INTRODUCTION TO SALVATION HISTORY
Modern-day Catholics who explore the writings of such
20th-century thinkers as Christopher Dawson, G.K. Chesterton, and Henri
Daniel-Rops do not have to go far before coming across the notion of "salvation
history." Starting from a perspective of faith, and juxtaposing the
study of Sacred Scripture with the insights of modern historical science,
archaeology, linguistics, and anthropology, these thinkers helped flesh out a
sophisticated vision of God's providential operation in man's history,
especially in preparing the world for the Incarnation of Christ and the spread
of the Gospel. It is crucial for modern Catholics to be familiar with
salvation history; as Chesterton was so fond of pointing out, the Christian
faith is unique precisely because it is founded on belief in the real,
historical figure of Jesus Christ.
Every Christian believer is familiar with the idea that
Christ's incarnation represents the fulfillment of Old Testament promises.
Christ, after all, was a Jew, and the New Testament presents him as the
long-sought heir of King David, spoken of by generations of Hebrew prophets.
Nevertheless, Christ was also born into a world that was held together by
Roman statecraft, and a world in which Greek culture formed the basis for a
worldview and intellectual idiom common to all educated men. Indeed, the
ancient Mediterranean as it existed at the time of Christ was ideal for the
evangelizing mission of the early Church; Roman political power had established
a peace that extended from Mesopotamia to Britain, while Greek
language and ideas provided a medium through which the Gospel could be
communicated universally. The historical context in which the Incarnation
occurred was what allowed Christianity to become a great world religion, rather
than a purely provincial phenomenon in a small corner of the world.
It is therefore crucial for Catholics today to understand
the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman contributions to the formation of the Western world.
Not only is ancient history intimately bound up with our Faith, it
provides us with the foundation of our identity: to be a Christian is to be a
Roman, a Greek, and a Hebrew as well. Stay tuned to the Institute of
Catholic Culture On-Line Learning Center as we explore salvation history,
beginning with the history and thought of the ancient Hebrews, and proceeding
from there to the foundations of Greek civilization, the spread of Hellenistic
culture, and the unification of the Mediterranean world under the sway of the Roman
Empire.
-Brendan J. McGuire, Ph.D.
