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The Tyranny of Now and the Power of Remembrance
In today’s politically correct world, where headlines demand constant attention and reaction, the American church often becomes little more than the church of what’s happening now. We are morbidly preoccupied with ourselves, ignorant of the past, and trapped in the tyranny of the present.
G.K. Chesterton said it well, “The long ago and the far away may very well open our eyes up to the here and now… perhaps better than the events that swirl about us with each passing day.”
Americans need to rediscover this wisdom… especially as we reflect on Memorial Day, a time to remember. Not only fallen heroes, but also the mighty acts of God in history.
Paul at Mars Hill: A Model for Remembering
When Paul addressed the Areopagus in Acts 17, he confronted a culture much like ours… pluralistic, image-driven, obsessed with novelty. “Men of Athens,” he began, “I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” He pointed them to the altar “To the unknown god” and declared:
“The God who made the world and everything in it… does not live in temples made by man… he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything… And he made from one man every nation… having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God… he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Paul’s method is powerful. He begins not with a reduced gospel tract, but with a historical narrative. He preaches a sovereign God, the creator of all things, who governs history, calls men to repentance, and has appointed a day of judgment through Jesus Christ.
The Sovereignty of God in History
Paul emphasizes the transcendence and sovereignty of God. “Not served by human hands… since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” Every philosophy—whether religious, secular, or pagan… assumes some kind of sovereignty. Paul makes clear that it belongs only to the God who created.
Nehemiah confessed this: “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens… the earth and all that is on it.” The early church echoed this in Acts 4:24: “Sovereign Lord… you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”
If we can’t get Genesis 1 right, we won’t get anything right about history. The doctrine of creation insists that time, history, and mankind are governed by the eternal, triune God. Creation is not a process; it was an act. The modern world’s surrender to “process theology” (Darwin, Hegel, Liberation Theology) undermines God’s sovereignty from the start.
As Rushdoony put it, “Because time is predestined… time unfolds from future to present to past.” Nathan Wood also explained: “The Past issues… from the Future, through the Present… and returns again into invisible Time in the Past.”
Modern Lies and the Loss of Meaning
Modern philosophies of history are humanistic and destructive. When man becomes the source of meaning, he destroys history’s meaning. Van Til warned: “When man makes himself and his reason god over creation… he leaves himself like a chained and gibbering baboon, sitting… in the midst of a vast universe of nothingness.”
This is the cultural moment our children inherit. This is what we are passing on to the next generation. A world of fake news headlines and mindless hashtags, not history. Not true remembrance of what we have been given. That’s why all education must be explicitly Christian, not an inculcated synthesis of pagan and Christian ideas. This is simply because all non-Christian education is committed to beliefs that are at war with the Christian faith.
So should our kids and grandkids read Homer, Hesiod, and the classics? Yep. Most definitely. But only if you can point out that all Classical thought denies creation and the covenant. Only if you can point out that these writers all denied that wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord. And only if you can point out that they denied any obligation to obey God and His law.
As Rushdoony said: “Humanistic history is a shaking and frail ladder, resting on no foundation… whereas history under God gives man a glorious inheritance and destiny.”
Who Is Man? The Anthropology of History
Paul also presents a biblical anthropology. Who is man? Economic being (Marx)? Political animal (Aristotle)? Sexual being (Freud)? Nope… Paul says man is a religious creature, made in God’s image, in need of redemption.
If man is a true nature’s child, he really is born to be wild. But if man is created by God, he is a steward, called to exercise dominion and care for the earth. This is why Christian anthropology matters.
Remembering God’s Providence Over Nations
Paul’s address affirms God’s providence over nations: “having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” Every philosophy has a view of providence or fate… be it natural law, determinism, or “the Force.” But Paul anchors it in the personal governance of a sovereign God.
Darwinism shattered faith in nature. It taught blind chaos instead of law, survival instead of stewardship. Hitler and the U.S. eugenics projects of the 1930s followed quite logically. When God is removed, man takes control… always with disastrous consequences.
Christ at the Center of History
Paul’s “memory message” is not just theism… it is Christ-centered. He preaches Jesus and the resurrection. The Greeks thought he was talking about two new gods… Jesus and Resurrection.
Paul moves from creation to judgment to redemption in Christ. Colossians 1 reminds us that:
“In him all things were created… all things have been created through him and for him… in him all things hold together… and through him to reconcile… by making peace through his blood.”
For the Christian, the most important event in history is not the Bolshevik Revolution, not Darwin’s Origin of Species, not even America’s founding. It’s this: In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son.
Remembrance and Repentance
Paul’s history is eschatological. It moves toward final judgment. History is not a blind march from chaos, but a purposeful unfolding from eternity toward consummation.
And Paul always preaches repentance. Like Jesus in Luke 13, who responded to tragedy with this warning: “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Jesus used history for evangelism. So did Paul. And so must we.
The Blessing of Remembrance
Memorial Day calls us to remember the fallen. But as Christians, it must also call us to remember the mighty acts of God in history. The Bible is a book of such remembrance.
Deuteronomy 32—Moses tells Israel of God’s faithfulness and calls them to remember.
2 Samuel 22—David recounts deliverance and says… remember.
1 Kings 8—Solomon reminds his people of God’s work and says… remember.
Nehemiah, Stephen, and the Psalmists all call us to remember.
Psalm 88:12 warns: “Wonders cannot be known in the midst of darkness, and righteousness cannot be done in a land of forgetfulness.”
To forget is fatal. John Briggs said, “Just as a loss of memory in an individual is a serious illness… so too… a community with no social memory is suffering a dire illness unto death.”
When a people fail to remember God’s faithfulness and fail to learn the lessons of the past, they torture themselves with existential foolishness… mistaking dishwater for champagne… swallowing swill… thinking it’s the waters of life.
Remember And Then Pass It On
Our duty now is to pass this remembrance to the next generation. Not just military remembrance, but historical awareness rooted in the sovereignty of God, the centrality of Christ, and the promise of redemption.
Memorial Day reminds us: a people without memory is a people without identity, without direction, rootless and ultimately without hope. May we remember… and teach others to do the same.
