church history are The Pilgrim Church and Miller’s Church History. If you find them at a reasonable price, let me know and I’ll tell my friend. If you want further church history, get in touch. I am now old enough that I know it from experience!
Thanks for reading, the Elder
the Elder's Blog 