The classic exposition of the Christian philosophy of History.
"TODAY many persons are sobered by the threat of disaster to our civilization. How to avert impending calamity is a question of serious moment. The situation is especially disturbing for the religious man. His customary trust in God and his confidence in the ultimate triumph of goodness are hard to maintain in the face of adverse circumstances. For the moment evils prevail and righteousness is forced off the highway of life. It is difficult to preserve that imperturbable demeanor which Robert Louis Stevenson ascribes to quiet minds going on "in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm." In days when the thunderclouds of war darken all skies and stretch from pole to pole, quietude of mind is a luxury that few people who take life seriously are able to enjoy.
There is one source of knowledge upon which we might draw to help us steady our perspective and define our task in times of perplexity. In the excitement of the moment we may forget the heritage of wisdom and experience bequeathed to us by the past. If we turn to history, it may brace our minds and strengthen our determination to maintain a bold front against threatening evils."