The above section gives a religious interpretation of history Historians can neither say whether it is correct nor say whether an event shows the truth about God. However, historians can attempt to separate the "beliefs" of faith from the "objective facts" of history. They may help to clarify the difference between what is believed to be true and what can be proven to be true Historians can help us learn about the development of the Christian church by tracing the historical process to show how certain events or ideas happened and, in turn, how they contributed to later events.
The historical process helps us see that the events of history do not occur in isolation. Neither did the Christian faith develop in isolation Instead, history occurs within the context of culture. Sociologists say a culture is the way
INTRODUCTION
of life characteristic of a group. A culture includes the physical creations of a people and their learned and shared behaviors and beliefs.
As cultures become complex, numerous norms, values, beliefs, and symbols gather around major human activities, forming very complicated and interrelated patterns These patterns are called institutions. The basic institutions of complex cultures and societies are family, politics, education, economics, and religion, and they touch almost every human activity. These institutions are also interrelated, which means what happens in one institution affects the others. For example, a change in politics may well change families, the economy, education, and religion. Or changes in a religious institution may produce changes in the political, familial, educational, and economic institutions.
In addition, changes in a culture's physical creations and technology may radically alter the less concrete elements of the culture. For example, the introduction of the computer over the last two decades has changed the way Americans do business, produce literature, diagnose illnesses, educate children, and conduct religion. Finally, cultures seldom exist in isolation from one another. Inventions, political upheavals, new ideas, economic shifts, and religious developments in one culture often affect others.
Historians know that this web of complex, changing patterns extends beyond the present moment. Something that happens now may be related to events and changes in the distant past. Certain links between these present and past events can be established It might even be said that the present "grew out of" the past Thus, historians see the historical process as an interrelated web of people, ideas, and institutions where there exists both change and continuity It is in this dynamic web that the events of history occur