Joe Boot: The Battle for History

Our understanding of the past shapes our vision for the future.

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It is a universal human phenomenon that we live our lives forwards, whilst hoping we will understand them better when looking backwards, yet history has often been described by thinkers and philosophers as an impenetrable mystery. We read history and visit historical sites and monuments, digging up the past as a tourist attraction. We’re frequently enchanted by what has gone before and some dream of making history like their heroes from one age or another. Paradoxically, our fascination with history is directly tied to our concern for the shape of the future. Since none of us know what is to come, the contingency of past events makes history the battleground of the future – since the truly historical event is that which gives formative shape to culture.

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About the author

Rev. Dr. Joseph Boot (M.A., Ph.D.) is a Christian thinker & cultural apologist/philosopher, Founder and President of the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity. He also served as founding pastor of Westminster Chapel, Toronto for 14 years. Now resident home in Great Britain, Joseph has worked in the fields of Christian apologetics, worldview education and church leadership for over twenty-five years on both sides of the Atlantic. He has spoken and guest lectured globally at numerous university events, seminaries, churches, colleges, and conferences. He regularly addresses pastors and Christian leaders as well as academic, medical, legal, and political professionals and has publicly debated leading atheistic thinkers and philosophers in Canada and the United States.