history

The banter regarding the history of spiritual gifts reminded me of some quotes that I want to post for posterity.

• History is an agreed-upon fable.
• The winner gets to write history.
• Three things have killed the past. The first is history itself.

I think of my own life and see the same. As I talk with others regarding intersections of our lives, it's amazing the differences in what we remember as truth. First, each of us saw an event through our own paradigms. Then time and experiences further skewed what we retained, rejected, and perhaps embellished or created. Finally, when I tell a story from the past it is often to make a point so while I wouldn't invent a story, I would tell the elements that make the point I am after. If that is then further repeated as the whole truth, one can see how skewed history could get.

So, while I love story-telling, be very careful - and in the Christian case, stick with Scripture, it's much more reliable.

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